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BlueVoyant UK Marks One Year of Impressive Momentum, Targeting Aggressive Growth with Senior Cyber Security Appointments
Senior appointments and new Elements platform will continue to drive impressive year-on-year growth.
LONDON, 7 July, 2022 — BlueVoyant UK, an industry-leading cyber defence platform company converging internal and external security, today announced significant UK growth as it evolves the UK senior leadership team and targets aggressive growth for BlueVoyant Elements. Elements is the company’s new outcomes-based, cloud-native cyber defence platform that combines managed detection and response, third-party cyber risk management, digital risk protection, and expert professional services.
Since BlueVoyant acquired Marclay Associates in July 2021, it has enjoyed tremendous success. With BlueVoyant UK opening its London-based security operations centre (SOC), the number of local employees has grown by 230% across all business units. Furthermore, sales revenue has increased 60% in the last year.
This sustained growth has seen the BlueVoyant global employee base grow by 91% — to 650 — in the last 12 months, with the number of customers working with BlueVoyant across all regions increasing by more than 80% in the same period.
Cutting-edge solutions and technology partnerships central to continued growth
BlueVoyant’s new Elements platform will help fuel this continued growth with end-to-end cyber defence capabilities in a single platform. Elements can be deployed as a full-spectrum solution or as individual modules based on customers’ requirements:
BlueVoyant Core: MDR (Managed Detection & Response)
BlueVoyant Terrain: SCD (Supply Chain Defense)
BlueVoyant Sky: DRP (Digital Risk Protection)
BlueVoyant Liquid: PS (Professional Services)
“BlueVoyant UK’s threat intelligence capabilities, bespoke insight-led consultancy, respected military heritage, strong organisational culture and transparent and dedicated approach has helped businesses across the UK and Europe defend themselves effectively,” said Jim Rosenthal, CEO, BlueVoyant. “As a region of critical strategic importance for our continued global growth, we are committed to building on our successes by providing unrivalled expertise and service to customers, enabling firms to deploy strong end-to-end cyber security as a value differentiator with our Elements platform.”
Helping to secure organisations’ third-party supplier ecosystems is a core focus for BlueVoyant UK. According to research, 97% of UK respondents surveyed had experienced a direct cyber security data breach because of supply chain weaknesses. BlueVoyant intelligence also revealed that the average time to exploit new vulnerabilities is just 12 days, against an average time to patch of 205 days.
Organisations are therefore in a race to patch and strengthen the cyber defence posture of their own business, and those organisations that sit within their supply chain. This is where BlueVoyant is differentiated in the market; it can rapidly produce vulnerability analytics and communicate urgent actions across the supply chain within two hours.
BlueVoyant’s award-winning partnership with Microsoft – including being named a design partner for its new security services portfolio and being recognised as the 2022 Microsoft U.S. Security Partner of the Year Winner – will enable BlueVoyant UK to expand its market-leading managed security services capabilities throughout the UK and Europe, through its Core: MDR offering.
Furthermore, BlueVoyant’s existing global partnership with Splunk will enable organisations across the UK and Europe to layer existing Splunk investments with military-grade cyber security expertise. It is also set to expand professional services capabilities from the UK into Europe and Asia.
“BlueVoyant’s momentum in the UK and Europe has demonstrated the requirement for co-managed end-to-end cyber security solutions,” added James Tamblin, president and CEO of BlueVoyant UK. “However, the threat from increasingly sophisticated adversaries and cyber risk vectors, both directly and through the supply chain, remains a serious challenge to organisations’ overall resilience. This is why we’re working closely with UK private and public sector organisations, including those within the critical national infrastructure, to help manage cyber security supply chain risks.”
Senior appointments driving regional momentum
To help continue BlueVoyant UK’s momentum, the senior leadership team has evolved with the appointments of James McDowell as chief operating officer (COO), Leigh Glasper as director of cyber advisory, and Tom Moore as head of digital forensics and incident response – alongside Tamblin’s new additional role as UK CEO.
McDowell joined BlueVoyant’s UK business in October 2020 in its previous guise, before moving into his current role as COO. McDowell will utilise his experience as an established cyber security director to build long-lasting relationships with BlueVoyant UK’s customers, and help to deliver on BlueVoyant UK’s go-to-market strategy.
With 14 years of experience delivering intelligence and cyber consultancy to UK government, national security, and private sector clients, Glasper — as director of cyber advisory —oversees all aspects of client delivery and professional services capability development for public and private sector customers. He also delivers cyber advisory to clients and security leaders on all defensive cyber operations and transformation aspects.
In his role as Head of Digital Forensics and Incident Response for BlueVoyant, Moore oversees a team of experts that assists clients in identifying, responding to and recovering from all kinds of incidents involving information systems and digital evidence. This includes everything from cyber security breaches and attacks to dealing with insider threats, industrial espionage, litigation support, and a wide range of other legal and regulatory engagements, globally.
“Talent is one of the three key pillars underpinning our new Elements platform,” said Tamblin. “Therefore, James, Leigh, and Tom’s leadership strengths and experience will be invaluable in achieving our regional growth aspirations. This will help to position BlueVoyant as the leading cyber security defence platform throughout the UK and Europe.”
BlueVoyant converges internal and external cyber defence capabilities into an outcomes-based, cloud-native platform called BlueVoyant Elements. Elements continuously monitors your network, endpoints, attack surface, and supply chain as well as the open, deep, and dark web for vulnerabilities, risks, and threats; and takes action to protect your business, leveraging both machine learning-driven automation and human-led expertise. Elements can be deployed as independent solutions or together as a full-spectrum cyber defence platform. BlueVoyant’s approach to cyber defence revolves around three key pillars — technology, telemetry, and talent — that deliver rock-solid cyber defence capabilities to more than 700 customers across the globe.
BlueVoyant UK Press Contact:


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beverage study , Mintel Andrew John Flounders, elderly applications specialist
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domain: news


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‘The Dark Tower’ Amazon TV Series Nabs Sam Strike as Roland Deschain
432 total views, 1 views today
According to Deadline, Amazon has been hatching plans for the show’s pilot episode with the former executive producer of The Walking Dead, Glen Mazzara. Aside from Strike, Jasper Pääkkönen (Vikings) has also been cast as Marten, Roland’s target.
The Dark Tower TV series will be a lot different than the 2017 movie that starred Idris Elba as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as The Man In Black. The series will instead focus on the origins of the Gunslinger, and its adaptation will be faithful to the books.
The Dark Tower has been in contention for many years before it finally hit the big screen. Despite praises for Elba’s performance in the movie, however, the planned sequel was scrapped due to its poor box office results.
Instead, the producers focused on redeveloping the story into a TV show with Amazon Studios boarding the project. According to Screenrant, The Dark Tower will begin production in April until June in Croatia and the first season will have a total of 13 full-hour episodes.
Casting is still underway for a group of 16 to 18-year-old actors and actresses. This story will expand on the youth of Roland before he actually became the Gunslinger.
King, who is attached to the TV show, published eight books of The Dark Tower from 1982 to 2012. The story falls under multiple genres — drama, fantasy, science fiction, suspense and Western.
Unknown to him, Roland actually belongs to a line of knights known as the Arthur Eld, who are tasked to protect the world from the influences of the Dark Tower. In the first book, Roland has yet to learn his fate and purpose as he embarks on a journey with a group of other warriors.
Amazon has not yet given the series a confirmed release date. Given its production schedule, however, it is likely that the show will premiere in mid-2020 on the streaming platform.


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REPORT: Ace Hardware sparks fury for choosing to advertise with Laura Ingraham’s show
As the most reliable and balanced news aggregation service on the internet, DML News offers the following information published by DailyMail:
Ace Hardware has resumed its advertising for Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show after initially saying they would pull their ads when she criticized a Parkland student survivor.
A spokesperson for the store said last week it would no longer advertise for Ingraham’s show after the host attacked David Hogg for getting college rejection letters, The Wrap reported.
But it was revealed on Friday that the store actually has no intention to pull its ads for and their original decision was ‘incomplete’.
It is important to note that the article goes on to state the following:
Ingraham showed appreciation for the hardware store by tweeting that she will be ‘buying a wheel barrow and other gardening tools at Ace Hardware this weekend’.
But other people were outraged with the company’s decision, especially after it originally announced it would pull all ads.
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) April 13, 2018
The following tweets are examples of the social media pushback over ACE Hardware’s decision.
Menards, here I come.
— EdCunningham (@Edcunningham7) April 15, 2018
Sorry I really like your stores but #BoycottAceHardware
— mammu (@jedfo) April 14, 2018
— Ask the ᗰ⚙⚙И (@Askthemoon22) April 14, 2018
I’m not a bot.
I am an Ace Rewards member.
I am truly outraged.
I do think Annie’s Ace hardware will regret losing my business.
— Darin James (@DJKinz65) April 15, 2018
Ace Reverses! https://t.co/l4nK5ZTNwm
— 🇺🇸 SYLVIA 🇺🇸 (@BamaLady10) April 14, 2018
There were others that supported Ace’s decision. Examples follow.
Ace Hardware announced that they are resuming their advertising with Laura Ingraham.@AceHardware, you worried about your sales or something? I could have told you that Liberals don’t do manual labor and therefore, rarely shop at your locations. Smart decision.
— Tyler Zed (@TyEducatingLibs) April 15, 2018
— RNR Illinois (@RNRIllinois) April 15, 2018
DML News offered you the above information as part of our ongoing effort to educate and inform people around the world. You can obtain additional information by visiting DailyMail.
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Bookseller and stationer WHSmith will be reporting on the 14 weeks to June 5 in its interim management statement on Tuesday.
Last week the retailer garnered publicity it could have done without when it was named Britain’s worst shop in a survey by consumer magazine Which?
Analysts might beg to differ, because the retailer has consistently performed strongly under the leadership of Kate Swann.
Next week, however, analysts will be looking anxiously for any signs of a decline at the retailer’s outperforming travel arm as a result of the volcanic ash cloud that grounded flights and closed airports in April.
At the time, WHSmith said the profit impact was unlikely to be significant, but admitted the disruption would have a “reasonably significant impact on sales for a few days”.
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Q coin holders have their own accounts at Q banks. They can buy the virtual
coins from Tencent's official website for 1 yuan (13 US cents) per coin, or from
online vendors at about half the price.
They mainly use Q coins to buy virtual goods, like weapons in online games,
and sometimes real-world items such as CDs and cosmetics.
However, in the online black market, these coins are also being converted
back into cash. Evidence of the prevalence of these cyber space exchanges has
even show up in court, where the number of cases involving online property has
grown in the past two years.
In one extreme case last year, an online gamer in Shanghai killed another player who had taken his cyber-weapon,
called a Dragon Sabre in the popular online game Legend of Mir III, and sold it
for 7,200 yuan (US$871).
The gamer almost forfeited his real-world life for doing so when he was
handed a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.
Still, Tencent spokeswoman Catherine Chan said in a written statement that
the company's virtual money did not pose a threat to the real-world economy.
Q coins were created to work as tokens for the consumption of the company's
online services, and the Q coin "is definitely not a currency," she said.
"We do not have a mechanism to facilitate these operations (Q coins being
exchanged into RMB) and we are also against the transaction of Q coins solicited
via dubious operations," she added.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)


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U.K. Consumer Pullback Sees Worst Year for Spending Since 2012
U.K. consumers curbed their spending for the first time in five years in 2017 as surging inflation and falling real wages took their toll on high street retailers.
Visa’s U.K. consumer spending index slipped 0.3 percent last year from 2016. It also fell an annual 1 percent in December, the crucial Christmas shopping period for stores. It’s unlikely to recover this year, the credit card company said.
Try European Supermarket Magazine PREMIUM – 30 Day FREE Trial.
A trial subscription gives unrestricted access to all premium site content, app content, weekly email content and European Supermarket Magazine digital edition for a full 30 days. Try it now!


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The crisis that led to the outbreak of the new coronavirus has already left its mark on the world economy. Now, some experts warn that it could also lead to shortages of certain drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are buying up many of the active ingredients that are manufactured in China and India, so production stoppages and export blockades in recent weeks could significantly limit remittances.
The Indian Government, for example, has restricted sales to other countries of 26 of these active ingredients - one of the reasons for this decision is that around 70% of the pharmaceutical ingredients that its industry receives come from China. The aim, according to the authorities, is to protect against a possible shortage of drugs. One of those affected is paracetamol.
The initiative has huge implications, as India produces 26% of Europe's generic medicines and 24% of those in the United States. In fact, in a letter to the European Medicines Agency, the umbrella organisation of the major generic pharmaceutical firms in the Old Continent, Medicines for Europe (MFE), indicates that this situation will have a major impact on supplies if it drags on. In this letter, MFE points out that the risk is currently limited, as companies are working on a margin and some have made an additional stockpile for the celebration of the New Year in China. However, if there is a shortage of active ingredients, this could impact on their price, which would increase. "This would have a side effect on the cost of pharmaceutical production goods globally," says MFE.
No incidents in Spain
The head of the Spanish Association of Generic Medicines (AESEG) assures that for the moment there have been no incidents arising from the supply and that the companies that are in contact with the regulatory bodies are very committed to the situation. For its part, the European Federation of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industries (Efpia) stresses that its members are working to avoid possible supply shortages. AbbVie, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche and Genentech, GSK, Janssen and Sanofi made financial donations and donated drugs that could potentially be effective against coronaviruses.
A study by the Moody's risk rating agency, analysing the impact of this crisis on the pharmaceutical industry, shows that, although it is being more significant in China, there will be consequences at a global level. The market in that country is key for pharmaceutical companies, so the economic slowdown resulting from this scenario will have an impact on the income statement. Another sector that depends on the Asian giant is one of the medical devices, as the chips they use are usually produced in China. Moody's experts say that if the outbreak is not contained quickly, "shortages of such items could lead to disruptions in the supply chain just as demand begins to rise.
Disinfectant masks and gels under control
France was one of the first countries to take measures to ensure the supply of hydroalcoholic disinfectant masks and gels. Thus, the French government has fixed by decree the price of the latter -whose demand has shot up since the appearance of the new coronavirus- in order to avoid an escalation of it and has promoted a legal initiative that allows the authorities to requisition the mentioned masks and reserve them to be used only by the sick and the health personnel. He has not been the only one to act in this way. The German Government has announced the blocking of exports of various medical products, including the aforementioned masks, but also gloves, protective suits and other materials that it considers necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus throughout its territory, especially in medical centres.


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Brokers will soon be able to offer SME clients a merchant cash advance product, as an SME lender looks to expand its offering through the broker channel.
David Goldin, the founder and CEO of SME lender Capify, revealed that the lender had begun rolling out a pilot of its merchant cash advance product through the broker channel and will be looking to expand it out more broadly “very shortly”.
Speaking to The Adviser, Mr Goldin elaborated: “There are very few people in the Australian market who have a true merchant cash advance product.”
Noting that Capify had rolled out a similar offering in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and now Australia, Mr Goldin said that the product “works with the customer”.
“It's really a great product because it allows any SME that accepts eftpos and card payments to have a variable repayment. So, rather than a fixed payment on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, this is a percentage of their sales until they pay off the cash advance. This means that, if their sales slow down, their payments slow down, so we only get paid if our customer gets paid,” he said.
Mr Goldin added that this works particularly well with businesses that are affected by seasonality, as it “reduces the repayment pressure”.
Following on from a recent $135 million cash injection from Goldman Sachs Private Capital to “accelerate the growth of its lending business to Australia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its business loan and merchant cash advance products”, Mr Goldin told The Adviser that the broker pilot formed part of the business’ aim to grow its presence in the third-party channel.
“We’re actually increasing our footprint throughout Australia – we’ve hired (and are in the process of hiring) business development managers through the country to make sure we have local coverage and can significantly increase the volume of business that we do with brokers.”
The CEO also revealed that the SME lender was also “actively seeking potential synergistic acquisitions” in light of other recent capital raise, stating that this could be in the form of “a strategic product or a strategic distribution channel” that would help accelerate growth.
“Sometimes it’s better to buy versus build,” he said. “Rather than start from scratch [we could] instead buy the company with subject matter expertise in that particular product and distribution channel already in place.”
Mr Goldin added that these potential acquisitions would be for “either a new SME product or new SME distribution channel”.
He concluded: “Looking forward, we will be rolling out our new partner portal, giving us even more enhanced technology for reporting for our broker channel; we are working on certain new technology available in the marketplace that will make our decisioning process faster and more automated; rolling out new products; and increasing our local presence in various regions of Australia for the brokers.”


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- Dow Jones reports this morning that Ahold’s US Foodservice headquarters issued a directive late last year that pressured regional centers around the country to build up inventories that weren’t needed and wouldn’t be sold for months.
Internal documents show that in some cases, the regional centers ordered so much inventory that they had to find outside storage facilities at which to keep the products, which came from companies that included Sara Lee Corp., ConAgra Foods Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., and Nestle SA. These kinds of vendors were on a preferred list that the company apparently wanted to make sure had enough product being ordered from; US Foodservice headquarters said that if the regional centers didn’t make sufficient orders, the orders would be placed by HQ. Tim Lee, the US Foodservice vice president of purchasing currently on suspension, signed at least some of these memos.
While this would appear to be the opposite of the “just in time” inventory approach that so many look upon as the promised land, this inventory build up also would have the effect of inflating the company’s sales since manufacturers were paying promotional fees and rebates to be carried by US Foodservice, often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The more goods in inventory, the higher the gross profit
Eventually, however, the high inventory levels would be a house of cards that would fall apart because many of these products would have to be sold at cost or at a loss in order to clear out inventory. With fresh or frozen product, there also is the inevitable spoilage and shrink.
And there’s another problem. The house of cards being built by US Foodservice would at some point affect the vendors, which were booking business that really wasn’t there…or, at the very least, would dry up when the bloated inventories got sold off.
- Reuters reports that Ahold has finalized a loan for the equivalent of $3.4 billion (US), which should give the company room to maneuver as it deals with the fact that it is being investigated on two continents for accounting irregularities that led to an overstatement of earnings in the range of $500 million since 2001.
Collateral for the loan: its Stop & Shop, Giant of Landover, and Albert Heijn supermarket chains.
According to reports, close to a third of the loan amount is not available to the company immediately, and is dependent on certain conditions being met by the retailer. Among the conditions is the disposal of certain Ahold assets that the company already had decided to sell as it focused on “core businesses.” In addition, the money also is accessible when the company issues audited accounts for its US and Dutch operations by the end of June.
- The Washington Post reports this morning that federal prosecutors plan to interview US Foodservice executives next week, and are working their way through documents provided to them by the Ahold subsidiary.
- A securities fraud class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court on behalf of investors who purchased stock in Royal Ahold between May 15, 2001, and February 21, 2003.
- Yesterday, we reported that there was speculation that companies like Tesco, Carrefour and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) had varying levels of interest in acquiring all or part of Ahold, if it became available. Now, there are reports that Belgian retailer Colruyt is interested in Ahold’s Dutch Schuitema supermarkets. However, Colruyt management said that they would not bid for the stores because they are convinced much bigger players will try to carve up Ahold.
- Ahold’s US Foodservice division announced that it won’t be paying millions of dollars in annual bonuses to executives and salespeople at the company until after its 2002 books Annual bonuses, a significant portion of their compensation, won't be paid to executives or sales personnel at U.S. Foodservice Inc. until the company's 2002 books are audited by investigators.
Dow Jones reports that divisional personnel were told in a conference call that they shouldn’t “count on anything” when it comes to the bonuses, which often are a large percentage of employees’ annual compensation.
According to industry observers, this decision could cause additional problems at US Foodservice if the suspension of bonuses causes executives and salespeople to jump ship…which could cause it to lose customers.
- KC's View:
It may not be fair to salespeople who haven’t done anything wrong, but we would have hollered loudly if US Foodservice kept paying out bonuses under the circumstances. After all, it appears that many of the bonuses would have been based on artificially inflated sales figures.
(Not that hollering would have had any impact, but we would have felt better…)
While we realize that the foodservice is not analogous to the supermarket business, this certainly illustrates one of the problems that can occur when companies make money on the buy and not on the sell. The first casualty of such an approach is accuracy.
The one thing that can make Ahold feel better about the US Foodservice situation is the fact that in the current economy, executives won’t be able to easily find new jobs to jump to. Small comfort, but you have to take what you can get.


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Ballymore’s London project imminent
Development proposed for Bishopsgate Goods Yard
As many as 2,000 homes, office buildings, stores and leisure facilities may be developed on the site near Brick Lane and Shoreditch. Photograph: BJ Scantlebury
Hammerson Plc and Ballymore Properties Ltd plan to seek permission to build homes, stores and offices on a 4.2-hectare (10.5-acre) site near London’s Old Street Roundabout technology hub within 12 months.
Ballymore’s debts are held by the National Asset Management Agency and it is headed by Seán Mulryan. Together with Hammerson it is working on a 280,000sq m development proposal for the Bishopsgate Goods Yard, according to a filing to Companies House in December.
The companies together bought an option to acquire the site in 2002. “Where can you find 10 acres of vacant land, a stone’s throw from the City of London, at the heart of the emerging tech belt and with Brick Lane and Shoreditch on your high street?” chief executive officer David Atkins said in an interview earlier this month.
As many as 2,000 homes, office buildings, stores and leisure facilities may be developed on the site, the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney said in a 2010 document.
Residential property values in the City of London and its fringes rose 14 percent in the year through July, double the average growth rate in the best parts of central London, according to Knight Frank LLP.


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We’ve not received much word on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 – the device once known as the “Shakira” – since SE made their official unveiling, but following yesterday’s FCC approval, new rumors suggest that this phone will be priced to sell: less than $300 without subsidy. It’s clear that this phone was not meant to be aimed for those needing a superphone – that’s what the X10 is for – and this price would back that point up nicely.
For those that don’t remember, the device is equipped with a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480×320, has a 3.2-megapixel camera, a 600MHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and will come with Android 1.6 and TimeScape/Mediascape. An upgrade to Android 2.2 is planned to go down later this fall after the device is launched (though no concrete availability and official pricing have come to light).
- Xperia Range Receiving Maintenance Upgrades
- Sony Ericsson X8 is Drenched in Black
- Sony Ericsson UK Publishes Xperia X8 Promo Vi
- Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Gets a Proper Video U
TAGS: Sony Ericsson Xperia X8


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The COVID-19 pandemic has kept people mostly at home, including the Zontians and to keep safe from the dreaded virus, online banking and credit card transactions have been the most convenient way to purchase items be it for groceries, shopping or to pay the bills.
Yet, people read about cases of credit card fraud and unauthorized bank transactions. As we keep safe from the virus, we also need to keep safe online, thus Zonta Club of Cebu II invited the President of the Cebu Bankers Club and VP of RCBC, Romeo Comabig on September 5 to discuss about safety and security of online banking and credit card transactions.
Comabig who has been lecturing about bank fraud presented the key safety features of credit cards and ATM cards and how best to avoid fraud in making online and credit card transactions that equipped the Zontian ladies to be oriented on the need to have strong passwords and to avoid replying to unknown emails that ask for bank account numbers and other details.
Right after the lecture, the 2nd General Membership immediately followed with Honorary Member Dr. Rhodora Bucoy who discussed the Gendered Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Her discussion centered on the impact of the pandemic on gender-based issues which opened ideas for future projects to eliminate gender biases and inequalities.
To cap the 2nd GMM, the September birthday celebrants were treated to a surprise.
Each of them received specially made Zonta birthday cakes and had to personally blow their birthday candles to complete the virtual celebration.
Though the pandemic has prevented physical gatherings and fellowship, certain innovations and adjustment had to be made to keep the bond of friendship and sisterhood.
“Who says you can’t celebrate milestones these days?” Zonta Club of Cebu II has just shown it can be done.


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India’s centuries-old agarbatti industry with over three thousand manufacturers across the country and employing lakhs of informal workers, is stuck amid coronavirus-led lockdown. However, even being a completely labour-based industry, it expects the operations to quickly rebounce as the agarbatti industry employs local workers and not the migrant workers. “All the workers are expected to come back immediately as the lockdown gets over because most of the employment is local,” Arjun Ranga, Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathies, told Samrat Sharma of Financial Express Online in an interview. However, it has become tough for the industry to sustain the huge labour force, Arjun Ranga added.
Here are excerpts from the interview.
1) What role does the agarbatti industry play in India?
The agarbatti industry has been in India for centuries now. It’s a highly fragmented industry, with over three thousand manufacturers across the country. It encompasses a huge employment generation, right from the raw material procurement to the making of the raw agarbatti stick, to fragrancing activity, packaging agarbatti and finally the sales and distribution across the country. The category has 82% penetration into retail in India.
In terms of number, an estimate to Indian agarbatti retail market is around Rs 7000 Crores. Regarding exports, Indian agarbattis are exported to about 160 countries. In the year 2018 – 2019, annual sales of agarbattis were around Rs 750 crores.
2) How much has the agarbatti industry suffered during the lockdown?
In the wake of COVID-19 and the nation going for the lockdown to curb the spread of the disease, the sales have come to standstill and the situation has become tough for us to sustain this huge labor force. The total employment generated by the Agarbatti industry is close to 4 lakhs. Out of these, about 1.50 lakh employees are directly under the payrolls of the industry, another 2 lakh work for the ancillary units of packing and raw Agarbatti making and the remainder belong to the tertiary category of casual workers such as loaders, unloaders, handlers and sorters.
3) Will the government’s relief measures help the industry?
We support the relief package announced by the government. The agarbatti industry employs a lot of daily wage labourers for making the raw agarbatti sticks and a lot of rural women who mostly work from home. Most of these women would have come under the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Yojana. In 2019 August, the GOI had imposed restrictions on the import of raw agarbatti, which is a very important component of our product and due to this, manual labour has increased. The entire agarbatti industry has been eking out slender margins, with the hope of growing into a remarkable industry.
The government has given some relief and we have made some appeal to Shri Nitin Gadkari Ji, Honourable Minister of MSME to provide the following reliefs and include these in the plan of relief so that the industry sustains as the industry has garnered no revenues for past two months.
- Financial support to part-time homeworkers
- Financial support to tertiary labour
- Financial support to manufacturing labour
- Refund of GST paid on supply of services received
- Waiver of ESI subscription
- Issuance of the import license for raw agarbatti
4) How many workers from the industry might have lost their jobs? Do you expect them to quickly return after lockdown is over?
Nobody would have possibly lost their jobs, purely because all of them work from home and this industry does not depend on migrant labourers. As soon as the operations will start, everyone will get back to their work. All of them are expected to come back immediately as the lockdown gets over because most of the employment is local.


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ShopRite, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s Continue To Drive Sales As Most Others Feel The Squeeze Of Competitive Gridlock
It’s hard to believe that “The Great Recession” is now six years old. And while consumer confidence has improved slightly, the lingering effects of the prolonged economic slump have burned a lasting “mindset of thrift” into most Americans, even those fortunate enough to be in the higher economic strata.
That’s only one reason why so many food retailers once again found the retail landscape extremely challenging and difficult over the last 12 months. Throw in even more overstoring, differentiation of retailing styles and formats and an 11 percent reduction in SNAP (food stamps) benefits and you’ve got trouble in “RiverCity” for most retailers.
That’s not to say that everybody did poorly (although there was a growing number of merchants where sales declines were noteworthy). Most of the “winners” of the past few years – those who proved themselves recession-proof and somewhat undaunted by the fierce competitive climate – remained ahead of the curve.
Those included ShopRite, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Aldi and Trader Joe’s. Other retailers that were usually seen on that “dean’s list” such as Stop & Shop, Wal-Mart and Target all had years that were below their previous standards.
Above all other factors, the level of competition remained the biggest obstacle most retailers continued to face in the $93.1 billion, 70-county market. If you think the region is already so oversaturated that a new store (typically entering at a premium real estate cost) couldn’t possibly open in a given neighborhood or marketing territory, you’d better think again. There’s a strong likelihood that a new retailer will be opening across the street from you nine months later; it could be a Costco, Wegmans, Walgreens or a Dollar Tree. Whether the damage comes from carpet bombing or a thousand paper cuts, it all has an adverse impact on the existing retailers, and by class of trade, usually has the greatest impact on the supermarket channel.
Deep pockets? Virtually all the “growth merchants” possess those. The days of scaring off a group of independents or a small regional chain are over. Today, the competition is truly a heavyweight “mano a mano” battle. That may extend the surrender time for the losing retailer, but it doesn’t blunt the impact of the damage done. With so many styles of retailing now in play, it also makes defending against so much diversity an even more difficult task. That’s especially true for many conventional supermarket retailers.
Along with the measurable reasons why business is currently so difficult comes the financial mumbo jumbo that we’re forced to absorb. “Unemployment is on the consistent decline” and “job growth has significantly improved” are typical of the headlines we’ve seen over the 18 months. Really? And how is this manifesting itself in real sales growth in the overall economy? Unemployment numbers truthfully are somewhat irrelevant when you consider that many of the people who have re-entered the job market have done so at lower level jobs than they had previously held; and so many people remain underemployed despite the “fact” that actual unemployment is on the decline. While big boys such as ShopRite, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and upscale independents like McCaffrey’s or Stew Leonard’s may not be feeling as much of the sting of many people’s individual financial challenges, the still rocky, fluctuating economy is one of the primary reasons Wal-Mart has posted negative IDs for five consecutive quarters, and even the once “beloved” (by Wall Street) dollar store channel has flattened out. While there will be market shakeouts or corrections eventually, don’t expect major external changes in the next 2-3 years; however, the internal maneuverings – acquisitions and leadership changes – are already occurring.
So without further ado, here’s my annual take on the retailers operating in Food Trade News’ marketing area based on the year in review and what they may face in the near future.
ShopRite – The perennial juggernaut widened its lead in its two primary markets – New York and Philly. It operated 10 more stores than a year ago. It was among “best in class” when measuring ID sales. It’s about to open its first two member-owned Price Rite stores; its upscale Fresh Grocer banner will almost assuredly be unfurled in the near future. Wakefern’s string of successes over the past decade in increasingly difficult market conditions has an almost surreal quality to it. Despite the changing landscape, the retailers who own and operate ShopRite stores seem undaunted and almost unfazed by the new more ferocious level of competition. Although food retailing has always been a difficult and challenging business, ShopRite makes it seem effortless (although we know it’s not). There’s no reason to expect any stumbles in the next few years and there could be even more fruit on Wakefern’s plate if A&P elects to unload some stores. This lineup is loaded.
Giant/Carlisle – While parent firm Ahold USA lost significant traction across its network over the year, the only non-union division of the large international merchant more than held its own. In its core Central PA market, nearly one-third of all food and drug sales flow to G/C and in the eight-county Greater Philadelphia area Giant now is the leading retailer for the second straight year (in the broader 15-county Delaware Valley market, ShopRite is the market leader). In March, the company replaced popular president Rick Herring with industry veteran Tom Lenkevich (most recently with Save-A-Lot and a Central PA native) as AUSA COO James McCann attempts to make all four U.S. divisions more operations and merchandising-oriented with greater emphasis on private label and perishables. So far the new plan is off to a slow start corporately, but Giant’s favorable share positions, strong customer loyalty and excellent locations have helped the Carlisle, PA-based retailer maintain solid numbers.
Stop & Shop – The distance between the closest Giant/Carlisle and Stop & Shop stores is about 55 miles, but there’s a bigger gap than that in terms of results and progress. Competitive market conditions in Metro New York area stores really stifled Stoppie’s progress over the past 12 months. The leadership switch from Carl Schlicker to the aforementioned James McCann also has proved to be a less than smooth transition. Let’s face it – it’s tough to slug it out with ShopRite, Wegmans, Wal-Mart, Costco, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s on a daily basis. But some of Stop & Shop’s issues are of their own making. The stores are becoming too vanilla and the new real estate pipeline is no longer flowing, it’s trickling. Even the A&P carcass, which competitors have feasted on for years, has been picked pretty clean. If Stop & Shop wants to prosper as it did only a few years ago, it’s got to make a better connection with its customers on price, perishables image and the entire shopping experience.
A&P – I hear “Taps” in the background. The music’s getting louder. Yes, I could write the same scathing analysis of the Tea Company as I did in 2013…and 2012…and 2011…and…As bad as it’s been, it really was worse this year because under any banner’s view, sales are even poorer. Yucaipa and Burkle have already utilized the company’s cash flow to its advantage and also prospered from its solid real estate portfolio. But selling more groceries? Please don’t insult us. What’s next? A bigger store sell off? More store closings? Seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again? There’s a Gilbert Gottfried schtick called “Death or Oog-Goo?” It’s very profane and extremely funny. Listen to it and you might find a connection.
Wal-Mart – We all know by now that Wal-Mart had one of its poorest years ever. But don’t mistake Wal-Mart “poor” for A&P “poor.” The old adage “everything is relative” applies here and after five consecutive quarters of negative ID sales, Wal-Mart’s sales patterns bear watching. But this is far from an impending train wreck. Look at the average per store sales, examine the customer counts and scrutinize basket sizes. All are still well above the industry average. But there’s no denying that the Behemoth certainly has been tamed to a degree as competing retailers know how to better deal with Wal-Mart’s strengths and also attack its weaknesses. The Bentonville, AR merchant still has about a dozen SuperCenters (net new units or conversions) scheduled to open in the relatively near term and look for more Neighborhood Markets to open in the 70-county region (the only one in the market currently is located in Levittown, NY). Now that Wal-Mart has been shaken a bit, expect the internal stirring to accelerate and pay dividends again within the next 18 months.
Acme Markets – Enjoyed its first good year in a decade. Part of the recent improvement at Malvern-PA based division of Cerberus/New Albertson Inc. lies in the professionalism, talent and insight of its management team corporately (Bob Miller) and locally (Jim Perkins) when compared to the last three Supervalu and Albertsons clowns, I mean chief executives – Larry “The Milkman” Johnson, Jeff “I Know Nothing About Retail” Noddle and Craig “The Spinmeister” Herkert. Miller, Perkins and their leadership teams have executed the basics skillfully – the stores are cleaner, retail pricing has been rationalized, more local decision-making is encouraged and morale among the associates has improved (but these areas will still need more attention). Over the past year, Acme seemed to have regained its soul. Now the question is: can it retain that vibe and improve their mojo going forward? It won’t be easy since Cerberus isn’t committing to a lot of capital expenditures for new or replacement stores, the competition remains very tough and Acme’s relationship with the UFCW remains somewhat rocky. How will the numbers look once Acme has to recycle its much improved first year ID sales? All told, give these guys credit – they’re helping make Acme a more enjoyable place to do business and they’re having lots of fun doing it.
Wegmans – With the addition of only one new store this year – in King of Prussia, PA – it wasn’t an especially explosive year for the Rochester, NY-based regional chain. But, that’s not the point. With each new 125,000 square foot store drawing from a legitimate shopping range of up to 15 miles, Wegmans can have an impact on a local market more than any other retailer in the Northeast. Wegmans will continue to gain steady market share growth without the quantity of stores typical of other retailers. And in the next few years when the family-owned merchant opens stores in Concordville, PA, Montvale, NJ and Hanover Township, NJ its coverage net will only become wider. Additionally, with the recent opening of its new smaller (80,000 square foot) prototype in tony Chestnut Hill, MA, the uber-retailer has proven it can get most of its package in a store that’s 40 percent smaller than its larger models. That reduced footprint potentially gives the family-owned merchant markedly better opportunities to penetrate more demographically favorable areas that were not accessible before due to real estate challenges. A Wegmans in CenterCityPhiladelphia? Perhaps an 80,000 square footer near the Main Line? A new Wegmans in emerging yuppie haven Brooklyn? It’s certainly more plausible than a year ago. And one more thing about Wegmans: Over the past 18 months, I’ve heard several industry executives comment that the retailer’s in-store execution has slipped a bit and they’re not as sharp as they were five years ago. My response: pure fiction. Sure, every day might not appear like a grand opening celebration and, by 6:00 p.m., their stores might look a little beaten up. But by comparative standards, Wegmans continues to execute at the highest industry levels. Just check their customer loyalty scores, their average basket size and their sales rings against all comers.
Weis – The numbers indicate that it was not a good year for the closely-held publicly-traded retailer. But the numbers are only part of the story. When Dave Hepfinger left last September and vice chairman Jonathan Weis became chief executive and promoted Kurt Schertle to COO, a fundamental change was about to occur. No more cronyism, no “margin tricks” to make the earnings look palpable. The new management team, which continues to evolve and adds more talented industry veterans, is now fully-focused on sales. So you can expect the bottom line to suffer for a few more quarters before the repositioning is complete. The blueprint is already in place and I expect Weis to grow sales and share, especially against its main rival, Giant/Carlisle, if that unit of Ahold doesn’t improve its go-to-market package. Giant’s share of Central Pennsylvania and the LehighValley is so large, it’s a big target and you can expect Weis to go directly after it. The Sunbury, PA-based chain still has a lot of heavy lifting to do, but the new leadership is demonstrating that it’s not afraid to spend extra time in the weight room.
Wawa – The best c-store strategic plan in the country. The Wawa, PA-based convenience store chain hasn’t seemed to miss a beat over the last 18 months since iconic CEO Howard Stoeckel retired and was replaced by the company’s former CFO Chris Gheysens. Besides a high level of execution (a very hard task to achieve at a c-store chain), Wawa has witnessed an excellent customer response with its Florida expansion plan which began in 2012; it now operates nearly 45 stores in the Orlando and Tampa-St. Petersburg markets. The new foodservice-oriented store design looks great and the company’s slow but steady expansion into North Jersey is also going well. The employee-owned organization sports a great culture filled with creative, innovative and passionate associates. Wawa is truly a unique organization – what other c-store operator in the country ranks as high as third among all food and drug retailers in a market comparably sized to Philadelphia?


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Airbnb says it will use new methods to spot and block people who try to use the short-term rental service to throw a party.
The company said Tuesday it has introduced technology that examines the would-be renter's history on Airbnb, how far they live from the home they want to rent, whether they're renting for a weekday or weekend, and other factors.
Airbnb said the screening system that it is rolling out for listings in the United States and Canada has been tested since last October in parts of Australia, where it produced a 35 percent drop in unauthorised parties.
The San Francisco-based company said the technology is designed to prevent a customer's request for reservation from ever reaching the host of the property involved. Airbnb said people blocked from renting an entire home might be able to book a single room because the host is more likely to be around.
Airbnb has been under growing pressure to clamp down on parties since 2019, when a Halloween house party in a San Francisco suburb ended with five people dead in a shooting.
The following year, Airbnb announced a worldwide party ban at its listings and banned people under 25 from renting an entire house near their home unless they had a record of positive reviews on the site. The party ban was initially cast as a temporary health measure during the pandemic but was made permanent in June.
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Black Widow faces yet another delay but the news of its delay comes with a bigger surprise as the solo film of the belle of the Avengers would have a same-day release in the exclusive streaming service for Marvel, Disney+.
However, it isn't available for all Disney+ subscribers. There will always be a catch as only those with Disney Plus Premier Access would be having access to the film. Black Widow will be released the same day on the aforementioned streaming service along with the theatrical release of the film.
In a press release from Disney, Black Widow will be premiering in both theaters and the $30 Premier Access Price Tag on Disney+ where Disney Plus Premier Access is the way for Disney to put the highly coveted films on Disney+ with a same-day release on theaters.
This would mean that there would be an additional $30 pay apart from the monthly subscription cost of Disney+ which recently has been announced to have an increase of $1 starting March 26, 2021.
This isn't the first time Disney would be utilizing Disney Plus Premier Access as it is through this that they released Mulan and Raya and The Last Dragon. Cruella will also be having its same-day release on Disney Plus Premier Access and in theaters on May 28, 2021.
Black Widow release has been the most pushed back release date, to say the least. The film has been constantly delayed. At first, it was supposed to be the opening of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to give the proper MCU send-off to Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow. Due to the global pandemic, the film faced a delay and WandaVision took over the opening act for the Fourth Phase of the MCU.
Black Widow will be about passing the baton on who will be the next bearer of being the Black Widow, about the past of Natasha, the family she knows of, and it is set to take place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
It was supposed to be in theaters on May 7, 2021, two weeks after the end of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. However, the global pandemic seems to be facing another challenge as while the vaccine is just rolling out, the virus mutated producing a number of variants that are more viral than the first one.
Along with the delay of Black Widow comes the delay of the succeeding films such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Black Widow will be released in July and Shang-Chi will be moved from July to September 3, 2021.
Black Widow will be released in theaters on July 9, 2021, and on the same day, it will also be released via Disney Plus Premier Access for $30 on top of the monthly subscription.


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Women’s Apparel Helps Push Retail Sales Ahead in March
NEW YORK -- Aided by strong women's apparel business, retail sales roared back in March, with many stores racking up double-digit same-store gains. Sportswear and ready-to-wear were strong, with standout items including T-shirts, knitwear, linen,...
NEW YORK -- Aided by strong women's apparel business, retail sales roared back in March, with many stores racking up double-digit same-store gains. Sportswear and ready-to-wear were strong, with standout items including T-shirts, knitwear, linen, dresses and denim shorts. Swimwear, shoes, accessories and cosmetics were also widely mentioned as hot sellers.
Retailers got a boost from an early Easter, which was April 3 this year versus April 11 a year ago. Comparisons were also easier because March a year ago was hurt by storms across much of the country.
Strength returned in virtually all major categories of rtw, said Allen Questrom, chairman and chief executive officer of Federated Department Stores.
Cosmetics and fragrance sales also were particularly high for Federated, along with fashion watches, handbags and hosiery.
Federated's total revenues increased 4.9 percent, to $646.1 million, and same-store sales were up 3.1 percent.
The Neiman Marcus Group posted a 6.4 percent sales increase, to $186.7 million, with a 6.1 percent comparable-store gain.
Neiman Marcus, including mail order and stores, posted increases slightly above the group comparable-store gain. Bergdorf had double-digit same-store increases while Contempo Casuals was flat.
Knitwear was especially hot at Neiman Marcus in March. Other bestsellers included private label cotton T-shirts and spun silk sweaters, as well as high-end sportswear. Linen was also a big draw.
In the career-bridge area, Emmanuel was particularly strong; Armani scarves were said to be blowing out of the stores, and swimwear was another best-selling category, especially Gottex.
"Our sales increases overall were driven by the continuing consumer interest in value-priced merchandise and the Easter switch," noted Dayton Hudson Corp.'s vice chairman, Henry T. DeNero. The company's overall sales rose 14.4 percent, to $1.8 billion, and comparable-store sales rose 8.5 percent. Hot trends at the department stores division were career shorts, knit dressing, the color white, T-shirts and denim shorts. Waistless dresses, vested dresses and flip skirts were also big sellers.
At the Mervyn's division, knit crews and V-necks, body suits and T-shirts sold well. The Limited posted a 7 percent overall same-store sales increase, with comparable-store gains in the low teens at Victoria's Secret stores and Limited Stores. Victoria's Secret's recently introduced swimwear catalog had strong initial response, running ahead of plan.The Limited's new businesses continued to pull ahead with same-store jumps in the low 50s at both Limited Too, and Bath & Body Works. Total company sales increased 12 percent, to $600 million. The Sears Roebuck Merchandise Group and J.C. Penney also said apparel helped fuel robust sales gains. At Sears, top apparel items were children's, juniors and dresses. Cosmetics also did well, the company said. Domestic sales at the Merchandise Group rose 18.9 percent to $2.3 billion.
Penney's cited value as a draw, noting that women's sportswear and dresses, along with children's apparel, performed well. Sales rose 15.6 percent, to $1.8 billion, and catalog sales increased 22.9 percent. Wal-Mart Stores reported a 15 percent same-store sales increase, with total sales jumping 31 percent, to $6.2 billion.
Kmart Corp.'s sales rose 8.9 percent, to $3.01 billion, with a 4.5 percent same-store gain.
Other companies with same-store gains included: The Gap, 16 percent; Talbots, 25.8 percent; Ann Taylor Stores, 13.6 percent; Dillard Department Stores, 16 percent, and May Department Stores, 14.8 percent.
Despite the strong March showings, analysts say April may be lackluster.
"Many stores are planning flat to 2 percent ahead for April," said Walter Loeb of Loeb Associates, noting that with Easter over, and the approaching April 15 deadline for filing tax returns, people may not be as much in the mood to shop.
"April will be a very promotional month to overcome a lack of enthusiasm," Loeb said.
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews
@prada is introducing a new project at its men’s fall 2018 show this Sunday: “Prada Invites.” The fashion house invited four celebrated creative minds – @ronanaerwanbouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, @herzogdemeuron and @rem.koolhaas – to each create a unique item with its iconic nylon material. The designs will be unveiled on the runway show, which will take place at the company’s warehouse in Viale Ortles 25. #wwdfashion #mfwm (📷: @martinocarrera)
@kering_official is spinning off its stake in puma in an effort to focus on its luxury brands, the brand operator announced yesterday. “We are proud to have supported the turnaround of Puma, which now has unrivaled capabilities to take full advantage of the specific dynamics of its global markets and is poised to achieve substantial growth,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive officer and chairman. Artémis will become a “long-term strategic shareholder” of Puma with a 29 percent stake. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
The fashion world mourns for celebrated street style photographer, Nabile Quenum, who died at age 32 in Paris.
Quenum, creator of the fashion blog “J’ai Perdu Ma Veste,” was a fashion week fixture, and regularly shot for New York magazine’s The Cut, among other outlets, and brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Adidas. He was also actively involved in the #NoFreePhotos initiative, which kicked off in the fall. Read more about Quenum in @kbsmoke's story on WWD.com. #wwdnews
@verwanggang and @maisonladuree have teamed up on a dessert collab called Vera Wang Pour Ladurée. The collection, which launched this week, features a specialty macaroon, as well as a wedding cake inspired by one of the designer’s gowns. “I could not imagine a more delicate or sophisticated creation to grace any couple’s celebration,” said Wang. #wwdfashion


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Cradle Games has announced via Twitter that upcoming RPG Hellpoint has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a week before it was scheduled for release on Xbox One. The company released a statement indicating it was "feeling the strain" due to the current circumstances.
The game was originally planned to be released on April 16th for a variety of platforms including Xbox One, but has now been pushed back to "before the end of Q2 2020".
In the statement above, the company noted that despite being "frustrated" by the delay, it also "presents an opportunity to release an even better game this summer." And in case you're wondering, Q2 2020 lasts until 30th June, so Hellpoint fans shouldn't have too much longer to wait regardless.
Were you looking forward to getting your hands on Hellpoint next week? Let us know in the comments.


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Ronn Motor Group
Ronn Motor Group is developing a hydrogen-electric SUV called the Myst, which is due in 2022.
Governor Schwarzenegger takes a spin in the Ronn Scorpion supercar
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been popping up in auto headlines a lot lately, most recently when he made a surprise visit to the Geneva auto show on last week. Schwarzenegger is back in the headlines, this time following a promotional event where he was able to test drive the unique...Jeremy Weber
Ronn Motor Company to present Scorpion supercar at 2008 SEMA show
Ronn Motor Company (RMC) announced today that its gasoline-hydrogen hybrid supercar, the Ronn Scorpion, will be unveiled at the 2008 SEMA show this November. The Texas-based company also announced that hot-rod specialists Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters will be responsible for most of the...Viknesh Vijayenthiran


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The marine bunkering company Vitol has expanded its operations to Dubai’s Port Rashid, providing bunkering services to cruise ships conducting stopovers in the city.
Dubai’s Port Rashid, the primary cruise port in the Middle East, has proved itself once more at the World Travel Awards, winning the Middle East’s Leading Cruise Port for the 14th consecutive […]
Only AIDAvita and MSC Bellissima remain docked in Port Rashid, while MSC Lirica is waiting out the global shutdown of the cruise industry at anchor off Dubai.
Six cruise ships docked in Dubai just before the end of 2019, with 60,000 cruise passengers passing through Dubai Cruise Terminal on the busiest day of the 2019/2020 Arabian Gulf cruise season.
Dubai real estate developer Emaar Properties has launched its long-awaited US $6.8-billion redevelopment of Port Rashid into a leisure and luxury lifestyle destination.
The QE2 Dubai announced Monday that its on-board spa is now open and fully operational, with a number of “relaxing massages and results-orientated facials” on offer.
The QE2 Dubai is all set for her official launch as a floating hotel in Dubai, six months after her phase 1 ‘soft launch’ which brought the city its first ever floating […]
The former Cunard ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, now officially re-named ‘Queen Elizabeth 2 Dubai’, has been towed from Dubai Drydocks back to Port Rashid for the next stage in her life […]
The QE2 Hotel will open by the second or third week of April, according to the reservations team at PCFC Hotels, the operator of the new floating hotel for the former Cunard […]
Dubai is determined to remain the cruise capital of the Middle East, undertaking a major redevelopment and expansion of its facilities at Port Rashid and the recently announced Dubai Harbour, and now […]
DP World has ‘unofficially’ confirmed its plans for the Queen Elizabeth II Hotel with a model of the Mina Rashid Marina development at Dubai Cruise Terminal 3.
Crystal Cruises’ flagship cruise liner Crystal Symphony sailed from Dubai Cruise Terminal Wednesday on her 17-night Dubai to Seychelles ‘Indian Ocean Discovery’ cruise itinerary, marking her first cruise in the Arabian Gulf […]
Dubai Cruise Terminal operator DP World has launched the first phase of its major re-development of the Middle East’s primary cruise port with the opening of Mina Rashid Marina.


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Tag: ipad usage
Chitika Research today published the results of its third quarter 2013 tablet usage study, finding that iPads still rule the roost in terms of usage. The company looks at the web traffic generated by each tablet platform, and found that iPad users (the big blue bar in the chart above) were respons...
Silicon Alley Insider has posted a chart showing the comparative results of reported iPad usage from November 2010 to the current month of May 2011. As you can see from the chart above, an overwhelming amount of people spend a majority of their time on Apple's tablet surfing the Web -- most of ...
Software Updatesmore updates
- Apple Remote Desktop updated with Yosemite support
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.2, iOS 8.1.3 updates now available
- Sports Illustrated 120 SPORTS channel comes to Apple TV
- Logic Pro X update brings AirDrop support, new effects, tools, and more
- Parallels Access 2.5 released, adds file manager, computer-to-computer remote access
- The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter


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Most expensive plants in the world: A farmer from Aurangabad district in Bihar has done the same thing to produce crops. Amresh Singh is a 38-year-old farmer from Karamdih village.
He has grown the world’s most expensive crop on his farm in Bihar’s Aurangabad. He invested Rs 2.5 lakh in the production process, according to a New Indian Express report.
The plant is named hop-shoots. It is a crop that is readily available on the international vegetable market and sells for Rs 85,000 per kilogram.
Although Amresh Singh planted 5 kathas from his land and to date, it has only been done as an experiment. The produce is mostly available on the international market and is seen in the Indian market only when one makes a special order.
The vegetables reportedly sell for £ 1000 (Rs 1.01 lakh) pounds per kg on the international market.
According to reports, the hop-shoot helps create antibodies that help fight diseases like tuberculosis. The acid is known to help kill cancer cells and block leukemia cells. Singh was not the first to grow crops in India.
Hop-shoots were once planted in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul but were unsuccessful due to lack of marketing.
IAS officer Surpiya Sahu shared photos of the plant on Twitter. She tweeted with the caption, “One kilogram of these vegetables costs around Rs 1 lakh! The world’s most expensive vegetable, ‘hop-shoots’ are being cultivated by Amresh Singh, an enterprising farmer from Bihar, a first in India.”
Singh said that more than 60% of crop cultivation has been successfully carried out. “I am pleased to say that more than 60 percent of the planting has been successful,” Singh was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.


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New Delhi: Some people in this world touch a height at a very young age due to their hard work and dedication. One such personality is the founder of Zepto, Kaivalya Vohra. Kaivalya Vohra, the co-founder of Quik-commerce company Zepto, has become the richest teenager in the country.
Kaivalya Vohra has made it to the IIFL Wealth Hurun 2022 list of India’s richest people for the first time this year. Let us inform you that apart from Vohra, many other start-up founders including Alakh Pandey, co-founder of PhysicsWallah, have also joined this list for the first time.
Vohra became the richest youth in the country at the age of just 19
You will be surprised to know that Vohra has become the richest young Indian in the country at the age of just 19. Also, he is the first teenager in the country, who has assets of more than 1,000 crores. According to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022, Kaivalya Vohra founded Zepto in the year 2020 along with Aadit Palicha. Its valuation has jumped more than 50 percent in the last year. Kaivalya Vohra has got the direct benefit of this. At the same time, apart from Vohra, 20-year-old Aditi Palicha has also made it to this list. The report also said that 10 years ago, the country’s youngest rich on the ‘Rich List’ was 37 years old.
Alakh Pandey, co-founder of Physicswala also made a place on this list
Let us inform you that the co-founders of Unicorn Physicswala Alakh Pandey (30 years) and Prateek Maheshwari have also made it to this list for the first time. According to the report, both Pandey and Maheshwari have personal assets of Rs 4,000 crore and are ranked 399 in the list of the richest 1,103 individuals. Physicswala is an ed-tech company founded by Alakh and Maheshwari during the Corona pandemic. The company completed a $100 million funding round for the first time in June and was valued at $1.1 billion during this period.
The number of people who made it to this list increased by 62 percent compared to 2021
The IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022 reported that the number of Indians with personal wealth of Rs 1,000 crore or more exceeded 1,100 for the first time in 2022. This number is 96 more this year as compared to 2021. This number has increased by 62 percent during the last five years.
Nayaka’s Falguni Nair leaves Kiran Muzumdar-Shaw behind
Falguni Nair of Nykaa and Ravi Modi of Vedanta Fashions also joined the list for the first time, whose companies have recently been listed on the stock market. Falguni Nair has overtaken Kiran Muzumdar-Shaw of Biocon as the richest self-made woman on the list.


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Ann Arbor, Mich. — Franworth, the well-known professional shared services platform, has formed a strategic partnership with the Milkshake Factory, a premium dessert retailer known for its heritage recipes and iconic family legacy throughout Western Pennsylvania.
After successfully operating 11 Pittsburgh-area locations, the Milkshake Factory is prepared to share its business model with qualified franchise investors. Countless numbers of interested parties have inquired about the brand’s availability for franchising during the past two decades, and now the opportunity has arrived.
“We’ve landed at this inflection point after a full year of focused attention for the launch of franchising, and for the future of our organization,” says Dana Edwards Manatos, co-founder and CEO of the Milkshake Factory. “From one location in 2003 to 11 locations today, we’re now ready with a replicable business model, proven unit economics and a cost-effective store design that embraces the magic of our brand.”
The Edwards family’s roots run more than a century deep in gourmet chocolates and premium desserts. They were able to establish large-scale manufacturing and develop a line of chocolate products sold in retailers across the country including Costco Wholesale, Target and many grocery chains. This transformation of the family’s chocolate business paved the way for the expansion of the Milkshake Factory. Through successful distribution at retail, the Milkshake Factory has earned brand awareness beyond The Steel City.
Leading this next phase of growth for Milkshake Factory is the company’s president, Dan Reese. Reese will be working closely with the Franworth team to architect the franchise growth strategy. He previously served as Milkshake Factory’s CFO and held various executive-level positions with the Edwards family’s consumer packaged goods chocolate company, Edward Marc Brands. Prior to that, he was a marketing executive at Kraft Heinz, running its $2 billion condiments portfolio.
“In all my years in franchising, I haven’t seen an emerging franchisor enter growth mode with as much infrastructure and history behind it as the Milkshake Factory,” says John Rotche, founder and CEO of Franworth. “All the pieces are in place for a strong foray into franchising.”
Beginning in May, the Milkshake Factory will be ready for franchise investment. Rotche and the Franworth team will support franchise sales and building out the franchise operations infrastructure together with Reese and the Edwards family.
Founded in 2016 by John Rotche, Franworth’s mission is to identify franchise brands with high growth potential and provide them with resources and support needed for scalable, long term growth. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Franworth’s current portfolio of franchise brands includes The Lash Lounge®, The Barre Code®, skoah facial shop®, Garage Kings®, Milkshake Factory®, HealthSource America’s Chiropractor®, and sugaringLA®. For more information, visit https://www.franworth.com/.
The Milkshake Factory is a premium dessert destination, serving up handspun milkshakes with housemade ice cream, as well as heritage chocolates crafted by generational chocolatiers. Family-owned since 1914, the company evolved from an old-fashioned soda fountain to one of Pittsburgh’s premium sweet spots. Now franchising, the brand strives to become the community dessert destination creating smiles from coast to coast.
SOURCE: Franworth / Milkshake Factory


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Apple has been investing in India for a while now, and it seems that those efforts are paying off. According to Rajkot Updates, iPhone exports from India doubled between April and August of this year.
The rise in exports is good news for Apple and for the Indian economy. It shows that foreign companies are taking notice of India’s incentives and reforms aimed at encouraging local manufacturing. In this article, we will discuss about rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august.
Low manufacturing costs [rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august]
In a major boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship “Make in India” campaign, Apple became the first company to export smartphones worth $1 billion (roughly Rs 8,100 crore) in a single month from the country. The company broke the milestone in December 2022, making the country a top mobile phone exporter and pushing India towards its goal of becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse.
Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturers Foxconn Technology Group, Wistron and Pegatron currently make iPhones at plants in southern India, where they win government sops under an ambitious production-linked incentive scheme. The assemblers are aiming to hit an annual production target of 5 million devices, which they expect will take them close to the $1 billion mark in exports within a few years.
This shows the strength of India’s low manufacturing costs, which are a fraction of those in China, where Foxconn is based. India is also home to a large pool of highly skilled engineering workers. The country has become a key global hub for electronics production, especially semiconductors and mobile phones, thanks to its cheap labor and abundant availability of talent.
India’s manufacturing sector is rapidly expanding, as evidenced by the record growth in smartphone sales and the surge in foreign investment in the sector. The government is accelerating its efforts to attract more companies by offering tax holidays and other incentives. The country is ranked as the world’s most attractive investment destination by global companies, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2022 Global Enabling Environment report.
Nonetheless, despite its lower costs, India will be a long time away from becoming a replacement for China as an iPhone factory. The chaos that erupted last year at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant — dubbed the world’s biggest iPhone factory and nicknamed ‘iPhone City’ — highlighted how dependent the Cupertino-based tech giant is on Chinese production. The company is still sourcing around 90% of its components from China. Moreover, its effort to diversify production lines outside of the country will take many years.
A growing customer base [rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august]
The growing popularity of the iPhone can lead to increased demand for accessories, such as chargers or earphones. This increase in demand can help boost local economies by creating more jobs and providing businesses with greater revenue. In addition, increased production can lead to improved quality and a better image for the company. The higher production levels can also result in lower prices for the products, which will benefit consumers.
In the future, it is expected that Apple will continue to expand its manufacturing operations in India. This will allow the company to take advantage of the country’s abundant labor supply and low manufacturing costs. This will enable the company to reduce the price of its smartphones and make them more affordable for customers. In addition, the company will be able to avoid high import tariffs on foreign-made electronics.
Apple Inc now makes almost 7% of its iPhones in India, with partners such as Foxconn Technology Group, Wistron Corp and Pegatron Corp. Those contract manufacturers assemble and ship the Cupertino-based company’s mobile phones worldwide. This reflects the growing importance of India in Apple’s global supply chain. It also highlights the success of the Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative.
India’s appeal as an alternative to China as a manufacturing base has been helped by the government’s aggressive push for domestic assembly and production of electronic devices. This includes tax breaks for companies that assemble their devices in the country. In addition, the government’s production-linked incentives can cut a company’s manufacturing costs by as much as 50%.
The increase in iPhone production in India is a clear sign that the country is a strong contender to become a top manufacturing destination for Apple and other global technology firms. Its low cost and favorable investment climate have made it an attractive option for foreign investments in the sector, which can be expected to spur economic growth in the nation. This will be a major boon to the economy, enabling the country to achieve its goal of becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse. Moreover, the success of iPhone production in India will serve as a model for other countries to follow suit in order to attract foreign investors and compete with China.
Increased incentives and subsidies [rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august]
The increase in iPhone exports from India is a great thing for the country. It means that they can make more money from making iPhones and selling them worldwide. It’s also good for Apple because it gives them another place to make their phones if something happens at their factories in China. It also means that they can continue to sell their phones for a long time.
The iPhone is a huge deal for the wireless industry. It’s a big money maker for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and other carriers that sell it. This is why they offer so many incentives to get people to buy their new iPhones. The biggest incentive is free or reduced-cost iPhones if you sign up for a two-year contract. These deals are a great way to attract customers and keep them happy.
Last year, Apple began shipping more than $2 billion worth of iPhones to foreign markets from Indian factories run by contract manufacturers Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp., both of which won government manufacturing incentives in a bid to boost their local production and compete with the world’s top smartphone makers. Apple began assembling its new iPhone 14 line in India earlier this month, a shift that could help the Cupertino-based tech giant mitigate risks from a possible global economic slowdown.
India’s vast workforce, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support and a booming local market made it a natural choice for expanding electronics manufacturing beyond the Chinese factories run by the main Taiwanese assemblers. The recent disruptions at Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, China, accelerated that plan by forcing Apple to trim production forecasts and push more work overseas.
With the new iPhone 12, Apple is counting on these overseas deals to offset declining demand at its flagship stores and its weakest iPhone sales in years. The company is betting that a 5G value proposition and a lower price will give the new model a late-cycle boost. Carrier discounts may help, but they’re unlikely to make up for the weakest upgrade cycle in at least five years.
A favorable investment climate [rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august]
The doubling of iPhone exports from India in the first half of this year is a significant milestone for the country’s tech industry and economy. It shows that foreign companies are taking notice of India’s incentives and reforms aimed at promoting local manufacturing. As Apple continues to invest in its Indian operations, it could pave the way for other companies to follow suit. As a result, India could soon become a major player in global tech manufacturing and trade.
In addition to its huge workforce, India has a booming domestic market and generous government subsidies and tax breaks. In fact, the country accounts for about 7% of the world’s iPhone sales, according to Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group. The US company has pushed its Taiwanese contract manufacturers to ramp up production in India. The facilities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka produce models ranging from the iPhone 11 to the latest iPhone 14.
This is a big boost for India, which has long sought to replace China as a manufacturing hub for US brands. The escalation in iPhone exports from India will help it achieve that goal sooner than expected. It will also create more jobs in the manufacturing sector, which can lead to higher wages for workers and a greater contribution to the national economy.
In the past two years, the company has invested more than $1 billion in its facilities in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It will likely spend even more as it aims to double output in India by 2020. This investment will also benefit the government by generating much-needed revenue.
Although India makes up just a fraction of the company’s overall output, the rising exports bode well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to make the country a global factory. The Cupertino, California-based company flirted with the idea of producing its prized devices in India for years before Modi’s $6 billion incentive push in 2020 prompted it to get its suppliers to invest more. In addition, China’s Covid Zero policies and a deadly factory incident have led to a growing number of companies to seek alternatives. To know more about rajkotupdates.news:apple-iphone-exports-from-india-doubled-between-april-and-august just follow us.


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Chocolate BreakfastWhile dehydrated fruit was the flavor of the day for a number of new cereals in the past few years, the current trend appears to be moving toward something a little more indulgent.
Chocolate is finding its way into a number of breakfast cereals. Quaker Oats has added it to Life cereal to launch Life Chocolate Oat Crunch, described as “a chocolate cereal for adults that’s healthy too.” Its healthful properties might not stack up with other breakfast options, but it does feature two servings of whole grains, 3g of fiber and 10 essential vitamins and minerals, as well as 1g of “oat soluble fiber.” The company press release notes, “3g of soluble fiber from oats daily, as part of a low saturated fat, low cholesterol diet can help remove cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.”
Joining the guiltless chocolate cereal brigade is Special K Chocolatey Delight, although Kellogg prefers consumers to regard this as an evening snack option to help meet weight-management goals. Featuring lightly roasted rice cereal flakes with chocolate pieces, a serving and half-cup of fat-free milk contains 160 calories.
Snap, Crackle, Pop, et al.Remember the old days, say way back five, six years ago, when consumers actually had to cut fruit and put it in the cereal? Where did they find the time?
In the years since, the time-starved consumer has benefited from manufacturers rediscovering the wonders of dehydration. General Mills was among the first to embrace the concept in cold cereals, when it launched Berry Burst Cheerios with “slices of real strawberries and bananas” back in 2003.
Now, one of Kellogg’s staple brands is joining the real dehydrated bandwagon with Rice Krispies with Real Strawberries, described by the company as “helping moms and kids find time to connect—to set aside some time in the morning…”
Big ZeroIt often seems as if a beverage segment has not arrived until low-calorie versions of the products start to hit the market. This is not entirely different from other categories, but those seem to have more products tailor-made for dieters. Beverage makers tend to reformulate the calories out of established products.
So, it might be something of a shock to see an energy drink launched nationally with little to no recognition for the company launching the product. Such is the case with Bazza High-energy Tea, claimed to be the first zero-calorie, high-energy tea. The manufacturer, Cooper Tea, has other tea products in its portfolio, but Bazza is its first excursion into energy drinks.
Cooper Tea says the product is made with all-natural energy ingredients: Bazza Green Energy Tea features green tea infused with yerba maté and guarana, while Bazza Raspberry Energy Tea has green tea infused with crushed raspberry, hibiscus, yerba maté and guarana.
Heaven ScentThe “Got Milk?” campaign from the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) became almost ubiquitous over the years, as some of the world’s most famous actors, athletes and celebrities donned milk mustaches to grace billboards, radio spots, television commercials and magazine advertisements. However, these could tempt only one, maybe two, of the five senses. Now, the CMPB is targeting another, olfactory.
The CMPB aims to lead consumers by the nose, if a new effort in and around San Francisco is any indication. The “Got Milk”-branded bus shelters entice commuters with a chocolate chip cookie scent, attempting to reinforce the notion that milk is an essential complement to the treat.
The scent is the result of an olfactory scent-sampling technology, which “disseminates smell via scent-infused adhesives affixed to the inside of the bus shelters and undersides of benches.”
In the DrinkData found in the “What America Drinks” report (based on a comprehensive study by Environ International Corporation, with data from more than 10,000 Americans ages four and older) reveal that beverages supply nearly a quarter (22%) of a consumer’s total calories, with soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks and pre-sweetened teas topping the list.
According to the report, teenaged males consume an average of 32oz of sweetened beverages a day (equating to 387 calories or 13% of the total daily calories). Teenaged females drink a smaller quantity (22oz) per day, but this accounts for roughly the same percentage of total daily calories (12% or 267 calories), which translates into an additional 8,000 calories over the course of a month.
Teenaged males consume 12oz of milk per day, but teen girls fail to get a full serving of milk daily, drinking 7oz on average.
Could there be a correlation to obesity levels? A study in the Journal of Nutrition found Asian and Caucasian females between the ages of 9 and 14 who drank milk tended to have less body fat, while soft drink consumption was associated with heavier body weight.
Among adults, women between 19 and 40 drank 6oz of milk a day but nearly three times as much sweetened beverages—18oz (10% of daily calories).
The Beverage Marketing Corporation says every man, woman and child in the U.S. drinks 192gal of liquid a year, 3.7gal per week, 2L a day. Roughly 13% are alcoholic, with carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) leading the pack at 28%.
IN BOXFor daily industry news updates, see the homepage of www.PreparedFoods.com and www.NutraSolutions.com.
* Corn Products International Inc. entered into a definitive agreement with SPI Polyols Inc. to acquire the food business of SPI Polyols and the shares of an SPI unit that holds the remaining 50% of Getec Guanabara Quimica Industrial S.A. in Brazil. Financial terms were not disclosed. The combined businesses are expected to have annual sales of nearly $100 million.
* Takasago International Corp. (USA) Flavor Division named James Buchanan as a new senior flavorist/senior associate and Alexandra DeAngelis as a marketing administrator.
* D.D. Williamson received the first annual Kosher Compliance Award from the Louisville Vaad Hakashruth for its outstanding commitment and adherence to kosher guidelines and standards.
* Cargill’s North American maltitol plant in Blair, Neb., received a superior rating from the American Institute of Baking (AIB) International Food Safety auditors.
* Sargento Foods Inc. named William Ericsen senior quality engineer in the Quality Systems Department; Todd Hunter procurement director-Dairy; Craig Hackl senior research scientist in the R&D department; Mike Ruhland retail sales representative for the Minneapolis area in the consumer products division; and Guy Turnbull senior packaging development manager for new business development in the engineering department.
* Jason Zhao has been appointed to the position of managing director-Asia Pacific at MGP Ingredients Inc.
* ConAgra Foods’ Healthy Choice and the American Heart Association announced a partnership in a program called Start!, a national movement focused on inspiring Americans to achieve and enjoy physical health by adding great tasting, nutritious food and activity into their everyday lives.
* Ajinomoto Aminoscience LLC announced a partnership with Pharmachem Laboratories Inc. to produce custom-manufactured amino acids.
* Mark Reser is now president of Reser’s Fine Food Inc.


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Data released Tuesday on US consumer confidence, home prices and holiday retail sales all point to an acceleration and deepening of what is broadly acknowledged to be the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Conference Board, a private research group, released its monthly report on consumer confidence, showing that confidence in the US economy fell to an all-time low in December. The index of consumer confidence dropped to 38.0, compared to a 44.7 reading in November.
The December number was the lowest reading since records began in 1967. It was far worse than the 45.8 forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Economists had expected that the sharp fall in gasoline prices would boost consumers' spirits, but this relative break for consumers was overwhelmed by soaring layoffs and falling household wealth resulting from the ongoing collapse of house prices and downward pressure on wages, benefits and savings.
The present situation index, a separate gauge of consumers' assessment of current economic conditions, plummeted to 29.4 in December from 42.3 the previous month. Consumer expectations of economic conditions over the next six months also fell, to 43.8 in December from 46.2 in November.
The further erosion of the index "reflects the rapid and steep deterioration of economic conditions that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "The overall economic outlook remains quite dismal for the first half of 2009," the Conference Board's consumer survey said in a statement.
The report indicated that the most important factor in depressing consumer sentiment is soaring unemployment. In regard to the labor market, 42 percent said that jobs are "hard to get," compared with 37.1 percent in November. The share of those who considered jobs "plentiful" fell to 6.2 percent from 8.7 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months increased to 32.8 percent from 28.3 percent.
Also on Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller housing index for October was released, showing a record 18 percent decline in home prices compared to the same period last year. The report revealed that the fall in home prices is accelerating and hitting virtually all parts of the country.
The composite home price index for 20 major metropolitan areas fell 2.2 percent from September. The price drops, both on a year-over-year and month-to-month basis, were worse than forecast by economists.
Standard & Poor's said a separate composite index of 10 metropolitan areas dropped 2.1 percent in October from September, for a 19.1 percent year-over-year decline, also a record. That marked the 10-city index's 13th straight monthly report of a record decline.
The 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller index has posted losses for 27 months in a row.
"The bear market continues. Home prices are back to their March 2004 levels," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee. He added that both composite indexes and 14 of the 20 metropolitan areas are reporting new record home price drops.
As of October, the 10-city index is down 25 percent from its mid-2006 peak and the 20-city is down 23 percent, Blitzer said.
The Case-Shiller data came a week after the government reported that sales of previously occupied homes plunged, dropping 8.6 percent in November, and the median price fell 13 percent, the largest drop since the government survey began in 1968. New home sales fell 2.9 percent in November, their fourth drop in a row.
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported Tuesday that the just-completed holiday sales season was the worst in four decades. "The 2008 recession, widespread discounting and adverse pre-holiday weather all coalesced to produce the weakest holiday season since at least 1970," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research.
The ICSC/Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 1.5 percent in the week ending December 27 from the prior week and was down 1.8 percent for the year. The ICSC said it expects December comparable store sales to decline by at least 1 percent, with some sectors recording double-digit declines. It expects November and December sales to be down 1.5 percent to 2 percent, which would be the first decline since the ICSC began tracking holiday sales in 1969.
It is widely predicted that the dismal holiday period will be rapidly followed by a wave of retail store closings, layoffs and bankruptcies. Retail stores already cut more than 90,000 jobs in November, and several major companies, including Circuit City and Linens N' Things, declared bankruptcy or started liquidation.
Bloomberg News reported Tuesday: "US retailers face a wave of store closings, bankruptcies and takeovers starting next month as holiday sales are shaping up to be the worst in 40 years." It quoted Burt Flickinger, managing director of the retail industry consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, as saying, "You'll see department stores, specialty stores, discount stores, grocery stores, drugstores, major chains either multi-regionally or nationally go out."
The ICSC is forecasting that retailers will close 73,000 stores in the first half of 2009, following the closure of 148,000 stores in the course of 2008.


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Inflation Likely To Fall Despite Temporary Setback
14 August 2012 in Chamber News
• Annual CPI inflation up from 2.4% in June to 2.6% in July
• Annual RPI inflation up from 2.8% in June to 3.2% in July
• The largest upward pressures on inflation came from airfares and clothing and footwear
Commenting on the inflation figures for July 2012 published today by the ONS, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:“The inflation figures for July recorded an unexpected rise. Despite this setback, the downward trend in inflation seen in recent months is likely to continue. There is a realistic chance that inflation will be down to 2% by the end of the year, and will fall slightly below this target during 2013. However, the inflation figures for July show that there is no room for complacency. Recent increases in world food prices because of the drought in the US provide a reminder that there are still upward pressures.
“Since inflation has been above the 2% target for a prolonged period, a temporary fall below this target should not be a cause for concern. If inflation does fall, the economy would benefit since the squeeze on businesses and consumers would support demand in the economy. With this in mind, the Bank of England should not use additional Quantitative Easing, which concentrates solely on buying gilts, to limit temporary falls in inflation.”