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13 Companies Approved For State Economic Incentives
Thirteen companies have been approved for incentives for various projects in Louisville by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority, and officials say 658 new jobs will be created if the companies follow through with their plans.Seven of the projects involve companies that are considering opening a new facility in Louisville; the six others are existing Louisville-based companies considering an expansion of operations here.Among the new companies considering Louisville is Loews Hotels, which is looking at several locations to consolidate its accounting operations and would create 187 jobs. Another firm, Signature HealthCARE, based in Florida, is considering moving its headquarters to Louisville, which could create 121 jobs.The finance authority approved the incentives during a meeting Thursday in Frankfort.More details are in this release from KEDFAThirteen companies were approved for incentives at this morning’s Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority Meeting in Frankfort. Seven of the projects are companies considering opening a new facility in Louisville and six are existing Louisville-based companies, already employing 956, who are considering an expansion of their operations here. The projects represent investment of $79.2 million, and would create 658 new jobs and more than $26.5 million in new annual payroll.“This is the largest number of projects we’ve brought to the state for incentives in many years — and it shows that, even in this down economy, Louisville is working diligently to attract new jobs and investments,” said Mayor Jerry Abramson. “I am hopeful that most of these companies will choose Possibility City for their expansions and investments.”Loews Hotels, Inc.Loews Hotels is a leader in luxury hotel accommodations, operating 20 upscale hotels located in the U.S. and Canada, including The Regency in New York City, the Santa Monica Beach Hotel in California and Quebec City’s Le Concorde. It also manages resort locations and hotels operated in conjunction with the Hard Rock Café and Universal Studios’ theme parks. Loews Hotels is a subsidiary of Loews Corporation, one of the largest diversified corporations in the United States.Loews Hotels is considering several locations for a new Shared Services Center (SSC) to reduce costs and enhance efficiency. The SSC would serve to consolidate the company’s internal accounting services, which are currently decentralized in 20 locations across the U.S. The SSC project would be an investment of $1.9 million in capital improvements and would create 187 jobs and new annual payroll of $5.9 million.Loews Hotels was approved for up to $3 million in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.- more -Signature HealthCARE, LLCSignature HealthCARE is a Palm Beach, Florida-based nursing home and rehabilitation facility operator. Through its network of affiliates, Signature provides support to more than 60 nursing home facilities in seven states, making it one of the largest nursing home operator in the U.S. With annual revenues in excess of $500 million – an increase of more than 50 percent in 2008, Signature was named by Inc. magazine as an Inc. 5000 company.Signature HealthCARE is considering the relocation of its headquarters to Louisville, which would represent an investment of nearly $5.4 million and create 121 jobs and new annual payroll of $7 million. Signature HealthCARE was approved for up to $4 million in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.E. Joseph Steier, III, President & CEO of Signature HealthCARE, states, “Signature HealthCARE is a unique organization that believes it can radically change long term care in this country through its key organizational pillars: spirituality, learning, and intra-preneurship. As the management team assessed many potential areas for its new national headquarters, the team was extremely impressed with the collaboration between both the State of Kentucky and the Louisville metro area leaders in showcasing Louisville as one of the best places to do business anywhere in America. The city will provide a great central location with one of the best quality of life environments for families, rich university partnerships, and an amazing talent pool to aggressively grow the organization to remain a national leader. Given the economics today, companies are facing a tough challenge when considering relocating their corporate headquarters especially with the current housing market. We welcome the incentive package as a means to facilitate our potential move from South Florida, provided we can finalize an innovative corporate site to reinforce our organizational pillars. We are truly excited about the possibility of calling Louisville our permanent home!”TRAX Mechanical SystemsTRAX Mechanical Systems is a recently organized company that will manufacture and sell components and systems for heavy commercial vehicles, such as trucks, trailers and buses. It addresses the needs of both OEM production and aftermarket segments in North America. Initially, the company will focus on final assembly of trailer axles with components acquired from other suppliers and in the re-manufacturing of brake shoes and linings with additional products and services to be added later.TRAX is considering opening and operating the new facility in Louisville. It would be an investment of nearly $4.4 million and create 100 jobs and nearly $3.4 million in new annual payroll.TRAX Mechanical Systems was approved for up to $2 million in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.- more -Bio Pharma Logistics, LLCBio Pharma Logistics was established in 2007 to operate as a third party logistics provider dedicated to the pharmaceutical and bio-pharma industries. The company contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers and blood banks for transportation and storage of blood plasma and pharmaceutical products from all over the U.S. It also works with foreign bio-pharma companies to distribute their finished products to various customers in the U.S. Bio Pharma Logistics would like to build a state-of-the art cold storage facility from which to operate. Louisville is under consideration for the facility, which would be an investment of $5.8 million and create 25 jobs and new annual payroll of more than $859,000. Bio Pharma Logistics was approved for up to $350,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years and up to $150,000 in a KEIA sales tax rebate.RPD Manufacturing, LLCRPD Manufacturing is a new corporation created by previous employees of HESCO Parts, LLC. HESCO Parts, of Louisville, Kentucky was a Ford authorized re-manufacturer of automotive parts. HESCO ceased operations in August 2009. RPD Manufacturing has received commitments from several international companies to supply re-manufactured A/C compressors, starters, alternators and vacuum pumps.The company is seeking to launch the new corporation and begin operations in January 2010 and is considering Louisville for its facility. The project would be an investment of $1.2 million and create 25 jobs and new annual payroll of $822,769. RPD Manufacturing was approved for up to $500,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.“We are very appreciative of the KBI incentives that RPD Manufacturing has been awarded and the potential of a long and prosperous future in Kentucky,” said company spokesperson Bob Mengelberg.White Energy Technology Riverport, LLC White Energy Technology Riverport is planning to build an advanced, clean energy facility to produce alternative fuel for use in power generation. The fuel would be developed from biomass, waste from coal fires and other renewable resources. Phase 1 of the project would generate more than 250,000 tons of upgraded coal per year. White Energy Technology Riverport is considering Louisville for its new facility. The project would be an investment of more than $47 million and create 17 jobs and new annual payroll of nearly $1.3 million.White Energy Technology Riverport was approved for a $48.5 million Industrial Revenue Bond.- more -Liberty Processing & Services Innovation, LLCLiberty Processing & Services Innovation is a start-up operation in the check clearing services industry. The company would provide solutions for check processing logistics nationwide.Liberty Processing & Services Innovation is considering location of its operations in Louisville to leverage the proximity to UPS’s air service. The project would be an investment of $1.4 million and create 15 jobs and more than $600,000 in new payroll.Liberty Processing & Services Innovation was approved for up to $150,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.“We very much appreciate the incentives from the State of Kentucky and the assistance of the State, City of Louisville, and Greater Louisville, Inc. through the application process,” said John Ratliff, Vice President Business Development for Liberty Processing. “This award will weigh significantly in the final decision to start operations in Louisville, which would allow us to create opportunities in the Louisville community while utilizing the world class logistics of UPS for our new services.”Kentuckiana Curb Company, Inc.Kentuckiana Curb Company, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a metal fabrication manufacturer specializing in metal roof components. The company currently employs 70 at its facility on Grassland Drive. The company has an opportunity for expansion to develop a new line of heating and cooling units for commercial application.The expansion of Kentuckiana Curb Company’s facilities on would be an investment of $2 million and create 50 new jobs and new annual payroll of nearly $2.2 million.Kentuckiana Curb Company was approved for up to $1.125 million in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.MESA Foods, Inc.MESA Food Products began operations in Louisville in 1984 producing quality tortilla products at a competitive price. The company was privately owned until 1998 when it was purchased by ConAgra Foods and operated under the name Casa de Oro Foods. The Company was purchased by a Kansas City based Equity Group in 2004 and sold to three senior managers; Charles Kraut, Ted Longacre and Chuck Sinon in September 2008. The company returned to its original name “MESA Foods” and currently manufactures corn and flour tortillas, taco shells, pre-cut corn chips and flat breads for restaurants, super markets and national food companies.”The company is considering an expansion of its facility on West Magnolia Avenue, where is currently employs 182, to increase it production capability. The expansion would be an investment of nearly $2.9 million and create 41 new jobs and new annual payroll of $1.35 million.- more -MESA Foods was approved for up to $850,000 in tax credits through the Kentucky Reinvestment Act, which provides tax credits to any existing Kentucky company engaged in manufacturing and related functions on a permanent basis for a reasonable period of time and will be investing in eligible equipment and related costs of at least $2,500,000.Ted Longacre, President of MESA Foods said, “With new owners, financing by PBI bank based in Louisville and the dedication of all our employees, MESA Foods has put itself in a position to grow employment in Louisville through new investment in production capacity. These are investment dollars which bring permanent jobs to Louisville. Working with GLI, local and state government officials, representatives of the United Food and Confectionary Workers union and our customers has provided MESA Foods the opportunity to grow our employee base in a very difficult economy.”Reynolds Foil, Inc.The Louisville Reynolds Foil plant manufactures household foils under the Reynolds Wrap®, Diamond Foil® and other private label brands for the consumer market. Reynolds Foil underwent a large consolidation of its manufacturing facilities in 2008, moving its Richmond, Virginia, operations to Louisville and adding 89 new jobs to its existing employment of 475.Reynolds Foil is now considering further expansion of its Louisville facilities. The proposed expansion would be an investment of $750,000 and create 36 new jobs and new annual payroll of $1.3 million.Reynolds Foil was approved for up to $720,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.Fellon-McCord & Associates, LLCFellon-McCord & Associates is a national energy consulting practice headquartered in Louisville, where it currently employs 60. As the company business continues to grow, it is considering an expansion of its operations in Louisville.The expansion would be an investment of $175,000 and create 20 new jobs and new annual payroll of $800,000.Fellon-McCord & Associates was approved for up to $1 million in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.BJK Industries, Inc.BJK Industries dba BJK Flexible Packaging manufactures specialty packaging films for food applications, including fresh poultry. The company currently employs 72 at its facility on 15th Street in Louisville. BJK is considering the addition of leading edge technologies at its facility that would increase production capacity and allow it to manufacture high performance, differentiated products. - more - The project would be an investment of nearly $5.4 million and create 10 new jobs and new annual payroll of more than $450,000. BJK Industries was approved for up to $150,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years and up to $50,000 in a KEIA sales tax rebate.CSS Distribution Company, Inc.CSS Distribution Company is a national distributor of pallets, packaging and packaging equipment located in Louisville where it currently employs eight. The company has the opportunity to expand its business with ‘end-of-line’ packaging solutions that reduce cost and increase efficiency for its customers.CSS Distribution Company is considering purchasing its existing facility on Electron Drive and expanding it by 5,000 sq. ft. to accommodate the new production. The project would be an investment of $525,000 and create 11 new jobs and new annual payroll of more than $511,000.CSS Distribution Company was approved for up to $220,000 in KBI* incentives for up to 10 years.“ CSS Distribution Group, Inc is very excited about the opportunity to work with the Economic Development Cabinet, Greater Louisville Inc. and the Jeffersontown Development Economic Authority to bring new jobs to Kentucky, said Mindy Withrow, COO of CSS Distribution Group.” Without their help, our expansion plans would have required CSS to look elsewhere or to hold off expanding during the tough economic times. Kentucky is very pro-business and we look forward to working together to implement this expansion project. ”The partnership between Greater Louisville Inc. – The Metro Chamber of Commerce, Louisville Metro Government and state government brings new economic opportunities to the community. Through November 2009, the innovative public-private partnership has helped 47 companies locate new operations or expand existing ones in the area. These projects have created 2102 new jobs at an average salary of $41,800 and more than $271 million in new capital investment.* Kentucky Business Incentives consolidates KIDA, KREDA, KJDA & KEOZ into a single, more flexible tax incentive program for new and expanding businesses. This change was made in legislation passed during the 2009 Special Session of the Kentucky General Assembly. More information can be obtained at www.thinkkentucky.com.†Editor’s note. One project, White Energy, is not receiving KBI incentives, but is receiving an Industrial Revenue Bond. The release from the state only includes KBI projects, thusly, it references only 12 projects.


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Tightening of air travel security has led to a plethora of
packaging solutions that meet new criteria for personal care
products, but one Florida-based company believes it has come up
with a particularly sophisticated response.
New York-based packaging company Nalgene has responded to the
problem of traveling on transatlantic with cosmetics by offering a
range of bottles and jars that fulfil tightened security
regulations at US airports.

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01 Jan 2016 The Year Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
Content provided by The Vancouver Sun
In British Columbia’s tech sector, executives and entrepreneurs fret over finding enough talent to fill the jobs going wanting in a hot environment while in mining, consolidation and cost containment are the watchwords as they struggle to remain viable in a downturn now going on four years.
Looking at some of the province’s key industries as 2016 gets underway is indicative of its overall economy. Lying somewhere between boom and bust, B.C. is expected to be one of Canada’s leaders for economic growth, in a relative sense compared with Alberta and Saskatchewan’s slumping economies.
B.C.’s anticipated rate of economic growth, however — 3.6 per cent in 2016 by the Conference Board of Canada’s forecast, 3.1 per cent by RBC Economics’ projection — verges on robust with the anticipation that the province might see a bump from liquefied natural gas development, if a major proponent makes a decision to go ahead.
The Sun asked experts in six key industries, including tourism, mining, energy and high-tech to offer their assessments of what 2016 holds.
Bill Tam, president and CEO of the B.C. Technology Industry Association expects a shortage of talent to be the biggest risk facing tech companies in the coming year.
“I would say because things have been so hot for the last number of years, the last three or four years it has been on a rise, the single biggest issue for companies is finding people to fuel the growth of the business,” he said. “That combined with making sure there is adequate capital to grow the business.”
With global warming and environmental issues prompting more calls for action, Vancouver’s clean tech sector is poised to take advantage of the demand.
“I think there has been an increased awareness and heightened sense around climate change,” said Tam. “Technology companies that build remediation strategies are going to be at the forefront of that next wave. … I think we’re going to expect 2016 will be a very robust period for cleantech companies here in British Columbia.”
Big data, machine learning and the Internet cloud could also figure prominently in Vancouver’s tech scene.
“We have a number of companies that are working on next generation capabilities around that,” said Tam. “I think we are going to see some breakthrough stuff in that area as well.”
Tam also expects 2016 will see Vancouver’s gaming sector grow.
“I think we are going to see a resurgence in the gaming and digital entertainment side that we haven’t seen in quite a number of years,” he said. “A combination of factors, one being the improvements in relative exchange rates — we’ll probably see more studies and more activity happen here in Vancouver.”
The potential for a natural gas export business to Asia remains the energy’s sectors biggest opportunity in 2016.
However, it is also a victim of the sector’s biggest risk: a significant and now long-running slump in global oil prices. and to a lesser extent, a drop in natural gas prices in Asia, says Geoff Morrison, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers spokesman in B.C.
From 2001 into 2014, a barrel of oil traded in the $100 US range, but it has plummeted to $35, a result of a glut of supply and weaker demand.
Gas prices have followed a similar pattern in Asia. The LNG contract price in Japan dropped to about $8 from $16, starting in 2014.
The global energy heavyweights that lead proposed liquefied natural gas projects on B.C. coast — including Shell, Chevron and Malaysian state-controlled Petronas — have taken a revenue hit from the low oil prices in particular and as a result have cut their capital spending plans in the immediate future.
Across Canada, capital spending in the energy sector has fallen to $45 billion this year from $81 billion in 2014, according to figures provided by the CAPP.
“We have, clearly a world-class natural gas resource in B.C. and Canada. We have strong energy demand globally, particularly in Asia and that’s the sweet spot in B.C. and Canada here,” said Morrison.
“There is a lower price for natural gas in North America which is really challenging and there’s a lower price internationally for LNG — natural gas — which is also challenging — but there is still that opportunity there,” he said.
One of the biggest mistakes B.C. retailers could make in 2016 would be to fail to invest wholeheartedly online, Indochino CEO Drew Green said. The made-to-measure suit retailer started as a online-only store, but has since moved to omnichannel retailing.
“If you’re anywhere over $100 million in retail sales, you really should be at 10 to 20 per cent of your sales online,” Green said.
As for small businesses with limited resources, “if you’re going to compete overall, you almost have to lead with online,” Green said.
It’s “almost key critical” that B.C. retailers continue to focus on and invest in online operations, Green said. Seventy per cent of Indochino’s sales are online.
“We continue to see consumers in Canada gravitate toward online shopping and we have a pretty unique dynamic in Canada where the majority of Canadian spend online is actually done with U.S. businesses.”
Sixty five per cent of all online purchases done in Canada are done on U.S. sites, he said.
It’s important that B.C. retailers find ways to serve American consumers. “We need to be just as aggressive in serving customers outside our borders,” Green said.
Although B.C. has some of the best retailers in North America, Canadian retailers’ online efforts lag behind their American counterparts, so Green sees international expansion as one of the greatest opportunities for 2016.
Indochino is looking at further expansion into the U.S. as well as Europe and Asia, he said.
When it comes to real estate in 2016, “Interest rates are going to be the driver, and that’s the big opportunity,” according to realtor Faith Wilson, principal of the Faith Wilson Group.
In light of the struggling Canadian economy and declining Canadian dollar, it’s unlikely interest rates will rise in the next year — and they may fall yet again. “If you were looking at the options to rent, when you’re looking at $2.75 to $3 a square foot for rental property, if you can get that deposit together, it would make sense for someone to be purchasing right now,” Wilson said.
But there’s very little inventory available on the market in Vancouver, a factor that will continue to drive prices upward. Wilson doesn’t see that changing within the first five or six months of the new year. “I think we’re going to have a little bit of a flurry in the spring market,” she said. “I’m not going to be the only realtor that does have some properties that I’m preparing now to put to the spring market.”
The federal government’s new mortgage regulations, which mandate a 10-per-cent down payment for insured mortgages for properties priced at between $500,000 and $1 million, could also be a challenge.
Though it had a few bright spots, B.C.’s mining industry ended 2015 in the grips of the withering downturn in global commodity markets. And cost containment will remain the theme looking into the year ahead, said Karina Brino, CEO of the Mining Association of B.C. “We’re not expecting 2016 to be any easier.”
“What we’re looking at in 2016 is a readjustment of the markets. The downturn has been prolonged, therefore it’s really requiring a new look at how we continue to have a mining industry in B.C.,” Brino said.
“Most of our operators are looking at entering into partnerships with their workforces, with lenders, with government in terms of how do we best weather this storm so we can keep these (existing) operations going, waiting for the markets to turn.”
However, B.C. does have a core of well-established mines, such as Teck Resources Ltd.’s Highland Valley copper mine and coal mines in southeastern B.C.
“One of the advantages we have is that most of our (mines) have been in operation for a long time and we have projects in the queue ready to pick up and get going on construction.
“We’re definitely looking (forward to) the Red Chris mine — it opened up in the last six months of 2015 — so (watching it) go into full operation and being a strong contributor in the northwest. We’re also looking at (Pretium Resources) Brucejack project continuing to move into construction.”
Tourism and travel
Vancouver’s travel and tourism sector will benefit from a bevy of new flights set to arrive in the city in 2016 which will play a role in driving the market, industry officials said. However, destinations and airports throughout North America — especially those in close proximity to Vancouver that offer some similar attractions and advantages — are also gaining steam.
Don Ehrenholz, Vancouver Airport Authority’s vice-president of engineering and environment, said YVR surpassed 20 million in annual passenger count for the first time in 2015. This is after two consecutive years of passenger growth of more than one million, and Ehrenholz said he expects the growth in 2016 to be on a similar scale due to new direct flights to Dublin, Brisbane, Chicago, San Diego and San Jose next summer.
“We have a number of new (European and Australian) flights that’s been announced … there’s lots of growth there,” he said, noting the recently expanded air transport agreement with Australia will bring even more tourists to Vancouver, and a similar deal with China will likely drive some additional growth. “We have some tremendous growth in the U.S., and of course, China is growing rapidly. We are hoping to announce some new flights early in the Spring that will be added-capacity there.”
But Ehrenholz also said destinations like Seattle and Calgary have aggressive plans to attract more flights and tourists, and with aircraft now able to cover longer distances, even Eastern cities like Chicago and New York are increasingly within reach for visitors from Europe and Asia.
“They all want to attract more flights from Europe and Asia, so we have to be very, very competitive to attract new flights to Vancouver,” he said.
To read the full article online, click here.


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The 2018 ICTEL EXPO, a professional trade show that focuses on ICT and Telecommunication industry, commenced on Wednesday 25th July 2018 at Eko hotel & suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The conference was organized by The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI). The theme of the conference was “DEVELOPING EFFICIENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE”.
The conference was attended by many people in the ICT world. Barrister Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications, represented by Mrs. Monilola Udoh delivered the goodwill message. She discussed the ICT sector roadmap launch by the Ministry of Communications and encouraged all to partner with the Federal Government. She stated that the Federal Government is committed to supporting digital economy and the ICT sector in its laudable endeavor.
The 2018 ICTEL EXPO was declared opened by the President, LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase who gave the welcome address whilst highlighting how digitalization has helped the world and how the future will be with the help of digitalization in Nigeria. ICT is an infrastructure that must be developed. He emphasized that if we must build a smarter Nigeria, stakeholders must take responsibility.
Other dignitaries that graced the event were Mrs. Felicia Onwegbu representing Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Oluremi Omowale, and Commissioner for ICT, Osun State, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON Chairman,


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DC has teamed up with the Hotel on Rivington in New York yet again for a limited edition of the DC LIFE Admiral Sport. Produced exclusively for the hotel staff, this is the fourth time DC has laced the staff with shoes from the DC LIFE Collection.
The model has been customized with a laser etch of “HOTEL ON RIVINGTON” on the outsole, a design treatment that pays homage to the iconic side-wall bold DCSHOECOUSA lettering on the classic DC LYNX skate model that originally launched just over a decade ago now. The First release of the LYNX was in 1998 along with the announcement of Josh Kalis joining the team. A special red strap, a key color from the hotel, completes the custom shoe.
The Admiral Sport is part of the Spring 2010 DC LIFE Collection and will be available beginning in January 2010 at select DC LIFE retailers and the DC Online Store.


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Two Ho Chi Minh City customs officials and their two accomplices were detained Friday for their role in the attempted smuggling of 24 containers since December.
Ten of the containers, sent from China to the Vietnam International Container Terminal (VICT) port in Ho Chi Minh City, were seized at the end of December prompting one police officer to call it “the boldest smuggling attempt we've ever busted."
Four months later, police seized 14 more.
Customs officials Bui Anh Tuan, 37, and Nguyen Phuoc Tuong, 45, were reassigned away from VICT in January after police found they had allowed the first 10 containers to pass without inspection.
Tuan and Tuong passed on their official duties to Ta Quang Trinh, 38, a data transmission technician, and Chau Thanh Nhan, 55, a freelance deliveryman who came to fetch the containers.
Nhan gave Trinh falsified customs forms for the containers, and Trinh did not check them.
Trinh has since told police he was merely following orders issued by Tuong.
Police say, Tuong had previously colluded with several importers to help them falsify invoices.
His scheme was discovered after investigation found that only 15 packages in the ten containers were opened--customs rules require that at least 5 percent of a container (52 packages in this case) be checked before it is cleared.
The four are being investigated for smuggling and gross negligence.
In March, police also arrested Lam Luong Quang, the owner of a private company in Ho Chi Minh City.
Quang allegedly masterminded the scheme and sent Nhan to pick up the goods.
Police also issued arrest warrants for Ho Sam Dung, 37, and Tran Thi Thu Sang, 25, the directors of two companies listed as importing the containers. Both have failed to respond to several summonses.
Their companies successfully falsified 58 other customs forms while pushing shipments through the port in the month or so before they were busted.
City police and market managers flagged the first ten containers following a tip-off--seizing them right outside VICT Port on the night of December 30.
More than 6.5 million product units were not registered in the invoice, including alcohol, cosmetics and chemicals, some a number of products banned from importing such as used computer monitors and electronic firecrackers.
The shipment was estimated to be worth more than VND37 billion, four times more than the value stated on the falsified customs forms.
Commenting on its boldness, one city officer remarked incredulously: “They dared to send ten containers of contraband through customs at one time.”


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Business News›Del Monte Pacific Ltd
DEL MONTE PACIFIC LTD
Field Fresh Foods appoints Mahesh Kanchan as Chief Executive Officer
Kanchan, who is currently Chief Commercial Officer with FieldFresh Foods, will take over from Yogesh Bellani who has decided to pursue opportunities outside of the company.
Why Sunil Bharti Mittal should seek out Google's Pichai, Page & Brin
After a tepid start, of late, Bharti too has been bulking up its digital assets incrementally.
FMCG firms want Nielsen to tweak sampling mechanism
If a restaurant chain hands out ketchup sachets of a particular brand free with its food, it would not be considered retail sale unless sold.
Punjab Agricultural University signs MoU with FieldFresh to promote crop research
The MoU follows the agreement signed recently between Cambridge University and Bharti Foundation to fund the research Programme.
Why buy when the same can be cooked at home, new mantra of Indian consumers
This indicates that while consumes are cutting down on eating pizza and burgers at stores like Domino’s, Pizza Hut or McDonald’s, they are cooking similar western foods at home.
Fieldfresh Foods extends maternity leave up to 22 weeksThe company's Gurgaon office will also provide day care facility for small children to ensure smooth transition to full working hours and convenience for new mothers.
FieldFresh Foods aims to bring Del Monte's Italian flavours to Indian homesFieldFresh is among many Indian and foreign companies looking to tap the growing appetite for Western fast food among India’s middle class.
Del Monte ketchup climbs to 3rd slotIt has overtaken Heinz and moved into third position behind Hindustan Unilever’s Kissan and Nestle’s Maggi
Italian food accounts for a third of Del Monte sales: Yogesh BellaniItalian cuisine has got an aspirational element to it. It resonates well with the Indian palate. There’s a lot of experimentation happening at homes now, for pizzas and pasta.
Del Monte expands range with aim to become top 10 food and beverage companyFieldFresh Foods is expanding its Del Monte product offerings in India as part of a plan to become a top 10 company in the F&B space .
As juices find takers in hinterland, companies squeeze out growthDabur, which leads the juices category, with a share of about 54%, according to data from market researcher Nielsen, is not alone in spotting the opportunity.
Milk collection firm MYA started by Veerappa Moily's son bags follow-on funding from venture capitalist Vinod KhoslaMYA, short for MokshaYug Access, is building a network of collection centres for fresh milk across south Karnataka, drawing in 88,000 litres a day.
Pasta set to grow as the next category of noodlesPackaged food firms like Nestle, FieldFresh Foods, Capital Foods & Future Group eye locally-made pasta segment as home consumption of Italian cuisine rises.
FieldFresh Foods expands contract farming to East IndiaBesides, the expansion on the fresh side, the company is also introducing new products in the processed food segment from the Del Monte portfolio.
Bharti-Del Monte JV invests Rs 115 cr in R&D, manufacturing facilityFieldFresh Foods on Tuesday inaugurated their Research & Development and manufacturing facility here at an investment of Rs 115 crore.
Brands now tweak products to suit regions, communitiesCome January and LG Electronics will start selling microwaves with customised autocook menus for different regions.Load More
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Gas fees on Ethereum layer-2 Polygon (MATIC) surged more than 1,000% to reach a peak of $0.10 as users inundated the network with the minting of Ordinals-inspired tokens dubbed POLS.
In a Nov. 16 X (formerly Twitter) post Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal shared his surprise at the elevated transaction activity on the network saying the spike could’ve been due to the launch of a new Polygon-based nonfungible token (NFT) collection.
What is going on on @0xPolygon POS chain? 6m transactions in last 24 hrs. 170 TPS on average. 1mn+ MATIC burnt by the protocol. The chain worked smoothly, gas fees went crazy though but no reorgs or 0 blocks etc.
I hear there is some game Baby Shark Launching,…
Read more on Cointelegraph


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Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton and was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. — Wikipedia
Big brands follow Coca-Cola and Unilever out the door.
Companies like Coca-Cola and IBM beat earnings on Tuesday.
Victory was sweet redemption after heartbreaking loss in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
Come on, hands up who petitioned for a Coca-Cola flavoured coffee…
Starbucks joins Unilever, Coca-Cola, Patagonia, and Levi’s in making such a commitment.
The closures of restaurants, theatres and sporting venues have taken the fizz out of sales at Coca-Cola.The drinks company, whose brands also include Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, said that its
Coca-Cola Is Launching a Coffee-Flavored Cola in America, as the Soda Giant Works to Regain Business It Lost to Starbucks Decades Agowww.businessinsider.com -
Coke is debuting a coffee-cola hybrid called Coca-Cola with Coffee in the US, with the drink hitting shelves in January 2021.
Drink and confectionery sales at giants including Coca-Cola and Nestle SA have fallen.
Following Unilever’s announcement, Coca-Cola said it would suspend its social media advertising globally.
Coca-Cola on Friday announced it will be pausing advertising on all social media.
Parent company Coca-Cola will launch the new drink in the U.S. next year.
Coca-Cola, like its competitors, surely wants Topo Chico to be the next White Claw.


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In 30 years, the burned surface of the Amazon rainforest will have doubled. A study based on the evolution of fires so far this century shows that the result of the interaction of deforestation and climate change will be a greater number of even more devastating fires. As a consequence, much of the amazon region it will become a net emitter of greenhouse gases that, in turn, would feed back the process. There are experts who start talking about a point of no return and the sabanization of the Amazon.
Brazilian and American researchers have modeled the evolution of fires in almost 200 million hectares of the southern and southeastern portions of the legal Amazon. In the model they integrated the number of fires and their main characteristics (moment of ignition, duration, burned area …) with the evolution of deforestation and climate change between 2000 and 2050. Both processes are independent but, combined, they affect the amount and severity of fires, as this work shows, published in Science Advances.
In the worst case scenario of expected emissions and maintaining the current deforestation rate, relatively low (compared to 2000), the severity of fires will intensify. In an expected context of higher temperature and lower humidity, the dry season will lengthen, exacerbating the conditions for ignition. In 2050, according to this study and in this scenario, up to 15 million hectares of forest will have been burned.
Increasing temperatures and lower humidity will increase the flammability of the jungle
But it is in combination with deforestation that climate change will sweeten the fire until threatening what the Amazon has been in the last 55 million years. In a context of high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and greater regional warming, tree logging intensification will expose the rest of the jungle. The study estimates that, in this scenario, the hectares burned in 2050 will rise to 22 million.
Among the synergies between climate change and logging that explain this increase in the burned area is a general increase in the flammability of the forest. The edges and edges of the forest, more exposed, will have increased. In cleared forests, the greatest solar radiation reduces humidity, the main natural firefighter. And a less humid environment facilitates the start and spread of a fire and complicates its extinction. In addition, what remains of the jungle will have it more complicated to recover.
“Our projections point to an acceleration of fire activity in the southern Amazon,” the study authors conclude and add: “We show that up to 16% of the forests in the region could burn as the weather it gets drier and warmer in a few decades. “
A paradoxical effect of these projections has to do with GHG emissions. The Amazon rainforest is the main sink of COtwo that is on the earth’s surface. Fires could upset your balance. According to this research, and in the worst climate and deforestation scenario, the burning of the sixth part of the Amazon will free more than 17,000 million tons of CO by 2050two into the atmosphere, turning a good part of the south and southeast Amazon into net GHG emitters.
Up to 60% of the jungle could degenerate into savanna by the end of the century
“Under normal conditions, tropical forests such as the Amazon are very humid, with a short dry season and very resistant to fire,” recalls the researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) Carlos Nobre. “However, climate change has generalized higher temperatures and more extreme droughts everywhere, also in the Amazon. Alongside the degradation of the tropical forest caused by man and the intensive use of fire in tropical agriculture and to clarify new ranches and farmland, all this makes today’s Amazon rainforest exponentially more vulnerable to fires than in the past, “adds Nobre, not related to this study.
The fire thus joins the cocktail that threatens to change forever what the Amazon is. “We are very close to reaching a point of no return in the sabanization of large portions of the Amazon rainforest“, says Nobre, who wrote an editorial about this risk in the magazine Science Advances last month. “If we overcome this point of no return, more than 60% of Amazonian forests would become a tropical dry savanna. What would remain of the jungle would be imitated to the western portion of the Amazon basin, at the foot of the Andes. south, east and northeast of the Amazon rainforest could disappear, “he warns.


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Concerns that the Fed will have to wrestle with elevated inflation for a long time slowed this week’s rally
In energy matters, the government appears enslaved by ‘first world’ norms and standards
The accused were arrested as part of a Hawks operation to nab alleged instigators who incited public violence during looting and destruction in 2021
Parent company London-listed Pearson Plc said the disposal was part of a strategic review.
Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Larry Masson, a financial adviser and franchise principal at Consult by Momentum.
Rushdie’s condition is not immediately known
Top swimmers have a rivalry that could develop into one of SA sport’s greatestt
Entries have opened for the fourth annual Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards which recognise and celebrate supplier development best practice and encourage collaboration among large African companies that are committed to building inclusive and transformed supply chains.
Launched in 2018, the inaugural awards attracted more than 400 entries across diverse industries and have grown in scope and impact.
Vusi Fele, Absa Group’s chief procurement officer, says the awards align well with Absa’s values of “Africanacity” in promoting growth, innovation and prosperity on the African continent.
“We are proud to be partnering with the Supplier Development Awards for the fourth year in a row, as we continue to promote the development of robust and sustainable supply chains in SA and Africa.
It is in times like these that SMEs become critical to supporting the value chains of the mainstream economy
“Absa’s continued involvement with and support of these awards is motivated by our confidence and belief that having robust and inclusive supply chains is crucial if we are to drive the growth and development of a viable SME sector that can contribute to sustainable economic growth,” says Fele.
“The importance of supplier development, particularly in the current South African context of Covid-19 and beyond, can no longer be gainsaid. We believe that opening up opportunities for SMEs to access corporate supply and delivery chains is one of the most efficient and consistent ways in which established corporates can contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship development. This will be even more crucial for economic recovery after Covid-19.
“It is in times like these that SMEs become critical to supporting the value chains of the mainstream economy, to help drive economic revival after disruptive shocks such as the pandemic, absorb or shore up some of the jobs lost due to the self- preservation and survivalist strategies,” says Fele.
This year, the awards programme includes an engaging series of online Africa-wide Supplier Development Dialogues, with a focus on the growth of SMMEs. During Youth Month in June, the Supplier Development Dialogue focused on empowering the youth through entrepreneurship.
Key themes include:
We are very pleased that the supplier development ecosystem will now extend into Africa
Catherine Wijnberg, one of the co-founders of the awards, notes that past award winners highlight how supplier development that is deployed as a strategic business imperative helps strengthen competitive advantage and ensures business viability. This leads to healthier supply chains that can grow employment during challenging economic times such as this Covid-19 period.
“We are delighted with the growing strength of the awards and very pleased that the supplier development ecosystem will now extend into Africa. This year’s awards programme is even more interactive and engaging, with opportunities for interactive sharing and learning between leading corporates and the suppliers they support,” she says.
Previous award winners include some of SA's most prominent corporate brands: Massmart, Sappi SA, Distell, Hatch, Exxaro, Empact Group, SAB, Macsteel, Spar, Unilever and Tiger Brands.
The 2021 winners of the Absa Business Day Supplier Development Awards will be announced on November 18 2021.
Entries are now open at www.sdawards.co.za.
For more information and to register for the next in the digital dialogues series, also visit www.sdawards.co.za.
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Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.


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New York State residents spent more on clothing, shoes, health care and foreign travel in 2012 than the national average, but less on gasoline and automobiles, according to federal statistics.
The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released its first estimate of personal consumption expenditures by state, which measures out-of-pocket spending by consumers plus government or employer spending for medical care and other services used by consumers.
Per capita consumption in New York State was $42,043 in 2012 compared with $35,498 nationwide, the most recent statistics available.
A Newsday analysis of the data found big disparities in some spending categories between the state and country.
For example, New Yorkers' spending on motor vehicles and parts averaged $952 in 2012, compared with $1,280 nationally. Per capita spending on gasoline and other energy goods was $919, versus $1,328 nationally.
"The lower figures for New York State may be because more of our population lives in urban areas such as New York City, and many people use mass transit rather than drive or own one car instead of two," said Richard Vogel, an economist and dean of Farmingdale State College's business school.
He also said the prevalence of apartments, condominiums and other "high-density housing" in New York City has meant less energy usage in New York State than the equivalent number of single-family houses elsewhere.
Per capita spending on clothing and shoes in the state was $1,722, or almost $600 more than the national average.
Vogel attributed this difference to more luxury and high-priced merchandise being sold in New York State and a business environment in the city that generally favors suits and ties over less expensive khakis and polo shirts.
He said the state's aging population and higher costs of medical care and insurance were why health care consumption averaged $7,303 in New York and only $5,886 in the country.
The federal statistics also showed the importance of vacation spending by New York State residents abroad and foreigners here in 2012.
International visitors spent, on average, $2,062 in New York compared with $521 in the United States. State residents spent $990 in foreign travel compared with $350 for all U.S. residents.
Vogel said, "The large immigrant population in the New York metro region explains some of this. . . . People here have maintained ties to the countries they, their parents or grandparents originally came from."
He and other economists were excited about the federal data, saying it would provide a clearer picture of the differences between the economies of states and the nation. Also, businesses can use the numbers to determine where certain goods and services are in greatest demand.
"These numbers reflect which goods and services are important to us . . . and how people are living," Vogel said. "They also reflect the cultural and social background of each state."


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The Eternal Atake rapper Lil Uzi Vert has embedded a natural pink diamond on his forehead. The worth of this pink diamond is $24 Million.
Later Uzi’s forehead started bleeding due to diamond implant and Baby Pluto rapper says “If I don’t get it taken out right away I’ll die”.
Later Uzi’s jeweler said the diamond is safe.
We didn’t think he was serious about it, but as he started making payments on the specific stone, he made it clear that he was very serious”, said Babaev.
He added, “Yeah, it’s as safe as any other piercing”.
Now Uzi took to hai Instagram stories to share his new diamonds on his teeth. “More diamonds in my teeth than your chain”, wrote Uzi.
Lil Uzi Vert got new diamonds on his teeth‼🤯 friend with benefits dating sites
— RapTV (@raptvcom) top 10 hook up site
Lil Uzi Vert gets his braces off and puts diamonds in usa free online dating site
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) March 8, 2021


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Tesla spent the latter half of 2017 trying to bounce back from the sluggish start to production of the Model 3 sedan. On Tuesday, it’s set to report fourth-quarter deliveries, but no one has any idea what to expect. In particular, Wall Street’s in a huge tizzy, and it shows the sometimes-absurd power this one hyped and speculated-over company has on the entire market.
Wall Street analysts, working against the cloud of secrecy that hangs over Tesla, have predicted anywhere from 800 to 4,000 Model 3s were delivered in the last quarter of 2017, as we reported in The Morning Shift today. That’s a big range!
The reason for this is that Tesla’s disclosed very little about what it’s done to address a “manufacturing bottleneck” that threw production of the Model 3, which starts at $35,000, off course. Tesla placed most of the blame on issues at the Gigafactory, but earlier said those problems are being worked out.
Initially Tesla expected to produce 5,000 Model 3s per week by the end of 2017; that goal has since been pushed back to late March.
With that in mind, it’s not just Wall Street analysts who have no idea what to expect. Traders themselves are bracing for the worst, reports Business Insider. Equity investors have increased short bets—that is, bets that Tesla’s highly-valued stock will fall—by roughly 22 percent in the three months leading up to today.
Here’s more from BI:
The increase in bearish wagers likely corresponds with mounting concerns over Tesla’s ability to hit delivery targets. It’s been an ongoing worry for Wall Street analysts like Jeffrey Osborne at Cowen, who’s had a long-running “underperform” rating on the stock.
Another explanation for the surge in short interest is one recently floated by S3 Partners — that traders are using short bets on the market’s best-performing stocks to hedge against broader weakness. The wisdom behind using stocks like Tesla as a proxy is that the biggest, most influential stocks dictate the overall direction of the market.
Pity the poor Wall Street trader—unable to figure out what money pit to shove their money into. What’s going to happen with Tesla? No one can say! Chaos ensues. Draw your children close, then eat them. Spare them the catastrophe that may come. Or not.
We’ll see how they react later today once Tesla’s deliveries come out.


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Eustis couple opens backyard birding franchise
EUSTIS — You can’t buy birds at Wild Birds Unlimited. But the Eustis shop owners, Dave and Judy Knizner, can show you how to turn your yard into a bird-feeding habitat that attracts wild birds to your property.
The Knizners own one of about 300 Wild Bird Unlimited store franchises across the country and sell products such as seed, feeders, bird baths and much more to backyard birding enthusiasts.
“We help people to entice birds to their yard,” said Judy Knizer. “We feel it’s important to feed wild birds. And it’s entertaining and educational.”
“It brings joy to our customers to see birds in their yard,” said husband Dave.
It also adds a lot of song, color and life to a home.
The Knizners now call Mount Dora home after moving to Lake County to open their franchise. They’ve been open since March 2016.
“We have really enjoyed getting to know the nice people here in Central Florida and want to say thank you in any small ways we can,” said Judy.
The husband/wife team has had a different spectrum of jobs and their experiences have blended well together in their business venture.
Dave, 62, had been a vice president in finance for a developer in Fort Myers and Judy, 59, taught second grade.
The pair has been feeding birds in their backyard for years. It all began when they visited their daughter in Tallahassee and found a Wild Birds Unlimited store about 15 years ago and got hooked.
“It was real relaxing every time we came in,” Dave said. “We thought we’d look into franchise if we ever retired. We changed careers and that’s what we did.”
The couple, married 39 years, complement each other. Dave handles the books and Judy does presentation, such as one for children at the library in Mount Dora several months ago. She feels like she’s still in education but not only because of her time with the kids.
“I’ve been learning about the birds of Lake County,” she said.
The Knizners' store carries a plethora of products to attract wild birds and beautiful yards. Who knew there were so many different types of bird feeders, many with various attachments?
“It's like a Pandora bracelet where you can get all those little attachments, like a perch, a birdbath, mealworm feeders and additional hangers,” said Judy.
Summer is a slower time for wild birds, as many have migrated north already.
“The season is mainly November to April,” said Dave. “There are more birds here at that time, maybe through May. It starts to slow down in June.”
But there are always birds to feed.
The Knizners have their favorites, mainly the bluebird. They have learned their habits and behaviors. The Eastern Bluebird, one of three species of bluebirds, can be found in central and north Florida.
“I like the bluebird,” said Dave. “We have a bluebird house and they’ve built their third nest in it since January.
“We didn’t know much about bluebirds. I had to read books about them,” said Judy.
Dave likes taking photos of them when he checks the nesting box and the roof lid is opened. First he knocks on the box and if the female is in it she flies out and returns after it’s cleaned.
They have had the same pair of bluebirds return to their nesting box.
Customers are also a good source for learning about Florida’s various birds.
“Customers come in and start talking to each other,” said Judy. “And they share what they experienced.
“They teach us as much as we teach them.”
The franchise also offers a support center with many resources.
The Knizners briefly considered a shop in downtown Mount Dora but Wild Bird Unlimited recommended opening in a shopping plaza.
They only looked at one other plaza before deciding on Eustis Village, located on David Walker Drive and U.S. Highway 441 in Eustis.
In addition to being easy to reach, being located in a plaza helps with customer service.
“We always carry the bags of seed to the car,” said Judy. “They can weigh 20 pounds.”
They also ship their products and the FedEx driver is a regular at the store — always giving treats to their dog Lucy, sort of a store mascot when the Knizners are in the shop. Once Lucy hears the truck she runs to the door.
The pair isn’t considering retirement any time soon. They have a 10-year franchise agreement. As they say it doesn’t’ feel like work if you like what you’re doing and the Knizners are passionate about doing it in Lake County.
While they don’t sell seed for plants they can tell customers what to plant in order to attract different species of birds.
A customer visited one day and said he wanted to attract birds like his neighbor, and that their bluebirds were coming to his feeders.
He started to give the address and the Knizners said that was their house.
“We appreciated how the people of Lake County have been so receptive,” said Judy. “We love our customer base.”
Store hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information, go to their website at https://westorlando.wbu.com, email them at firstname.lastname@example.org or call 352-602-4208.


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Beijing Co-Create Open Source Software has become the first Chinese
member to join the
The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), the Oregon-based group dedicated to
Beijing Co-Create was founded by a group of 10 Chinese software vendors
April 2001. It’s been working on the development of commercial desktop Linux
products, high-availability Linux systems, and network application systems
based on desktop Linux. The company also promotes OpenDesktop.net, an online
open source community in China.
Moving forward, the company plans to emphasize Linux kernel development
the promotion of the Linux desktop in China.
“With the tremendous momentum for Linux in China, we’re excited that
Co-Create is joining OSDL as our first Chinese member,” Stuart Cohen, CEO of
OSDL said in a statement. “Global use of Linux is rapidly increasing and we
are committed to working with members around the world to accelerate the
adoption of Linux in the enterprise.”
Estimates from the Chinese government’s Beijing Software Industry
Productivity Center show Linux sales in China growing at a 40 percent annual
clip, rising from $6.3 million in 2002 to $38.7 million in 2007.


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A recent survey by the Food Standards Authority of India found that there is a high risk of bovines eating meat, eggs and dairy products.
It also found that the food in the home is not always healthy, and the animals are being kept in cramped conditions.
According to the report, the problem of bivine growth is not confined to India.
A lot of meat is imported from countries like China, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
According to the research, a bovina can eat about 25 kilograms of meat and a cow up to 3,500 kilograms.
In the report dated April 27, the FSAI said, “We find it difficult to monitor the situation of bigha (bovine) population in the country, which is also the source of bismuth,” which is used as an antifreeze in the manufacture of the products.
In India, the number of bison, elk and buffalo in the wild is dwindling and many animals are suffering.
Bovines can be found in various areas in the state of West Bengal.
The FSA said the bovinas are being fed bovinose, a food which has been genetically modified.
It said the FSB has asked all the bivins to undergo testing, as they may not be able to take up the genetically modified feed without being detected.
The FSA also said that there are no bovining regulations in India, but it would be taking steps to ensure that the bison and elk are kept under strict guidelines.


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Square Enix has now released a report on their financial earnings. We now know why Tomb Raider “under-performed”.
Tomb Raider sold over 3.4 million copies in its first month on sale. This might be impressive for most companies, but this was considered disappointing for Square Enix. This is because the company expected to ship between 5 – 6 million copies of the game.
This is some pretty high expectations considering Tomb Raider was sandwiched in between a very competitive month. The month of March alone saw the releases of God of War: Ascension, Gear of War: Judgment and BioShock: Infinite just to name a few.
In related news, Square Enix also expected to ship 4.5 to 5 million copies of Hitman: Absolution. The game only sold 3.6 million copies.
The only real disappointment is Sleeping Dogs. The company expected to ship between 2 – 2.5 million copies. The game sold just 1.75 million copies when it was released in August 2012.


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Australian workers have had the biggest end-of-year wage growth in a decade, according to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The wage price index (WPI) rose 0.8 per cent, the best performance in the December quarter since 2012.
It made for a 3.3 per cent annual wage growth, a dramatic spike not seen in a decade.
READ MORE: Australia's richest suburbs revealed
Private sector wage growth was slightly higher than public sector wages.
But despite the overall rise, only 21 per cent of private sector workers got a pay rise in the December quarter.
Annual wage growth was the highest in the wholesale trade industry, where workers got a 4.2 per cent raise in 2022.
Education and training was the lowest in wage growth last year.
But the accommodation and food services industry was highest in the December quarter, with workers there averaging a 1.7 per cent increase.
The lowest in the December quarter were workers in administrative and support services, registering a 0.3 per cent pay rise.
But the pay increases are cold comfort for Australian consumers, with the consumer price index rising 1.9 per cent in the December quarter.
Which means anybody who got less than 1.9 per cent in pay rises that quarter got an effective pay cut.
This is described as "real wages", where wages are adjusted for inflation.
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WarCraftCinema.com's Azeroth Ad contest
Eric Anderson writes:
A new contest is pushing the limits of machinima to new levels. The
contest, currently running at WarcraftCinema.com through the end of
the month, offers machinima creators over $700 in prizes for creating
advertisements with the World of Warcraft engine.
Intended to introduce the machinima community to the :30 second spot,
the contest could raise the use of machinima in advertisements to a
new level. The contest is only for ingame products at this time, but
if successful could build into launching pad for a vibrant "machinima
in advertisements" community.
For more info, go to the contest website.


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Coinbase Is Launching It’s NFT Marketplace Soon, Here’s All You Need To Know
NFT’S are gradually getting very much viral in the crypto world, as various exchanges are currently in talks to launch their very own NFT project.
Coinbase, has announced that its about to launch its nft digital marketplace where you can mint, collect, discover and showcase your NFTs, all in one place.
The company also announced that it’s nft email waitlist is currently open for members who are interested in joining the platform.
“By joining the email waitlist you’ll be among the first invited to join the platform and receive updates about Coinbase NFT like the official date of launch’ a post on the company’s Official website read.


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In March 2016, the DDoS protection service Staminus was "massively hacked" resulting in an outage of more than 20 hours and the disclosure of customer credentials (with unsalted MD5 hashes), support tickets, credit card numbers and other sensitive data. 27k unique email addresses were found in the data which was subsequently released to the public. Staminus is no longer in operation.
Accounts breached: 26815
Breached on: March 11, 2016
Exposed data: Credit cards, Email addresses, IP addresses, Passwords, Support tickets, and Usernames
Added on: October 05, 2017


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Subasinghe was re-elected at the annual general meeting of SLAMERP in Colombo 16 Jan. This will be his third consecutive year as SLAMERP chairman, the association said.
In his acceptance speech, Subasinghe said the Sri Lankan rubber product industry is enjoying steady growth. Sri Lankan exports of rubber products totalled $855 million in 2017, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 11%, he said.
However, growth in Sri Lankan natural rubber production is not keeping pace with rubber product manufacturing, according to Mr. Subasinghe. NR production in Sri Lanka rose 7% in 2017 to 85,000 tonnes, but local demand is almost 130,000 tonnes, he said.


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Now, the most prominent and reputed company named the Ferrari will be going to introduce another model that totally heats up the entire environment. Ferrari 812 Superfast will be very soon ready to go on the road and ready to take the grand launch in the global market. The model will be very superb for all the people who love to purchase luxury things. As everyone knows that the company already contains a very genuine hype in the market because of introducing the fastest car in the world. Apart from this, the look of the car also went viral when the company launched the model, Ferrari.
If we talk about the latest limited-edition special series of Ferrari then the images of the new model officially released by the company. Otherwise, the World Premiere of the latest model Ferrari 812 Superfast will be broadcasted live on 5th May 2021. Also, the features and the specifications of the model will be very superb and worthy. The biggest evolution of Maranello’s legendary 65-degree naturally-aspirated V12 engine will be featuring in the latest Ferrari. The model will be coming to achieves the highest speed of Ferrari road car engine 818bhp at heavy 9,500 rpm. The design of the model also loved by millions of people because it went viral on social media.
The car will be designed to always remain in control even at the highest speed. Apart from this, the car also coming with independent steering on all four wheels. The weight of the car also reduced compared to the 812 superfast speed. The brand new car will be very soon available for all the people who want to buy a new car for their personal use. The look of the model extremely loving and eye-catching because every time the company wants to introduce something brilliant and awesome that loved by almost everyone.
The best part of the car is aerodynamic that totally gives a very amazing look to the new car. Ferrari 812 Superfast will be very soon getting its grab launch and available on sale when the officials announce the launch. The price of the model has not been revealed yet but very soon the official will be given every single detail related to the model. The company already contains such a huge fanbase across the world and now the makers are ready to increase the popularity of the company across the world. So stay connected with us to know more information related to the current happenings across the globe.


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Chevrolet has announced that it will unveil its all-electric Silverado on January 5 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The launch of the pickup truck is set to heat up the electric vehicle market as offerings from Tesla, Ford and others are set. To hit the road in the near future. The automobile division of American manufacturer General Motors (GM) also released a shadowy video teaser of the EV showing a top-to-bottom view of the fixed-glass roof on the vehicle. the company said This is the first fixed-glass roof on a GM pickup in the full-size truck segment.
Chevrolet also said in a statement that the Silverado will have a commercial-grade fleet version that lacks some of the luxury features. However, these features including a fixed-glass roof will be an option on the non-commercial version. The Silverado will be based on the Altium battery platform, which will also be used in upcoming electric GM products such as the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyrica.
The Silverado is expected to have a range of up to 400 miles on a single charge, making long distance travel possible with it. Chevrolet has previously said that the Silverado will have rear-axle steering to significantly tighten the turning radius.
Electric trucks as well as a regular gas-powered version of the pickup truck are likely to remain in production in the near future. General Motors is aiming to transform itself into a fully electric vehicle manufacturer by 2035. It plans to launch several other electric models in the next few years.
Founded in Detroit, USA in 1911, Chevrolet has come a long way to become one of the largest car brands in the world. It says it now sells its products in 79 countries. The automaker is hoping to accelerate its EV launches to meet growing demand and also position itself in the market as it races to see Tesla and Ford dominate it.
For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 Twitter, Facebook, and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel.
FIFA 23 may be called EA Sports FC, as EA has dropped the FIFA branding.


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China Merchants Port and Chinese internet service provider Tencent signed co-operation agreement to establish smart port technology lab.
The two parties will research and develop digital assistants to provide digital services for port, logistics, trading and consumers.
China Merchants and Tencent have developed extensive co-operation in various sectors. The latest co-operation agreement will use technology to promote smart port construction, explore innovation models and jointly establish a port ecosystem and platform, said Deng Renjie, chairman of China Merchants Port.
Meanwhile, China Merchants Port and Tencent will also develop unmanned trucks, intelligent port operations, port digital twins and technologies for related areas.
Started in 2017, China Merchants and Tencent had established co-operation for information construction and further deepened the partnership for intelligent port construction last year.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News


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OpenX this week announced that Accenture Executive Roxanne Taylor is joining the company’s board of directors. According to OpenX, Taylor spent over 20 years at Accenture, including a decade as the company’s chief marketing and communications officer leading all marketing and communications activities for the Fortune Global 500 company.
OpenX says that under Taylor’s leadership, the marketing and communications functions have helped drive significant growth and expansion for Accenture, a leading professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. With global revenues of $34 billion in 2017 and approximately 442,000 employees worldwide, Accenture’s market presence reaches across more than 120 countries and 40 industries. This is confirmed by the chairman and CEO of Accenture, Pierre Nanterme, that said “during her tenure as CMO, Rox has built a strong and innovative team that has significantly increased Accenture’s reputation and brand value, helping us attract clients and recruit talent around the world. On a personal level, it has been my great pleasure to work closely with Rox over many years as a valued member of our senior leadership team.”
For more than a decade Taylor lead a global team of more than 1,000 professionals responsible for Accenture’s image and market development, corporate and financial communications, brand management, advertising and research. She has won numerous awards throughout her career, including recognition as one of Forbes’ “Most Influential CMOs,” and Advertising Women of New York’s “Change the Game” award.
One of the most respected marketing leaders
“Advertisers have rightly begun to demand more of their supply chain, and a clear message has been sent to technology partners: If you want to win and keep the business of a brand marketer, it’s critical that you meet their quality and safety needs,” said Tim Cadogan, CEO of OpenX. “Roxanne is one of the most respected marketing leaders in business today and she is bringing to our board an unrivaled understanding of what brands expect from their advertising partners.”


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The growth projection of the global economy tilted overwhelmingly to the downside for the coming year. Recently, the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth projections for 2022 and 2023. It not only dubbed the world’s economic outlook ‘gloomy and more uncertain’ but informed it expects it to grow by only 3.2 percent this year.
The current forecasts for growth raised the prospect of a more pronounced slowdown as the IMF estimated the growth previously in April of 3.6 percent. But this time, the fund downgraded its expectation for growth to 3.2 percent. The global growth weakens further to 2.9 percent in the coming year. Three months ago, the projections were 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points higher. It added the global economy has shrunk for the first time since 2020.
The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession - International Monetary Fund.
It’s not a single shock that hit the world economy weakened by the pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s second lockdown, higher-than-expected inflation worldwide, and further covid outbreaks are among the factors that triggered the slowest economic growth around the globe. The outlook has darkened significantly since April, said the IMF’s Economic counselor, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. “The world may soon be teetering on the edge of a global recession, only two years after the last one.” He further informed about the downside risks to the global economy that could result in even poor performance. Some among them include:
Global inflation is likely to intensify.
The forecasts by IMF around inflation have also slashed the hopes for relief. It raised its forecast for global inflation for this year and 2023 by nearly a percentage point to 8.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively. Researchers at the IMF describe the situation around inflation: “Global inflation has been revised up due to food and energy prices as well as lingering supply-demand imbalances, and it is anticipated to reach 6.6 percent in advanced economies and 9.5 percent in emerging market and developing economies this year.” IMF further added the economic outlook became much more gloomy and “extraordinarily uncertain” with inflation at peaks and challenges to growth increasing.
Which countries lead the downgrades?
The worsening growth prospects in the United States, China, and India drove the IMF’s downward revisions. Concerning America, the GDP growth is weaker than expected in the first half of 2022 amid the reduced household purchasing power and tightening monetary policy. The outlook also lowered by 1.4 percent compared with the last predictions. China’s economy is observing growth 1.1 percentage points short of previous estimates, following extended Covid lockdowns and a deepening real estate crisis. At its lowest clip, the world’s second-largest economy anticipates growth of 3.3 percent in 2022.
Less favorable external conditions and rapid policy tightening cut India’s forecast by 0.8 to 7.4 percent. Parallelly, Russia’s economy contracted less than expected in the second quarter. The IMF said it comes despite wide-reaching economic sanctions over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Its 2022 projection was revised up 2.5 percentage points, though its estimated growth rate remains negative at -6.0 percent.
This country is on the path to the slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023
The IMF further warned the United Kingdom is to trail with the slowest growth among the G7 group of the world’s wealthy economies. The GDP is now only expected to rise by 0.5% in 2023. Concerning price hikes, the combination of Covid, Brexit, and the war in Ukraine pushed UK inflation, which hit 9.4 percent in June, higher than that of its peers in the G7 group of wealthy nations, including the United States, Germany, and France. It also revised its expectation for UK inflation to average 10.5 percent this year, up from 7.8 percent in its April forecast, because of the country’s exposure to rises in natural gas prices as a net importer of energy.
What should be the top priority now?
Inflation across the world continues to track higher throughout the year. With rising prices fueling a global cost-of-living crisis, the IMF said taming inflation should be policymakers’ number one priority. The report raised the alarm about how ‘Tighter monetary policy will inevitably have real economic costs, but the delay will only exacerbate them.’
The recent update by IMF to its “World Economic Outlook” report informed of a dire prediction for the world economy. The primary reasons cited for the revision in growth expectations were the damage done to European economies from the Russian-Ukrainian War, the new covid outbreak, more lockdowns in China, inflation eating into consumers’ spending power, and tightening monetary policy around the globe. The report mentioned that if Russia abruptly stopped all gas flows to Europe, inflation will not subside as expected. If widespread lockdowns continue in China, the world economy could witness growth as low as 2.6 percent in 2022 and 2.0 percent in 2023.
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Monday, December 6, 2021 by Tai Moses
Love global design but want to support local fashion designers at the same time? The ATX+EGYPT Fashion Pop-Up allows shoppers to do both. The pop-up store, part of the ATX+EGYPT Entrepreneurship Program, sells clothing, jewelry, bags, leather goods and more made by fashion designers from Austin and Cairo. As Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, acting director of the Austin Economic Development Department, explained, “This pop-up store is a great opportunity to support Austin fashion designers during the holiday season. The store also provides fashion designers from Cairo with an opportunity to access the U.S. market.” The store is open Dec. 5-20, Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday from noon-5 p.m., 225 W. Second St.
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EB GAMES ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING OF THE LARGEST EB GAMES & ZING POP CULTURE STORE IN THE WORLD
Australia’s leading video games retailer, EB Games, is excited to announce the Grand Opening of EB Games Sydney, the company’s flagship Sydney store opening this Wednesday, 20th July from 5:30 PM. EB Games Sydney is a dual EB Games and Zing Pop Culture store located in Westfield Sydney in Pitt Street Mall. At a whopping 341m2 it is officially the biggest EB Games and Zing Pop Culture store in the world.
“Pop culture collectibles are a huge part of the diversification of the EB Games brand. Every pop culture fan wants to show off a piece of their fandom and this goes hand in hand with the gaming universe,” said Marketing, Brand, Events and Engagement Director Debra McGrath.
“EB Games Sydney is our biggest store ever and will be a true sight to see for every kind of fan.
“We have already had over 1300 people RSVP to attend Wednesday’s event, which is set to be bigger than any game or store launch we have ever seen.”
Media and the public are invited to attend and will receive 20% off storewide on top of the epic deals already in The Biggest Sale Ever plus a free EB Expo Friday Twilight ticket valued at $39.95. To further commemorate this once in a life time event, all guests will also score a special EB World card exclusive to EB Games Sydney to prove their gaming cred for years to come.
The EB Games Sydney Grand Opening promises to be a night to remember, with loads of free entertainment on offer. Attendees will get the chance to rub shoulders and have their photo taken with celebrity cosplayer personalities from around Australia, and aspiring Padawans can learn the way of the Jedi with awesome lightsaber demonstrations from Sons of Obiwan Saber Academy. Guests can also take home a souvenir with free balloon art sculptures of their favourite pop culture characters, awesome caricatures and much more.
The EB Games Sydney Grand Opening takes place on Wednesday 20th July, from 5.30pm – 10:00pm at EB Games Sydney downstairs in Westfield Sydney in Pitt Street Mall, next to Mad Mex. Media are encouraged to RSVP as soon as possible via: http://bit.ly/299vqRp.
About EB Games
EB Games Australia head office is located in Queensland, with retail stores operating in every Australian State and Territory. EB Games Australia is part of GameStop Corp. Currently EB Games have 375 retail stores in Australia. The Company sells new and preowned video game software, hardware and accessories for video game systems from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. In addition, the company sells PC entertainment software, related accessories and other merchandise. General information on EB Games can be obtained at the company’s website: http://www.ebgames.com.au.


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EXCLUSIVE: Genre sales outfit adds UK doc in push for diversified slate; cuts international deals on genre lineup.
Genre sales specialist Devilworks has picked up world rights to UK road-trip documentary Follow the Money, the first acquisition in the company’s push to secure more documentaries.
Follow the Money, which launched at The London Screenings in June, follows the journey of directors John Hardwick and Ben Unwin and journalist Steve Boggan as they follow a ten dollar bill across America.
Devilworks president Samantha Richardson said: “This is an exciting expansion. Follow the Money is a first for us. We will be at MIPCOM in October, launching a new line up of documentaries and thrilling genre films”.
Devilworks recently concluded deals on a host of genre titles including Devil May Call, starring Tyler Mane, to Level Film in Canada; Afterimages to MovieCloud for Taiwan and Company L for Korea; The Vineyard to Lighthouse Entertainment for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Shopping Tour to Terracotta Distribution for UK and Ireland; Time Lapse to Australia and New Zealand with Bounty and The Maid’s Room to Spain with Atresmedia Cine.


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Posts Tagged ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’
Illuminate Breast Cancer Awareness Month and join Stila Cosmetics’ 3rd Annual Day of Living Beauty. To benefit breast cancer research, you can purchase a pretty in pink makeup kit from Stila Cosmetics. The Positive and Pretty Palette includes a blush, highlighter and four eye shadows in shades of ribbon pink to create a lovely glow. Proceeds from every makeup palette sold will be donated to The Foundation of Living Beauty.
The Foundation for Living Beauty will host a Day of Living Beauty with Stila Cosmetics’ Global Director of Creative Artistry Sarah Lucero and the Stila Pro Team, on Saturday, October 16 at Prive Salon in Los Angeles. The event is designed to help the courageous women who are coping with cancer to rediscover their natural beauty.
The living beauties will have the chance to enjoy a day of uplifting makeovers and photo sessions to help remind them of their shining beauty. The foundation’s mission is to empower women to reduce their cancer risk and increase their self-esteem, physical wellness and emotional stability while coping with the taxing effects of cancer treatments.
Kohl’s is offering an exclusive collection as part of the Kohl’s Cares Program to support women’s health. Shop online at Kohl’s.com for apparel and accessories from Fila Sport, including T-shirts, pins and sandals. There’s also pink-themed merchandise for fitness enthusiasts such as water bottles and yoga mats. Each of the items are affordable for $5 or $10. Kohl’s will donate all of the proceeds to support the fight against breast cancer.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, LOFT stores teamed up with jewelry designers Anna Sheffield, Kara Ross and Robin Renzi for Me&Ro for an exclusive line of fabulous pieces to spice up your jewelry box. With each purchase, a $5 donation will be made to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Shop today for the pretty necklace and bracelets at a LOFT store or at LOFTonline.com.


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Making It Work: Online beauty retailer sees sales soar in face of pandemic
Millies.ie has opened a new warehouse and reorganised its workforce to keep up with the growth in new customers
Sales have jumped three-fold since the start of the pandemic at an Irish online skincare and haircare retailer, leading to a major reorganisation of the business.
Millies.ie opened a new warehouse in Naas in Co Kildare last year so that distribution to a growing number of customers around the country could be centralised.
Owner Joann Mahon has also reorganised her 35-strong workforce. Beauty therapists usually employed at Mahon’s...
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24% decline in gross new lending to Irish SMEs in 2021, Central Bank says
New data released by the Irish financial regulator indicated that gross new lending to SMEs experienced its sharpest decline in years during the Covid-19 pandemic
PUP should be cut faster to get workers back, Isme says
Group says lack of state guidance on companies’ right to staff vaccination status puts employers in an impossible position
Remote working could enable Irish start-ups to scale at home, Techstars manager says
Changes to venture capital which arose from Covid-19 could help Ireland maintain its own thriving start-up ecosystem, according to entrepreneur


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How much is that doggy in the window? Excuse me, did you say £1.2m? Oh, you did.
A Tibetan Mastiff puppy has taken the crown of the most expensive dog in the world as it was sold for $2m (£1.2m) last weekend.
The Tibetan Mastiff (examples above, but sadly not the actual dog in question) is an extremely popular type of dog amongst Chinese millionaires and this one fetched far beyond the normal price; they usually change hands for around £100,000. They are loyal, protective and, according to one Chinese Zoo, also look a bit like lions.
In 2010, the president of the American Tibetan Mastiff Assocation commented to AP in 2010, "They have a relatively short life expectancy and are not especially rare, so it's quite puzzling why they are fetching such a high price in China". Meanwhile, an "industry insider" also claimed that high prices are "just breeders hyping each other up, and no money actually changes hands".
However, if prices remain high, the purchase may be shrewd - the buyer has said that he intends to use the dog for breeding.


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SKEGNESS, England – August 30, 2022: Salt’s fish and chips shop in Skegness, Lincolnshire. Manager Liam Parker told TBEN the family business is looking to cut costs over the winter as rising energy and fish prices weigh on small businesses.
SKEGNESS, England — Traditional British fish and chip shops are facing an “extinction event” as energy and fish prices skyrocket, the industry’s official body and shop owners have warned.
The UK is facing a historic cost of living crisis as a result of an ongoing upward spiral in energy bills, which has pushed inflation to double digits and is expected to worsen into next year, hammering consumers and small businesses.
Meanwhile, prices of fish, potatoes and oil have soared in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a subsequent series of international sanctions. Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of seafood and is a major supplier of whitefish to many countries.
“It’s starting to paralyze us a bit – the [school summer] next week the holidays are over and people will be focusing on energy prices, so I think this winter is going to be tough,” David Wilkinson, owner of The Blue Fin restaurant in Skegness, Lincolnshire, told TBEN last week, adding that it The company has already seen its energy bill rise by 60% this year.
“Most people are talking about only being open a few days a week because it’s so quiet here. I think a lot is going to fail if we don’t get help from the government.”
David and his partner Eileen Beckford have been running the restaurant in the center of the coastal town on the east coast for seven years, a traditional domestic summer holiday destination for many Brits.
SKEGNESS, England – August 30, 2022: David Wilkinson (R) and partner Eileen Beckford (L), owners of The Blue Fin in Skegness, Lincolnshire, worry about the future as fish and energy prices rise as traditional British fish and chips hammer shops.
“I used to have the restaurant open upstairs and downstairs, lots of staff – can’t do it now, we just have to put it on trays, ask the same price, save money on the cost, which helps ease the cost a little bit. It’s a nice one now margin, that’s for sure,” he said. The Blue Fin is also struggling to find staff as the country’s labor market remains extremely tight.
Prior to the pandemic, he paid £70 ($81.16) for 3 stone (42 lbs) of fish, but that has now reached £270, with much of his fish coming from Russia. The British government has introduced an additional 35% tariff on seafood imports from Russia as part of its post-war punitive measures in Ukraine, and Wilkinson’s suppliers have informed him that this is likely to hit even harder in the winter.
Many fish and chip shops are turning to Scandinavia instead, and representatives from the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) recently traveled to Norway to try to mitigate the problem of rising prices.
A key issue facing the industry is the extent to which fish and chip shops can pass on cost increases to consumers before losing sales, with fish and chips long considered an affordable treat, especially in traditionally working-class areas of the country.
‘We are afraid’
Liam Parker, manager of Salt’s Fish and Chip Shop across town, has seen energy prices double as it opens for longer trading hours in the summer, and the company tries to conserve as much energy as possible in the winter.
“In the winter, Skegness goes from very busy to a bit of a ghost town. We will keep an eye on everything and not overdo it,” he told TBEN last week.
“Obviously the hours are getting a little shorter, but we’re trying to make as much money as possible in the summer to get through the winter.”
The family business has been forced to raise its fish prices twice this year as wholesale prices have risen by around £20 per box, Parker estimated. Suppliers cite higher travel requirements and rising fuel costs to retrieve fish as the main drivers of price increases.
“We’re hopeful at this point, but don’t get me wrong, as owners we’re scared. We’ve had conversations between the whole family, what we’re reading, and we’re unsure of what the future will hold,” Parker said.
The company has reached out to suppliers to try to hold prices for a year or more, but the uncertainty of the macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook means many are unwilling to engage in such talks, he added.
Andrew Crook, chairman of the UK’s National Federation of Fish Friers and owner of Skippers of Euxton restaurant in Chorley, Lancashire, told TBEN on Monday that this may be the worst crisis the industry has ever faced.
The price of fish and chips at Skippers has risen £1.60 since the start of the year, but Crook said the price he pays for fish has now doubled. He suggested the outlook is “very frightening” as the impact of the 35% tariff on Russian imports is not yet fully reflected in the prices charged by suppliers.
Meanwhile, a drought in the UK has hampered crop production, which Crook expects will push potato prices further, and the price of sunflower oil, used by many fish and chip shops, has doubled but is beginning to level off as supply shortages disappear.
“It’s a really bleak picture, but we’re resilient, we’ve got a great product and I’m sure the industry will get through it. It could bring quite a few people down along the way – I’m pretty sure it will, said Crook.
“I don’t think it’s just fish and chip shops that have been affected, although we have unique pressures from the conflict due to our reliance on some products coming from Russia and Ukraine, so we’re probably going to bear the brunt of it, but I think this is really an extinction event for small businesses with no government intervention.”
SKEGNESS, England – August 30, 2022: High Street in Skegness, Lincolnshire, popularly known as Chip Pan Alley.
The NFFF has lobbied the UK government to reform its small business tax system, with VAT (Value Added Tax) – a levy on goods and services at every stage of the supply chain – returning to 20% from April after an aid package during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ve always had a pretty tight margin because fish is expensive, and we’ve always had a pretty low selling price, but we’re working on volume. We’ve always felt the pain of VAT – I think now the rest of hospitality are all saying the same thing Crook said.
“Now is the time. We need a courageous government to make these difficult decisions and recognize it as an investment in the future, because we are creating great jobs.”
Business energy customers do not enjoy the same freedoms as households to switch to a new provider during the contract term, he explains. The NFFF is also calling for an overhaul of the energy supply system to better reward companies that invest in human resources and environmentally sound practices.
“Small businesses are the largest employer in the country. We were always known as a nation of retailers — I don’t know what we are now, to be honest,” Crook said.


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New horror game InSane has been confirmed and will arrive in 2013 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
The title is being produced by Red Faction developer Volition Inc and overseen by film director Guillermo del Toro, known for his work on the Hellboy films and cult hit Pan’s Labyrinth.
InSane was revealed at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards this weekend.
THQ EVP of core games Danny Bilson said on Twitter: Finally announced Insane – I’ve been working with Guillermo del Toro for six months. Just finished the story beats yesterday.
It won’t compare to other games – that is our mission.”
Other announcements at the VGAs included the official reveals of new upcoming titles including Sony’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, EA’s Mass Effect 3, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and more.


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MACHIAS, Maine — A grand agricultural experiment — a Maine farmer-owned milk company — is close to folding and will suspend milk production this weekend as its principals scramble to find investment funding.
MOOMilk, which stands for Maine’s Own Organic Milk, processed milk Wednesday but will suspend production Sunday on skim and 1 percent milk, as a variety of reasons have combined to force the business toward closure. The company’s cash flow is so low that it can only purchase 2 percent and whole milk cartons.
“We are out of money,” David Bright, MOOMilk’s secretary and one of its founders, said this week.
Although the company began with 10 member farmers from Washington, Aroostook and Kennebec counties, that number has fallen to six, threatening the company’s ability to produce enough milk to remain sustainable.
One has opted to produce cheese, one is currently shipping elsewhere but intends to rejoin MOOMilk later this year, one shifted to conventional milk, and one sold his herd to family members who opted to shift to conventional milk.
Economic pressures also took a toll: The retail price of organic milk can be twice as much as conventional milk.
MOOMilk was formed last year after Hood LLC, citing a soft market, did not renew its contracts with 10 Maine organic milk producers. There was no other organic producer willing to pick up the farms, so the farmers banded together and created MOOMilk.
Smiling Hill Farm agreed to process the milk — 17,000 or more pounds a day — and Oakhurst Dairy in Portland has been distributing it to more than 100 stores in Maine and New Hampshire.
“We have less than $1,400 left in the bank account,” Bright said Wednesday. He said the company was making enough to pay the farmers but not enough to pay its overhead. MOOMilk owes money to the hauler, the processor and the distributor.
“We’ve just not been able to produce or sell enough to make a profit,” Bright said.
As for the remaining farmers — three in Aroostook County and three in Washington County — Bright said they are paying the trucker, Jason Schoppee of Holden, out of their own milk checks to deliver their product to conventional dairies.
He said the Aroostook County farmers had an opportunity to ship to another market but they were aware that if they did so, no one would service the Washington County farms. The three — in Edmunds, Charlotte and Perry — are too far out of the conventional trucking loop for it to be profitable to haul their milk.
In an act of solidarity, the three Aroostook farmers agreed to stick by the Washington County farmers while a solution is being worked on.
“This is a stressful time,” Aaron Bell of Tide Mill Farm in Edmunds admitted Wednesday. “We are all hopeful we can work something out.”
Bright said company officials have been working with the Maine Department of Agriculture, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, FAME, and state Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Eastport, to find a solution to the cash flow problem, including seeking private investors.
As recently as Aug. 1, Bright was optimistic about sales but acknowledged then that an additional 3,000 gallons a week needed to be sold to put the company in the black.
Correction: An earlier version of this story required clarification. The company has has not suspended production of 2 percent and whole milk, as Bright originally told the Bangor Daily News. Instead, it will suspend production of skim and 1 percent milk. MOOMilk is now sold in 100 stores throughout northern New England, not 49. Bright also wanted to clarify the reasons that four of the original 10 farmers are no longer contributing to MOOmilk.