text:
Asia accounted for 46 percent of the globes 10.5 billion pounds of wax supply in 2015 and is the top supplier of several wax types, including petroleum, synthetic and palm.
In the past two to three years, Asia petroleum wax supply has seen an increase, particularly in China, as a result of some capacity expansion and due to completion of a large refinery relocation project, Pooja Sharma, a project lead in U.S.-based consultancy Kline & Co.s energy practice, said during a Feb. 24 web presentation. During the same period, the region saw growth in supply of Fischer-Tropsch waxes from China, as well as vegetable waxes from Malaysia and Indonesia. Going forward, wax supply from the region is expected to remain stable at the current level.
Get alerts when new Sustainability Blog articles are available.
Overall, global wax supply is projected to grow from 10.5 billion pounds in 2014 to 10.7 billion pounds in 2019.
In 2015 petroleum waxes accounted for just under a 70 percent share – about 7.3 billion pounds – though other wax types are growing faster. The Asia region led with close to 3.5 billion pounds of petroleum wax in 2015, Kline found.
The share of petroleum waxes has declined from about 80 percent in 2002 to just under 70 percent in 2015, Sharma said. This is a direct result of the reduction in [API] Group I lubricant base stock-producing plants, especially in North America and Europe. Many Group I base oil-producing plants have either shut down or have been converted into facilities to produce high-quality base stocks, she noted.
As global petroleum wax supplies continue to decline, she said, it will create market space for synthetic and vegetable waxes to occupy. Synthetic waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch and polyethylene wax, as well as vegetable waxes such as hydrogenated soy and palm along with natural palm waxes, represent the fastest-growing products, according to Kline.
For 2015, Kline estimated total synthetic wax supply at more than 1.5 billion pounds. Of that, Fischer-Tropsch wax supply accounted for close to 600 million pounds, while other synthetic waxes – polyethylene, polypropylene and alpha olefin waxes – comprised the remainder. Asia accounted for more than 700 million pounds of this total synthetic wax supply total in 2015.
The study expects Fischer-Tropsch waxes to experience a strong growth in supply in the next five years. This will be a result of some capacity additions by existing players, as well as due to expected commissioning of some new, small-scale GTL plants, she said.
Asia accounts for the largest supply of both Fischer-Tropsch and polyethylene/polypropylene waxes globally, she noted, with some key suppliers located in the region. Fischer-Tropsch waxes – which are closest to petroleum waxes in their physical properties – have picked up demand in the last 5 years, Sharma said, growing at a rate of more than 6 percent per year. Going forward, these waxes are forecast to see significant supply increases in the next five years, thus offering an immense growth potential, she said. This growth will be characterized by an increasing supply of Fischer-Tropsch waxes from South Africa, China and some new small-scale [gas-to-liquid] projects expected to come up in North America.
The study estimated total global vegetable wax supply at 1.2 billion pounds in 2015. Kline found that vegetable waxes continue to expand in the market space for softer waxes, such as slack waxes, which are in deficit in the market right now.
She explained the vegetable wax market is essentially a candle market today, which requires soft waxes. Palm waxes account for nearly half of global [vegetable] wax supply, and Asia is the global leader in supply of palm waxes, she said.
The study is titled, Global Wax Industry: Market Analysis and Opportunities.


text:
Are you ready for the release date of PlayStation 5? 2017 is the year of the console “wars”. Lots of gaming consoles were released in this year, including Nintendo Switch, Xbox One X, etc. These things can effortlessly run high-quality games like a mid-range gaming PC, which made them a huge hit around the world.
Image Source: Pexels
So, is there anything that can match or even exceed them? Well, there is, but it is not confirmed and released yet. If you’re wondering what is it, it is the PlayStation 5 – a powerful console that can surpass the upcoming Xbox One X!
PlayStation 5 Release Date
The release date hasn’t been clearly announced yet, but Michael Patcher, a Wedbush Securities analyst, has said that it’ll be out in 2019 and the PlayStation 5 will be backward compatible with PS4 games. Lucky for those who bought the PS4 before the rumored release date. Well, we can’t help it, PlayStation 4 is a decent console, but the PlayStation 5 is certainly on a different level!
Moreover, being rumored to be released in 2019, people will have its time to save some cash – so heavy gamers, it is time to save up! You don’t want to miss this one, do you? If you’re wondering about the specs, it is enough to beat the upcoming consoles this year. Sounds good to be true? Not anymore, it is possible!
PlayStation 5 Specs
Unbelievably, it is said that the PS5 will run at 4K. It is also rumored that it can run at 240 FPS, making it a lot powerful than the current generation consoles we have this day. 60FPS is amazing enough, but running 4K at 240FPS – will bring gaming to the next level.
Though the PS5 is highly anticipated, the official specs and the release date isn’t out, yet. These are just rumors, but we’ll never know! So, what do you think about the PlayStation 5? Better save up as soon as possible to prepare for the best.

domain: news


text:
Blog: Research points to increased number of food scares
Petah Marian | 21 March 2011
According to research by Queens University in Belfast, the number of food scares and product recalls has "increased significantly" over the past decade and, in that period, the US had the highest number of product recalls.
The big picture: key trends in international product recalls within the food industry report found that of 2,439 recalls between 2000-2010 in the US, and 2002-2010 in the UK and Ireland, some 74% of the recalls were in the US, with 21% in the UK and 5% in the Republic of Ireland.
Dr Antony Potter at the Queen's Centre for Assured and Traceable Foods (ASSET), who conducted the research, said today (21 March) that his research outlines how the frequency and severity of recalls has increased over the past 10 years, "accompanied by significant financial implication for food producers".
"The 2008 pork recall in Ireland, for example, cost the Irish economy an estimated EUR125m," he said.
Potter emphasised the need for regulatory body testing, saying that "of the product recalls we identified, 68% were detected during routine or spot testing by regulatory bodies, and only 21% were detected by the company in question".
He also highlighted the need for food producers to invest in the traceability of their products of foods back through the supply chain.
While most recalls (56%) resulted from operational mistakes such as incorrect labelling, the presence of an undeclared ingredient, or contamination during the production process - and biological causes, such as the detection of Listeria, Salmonella and E Coli, were also a factor - a significant number of food safety alerts were actually due to food fraud and corruption by suppliers further down the supply chain," Potter said.
Danone completed its US$12.5bn acquisition of WhiteWave Foods this week. The move will roughly double Danone's presence in North America, where WhiteWave is a top four dairy player. ...
Premier Foods plc revealed today (28 March) it has secured a deal with its pension scheme trustees that will see the UK food maker reduce its pension burden....
Hain Celestial, under the scrutiny of the investment community in recent months and facing some challenges in its domestic market, has announced another shuffling of its management pack....
FrieslandCampina, which today served up higher profits but lower sales for 2016, is ready to offload the last non-dairy business owned by the Dutch cooperative giant....
- Analysis: Post discusses rationale for Weetabix
- Interview: Sir Kensington's on sale to Unilever
- Who will buy Danone's Stonyfield business?
- Column: Why snacking is the new meal
- US food next wave on display at Winter Fancy Food
- Unilever buys US condiments maker Sir Kensington's
- Ice cream helps Unilever sales, food flat
- Suntory to offload Australia, New Zealand foods
- Nestle organic growth slows but beats expectations
- Post: Weetabix "opens up M&A opportunities"


text:
CAIRO, April 18, 2018 (MENA) - Head of the National Council for Women Dr Maya Morsi participated on Wednesday in a round-table talk on "How to make the 2030 Agenda empower women and girls?" as part of the 2nd day of the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality.
Morsi delivered an address through which she shed light on the achievements of the 2030 Agenda particularly as regards to gender equality and the empowerment of women, a statement released by the council said.
Egypt and Sweden are main partners in several programmes that aim at the empowerment of women and girls, she said.
She reviewed the status of women in Egypt over the past 10 years and the achievements reached in this domain, asserting Egypt's abidance by reaching the targets of sustainable development on the empowerment of women.
Egypt is considered the only Arab country participating in the round-table talk attended by Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Executive Director of the UN-Habitat, Naoko Ishii, the CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Charlotte Petri-Gornitzka, the Chairperson of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), and Henrik Nordentoft, the Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality brings together about 500 key representatives from civil society organisations, governments, business, and academia. The aim is to find solutions, take new initiatives, and strengthen co-operation in the international fight for gender equality.
STOCKHOLM, April 5, 2018 (AFP) — Gant is taking plastic trash from the ocean and turning it into shirts.
The Stockholm-based fashion brand has launched a new “Beacons Project,” consisting of creating a new line of shirts made using upcycled plastic salvaged from the ocean by fishermen in the Mediterranean.
The initiative will see the label partner with Seaqual, a fiber brand that upcycles plastics collected from the sea to make a polyester filament.
“Through Gant Beacons Project we are launching an entirely new process of creating beautiful products with a conscious, sustainable approach, which will further grow and evolve over time,” said Chief Marketing Officer, Brian Grevy.
“We’re determined to take responsibility and to do our part to make our planet better, because the ocean’s business is everyone’s business.”
The shirts resulting from the initiative will span menswear and womenswear, with options for women including a “Bio Oxford Popover Shirt” featuring a flared sleeve, and a “Bio Chambray Shirt” in a button-down style.
Men will also get a “Bio Chambray Shirt” with a box pleat, and a “Bio Indigo Chambray” made using only indigo dye. All shirts in the series will feature buttons and packaging made from recycled materials.
Gant is the latest in a long line of fashion labels turning its attention to the seas recently.
Ocean debris recycler Parley for the Oceans is well known for working recycled plastic into new fashion pieces and collaborating regularly with brands such as G-star and Stella McCartney, but water economy has also become a hot topic within the industry of late.


text:
INFINITI today revealed its Q60 Concept, the precursor to a premium sports coupe that will go into production in 2016. The exhilarating concept was unveiled during INFINITI's press conference at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit th
INFINITI has set out to captivate the imagination and exhilaration of sports coupe fans with the stunning Q60 Concept. Premiered at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, the two-door concept hints at INFINITI's next sports coupe.
Exuding unbridled power from its taut lines and potent road presence, the INFINITI Q60 Concept is the very epitome of high performance and sport dynamics. The two-door fastback is INFINITI's vision for a future sports coupe.


text:
Would you sleep under a pizza? Latest craze in celebrity decor is bed linen that looks like fast food
- Linen printed with fast food decor is latest craze sweeping celebrity homes
- Miley Cyrus and Lady Charteris among those to post pictures of bed linen
- Baked potato beanbags, pizza duvets and broccoli cushions all available
It's the latest off-the-wall craze in celebrity decor – bed linen designed to look like fast food.
Miley Cyrus and socialite Lady Mary Charteris are among those who have posted pictures of their wacky bedspreads online.
The aristocrat, 27, posted a picture of herself swathed in hamburger-print bedding on Instagram, saying: 'Morningggg. #BreakfastInBed'.
Bed linen such as pepperoni pizza duvets are among the bizarre bedspreads sweeping celebrity homes
Another example of the food-themed bed linen available to buy are these hamburger duvet sets
And Cyrus has shown her love of pizza by posting an image of her 'cheesy' duvet cover that looks like a giant pepperoni-topped treat.
Suppliers include Poland's Emotional Rainbow, with pizza prints; B Fiber & Craft which makes broccoli, mushroom and kiwi cushions as well as a baked potato beanbag; and Cafe Press, which features prints of crisps, doughnuts, Smarties, hundreds and thousands – and even Brussels sprouts.
Most watched News videos
- Nanny throws baby into crib before carrying it by its LEG
- Warren Buffett duets with Stevie Wonder at Forbes party
- RAF Reaper strikes ISIS preventing public execution
- Kylie Jenner posts Snapchat on day of Megyn interview in April
- Torrent of water rushes through Puerto Rican street as Maria hits
- Trump says in UN speech that some countries are 'going to hell'
- Flood sweeps across village after river dam collapses in Laos
- Dog throws a tantrum when owner does not give him gravy
- Mexico earthquake turns a calm tourist river into a wave pool
- Horrifying video of shaman dragged under water by crocodile
- Killer 'brandishes child's severed head' while taunting officers
- Friend of Drake murdered in gruesome shooting caught on camera


text:
Donington’s High Street could be set for two big boosts with sale of The Red Cow and a new shop with Post Office announced for the village.
The dilapidated 200-year-old former hotel has been an eye-sore for a number of years, but has now been purchased by API Limited which has recently completed refurbishments of The Chequers and The Bell, both in Holbeach.
And a businessman says he is to open a Budgens store at the former Bargain Booze site next door which is set to include a Post Office service.
Seelan Thambirajah, of the MSP and Noble Group, is the man behind the bid to create a Budgens in the former Bargain Booze.
He says he’s working with the Post Office to bring the service back as part of a £550,000 renovation and that the venture will create ’10 to 15 new jobs’ with plans to open in February.
“We’ve been providing convenience stores for the community for the last 20 years and have 16 in the UK,” he said. “Budgens are great with working local communities and that’s why we’re going with them.
“We’re planning for special access to the elderly and to improve the car parking so there’s 20 spaces.
“We want to provide local food from local producers as we find that’s what the community wants.”
A spokesman for the Post Office, said: “We have an interested retailer who wants to take on Donington Post Office. An application has recently been submitted.”
Rob Bridgewater and Jamie Sandford are behind API Limited which has bought the Grade II listed former Red Cow hotel.
It’s been increasingly dilapidated for nearly 20 years. Previous owner Market Homes Limited had planning permission to renovate it and turn it into 18 flats but the company sold it.
Now API says they’re looking to turn it into flats.
Rob, said: “We are purchasing the Red Cow to bring back what was once a great building again.
“This is in line with some of our recent previous developments.
“We plan to keep it in keeping with the area and are hoping to work with the council to ensure this is another successful development utilising the existing building while also adding additional dwellings to the area with that town centre location.
“Final plans are being worked on to utilise the area to its best potential.”
District and parish councillor Jane King told The Voice she was pleased with the news about both developments, but had experienced so many false dawns in relation to the Red Cow that she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“I can’t get excited about that building at all given how many times we’ve been let down by developers,” she said. She is yet to meet the team at API Ltd.
“Hopefully new owners will be different, but we thought that about the last owners.
“The Budgens proposal seems really encouraging and those behind it seem supportive of the village.”


text:
Apple is officially launching a buy now, pay later service – just as the category faces a slowdown.
Apple announced Apple Pay Later at its annual WWDC conference on Monday, and it will roll out as part of the iOS 16 Apple Wallet update. The service has been in the works for some time, and was first reported on by Bloomberg last summer.
According to the company, Apple Pay Later will utilize the Mastercard network. It also “provides users in the U.S. with a seamless and secure way to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees of any kind.”
The model is similar to existing services by BNPL startups like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna – all of which have experienced growth among shoppers and retailers in the past few years. These companies have also been credited with helping brands grow basket sizes. But in recent months, a number of BNPLs have either cut costs with layoffs, scaled back on hiring, or experienced a slowdown in growth as the market becomes more saturated.
Apple is launching installment payments at a volatile time for the category’s startups. Splitit, for instance, has pivoted to B-to-B in an effort to turn a profit. Sweden-based Klarna laid off 10% of its corporate staff in late May. Meanwhile, Afterpay took an exit by selling to Block (formerly Square) for $29 billion late last year.
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
In the days since the announcement, buy now, pay later executives have spoken out about Apple’s entry into their industry. Klarna co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski tweeted a thread in response to the Apple news.
“It is a great win for consumers worldwide that Apple is now embracing a better form of consumer credit,” Siemiatkowski wrote. He also joked that “Plagiarism is also the highest form of flattery.”
On Tuesday, Affirm founder and CEO Max Levchin told Bloomberg Television that he’s “not worried” about competing with Apple’s BNPL service. “I don’t think there’s much concern,” Levchin said. “There’s a lot of room for growth for all involved.”
Ad position: web_incontent_pos2
In a statement to Modern Retail, an Affirm spokesperson said: “Consumers, especially now, are looking for more transparent and flexible alternatives to credit cards. Affirm has offered this for nearly a decade through personalized payment plans with term lengths ranging from six weeks to 60 months. The company spokesperson also pointed to Affirm’s 200,000 merchant partners. “Even as more players join the movement we started, the prize remains massive, and Affirm is well-positioned to win.”
Affirm’s most recent quarterly earnings report, released in May, showed the company is still growing. The service’s users grew by 137% year-over-year, to $12.7 million while revenue jumped 54%, to $355 million. However, Affirm’s operating losses also grew – hitting $226.6 million, up from $209.3 million the previous year.
With Apple being the biggest tech company in the world, industry watchers predict its presence is expected to create further competition for BNPL startups.
LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said that given its size, Apple is likely looking to be “a big player in the BNPL world in a hurry.” The new feature is also somewhat of an expansion on Apple’s existing installment payment option, currently offered to Apple Card holders on Apple purchases.
Apple Pay Later is due to minimize some BNPL barrier of entry – at least for iOS users. “It will give Apple Pay users access to BNPL-style installment plans without having to download some other lenders’ app or concerning themselves with which BNPL lender their favorite retailer partners with,” Schulz explained. “That’s a big deal.”
“While this might mean trouble for the big players in the BNPL space, it is clearly an indication that BNPL-style loans are here to stay,” Schulz continued. “Consumers have shown how much they love these finite, pay-in-four, typically-interest-free loans – and the financial industry has definitely taken notice.” Indeed, some major banks are already building their own buy now, pay later programs as they face a decline in credit card usage among young customers.
Others expect Apple to put its own spin on BNPL.
“So many financial institutions are offering a flavor of installment payments, but Apple doing anything is a big deal to that category,” Jen Glaspie-Lundstrom, co-founder of branded private label credit card platform Tandym said. She went on to list a few advantages that Apple will have when it comes to customer acquisition.
For one, the company and its devices have a big existing customer base, she said. “Apple Pay already has the distribution, and so the BNPL option can be used anywhere Apple Pay is accepted.”
With Apple growing its financial offerings, at the same time it’s also enhancing e-commerce features. The company announced Apple Pay Order Tracking, where users can view and track receipts and online orders within their Apple Wallet. The features are similar to those Shopify currently offers in its customer-facing Shop app.
“I can see consolidation happening for a couple of reasons,” Glaspie-Lundstrom said. “First, cash flow is tight as we enter an economic downturn,” she said. Another factor is the increasing criticism that BNPL services have received for contributing to new credit line debts. Glaspie-Lundstrom said Apple Pay Later could improve BNPL on that front. “Integrating it into people’s digital wallets may create a more disciplined approach to paying installments down,” said Glaspie-Lundstrom.
Schulz said that Apple’s entry signals an inflection point within the buy now, pay later industry.
“Companies like Affirm, AfterPay and Klarna have done a great job of making the brands more recognizable and becoming the best-known players in the BNPL business,” Schulz said. “But as more and more giant companies step into the BNPL space, the competition is only going to get tougher and tougher.”


text:
What you need to know
- Fortnite's giant has finally awoken, and was ready to destroy the world of Fortnite as we know it.
- After teasing the completion of a gigantic pink robot, the mech woke up and engaged in a brutal fight, coming out victorious over the monster.
- With the fight over, Season 9 of Fortnite is all but over, with Season 10 starting up on August 1.
After teasing the completion of its construction, Fortnite's gigantic pink robot was finally put to use earlier today when it battled the giant monster in a dramatic fight that took place all over the map of Fortnite.
After shutting off most of the game modes and dropping players into a mode called The Final Showdown, players were able to freely watch Cattus - the name of the monster - and Doggus - the robot - duke it out. Things started off with Cattus attacking Fortnite's vault, located in Loot Lake, before Doggus appeared and began firing off some rockets. After some back and forth attacks, the two ended up flying off of the map and into the water before Doggus reappeared.
Although the battle looked over, the giant monster soon launched itself out of the waves and tore off an arm of the robot. Doggus was able to rebound by grabbing an orb out of the vault and delivering a vicious punch to the monster, and followed it up by heading to Neo Tilted and pulling a long sword out of the ground, stabbing Cattus to end the fight. Afterwards, the robot flossed - a staple in the Fortnite world - before saluting players and flying off, leaving the giant sword embedded in the monsters skeleton on the ground as a new area.
You can check out the full fight below, courtesy of YouTube user SkyV:
With the fight officially over, this essentially marks the end of Fortnite Season 9. With the overtime challenges out and the live event over, the only thing left to do is wait for Season 10, which should be coming next month. In the meantime, the Fortnite World Cup is set to take place next weekend, so there's always going to be something to do in the world of Fortnite. Fortnite's Season 9 is currently scheduled to end on August 1, and if you haven't finished up all of the challenges, make sure to head over and check out our guides for the previous weeks' challenges, and make sure to finish before it's too late.
Get the Fortnite experience
For those looking to play the worldwide phenomenon, Fortnite Battle Royale is available for free and can be played right now. Jump into some games, start collecting and building material, and compete against others to earn the coveted Victory Royale.
Take your gaming to the next level
Seagate 2TB Game Drive for PlayStation 4 ($88 at Amazon)
Games take up a bunch of hard drive space nowadays. Make sure you never have to worry about freeing up space again when the latest game or downloadable content releases.
Konky PlayStation 4 Charging Dock Stand ($10 at Amazon)
Having your controller die on you in the middle of a gaming session is rough, so make sure you never have that happen again, and keep them charging at all times.
Astro Gaming C40 TR Controller ($200 at Amazon)
A brand new entrant into the controller game, Astro aims to deliver a better way to play games with rear buttons, map-ability across the controller, and interchangeable analog sticks and d-pads.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Here's who NBA 2K21 thinks is going to win the NBA Finals
The NBA Finals are set to start on Wednesday, and with an intense matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, we've decided to see how the teams would fare a bit early, thanks to some simulations in NBA 2K21.
The Google Pixel 5 is official — here's what you need to know!
It's here. The Google Pixel 5. From the specs, pricing, release date, and more, here's literally everything you need to know!
Everything you need to know about the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G
The Pixel 4a is now available, the Pixel 4a 5G is coming soon, and we've rounded up everything you need to know about both phones. Let's dive in!
Crash Bandicoot, Watch Dogs, and more release for PS4 in October
The holiday season is almost here, and with it comes even bigger gaming releases. Here are some great games hitting the PS4 this month.


text:
Search For "ola"
Updated : 3 years, 10 months ago IST
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 1 (ANI): The Ola cab service on Monday issued a statement that the driver, who was accused of molestation by a woman, was terminated from the Ola platform as soon as the complaint from the customer was received.
New Delhi [India], Apr 24 (ANI): Taxi aggregator Ola on Monday announced the launch of 'Ola Partners League' - a unique virtual cricket game for its driver partners.
New Delhi [India], Apr 19 (ANI): Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Ola Money on Wednesday announced their partnership towards promoting a cashless digital economy as their integration will allow DMRC commuters to recharge their metro cards directly from the Ola Money app.
New Delhi [India], Apr 18 (ANI): The commuters in the Delhi-NCR region are in for a major problem today as the drivers of two app-based cab services Ola and Uber have threatened to go off roads for a day as a mark of protest against "low fares."
New Delhi [India], Apr. 7 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced the launching of a cab hailing app within the next three months for black and yellow taxis on the lines of taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber.
New Delhi [India], Apr 7 (ANI): Taxi aggregator Ola on Friday announced organizing of India's first ever and largest Auto Driver Partners' Mela - 'Ola Baasha Mela' in Chennai from April 8th to 10th April 2017.
New Delhi [India], Apr. 6 (ANI): Taxi and auto aggregator Ola on Thursday announced the launch of bikes on its app in Faridabad. With the launch of Ola bike, Ola is addressing last-mile connectivity by enabling reliable mobility in one of the leading industrial centers in North India.
New Delhi [India], Apr 5 (ANI): Largest hotel network OYO on Wednesday announced its partnership with Ola Money, the digital payment solution from Ola, India's most popular mobile app for transportation.
New Delhi [India], Apr 3 (ANI): Taxi aggregator Ola on Monday announced its effort to promote digital economy across the country as it integrated with Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to further simplify digital payment options for millions of custome
New Delhi [India], Mar 31 (ANI): Taxi aggregator Ola on Friday announced its tie-up with Pocket Aces to provide a wide range of digital content to Ola's connected ridesharing platform, Ola Play.
New Delhi [India], Mar 30 (ANI): India's most popular mobile app for transportation Ola BookMyShow, India's largest online entertainment ticketing platform on Thursday announced their exclusive partnership to enhance the entertainment experience of millions of users.
New Delhi [India], Mar 27 (ANI): Taxi aggregator Ola on Monday announced the launch of Ola Play, its connected car platform for ridesharing in Hyderabad.


text:
The week-long series will showcase blockchain companies, community organizations and startups and highlight the latest research in the world of cryptocurrency.
This year, the featured event will be the BlockSec Conference, the first virtual Web 3.0 cyber conference. The conference will focus on connecting pioneers, early believers and established opinion leaders. In addition, the conference will invite top experts, influencers, and strategists from across the world in Cybersecurity, FinTech, Banking, and Big Data to discuss the latest trends in the world of blockchain.
The day-long event will provide ground-breaking insights on the security use cases and mechanisms with technologies leading the Web 3.0 (Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things and 5G) evolution.
The conference will also feature demos, networking and expert discussions regarding the most important commercial developments, technical innovations, policy issues, and emerging threats.
Last year, the multi-series event convened 8,000+ attendees with a dozen-plus curated events. This year, since the event will be virtual, organizers are expecting hundreds of attendees from coast to coast
Join professionals, businesses, and investors at the world’s leading virtual blockchain conference. Grab your tickets here!
Featured image via Atlanta Blockchain Week.


text:
Australian companies have been recognised for their sustainability efforts at the 33rd annual Banksia National Sustainability Awards in Melbourne.
The award acknowledges individuals, communities, businesses and governments for their innovation and excellence in environmental and social stewardship.
Across 15 categories, Planet Protector Packaging bagged the Gold Banksia Award and Agriculture and Regional Development Award for developing a sustainable packaging alternative that does not harm the planet.
The company’s Woolpack is proving to reduce polystyrene derivatives and wool waste from landfills and can be used for temperature-sensitive foods, seafood, wine and pharmaceuticals.
Officeworks won the Large Business Transformation Award for its actions in reducing carbon emissions and waste generation across its entire supply chain. Since 2015, the company has reduced its carbon emissions by 32 per cent, diverting 1474 tonnes of unwanted products from landfills, recycling 91 per cent of its operational waste and launching its Greener Choices range to help customers shop more sustainably.
The Ignite Award was given to Samsara Eco, an enviro-tech company that has developed an enzyme-based technology that can infinitely recycle plastic waste.
The Ethical Sourcing Award was won by Zenna Latex Mattress for providing sleep products in a sustainable and alternative way.
The event was attended by 350 guests and Australia’s chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley shared her insights on the scope for sustainable development in Australia.


text:
There's a serious spinach shortage happening right now
It's a real thing.
I've noticed a serious lack of spinach in my local supermarkets, SuperValu and Lidl, since January.
No matter what time of day you pop in, certain veg shelves are looking forlorn without the iron-laden green stuff, expect of course for kale, you can get it in abundance.
Anyway, four weeks on and the spinach shortage is in full swing with shops in the UK starting to ration it.
Drought in Spain have had a negative impact on crops there while Turkey and Greece have also had supplies ruined by poor weather conditions.
Although the situation isn't that bad here (yet), it's still next to impossible to get a bag of spinach, in Dublin anyway. Lettuce is still easy enough obtain but then, it's not quite the same in a green smoothie.
Dieter Lloyd, from the British Leafy Salads Association, spoke to the BBC about the spinach situation and warned that this shortage could continue for another couple of months.
Lloyd explained that Southern Spain is responsible for 80% of the spinach bought by the European Union and although some stock is coming in, a number of countries are vying to buy the coveted healthy greens.
There's no end in sight yet either with the expert explaining that the salad drought could continue for some time.
"This won't solve itself this month or next. For this season, their crop has been devastated".
People are pretty p*ssed off too.
The spinach shortage makes me so sad
— Hollie (@Holliejade3) February 3, 2017
A shortage of spinach there better not be
— cats glitter (@catsglitter) February 3, 2017
This spinach shortage is really affecting me and my happiness. In other news, maybe I should reevaluate my life.
— Char Roskop (@Charfar_x) February 2, 2017
What's with the spinach shortage in supermarkets lately seriously?
— Feorgia Glude (@kal0psia_) February 1, 2017


text:
Nestlé Waters North America announced it has signed an agreement with recycled PET plastic (rPET) supplier CarbonLITE and that CarbonLITE will expand its U.S. operations by building a third facility in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania.
The new contract builds upon Nestlé Waters’ existing relationship with CarbonLITE, one of the largest producers of food-grade, post-consumer rPET and allows the beverage company to further expand use of recycled materials in its packaging. The company currently purchases rPET from CarbonLITE’s existing facilities in California and Texas.
“We are pleased that CarbonLITE will be locating a facility in a region important to our manufacturing footprint,” said Bill Trackim, vice president and head of supply chain and procurement at Nestlé Waters North America, in a statement. “Being able to purchase rPET in the area helps us better support the regional economy while promoting environmental sustainability through the use of renewable and recyclable materials in our packaging.”
CarbonLITE anticipates the facility will be in full production by early 2020 and will have the ability to recycle more than 2 billion post-consumer bottles a year. The new 200,000-square-foot processing facility is anticipated to save 60,000 tons of carbon annually by using post-consumer materials and produce 80 million pounds per year of food-grade rPET pellets.
“Nestlé Waters continues to be a leader in their sustainability efforts,” said Leon Farahnik, chairman of CarbonLITE Industries, in a statement. “We are proud to have grown with them for the past seven years and proud to expand our relationship in our state-of-the-art facility in Pennsylvania."
Nestlé Waters, which has two bottling facilities in the Lehigh Valley, uses recycled plastic in a number of its brands including Nestlé Pure Life and Deer Park, which are bottled locally. The company has been increasing the amount of rPET it uses in its packaging since 2011, and in February 2018, Nestlé Waters launched a 700 milliliter Nestlé Pure Life bottle made of 100 percent rPET.


text:
THE capacity of the port of Walvis Bay is expected to grow as a result of ongoing investment projects, therefore greater attention is required in managing international logistics sustainably.
This is to ensure that Namibia becomes a logistics hub for the Southern African Development Community region by 2025.
The first-ever Namibia state of logistics (NSoL) report for 2018 released by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group on Tuesday said the growth trajectory of the main components of the gross domestic product more or less followed a similar path.
It indicated that 2018 throughput at the port of Walvis Bay showed improvement of volumes in September, surpassing 2017 figures by 6 159 metric tonnes.
This represents a significant increase of 9,2% from 66 769 tonnes in September 2017 to 72 928 tonnes in September 2018. Namibia's performance in areas such as trade, community involvement, documents, automation and information availability improved over the 2015-2017 period, although there was a decline in appeals procedures as well as in governance and impartiality, based on the trade facilitation indicators.
The report also highlighted that the port of Walvis Bay handled 93,1% of total cargo (gross tonnage) transiting to and from neighbouring countries in 2017 with Zambia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and Zimbabwe being the main markets for transit cargo by volume.
Zambia was the dominant market for transit cargo, and accounted for 51,8% of all inbound transit cargo via the port in 2017, up from 47,9% in 2016, which represents a 50,9% increase in the volume of imports to that country. Similarly, Zambian exports comprising mostly copper and wood products accounted for 85,7% of total outbound transit cargo by volume (metric tonnes), up from 72,5% in 2016.
The report also said Namibia's railway network transports approximately 1,2 billion tonnes of cargo annually.


text:
Are merchants against mobile?
Mobile payments have had a slow start in most of the world, especially if they involve a retailer needing to take on board a new point of sale system to begin accepting them. With the rise of mobiles and tablets as the generally preferred method of shopping online, why haven’t brick and mortar merchants started adopting them more widely? In fact, why has it taken Apple and its Apple Pay service to convince them that maybe mobile payments through NFC are the future?
The truth is, when you look at the statistics, users do want to use NFC to make payments. And, now that mobile carriers don’t hold the keys to these transactions thanks to Host Card Emulation advancements, the amount of apps that a user can now make use of for mobile payments has grown too. Visa and MasterCard contactless cards are now accepted on London transport, and you can pay via mobile wallets for that too. And it’s doing well, with over one million uses of it in a week since launch – and Oyster cards are quite prevelant with London commuters, so it’s proof contactless is a service people will happily use.
Indeed, speaking to Luis Uguina, head of technology and digital banking at BBVA, during our webinar on Rebuilding the Mobile Wallet, the results of the BBVA mobile wallet, BBVA Compass, show some incredibly interesting results around how eager customers are to use a mobile payments solution. “We launched [BBVA Compass] in January this year and so far we have near half a million [unique downloads] with 400,000 active users using it every week,” said Uguina. “We are processing more than 2.5 million transactions per month, especially in Europe where the contactless footprint is much higher than in the United States.
“In somewhere like Spain, our contactless penetration is 67 per cent,” he continued, “with cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, or many others with 90 per cent of market penetration in the country and many countries in the north of Europe with near 100 per cent of the market.”
So, it’s almost a no-brainer that contactless is something that customers really want to be using. So what’s the problem?
Well, it seems that it could be merchants blocking progression, but not for reasons you may expect. It seems that the issue is mostly due to the fractured nature of the mobile payments industry, there needs to be a single vision for the merchant to get behind without having multiple POS devices.
“The whole ecosystem needs to work in the same direction to ensure we have one single experience, its not just in the point of sale, but from the merchants perspective,” explained Luis. “The customer can use fingerprint or input a pin, whatever. But a merchant needs to understand the meaning of a new payment system and they need to be sure they are going to have the money in their account at the end of the day.”
It’s at this point Dave Birch, Director at Consult Hyperion, gave his thoughts on merchant contribution and issues with mobile payments; “It’s also true that some of the merchants haven’t thought how these things are going to work. I saw some messages coming back from the States yesterday saying that it was ridiculous that at some merchants you’d tap and pay with your phone – which is terrific – but you’d still have to wait and sign some pad somewhere, and then press some buttons to say it was going to be credit or debit, or you were or weren’t going to donate a dollar to charity. The merchants do have to make some effort if they’re going to make a great customer experience, because it means they have to make reorganise the experience at point of sale.
“This is why I suspect that for any merchants it’s going to be a more attractive strategy to push people into [their] app and away from point of sale, so they don’t have to spend money on upgrading the point of sale systems or installing them” he continued.
Indeed, after Dave explained how the shopping situation worked in Waitrose with self-scanners – and how easy it could be converted into a mobile payments system – it shows that there’s an incredibly easy way to deliver a great customer experience without needing to invest in new POS terminals and absurd infrastructure too. There’s an easy enough solution to it all.
“The merchant, the typical retailer cares about selling more stuff, and the thing that helps them sell more stuff is loyalty, and couponing, and customer recognition – these kind of things,” explained Dave. “They all work very well in a wallet, the idea of a wallet as a central, coordinating medium for all of these things is quite strong. And that again points to the wallet as a common infrastructure rather than as an app in its own right.”
It’s a difficult question to answer, who is responsible? It’s clear it’s not the consumer, that’s for sure.
Click below to listen to the full interview with Luis and Dave about mobile wallets, payments and what the future could hold for the payments industry.


text:
Every now and then, some company shut down without warning for a product or service that ignored by most people. Such seems to be the case with Microsoft’s Docs.com document sharing service, which is being shut down after a little more than two years. Microsoft posted a bulletin that displays at the top of the site’s home page indicating that the service will officially shut down on December 15, 2017.
Microsoft’s message :
“We are hereby advising all users to move their existing Docs.com content to other file storage and sharing platforms as soon as possible”
When Microsoft purchased LinkedIn last year, it inherited the popular SlideShare service that also hosts Word, PowerPoint, and PDF documents to share publicly with other users. According to Microsoft, SlideShare has an audience of 70 million professionals, making it a vastly more meaningful platform than Docs.com. In addition, Microsoft has its OneDrive cloud storage service. Microsoft also has its Sway service that can be used for publishing multimedia presentations.
Until today, you’ll be able to access your existing documents that are stored there but you won’t be able to upload new documents and won’t be able to create a new Docs.com account. Existing users can sign into Docs.com and have their content automatically backed up to OneDrive.


text:
Eatbeat: Food scores big during Super Bowl Sunday
Chicken wings expected to be popular on Sunday.
It’s no wonder the chickens seem nervous.
Chicken wings will have their day on Super Bowl Sunday. They are selling well at area markets. And they are ready at restaurants for customers who want delivery.
Lots of wings and small cocktail wieners have been moving out of Hugo’s on South Washington Street. Long-time meat department manager Ryan Holland says customers have been picking up frozen wings as well as small cocktail wieners. And frozen shrimp.
Hamburger for making chili and brats also is going out.
While the eating scene on Sunday will be around home television sets on Sunday, restaurants are ready. And delivery services are standing by.
Pizza will be waiting at the Italian Moon on South Washington Street, according to Brent Moens.
While the restaurant is closed inside Monday and Tuesday, it is open for full-time business Wednesday through Sunday. The crew at “the Moon” will be waiting with pizza, submarine sandwiches – and lots of chicken wings.
At the Blue Moose, traditional chicken wings made in house will be waiting on Super Bowl Sunday – along with the full and varied menu.
Chicken strips and fries, onion rings and patty melt burgers. They are on the Sunday morning 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. layout at nearby Forest River Café. Kim Sass, who operates the café, says some customers call in orders. Then they come and pick them up.
At the Irishman’s Shanty, a small café in nearby Crookston, chili – always a specialty – will be waiting on Super Bowl Sunday. Paul Gregg, whose family has operated the Shanty since 1979, says it is a tradition along with wings and bar snacks.
When all is said and done, coronavirus probably will keep all Sunday Super Bowl gatherings to a minimum.
However, there is a need for something sweet to finish off the football game – no matter whose team wins! So the Eatbeat recommends baking the following plain and simple oatmeal cookies.
Cream together ¾ cup brown sugar, ¾ cup white sugar, ½ cup margarine, ½ cup butter, 2 eggs, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon soda, 2¼ cup flour, 1¼ cup regular oatmeal, ½ cup sour milk or orange juice, 1 tablespoon cream, ½ cup raisins (whole or ground), ½ cup nuts
Cream first five ingredients. Mix spices and soda with flour and oatmeal and add alternately with the milk and cream to batter. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop on cookie sheet with a teaspoon. Bake at 350 degrees on cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
This recipe appears in an anniversary cookbook 1908 to 1983 printed by Trinity Lutheran Church of Bismarck.
Reach Marilyn Hagerty at email@example.com .


text:
Caption: Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Thailand’s Industry Minister, was one of many visitors to the Thai Union booth at Thailand Industry Expo 2019
18 July 2019, Bangkok – Thai Union Group PCL has showcased two of its innovative seafood products at Thailand Industry Expo 2019 - yellowfin tuna slices and tuna infusion.
Saran Rattanarungruengchai, General Manager – Emerging Markets at Thai Union, presented the award-winning yellowfin tuna slices to Thailand’s Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and Pasu Loharjun, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry during their visit to the Thai Union booth after the opening ceremony.
Thai Union’s yellowfin tuna slices, the world’s first pre-sliced, pre-seasoned tuna made from whole yellowfin tuna loins, received the 2018 Seafood Excellence Award in the category of Best New Foodservice Product category at the Boston Seafood Expo. Developed to give tuna-loving deli users a healthier, convenient alternative to traditional luncheon meats, they are perfect for upscale sandwiches, salads, charcuterie and cold-cut platters.
ABOUT THAI UNION GROUP
Thai Union Group PCL is the world’s seafood leader bringing high quality, healthy, tasty and innovative seafood products to customers across the world for more than 40 years.
Today, Thai Union is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products with annual sales exceeding THB 133.3 billion (US$ 4.1 billion) and a global workforce of over 47,000 people who are dedicated to pioneering sustainable, innovative seafood products.
The company’s global brand portfolio includes market-leading international brands such as Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch and Thai-leading brands SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.
As a company committed to innovation and globally responsible behavior, Thai Union is proud to be a member of the United Nations Global Compact, and a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). In 2015, Thai Union introduced its SeaChange® sustainability strategy. Find out more at seachangesustainability.org. Thai Union’s on-going work on sustainability issues was recognized in 2018 by being ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, achieving a 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score. Thai Union has now been named to the DJSI for five consecutive years. Thai Union was also named to the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for the third straight year in 2018.
M: +66.63.231.0385 +66.81.922.5135


text:
Stalemate for US Dollar-Canadian Dollar bulls and bears .
As the trading week gets on its way, USD/CAD is up to 1.3519, after closing yesterday at zero. Overall, a 0% move or 13,519 pips this week. (Start trading US Dollar-Canadian Dollar at FXTM today).
At the same time, United States Services PMI came out at 50.2, while a consensus of analysts was expecting 50.6. Data for Canada Core Retail Sales published Friday came out at 1%, beating projections of 0.5% and showing improvement over the preceding figure of -0.7%. Canada Retail Sales released earlier showed a marked improvement to 0.3% from the preceding data of 0.1%, but fell short of the 0.4% figure forecast by a consensus of market analysts. United States Existing Home Sales (Aug) released Thursday with a figure of 4 million, while the previous figure was 4 million. Canada New Housing Price Index (MoM) (Aug) came out at 0.1, while a consensus of analysts was expecting zero.
Outlook for rest of the week: Positive indicators for US Dollar-Canadian Dollar are expected going forward as today at 12:30 UTC data for United States Core Durable Goods Orders will be released, with an expected decline to 0.1% from the preceding figure of 0.4%.
Furthermore, the market is looking at Canada GDP is projected to outperform its last figure with 0%. It previously stood at -0.2%; data will be released Friday. Canada GDP is expected Friday.


text:
Saturday, 2 November 2013
Gigya, released some new facts about social-login provider for large enterprises such as Verizon, Pepsi and ABC. And it was found that people use their Facebook identity more often than those of other social networks to log in to third-party app and website. Data collected over Q3 from the company's more than 700 clients found that those who have social logins use Facebook 51% of time, followed by Google+ (26%) and Yahoo (18%). Twitter was a distant fourth at only 4%.
The biggest benefit for being the social login of choice is staying power, said Gigya CEO Patrick Salyer. "It's a way for [social networks] to create very long-term relevancy with users," he explained. "Whatever you're using as your authentication login, that is going to be a service you continue to maintain and use possibly years and years from now."
More and more users are choosing to log in with social accounts they already have because it's more convenient than creating a new username and password for each stop you make on the web, Salyer said.
This login share for Facebook is important to the company's long-term plans, particularly around mobile. Facebook's share of mobile logins is at 66%, Gigya found, and the social network seems to be the login of choice in many areas outside the United States and Europe. In South America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific, Facebook's login share was higher than 70%, compared to only 47% in the U.S.
Facebook fully implemented two-step login permissions in August, aiming to encourage more users to sign in with their Facebook identity by better explaining the data and information to which third-party apps and websites have access.
As of August 2013, Facebook had more than 850 million login events per month.


text:
Sparkle, a digital platform providing financial, lifestyle and business support services to Nigerians around the world, is set to launch its loan services by September.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sparkle, Mr. Uzoma Dozie, said the fintech bank offers an array of services from flexible payments and savings to analytics via its Android and iOS mobile application. Sparkle allows users to track daily, weekly, and monthly spending patterns, with detailed breakdown by category.
According to him, one of its features, Sparkle Stash, allows users save towards specific goals. Users can make purchases online and in-person with both Sparkle physical and virtual cards.They can also make split payments, make utilities and bill payments, and there is SparklePay which lets users send money to people without knowing their account numbers.
Dozie explained that Sparkle, which has been in operations for over a year, was launched to provide banking services digitally to Nigerians adding that it is focusing on two segments; individuals and small businesses.
“We are different from other competitors with our solution and our leadership team which has the working experience of operating in a traditional bank as well as partnerships with Visa, Microsoft, Google and PwC. We want to make digital banking completely simple from how transactions are done, provide banking services to small businesses, help them save as well as help them to be compliant with tax laws in Nigeria and simply put, we are using this as a form of transforming transactions into better solutions.
“So, we took the decision that we are not only going to build a solution but tie it around the customer and secondly it was also important that we partner with people to establish trust. The fact that we also have a banking license means that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deemed us trustworthy to carry out these services,” he said.
Dozie said the firm has over 25,000 customers and believes that due to the strategic partnerships it has, the customer base segment could hit six figures before the end of the year as the management will invest in creating awareness about the brand.
“I think we have done fantastically well and like a year ago, nobody knew us but today we are mentioned as one of available digital banks. We are funded and supported by a group of people and so for us to have built that customer base and strategic partnerships shows that we are building a foundation and a platform that will connect us to our customers’ journey. We believe that we should be having about a six-digit area as regards customer base before the end of this year,” he said.
“Sparkle will start its loan services by the beginning of September but we could have started earlier but then we will want to build something that allows us to lend differently to people and we want to lend at a competitive price and not just the typical ones in banks. We want to be as fast as financial banks but a fraction of what they charge and we want to be cheaper with our loan rate and also lower the cost of borrowing,” he added.


text:
The Cummins name is synonymous with diesel. Buy a Peterbilt semi-tractor – get a Cummins engine. Want a Ram heavy-duty pickup truck? There’s a Cummins option. Cummins diesel engines power locomotives, boats, buses, RVs and dump trucks.
So why is Cummins developing vehicles such as the prototype Class 7 “urban hauler” electric tractor unveiled last week at the company’s technical center in Columbus, Ind.?
It’s a matter of keeping up with customer demands and a changing marketplace, said Julie Furber, executive director of electrification business development for Cummins. Furber sat down with Trucks.com at the company’s nearby headquarters and explained how customer demand, the threat of diesel bans and a push for cleaner air are fueling the company’s push into electric trucks.
Here’s an edited version of the conversation:
Britain and France plan to ban the sale of diesel-powered cars by 2040. Will we see similar bans for diesel-powered heavy-duty trucks as well?
There will be a push eventually. It’s most likely that it will be the cities that start off by saying no diesel within city limits. So then you start to look at things like range extenders, where maybe the vehicle can run on battery power for maybe 20 miles while it’s in city limits. I think it’s hard to say that if they’ve done it for cars, they won’t extend that out to trucks.
California has already said in the ports they are going to move to zero emissions.
Are we about to see the start of a long-term decline in the use of diesel as a transport fuel?
If regulation comes to play, I think you will see a decrease. But I think it’s going to be over a long period. We definitely see diesel and natural gas as having a place for many decades to come. We will see definite changes in the cities. It’s going to be hard to beat a diesel powertrain for quite a long time to come in terms of cost and productivity and effectiveness.
Maybe that’s why at Cummins we feel well-positioned because we can offer the full portfolio of products. We can offer the customer a choice of what you want and what you need rather than I am going to make you have what I have because it’s the only thing I’ve got. The customer gets what is the best thing for them to do their job.
For a long time, I think you are going to see companies that have a mixture of products in their fleets. If you are a truck fleet and you’ve got trucks operating in the inner cities, then a fully electric powertrain may be exactly what you need and you may have to because regulations force you. If you are not in the city, then some kind of hybrid range-extended product might be right. If you run state to state, probably a diesel or a natural gas vehicle will be the right thing for you.
Do you see a market for heavy-duty electric trucks, and if so, how will it develop?
Absolutely. If you analyze the Class 8 market, there are some applications where we are very close. We are almost, or even, there from a total cost of ownership perspective. There would be applications where the truck perhaps goes 100 miles per day. The obvious one that comes to mind is port trucks, those drayage trucks, where they are not running long distances, they are returning to a fixed point so the charging infrastructure isn’t an issue, and also the size and weight of the batteries given today’s technology is suitable for them to carry their payload.
I think it will be a while before we see an electric line-haul truck that’s going 600 miles a day. The battery and power density isn’t quite there because you have to have a huge battery, the cost is still somewhat prohibitive and the charging infrastructure’s not ready.
Over time, there’s no doubt that the technology is going to get cheaper, the energy density will improve and charging infrastructure will get established. It will then make more regional haul routes more viable. We are years away from viability in the line-haul application.
What is Cummins’ electric powertrain strategy?
We are trying to establish Cummins as the leading provider of electrified power in all of the markets we serve. We go from anything from on-highway, off-highway, power generation, really, we have been working on electrification for many years, but it’s only just now – this year – that we’ve made it a commercial enterprise in its own right.
We are trying to figure out what products we need to commercialize and how quickly and when. We are trying to get a really good grasp of this part of the [electrification] market and how quickly it will move and what the key tipping points are for the different markets.
We are trying to develop capabilities in different technologies, and we are doing that by organic development, but also inorganically, so we are actively looking for the right acquisitions and partnerships to enhance that and speed up how quickly we can get to market. We have some programs underway already that are going to launch product by 2019. And we are actively trying to sign up customers.
Do you have a customer base yet?
We will launch our first fully electric powertrain in 2019. That’s going to be predominately aimed at the bus market – for urban transit. But quite quickly we will be able to modify it to service other markets. One that’s coming out really quickly is the terminal tractor market. In a fixed environment, loading trailers around, that’s another market we see developing quite quickly.
We have interest, but we aren’t selling today. We have customers that we are working with but aren’t public with them. We are still working through some of the details with them.
The whole market’s in a position today where customers are out there just trying out the new technology. Nobody’s ordering thousands of units yet. Some of the bus transit authorities are starting to put electric vehicles into their bids, but right up to now, people have been adding one or two vehicles they can test out as prototypes.
People want to touch and smell and feel it and get a feel for what it’s like.


text:
Wildlife commissioners in Colorado have rejected a petition calling for a ban to bobcat hunting, despite the number of animals killed for coat-makers in Asia soaring in recent years.
A residents’ petition called for the ban after licensed hunters killed 1,978 bobcats last year alone – a huge increase on the 680 killed in 2004.
It is believed that most of the bobcats are killed for pelts – contributing to the 30,000 bobcat pelts which are exported by the US every year.
Bobcat fur coats cost tens of thousands of dollars in Russia and China. Recent auctions saw each bobcat pelt fetch between $189 to $720 for local hunters. Hunting groups objected the petition.
Commissioners dismissed the motion as they said there was no evidence that the level of hunting was harmful to the species as a whole.
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife hearing considered both sides of the argument, with residents defending their rights to kill bobcats for their pelts as a source of income.
The Denver Post reported on the hearing, where the Humane Society’s state chapter president Aubyn Royall said: “We believe bobcats should be protected.”
The petition to ban bobcat hunting was signed 208,000 times, but the commission remarked that ‘we do not believe there is adequate scientific evidence to support the petition’.
Commissioner Robert Bray supported the rejection. The Denver Post quoted his summary: “We must manage all wildlife. There’s no scientific evidence that anything we are doing (is hurting the species). Our professionals are helping bobcats, not hurting bobcats.
“We must all strive to be ethical in our manners of take,” he added.
What do you think of bobcat hunting? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 19th June 2020
All sorts of plant-based foods and products will be up for sale at this summer’s Vegan Farmers’ Market in Vancouver. Vancouver is gearing to launch the city’s first Vegan Farmers Market on 27 June at Vancouver’s Concord Community Park. The event will operate right through summer for eight full Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 …
- Charlotte Coates
- 13th January 2020
Perfume has the power to transport you. A favourite scent can remind you of many things – conjuring up the bliss of a relaxing holiday, the comfort of home or even a butterfly-filled first date. There are so many wonderful scents to choose from, no matter if you prefer musky notes, floral hints or fruity …
All the quizzes you love to binge!
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …


text:
Scott Heim has been named president of Middleby Ventless Solutions. In his new role Heim will lead the efforts of all of the Middleby commercial brands with ventless cooking solutions. His responsibilities will include sales and marketing, new product development and approvals as well as the development of training tools. Heim also will continue in his role as president of Evo America.
Middleby ventless equipment includes product from Evo, TurboChef, Blodgett, PerfectFry, Wells and CookTek.
Heim joined Evo in 2012, where he has directed product development work in the ventless griddle, plancha and cooktop segments. Evo became part of the Middleby portfolio companies in a deal announced earlier this year.
Ventless equipment remains an emerging factor in today’s foodservice industry. This technology continues to draw the attention of foodservice operators and designers alike as they explore flexible ways to bring consumers closer to the cooking and keep menus fresh.


text:
The big news this week is that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a decision rewriting the rules on sales tax for online retailers. Now states can collect sales tax on orders shipped to their state, even if the retailer has no physical presence in that state. For details and analysis, take a listen to the latest episode of the Cloud Accounting Podcast.
I’m back today from SuiteWorld 2018 in Las Vegas. For those who couldn’t make it to SuiteWorld (or those who skipped the keynote to sleep in), I’ve summarized my key takeaways regarding new NetSuite products and future releases.


text:
Marijuana-business Q&A and more at North Highline Unincorporated Area Council’s November meeting
By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor
What’s been a concern for a long time – the concentration of marijuana stores in North Highline – was aired Thursday night at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting, with a panel of state and county reps answering questions.
MARIJUANA DISCUSSION: Panelists were State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, regulations analyst Frank O’Dell, enforcement Capt. Tim Thompson, and licensing supervisor Mistie Jones from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board; Karen Freeman from the King County Executive’s office; associate planner Jake Tracy and planner Kevin LeClair from the county planning department.
“You’re saturated with the retail stores,” O’Dell acknowledged in response to the opening question by NHUAC president Liz Giba about how this area compares to others in terms of the presence of marijuana businesses. Nine of the 17 unincorporated-area licensees are in North Highline, O’Dell said. “What sticks out like a sore thumb is that you have more than 50 percent of the retail stores in unincorporated King County in this community.”
Why is that?
“Because the license applicants chose this community,” O’Dell said.
Tracy explained that retail businesses are allowed in two zones. Over the years, King County has lost some of those zones as unincorporated areas have become parts of cities. So this area is the largest remaining in that zoning class. Also, landlords’ willingness to rent to these types of businesses can be a factor, he said.
Next question – how does the density of those businesses compare to nearby areas such as Burien and West Seattle? (We know the latter has two. Burien has two, someone from the audience said.) O’Dell said the state originally planned to allocate 334 licenses for stores. Then a bill passed asking LCB to look into more licenses, so “the board decided to add 222 additional, for 556 total.” Some cities were “allocated specific numbers,” he said, “so they won’t all congregate in one specific area.”
Cities and counties can impose their own limits on how many stores, O’Dell said after a back-and-forth about allotment of licenses per specific areas.
“So shouldn’t someone who wants to open a store get a license from the state before applying to the county?” asked Giba.
O’Dell said you would think – but there’s no state law that says they have to get the state license first. Tracy said that multiple jurisdictions are often involved in situations where someone is pursuing a new enterprise – like a development project, for example. He also said that the county does include “community business zones” that could be eligible for marijuana stores, in Fall City, for example.
The possibility of expanding the areas is under study by the County Council, an attendee pointed out.
Freeman explained, “When the county took a look at where they wanted to make this use available, the zones they chose were community business and regional. Then we heard from the community a concern about the number of stores, so we put in a new buffer. The council said, let’s take a look at other zones and have a study. That study is under way.” Yes, but that study was due last December, per an attendee. Freeman said the delay was because it was under the purview of a fee-funded department.
Another attendee said he’s visited local marijuana stores and is “pretty impressed by how they work,” but the concentration bothers him because it’s potentially affecting property values and the crime rate. “You can’t have it all in one concentration area, which isn’t good for the community.”
Freeman said that’s what the “buffer” was about. LeClair elaborated on it, saying that after the businesses clustered in North Highline and Skyway/West Hill, the council said that no two businesses can open within 1,000 feet of each other (though the existing ones are grandfathered – “we can’t put legitimate legal businesses out of business (because of this) unintended consequence”).
Can marijuana excise tax be used for more research or something else to alleviate the situation? an attendee asked. Freeman said that the money received from that tax goes to the King County Sheriff’s Office, as it has to be used for enforcement-related activities. How much money does it generate? asked Giba. “$1.1 million to unincorporated King County in the most recent fiscal year,” said O’Dell.
NHUAC vice president Barbara Dobkin said she had heard the Sheriff’s Office say the money went to cover part of its budget gap, not to fund anything new. Freeman used that opportunity to mention the archaic system of how the county is funded.
If money is supposed to be generated by permit fees from projects, another attendee said, why are some projects being built without permits, according to online records (or lack of them)?
LeClair said, “The state of things with code enforcement, which is what you are talking about … The great majority … do the right thing and get permits when it’s required. There’s going to be people who don’t. We don’t have enforcement officers rolling around the streets looking at projects saying, did they get a permit or not?” If you know of something without a permit, tell the county, he urged. Freeman echoed that the county expects residents to be their partners in flagging things like this.
Dobkin then brought up a past meeting at which they were told that White Center wasn’t going to have any marijuana stores, and then something changed and the community wasn’t told, before all the stores started popping up.
Couldn’t the stores be taxed to help pay for enforcement and other needs? someone asked. That wasn’t directly answered.
Next question was for Rep. Fitzgibbon. Could he introduce legislation that could affect “this particular situation where King County says our hands are tied… and yet we have these very disproportionate uses … going on?”
Fitzgibbon said theoretically a state law could be passed to close some of those businesses but he thinks it would be very difficult if they are up and running and following the law. He said he thinks it likely that some of them will eventually go out of business, and because of the buffer law, they won’t be replaced. (It was pointed out later that a store can change hands, and if it’s not closed for more than six months in the meantime, it can reopen.) Fitzgibbon also wondered if the state could set aside the money generated by White Center to be used for the needs of White Center – instead of having KCSO use it to cover a budget gap, he said he thinks it would have been great for it to have been used to hire extra deputies for the area. But “my preferred option would be just to get them more money,” and there could be multiple ways to do that.
Tracy added that if a store closes for at least 6 months, it will no longer be “vested” and can’t reopen in that location. He too agreed “the number probably will go down over the years.”
The robberies at the local shops and the “cost to the community” was brought up; nobody on the panel had stats on that, though Giba recounted the robberies that had been reported in recent months. “But to be fair, 7-11 in Top Hat has been robbed,” pointed out an attendee.
LeClair asked O’Dell if there’s a differentiation between stores with and without medical endorsements. Short answer, no.
Another attendee wondered about the local stores’ security.
Capt. Thompson said every retail licensee has requirements for alarms and surveillance cameras, as well as “quarantine areas” with 24/7 surveillance. “When you hear about robberies, first thing the Sheriff’s Office does is pull that video – that’s helped catch a lot of (suspects) … but a lot of these are smash and grab type things,” he said. O’Dell said that the stores are required to keep their security video for at least 45 days. And if you have suggestions for more security rules, you can send those comments to the state.
Were liquor stores ever this concentrated? someone asked. Rep. Fitzgibbon said, not the state-run stores, but cannabis stores are privately operated and so go into competition with each other. He said in retrospect, the buffer would have been good to have from the start.
The discussion also veered back into history – including the unregulated medical-marijuana “dispensary” days. Now, as Fitzgibbon explained, there’s just one category of store, but it can get a “medical endorsement”; there are tougher rules for people’s eligibility for medical-grade products. The bill was passed just two years ago so Fitzgibbon says it would be good to get feedback on how the prescribing process is going.
So if marijuana is legal in general, why do you need a medical-marijuana card? For one, patients don’t pay the taxes for their medicine, “but we weren’t just going to grant that tax break for everybody,” Rep. Fitzgibbon explained. Also, patients are allowed to grow some at home.
What happens to the marijuana stores open now, if North Highline is annexed? Freeman explained that Seattle is the only entity that is currently eligible to annex the area, since Burien removed it from their potential annexation area. She said Seattle continues to “work on an annexation proposal.” But now Seattle is on the brink of another mayoral change, and, she said that city staffer Kenny Pittman continues working on a proposal that would be up to voters to decide the fate of.
Giba brought up the case of the marijuana-production/processing facility that for a while was proposed for the lower level of the building where Beer Star, Li’l Woody’s, and CTO are now open. LeClair said that they had to seek a “conditional use permit” because of the size of the area of the building they were proposing using for marijuana drying. Giba said they only found out because of a mailing to “property owners within 500 feet.” She notes that most property owners in the area are not community members, so “much of the community was not notified.” Wouldn’t 1,000-foot notification be better? LeClair said he thought that’s a good suggestion, but “it just wasn’t something we thought to do at the time. … (but) as evidenced by the amount of feedback we got, people heard about it.” Dobkin said, “People heard about it because we spread the word.” The county published official notice in two “newspapers,” said LeClair, and they have notices online. (Still not high visibility, it was noted.)
The project eventually couldn’t go forward because it was too close to a school, Giba noted – the nearby businesses that cater to families, such as Full Tilt Ice Cream and Southgate Roller Rink, didn’t factor into it, but, she thinks, should have. Rep. Fitzgibbon says there certainly could be legislative discussion of changes to the buffer zone. The LCB’s O’Dell said that Full Tilt didn’t qualify as an “arcade,” though it has games, so didn’t fall under rules relating to distance between marijuana businesses and those types of facilities.
But Fitzgibbon pointed out that the buffers already existing mean that marijuana businesses are only allowed in certain areas, which has led to concentrations such as SODO.
An attendee asked about the huge mixed-use project being built in Top Hat on the former supermarket site. LeClair talked about how long that site had remained empty and how much the county wanted to see it be redeveloped. And, he told someone else who asked, its retail can’t have marijuana stores because that would be within the 1,000-foot buffer of the existing stores.
Toward the end of the discussion, there was more talk about the distribution of stores around King County. Freeman pointed out that some cities banned them altogether – and can’t be forced to accept them. And again, she noted that urban, unincorporated King County is now a relatively small area, “and that’s part of the issue.” Giba wondered if King County could have appealed the state’s designated allocation of stores. “No,” said O’Dell. She also said it was a lot of time and trouble to pursue an appeal in the case of the marijuana-processing facility without knowing that it didn’t have a state license anyway – a license without which it couldn’t operate, but there was no requirement that it get the license. It was a lot of wasted time and trouble for the applicant, too, said LeClair: “We had (staffers) processing plans that were never going to come to fruition,” since the applicant said they were willing to take the risk. “I’m sorry the community had to go through the trouble … but from our standards we felt they met the criteria.”
“But they didn’t tell us until the late afternoon before the pre-hearing conference with the hearing examiner,” protested Giba.
“Same here,” said LeClair. (Apparently the applicant thought they would have been getting a license transferred from Enumclaw.)
Freeman promised to take the concerns back regarding possible changes to the process.
Dobkin asked her about the county continuing to allow densification despite saying it doesn’t have the services to support density in unincorporated urban areas like this.
“We don’t build,” said Freeman.
“But you permit,” said Dobkin.
“But you are an urban area,” retorted Freeman. “… the county’s zoning and our processes and administrative rules are designed at rural levels, that’s what we do. I hear you. (But) until urban unincorporated areas get to 50 + 1” (in favor of annexing to a city) “we are stuck in this very uncomfortable situation.”
The question came back around again, what exactly does marijuana tax money pay for, and do tax dollars generated in North Highline, for example, get spent specifically in North Highline? Enforcement is the stipulation for what the money goes toward, but exactly what “enforcement” means, is up to the local recipient – the King County Sheriff’s Office, in this case, and they decide “where to put those dollars,” Freeman said, as well as what the money goes toward.
Also at Thursday night’s meeting:
COALITION FOR DRUG-FREE YOUTH: The coalition’s Maddison Story explained the group‘s work to NHUAC – it works under Navos, with prevention teams at Cascade Middle School and Evergreen High Schol, life-skills training at Cascade, a parenting-skills program for Latino and Somali families, countywide “multilingual media campaigns,” and community surveys “to assess awareness levels and attitudes of community on drug/alcohol use” – among other work. In some of the survey results from last year, their results showed:
Community perceptions include that more than two-thirds of people surveyed believe that alcohol and marijuana use are problems in the community, and that both are easy for youth to access. Right now, this year’s survey is under way (we’ll add the link when we have it); the coalition also invites you to its monthly meetings – next one is 12-1:30 pm at Seola Gardens Community Room, 11215 5th SW.
OTHER BUSINESS: An open house is planned for the Boulevard Park Library project, 6:30-8 pm Thursday, November 16th (12015 Roseberg Avenue S.): “Learn about the upcoming interior remodel. Meet the team from Building Work Architecture,” invites the flyer.
The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets first Thursdays most months, 7 pm, at North Highline Fire District HQ. Between meetings, watch for updates at northhighlineuac.org.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
November 3rd, 2017 at 6:21 pm
Tracy, thank you for your great reporting on a very important and informational meeting!
November 8th, 2017 at 12:04 am
“And again, [Karen Freeman, King County Executive Office] noted that urban, unincorporated King County is now a relatively small area …”
The logical conclusion for marijuana policy, then, would have been to allow cannabis stores in more of the *rural* area (where far more unincorporated residents now live).
The cynical claim by King County local government that the matter deserves years of further study simply continues the pressure for these stores to continue to be over concentrated in only a relatively small area.


text:
Celebrate National Root Beer Float Day
Happy National Root Beer Float Day!
Lambertville’s Liberty Hall Pizza is celebrating on Saturday, Aug. 6 with free draught root beer floats to every guest who dines in between 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. They’ll use Arctic vanilla ice cream from Ewing, New Jersey and Victory root beer from the popular Pennsylvania brewery.
You can visit Liberty Pizza Hall at 243 N. Union St. in Lambertville. Cheers.


text:
The thrill of acceleration. The comfort and serenity of the driver’s seat. The subtle yet exhilarating pleasure of design. For car-lovers and aesthetes alike, the joy of driving is a visceral — and emotional — experience. And thanks to the innovative Art of Audi partnership between the luxury carmaker and Canadian model Coco Rocha, it’s one that’s translated into immersive art. Harnessing the power of AI, Rocha’s biometric reactions to the new Audi Sportback Q8 e-tron were transformed into poignant and colourful digital motifs — and captured in a striking video portrait.
“We wanted to work with a likeminded partner who understood and embraced the progressive impact of technology and understood deeply the importance of human expression and emotion in storytelling,” says Vito Paladino, President of Audi Canada. “We are so fortunate to have been able to take this journey with Canadian Supermodel Coco Rocha.” The collaboration was celebrated in a recent event at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, where the AI art was presented through a stunning series of pointillist prints, where the changing light, colours, textures and sizes all correspond to the intensity and emotion of Coco’s journey — which is also presented in a short film.
Donning a set of biometric receptors, Rocha approaches the car. “This is my first experience with the Q8 Sportback e-tron, and my natural reactions are being captured in real time to truly express the feeling of its stunning design,” says Rocha. As she takes in the “understated elegance” of the contours and finishes, the sensors light up. Stepping into the driver’s seat and gripping the wheel, the colours spark again. Then, she steps on the pedal, feels the “exhilarating performance,” and the screen explodes in a vivid burst of hues.
It makes for a test drive like no other. With every feeling and emotional response interpreted by a custom-designed AI engine, Art of Audi breaks down the experiential barrier. For Rocha, the partnership is a testament to continued technological innovation. Considered the world’s first “digital supermodel,” Rocha has been instrumental in expanding global fashion into a more democratic, inclusive industry — leveraging social media and emerging digital technologies. “I believe that embracing technology allows us to redefine the possibilities of progress and enhance human the experience in unimagined ways,” says Rocha.
As a champion for industry transparency and a prominent advocate for younger models, Rocha also embraces the honesty of Audi’s new campaign. “Instead of my face, it’s my feelings being portrayed,” Rocha told Jeanne Beker at a recent Art of Audi event in Toronto, “this is as truthful as it can get. It’s honest art right in front of us.” For Audi, meanwhile, the cutting-edge AI art reflects the brand’s commitment to embracing new sustainable technology — and performance-driven luxury.
The striking Q8 Sportback e-tron is a case in point. The all-electric showpiece combines 402 horsepower (and 0-100 kilometres-per-hour acceleration in 5.7 seconds) with a refined and spacious interior, as well as an exceptionally engaging driving experience, made possible by Audi’s signature e-quattro control. More than an all-wheel drive system, quattro offers extraordinary traction, efficiency and driving dynamics, making for an experience like no other.
“The Q8 e-tron was designed for both aerodynamics and elegance,” says Felix Enciso, Head of Product Strategy at Audi Canada. “Projection lights that connect the LED headlights and the signature Audi rings, emphasizing a sense of unity. The rear is equally expressive with a cohesive taillight design giving this SUV a wider look and commanding presence. And the sleek aerodynamic design contributes to its exceptional performance.”
Alongside an aerodynamic exterior — accented by an inverted singleframe grille — that showcases Audi’s iconic rings in an elegantly simplified two-dimensional design, the comfortable cabin boasts both a 12.3” HD display and an optional Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system. It’s a design that seamlessly marries luxury and sustainability.
For all that, nothing compares to the Q8 Sportback e-tron’s signature Audi performance. “I wanted to experience this acceleration immediately,” says Rocha, describing the powerful — and delightfully responsive electric engine. “It’s like boom, here we go.” As Coco Rocha puts it, “it’s progress you can feel.”
The 2024 Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron is also available in the SQ8 e-tron, Q8 Sportback e-tron, and SQ8 Sportback e-tron model variants. This content was published by Azure on behalf of Audi.
In a first-of-its-kind test-drive of the Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron, an A.I. engine transformed the supermodel’s every feeling and emotion into immersive art.


text:
Amazon sellers across the UK have been dealing with delivery delays after numerous technical glitches meant orders were not being recognised by delivery firms.
Royal Mail, which operates a “Click & Drop” service for marketplace sellers, reported technical issues on both Tuesday and Friday last week meaning that “orders are not being made available for us to download”.
The issues, which Royal Mail says was down to Amazon and not its own Click & Drop service, caused chaos for sellers dealing with a backlog of orders after the bank holiday weekend, Tamebay reported.
While this means many customers may receive orders late, the delays also threaten to impact sellers’ Amazon metrics, potentially causing much longer and severe issues.
Click & Drop is a service designed for marketplace sellers which automatically downloads orders from multiple marketplaces from Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce and others to one place.
With a Royal Mail Click & Drop account, sellers can offer customers a choice of delivery services, make labels easily and receive regular shipping and tracking reports.
Royal Mail has been ramping up its delivery options in a bid to compete with the likes of Amazon’s logistics service, driven by the boom in ecommerce orders throughout the pandemic.
In June Royal Mail announced it will offer customers times delivery slots next year, allowing them to specify a time window for receiving their parcels.
Royal Mail said the issue has now been resolved and its Click & Drop service is working as usual.


text:
Pre-pay users should switch
Households using pre-payment meters to pay for their gas and electricty have been urged to switch top a new supplier by the energy regulator.
Ofgem said that pre-payment customers would typically save £100 each year by switching to the cheapest deal on the market, but that the saving could be as much as £170 in some parts of the country.
Alistair Buchanan, Ofgem chief executive, said: 'Pre-payment customers should take advantage of the competitive market if they are to see further falls in their energy bills. 'By changing supplier they can save on average around £100. But in some regions this can be as great as £170 per year.'
Pre-payment meters are usually installed in homes at the request of energy suppliers and are typically used by low-income families. The meters have been criticised because they are more expensive and lower prices take longer to be passed on.
If users want to switch suppliers they need to have a a standard credit meter installed. Energy suppliers will usually agree to this as long as an account is no more than £100 in debt.
Karen Darby, founder of SimplySwitch.com, the price comparison and switching service, said: 'Prepayment meters rely on antiquated technology and should be phased out over the coming years. The most vulnerable households tend to have prepayment meters and they pay a premium for their energy. In the UK, around 4m households are defined as fuel poor as they spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills. It's this type of customer, who can least afford it, that's paying over the odds for gas and electricity.'
Most watched Money videos
- What the Budget 2018 means for you
- Luxury 260-meters-tall two tower Palm Jumeirah development unveiled
- Analyst explains why Fiat Panda received zero stars on NCAP test
- Age UK explains what is Pension Credit and how it can help you
- Fiat Panda spectacularly fails Euro NCAP test with zero stars
- Aston Martin reveals the Valkyrie’s extraordinary V12 powerplant
- A quick tour of the VW California Ocean campervan
- McLaren introduce its new £2.1million 3-seat Speedtail in
- A UK guide to buying a used car
- Audi e-tron SUV: Carmaker's first all-electric production car
- Was the stock market sell-off overdone?
- 'It's time to be picky': Where to invest in tricky times


text:
Consumers are becoming more tech-savvy and have come to expect a seamless customer experience when it comes to their insurance policies.
Reinsurance rates are increasing 37-50% at the January 2023 renewals. This will put pressure on insurers' profitability and may lead to changes in coverage.
Good data is core to modern insurance, but the way insurers are using data is changing. New data sources are creating opportunities for new types of insurance, and new tools are simplifying the customer experience.
No-code solutions are revolutionizing the insurance industry by allowing companies to quickly develop and launch new products without relying on scarce developer talent.
While many AI applications are in their infancy, there are a growing number of AI applications designed for consumer use. As we discussed last week, being flexible and fast to launch products to new and niche markets are some of the keys to success.
Speed-to-market for new products is vital in uncertain times. Delays can cost millions in lost revenue.
Underwriting is arguably one of the foundational business functions that helped create our modern world.
Carriers that fully integrate telematics into their business operations can offer more tailored and competitive coverages to their customers. By connecting IoT data into insurance products, we can start to price risk more holistically.
Ease-of-use is crucial for customer experience. One-click purchasing was a game-changer for Amazon and Apple. Insurers can use this technology to make quoting and binding easier.
Security startups are seeing a significant boom as cybersecurity risks increase. The demand for better cybersecurity is a trend that is expected to continue for at least the next 5 years.