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How badly will the coronavirus impact US ag before it gets better?
Coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, but there are some indications of a return to normalcy in China.
World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefed reporters this week about the spread of coronavirus,or COVID-19.
“The threat of pandemic has become very real," he said. "But this would be the first pandemic that could be controlled."
"We're not at the mercy of the virus,” noted the organization on its website.
The WHO says it has been reluctant to use the word "pandemic" and the briefing added clarification regarding why the term isn't yet appropriate.
A "pandemic," said Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, means the "disease has reached a point where it spreads uncontrolled from country to country." The WHO is now seeing real success in some countries at turning the disease around, Ryan said in a release.
As this article was written, there were already over 114,000 confirmed cases of the disease, with over 4,000 deaths globally. Those numbers are expected to grow.
However, in places like Wuhan, China — which was the original epicenter for the outbreak — the number of cases has slowed substantially, giving hope that the spread can be controlled and that trade relations can resume under more normal conditions later this year.
China is still battling to contain coronavirus infections, but the U.S. ag sector is taking heart in signs that industry there is coming back to life in time for trade to resume under the “phase one” deal announced in December.
More Chinese truckers are taking to the road as stevedores return to the ports and workers go back to their jobs at feed mills, but the virus is still feeding uncertainty, curbing marketing efforts and threatening wider disruption beyond China.
“Manufacturing plants are starting back up and transportation bottlenecks are clearing up,” says one U.S. government official monitoring the situation in China.
Starbucks announced that 90% of its stores had reopened.
President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan to celebrate the turnaround.
All of this is good news for U.S. farmers and ranchers who are hoping to take advantage of China’s recent decision to exempt some importers from tariffs on U.S. farm commodities. March 2 was the first day that Chinese importers of a wide variety of farm goods could begin applying to avoid the country’s steep retaliatory tariffs on products such as soybeans, pork, corn, wheat, whey, oranges, cherries, sorghum, soyoil and beef.
The U.S.-China trade war has been particularly tough for U.S. sorghum farmers, who became reliant on Chinese imports before both countries began levying punitive tariffs. That’s starting to change, though. China quietly began exempting importers from tariffs on the grain in recent months, spurring sales in February of as much as 443,200 metric tons, according to U.S. industry and government officials. Tim Lust, CEO of National Sorghum Producers, tells Agri-Pulse he expects those sales to increase further now that China is broadening the tariff exemptions and extending them through the rest of the year.
But Chinese ports, processors and interior transportation companies have to be open for business for those tariff exemptions to facilitate the expansion of trade China promised under the phase one trade pact signed in December before the coronavirus outbreaks.
On that front, there is good news, says Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council.
“I was just talking … with our team on the ground in China and they tell me, from their perspective, soybeans are getting unloaded,” Sutter told Agri-Pulse. “Soybean crushing plants are generally running.”
And there are other signs of recovery. Xinhua News, a state-run media outlet, is reporting on business returning to normal with a spotlight on the Wellhope Agri-Tech Stock Company in Shenyang as it churns out poultry and swine feed. Wellhope had returned to 90% production capacity as of early March, Xinhua says.
One of the reasons behind the government push to return operations to normal is that China isn’t just fighting coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is now officially called. It’s also fighting African swine fever and food price inflation.
“Feed mills are operating and the Chinese government is really pushing livestock producers to get more meat in the marketplace,” Sutter said. “They’re also importing meat because they want to get prices down. … They’ve given special dispensation to trucks carrying feed or livestock. They’ve waived tolls on roads to try to make it easy for people to move feed around to be able to produce livestock.”
The situation in China may be looking brighter for grain and oilseed shippers that send their commodities in bulk on Panamax-sized ships, but container transportation is still snarled. U.S. poultry producers and Chinese importers eager to buy the meat continue to be hit hard by the lack of workers available to load and unload ships and individual containers.
Greg Tyler, a senior vice president for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, says several hundred containers full of refrigerated poultry — mostly chicken paws that fetch high prices in China — are stuck in ports, waiting to be unloaded and taken to the market.
China only just reopened its market to U.S. poultry after a five-year ban, and USAPEEC had been predicting the new trade would translate into an additional $1 billion in profits for producers this year.
“I’m just really hoping that the coronavirus will peter out pretty soon,” Tyler said. As of early March, he was not optimistic.
New infections are on the decline in China, according to the World Health Organization, but the country is still besieged by the virus that has already spread to other Asian countries, Europe, North America and elsewhere. Last week, WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus said China had reported 129 cases — the lowest rate since Jan. 20.
The U.S. Grains Council is monitoring other key markets in Asia, said Kimberly Atkins, the group’s vice president and chief operating officer.
Meanwhile, U.S. commodity groups are canceling or postponing trade shows and missions in China and elsewhere. The U.S. Meat Export Federation canceled its Korea Spring Market Seminar last month. Stops this month on the 2020 Prune Growers Tour of Asia were canceled, and Sunkist canceled in-store promotions in six Chinese cities that were planned for May.
Many of these marketing events are supported by USDA funds in programs such as the Agricultural Trade Promotion program, said Lorena Alfaro, executive director of the U.S. Agricultural Development Council, which conducts weekly meetings with the Foreign Agricultural Service.
“Every day there’s something new,” said Alfaro. “Every other day something gets canceled. China is looking more optimistic — starting to normalize — but that’s not the case in other parts of the world.”
Editor’s Note: Agri-Pulse Trade Editor Bill Tomson contributed to this article. Wyant is president and founder of Agri-Pulse Communications Inc. For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com .
Your resource and guide to understanding coronavirus


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KIRKWOOD, Mo. (KMOX) – The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether Hobby Lobby has a right to deny its employees contraceptive health care coverage.
In St. Louis, local patrons of the chain are weighing in.
In the parking lot of the Kirkwood Hobby Lobby, customers were asked about Hobby Lobby’s stance against giving its employees health care coverage for contraception that may destroy an embryo after conception.
“I think it’s a personal choice, and your employer or your insurance company have no business in it,” one woman said.
Some agree that it’s a woman’s personal choice, but are still rooting for the company.
“I do believe that the choice is within the woman to make the decision, but I also feel that by wanting to be employed by Hobby Lobby, you’re giving them the opportunity to express their beliefs, and if you don’t believe it then you shouldn’t work at Hobby Lobby,” one customer said.
Some say the government has gone too far.
“It’s just the government putting their tentacles where they don’t belong,” another woman said. “This is a family-run business.”
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
MORE LOCAL NEWS:
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- St. Charles Council Delays Trash Transfer Vote
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domain: news


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By Stephen Nellis
March 23 (Reuters) - Intel Corp INTC.O will greatly expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity as the new chief executive announced plans to spend as much as $20 billion to build two factories in Arizona and to open up its factories to outside customers.
The move by CEO Pat Gelsinger on Tuesday aims to restore Intel's reputation after technological missteps. The strategy will directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips, Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) 2330.TW and Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS.
And it will also aim to tilt a technological balance of power back to the United States and Europe as government leaders on both continents have become concerned about the risks of a concentration of chipmaking in Taiwan given tensions with China.
Intel is one of the few remaining semiconductor companies that both designs and manufactures its own chips. Rival chip designers such as Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O and Apple Inc AAPL.O rely on contract manufacturers.
But Intel has struggled with delays in bringing online its newest manufacturing technology, sending its shares plunging last year and prompting activist investors to call for it to outsource a greater deal of its manufacturing.
In an interview with Reuters, Gelsinger said Intel has "fully resolved" its problems with its most recent manufacturing technology and is "all systems go" on chips for 2023. It now plans a massive manufacturing expansion.
That will include spending $20 billion on two new factories at an existing campus in Chandler, Arizona, and then additional future sites in the United States and in Europe, Gelsinger said.
Intel will use those factories to make its own chips but also open them to outside customers in what is called a "foundry" business model in the chip industry. Gelsinger said the new factories will focused on cutting-edge computing chip manufacturing, rather than the older or specialty technologies that some manufacturers such as GlobalFoundries specialize in.
"We are absolutely committed to leading process technology capabilities at scale for the industry, and for our customers," Gelsigner said, adding that Intel has lined up customers for the new factories but could not disclose their names.
The move is a direct challenge to TSMC and Samsung. The two have come to dominate semiconductor manufacturing business, moving its center of gravity from the United States, where much of the technology was once invented, to Asia, where more than two-thirds of advanced chips are now manufactured.
Gelsinger said Intel will aim to change that global balance by embracing the foundry business where it historically has been a minor player. Intel will offer chip customers the ability license out its own technological crown jewels - known as the x86 instruction set architecture - as well as offer to build chips based on technology from Arm Ltd or the emerging open source technology RISC-V, he said.
"We will be picking our next sites within the next year for U.S. and Europe," he said. "We're going to have committed capacity for foundry customers."
But even Intel jumps into competition with TSMC and Samsung, it also plans to become a larger customer of theirs by turning to them to make subcomponents of its chips called "tiles" to make some chips more cost-effectively.
Intel plans to make the compute "tiles" for its "Meteor Lake" and "Granite Rapids" chips at its own factories for 2023 but will also offer PC and data center chips with compute tiles from TSMC, Gelsinger said, without giving more detail on the products with parts from TSMC.
"I'll pick the best process technologies wherever they exist," Gelsinger said. "I leverage internal and external supply chains. I'll have the best cost structure. That combination of supply, products and costs, we think is a killer combination."
BREAKINGVIEWS-Intel fab spinoff might double its value
Intel taps VMware's Gelsinger as CEO to fix manufacturing crisis
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
((email@example.com; (415) 344-4934;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Oracle, Walmart Aim for Big Stakes in TikTok
Backers of plans for Oracle to join with TikTok to create a new U.S. company for the video-sharing app are working on a new ownership structure aimed at alleviating U.S. concerns over Chinese control.
Moderna's Covid-19 Vaccine Study Results Could Come in Late October
A large, pivotal study of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine could yield a preliminary answer about whether the shot works safely as early as October, though it's more likely to be November, the company's leader said.
Judge Clears China's Harbin to Buy GNC
Vitamin seller GNC won court approval to sell itself to its largest shareholder, China's Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, despite national-security concerns raised by Sen. Marco Rubio.
Apple to Launch Online Store in India on Sept. 23
Apple Inc. will launch an online store in India on Sept. 23 as the tech titan bids to expands its footprint in a major market.
UPS Offering Buyouts to Management Workers
The delivery giant plans the offers as Chief Executive Carol Tomé aims to trim payroll costs.
Facebook to Curb Internal Debate Over Sensitive Issues Amid Staff Discord
Facebook is moving to curb internal debate around divisive political and social topics, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said, after a spate of disputes and criticism that has fueled discord among staffers.
Cohen's Point72 Settles Gender Discrimination Case
Steven A. Cohen's Point72 Asset Management recently reached a settlement with a female employee who sued the firm in 2018 alleging unfair pay practices and a pervasively sexist work environment.
LVMH Sought French Government Help in Dropping Tiffany Takeover
The luxury-goods company asked the top negotiator in France's tax talks with the U.S. for help in backing out of its agreement to take over Tiffany and was turned down.
Judge Rejects Hertz's 'Offensive' Bankruptcy Bonuses
"It seems offensive to give senior executives bonuses when they were paid" retention compensation immediately before the bankruptcy was filed, Judge Mary Walrath said Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
Snowflake CEO Slootman Scores IPO Hat Trick With Big Bet on Data
With Snowflake's supercharged IPO this week, Chief Executive Frank Slootman has achieved a rare investment trifecta: delivering three of the hottest tech public stock offerings of their time.


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Review: Motorola i886
Motorola's i886 runs on Sprint's iDEN network and offers both a physical QWERTY keyboard and a semi-rugged design. There's also the Android-like operating system to make things interesting.
AD article continues below...
Ruggedized PTT-capable handsets that have QWERTY keyboards are few and far between. It's because of their scarcity that Motorola cooked up the i886, a new sideways slider that offers protection against daily abuse and a full physical keyboard for easier messaging tasks. Does this combination really make for the killer device some users want? Phone Scoop finds out.
Review: Motorola Moto Z2 Force
The Moto Z2 Force is a semi-rugged — and yet stylish — flagship smartphone from Motorola. This sleek handset boasts dual cameras, top specs, and a nearly unbreakable "ShatterShield" screen.
TCL Reveals the BlackBerry KEYone Smartphone
Feb 25, 2017
TCL today announced the KEYone, a BlackBerry smartphone that combines a large screen, full QWERTY keyboard, and hardened Android software in an aluminum body. TCL first teased the phone at CES last month, but has now shared all the KEYone's details.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Built for the Adventurous and the Accident-Prone
Jun 6, 2016
Samsung today announced the Galaxy S7 Active, a semi-rugged version of its S7 flagship smartphone. The Active has a sturdier metal frame with rubber-coated corners to help protect it.
Review: Samsung Galaxy S7 Active for AT&T
Samsung's latest semi-rugged smartphone for AT&T dials back the good looks of the Galaxy S7 in favor of a stronger, studier frame. The S7 Active is tough enough to take a tumble without the brick-like bulk of some fully rugged handsets.
Motorola's Affordable Moto Z3 Play Seeks to Challenge Premium Phones
Jun 6, 2018
Motorola today announced the Moto Z3 Play, its third-generation Mod-compatible mid-range phone. The Z3 Play carries over the general size and shape of previous Z-branded phones in order to maintain backward compatibility with the Moto Mod snap-on accessories.


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ITV has announced that Tatiana Jezierski – formerly Strategy Director at Mother – will join ITV Creative later this month as Head of Creative Strategy. She is reunited with Niki Garner, Director of ITV Creative, on the leadership team of ITV’s in-house creative agency; Garner was also formerly at Mother. The Head of Creative Strategy is a new role in ITV Creative that will sit on the Creative Leadership team alongside the Executive Creative Director, Head of Campaign Management, Head of Production and Head of Post Production, with the opportunity to build the team. Garner will be specifically responsible for embedding strategy within the agency and working closely with the ECD ensuring all future output feels ambitious, innovative and cohesive across all areas of the business. Her brief is to continually raise the creative output developed by ITV Creative for ITV and its partner brands, plus ITVX – ensuring they engage with the UK and complement the award-winning content. Jezierski will build upon the success of recent campaigns such as the launch of ITVX, which won Best On Demand Service at the Edinburgh TV Festival Awards 2023; the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 – crowned Most Engaging Ad of the Tournament by System1; and the recent launch of Big Brother which is the show’s most successful launch since 2010.
Plural, the early-stage platform set up by founders and operators to back companies on a mission to change the world through technology, is announcing today the appointment of Eliza Dabney as Chief Marketing Officer. In her new role, Dabney will lead all of Plural’s marketing and communications efforts, including supporting and advising its growing portfolio of founders. Dabney has two decades of experience advising and building global profiles for high-growth startups and leading venture capital firms on both sides of the Atlantic.
Specialist influencer marketing agency, Buttermilk, has appointed Zoe Mitchell to the newly created role of Chief Growth Officer to drive global expansion of the business and build its reputation. Buttermilk has doubled in size year on year both in terms of headcount & income and in this role, Mitchell will lead new business growth to accelerate this momentum. As part of Buttermilk’s c-suite, Mitchell will be responsible for implementing the agency’s global growth strategy, working to attract new clients into Buttermilk’s expanding portfolio. She will lead the agency’s new business, marketing and PR functions while developing the agency’s proposition and increasing awareness of Buttermilk’s unique approach, talent and BrandFans intellectual property. Mitchell was previously Global New Business Lead at Wunderman Thompson and has also held new business roles for global agencies including Pablo, Wieden+Kennedy, and VaynerMedia. She has appeared in the BD100 in 2021 and was part of the Wunderman Thompson team that won Campaign’s Global Marketing Team of the Year.
In line with Born Ugly’s ambitious growth plans, the creative change agency has appointed Shelly Greenway and Tim Greenhalgh as its newest Non-Executive Directors. As the Founder and Creative Director at Like a Moth and former CCO at Landor & Fitch, Greenhalgh has over 35 years of industry experience. He has worked with esteemed brands including Adidas, Apple, LEGO and McLaren, winning awards for his work with the latter two. Greenhalgh brings to the role a wealth of strategic knowledge and capabilities thanks to her experience working across a diverse range of industries and brands, including Danone, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsico, Nestle and Lloyd’s Bank. The pair will join Born Ugly’s board which includes among others CEO Sarah Dear and non-exec Chair Simon Bailey from Kantar to advise the creative change agency on its strategic direction.
Wolff Olins is bolstering its creative firepower, with the appointment of two new creative directors, following new business wins in recent months. Andy Khatouli and George Adams join the global brand consultancy from creative studios Oddigy and DesignStudio, respectively. Adams joins from DesignStudio in Australia, where he spent nearly four years building the agency’s APAC presence, with previous experience including Weiden + Kennedy, Venturethree and NB Studio. Major clients have included Hong Kong Tourism board, Alibaba, Moet Hennessy, Korean food delivery business SPC, Honda and News International. With a focus on brand, Adams thrives when merging disciplines, across digital, motion and the world of tech, as well as implementing brand experience as part of a holistic approach. Khatouli – whose previous clients have included MTV, ITV, BBC, Google, Humanrace, BeyondMeat, Grey Goose and Nickelodeon – co-founded his own studio Oddigy in 2020, and prior to that worked at Ragged Edge and Studio Moross. Career highlights include working on the brand for the MTV Video Music Awards and creating BeyondMeat’s campaign with Belgian footballer Romelu Lukaku, it’s most successful to date.
Leaseweb Global, a cloud services and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider, has announced that Pieter Lacroix has been appointed as Managing Director Netherlands. In this role, Lacroix will oversee Leaseweb’s operations in the Netherlands and focus on developing the company’s cloud offering. Lacroix brings more than 25 years of experience in the technology sector to his new role. After beginning his career in telecommunications, Lacroix moved into cybersecurity where he spent over a decade at Sophos, ultimately as Managing Director for the Benelux region. Most recently, Lacroix was responsible for overseeing growth strategy, business development, and operations as General Manager at cloud solutions provider, Codit.
Technology and business transformation delivery partner, Stellarmann has appointed Susie Lee-Kilgariff as group head of marketing, to drive and support the company’s ambitious plans for growth. Lee-Kilgariff will oversee brand strategy and demand generation, supporting Stellarmann as it delivers enterprise-wide business and digital transformation projects for organisations across the insurance and banking industries, and within the public sector. She will also head up marketing for award-winning sister company, William Alexander Recruitment. Having worked both agency and client-side, Lee-Kilgariff is a career-long B2B marketer who also ran her own consultancy, Northern Light Marketing for 12 years, working with organisations across technology, professional services and recruitment.
Magnite, the independent sell-side advertising company, has appointed Edouard Schmidt as its Commercial Director for France and Maria Luisa Scialoia as its Commercial Director for Italy, Spain & MENA. Schmidt and Scialoia will lead Magnite’s Demand Facilitation teams in their respective regions to build strong relationships with media agency partners and brands. Schmidt is well-known in the industry having spent over six years at Yahoo where he managed partnerships with the big six agencies. Prior to Yahoo, Schmidt worked for highly regarded independent creative agencies Les Gros Mots and La Chose, as well as Australia.GAD. Boasting over 17 years of experience, including more than nine years at Publitalia ‘80, which exclusively sells advertising for Mediaset’s free-to-air channels, Scialoia is a leader in the CTV (connected TV) space. She has previously worked with a range of clients, including L’Oreal Group, Coca Cola and Mondelez. Prior to joining Publitalia ‘80 she spent more than six years as Performance Marketing and Communication Manager at GroupM Italy.
Emerging technology consultancy MDRx announces the expansion of its senior leadership team with the appointment of Alex Shaw as Chief Technology Officer. The appointment comes during an exciting period of expansion, as MDRx expanded its team by 91% this year. Shaw joins MDRx with nearly 30 years of software development expertise under his belt, most recently as CTO and CTPO at VC-backed Hive Learning. Before joining Hive, Shaw led software, product and innovation teams at comparethemarket.com, the engineering teams at Perform Group (now DAZN) and NCC’s Web performance division, as well as founding and exiting his own software development company and SaaS platform, Bullet Online. Kicking off in his new role, Shaw will focus on developing the environment, culture and best practices of the MDRx engineering and data teams; fostering a thriving, high trust, delivery focused environment that builds on the world leading capabilities of the MDRx brand.
Medius, a provider of AP Automation and wider Spend Management solutions, has announced the appointment of Emma Brown as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Based in London, Brown will be responsible for guiding Medius through its ambitious plan to double turnover by 2025 and for the long-term financial health of the company as it executes on its mission to eliminate fraud and inefficiencies through autonomous, AI-driven AP and spend management. As a leader of digital transformation throughout her career, Brown will champion product development, representing the views of core Medius customers, as CFOs seek increased productivity and financial control. Brown holds 14 years’ of experience scaling high-growth global technology and people-based businesses. She joins Medius from consumer intelligence accelerator platform Talkwalker, where she acted as the Group Chief Financial and Operating Officer and retains a board position.


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After the successful launch of TourKnife during 2017 and roll-out to customers like The Wanderlust Store which successfully managed group travel for over 8000 pax using TourKnife in 2017 (see Case Studies), company CEO Ramón Aragüés decided to expand the TourKnife team with the incorporation of an experienced COO to help structure the business and drive international expansion.
Zander Tripp joined the TourKnife team at the beginning of November and brings with him a wealth of experience in international software sales, marketing and consultancy. “These are exciting times for us,” said Ramón Aragüés. “We have developed a world-leading product for operators dealing with complex group travel. Feedback from the market is great and we have an ambitious expansion plan. We are thrilled to have Zander on board to help us structure and manage our growth.


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To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of Tianjin Jingcheng Machine Tool Co., Ltd., the company held a grand celebration meeting on May 17, 2018 at Linquan Villa, Jixian Jiushan Peak. More than 100 people attended the meeting, including company leaders, shareholder representatives, supplier representatives and all employees.
At the meeting, representatives of suppliers and employees made statements successively to congratulate the company on its twentieth anniversary. Mr. Wu Limou, the founder and honorary chairman of the company, sent a congratulatory letter to thank the partners for their support and help over the years, the shareholders for their trust and support, and the staff for their sincere unity and hard work. At last, Leng Jie, the chairman and general manager of the company, made a warm speech. He reviewed the extraordinary development of the company in the past 20 years, summarized the successful experience and profound experience of the company in management innovation, mechanism innovation, technological innovation, personnel training and marketing, and so on. He also summarized the development of the company in the future. It puts forward a good vision. Finally, he pointed out that standing at the important historical node of the company's development, we have gained a lot by taking stock of the past, and looking forward to the future, we have a long way to go. Let's continue to carry forward the good traditions of the past and create a better tomorrow for our sincere company with more excellent achievements.


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- Tesla on Friday said it had begun delivering Model 3 vehicles in China.
- The company also announced a cheaper version of the sedan, which will start at roughly $US64,000.
- CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday told investors he expected Tesla’s Shanghai factory to be producing Model 3s by the end of the year.
Tesla officially launched the performance version of its Model 3 in China on Friday.
The long-range rear-wheel-drive version starts at 560,000 renminbi, or about $US83,142. That’s a significantly higher cost than the same version in the US, according to the blog Electrek, which first reported the news.
In a press release, Tesla said it had also started taking preorders for a cheaper version of the sedan, which will start at 433,000 yuan, or about $US64,289. The same version in the US goes starts at $US51,000, per Electrek.
“The arrival of this model provides another cost-effective choice for Chinese consumers,” the company said in the press release.
Tesla broke ground recently on a new factory in Shanghai where the company says it will eventually build Model 3s. That could help bring down the cost of those vehicles in China, where they now face steep import taxes from the US.
“By the end of this year, we expect to be producing Model 3s using a complete vehicle production line,” CEO Elon Musk said of the factory on Wednesday during Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call.
“We do feel quite confident at this point, at least for the factors that are in our control that we can achieve volume production in Shanghai by the end of the year. And that should allow us to get to the 10,000 vehicles a week rate or very close to it by the end of the year.”
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- Exclusive Summer Sale Offers Discounted Festival Tickets until August 31 -
Hear ye, hear ye! The Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation’s largest and most acclaimed Renaissance-themed event, proclaimed today that ticket prices are in a Medieval Meltdown until August 31. Opening October 5 and running each weekend until December 1, the 2019 festival marks the 45 anniversary and features food and drinks from around the world, 19 stages of entertainment and music acts, and games and rides for patrons of all ages.
The Medieval Meltdown summer discounts are available exclusively online at www.texrenfest.com/meltdown/. Specially-priced tickets to the festival for the first two weekends in October are only $13.17. Daily general admission tickets, which give access to one day of the festival, are also available for advance purchase for $19.74 – a special 45th-anniversary price commemorating the festival’s start in 1974. Additionally, 2019 camping passes for any vehicle are available for $24.95. Tickets are limited to 15 per order and are subject to applicable taxes and fees.
“We’re excited to celebrate a major milestone with our 45th anniversary, and this year’s festival promises to be bigger and better than ever,” said Joe Bailey, CEO and General Manager, Texas Renaissance Festival. “We encourage both seasoned and new festivalgoers to purchase tickets at these greatly discounted prices before prices increase September 1.”
The 45th season of the Texas Renaissance Festival features nine themed weekends, including Oktoberfest, 1001 Dreams, Barbarian Invasion, Pirate Adventure, All Hallows Eve, Heroes and Villains, Highland Fling, and Celtic Christmas. A unique themed weekend on November 2-3, Return to the Renaissance, celebrates the festival’s 45th anniversary and takes a nostalgic look back at the festival’s beginnings.
For more information, visit www.Texrenfest.com.


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7,020 total views, 18 views today
Three of Papua New Guinea’s luxurious hotels have made into the winners circle in the 2020 Luxury Hotel Awards list announced recently.
Airways Hotel, Grand Papua Hotel and the newly renovated Loloata Island Resort were named as winners each in different categories.
Bali’s Apurva Kempinski hotel won the overall 2020 World Luxury Hotel Award. With its breathtaking views of the Indian Ocean and a tropical garden and standing atop the majestic cliff of Nusa Dua, the Awards site described the five-star resort as offering “the epitome of beachfront luxury” and an “embodiment of Indonesian elegance“.
Airways Hotel was named as a winner of the Luxury Airport Hotel category in the Australasian region.
The iconic Grand Papua Hotel, in the heart of Port Moresby’s Central Business District, lived up to its reputation by being named in the Luxury Business Hotel category.
And finally, the newly re-developed hotel in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea, Loloata Island Resort, was named as a winner in the Luxury Island Resort category.
The Awards were established in 2006 and is considered the “pinnacle of achievement in the luxury hotel industry offering international recognition as voted by guests, travelers and industry players alike“.
Around 300 000 international travelers vote each year during a four-week period to select the winners.
Congratulations to Airways, Grand Papua and Loloata Island Resort.
We did write about Loloata Island Resort earlier this year and you can check it out here.


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Moldova IPTV grew by a stellar 78.5% in 2017 for a total of 139,500 subscribers, according to Moldovan regulatory authority, ANRCETI.Â Â This growth is consistent with the promising trend of IPTV expansion in Eastern Europe expected over the next many years.
Even with the increase in IPTV popularity, pay TV penetration stands at just 9.1% of Moldovan TV households.Â This likely reveals vast growth opportunities for enterprising IPTV providers, especially perhaps operators whom offer a variety of services including pay TV, broadband and more.
IPTV revenue increased by 16% in 2017 to MDL73.9 million and non-traditional TV revenue dropped by 2.8% to MDL85.6 million. That said, ARPU dropped by 3.5% to MDL44.8.Â Pay TV earnings climbed 5.1% over the same period to MDL159.5 million (EUR7.75 million).
Meanwhile, non-IPTV video customers in Moldova actually dropped by 4% to 184,200. At the beginning of 2018 there were 323,700 Moldovan pay TV subscribers at the end of in 2017, an increase of 53,700 subscribers which represents 19.9% YOY growth.
Though there are currently a whopping 100+ Moldovan pay TV operators, Moldtelecom leads the way with a 32.9% market share. Other popular providers include Sunlight Communications (23.5%) and SRL TELEVISION Box (13.15%), while the remaining pay TV customer base was split between many smaller platforms.Â More particularly, 56.9% of customers choosing cable television and another 43.1% subscribing to IPTV with a majority of users accessing digital TV while 43.5% of pay TV consumers utilize analog technology.
Many telecoms require customized IPTV systems fully-integrated with telco billing systems, original IPTV lineups and multiple service bundles. MatrixStream is the leading expert in developing IPTV platforms with customers serving millions of subscribers,Â We configure each IPTV and OTT video streaming solutions to meet each client’s unique requirements in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.Â Contact us today to quickly and cost-effectively launch or expand your IPTV and OTT video streaming offerings.


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Protesters hit Trump's bottom line
THE EDITOR, Sir:
Since Trump won the 2016 US election, there have been numerous protests across the USA, at airports, town halls, and in major cities, including many across the globe. I was fortunate to attend one and was amazed by the energy, camaraderie, and solidarity. It was raw, it was real, it was powerful.
The slogans, posters, and placards were colourful and on point, and being in the company of thousands standing up for the same cause was empowering and humbling.
"Your hands are too small, you can't build a wall," crowds chanted, and "Pay your taxes", crowds erupted in front of a luxury Trump hotel, a dig at the president's refusal to release his tax returns.
DURING THE CAMPAIGN
Protesters strongly denounced racism, misogyny, xenophobia and other hateful rhetoric made by the president during the campaign. People also protested the Muslim-majority country ban, women's rights, abortion rights and planned parenthood support.
Since the hashtag #grabyourwallet started trending last year, the campaign has been mounting to urge people to use their wallets to protest President Donald Trump's administration and policies by boycotting companies associated directly with the Trump brand. The president's daughter, Ivanka's, fashion line saw a sharp decline in sales in recent months as more high-profile outlets dropped the line, citing declining sales. The boycott is having an impact.
The reality is, voters will accept the results of an election in a healthy democracy, but that will not give an administration a free pass to do as it pleases. In democracies, we have a vote, but we also have a voice, and can find many ways to express it.


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3-in-1 'wearable shelter' for syrian refugees - mylar material
Design students from the Royal College of Art in London have designed a prototype coat that can be turned into a tent or sleeping bag.
They believe that such clothing can provide aid agencies with a cheap, sustainable solution to help refugees arriving in Europe.
Made of Tyvek, the "wearable protection system" is made of Tyvek material that is sturdy and durable and can withstand tearing.
It is also waterproof but breathable, so condensation can be avoided.
When converted into a tent or sleeping bag, the designer said that due to the lining made of the insulating material Mylar, it retains the body temperature of the person inside. More than 1.
Last year, 1 million people fleeing poverty, war and repression in the Middle East, Asia and Africa arrived on the European coast and almost everyone went to Germany.
Most people arrive with the property they can carry.
The team from RCA said that their wearable shelter does not mean a long-term solution, but aid to refugees in the days between arriving in Europe and arriving at the processing center.
"I asked our students to think about how a dress could become a shelter for about three children --
Many refugees took a week from the point of arrival in the EU to the processing center.
Our idea is to make sure that the materials used are sustainable and reasonably priced and can make this garment very easy and fast to produce on a large scale, this means that we can quickly distribute it through many different agencies, "project co-leader Dr.
Co-said: "We have contacted many agencies, one of which is MSF that is really involved in helping people on site
Designer Ann Sophie Guy
"The first thing we think about is how almost all of your houses do it --
How do you wear your house, your personal items and personal items?
The inspired folding is deformed into three structures-
Coat, sleeping bag or tent
It takes about a minute for everyone to build a person.
The team of 10 master students is still refining the current work prototype and trying different materials that will remain stable when built as tents, for example, the kite rod that will be slotted into the frame.
They are also working on a design that will add inflatable elements to the structure.
Parka with hat
The stylish jacket has a large waterproof storage bag.
Clothing is able to accommodate a person's property and the weight is evenly distributed so as not to cause discomfort, which is a major problem.
"It's easy to convert into a sleeping bag and become a shelter that can accommodate an adult and a few children, and it's clear that it's a coat that can carry many different functions, like files, mobile phones, personal items.
"There are even panels that allow people to carry something like clothing to distribute weight," Harris added . ".
The final prototype is currently under construction in China.
The aim was to conduct field tests in early summer, with the ultimate aim of providing aid agencies with a viable product to be distributed among refugees before the temperature drops.
Young designers have recently launched a campaign on the crowd.
Funding website Kickstarter helps fund mass production of clothing and helps refugee aid agencies to ship wearable devices to where they are most needed. The low-cost, charity-
Dr. Harriet Harris says focused design represents a paradigm shift in an industry that tends to focus on luxury goods.
She hopes the wearable shelter will show how designers can make a positive impact on society.
"This is a project that shows the fact that design is not just exclusive and rich products, it has a social heart," Harriss said . " He added: "design needs to show a greater sense of social responsibility for such issues.


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Downtown retailer Marvin Post looks at the revitalization of Dundas Street as being a lot like a complicated medical procedure.
“This is kind of like an operation,” he said at Attic Books, his longtime business between Clarence and Wellington streets and in the heart of the newly revamped Dundas Place.
“Surviving the procedure is one thing and then the next thing is surviving the recovery, which is the one that always catches you by surprise.”
After months of digging, installing underground upgrades and redesigning the road, the $16-million flex street is open for traffic – and now the traffic has to show up. On the weekend, there were a steady trickle of people along the broad, brick walkways, but it’s still early days before assessing if the street has made the grade.
There are still empty storefronts, and hanging over the development are the challenging social issues of street-level drug abuse and homelessness.
What needs to make the investment work is to get people back on the multi-block showcase. Retailers like Post remain optimistic about what can happen outside his shop in the coming months if it’s done right.
“The street is designed for street festivals and it’s a matter of whether or not they can get it to do that,” he said. “That’s the key to making the street work.”
Already he’s sensing a new downtown attitude just days after the last brick was dropped into place and after last week’s first street party. “It’s a lot friendlier now that it’s open. It was quite a challenge with the construction,” he said.
Post added that he was fortunate to have a diversified business model with appraisals, online sales and other book-selling locations. It meant that he could weather the construction storm with about a 25 per cent decrease in business – a situation he knows is much better than some other merchants.
“Some of the people are struggling, hanging on,” he said.
But Post’s also made a major personal investment into the street. Years ago, when property values spiked and rents were nearly impossible to meet, Post pulled up stakes and relocated his business to a storefront he bought for less than a year’s worth of London rent in Parkhill, northwest of the city.
He returned to London once property values slipped and bought his charming building. He’s never looked back.
The construction didn’t deter everyone, Post said. While there were fewer customers, people braved the closed streets to bring in books to sell them by the armloads.
The folks at Grooves, a hip music store between Wellington and Clarence streets, are equally optimistic about the future on the street.
“We’re the most optimistic retailers on Dundas Street,” said Bonnie Goodden. “We don’t have a problem, we think it’s really great.
“The second after the last brick went in, we’ve been flooded. This is our busiest time of year.”
The store was fortunate enough not to have cut back on staff shifts during the construction and was ready for their usual summer slowdown after the students left.
But now, said Andy Grimster, people are coming back. “I’ve had a few people tell me it’s the first time they’ve been downtown in years and I think a big part of it is the pull of the revitalization of the downtown.”
People should know, Goodden said, that despite the reputation of the core, “it’s not scary” and that parking in most places is never free.
Supporting the flex street is supporting small business. ”You’re truly shopping local when you are shopping downtown,” she said.
Not everyone is pleased. Jason Grundy, an employee at Imperial Hobbies and Games near Wellington Street, said businesses are “going to collapse” because promised parking outside the stores never materialized and people will likely gravitate to the shopping malls instead of the flex street.
Too many people have been turned off by the homeless and addicted, he said. He’s found needles and human feces behind the store and often their garbage has been opened and thrown around.
He added he’s “been attacked a couple of times.”
“At least if you have a car you could park, come in the door and ignore everything,” Grundy said. “They’ve taken the parking away so we’re screwed.”
He pointed out that on a Saturday less than two weeks before Christmas, no one was browsing in the store. “The store is empty. No one wants to come down here.”
Coun. Arielle Kayabaga, whose ward includes downtown, said it’s people traffic that will make it work. She said she’s excited to see what can happen at Dundas Place and “the countless number of activities we can do there.”
“Merchants love the idea of having something that is ongoing, that they know something is going to be happening,” she said.
She said she is looking forward to seeing city hall management’s plans for the upcoming months and wants lots of feedback from the community. “The community aspect of the street is going to make people want to be there.” she said.
But Coun. Phil Squire was more cautious. “This is just one thing. This isn’t a solution onto itself on what may be ailing downtown.
“I think when people think this is going to produce something magical, I think they’re wrong,” he said.
The flex street has to be a component toward solving transit and housing issues. The answers are not found in large retailers returning to the street, but in making “downtown attractive to people who live and work there.”
Squire said he is skeptical about how the street is going to be managed and has concern there is no reporting component to city council, even though city hall will be spending about $1 million a year to manage the promenade, which at times will be closed to vehicle traffic for public events.
Squire said people still fear for their safety in the core and people who have chosen to live there are travelling out of the area for essentials like groceries.
“I think it’s a matter of all these things are going to come together and I think the jury is out on that.”
Over at Bikini Paradise, a 14-year-old business smack-dab in the middle of the block between Richmond and Clarence streets, manager Carley Gallaway said two years of construction has taken a toll.
On the other side of the street there are several empty storefronts – many of them “closed without warning,” she said. The loss of the bus stop has cut into their walk-in traffic and any customers were planning to come anyway to shop for their vacations.
But she has caught some of the optimism bug. “I’m hoping it will be good. It looks good, but I don’t know,” she said, adding $16-million is a lot of spend when there are so many needy people without housing and supports.
“Fingers crossed.” she said.


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British craft awards
Thousands of card makers across the country voted for the top brands, designers and more in 2017’s British Craft Awards. Here are the winners!
Find out who won this year…
At the end of last year, we asked you to nominate and vote for your favourite companies, products, people and more in the annual British Craft Awards. With over 6,800 crafters voting in five competitive categories, we are very excited to finally share the results with you! The winners include both well known favourites and fresh faces, but all are outstanding for their contributions to papercraft and card making in the past year.
The winners were first announced at an awards ceremony attended by the biggest names in British craft, held this February at the Craft Hobby + Stitch International show at the NEC in Birmingham – we’ve picked the best photos from the celebratory evening to share with you here!
I’d like to thank each and every one of the thousands of you who took the time to support the people and companies who inspire you and vote on www.britishcraftawards.com. Read on to discover who’s been named champions of card making in 2017!


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Google introduced its cloud gaming platform Stadia at GDC 2019. The demos on stage looked interesting, but with details on prices, availability of games and much more, Google was missing.
But now, Google is hosting an event called Stadia Connect. Find out when we can get the latest Google project in our hands. Here's what you need to know about the announcement of Google Stadia.
When does the event "Stadia" start?
Here are the start times for Google Stadia Connect in some major cities around the world:
- San Francisco : 9:00
- Chicago : 23.00
- New York : 12.00
- London : 17.00
- Berlin : 18.00
- Moscow : 19.00
- Mumbai : 21.30
- Beijing : 12.00 (June 7)
- Sydney : 02.00 (June 7)
Where can I watch? Live Streaming?
Google is transferring Connect to Stadium's YouTube channel, and you can view it through the embedded player below.
What does Google show?
 Google introduced the Stadia controller at its GDC 2019 debut and I / O 2019 in detail. Now, hopefully, we'll know when the game platform will be available, how many users will have to pay for p, and what games will be available for launch.
Yesterday, a report appeared that implied that two of the games coming into the stadiums include Ubisoft's Destiny 2 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. According to the report, Stadia Destiny will store 2 cross-platform. This feature allows users to play the successful game at home on their gaming console or PC and then retrieve it on the go with their smartphone or Chromebook.  Keep an eye on the site, we'll keep you informed of all stadium news as soon as Google announces it!


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(CNN) – Perdue foods is recalling five-hundred pounds of frozen chicken.
The chicken is labeled as ‘simply smart organics gluten free breaded chicken breast tenders.’
But, the meat in some bags actually contains wheat.
The company discovered what happened after a customer inquired about it.
There have been no reports of illness related to the mislabeled chicken.
Customers can contact the company for a refund.


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GDPR has an impact on virtually every industry that deals with personal data. Take, for example, the PR industry.
Publicists rely on the personal information of journalists, editors, and tastemakers, in order to build the public image of their clients. It’s fair to say that, as an industry, PR is as equally driven by data as it is relationships.
But most PR people are pretty sanguine about GDPR — the good ones, at least. In fact, they welcome it, as they believe it’ll weed out the bad actors from the industry.
You know, the ones that’ll buy a list of email addresses, and use it to broadcast an irrelevant, unwelcome pitch. These are the people reporters whinge about on Twitter. And these are the people who stand to lose out from the EU’s new data protection legislation.
Putting the PR in GDPR
TNW reached out to an array of PR people, working across a range of verticals: from fintech to crypto, from consumer tech to information security.
In order to get a better sense of the sentiment surrounding GDPR in the industry, we also reached out to a variety of types of PR people: from in-house communications bods, to freelancers, to those working for agencies.
I’ll admit, my sample was biased slightly by the fact that I reached out to those I had a positive working relationship with. Every PR person quoted in this piece is someone I know, or works for an agency I know.
I was struck by how everyone I got in touch with was (mostly) on the same page. For starters, most publicists interviewed didn’t regard GDPR as a disruptive threat to their business.
“GDPR can only be a good thing for the PR industry in that it will raise industry standards particularly during the ‘selling in’ process. The traditional “spray and pray” approach – spamming a list of unwilling journalists with a barely relevant press release and hoping some cover the story – will actually become legislated against and hopefully die out. We aren’t worried, as we only contact individual journalists with a targeted, tailored approach, so there won’t be a massive culture shock for us. The legislation will force PRs to think more carefully about who they approach and why. Relevance is so important in our line of work.”
Another upside to GDPR is that it legally prevents publicists from sharing the private details of journalists with clients, as Hennigan explained.
“The second benefit of GDPR is it protects us from partners that ask us for the phone numbers and emails of the media. Our relationships with journalists are a large part of the value we deliver and we’ve never passed on their contact details, but we do get people asking us to share them. Now, we legally can’t, giving us another safeguard when people ask.”
Journalists hate this, because (at least, in my experience) it usually means some overzealous founder has taken issue with some legitimate and accurate paragraph in an article, and wants to harass you into changing it.
Publicists hate it too, because as Hennigan said, it undermines their relationship with the reporter, and makes their job a lot harder.
Having spoken to several people working in tech PR, the biggest plus is that it’ll put an end to some of the worst practices of the industry. Lauren Gilmore, former TNW editor and founder of the PR and Prose agency in Amsterdam, had this to say:
“It’s no secret publicists and people managing publicity have – for lack of a better term – bastardized the field. They unapologetically CC every journalist in their contact list with irrelevant pitches. By ensuring that PR people provide relevant information when contacting journalists, GDPR and its subsequent regulations will only help elevate publicity. It forces us to respect the journalist’s time and personal information, treating it with the professional respect. It also helps to ensure we build relationships with journalists – something that has fallen by the wayside for far too long.”
Compliance is going to be a major issue for the industry. Although Andrew Laxton, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Europe of Racepoint Global, said GDPR should be regarded as an “opportunity for the PR and marketing industry,” there’s still some work to be done.
“GDPR is going to have a big impact on how we work. Having gone through the process of evaluating the data that is stored and how it is managed, you quickly realise how things can be done in a much more secure and robust fashion. In fact, it has helped us to streamline and review our internal processes overall – and across global offices,” he said.
“As an agency with a global footprint in the US and Asia as well as the UK, it has meant that we have had to change how we share information with our colleagues in other offices. Nevertheless, this has ensured that globally we are all aligned on the new regulations and what they mean, and can help ensure that regardless of where a staff member is based they will know how to correctly store and manage personal data.”
“A total nightmare for PR people”
That said, there were some bears amongst the bulls, most notably Ed Zitron — who is one of the most vocal (and funniest) commentators on the PR industry. He thinks GDPR has the potential to open a world of hurt.
“Article 17 is going to, depending on the interpretation, be a total nightmare for PR people,” he said.
This part of the GDPR legislation lays out the scenarios for when data should be deleted. It states that if personal data is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected or processed, companies are obligated to delete it.
According to Zitron, if this applies to an email address or a phone number, then PR people will “have a very, very tough time justifying keeping media lists.”
“Now, there’s likely a loophole in keeping an email address saved in your Google Contacts, but if you have decided to save it, then you have an issue. The same goes for things like PR briefing books (little dossiers that they keep about reporters) – that’s certainly personal data,” Zitron added.
This isn’t the only potential pitfall in article 17. Other conditions when data should be deleted is if “the data subject objects to the processing and there are no legitimate grounds for processing.”
According to Zitron, this “likely won’t cover ‘we like to send the same email to 100 reporters.'”
In short, this means that spamming a reporter could result in a violation of the law. Zitron went into this some more:
“The GDPR also bars against “improperly processed” data. Depending on who interprets this, this could apply from data breaches, all the way to big spam lists, to people who are clearly not relevant to the story.”
Too early to say
GDPR Day was last Friday. Given there’s only been two working days since it came into action (one, if you’re based in the UK, which just had a three-day holiday), it’s a little too early to definitively say how it’ll impact the PR industry.
But having interviewed several professionals, a few things are clear:
- PR people are prepared for the new legislation, and for the most part, know it back to front. They’ve spent a lot of time getting ready for GDPR.
- Broadly speaking, they regard it as an opportunity.
- They think it’ll weed out the worst practices of the industry.
If you work in PR, but feel woefully unprepared for the GDPR onslaught, it’s not too late. Jacek Materna is the CTO of Assembla, and much of his efforts over the past year has been centered around ensuring his company is GDPR compliant.
TNW reached out to him for some first-hand advice, and he had the following tips to share:
- Understand what data you’re gathering and also classify it.
- Make sure you understand where it’s held, how it is kept and how & when to delete it.
- Back it up, anonymise it or encrypt it.
- Do whatever you must, just don’t avoid managing it.
- Avoid abusing personal data by sending irrelevant content to large numbers of recipients. Communication professionals can no longer fly under the radar and assume tacit approval when sending out press releases or other types of content.
- If you use personal data, consent by the individuals in your communication campaigns must be “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.”
- Be open about your processes and don’t treat it as a secret. Your influencers, customers, and other stakeholders will trust you as long as you prove to be trustworthy.


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By Elijah Felice Rosales, October 30 2018; Business Mirror
Image Credit to Business World
The Board of Investments (BOI) has lined up a series of discussions with the different domestic industries to enhance their global competitiveness at a time the multilateral trading system is put to a test.
The Trade and Industry Development (TID) Talks is a series of discussions organized by the BOI to serve as an avenue for the government and local industries to exchange views on policies, programs, issues and initiatives. This is to ensure the government remains responsive to the needs of the private sector, and firms maintain their competitiveness in the face of global trade uncertainty.
Trade Assistant Secretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba said the BOI wants to hear from business leadersthemselves how the agency can help address the concerns of the private sector. She added they can voice their policy and reform proposals to the government through the TID Talks.
“We are here to have a dialogue, to have a conversation, to talk and to listen to each other. These TID Talks serve as a platform through which the BOI can reach out to the private sector to discuss trade and industry development initiatives and have a discussion on how we can remain steadfast in responding to the needs of our local industries,” Aldaba said.
Local industries are facing disruptive challenges internally and globally. It is at this time the government and the private sector should collaborate more to weather the disruptions, Aldaba stated.
“With abrupt changes in the domestic and external markets, such as the trade war involving major trading economies, the heightened inflation, rising imports and export slowdown, we need your inputs as we continue to formulate our policies and programs to better address these changes,” Aldaba said.
Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo Jr. added the TID Talks are crucial in mapping out the future of domestic industries. As changes in the business landscape occur, engagements with stakeholders must be augmented, he said.
“These TID Talks are instrumental in [the] development and implementation of the industry roadmaps. As we deepen our discussions on the action points of these roadmaps, we can readily map out what will happen in these industries and what changes are needed,” Rodolfo explained.
The first session of the TID Talks was with the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) and creative services industries. Although the IT-BPM industry already has a roadmap, the government is still crafting one for creative service providers.
“We hope to strengthen our partnership with the private sector in implementing the IT-BPM roadmap and discuss the formulation of the creative economy roadmap. We also need your partnership and support in formulating the Strategic Investment Priority Plan this year,” Aldaba said at the session with the two industries.
Rey E. Untal of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap) is optimistic the industry will remain to be one of the country’s top performer.
“The IT-BPM industry has contributed a multitude of direct and indirect benefits to the Philippine economy. From an employment standpoint, we are already employing 5 million Filipinos directly and indirectly; not only are we creating jobs, but we are creating good-paying jobs,” the Ibpap president said.
“We are paving the way for the emerging middle class. But beyond that, if we look at our contribution to consumption power, this industry is contributing P300 billion annually to Filipino households. That’s a lot of spending power. The ripple effect on other industries is also quite prominent,” he added.
On the other hand, Paolo Mercado, president of the Creative Economic Council of the Philippines, said there is a need to go beyond investing on traditional tourism sites, including beaches, resorts and casinos. He proposed the government start building around creative festivals and conferences.
The next TID Talks will be with the mining, tourism, paper, book publishing and printing industries.
The BOI will center on tackling the future of the construction, mass housing, cement and ceramictiles, agricultural business, metalcasting, tool and die, and shipbuilding and ship repair industries in November. The garments and textiles roadmap will be launched in December, and TID Talks on that month will be with the furniture, jewelry and gifts, and decors and housewares industries.


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So, the latest internet craze seems to be parents comparing the fat rolls on their babies’ arms to bread-rolls!
That’s right – and it even has a trending hash-tag that translates as MyBabysGotTheBestBreadPhoto in Japan.
As you have hopefully deduced by now, these baby-arm-sized breads look extremely similar to the creases seen in the arm of a baby who’s still showing a lot of baby fat.
— コニ (@sn15papa) April 14, 2016
Hundreds of Japanese parents have taken to social media to share side-by-side comparisons of their babies’ arm rolls and sticks of “pull-apart bread,” a popular brioche-style snack sold in Japanese grocery stores.
— jun (@nj_jun) April 14, 2016
The trend began when one dad noticed his baby’s arm looked a lot like the bread and shared a photo online.
— 霧島 祥 (@nzsk_syo) April 14, 2016
Japanese parents are famous for comparing their babies to food. Another trend featured parents squishing their infants’ chubby cheeks to look like rice balls and sharing the photos online.
— ザトパパ (@zatopapa) April 15, 2016
Is there an Irish breakfast roll equivalent?


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Skegness Pier has been bought by the owners of nearby Fantasy Island for £3 million.
LincolnshireLive reported that the new owners are The Mellors Group, which is a theme park, attractions and events business operating across the UK and the Middle East.
The company bought Fantasy Island, in Ingoldmells, in 2016, and bought the pier after it went up for sale through Christie & Co in September last year.
The pier had been owned by the same family for more than four decades. The last member of the family to own the pier was Carolyn Wilkinson, who said: “It was a difficult decision to contemplate the sale of a business that has been in our family for so many years, and it was important to us, given we know so many people in the industry, that the process was handled professionally and transparently.
"Christie & Co delivered on every level and we were amazed by how much interest was generated from around the UK and even Europe, as well as much closer to home.
"We wish the Mellors team every success and know they will do a fantastic job at the pier and continue to keep it at the forefront of all things Skegness.”
There were many other people interested in buying the pier before the Mellors offer was accepted.
Christie & Co’s director of leisure and development, Jon Patrick, oversaw the sales process.
He said: “In over 35 years of selling leisure businesses, few have come close to the intensity of interest generated by this, which led to a competitive bidding process, multiple cash offers being received and a sale being agreed in excess of the guide price within four weeks of launch.
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"This would be an incredible achievement at the best of times, but set against the current backdrop is quite remarkable, and is an indicator of the underlying strength of the UK leisure market for top class assets, as well perhaps an understandable strengthening of staycation interest in coast and country locations."
James Mellors Snr, managing director of the Mellors Group, which has its headquarters in Nottingham, said: “I’ve known the pier in Skegness all my life and have long harboured an ambition to acquire the business should it ever come up for sale, so when Christie & Co were appointed, we were in touch straight away.
"Hopefully, we’ll be as responsible guardians as the Mitchells and Wilkinsons have been during their near 45-year tenure, and we have plans to invest in the property, as indeed we typically do with any real estate we acquire."
The pier was officially opened on June 4, 1881, by the then Duke of Edinburgh, following a nationwide design competition.
Skegness Pier today has an entertainment centre spread over three floors, together with the traditional outside pier deck running out over the beach that offers views out to the North Sea.


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Apple has started talking to TV programmers about creating a digital TV guide, reports Recode. The guide would work on both Apple TV boxes and other devices, like iPhones, allowing users to quickly find their desired TV shows and movies, and play them with a single click.
The new direction is a spinoff of the skinny-bundle TV service the company wanted to launch last year. After several years of failed negotiations with networks and studios, Apple has decided to just build an interface for content, and let everyone else worry about the red tape.
Apple laid out the first part of this plan in public in June, at its WWDC event, when it announced a “single sign-on” plan that’s supposed to let pay TV customers access video programmers’ apps without having to continually provide logins and passwords. If pay TV distributors sign on to the plan, it would let users access and download multiple “TV Everywhere” apps more easily.
Since then, Apple has begun talking to programmers about providing metadata about what’s in their apps so that Apple could build a guide.
Apple already has extensive data about many video programmers’ apps, which it uses for its Siri-powered search function. So it’s not clear whether Apple needs more information to make the guide work, or just wants programmers’ blessing to include them in the guide.
Also keep in mind that Apple is getting very aggressive with original programming, and it already has multiple television shows in the works. One of them, a reality series called “Planet of the Apps,” just put out a casting call, and is expected to start filming sometime this fall.


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Apple and Google are the most valuable brands in the world – worth nearly USD 117 billion and USD 107 billion respectively – according to analysis conducted by The Telegraph. Even with its limited product portfolio, Apple still beats Google in terms of brands valuation.
As per the data collected from three media agencies, namely Millward Brown, Interbrand and Brand Finance, in the list of the top brands globally, 7 out of 10 are technology companies. Check out the infographic below to see how others fare.
Technology company IBM’s worth is USD 76bn, while Microsoft and Coca-Cola round out the top five having worth USD 71bn and USD 65bn respectively. The Telegraph only included those companies that were included in all three annual surveys by the respective agencies mentioned above
Telegraph states However, there was some variance in the value of smaller brands. For example, Millward Brown calculated that Facebook owned the 21st most valuable brand in the world – worth around $36bn – but Interbrand ranked the social media company’s brand 52nd and worth under $8bn, while Brand Finance ranked it 122nd..


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With 3D technology already starting to see price cuts, the vision of full immersion in video games is coming closer into view for many people. However, Codemasters, the development team behind the newest title in the racing series Dirt, have gone on the record saying they have no plans to offer 3D for their next game, Dirt 3, and that the inclusion of it could have even make users sick.
2010 introduced 3D to the masses while Sony was right behind it, supporting the new technology with full conviction. In the games we’ve observed and tested, 3D has been able to provide what it claimed it could: a deeper feeling of connection between the user and virtual world. Most developers have been eager to experiment with the technology, which is why a recent quote from Codemaster’s Chief game designer, Paul Coleman, has caught our attention.
Coleman describes the difference between Dirt 3 and other racing games viewing styles, some of which can have negative effects on users when 3D integration is included:
“For us, with it being quite a horizon based racer, 3D isn’t as helpful as it would be in a game like MotorStorm where the environment’s changing around you, stuff’s falling down and you’re doing big drops. That feeling of depth is far greater.
“For us we’re always racing for that point at the centre of the screen. You end up in a 3D environment getting a bit of a tunnelled effect going on, and it can actually be quite nauseating if you’re doing hour or two-hour long playing sessions.”
No need to worry though; Codemasters may not be looking into 3D for their current line up of titles, but that doesn’t mean they’ve ruled it out forever:
“It’s something we’re conscious of. It’s something we’re definitely going to look into, because if we can make it so that [the tunnelled effect] isn’t a problem, we’d love to have it in our games. But for Dirt 3 we haven’t focused on it.”


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Chinese solar manufacturer CSUN (China Sunergy) announced on Thursday that its chief financial officer (CFO), Yongfei Chen, has resigned for personal reasons. In his stead the company has appointed Shiliang Guo as acting CFO. Chens resignation will be effective as of October 31.
From November 1, Guo who has been a director of CSUN since May 2009 will supersede the outgoing CFO as acting CFO. Guo has previously been the CFO of China Electric Equipment Group Co. (CEEG), which has been affiliated with CSUN since October 2004. He holds a bachelors degree in finance from the Suzhou University, and became a PRC-certified public accountant in 1993.
Upon becoming the CFO for CSUN, Guo will resign from all executive positions at CEEG. "We welcome Mr. Guo to join our management team, and we believe his knowledge of the industry and the company, his experience in finance and accounting, will make a great contribution to our future success," said CSUN chairman and CEO, Tingxiu Lu.
"We sincerely thank Mr. Chen for his great contributions to the company, particularly at a time when the solar sector went through tremendous changes and tough challenges."
This change at board level echoes a similar shuffle in September, when then-CEO of CSUN Stephen Zhifang Cai resigned, to be replaced by founder and chairman. Mr. Lu.
pv magazine recently interviewed Mr. Lu about CSUN's strategy of diversifying its module manufacturing to overseas locations, primarily Turkey, in an effort to decentralize its production and meet the challenges of the global PV market.
The company currently has module production capacity of 300 MW in Turkey, while cell production capacity is currently at 100 MW. Combined with its Chinese fabs, CSUN's annual global production capacity is 1.2 GW.
The full interview will be published in the November issue.
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The global women’s intimate care products market is poised for substantial growth, with market research firm Future Market Insights projecting its value to surge from an estimated US$28.9 billion ($45.1 billion) in 2023 to an impressive US$43 billion ($67.1 billion) by 2033. The forecast is based on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of four per cent during these ten years.
Women’s intimate care products currently command a substantial 19 per cent share in the broader skincare market. The increasing preference for organic and natural feminine hygiene products, including intimate washes, has contributed significantly to this growth.
Consumers are increasingly prioritising organic ingredients in intimate care products, reflecting growing awareness of the potential risks associated with the use of chemicals in women’s hygiene items.
This surge in consumer awareness extends to social media, where individuals are engaging in progressive discussions about women’s health, periods, and intimate care products.
Such discussions are contributing to an enhanced understanding of these subjects, resulting in an overall improvement in users’ lives.
In line with these trends, Barely Intimate Skincare recently made its debut at Chemist Warehouse. Barely’s mission is to empower individuals of all generations to embrace their body health and lifestyle choices, including an intimate skincare routine.
The brand is committed to providing solutions for women of all ages, from young girls embarking on their menstrual journey to those navigating various life changes, said Albina Reale, Chemist Warehouse National Category Manager – Fragrance and Beauty.
“Enjoy the journey with Barely, a brand that caters to women of all ages, from young girls just starting their periods to those facing various changes in life,” she said.
Albina emphasised that Barely was tailored to address the unique needs of women, offering solutions to common issues while normalising these experiences. Barely is also committed to promoting environmental responsibility.
“All of its formulations are clean and free of harmful substances, and the brand employs sustainable and responsible packaging practices,” Albina said.
As the market continues to expand and evolve, it is expected that more brands like Barely will emerge to cater to the diverse needs of women while adhering to sustainable and clean product standards.
Images from the launch event below. Photographer: Scott Ehler.
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By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – Lethbridge Herald on February 3, 2024.
LETHBRIDGE HERALD[email protected]
The results of the fifth annual Brighter Together survey conducted by Economic Development Lethbridge, the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Lethbridge BRZ have been released.
Economic Development Lethbridge CEO Trevor Lewington says he was happy to see more businesses added to it.
“We had 173 businesses that responded to the survey, so that was an increase from last year, which is great and it helps us really gather information about how Lethbridge business owners are feeling,” said Lewington.
He said the survey helps EDC understand business owners’ perception of issues in the community are and it helps his organization as well as the Chamber of Commerce to identify things they need to do differently.
“If we’re running certain types of programming and we see something emerge on the survey that maybe we haven’t considered before, we can adjust what we do,” said Lewington.
Â He said 66 per cent of businesses surveyed had an optimistic outlook for this year, which is consistent with previous years.
Â “Most companies are planning to make capital investment, to either expand their business or add new equipment. That remained unchanged from last year as well, so we didn’t see a big increase, but we didn’t see a big drop either,” said Lewington.
He said one of the biggest concern they heard was the cost of doing business.
“Rising cost of labour, rising cost of insurance and interest rates, as well as inflation. So the message was loud and clear, the business community is struggling to figure out how to offset those costs without trying to pass that on to the consumer,” said Lewington.
He said in previous years one highlighted concern was the difficulty finding talent to fill workforce gaps within businesses but that was not the case this time around.
“For the first time in the time we’ve been doing the survey, so hopefully that means the labour market is a bit more mobile. We’ve seen a bit more flexibility for companies looking to hire which is good news,” said Lewington.
He said the survey basically told EDL that even if businesses are struggling to find labour, it is no longer as much of an issue as it was in the past.
Lewington explained the survey asks businesses a whole series of questions to try to understand their intentions – questions like if they are still planning to hire this year and if they are still planning to invest in their businesses.
Â “We also ask about concerns to better understand what it is they’re worried about and the last series of questions is based around how we can help,” said Lewington.
He said the survey results showed the top three locational strengths being quality of life, proximity to complementary industries and collaborative environment, while also showing the top three locational challenges as utilities cost, municipal tax environment and the ease of permitting and regulatory procedures.
“Businesses like doing business in Lethbridge because of the quality of life. The city has great amenities, we have great facilities, cost of living, so if you’re a business looking to expand into Alberta Lethbridge is at the top of the list because it’s affordable and it has a good quality of life and that comes from the survey year after year,” said Lewington.
He said when it comes to the proximity to complimentary industries Lethbridge has everything a business might need, especially as an agri-food processor.
“Locally we have great world class crops, but you also have plumbing and mechanical companies that are used to working in food plants, you also have equipment suppliers that can help you service your equipment, so we have all of the things that you might need to run your business in this local environment,” said Lewington.
Â He added the other thing that comes up quite frequently in the survey is that Lethbridge is seen as a place where businesses can work together and they can work with our post-secondary institutions to research and with government
Â “The survey shows that Lethbridge is a collaborative environment and that’s an interesting one because it’s always in the top three. Lethbridge is seen as a place where you can work with others and get things done,” said Lewington.
When talking about some of the outcomes they have been able to obtain from the information gathered through their annual survey, Lewington gave an example regarding solar farms in the region and how they were able to help make some requirement changes.
“A number of years ago there was a regulation that required it only to be journeyman electrician that were installing panels and other things, now it makes sense to have a journeyman electrician wire them, but general labour should be able to help build the steel frames and do other work. That wasn’t allowed until we got that regulation changed,” said Lewington.


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Microsft is officially integrating its Office software into its 365 platforms, effectively changing the word processor's name.
In 2020, Microsoft made a statement about its popular software Office 365 and a name change that would acknowledge its multipurpose use. The tech company renamed the software group from Microsoft Office to Microsoft 365, encompassing many of the corporation’s subscription services. Microsoft wants to change all its remaining software to names reflecting its versatility.
The Verge documented the upcoming changes, which will change Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows to Microsoft 365 or another similar branding. The company wants to remove the office from all technological updates, promoting the versatility of its products. Meanwhile, users shouldn’t be worried about its software Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint going away since both the naming and fundamentals will remain unchanged.
An individual can now download Excel, Word, or Powerpoint through Office.com. That website will soon transform into Microsoft365.com, incorporating a new six-sided logo instead of the previous square logo. This change will occur next month, while the Office app that can be downloaded on Windows or Macs will receive a rebranding in January.
Microsoft Office won’t change the naming of any of its premier apps like Excel, Powerpoint, Word, Teams, and Outlook. There will be an updated Microsoft 365 app for phones or computers where all the software will be conveniently located. The new umbrella application will act as a centralized place for Powerpoint files, Word documents, calendar updates, and more.
Currently, you’ll be able to purchase all Office 2021 products under the same name without any additional changes. Office 2021 apps are considered a legacy brand, meaning any upgrades you’d like to download will only work for renamed Microsoft products. Microsoft weighed in on this structural difference, stating that there would be no changes to “Office 365 subscription plans” but that individuals would have to download the newer apps to get software changes.
Microsoft Office has been the name for Microsoft’s subscription applications for the past 32 years. The company decided to rebrand many of its products outside of Office 365 in order to change its branding and appeal to wider audiences. In 2019, the company rebranded its Windows Defender App, changing the name to Microsoft Defender, which could be downloaded for both phones and computers.
Though nothing fundamentally will change about these popular products, people are worried that the rebranding will carry over to other Microsoft-owned devices. Many might not know that Microsoft created Xbox, which has allowed devoted gamers to believe that the gaming console might gain a similar name change to Microsoft 365. Thankfully, Microsoft has no plans to rename its gaming products to something that includes the parent company’s title.
Currently, Microsoft Office apps like Word and Powerpoint can be downloaded for free. The subscription is a little pricier to gain Microsoft 365 and all the updated versions. Family plans for Microsoft 365 start at $100 per year, while single plans go for $70 a year. There’s also a trial run for Microsoft 365 Family which lasts 30 days, with payments of $10 per month after the trial period is over.


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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose more than expected in June, pointing to momentum in the economy heading into the third quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Friday durable goods orders increased 0.7 percent as demand increased from transportation to machinery and computers and electronic products.
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell sharply in June and the prior month’s data suffered the biggest downward revision ever, casting a cloud on the housing market recovery and helping to send homebuilder stocks lower.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday sales dropped 8.1 percent, the largest decline since July 2013, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 406,000 units. May’s sales pace was revised to 442,000 units from a previously reported 504,000 units.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly 8-1/2 years last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was gaining traction.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended July 19, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) – The number of Americans
filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest
level in nearly 8-1/2 years last week, suggesting the labor
market recovery was gaining traction.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined
19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended July
19, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wages may be growing at a faster clip than envisaged by U.S. policymakers, with a recent raft of business surveys showing an increase in the number of companies raising compensation.
One closely watched wage growth measure, a gauge produced by the National Federation for Independent Business, has reached a seven-year high. A turn in this index, which began moving up late last year, historically has been followed by a pick-up in wage growth nine months later.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. home resales hit an eight month-high in June, suggesting the housing market was gradually regaining momentum and would help the economy to stay on a higher growth path this year.
The third straight month of home sales gains, reported by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday, added to employment and retail sales data that have indicated economic growth ended the second quarter on a firmer note. A separate report showed inflation moving slightly higher.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices rose in June as the cost of gasoline surged, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a gradual build-up of inflationary pressures.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.3 percent last month, with gasoline accounting for two-thirds of the gain, after May’s 0.4 percent rise.
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) – The share of U.S. companies
raising wages more than doubled in the three months to July from
a year ago, a survey showed on Monday, suggesting a faster pace
of wage growth.
The National Association for Business Economics’ (NABE)
latest business conditions survey found that 43 percent of the
79 economists who participated said their firms had increased
wages. That compared to only 19 percent last year and marked an
increase from 35 percent in the three months to April.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market recovery was gaining traction.
The economy’s brightening outlook was dimmed somewhat by another report on Thursday showing a tumble in housing starts and building permits last month.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing output rose at its fastest pace in more than two years in the second quarter, suggesting the economy was regaining enough momentum to lift growth throughout the year.
Other data on Wednesday showed inflation stirring at the factory gate and the housing market, whose recovery stalled late last year, getting back on track.


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The New York Times
Published: June 4, 2011
By: Jeff Benedict
THE E. coli outbreak sweeping Europe is the deadliest on record: 18 people have died and there are almost 2,000 reported cases in nine countries.
While Americans have been following the disaster through news reports, few of us feel threatened. After all, we took steps to protect consumers against E. coli poisoning after the infamous 1993 Jack in the Box outbreak that sickened 750 children and killed four. We haven’t had a comparable outbreak since.
But it would be a big mistake to assume that all is well when it comes to the American food supply and E. coli. On the contrary, the precarious situation we are in today recalls our mind-set just before the 1993 outbreak: naïve complacency.
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It’s been rumoured for some time that Facebook is due to launch the Meta Quest Pro, which is a more premium version of its VR headset that is set to be announced at the Meta Connect event on October 12th.
Ahead of this event, photos of the box of the Meta Quest Pro have leaked on Twitter this morning (it’s said that the box was left in a hotel room), and just hours later an entire unboxing has been put on Twitter, from this same user, that claims he waited a week for the item to be claimed before posting.
Both the image of the box and the unboxing line up with all the rumours we’ve heard about the device. Rumours have suggested that a Meta Quest Pro is set to be a much smaller and lighter headset, with higher resolution Mini LED displays and much more higher quality sensors and cameras to allow the headset to be both a better VR headset but also provide AR like experiences. The controllers also seem to have cameras on them to provide even better hand tracking.
It’s said that the headset will be able to capture facial expressions through facial tracking sensors, blending real world and the virtual world together. An example in a leaked tutorial showed using the headset in front of a computer.
It’s expected that this will be a high-end device, somewhere in the $1000-$1500 mark, which makes sense given the Quest 2 now starts at $630. Given we’re already seeing final retail devices in warehouses, I’d expect that it will be launching around the Meta Quest event which takes place on October 12th.
It’s going to be extremely interesting to see how this shakes up compared to PlayStation VR2, which is set to be targeting a very similar demographic, but more focused on games over productivity.
We’ll obviously keep you posted on the Meta Quest Pro once it is revealed and give you all the details including pricing and release date.


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Senator Claire McCaskill Meets with Cap America, Inc.August 3, 2018
Cap America, Inc.’s Chairman and CEO, Phil Page and President and COO Mark Gammon met with Senator Claire McCaskill this morning at her office in Cape Girardeau, MO. Cap America’s goal is to protect not only our own 270 employees, but also the surrounding community and all of Missouri’s small businesses and their workers. Phil stated this morning: "We employ 275 people in Fredericktown and rely heavily on imported cloth caps for our product. The Administration's tariffs are threatening our bottom line, as well as the significant economic activity that we bring to the state. On top of that, the scariest part of this is the uncertainty. I'm glad that Senator McCaskill is standing with Missouri businesses that are being undermined by these tariffs, and I know she won't stop fighting for us." For more info on how these tariffs will affect the promotional products industry or to take action, you can visit Promotional Products Association International (PPAI)'s website or contact your elected officials.


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Mobile companies activate plans to copy Apple tune
For starters, Motorola intends to roll out its music service, christened MotoMusic, in India. This will be an internet and WAP-based platform from where subscribers will be able to download songs directly on their handsets. The MotoMusic service is currently confined to China.
Motorola is working with various partners like Soundbuzz to build a India-specific music library. “We are evaluating the best model to roll out the MotoMusic service in India. This will make music downloads much easier for Motorola consumers and will complement our phones,” Motorola India director, marketing, Lloyd Mathias told ET.
Motorola’s decision comes on the heels of the Finnish mobile phone major Nokia’s announcement to roll out its mobile services brand Ovi in India by the first half of 2008. Ovi will bundle a host of services, including gaming, music and navigation such as maps.
Nokia’s vice-president, mobile phones, sales & portfolio management, Asia Pacific, Alex Lambeek said the company is also planning to roll out a portfolio of touch-based mobile handsets in India next year. “These models will be launched at various price points to appeal to consumers across segments,” Mr Lambeek said, refusing to elaborate further.
Incidentally, Motorola and Samsung, too, have plans to strengthen their touch-screen handset portfolio over the next six months. “We are working on a business plan to combat the competition from iPhone in India. For the moment, we are beefing up our distribution network and expanding retail presence with 150 exclusive brand outlets over the next six months,” said Samsung Telecom India head, marketing, Asim Warsi.
However, Apple is still silent on its business strategy for iPhone in India. In response to an email, the company said: “Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has announced that the iPhone will be available in Asia in 2008. Other than that, we have no comments.” “Music will play an important factor for iPhone’s success in India. As a result, other vendors will build their music service to beat this craze. The focus on continuous promotion, celebrity endorsements and brand building will further gain strength in India,” said Bryan Ma director, Asia Pacific, IDC, a global telecom market intelligence firm.
A study by the research firm Strategy Analytics claims that touch-screen user interface in mobile phones will start to see significant growth by the end of 2007. By 2012, 40% of all phones may incorporate touch-screen technology, the study notes.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)


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The AAA Travel Services Research department recently released projections for domestic holiday travel. Travel projections to Florida were not available, but AAA Travel Services did make some national projections based on a 1,350 household survey conducted by IHS Global Insight. Click here for the AAA survey results.
The AAA survey results prognosticate a 3.8% increase in holiday travelers for the 2009 holiday season. This is contrasted by an actual 4.7% drop for the 2008 holiday period vs. 2007 numbers. Although any growth in travel to Florida is welcome, the projected numbers would only roughly bring us back to 2007 levels.
Travel by air is expected to increase 2.9% domestically and 3.2% for Orlando. According to the Greater Orlando Airport Authority, holiday air travel to and from Orlando will peak on January 2, 2010. Due to decreases in available airline seat capacity nationally, this may ultimately lead to higher airline ticket prices. Although this is true nationally, the good news for Orlando is that many carriers have actually added direct airline flights to Florida. We blogged about the positive development for more direct flights to Orlando on a recent post.