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A Galashiels knitwear company, popular around the world, now has its own space in Jenners, the famous Edinburgh department store.
Eribe’s products were hand-picked for the revamped Scottish Gifts Hall by Mary Contini, director of renowned delicatessen Valvona and Crolla.
It is the latest project involving Jenners and Mrs Contini, who took over the store’s food hall five years ago.
Rosemary Eribe, founder of the knitwear firm, said Mrs Contini approached her about having the products in the new gift hall, which was launched last week.
Rosemary said: “We are one of the key brands in there, and our space has quite a vintage feel.
“The new collection is inspired by Scottish explorers, so there are original trunks and old maps on the walls, which all tie in with the collection.”
Lochcarron and Hawick Cashmere also have areas within the gift hall.
Despite the economic difficulties around the world, Eribe has continued to grow.
“We’ve always been strong in export, and we have managed to spread ourselves across many markets,” Rosemary said.
“We are now in 16 countries, and while we have seen sales go down slightly in Japan, we have made up for that with new orders from places like Russia.
“We are also looking at Chinese and South Korean markets for next year.”
This strength abroad, with products in many prestigious boutiques and department stores, and the launch of Eribe’s own online shop, means up to four new members of staff will be taken on this year. And its ongoing success has also resulted in a nomination for a Scottish Fashion Award in the textile brand category.
Rosemary said: “We definitely want to be seen as one of the leading textile designer brands, if not the best, in Scotland.
“Certainly from a design point of view we are original and innovative, and a lot of time and effort has gone into each design and we are seeing the benefits of this through our sales results.”


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TOP Glove Corp Bhd plans to rapidly ramp up capacity at its relatively new synthetic rubber glove manufacturing division in China to replicate the group's achievement in the natural rubber glove sector. 'We have just bought 30 acres in China for the expansion,' executive chairman Datuk Dr Lim Wee Chai told I>StarBiz/Iat a meeting in his office in Klang.
As the haze thickened in Port Klang, which has been declared a haze emergency area, factories in the industrial belt of Klang are expected to remain in production as it has not come under an emergency yet.
EVERGREEN Fibreboard Bhd is controlled by the Kuo family who were originally from Taiwan but who have since become Singaporeans.
WHILE most rubber industry players are struggling to survive the impact of rising costs, given escalating prices of basic raw materials like SMR 20 and bulk latex, several listed rubber product companies contacted by I>StarBiz/Ihave expressed optimism they would maintain their net profit margins going forward.
The economy in Malaysia may slow slightly in the second half of the year, but there are sectors that will continue to do well, or even excite. This is the view of fund managers at the roundtable discussion on theeconomy and stock market hosted by StarBiz.

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- Government and private partners in Los Angeles have released a plan to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 25% above existing commitments by 2028 through electrification of the transportation sector. The Zero Emissions 2028 Roadmap 2.0 from the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) sets a goal to have 30% of cars on the road be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2028, when Los Angeles will host the Olympics.
- Beyond electrification, the roadmap says consumers should have more shared mobility options, especially in low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods. The partners set a goal to convert 20% of all trips in single-occupancy vehicles to bikes, active transportation or zero-emission public transit.
- The roadmap also identifies freight and goods movement as a major target, with plans to electrify heavy- and medium-duty trucks, and convert the 710 Freeway into a "zero emissions goods movement corridor."
California is already a national leader in reducing vehicle emissions, with a plan that would put 5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on the roads by 2030. The state has also sued the Trump administration over its plan to roll back federal fuel economy standards; has announced plans to keep its own standards at higher levels; and has struck a deal with four automakers to voluntarily improve fleet efficiency.
The roadmap from TEP — which includes the City and County of Los Angeles, the California Air Resources Board, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and the nonprofit Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) — would take the County of Los Angeles beyond what the state has laid out in a concerted effort to slash the region's notorious traffic pollution. The plan has a goal for at least 80% of vehicles sold by 2028 to be EVs, and seeks to convert taxi, ride-hailing and public transit vehicles away from fossil fuels.
Matt Petersen, LACI president and CEO, said the "ambitious" roadmap, which follows a broader one published last year, is an opportunity to "study policies and incentives to accelerate progress." The ideas must still be adopted by the county or city government or private partners.
A key challenge for meeting the goals of the roadmap is reaching low-income communities, where the high up-front cost has limited access to EVs. The plan offers a proposal for an income-based "fee-bate" program that would charge high-income drivers for continuing to use gas-powered cars. Additionally, TEP and LACI have been awarded funding for mobility pilot projects in four disadvantaged communities, including deployment of EV car-sharing and dedicated micromobility services.
The plan also targets goods movement, which has been a difficult sector to electrify because of the lack of fully electric heavy duty trucks. That involves not just "reducing emissions, but also reducing the number of trucks that have to be on the road," Petersen said. To reach that goal, the roadmap explores options for last-mile delivery that do not involve trucks, like using e-bikes or drones. LACI is involved in a feasibility study for a plan that would use facilities at the LA Convention Center as a distribution center for the city center, limiting the number of delivery vehicles on urban streets.


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Apple, the apple iphone manufacturer, is reducing the production of brand-new 3 brand-new apple iphone designs in the initial quarter of 2019, according to a report. The record specified that the business had asked its suppliers to lower the production of iPhones last month. This is the 2nd time that the business has asked the trim the apple iphone production.
The initial demand was made prior to the income support news on January 2 which stated that the company has actually slashed its quarterly earnings projection for 2018, said the report pointing out resources. The firm’s profits forecast stood at $84 billion contrasted to last year’s greatest projection of $93 billion, a 9 billion drop in revenue. The news drank the marketplace which launched a wide sell-off in the international stock exchange.
The new cut in manufacturing will certainly influence three new models of iPhone consisting of XS Max, XS, and also XR. “The degree of alteration is different for each and every distributor and depends on the item mix they provide,” the source mentioned in the report. The report additionally disclosed that the general production volume of all versions of iPhone will certainly fall from 47 to 48 million units to 40 to 43 million devices in the current quarter.
Goldman Sachs has actually advised its clients that Apple’s profits for the fiscal year 2019 has the “potential for additional drawback”.
The massive fall in the income forecast was revealed by Apple CEO, Tim Cook in a letter to capitalists. He showed that the autumn in the revenue support was due to a minimized iPhone need amongst Chinese consumers. He criticized the US-China profession battle for a decreased need for iPhones in the country. “We did not foresee the size of the economic deceleration, especially in better China. Our team believe the financial environment in China has been further affected by rising profession tensions with the USA,” he said.


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A report predicts that the number of people making mobile payments around the world will rise to 103,9 million in 2011, from 32,9 million in 2008. SMS and 0900 payments will continue to drive mobile payments even though the adoption of wireless application protocol (WAP), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and near field communication (NFC) contactless services will grow, the study suggests. The report indicates that banks have less chances than mobile operators when it comes to obtaining the greatest possible profits from m-payments. Researchers say banks can ‘justify the investment if they look at mobile as an extension of their existing channels and bundle payments with additional banking services’. The report warns that banks may be hit by offerings from Obopay and PayPal. Moreover, m-payments services provided by non financial institutions may threaten the card business, researchers suggest. Researchers point out that m-payments services have chances to succeed in developing markets where many people are unbanked and where there payment options are scarce. In developed markets, the service is set to become just an extension of existing options.
Asia Pacific will continue to lead the way on mobile payments in the near future, mainly due to the continuous rise in the adoption of the service in massive markets in India and China. Western Europe and North America lag behind because of a more established payments infrastructure and greater concern over security. Currently, Asia Pacific has 85 percent of the mobile payments market, with a projected 28 million users in 2008. Western Europe is expected to have 499,000 users in 2008, while North America is projected to have 1 million users. The report indicates that NFC-based contactless technology can have success in Western Europe and North America because of the convenience it offers and to the ‘cool factor’. The report was published by research firm Gartner.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
PayPal has partnered US wireless operator Sprint to offer its person-to-person services via the telco's new downloadable mobile wallet.´ Sprint subscribers with a PayPal account can send money to anyone in the world with a mobile phone number or e-mail address through the MyMoneyManager application. The recipient gets a text message to let them know money has been sent to them. The Sprint application - which is also being used by BB&T and IBC Bank - was developed by California-based mobile banking outfit mFoundry. PayPal launched a text based mobile payments service in 2006, enabling registered users to make person-to-person fund transfers or pay for purchases via their handset.
This was followed up last year by Mobile Checkout which lets customers make purchases from online merchants using the mobile Web. Person-to-person mobile payments is an increasingly important market. Earlier this year PayPal rival Obopay launched a service to let US customers transfer money from their account to non-Obopay users. But the big market for peer-to-peer transfers could come from remittances. Western Union has teamed with GSMA - an international trade group of mobile phone operators - to develop the commercial and technical specifications for connecting mobile operators to its money transfer network.


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Head safety meets style
Hazmat Health & Safety Occupational Hygiene Hard Hats Head Protection Helmets safety gear
Innovations continue to improve hard hats, helmets
Recent style innovations for hard hats have also improved workers’ safety.
“Before, a hard hat was a hard hat — there wasn’t a lot to be done with it,” according to Brandon Griffin, national sales director for MSA in Canada.
With the company for 15 years, Griffin said in the past year, there’s been a considerable increase in different styles and a desire to make sure the hard hat is the most appropriate for the job and the worker.
“We’re really seeing a big trend of people not just ordering a hard hat for all the different variations in their facility; they’re buying the right helmet or the right hat for the job,” he said.
The increased popularity of comfortable styles in head protection means workers are also more likely to wear their PPE, said Stephanie Rudolph, application engineer with 3M Canada.
“In order to ensure that workers are being properly protected, we want to make sure that they’re actually wearing their head protection,” she said. “Making sure that it actually fits them comfortably will increase (those) chances.”
From hard hats to helmets
3M will launch its SecureFit Safety Helmet X5000 Series helmet in Canada in the first quarter of 2021. The climbing style helmet is made with patented pressure diffusion technology in the suspension, said Rudolph.
This technology allows the suspension to adjust to the wearer’s head, reducing pressure along the front and increasing comfort.
The helmet also has a chin strap, which increases its stability and security.
MSA has launched its own climbing style helmets.
Climbing helmets are good “for working at heights, or working in confined spaces, or working in any of those areas where you would have the potential of a hard hat leaving your head,” said Griffin.
“V-Gard H1 is definitely a very exciting product for us,” he said. The helmet comes with accessories for hearing protection and face protection. It also has a chin strap.
Griffin said there’s been a greater interest in North America for chin straps.
“That’s where, in my opinion, someone’s starting to take what was a conventional construction hard hat and turning it into a helmet,” he said.
MSA sells chin straps separately from hard hats “to help people take that conventional hard hat and use it in different or potentially more practical ways.”
There’s also an increase in the colours for hard hats and helmets.
Many customers want head protection with high-visibility colours, such as orange or yellow, said Griffin.
3M makes some hard hats with reflective strips applied in strategic places, and also sells the straps separately so customers can apply them on their own.
This “draws more attention to make sure that the person’s head is visible, as well as the rest of their body,” said Rudolph.
Colours aren’t just used for safety and style — some organizations design their helmets for branding or communication, added Griffin.
Designs range from “organizations that will put the logo on the front and standard safety slogans on the back, which is very, very powerful,” he said.
“We saw some additions of COVID logos reminding people of distancing, washing their hands.”
The pandemic has influenced the design of hard hats or helmets in other ways, too.
Workers across industries need to be able to wear hard hats or helmets and masks or face shields at the same time.
“Face and eye protection has become a big thing in areas where maybe you wouldn’t have seen it in the past,” said Griffin.
“We’ve always had visors, we’ve always had attachments to our hard hats that people could wear for impact protection in the field… During COVID, we came out with frameless barriers: you didn’t need the frame and all the other attachments to put it on.”
MSA also has easy-install frames created specifically for V-Gard hats, he said.
Many manufacturers have face shields that attach to hard hats and helmets.
The increased use of face shields and masks has made the need for equipment compatibility between products “more and more evident,” said Rudolph.
Rudolph and Griffin both said that they can’t guarantee that products from different companies will work together properly. Having products that fit with each other can increase safety and ensure consistency, Griffin acknowledged.
Powered air purifier respirators
Draeger Safety Canada Ltd. manufactures respirator headsets called powered air purifier respirators (PAPRs) that come attached to hoods or helmets.
“The PAPR does all the work of filtering out the contaminants and then providing the filtered air within the helmet or the hood set,” explained Zohaib Khan, product manager for respiratory equipment at Draeger.
The company’s X-plore 8000 comes in two options — a respirator attached to a hood or a respirator attached to a helmet.
The hood can fit over other helmets and hard hats, as well as religious head coverings. The hoods are not tested for ANSI standards for head protection; however, the helmets used in X-plore 8000 do meet ANSI standards for head protection.
“Concern about head protection is always there,” said Khan. “Now, because of COVID, we have the added concern of filtering out particles that can potentially have COVID bacteria in them. More and more customers are moving from N95 masks towards PAPR because it provides them with the helmet along with the PAPR or the blower unit itself. It’s more efficient.”
The pandemic has emphasized the importance of cleaning personal protective equipment regularly.
Dirt needs to be removed before disinfections are applied, said Rudolph, noting that suspensions must be cleaned, as well as hats or helmet shells.
Rudolph recommends water-based bleach products that have a chlorine concentration of 0.5 per cent or isopropyl alcohol-based cleaning products that have a concentration of 60 to 70 per cent. Heath authorities can give more specific guidance about which products to use.
Equipment should be carefully and thoroughly inspected after each use to see if there’s any potential hazards, like fraying or loose stitching in suspensions.
If a hard hat or helmet has become discoloured, that may be a sign that the hard hat or helmet has been exposed to too much UV radiation. This could cause it to become brittle and, as a result, offer less protection, said Rudolph.
3M makes hard hats and helmets with built-in red patches at the back that fade to white the more they are exposed to UV radiation. When the patch becomes white, the shell needs to be replaced. (The SecureFit helmet has a UV patch.)
Products need to fit the users correctly, and regular inspections are a key time to ensure proper fit and comfort.
“Everything we talk about goes back to getting the right hat for the job,” said Griffin.
MSA has standard-sized, small and large shells which fit different suspensions. “The suspensions are ultimately carrying the majority of the weight from a safety standpoint, he said.
“Ensuring that that suspension is properly fitting on your head, ensuring that you have the proper spacing between the shell and the suspension if you ever do take an impact, is very, very important,” said Griffin.
“The fact that we can accommodate a small and a large shell is very important.”
Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto.


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Class project grows into successful surf venture
• Photo gallery: Blue Planet Surf shop
By Alan Yonan Jr.
Advertiser Staff Writer
When Robert Stehlik was in business school at the University of Hawai'i in the early 1990s he needed a name for the surf apparel and equipment brand he had created for a class project.
He thought about the vast ocean he saw looking out an airplane window while flying to Hawai'i and the name "Blue Planet" came to mind.
"The ocean is blue and the planet is mostly covered by water," said Stehlik, who also liked that the name embraced his commitment to environmental awareness.
He registered Blue Planet in 1993 and launched his career as an entrepreneur. Seventeen years later the company does more than $1 million in sales annually at its two locations in Honolulu.
Blue Planet's outlet on Kapahulu Avenue has been the company's mainstay for more than a decade, where customers walk on a layer of sand sprinkled on the store's floor to give it a beach feel. Stehlik said his vision to open a second store complete with a warehouse was realized last week when he opened a second location on Ward Avenue.
"What started out as a college project became a real business for me," Stehlik said. And 17 years later I'm still doing it. It's not always been easy, but it's got great perks, said Stehlik, who gets to "test" the stand-up paddleboards he sells.
Blue Planet started as a clothing brand distributed in Hawai'i and Japan. Stehlik's first foray into retail sales was at the the Aloha Stadium swap meet in 1994.
The first Blue Planet Surf Shop opened in Pā'ia, Maui, in 1995, followed by a kiosk at Aloha Tower Market Palace. Those stores were eventually closed and Stehlik moved to the Kapahulu location in 1998.
Stehlik, 42, recalls getting the urge to travel to Hawai'i while perusing a windsurfing magazine as a teenager in his native Berlin.
"I loved Germany, but the winters are very cold," he said. "I saw a picture of windsurfing in Hawai'i and I said that's what I want to do."
After graduating from high school in 1988 Stehlik went to Maui for "an extended visit." After about a year he returned to Berlin and enrolled in college where he completed two semesters before the lure of the Islands drew him back.
Stehlik attended Maui Community College from 1990 to 1991, then transferred to UH-Mānoa, where he graduated with a degree in international business in 1993.
For years Blue Planet's main sellers were traditional surfboards — new and used — as well as apparel. When stand-up paddleboards started gaining popularity he added them to his inventory. They now make up about 80 percent of his board sales, Stehlik estimates.
Blue Planet is the exclusive Hawai'i distributor for Boardworks stand-up paddleboards, a popular brand that works with top shapers to make boards, using epoxy sandwich construction.
He said his new 4,000-square-foot location formerly occupied by the Bamboo Barn furniture store has enough space to operate a retail store and warehouse under the same roof. That allowed Stehlik to close his warehouse in Kalihi.
He said that despite the slow economy, sales of stand-up paddle boards have remained fairly steady.
"It's something you pay for once. There's no membership fee. It's cheap compared to a lot of other sports."
Blue Planet offers an entry-level stand-up paddleboard and paddle set for $999. Prices go up to $2,000 for higher performance models.
The company also offers a 24-hour paddleboard and paddle rental for $29 that includes soft racks to transport the board on a car roof.
Stehlik says stand-up paddleboarding is "definitely the trend right now." But he believes it is one that will stick around because of its appeal to a broad cross section of the population.
"I've become a stand-up paddleboarder, and I don't see it ever going away, said Stehlik, who competed in his first race last year. He finished the 32-mile Molokai-to-Oahu solo race in 6 hours and 15 minutes, good enough to earn him second place in his age group and seventh place overall.


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Tomorrow is Labour Day. More than just another day off work, Labour Day is about acknowledging the sacrifices and celebrating the victories of working people. It’s a reminder that nothing comes without...
No. 2: Galen Weston
Net worth: $8B
Weston owns national grocery-store chain Loblaws, as well as overseeing high-end clothing retailers across the country, including Holt Renfrew in Canada.
VANCOUVER — All summer long, there’s been one overriding conversation amongst the hundred-plus employees at a Vancouver financial firm who have school-age children: British Columbia’s acrimonious teachers’ strike.4 hours ago
While public schools around B.C. remain locked Tuesday, protests sparked by the labour impasse are planned by both parents and students. In Vancouver, students plan to rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Tuesday to voice their concerns over the labour impasse.2 hours ago


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If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your PC with a new GPU for Cyberpunk 2077 or something else this year, finally the options are starting to emerge. Nvidia has begun teasing the official announcement of its upcoming Ampere line of GPUs, preparing people for a launch in “21 days”.
Update 11:20pm AEST: Nvidia has just informed press that the “GeForce Special Event” will be held on September 2, 2:00am AEST / 4:00am NZST / midnight AWST. “During the event, [Nvidia CEO Jensen] Huang will highlight the company’s latest innovations in gaming and graphics,” Nvidia says.
The rest of the original story can be read below.
The timeframe, teased in a new banner photo for the Nvidia GeForce Twitter account, would mean we’d get an announcement on August 31, so September 1 Australian time. The timeframe matches up with roughly when the RTX 2000 series was launched, which coincided with Gamescom.
So far, the rumours have solidified around a mid-September release for the first of Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs. WCCFtech are reporting that the replacement for the RTX 2080 Ti — the new consumer gaming flagship, in other words — will launch first, which is exactly what Nvidia did with the RTX 2080 Ti’s release. That mirrors a similar launch window given to Gamers Nexus from their own industry sources, too.
— NVIDIA GeForce (@NVIDIAGeForce) August 10, 2020
Three cards are expected to be available when the Ampere GPUs are announced. While the current understanding is that Nvidia will roll with the RTX 3000 naming convention, chances are they could skip a beat (like the 700 series to 900 series GPUs) and go for something totally different. In any case, it’s typically the gaming flagship and the two cards immediately underneath it which tend to get launched first. So that’d be a replacement for the 2080 Ti, 2080 Super and 2070 Super, with the next-gen 2060 equivalent and GTX-class entry level GPUs more likely to emerge sometime in 2021.
There’s some slightly crazy rumours being thrown around in terms of what the Ampere GPUs will actually have, with talk of 16GB, 20GB and 24GB VRAM on the higher end cards. (For comparison, the RTX 2080 Ti is an 11GB card.) Either way, I’ll just be looking forward to something that can power a game like Control with every element of ray tracing enabled, instead of having to make trade-offs. Also, having GPUs that can comfortably power those new 360Hz monitors would be very nice.


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Kentucky Candles Smell Like Fried Chicken and Mint Juleps
Move over bacon-scented candles. There’s some hip new wax in town, and it hails from good old Kentucky.
The creative guys behind Kentucky for Kentucky — an initiative to encourage tourism by rebranding Kentucky with campaigns like “Kentucky Kicks Ass” — have come out with “Scents of the Commonwealth,” a line of candles that emit the best scents of Kentucky, like Ale-8-One, fried chicken and Derby Day mint juleps.
As Whit Hiler, one of the founders of Kentucky for Kentucky who also works at Kentucky-based agency Cornett, explained, the scents are all inspired by things that were “invented” in Kentucky. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Ale-8 soda is apparently Kentucky’s official “soft drink.”)
So far, the most popular scent by far has been the fried chicken, the first batch of which sold out in under a minute. There will be more candles available for sale on Kentucky for Kentucky’s site throughout the holidays and beyond, and according to Hiler, more scents will come out in the future, like Kentucky River or Hunter S. Thompson’s ashtray.
“We’d love to figure out what Abe Lincoln’s beard smelled like; that would be another mega hit,” said Hiler.
Between off-beat, hipster-tinged Kentucky for Kentucky and cheeky tourism campaigns like #sharethelex — which touted Kentucky’s offerings like great bourbon, bluegrass and bearded dudes on bikes — Kentucky is just one New York Times trend piece away from really establishing itself as a brand, right up there with Brooklyn.
Hiler estimates that these candles will likely increase Kentucky tourism by roughly 203 percent — in the meantime, they make good gifts.
Benjamin Moore is using OOH near big-box retailers to say their paint isn’t there, encouraging people shop local
The 140-year-old paint brand wants to make sure people know that it is only available at local retailers.
Jose Cuervo Tequila celebrates UFC’s 30th anniversary with Kevin Holland, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson ads
Mexico-based Jose Cuervo, is the first tequila brand to be a direct advertiser of the UFC with spots featuring UFC fighters Kevin Holland, a Cuervo ambassador, and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
With advertising in flux, Twitter is outsourcing ad monetization to ad tech
Since May 13, Twitter has been selling ad inventory through the mobile advertising marketplace Inmobi.
SponsoredHow enterprise-grade CDPs are enhancing data processes and improving customer experiences
Produced in partnership with Marketecture The following article highlights an interview between Martin Kihn, Salesforce’s senior vice president of Marketing Cloud, and Ari Paparo, founder and CEO of Marketecture Media. Register to watch more of the discussion and learn how brands are making the most of enterprise-grade CDP technologies. As brands expand across channels and […]
Two years in, Bose’s first CMO outlines his plan for the brand
It took a minute, but Bose is enjoying the benefits of having a CMO for the first time.
As America returns to the office, Xerox returns to advertising
As the next generation enters the workforce, Xerox tailors its ad strategy to them.


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Prince Charles attacks McDonald's over fast food
LONDON - The Prince of Wales has attacked McDonald's for its perceived negative impact on healthy lifestyles, claiming that banning the fast food giant holds the key to improving people's diets.
In a further broadside against McDonald's, the Prince is reported to have made negative comments about the restaurant chain to nutritionist Nadine Tayara and journalists during a visit to a medical school in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
He said: "Have you got anywhere with McDonald's? Have you tried getting it banned? That's the key."
The Prince, who is a strong supporter of organic farming and fresh produce, has restated his views on healthy eating but his remarks have been met with dismay by McDonald's, which branded the criticism "disappointing".
Nick Hindle, spokesperson for McDonald's, said that younger members of the Royal Family "have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us", referring to the Prince's son Harry being spotted eating at McDonald's in 2005.
Hindle said: "This appears to be an off-the-cuff remark in our opinion. It does not reflect our menu or where we are as a business."
A spokesperson for the Prince of Wales said: "[The Prince] was keen to emphasise the need for children to enjoy the widest variety of food and not to eat any particular sort of food to excess."
However, the criticism will come as a further blow to McDonald's efforts to reposition itself as a more health-conscious and ethical retailer ahead of Ofcom's restrictions on junk food ads, which will be introduced on April 1.
McDonald's signed a £1m in January to buy coffee from South and Central America farm co-operatives, in an attempt to improve its image as an ethical retailer.
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TMX reports profit in first full quarter after Maple deal
Feb 6 (Reuters) - TMX Group Ltd reported a profit for the first full quarter since the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange was bought by a financial consortium last year.
The company's fourth-quarter profit was C$32.8 million ($32.8 million), or 61 Canadian cents per share. Last year the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of C$10.2 million, or C$54.77 per share, before being taken over by Maple Group. ($1 = 0.9982 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Shounak Dasgupta in Bangalore and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
- Man called Bitcoin's father denies ties, leads LA car chase
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- UPDATE 6-Obama warns on Crimea, orders sanctions over Russian moves in Ukraine
- Florida mayor fights backyard gun ranges in 'Gunshine State'
- Crimea votes to join Russia, Obama orders sanctions |


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When Remi Lane made a discovery at 11 years of age, the rest of her life was decided before her eyes.
“I discovered that being a fashion designer was an actual job and ever since then it’s all I’ve wanted to do,” she told AAA.
After studying for four years at South Metropolitan TAFE in Bentley and learning about the gruelling conditions factory workers endure, she set out to create an eponymous brand where consumers could shop with a clear conscience.
“Remi is where people go to buy quality, luxury, ethically made pieces at an accessible price point, which I find that a lot of brands at the moment you’re either one or the other,” she said.
“You’re either cheap, fast fashion, or very expensive with high quality, we aim to hit that middle point.”
The 25-year-old designer, known for her casual resort wear, co-founded the brand with mother Carilyn Brown in 2018 and recently expanded into the booming athleisure market with a 70s-inspired collection.
The range titled Tempo Libero, which translates to free time in Italian, fills a niche gap in the market for retro-loving athleisure fans with an affordable price point between $80 and $110.
A decade on from realising her dream, Lane reflected on the most difficult part of her journey owning an ethical brand.
“The hardest thing was finding an ethical factory, it took us years to get the manufacturers we use now because we wanted factories that align with us,” she said.
Garments are made in Indonesian and China-based BSCI certified factories, which is an industry-driven movement that aims to improve workplace standards across the global supply chain.
On the back of her first activewear collection, Lane is set to release a size-inclusive resortwear collection titled Babylon on April 28.


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» Armada Kapal Perang Tni Terbaru
Armada Kapal Perang Tni Terbaru
Armada Kapal Perang Tni Terbaru on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Thursday, April 24, 2014
News of the warm coming from two future Samsung products mentioned in this release, the Galaxy Tab 3 and Galaxy Note 3.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Thursday (21/3), both rumored to appear first on IT exhibition IFA 2013 in Berlin, Germany.
This event is scheduled [...]
Angry Birds Seasons seems to immediately have a theme and a new level in the near future.
The new version is expected to take the theme of spring.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (15/4), Angry Birds Seasons this will be the 16th series.
Rovio is often [...]
Sony’s new hero class ‘affordable’ has arrived in Indonesia. Products named Xperia E is available in a single version of the SIM and dual-SIM.
One feature that is favored is HD Voice, where its function is to clear up the sound when [...]
New news about the successor to the Galaxy S3 smartphone reappeared. This time, Samsung will release it issued on March 15, 2013.
Quoted from TechRadar, Thursday (2/7), the European market will be the first target and will be available a few weeks after [...]
Through Vietnam blog site, Tinthe.vn, it was reported that the latest generation iPhone that was allegedly named the iPhone 5S will have a 12 megapixel camera.
In addition, Apple also improve low-light photography feature so image quality in low-light [...]
Women eighteen origin Saratoga, California, Eesha Khare managed to make a supercapacitor that can charge a cell phone in just between 20 to 30 seconds.
Through this work, Eesha also won about 500 million dollars from Intel in the Intel International [...]
Although the majority of smartphone users prefer to communicate via messenger applications, many of them are also fond of making phone calls.
Some of the applications are available both on the iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry can be used for free calling [...]
“Microsoft chose HTC to be the first smartphone that shows a real Windows Phone.”
Mobile phone manufacturer HTC back innovate through the launch of Windows Phone distinctively, namely HTC Windows Phone 8X and HTC Windows Phone 8S.
Having nearly 3.8 million followers.
Won seven Tour de France titles are no longer part of the description of the cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Twitter account.
On Monday evening (10/22), a biography of Armstrong on Twitter are called seven Tour de [...]
About 60 percent of those planning to buy a tablet chose Nexus 7.
Christmas Day will soon be arriving. In many parts of the world, it is time to hunt items to be used as Christmas gifts. According to a survey in the U.S. revealed that many public want [...]
iPad Mini shipments would begin on November 2.
After Apple issued invitations to a mysterious event on 23 October, rumors about the iPad Mini seems to have been confirmed.
In a simple invitation that Apple does mention “got a little more to show”. [...]


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The Dalles care center is only veteran’s home to win national gold
It’s 4 a.m., and you’re tucked in bed “sawing logs,” but SDS Lumber Co. is up and at ‘em, sawing logs for real, clearing a patch of timber burned in last year’s Government Camp Fire Complex.
Car firm expands charging web
The big deal: Where are you going to find podium-pounding politicians, kids and animals, business people hawking their wares and the best products of local creativity the county has to offer? At the Wasco County Fair, of course.
The Dalles native Kathy Ursprung joined the Port of The Dalles beginning Aug. 11 as the new marketing and communications specialist.
Matthew B. Klebes has been hired as the first executive director of The Dalles Main Street and will begin his contract Aug. 18, according to a press release from the organization.
Records and care providers are focus of pact
In the absence of carriers for certain rural Wasco County newspaper delivery routes, The Chronicle will be delivering some subscribers’ newspapers by mail for a period of time.
Maintenance is cheaper than repair, says owner
A good wine needs time to mature and so does a good city.
Training can help with tourism and customer retention, says chamber head
The Chocolate Lab has reopened its store at 214 Washington St. after a temporary closure for remodeling and to get a second store up and running in Hood River.
Button up that overcoat: It may only be July, but this is a good time to consider what can be done for a business or a home to keep the winter cold (and the summer heat, for that matter) at bay and power bills at a minimum.
The Dalles will be part of a national backpack giveaway campaign.
The Dalles Chronicle captured seven news awards at the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association annual conference in Salem Friday, including a first place in best sports story for “Honoring ‘the best of them all’,” about the late Al Morrison’s role in the sports community by Ray Rodriguez.


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The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) commenced public auction of perishable goods belonging to Kenya based retailer Uchumi to recover money owed to creditors.
The region’s budding retail giant closed operations in Uganda and Tanzania in October 2015 following a financial crisis. Uchumi in a statement said outlets in Uganda and Tanzania made up only 4.75 per cent of the entire business operations yet they accounted for over 25 per cent of our operating costs.
A Uganda High Court order granted the liquidator permitting authority to sell by public auction of all perishable goods of Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda Limited in liquidation including all stocks with a limited shelf life, URSB said in a statement.
A number of suppliers, employees and Landlords dragged the retailer to court in their bid to recover their arrears.
Meanwhile in Kenya, the supermarket announced on May 25, 2016 that has attracted “many suitors” in its search for a major new investor
The board said is evaluating bids from both local and foreign parties in Kenya in order to make an informed decision on the most suitable investor. The process is expected at the end of August.
“We have given ourselves the next three months up to August to conclude everything,” Julius Kipng’etich told Reuters.
Management has been battling to return to profit since it fired its previous CEO in June last year for “gross misconduct” and launched an audit into where cash from a rights issue had gone.
The company, which is the only publicly traded retailer in Kenya, is also selling assets to pay down debts and is seeking an emergency loan from the government, which holds a 15 percent stake.


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By Sandy Alexander
WASHINGTON – The Fiore Winery in Pylesville is known for its red wines, but out-of-state aficionados who want to sample its “very nice” cabernet sauvignon or the more unusual chambourcin wine are pretty much out of luck.
Strict alcohol shipping laws in Maryland and many other states prohibit wineries from shipping wine to individual buyers.
“We’ve turned down hundreds (of requests),” said winery co-owner Rose Fiore, even with a notice on their Web site that they do not ship wine.
Not only has Maryland refused to enter into reciprocal agreements with other states that would allow wine to be sent across borders, last year it became one of only seven states to make it a felony for out-of-state sources to ship alcohol to consumers here.
Supporters of the strict law say it is needed to keep underage drinkers from getting wine by mail and to ensure that taxes are paid on alcohol sales. The law also protects Maryland merchants from unfair competition from out of state, said Charles Ehart, director of the Maryland Comptroller’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division.
But a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in New York could open borders to freer flow of wine, a move that would please many Maryland wineries.
Small wineries in Virginia and California, along with several consumers, challenged New York’s restrictive alcohol shipping laws in a suit in the Southern District of New York. The Washington, D.C.,-based Institute for Justice, which filed the suit, says these laws hurt small wineries and individual wine consumers while protecting wholesalers.
Small wineries in Maryland are finding themselves on the “margins of the new economy,” because they cannot take advantage of Internet orders, said Rob Deford, president of the Boordy Vineyards in Hydes. They are also missing out on interest from visitors and out-of-state orders generated by favorable reviews.
Many Maryland wineries are particularly concerned because they are so small that wholesalers in other states usually will not distribute their product.
But Ehart defended the current “three-tier system,” in which alcohol goes from the supplier through a wholesaler to the consumer.
When lawmakers upgraded the wine-shipping law to a felony offense, he said, they made it easier to prosecute sellers in other states. But the penalty remained the same as when it was a misdemeanor — a fine up to $1,000 and up to two years in prison for the shipper.
It is still a misdemeanor for producers to ship wine directly to consumers in the state and for Maryland residents to have untaxed alcohol that has been shipped from another state.
Ehart acknowledged some of the difficulties with the current system and noted that the state is working with an Internet wine seller to see if there is a secure way for Maryland residents to get their out-of-state wines and the state to get the tax it is due. But no deal is expected until the end of the year, he said.
Many Maryland wineries would prefer a more open market, and believe there are better solutions to the state’s concerns than the current law, including shipping services that require adult signatures and taxation systems for all mail-order products.
“Competition does nothing but increase quality and decrease prices,” said Anthony Aellen, president of Linganore Wine Cellars in Mount Airy. “If there were no restrictions, I believe we would see the industry as a whole grow, and revenue would grow.”
“In this day in age … to be tying our hands in one particular part of the market doesn’t seem right,” said Rose Fiore.


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Amazon’s Spring Smart Home sale lets you save a minimum of 15% on starter bundles for your home.
We've collected together all of the best smart security cameras for keeping your house safe when you're not around.
Elgato’s Eve Button allows you to take control of your HomeKit enabled devices, keeping the digital physical.
Opinion I think that smart glasses could replace smartphones, and soon. Let me explain why I’m not mad.
In depth 120 frame-per-second video content is on its way. Here’s what that means and what you can expect when it arrives.
In-depth Hive has announced Philips Hue integration with its app, potentially starting the move towards a Hive ecosystem.
We round up the best smart thermostats, with clever features such as zonal controls and AI learning.
A study at MIT has produced the first ever mass-produced graphene sheets, using a roll-to-roll process.
A poll released by YouGov has revealed that the number of smart speakers in UK homes has doubled in six months.
Eufy has flown past its Kickstarter goal with the EverCam, which claims to have battery and memory that lasts a year.
LG has announced that its entire SmartThinkQ range can now be controlled using either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
Neato’s latest flagship robot vacuum cleaner gives you an unprecedented level of control, with in-app maps and ‘no-go lines’.
Sony’s showroom at Milan Design Week has given us a glimpse of the high-concept tactile future of the smart home.
Google-owned company Nest has finally introduced Google Assistant control for the Nest Secure alarm system.


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November 29, 2011, 8:22 PM — Few would argue that Salesforce.com has made customer relationship management a household name. But the field of CRM competitors is continuing to swell, with software makers and service providers of all sizes challenging the pioneer.
CRM tools help organizations track customer interactions in real-time across the organization, including sales and support.
Research firm IDC's Worldwide Customer Relationship Management Applications Tracker found that the global market for CRM software increased 12.8% from the first half of 2009 to the same period in 2010. The global market reached $8.5 billion for the first half of 2010, according to IDC.
Oracle was at the head of the CRM pack, with 14.5% global share, while SAP and Salesforce.com trailed in second and third places respectively.
"The CRM applications market is at the center of the evolution occurring in human engagement," noted Mary Wardley, program vice president for Enterprise Applications and CRM Software at IDC, in IDC's press release. "The rise in social media and social networking is changing the nature and format of not only customer to business interactions, but employee to customer, customer to customer, and partner to business." Applications "will experience a radical change over the course of the next five years" because of fast-changing go-to-market strategies of organizations responding to new demands, she added.
Rebecca Wetterman, vice president of Nucleus Research, feels similarly crediting the widening CRM pool for the technology's mass appeal. "Some companies might look for something at a lower cost point even if it means less functionality or they might need something that is more integrated with back-office applications," Wettermans says.
For instance, she calls open-source community-friendly Zoho, although limited in capabilities, reasonably priced. Alternatively, she points to NetSuite as a company focused on sophisticated functionality with ties into financials and other critical databases.


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Multi-billion-shilling investments in new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import and distribution terminals have raised Kenyans' hopes for cheaper cooking gas.
Five firms have in recent weeks applied for State licences to set up terminals that will act as common user facilities for storage and loading for LPG dealers.
There are limited LPG handling facilities in Kenya, which has exposed the market to supply shocks and stunted the growth of consumption.
The Kenya Kwanza administration is banking on opening up the sector in a bid to push down prices.
Local and foreign firms that are angling for the lucrative LPG business include Tanzanian giant Taifa Gas, and local firms Eleven Energy, Fossil Supplies Ltd, Ken PetroGas Ltd and Makadara Oil Terminal Ltd.
The proposed Sh10 billion Taifa Gas plant to be located at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone in Mombasa will have a capacity of 20,000 tonnes, which will consequently go up to 30,000 tonnes.
Taifa Gas previously tried to enter the local market but encountered regulatory hurdles.
Mombasa-based gas and petroleum company Fossil Supplies Ltd, on the other hand, plans to construct its new LPG terminal near the port of Mombasa at a cost of Sh1.97 billion.
And Ken PetrolGas plans to put up an LPG terminal and open a sea berth (floating jetty) in Kwale County with a total storage capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes.
Meanwhile, Makadara Oil Terminal Ltd plans to put up a Sh400 million terminal in Nairobi.
The Makadara-based facility will have a capacity of 10,000 metric tonnes in the medium term and 25,000 metric tonnes in the long term.
Eleven Energy announced earlier it would set up a Sh467 million plant with a 22,000 metric-tonne storage capacity in the Port of Mombasa.
It also plans to start an associated wholesale and distribution business in Kenya and the wider East Africa Community.
The private companies are keen to reap from the increased use of cooking gas in Kenya despite a lack of investments by the government in adequate storage facilities.
Africa Gas, which is partly controlled by Mombasa billionaire businessman Mohammed Jaffer, who is also the owner of Grain Bulk Handlers, imports the bulk of the LPG consumed in Kenya and also controls a significant transit market to neighbouring countries.
The business mogul mid-2021 firmed up his grip on the lucrative cooking gas market after Proto Gas got the State's nod to snap up a rival cooking gas Solutions East Africa, whose LPG products trade as SeaGas.
And in the same year, World Bank's private lending arm loaned another local firm Mombasa Gas Terminal Ltd Sh2.5 billion to construct an LPG terminal in the port of Mombasa.
Unlike petroleum prices, cooking gas prices are not set by the regulator, giving dealers a free hand to set margins.
LPG use has been on the rise in the country, with monthly consumption ranging from 15,000 to 23,750 metric tonnes, according to the energy regulator.
However, costs remain high. A 13kg cylinder retailed at an average of Sh3,101.94 last month, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, a 9.5 per cent jump compared to last year.
Previously, oil marketers imported cooking gas individually in small quantities due to inadequate gas discharge facilities.
This led to shortages and rises in prices due to high import premiums and demurrage, which are penalties marketers pay shipping companies when tankers fail to offload in the stipulated period.


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Although 2019 was a tough year for the cannabis sectors, we expect market conditions to improve in 2020 and continue to closely monitor how the industry continues to advance.
During the last six months, we have conducted significant due diligence on several North American cannabis companies to better understand the landscape of the cannabis industry and to determine which companies are best positioned to record strong growth in 2020 and beyond.
Over the next week, we will be releasing a series of articles that cover the companies that meet certain criteria as we believe that these businesses represent attractive growth opportunities. The criteria that we are looking for when analyzing these companies include:
- Is reporting strong revenue growth and is executing on a strategy to become a profitable;
- The company is well funded and has enough cash to capitalize on organic and inorganic growth opportunities;
- Is led by a management team that is focused on creating value for shareholders;
- Is trading at a discount when compared to its peers and has an attractive risk-reward profile;
- Is focused on enhancing the overall operation and on capitalizing on high-growth verticals within the cannabis industry.
The first company that we want to highlight in this series is Aleafia Health Inc. (ALEF.TO) (ALEAF). 2019 has been a banner year for the Canadian Licensed Producer (LP) and we expect 2020 to be a period of sustained growth. At current levels, Aleafia Health is trading at a considerable discount to its peers and we are bullish on the growth prospects associated with the operation.
Aleafia Health: An Under-appreciated Global Growth Opportunity
From Canada to Europe, Aleafia Health has been highly focused on increasing its market share in major cannabis markets and we expect this to be a major theme for the company in 2020. Going forward, we will be closely monitoring how the management team is able to execute on its global growth strategy and believe that the market does not fully understand this aspect of the story.
When it comes to the domestic and international cannabis opportunity, Aleafia Health has already benefited from the acquisition of Emblem. From cannabis production to patient education we believe that the combined company has attractive catalysts for growth and is levered to several high-growth verticals of the cannabis industry. The three catalysts that we are most excited about include:
- The cannabis 2.0 opportunity in Canada: Through the acquisition of Emblem, Aleafia Health has been able to expand its product offering and has significant leverage to the cannabis concentrate market. Over the next year, we expect the company to start to capitalize on Canada’s 2.0 market and are bullish on the growth prospects associated with this
- The international cannabis opportunity: Prior to the acquisition of Emblem, Aleafia Health had attractive leverage to the Australian cannabis market. Through Emblem, the company is also levered to the cannabis opportunity in the European Union and we expect this aspect of the story to become more significant in 2020 and beyond
- Increasing production capacity: During the last year, Aleafia Health has been focused on increasing production capacity and we are favorable on the way the management team has been able to execute on this. Next year, we expect to see the company to benefit from the increasing production capacity and this is an attractive aspect of the story
A Multi-Faceted Growth Story to be Watching
One of the most important aspects of the Aleafia Health opportunity is related to the management team. During a time where cannabis companies are running low on cash, Aleafia Health has been able to strengthen its balance sheet as total expenses declined substantially for the second consecutive quarter, despite a significant increase in the scale of the business. We believe that the company is led by a management team that has been able to execute on important growth initiatives while cutting costs and improving operational efficiencies.
When analyzing the quarterly results reported by Aleafia Health in November, one metric that stands out is the growth from a medical cannabis patient standpoint. During the quarter, the company reported a 48% increase in the number of medical cannabis patients, and we are bullish on this trend. Going forward, we expect to see continued growth on the medical side of the business as Aleafia Health and this is a metric that the market should be aware of.
From a production capacity standpoint, Aleafia Health has been nothing short of an execution story and is working to complete a major expansion. Once the expansion is complete and operational, the Canadian cannabis producer expects to reach an annual production capacity of 138,000 kg of dried flower across indoor, greenhouse, outdoor and strategic supply agreements, as well as an extraction capacity of 50,000 kg. We are bullish on the amount of revenue that can be generated through the company’s facilities as well as the distribution that is already in place.
Distribution is one of the most important aspects of cannabis industry and Aleafia Health has been laser focused on this. The company has distribution relationships across four provincial providers (Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta), three independent retailers (Fire & Flower, Starbuds, and OnePlant), and Shoppers Drug Mart. By securing relationships with these outlets, Aleafia is well positioned to capitalize on the Canadian market and benefit from the change in the types of products that can be sold.
Earlier in the article, we briefly highlighted Aleafia Health from a valuation standpoint and want to shed more light on this aspect of the story. When compared to its peers, we believe that the company has one of the most attractive growth profiles and find this to be of the utmost importance. A few months ago, Eight Capital issued Aleafia Health a Buy rating and a $3 price target. At current levels, the price target issued by Eight Capital indicates that Aleafia Health is undervalued and has substantial upside potential.
In regard to the cannabis 2.0 opportunity in Canada, we expect the acquisition of Emblem to play an important role in the way Aleafia Health is able to capitalize on it. Through Emblem, Aleafia Health acquired additional cannabis strains, oil formulations, capsules, and an oral dose-metered spray. Going forward, we expect Emblem’s product portfolio to continue to drive product innovation for Aleafia Health and are bullish on this.
Going forward, Aleafia Health will leverage Emblem’s extraction and product innovation to sell high-margin cannabis products directly to its patient base and to recreational consumers. Over the next year, we expect this to be a major value driver for the company and believe that the market does not fully appreciate this aspect of the story.
During the last year, several Canadian cannabis producers announced plans to capitalize on emerging international cannabis markets. Many of these companies have failed to execute on this opportunity and we believe that the progress that Aleafia Health has made in Australia and in the EU is significant.
Through Emblem, Aleafia Health has been able to enhance its leverage to the EU via a joint venture with German pharmaceutical wholesaler Acnos Pharma GmbH. We are bullish on the German medical cannabis market and this relationship provides Aleafia Health with the ability to enter new markets in the EU. Going forward, we expect international markets to support revenue growth for the entire company and are bullish on this opportunity for the business.
An Opportunity to be Watching
2020 will be a make or break year for many cannabis companies and we believe that Aleafia Health will prove to be a banner year for the business. From international markets to the cannabis 2.0 opportunity in Canada, the company is well positioned to capitalize on high-growth verticals of the cannabis industry and believe that the opportunity is flying under the radar.
Over the next year, we expect to see Aleafia Health significantly increase the amount of cannabis it is producing on an annual basis and this will be a massive value driver for the entire business. Through the increased production capacity, Aleafia Health will be able to further scale the business and enter new markets and this is an opportunity that we are excited about.
When compared to Canada, the economics associated with the cannabis industry in the EU are much more attractive. In the EU, there are higher barriers to entry, and this provides Aleafia Health with an early mover advantage. The company has several major potential catalysts for growth, and we will monitor how the management team continues to drive the story forward.
Although Aleafia Health has been executing at a very high level, the shares have been under pressure. We believe that the company represents a compelling play on the burgeoning cannabis market, and this is an opportunity that investors should be watching. To learn more about Aleafia Health, please contact email@example.com to be added to our distribution list.
Pursuant to an agreement between StoneBridge Partners LLC and Aleafia Health Inc. (ALEF) we have been hired for a period of 180 days beginning August 15, 2019 and ending February 15, 2020 to publicly disseminate information about (ALEF) including on the Website and other media including Facebook and Twitter. We are being paid $8,000 per month (ALEF) for or were paid “ZERO” shares of unrestricted or restricted common shares. We own zero shares of (ALEF), which we purchased in the open market. We plan to sell the “ZERO” shares of (ALEF) that we hold during the time the Website and/or Facebook and Twitter Information recommends that investors or visitors to the website purchase without further notice to you. We may buy or sell additional shares of (ALEF) in the open market at any time, including before, during or after the Website and Information, provide public dissemination of favorable Information.


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Brand management is becoming one of the most important functions of business computing as companies shift away from simply processing historic data, to seeking out ways to interact with, and so influence, consumers, said the CEO of a leading U.S. data company.
According to Sohaib Abbasi, CEO of California-based Informatica Corporation, “the purpose of computing was all about how do I optimize transactions — in HR [Human resources], in finance, in sales, etc. Now it is all about how to I facilitate interactions in order for me to optimize brand management. This is a significant change, from business productivity to brand management.”
Mr. Abbasi, speaking to The Wall Street Journal on a recent visit to London, said the focus for enterprises was shifting “It is all about can I anticipate what the likely reaction will be [to an event].”
The problem with transactions, he said, is they only tell you about what has happened. “I have already bought something, I have already hired someone, I have already given them a raise.”
That is certainly useful, he said. “You can analyze transaction data to become more profitable.”
But “in the world of interactions you are trying to anticipate and influence things that will lead to an eventual transaction.” This, he said, was the business strategy for social data.
“The reason that retailers are interested in interacting with the customers via social media is that they find out what their buying patterns are — what their preferences are, their likes, dislikes — and then they can target them as an individual, they can affect that individual.”
He gave an example of how retailers’ views were changing. “There is a retailer that came to Informatica and said ‘We want you to help us identify our most profitable customers. Our definition is the ones who spends the most across our three channels (catalog, online, retail).
“A year ago they came back. They said our definition of most profitable is not the one who spends the most, it is the one who influences the most.”
This is, of course, a Big Data play, the ability to bring together a variety of data sources to unlock insights. “Once you have identified the customer on Facebook you can give them incentives.”
Bringing in the customer’s social graph also meant that retailers have a single view of the customer. The view of the customer “is no longer limited to the data of the customer they have, now they have other data too.”


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Silicon Juche Rising: North Korea Launches a Tablet!
North Korea splashed into the 21st century this week with the surprise unveiling of its very own iPad competitor, the locally developed Samjiyon tablet. Sure Kim Jong-un might not have mastered the nuances of agriculture and economics, but he sure know how to grab the world’s attention!
If there was ever to be a sign of a new level of hysteria being reached in tech let the moment North Korea jumped into the tablet PC market be it. What’s even more shocking is that the tablet is actually not that bad! The North Korean made Samijyon runs a custom version of Android, has a 2 Megapixel camera and even comes pre-loaded with Angry Birds and Microsoft Office!
Congratulations North Korea, for a country that lost 3 million people to starvation and where electricity is considered high-tech, Kim Jong-un’s band of anti-capitalist engineers have done a remarkably good job!
“After a few days of intensive use I can say that this is one of the few cases in my career as a consumer when I got more for my money than I had expected,” said Prof Frank, from the University of Vienna in his review of the device.
The Samijyon tablet comes with a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. The device also comes packed with 141 e-books to keep even the most voracious reader immersed in dystopian propaganda. But wait, there’s more: you can have all of this for the rock bottom price of $260 USD!
Can your BlackBerry Playbook do that?
The irony knows no end as news of the North Korean tablet comes on the heels of BlackBerry abandoning its rescue acquisition by Fairfax Holdings and the abrupt departure of its CEO, Thorsten Heins. Rumor has it that the $4.7 billion plan to take BlackBerry private fell apart as Fairfax was unable to secure the financing to close the deal.
In what has become the longest public flogging of a major corporation since Chrysler and Enron, the slow, painful death of BlackBerry continues. As a Canadian and a Waterloo alumnus, this is just too painful to watch. During my days at Waterloo, working an internship at RIM was almost a rite of passage for math and engineering students. Now, the long public demise of BlackBerry is likely to become the butt end of business school curriculum for years to come.


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‘Triple Green’ is the new motto in photovoltaics: the drive to produce modules that generate clean energy, that are recycled and – what’s more – ecologically produced. It’s an effective way for the solar industry to further boost its image and sustainably cut costs. However, this perfect triad is difficult to implement because “green factories” require high initial investment. PES investigates…
This new way of thinking does not originate from China or the USA, but from Osterweddingen in Saxony-Anhalt; a little town near Magdeburg, where a company called Malibu manufactures modules from thin-film silicon and now cleans its process chambers with fluorine rather than the hazardous greenhouse gas nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). And while this does not sound too spectacular, it affords major ecological benefits: “It allows us to avoid any emission risks,” says Malibu Production Manager Antje Bönisch. If inadvertently released into the atmosphere, NF3 is 17,200 times more dangerous for global warming than carbon dioxide. By comparison fluorine, she says, has no greenhouse gas potential. This turn towards ecological processes only becomes really attractive for the company through falling operating costs. “We are saving a six-digit sum every year,” says Bönisch.
The key to more efficient manufacturing is a so-called fluorine-on-site-generator, made by the Linde company, and connected to the supply lines of the plant. Malibu’s modules are made by vapour-depositing silicon onto glass in vacuum chambers. And since plenty of material ends up on the chamber walls in this process, these chambers need to be purified after each coating cycle. The generator introduces the fluorine which then reacts with the silicon to form gaseous silicon tetrafluoride, which is pumped off, captured and reacted off.
The new method reduces climate risks and is fast: usually cleaning accounts for more than ten per cent of the total process time in a vacuum chamber, but fluorine reduces this time by half thanks to its high avidity, explains Linde-Manager Andreas Weisheit. This improves the line throughput and cuts costs.


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The upcoming Future of StoryTelling Festival could very well help change what you are doing right now.
“The idea behind the Future of StoryTelling Festival is a celebration of the changing role of the audience from a world where people were passive consumers of their content, couch potatoes sitting and watching TV or films or music to where they are now active participants in their stories. They have an expectation to play a role," says Charlie Melcher, founder of the festival.
Many of those expectations arrive alongside new technologies: virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, artificial intelligence, sensors, haptics - being able to physically feel what you’re virtually seeing.
Some projects that’ll be shown off include a combination of several of the technologies, like a space walk that you experience in VR and feel while sitting in a chair.
These technologies are as wild as they seem. For example, imagine how much more immersive a story will be when you can smell it.
“It’s a story - ‘Alex in Wonderland’ and it’s an animated story and as you swipe through the story different fragrances are released that support the ideas or the experience in the story," Melcher explains.
The Future of StoryTelling event will take place October 7th through 9th in the Big Apple with around 50 exhibits. Not to worry if you cannot make it, developers say when all is wrapped up, many of the projects, including those in virtual reality, will be made available online at FutureOfStoryTelling.org.


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General Motors announced on Friday that it is undergoing a recall of 322,409 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2009 and 2010 models years. The recall has been initiated to inspect for vehicles that have front seat belt webbings that may not have been properly secured to the lap belt anchor, which is mounted to the side of the seat nearest to the car’s door.
According to a GM press release, vehicles with this condition have a seat belt anchor that could potentially separate in the event of a crash. Therefore, an affected Impala’s safety belt would not meet the anchor strength requirements of the U.S. and Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard covering seat belt assembly anchorages.
GM said that it has no knowledge of any injuries or deaths resulting from this condition.
The automaker stated that dealers would be inspecting the cars’ front seat belts to ensure that the anchors have been properly installed and, if necessary, will reinstall them at no cost to the owner.
The more than 300,000 owners of affected vehicles can expect to be notified by GM around October 25 by mail to bring their vehicles to a local dealer for inspection. The inspection and any repairs related to this condition will be performed free of charge.
Owners of affected vehicles can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 for more information.


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Hasbro, Inc. announced that Jess Richardson was promoted to vice president, global licensed consumer products — toys and games. Richardson will lead a newly created global team to continue to mine the full Hasbro IP portfolio to accelerate Hasbro’s broad brand portfolio on a global scale in the Toy, Sporting Goods, and Game categories.
“The work that Jess has led on Tonka, Micro Machines, Lite Brite, Spirograph, Nerf Sports and Monopoly game expansion has been instrumental to our success this year,” said Casey Collins, senior vice president and general manager of global consumer products at Hasbro. “I am confident that Jess will continue to build on this success in this new position as he leads the development and execution of strategic plans for the Toy & Games super categories business across all regions.”
Richardson will transition from his current position as Sr Director Category Licensing, North America, Hardlines, into his new role in late August. A search for his successor is actively underway.


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7 Days is a weekly round-up of the Editors' picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (Irish) coffee.
Well, that was quite a week. From official announcements and juicy rumors, to some intriguing insights and even a couple of surprises, there’s been no end of excitement across the tech world, and 7 Days is here again to bring you up to speed with what’s been happening.
We begin this week with Samsung, which unveiled two OLED panels that look like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. One of the two 55-inch displays is transparent, while the other has a mirrored surface, and Samsung thinks they could be a big hit in retail stores. With Intel RealSense cameras, the displays support augmented reality scenarios, such as allowing customers to virtually ‘try on’ clothes while in a store just by looking at the screen.
Twitter announced a couple of very welcome improvements to its service this week, including the ability to share lists of blocked users with other people, to help deal with persistent trolls and the like. Twitter also said that it is removing the 140-character limit on direct messages from next month.
Apple made a series of announcements at its Worldwide Developer Conference this week, detailing much of what the company is developing on the software side of things. First up was OS X El Capitan, which Apple says is aimed at improving system performance, as well as the overall user experience.
It also unveiled iOS 9, promising significant improvements in performance and battery life, as well as new security enhancements. Apple also said that it wanted to boost the ‘intelligence’ of every iOS device, with upgrades to Siri and the search experience.
iOS 9 introduces all sorts of new features, including much-improved multitasking support which, amusingly, appears to draw much of its inspiration from Microsoft’s ‘Snap’ window management features in Windows 8. However, not all devices will get all of the new multitasking features.
Apple is also launching a new ‘Move to iOS’ app, to make it easier for existing Android users to switch to an iPhone or iPad, transferring their data and helping to rebuild their app library on iOS.
Apple also announced its new "revolutionary music service", priced at $9.99 a month or $14.99 a month for a family of up to six people. Apple Music includes personalized recommendations, social and interactive elements, and a new app that aims to be users' only destination for music on iOS 9 devices. As part of the service, Apple is also launching Beats 1, its own 24-hour worldwide internet radio station.
Along with improvements to OS X and iOS, Apple also announced watchOS 2. The next version of the Apple Watch operating system is aimed at making the experience better for users, and giving developers more access to exploit the capabilities of the device.
While Apple has been shaking things up, over at BlackBerry, it’s more of the same. Leaked photos popped up this week of BlackBerry’s next handset, codenamed ‘Oslo’, but it seems that it’s just a repackaged version of its existing Passport, with identical specs.
But far more intriguingly, it also emerged this week that BlackBerry is preparing to launch an Android device with a large display and slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Sony recently launched its latest Android flagship, the Xperia Z3+, but if you were planning to buy one, you might want to hold off. Sony acknowledged this week that the device is experiencing overheating issues, after tests conducted by a Dutch publication found that the device, which features a Snapdragon 810 processor, became unusually hot while playing games and using the camera.
There was more bad news for Sony this week as it emerged that its new Sony Xperia M4 Aqua with 8GB of storage comes with just 1.26GB of free storage available for the user, due to the amount of bloatware the company pre-installs on the device. Even worse, Sony’s own documentation states that users should have 3GB of free space on the device as soon as they turn it on.
On Monday, OnePlus announced a permanent price cut for its One handset. With $50 slashed from the previous prices, the 16GB model now costs $249, and the 64GB model is available for $299.
Samsung announced a third addition to its S6 range this week, the Galaxy S6 active. Think of it as a ‘rugged’ version of the standard S6, but with a much bigger battery – a rather large 3500mAh battery, in fact.
If battery life is your priority when it comes to buying a smartphone, you might want to consider the S6000 handset from Chinese manufacturer Doogee. The Android 5.1 Lollipop phone will come with a massive 6000mAh battery, although the rest of its specs are about what you’d expect of a $140 device.
Our regular readers may well have spotted that we’ve been covering a lot of handsets from Chinese OEMs lately, including some obscure ones that you may never have heard of. This weekend, Neowin editor Steven Johns took a closer look at some of the technologies that Chinese manufacturers will be focusing on in their upcoming devices, so be sure to check that out.
On Tuesday, the world famous Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles – best known as the venue for the annual Emmy Awards – officially became the Microsoft Theater, following Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business last year.
On Wednesday, we exclusively published slides from a Microsoft webinar for OEMs that showed some of the marketing highlights that the company wants to focus on when promoting Windows 10 to consumers and businesses.
And on Thursday, it emerged that Microsoft has now revised its out-of-box experience for customers who are currently buying Windows 8.1 devices. When these users turn their new PC on for the first time, they’ll now receive an invitation to reserve their copy of Windows 10, which follows on from similar prompts introduced for existing Windows 7 and 8.1 users earlier this month.
The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview is build 10130, which was released to the Fast ring at the end of last month. On Tuesday, Microsoft rolled out a patch to fix problems with notifications and flyouts in that build, and on Friday, it pushed out three security updates and fixes for some other particularly annoying issues.
Later that day, it also announced that build 10130 would be rolling out to the Slow ring – but some users may be unable to upgrade to it via Windows Update, although there is a workaround.
Windows 10 build 10135 leaked onto the web earlier this week, but before you download and install it, we advise caution – the version that has leaked is a modified ‘homebrew’ release by WZor.
Windows 10 Mobile build 10134 appeared on video this week, in a Chinese video that showed off a few minor changes in the smartphone OS, along with performance improvements.
But on Thursday, Microsoft said that the newer build 10136 is a possible candidate for release as the next Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview.
On Wednesday, we exclusively revealed when Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 Mobile to its hardware partners, ahead of its public launch later this year.
Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2 began rolling out to the Lumia 635 on AT&T this week, making it one of the few devices to get the update so far. Update 2 is the latest non-preview version of the OS, which also comes pre-installed on the latest devices, like Microsoft’s new Lumia 640.
The Lumia 640, which did pretty well in our recent in-depth review, is expected to join T-Mobile US on June 17. Pricing info hasn’t yet been announced, but a recent Microsoft Store listing for the device suggests that it could be very affordable indeed.
One of the most affordable Windows Phones ever is currently even cheaper over in Australia. Until June 16, Microsoft’s Lumia 532 can be purchased for just $39 AUD (roughly $30 USD) off-contract.
There was some bad news for Windows Phone this week, as the latest independent figures from comScore show that the OS lost around one million users in the US alone during the last quarter. Ouch.
Changes in Facebook’s Graph API have meant that a number of major Microsoft platforms and services – including parts of Windows Phone 7 and 8, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows Live Essentials, OneDrive and more – can no longer integrate and sync with Facebook contacts, calendars and other data from the social network.
A bunch of images (briefly) posted on Tumblr by a Microsoft employee revealed a Nokia smartwatch, which was developed under the codename ‘Moonraker’. It seems it came very close to actually launching last year alongside the Lumia 930, but Microsoft killed it off in favor of its own Band wearable device. Are we the only ones who think it makes the Band look a bit boring?
Microsoft unveiled its new Portable Dual mobile battery chargers this week, available in three sizes: 5200mAh, 9000mAh or 12,000mAh. Prices start at $35, but the color options are a bit, errrr… limited.
The company also announced full specs and pricing details for its new Surface Hub, the gigantic multitouch display designed to boost productivity and improve workplace meetings. There’s no way to sugar-coat this: the 55-inch model costs $6,999, and the 84-inch Quad HD model will set you back $19,999. Those of you who can afford these vast, magnificent displays can place your pre-orders from July 1, while the rest of us grit our teeth and stare at you in envy.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s (much smaller) 12-inch Surface Pro 3 came first in a performance test of ten of the most popular tablets in the UK, conducted by one of the country’s leading independent consumer watchdog groups. The Core i5 Surface Pro 3 with 4GB RAM beat the iPad Air 2 into second place, and Apple’s iPad mini 3 was beaten by a low-cost $150 Android tablet launched by UK supermarket giant Tesco.
Microsoft's Scott Hanselman said in no uncertain terms this week that the company is going to open source its Windows Live Writer blogging software. However, it’s not yet clear exactly when that’s going to happen.
Microsoft rolled out a new update for its Office 2016 for Mac preview this week, and while it’s not as feature-packed as the update it released in April, it does bring the sweet relief of various bug fixes for some annoying issues across the productivity suite.
On Thursday, Microsoft announced that its Skype Modern app for Windows 8/8.1 is being killed off next month, requiring users to download the desktop app instead, which is the only version that will be maintained – for now at least. Microsoft is planning to launch a more deeply integrated Skype experience in Windows 10, but this won’t arrive until sometime after the OS rolls out on July 29.
Later this summer, Microsoft has said that it will begin integrating Skype Translator functionality into its mainstream Skype desktop app. Currently, the Translator – which can translate spoken language in near-real-time – is only available in a standalone preview app.
It emerged this week that some Windows 10 PCs won’t get Microsoft’s new Edge browser at all. However, this will apply to a very specific set of Windows 10 Enterprise PCs that are maintained on Microsoft’s Long-Term Servicing Branch.
Microsoft announced a new $399 version of its Xbox One console on Tuesday, with 1TB of onboard storage and an updated wireless controller with integrated 3.5mm headset jack.
Virtual reality specialists Oculus formally unveiled the consumer version of its new VR headset, the Rift, this week – and Microsoft played a big part in that too. Every Oculus Rift will come bundled with an Xbox One wireless controller and wireless adapter; and for Xbox One owners, the headset will also support streaming games from the console.
YouTube launched a new gaming-themed strand to its video streaming service, designed to go head-to-head with Twitch, the popular game-streaming platform. The launch of the imaginatively-named YouTube Gaming comes a year after the company failed to acquire Twitch, which was ultimately bought by Amazon.
Remember Angry Birds? Yep, it’s still going, and Rovio is determined to milk every penny it can out of the franchise before we all move on to bigger and better things. That’s why The Angry Birds Movie is coming out later this year, and why this week, the company announced that it has teamed up with Lego to offer a range of Angry Birds toys and sets to coincide with the movie’s release.
Ever wondered what it might be like to play Grand Theft Auto not on screen in Los Santos, but in the real world? A production team put together an impressive video recreation of gameplay transposed into real-world locations across Los Angeles – and unless you want to go to jail, that video is probably the closest you’ll get.
And have you ever wondered what porn would be like in space? If you have, then Pornhub has got you covered. The people behind the popular adult site have launched a $3.4 million crowdfunding campaign to allow them to cross porn’s final frontier with some zero-G docking maneuvers.
Before we leave you to enjoy the rest of your weekend, just a reminder that you can still enter the Neowin Deals Google Gadget Giveaway in partnership with StackCommerce. You’re in with a chance of winning a Nexus 9 tablet, Google Chromecast and $100 Google Play credit, so don’t forget to enter!
…and be sure to check out our review of Portal Pinball too - it’s pretty good fun!
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As ever, there’s plenty more to read across the site – including loads of interesting discussions over on our forums. From all of us on the Neowin team, have an awesome weekend!


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Pulse Canada says exporters need more information from India so they have an idea how to plan for the upcoming year
It is time for the global pulse industry to move beyond expressing concern about India’s actions and to focus on ideas and solutions, says the head of Pulse Canada.
India’s recently announced duties and fumigation fees have brought trade to a “near halt” with the world’s top buyer of peas, lentils and other pulses.
Gord Bacon, chief executive officer of Pulse Canada, said India is within its World Trade Organization rights to be charging import duties of 50 percent on peas and 30 percent on lentils.
India is using the duties to restrict imports and bolster domestic prices that have plummeted in the wake of bountiful domestic pulse production.
However, Bacon said the country needs to have better transparency on when duties will be assessed and at what levels or seeded acreage will drop and it will find itself facing a global shortage of one of its staple food ingredients.
“Remember, it was only 18 months ago that there was all these allegations of hoarding and price fixing and people rioting because pulse prices were through the roof,” he said.
Stat Publishing is forecasting a one million acre decline in Canadian lentil plantings this spring and another one million acre drop in peas.
India needs to explain to processors and traders in exporting nations such as Canada what triggers lead to duties being established and then raised or lowered.
Is the trigger when the market price for lentils falls a certain level below the government’s minimum support price for the crop, or is there something else behind it?
If there was some transparency in how duties are established, then processors could at least have an idea how to plan for the upcoming year.
“That’s really where we need to start and the sooner the better,” said Bacon.
He said there needs to be transparency for planning purposes because predicting Indian duties is currently a guessing game.
The Indian government applied the maximum WTO allowable duty of 50 percent on peas, but the lentil duty was well below the 100 percent maximum. He has no idea why that is the case or whether there is a risk of it heading higher.
India’s stockpile of pulses is behind the current duties, but what happens when it disappears?
“It could take six to eight months to work through some of the stocks,” Bacon said.
“OK, well, that puts us into October, right about the time when new harvest in Canada is ready.”
The trade needs to know what level the duties will be at that time so it can have adequate supplies available.
Bacon also takes issue with the country’s plant protection policies, such as its insistence on fumigating shipments with methyl bromide even when there is no sign of the named pest in the country of origin.
He said there needs to be science-based rationale behind any such policies.
“Our position is still the same: there is no science-based reason why Canada should be fumigating,” said Bacon.
India recently announced it was extending a derogation to the fumigation policy that allows countries to either fumigate or pay five times the normal fumigation fee upon arrival in India. The derogation expires June 30.
The fees amount to about $750 on a 24-tonne container and $740,000 on a 50,000 tonne vessel.
He said the policy means small shippers will pay about $31 per tonne or double what the big shippers are paying.
But it’s all a moot point right now because the duties are what is preventing any trade with India.
“That’s where you start getting into some serious cash,” said Bacon.
Canada isn’t the only exporting nation that is complaining about India’s actions. Articles published in a recent edition of a newsletter produced by the India Pulses and Grains Association indicate there is unrest in places like Myanmar and Africa.
Shyam Narsaria, chief executive officer of Arvee International Pte Ltd., said India’s import quota restrictions on pigeon peas and beans have sent Myanmar’s pulse markets into “disarray.”
“Concerns among local traders over the potential collapse of the local pulses and bean market are mounting,” he wrote.
Bharat Kulkarni, director of Stalwart Consultancy Services, said India has long been aggressively encouraging African governments to grow more pulses and then “stunned everyone” by imposing quantitative restrictions on pigeon peas, black matpe, or gram, and green moong.
“The market in East Africa has hit rock bottom in terms of pulses with hundreds of farmers and their governments clueless on how to find a market for pulses,” he said.


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Data center colocation company Equinix announced May 26 it would be expanding two of its Hong Kong data centers, HK1 and HK2, by adding room for nearly 1,200 cabinets total. The expansion will cost the company approximately $40 million. The HK2 expansion will bring the total capacity for this data center to 2,350 cabinets. Currently, the company's Hong Kong data centers offer over 215,000 square feet of colocation space.
In accordance with the company's plan to expand globally in 2015, Equinix is expanding its influence across the Asia Pacific region, and the expansion of the Hong Kong data centers is only one part of the plan. Equinix recently announced it would spend $100 million on a Sydney data center, and it opened a Singapore data center in March.
Other recent global investments for Equinix include a New York data center, a Toronto data center and a London data center. The company's data center expansion project will bring its total global data center space to over 10 million square feet.
Brought to you by WiredRE, the nation's leading cloud, colocation, and data center advisory firm.


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Large retailers in Scotland are now banned from displaying cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Self-service tobacco vending machines are also banned.
The new legislation is aimed at cutting the number of deaths caused by smoking.
Smaller retailers have until 6th April, 2015, to fully comply with the new legislation.
More top news
The town centre now features The Kings own Scottish Borderer First World War statue, created by renowned sculptor Alan Herriot.
Scotland will become the first part of the UK to ban smacking if the bill goes through.
Students entertained Joey and local primary schools with gymnastic and dance performances, before a prize giving presentation.


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As Amazon workers in the United States France, Italy and around the world are taking action to protect their health and safety, a global alliance of unions is demanding that Amazon stop its dangerous denial of hazardous working conditions and stop its campaign of fear against workers organizing for safe jobs:
“Amazon workers around the world are risking their lives working under incredible pressure to serve their communities and earn a living. But when those four workers chose to stand up and publicly call on Amazon to do better, Amazon chose to fire them.
“Christian Smalls, Bashir Mohamed, Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa are Amazon workers who dared to speak up for their colleagues and for what is right. They are whistleblowers and leaders, and we honor them for their bravery and solidarity. The Amazon Alliance, comprised of unions from 23 countries, condemns these unjust firings and demands Amazon rehire all our colleagues.
“Amazon cannot fire its way out of this crisis. Workers are taking action to demand dignity and safety, but rather than focusing on resolving these problems, the richest man on earth, a man who is getting richer as this pandemic goes on, refuses to negotiate or hear workers demands for a safer workplace.
“We are in a crisis, but this crisis will end, and when it does, governments, unions and civil society must come together to look at Amazon’s conduct during the crisis, and discuss a common-sense regulatory regime that ensures that Amazon plays be the rules.”
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, workers at Amazon warehouses in Europe and the United States have been forced to step up their pressure on the company to demand protection against the deadly virus.
“Sick-Out” in the US
In one of the largest Amazon protests of the COVID-19 era, hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers across the US are refusing to show up for work this week by calling in sick in response to the company’s coronavirus response. Organizers say that workers in 50 facilities are participating in the nationwide effort. In support of these workers, Stuart Appelbaum, President of the US-based RWDSU and Chair of the Amazon Union Alliance said that “Amazon continues prioritize maximizing its enormous profits over worker safety—and that is unacceptable.”
After court order, Amazon shuts down rather than negotiate with unions in France
Amazon closed six of the centers in France April 15th, after a French court ruled that the company could be fined €1 million per day if it ships anything not directly related to medical supplies, hygiene products, and food items, until such time as it could negotiate an agreement with the unions representing the workers. The company appealed the decision and was “ideologically opposed to social dialogue” according to one union representative. Amazon decided to close down rather than restrict its operations to essential goods or reach a deal. The complaint was brought by a French union out of concern for workers’ safety.
Strike in Italy
On Friday, April 17, half of the workers at the Amazon factory in Torrazza went on strike following four new coronavirus-positive cases. “We had no answers either from the company or from the prefect and from the institutions,” says Simona Cavaglià from the union CGIL-. In Amazon, everything is sold and the work rhythms inside the warehouses and among the couriers are frantic. If these are the premises for the reopening of the activities, the contagions in Piedmont will only increase.”
The Italian unions previously struck in 3 warehouse for more than 2 weeks. That strike was resolved with Amazon agreeing to follow health and safety guidelines, which Torrazza workers say the company has broken.
Coordinated by UNI Global Union, the alliance is comprised of unions from 22 countries including ver.di, the GMB, CCOO, CGIL, the RWDSU, and the Teamsters.


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PC Sales Expected to Rebound, Prices Won't
The PC market is now expected to post positive unit growth in Q4 2009 in a long-awaited turnaround from what have been several quarters of decline. And that will lead to a "healthy market recovery in 2010."
Market research firm Gartner is now forecasting PC unit sales for 2009 to decline by 6 percent to 274 million, a brighter forecast than Gartner released earlier this year. And the picture for 2010 will be even better with PC unit sales forecast to grow by 10.3 percent.
"PC unit growth was stronger than we expected in all markets but Eastern Europe in the first quarter of 2009. In particular, consumer shipments were much stronger than we anticipated," says George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, in a prepared statement.


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Apple – New Policy, New Revenue Stream
The fact is that Apple in the past 10 years has revolutionized the industry in which it is, but also the company revolutionizes other industries. The fact is that the products and services that currently they offer give the company the potential to become one of the most powerful companies in the world.
However, the fact is that decisions that sometimes they make are not consumer-oriented. However, also the fact is that every business has the right to exploit the current market position to improve their own competitive advantage.
In the last several days, Apple has again made several decisions regarding the publishing industry and their popular iTunes platform.…


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The rise in the cost of living in the UK is expected to have fallen to its lowest rate on record when inflation figures for January are published.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to its equal lowest ever level of 0.5 per cent in December and economists expect it to have dropped to 0.3 per cent at the start of this year when figures are revealed on Tuesday.
Bank of England forecasts suggest it will turn negative over the next few months.
CPI has been driven lower by sliding oil prices and the supermarket price war and could be lowered further in coming months with the impact of energy tariff cuts.
The current period of low inflation is seen as positive as it boosts household spending power, which also looks set to be helped by improving wage growth - cheering voters ahead of the general election and bolstering the wider economy.
But policy makers want to avoid plunging into a sustained spiral of falling prices putting consumers off purchases and deterring businesses from investment.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney said last week that interest rates could be cut further from 0.5 per cent should low inflation persist though the Bank's projections over the next couple of years suggest it will start climbing by the end of 2015.