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Store opens with store-to-tram delivery experience.
Retail group signals an expected $15 million loss to its food pillar.
Retailer offers non-public information to fuel revised offer.
Convenience retailer confirms it received a takeover offer from Canadian giant.
7-Eleven won’t renew its contract with the food and beverage distributor.
Logistics provider to expand physical network of pick-up and returns locations into retail checkouts.
The first of the service station supermarkets opens today, with two more planned for the coming months.
Coles’ online grocery subscription offers unlimited deliveries for a flat monthly fee.
UBS report states inflation during September signals “positive catalyst” for grocery market.
More than 100 Coles stores to be converted to the new format before the year ends.


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SINGAPORE – Go-Jek, the company that loves the journey, partnered with DBS Bank for regional payment services before its arrival in Singapore.
Go-Jek, who has supporters like Google, Temasek and Tencent, will start in Singapore in the coming weeks. As part of this, DBS customers in Singapore said in a joint statement that the two sides will enjoy; exciting privileges. Bun
Tan Su Shan, D More than four million debit / credit cards and DBS PayLah in Singapore! Mez We are committed to making simple, uninterrupted and invisible payments for our customers as a leader in payments with the country's most popular mobile wallet. İle Head of consumer banking and asset management at DBS Bank.
"In doing so, we are proud to partner with companies like Go-Jek, one of the most iconic technology companies in Southeast Asia to build inclusive digital ecosystems for our customers."
Andre Soelistyo, head of Go-Jek, said the company is "too far forward" for beta-riding service delivery in Singapore.
"We know that people are desperate for more options in the industry and we believe we can meet this demand," Soelistyo said. "Since the start of the pre-registration process, the response from the driver community has been enormous and we believe that we will work with DBS to see the same level of enthusiasm for consumers."

domain: news


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The NexDock 2 has hit Kickstarter. The goal? To deliver a 13.1-inch laptop shell, NexDock lets you use your Android smartphone or Raspberry Pi as a laptop.
Meet the NVIDIA Jetson Nano, a $99 developer kit with support for Ubuntu 18.04, NVIDIA CUDA toolkit, and open-source machine learning tools like TensorFlow.
The Atari VCS release date has been pushed back to late 2019. The Linux-powered games console will now use an AMD Ryzen APU for better performance.
A new open source project aims to bring fully functional Ubuntu to ARM Windows 10 laptops, like the HP Envy X2, pictured above. A crop of Windows 10 laptops that run atop Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM […]
I dream of owning a proper Linux tablet, one running something like Ubuntu — and that dream just took a step closer to reality. Pine64 plan to release a 10-inch Linux tablet later this year […]
The Pinebook Pro is a new 64-bit ARM powered Linux laptop from computer makers Pine64. Priced at $199, the 14.1-inch laptop will run Linux.
Mmm, I can smell the sweet, sweet arrival of a brand new Raspberry Pi… The Raspberry Pi Foundation has unveiled the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ (also known simply as the CM3+), a sizeable update […]
A new version of the popular Dell XPS 13 developer edition laptop has gone on sale — and it’s powered by Ubuntu, naturally. The updated Dell XPS 13 developer edition is available to buy in the […]
British Linux computer company Entroware has unveiled its latest Linux-powered offering — and it’s something of a beast! The Entroware Hades is the company’s first workstation PC to offer AMD processors and multi-GPU configurations. The base […]
Is it too late to add stuff to my Christmas list? If not I’d love to find the latest Linux laptop from Spanish PC company Slimbook neatly wrapped and waiting for me under my not-so-neatly decorated Christmas […]
Do you dream of being able to use an Android phone as a Linux PC when connected to a big screen and full-size keyboard? If so, you’re gonna love Samsung. The South Korean tech giant […]
It just got way easier to install Ubuntu MATE on the GPD Pocket mini-laptops. Announced alongside the standard Ubuntu MATE 18.10 release, project lead Martin WImpress has unveiled a set of bespoke images built specifically […]


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The other day the German minister of justice, Heiko Maas, was asked in an interview how often he is using Google to crawl the Internet. His answer: "Everyday and in an exorbitant manner. Therefore, unfortunately, I am part of the problem." The way the Social Democrat was describing his digital behavior was shedding light on the uneasiness that descends upon Germans when using Google services -- whether it is the search engine, whether it is Gmail, Google Maps, Google Translate or anything else Google. The Internet giant has not only become ubiquitous. Google has become inescapable. When looking something up on the Internet, 90 percent of Germans are using Google -- that is significantly more than the worldwide average of roughly 70 percent. But Germans do it with remorse. They feel guilty.
Why? Because Google is associated with data mining, clandestine data transfer to government authorities, secret surveillance, disrespect of privacy, submissiveness against the NSA and so on. Google is the octopus of the Internet, swallowing up whatever it suits. That's at least the narrative. And in Germany -- it sticks.
After Heiko Maas had been complaining over his own digital footprint he began ruminating about possible consequences. If a company dominates a market by more than 90 percent, he said, and if this company is misusing its de-facto monopoly, antitrust authorities would be quick to react. "Then, as a last resort, breaking up (of Google) should be taken into consideration." Although Maas only echoed what the Minister of Economics and Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel had said earlier, now with the backing of the justice department Gabriels call has even more clout.
But is asking for breaking up of Google -- like it happened to AT&T or Standard Oil in the past century -- really the right thing to do? Is it not only the desperate answer to a trend that leaves many people clueless, irritated and even frantic? Moreover the debate about possible legal action against Google is giving the false impression that by imposing restrictions technological progress and advance could be stopped or at least rerouted.
It is true: The digital world is expanding at a speed that is breathtaking. The accomodation service Airbnb is killing hotel chains, the taxi service Uber is putting a squeeze on traditional cab services, Homejoy (a Google subsidiary) is trying to make conventional cleaning services obsolete and Facebook, Google and eBay (through their offspring Paypal) are even applying for bank licenses. Moreover: Market capitalization of many of the digital newbies are often easily outperforming traditional companies. The public is stunned by the fact that the market value of the web platform Airbnb is already bigger than that of the whole Hyatt hotel chain. Furthermore, Timotheus Hoettges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, recently was complaining that a company like WhatsApp (a few months ago acquired by Facebook for 19 billion dollars) is using Telekom infrastructure to virtually destroy a whole business area of Telekom -- the once profitable text messaging.
It seems though that what we see here is not the end of the story but only the beginning. If Jeremy Rifkin, economist, theorist and political adviser, is right, the digital age is going to reduce marginal cost in the production process to almost zero -- at least in a significant number of areas. Why? Because it makes not much of difference whether a webplatform like Uber is used by 100,000 or 1 million or 10 million people. Connecting things with the Internet increases productivity -- and at the same time rendering invalid business plans that lasted decades. And Google -- whether rightly or wrongly -- stands as its nasty symbol.
When Google earlier this year acquired Nest Labs -- a company that designs and manufactures sensor-driven thermostats and smoke detectors -- even the most naïve of observers realized what Google really wants to become: The key digital hub of the world. Whether you want to connect your refrigerator, your heating or your dish washer to your computer or smartphone you can and will do it through Google or one of its subsidiaries. This thinking is also behind the most recent acquisition of Google. For roughly half a billion dollars the company from Menlo Park bought Dropcam, manufacturer of cameras that wirelessly monitor everything from household appliances to cars and machines. This is a further step to grow the "Internet Of Things," the merging of the Internet and goods.
First, the digital economy has eaten up the traditional companies of the news media business through online websites, ebooks and Twitter. Then the music industry suffered from Internet downloads and iTunes. The same is true for movie companies. Next in line now is the energy sector, that will be fundamentally altered once the Internet will manage consumption and energy production. In the not-so-far future when 3D printing has improved we will reach the next level in that process. Consumers will turn into prosumers, as Rifkin says, because people will consume and produce at the same time. They already produce energy from their solar panels on the roofs of their houses, share and make news through Facebook and blogs and will be able to manufacture things with the help of 3D printers.
Now, with all that in mind the debate about Google easily gets aggressive and biased. The head of the mighty German publishing house Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, a couple of weeks ago even stated in an open letter to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, that he is in fear of Google. "Wir haben Angst vor Google," he wrote. In fact Springer, step by step, has sold his realm of print products keeping only a tiny number of newspapers. The publishing house turns into a digital media company -- but not entirely out of their free will. Like Springer many of the German media businesses have no alternative given the demise of "old media" due to the Internet and changing reading habits. But even going digital is not necessarily doing the trick -- and here comes Döpfner into play -- since companies like Google rule the Internet.
Döpfner is complaining that the secret algorithm, the news aggregation, the sheer dominance of Google makes publishers dependend on Google. Much of the traffic to their online products goes through the Google bottleneck. This means that Springer to a significant degree can not control by themselves what is happening on their websites -- but Google does. And if that was not enough, Google gets the clicks for free. They don't pay Springer or any other media business for the content they are using -- while the producer of the news can only hope that the user will not remain on the Google website but will be moving on to the original source. Only then Springer is paid by the currency of the Internet: Clicks, traffic and advertisement revenue.
In this emotionally-charged atmosphere voices that are trying to put reason first are having a hard time. Yes, Google is dominant -- but is there really proof that they are misusing their position in the market? Is Google driving out competitors the way Nelson Rockefeller of Standard Oil once did? And after all: Who is preventing consumers from using other search engines as Bing, Yahoo! or the French Qwant; other email providers which are still ample; or Mapquest instead of Google Maps? And is it really the job of antitrust authorities to rule that Google must also present search results from competing providers? The whole debate reminds of the court case against Microsoft when the company was accused of abusing their monopoly of the operating system Windows because they offered buyers only their own web browser Internet Explorer. But as a matter of fact: The decline of the Internet Explorer had more to do with its technological shortcomings and the strength of the competitors than with court decisions.
Granted: Google is not helping their own cause by avoiding paying taxes or by using every tax loophole they can find (even if somewhat legal), by not being transparent, by not taking part in debates about what they do. This arrogance (in stark contrast to their corporate motto "Don't be evil") makes them an easy target, much easier than they already are. Google has to understand that in Germany and in other parts of Europe they are not considered to be only an Internet company but a major part of American cultural and technological hegemony. In the age of Snowden, the almighty NSA and Big Brother, Google has to take these arguments and concerns very seriously.
Vice versa German politicians should be careful in waving with the big stick. Maybe Google is so dominant because they are simply better, more innovative and bolder than European companies. And maybe Europe painfully missed out on a number of chances in the digital world.


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Monday, March 23, 2009
sonny vandevelde via TFS
Well Rosemount Australian Fashion Week is five weeks away. With a jam-packed, star-studded 2008 event that was widely-touted as the "best-ever", combined with the current dire economic climate, could the Spring/Summer 0910 edition possibly live up to last year? Frankly, it's far too early to call. Those who followed my Fully Chic blog at NEWS.com.au this time last year will recall that Fully Chic blogged the SS0809 schedule as it was coming together. Frockwriter plans to do the same again. Judging by early bird calls out, a schedule is starting to take shape. Below you will find its bare bones, which consist of those who say their show dates and times are locked in, including several high profile names.
There is also a "TBC" list of brands whose reps say they will definitely show, but who do not yet have confirmed slots.
This draft schedule will be updated as we move forward.
In addition to news updates which will appear as solo posts, and as this post moves further down the page in the coming days/weeks, look for the RAFW UPDATED SCHEDULE button on the top right-hand side of this page. It will link straight through to the draft schedule.
The word on the street is that this will be a very different event - and one that may even be cut to four days. In the current environment, which has seen similar cuts to international show schedules, does anyone find that surprising?
That said, it's worth remembering that last year the Friday schedule came together at the last minute, with no less than Akira popping up as the RAFW closer. Frockwriter hears that one very cool Australian label may have already locked in a Friday timeslot. UPDATE 26/3: Anna & Boy say they are confirmed for Friday at 10.00am.
Difficult times call for different strategies and not only are several big names not showing, several publicists told frockwriter that they are deliberately concentrating on smaller show lists - out of concern that they might not be paid.
"It's going to be the battle of the publicists - with several big brands not showing, it's going to be interesting to see who steps up to the plate" noted one publicist.
Alex Perry is not showing at RAFW for the first time in the 14-year history of the event. According to Perry's office, the recent Queen Mary show was it for Perry for SS09.
Both Easton Pearson and Akira Isogawa are definitely out of the event, Isogawa making his decision as late as last week.
Leona Edmiston is showing off-schedule in the leadup to the event.
Josh Goot also looks to be a definite no-show.
Goot has just returned from London Fashion Week and, as we reported in October, is heading to Barcelona for the el Botón-MANGO Fashion Awards on April 29th. Goot is one of ten finalists competing for the rather spectacular prize purse of 300,000 euros.
As for TBCs, in spite of the financial predicament of her husband, Phillip Smouha, it may surprise some to hear that Lisa Ho is “absolutely” showing, according to her publicist Adam Worling, who is currently locking in dates.
Kate Sylvester, who made headlines at the event last year over her styling use of war medals, initially planned to do an off-schedule show in the RAFW leadup. These plans have now been shelved and Sylvester is currently mooting an on-schedule show, possibly on Wednesday 29th April, according to her spokeswoman Marie-Claude Mallat (now confirmed).
Sass & bide, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is currently mooting some kind of presentation (now confirmed). Ditto Tina Kalivas, Alice McCall, in addition to another big brand.
So check back in for more updates - also on the model front.
Myf Shepherd (pictured above), who turns 18 on April 8, may be back in town which would be great news for the event.
After being scouted by Chic Management early last year, and walking in the David Jones AW08 show, the Australia's Next Top Model reject made her main runway debut at RAFW 2008.
Shepherd went on to become a major new face at the Resort 2009 shows in New York, followed by the four-city, SS09 ready-to-wear season, the SS09 haute couture shows in Paris and most recently, the FW0910 season, in which, as we reported two weeks ago, Shepherd walked in an impressive 62 shows.
Last week Shepherd also enjoyed a cameo in New York Magazine's The Cut blog, which revealed that Shepherd would appear in a 12-page editorial spread shot by Matthias Vriens in the April edition of Numéro (and here are some of the shots). Now comes word that Shepherd may have also just bagged the Benetton FW0910 campaign.
Click here to see Shepherd's hilarious $60 shopping challenge on Modelinia, whose embed code doesn't appear to be working (tks Hot Caviar for the headsup).
So which other Oz model hatchlings could be route out of the nest for a first airing at this RAFW?
Watch this space.
TUESDAY MARCH 31ST
15.00 Leona Edmiston, The Rose Garden, Botanical Gardens
WEDNESDAY APRIL 15TH
18.30 Cheap Monday Customised Denim Tour/S/S Preview Event, Boutwell Draper Gallery
TUESDAY APRIL 21ST
NAC Collective, Luxe Studios (all day)
Showings of SS09190 collections from: Tommy Hilfiger, Nina Maya, Adidas by Stella McCartney, Camper, RM Williams, OPSM, Sunglass Hut, Mezi Jewellery.
19.00 Toni Maticevski 2008-2009 Limited Editions, The Ivy Ballroom
THURSDAY APRIL 23RD
18.30 vogue.com.au/Absolut Vodka event
SUNDAY APRIL 26TH
19.00 Friedrich Gray, UTS Atrium
MONDAY 27TH APRIL
10.00 camilla and marc, the OPT
11.00 Bec & Bridge, Cargo Theatre
12.30 Ginger & Smart, the OPT
15.30 Arnsdorf, Cargo Theatre
17.00 Wayne Cooper, the OPT
18.00 Therese Rawsthorne, Cargo Theatre
19.00 Nicola Finetti, the OPT
TUESDAY 28TH APRIL
09.00 Dion Lee, off-site
10.00 Zimmermann, the OPT
11.00 Manning Cartell
12.30 Zambesi, the OPT
17.00 Ant!podium, the OPT
20.00 Diet Coke show, Cargo Theatre
21.00 Ellery, off-site
WEDNESDAY 29TH APRIL
09.00 Konstantina Mittas, Cargo Theatre
10.00 Kate Sylvester, the OPT
11.00 Aurelio Costarella, Cargo Theatre
15.30 Marnie Skillings, Cargo Theatre
17.00 TV, the OPT
18.00 Jayson Brundson, Cargo Theatre
20.00 Kirrily Johnston, the OPT
20.30 Willow, Carthona House
THURSDAY 30TH APRIL
09.00 Romance Was Born, Sydney Theatre Company
10.00 Lisa Ho, the OPT
11.00 Beat Poet, Cargo Theatre
12.30 The Innovators (Fashion Design Studio), the OPT
15.30 Sara Phillips, Cargo Theatre
17.00 Gary Bigeni, the OPT
19.30 Karla Spetic, the OPT
20.30 sass & bide, off-site
FRIDAY 1ST MAY
09.00 Christopher Esber, off-site
10.00 Anna & Boy, Rosemount Bar
12.30 Michael Lo Sordo, the OPT
17.00 Fernando Frisoni (closing)
TBC SOLO PRESENTATIONS (confirmed - but unsure of date/time)
The Cassette Society
Gail Sorronda + Dhini double show
GROUP SHOW DESIGNERS
Christian Lines (Fashion Design Studio)
Seema Pun (Fashion Design Studio)
Soeli Pedrozo (Fashion Design Studio)
Rachel Sherwood (Fashion Design Studio)
Saint Augustine Academy (Ready To Wear)
SU (Ready to Wear)
- ► 2013 (66)
- ► 2012 (115)
- ► 2011 (153)
- ► 2010 (330)
- RAFW ditches the Big Top
- Guns n poses
- Aurelio Costarella and Willow ditch NYFW for RAFW
- The Sartorialist heading to RAFW
- sass & bide returns to RAFW, opens five new stores...
- RAFW SS0910: The Recessionista edition
- Carine Roitfeld on CNN Revealed
- Prêt-à-Twitter: LMFF Marketing Breakfast
- I, Fashion Robot
- Romancing the Woolmark
- A. K. G. Nair, fashion savant
- Girl with a gong
- Fleur Wood pulls 160 rabbits out of her hat
- Fashion from the vault
- McQueen's garbo couture
- Is Olivier Zahm the new Michael Hutchence?
- In a Wordle: [frockwriter]
- The Fall girls
- Things not going better with coke in Paris - espec...
- Tallulah says NO
- Prêt-à-Twitter: First word on Balenciaga
- Gareth Pugh FW0910 live blog
- Dolce e Gabbana FW0910 live
- Kane and able
- Prada goes to war
- Killer heels II - Abbey Lee Kershaw bows out of FW...
- ▼ March 2009 (26)
- ► 2008 (229)


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Sango Pharmacy recently held its annual Holiday Open House. “We host an open house a couple of times a year,” said owner Catherine Meeks. “We always like to do the holiday version on the Saturday before Thanksgiving,” said Meeks, who took a few moments to talk about the store and what sets it apart. “We have a lot of great seasonal items and gift ideas. That is one of the things we have really been able to expand upon since we moved to this location. Now we have a much larger gift selection, and we try to offer a lot of merchandise that our customers can’t find anywhere else. In that way, I think we really add something unique to the community.” Sango Pharmacy offers lots of “buy one get one” 50% deals. They also do a “draw your own discount” at the register offer that customers really enjoy. “We like to feature as many products as possible that are made in America,” Meeks said. “We especially like to use local vendors and artisans. Tennessee Grassfed is one of our partners. They are here every Saturday. You may pre-order from them and then use our store as a pickup point. They also bring a selection of their products.” “We encourage people to visit us and not just for prescriptions,” said Meeks. “We are so much more than a pharmacy, and it’s worth a trip across town to come visit us. Check us out and see what we have.” For more photos from this event & many others, visit our Digital Issue.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Green Packet Bhd staged a turnaround in its financial performance with net profit of RM18.84m in the first quarter ended March 31,2021, boosted by its investment segment.
In a statement on Monday, the net profit for 1Q21 was in contrast with loss after tax of RM35.31mil a year ago.
On a quarterly basis, it recorded a profit compared to a loss after tax of RM17.25mil in 4QFY20.
Commenting on the turnaround, Green Packet said the net profit for 1Q21 was on the back of a positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM21.52mil in 1Q21 compared with loss of RM28.25mil in 1Q20.
Green Packet’s revenue dipped by 3% to RM142.71mil from RM147.05mil. Earnings per share were 1.6 sen compared with loss per share of 3.6 sen.
“This was mainly due to lesser devices shipment from the digital infrastructure & devices segment, which was impacted by the shortage of chipsets in the global market due to unprecedented demands that arose from the increasing norm of working from home and global online learning trends during the Covid-19 pandemic, ” it said.
Green Packet said it also enhanced its pioneering business model and 4.0 strategy with a comprehensive and complementary business growth strategy focusing on the digital arena.
Under their Green Packet 5.0 growth strategy plan in 2021 and moving forward, Green Packet reorganised its business segments into five key business pillars to reflect its holistic end-to-end digital technology solutions suite.
They are (1) smart devices (formerly solutions) pillar and (2) smart city, urban tech and hyperscale data centre pillar -- which are under its digital infrastructure and devices segment.
The other pillars are (3) cloud & enterprise services pillar (includes former communication pillar); (4) digital & financial services pillar. Both are under the digital services segment.
On the investment pillar, they captures both early- and late-stage investment arms in alignment with group’s growth strategy.
Green Packet said the group’s digital infrastructure & devices segment recorded a lower loss after tax (LAT) of RM1.79mil compared to RM3.15mil a year ago.
Its digital services segment’s LAT was lower at RM4.47mil versus RM4.72mil a year ago.
Its Investment segment recorded a PAT of RM43.74mil compared to a LAT of RM5.1mil a year ago.
Green Packet group managing director and CEO CC Puan said: “Our internal business transformation and structure under GP 5.0 is key in driving our performance in 2021 and moving forward.
“We are laser-focused on implementation and I am pleased that we have started our first quarter strongly.”
Puan said the group will ensure the pioneering business sub-segments continue to operate smoothly and profitably while benefitting from the future growth of catalytic projects derived from new growth areas.
Green Packet said the communication sub-segment will focus on implementing operational efficiency, high margin route and expansion into untapped markets, while the Smart Devices sub-segment will target on enhancing 4G and 5G products.
It will also continue pursuing investments in high margin digital services to position for future growth and engage in strategic partnerships to offer comprehensive platforms and applications in IAAS, PaaS and SaaS.
This is further strengthened by eKYC solutions under Xendity, its partnership with Tencent Cloud, which is targeted to begin operations in 4Q21, and greater focus on its Hyperscale Data Centre to complete the digital services segment’s end-to-end journey.
Green Packet said the investment segment has its co-creation venture capital arm, KipleX, focusing on early-stage investments in start-ups that use digital technologies and innovations to improve livelihoods.
Green Packet’s late-stage private equity arm, Green Packet Capital, has also been established to focus on strategic investment and acquisitions that are favourable to the Group’s growth strategies and direction.


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Returnal is a “mega-hit” in the eyes of Sony, according to the newly updated PlayStation Studios page on their official website.
Search Results for PS5 games
People Can Fly has previewed the new Outriders update patch notes, confirming major buffs are in store.
The creator behind the Alice games has said he’d like to get a new game off the ground with publisher EA, with plans for Alice: Asylum already outlined.
Want some extra GTA$? Then log in and play GTA Online from today until August 1 and you can claim GTA$250,000!
TennoCon 2021 saw a bunch of Warframe franchise records broken as players flocked to the game and Twitch for the interactive event.
The creator of the original Dead Space has revealed that he’s ‘excited’ to see what the Dead Space remake team come up with.
The Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart update 1.002.001 patch notes have been revealed by Insomniac Games.
Check out the new Tales of Arise character trailer, which introduces Rinwell! The JRPG is hitting PS5 and PS4 in September 2021.
The Chivalry 2 update 1.03 patch notes have been unveiled by Torn Banner Studios.
The Destiny 2 update 2.25 patch notes have been revealed by Bungie. Find out what this latest Destiny 2 hotfix does here.


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BACK in mid-September, southern Queensland works had at least three weeks kill in front of them which meant that October, with 22 regular working days, was going to be a big month.
That has proven to be the case with latest Department of Agriculture figures showing 113,719 tonnes of beef exported for the month.
That represents an increase of 8000t or 8pc on previous month and almost 15,000t or 15pc on same month last year.
This makes October the second biggest monthly tonnage this year close behind the 115,000t recorded in July.
It also brings to seven the number of months that tonnage has exceeded 100,000t this year.
Not surprisingly progressive tonnage has already exceeded the 1million tonne mark with two months of the year still to run.
With this progressive count representing a 7.5pc increase on last year it is likely that the full year result will come in around 1.2m tonnes.
While all that is very good from the perspective of economic multiplier and flow-on effects, it does come at a price.
That price very obviously is the alarming diminution of the national herd through highly elevated female cattle slaughterings and the consequential shortage of slaughter cattle that will result in the months and years ahead.
In fact we may already be starting to feel the effects with September's three-week lead time suddenly shortening to just a week and over-the-hooks prices in southern and central Queensland spiking by 40c/kg DW ($140/head on a 350kg bullock) in the last weeks of October.
But what Australia is currently experiencing is just one part of an emerging worldwide beef supply shortage as MLA's US-based contract analyst, Steiner Consulting, summed up in their report last week.
"There is a fair amount of panic among beef buyers both in North America and Asia at this time.
"The dramatic shortfall in China meat protein supplies points to ever increasing demand in that market at a time when global supply growth is extremely limited.
There is a fair amount of panic among beef buyers both in North America and Asia at this time. The dramatic shortfall in China meat protein supplies points to ever increasing demand in that market at a time when global supply growth is extremely limited.
"Beef production in markets that currently supply China is vulnerable to weather events and government policies.
"Facing increasing risks to their supply chains, buyers have escalated their efforts to obtain coverage, reflected in recent price action."
In particular, Steiner notes the political and seasonal factors playing out in China's biggest supplier, Argentina, and third largest supplier, Uruguay.
Figures from China Customs to September this year show imports from Argentina at 217,000t, almost 100,000t or 83pc up on last year and surpassing previous market leader Brazil.
This came about as a result of liberalisation of Argentina's economy and removal of export controls by the Macri government in 2015 and a subsequent period of herd and production growth.
But the political landscape changed dramatically last Sunday with the defeat of Mr Macri and return of the populist Peronist party which has ruled Argentina for all but six of the past 30 years.
Because of their known support for interventionist and pro-worker policies, this Peronist leap to the left threatens a return to higher taxes and export controls.
At issue is the 40,000t/month China currently buys from Argentina and just what the alternatives are should that threat materialise.
Uruguay's situation is perhaps more pressing for China as it is a case of rapidly expanding exports at the same time that production is flat.
To September this year, China has progressively raised its Uruguayan beef imports to 193,000t which represents 65pc of that country's total beef exports.
However instead of the usual seasonal increase in slaughter levels in the last quarter, supply is diminishing because of good moisture levels and prospects of a strong market ahead.
Cow slaughter in the last month is 44pc lower than a year ago.
With the pressure this will place on domestic channels there is real concern over the amount of supply that will be available for shipment to China from Uruguay.
This uncertainty about South American supply outlook is seen as a likely reason why China will remain a strong influence in Australia and New Zealand, markets which traditionally are large volume suppliers into the US.
For most of this year market participants in the US have had to deal with the reduced volume of available frozen product in these markets brought about by China's buying activity.
But now it is really starting to bite.
It is suddenly all too apparent that China's unrelenting demand for beef is likely to be confronted by supply constraints in a number of its larger source countries.
In consequence, the level of concern in the US about supply availability in the first quarter next year has stepped up to the point that the price of frozen imported 90CL lean grinding beef is now escalating on a daily basis.
In the space of a week, Australian/NZ 90CL blended cow jumped US$16/cwt (100lbs) to US$265/cwt FOB US East Coast. That is a rise of US$76/cwt on last year.
If my maths is correct US$16/cwt equates to around AU$510/tonne and US$265/cwt to around AU$8450/tonne, an increase of more than AU$2400 on this time last year.
Good news it seems for those with fat cows to sell but also a portent for the processing sector that no amount of money will maintain cow supply once it rains.
Rain reduces cow offering
While the best of last week's rain in NSW was in the central/north of the state, there was sufficient in the south to markedly affect the weekly opening market at Wagga on Monday.
Recent yardings of around 1400 cows fell to under 600 with heavyweights just holding to a shade easier at an average of 253c/kg.
In southern and central Queensland supply of slaughter cattle has tightened to the point where works have only a week or so in front.
The central/southern Queensland freight differential has disappeared and grids remain on 600c/kg for 4-tooth ox and 500c for heavy cow following rises for the last two weeks.


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In a significant development in the realm of food safety and standards, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken a proactive step to re-operationalize the Food Safety Standards related to labeling and display. This move carried out under Section 18 (2)(d) read with Section 16(5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, brings to light the FSSAI’s commitment to ensuring the quality and safety of food products in the Indian market.
Here’s a closer look at the key points of this directive:
The FSSAI had earlier framed draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Amendment Regulations 2022. These regulations were put into effect through a directive dated 17.06.2022. They aimed to address various aspects of labeling requirements, especially concerning non-retail containers, minimally processed food, tolerance limits, and warning statements related to products like pan masala.
Recognizing the importance of stakeholder input, the FSSAI notified these draft regulations on 30.11.2022, allowing a 60-day window for comments and feedback from stakeholders. This inclusive approach sought to gather insights and perspectives to ensure comprehensive and effective regulations.
Due to the need for further refinement, considering the comments received and the legal vetting process, the finalization of these draft regulations was anticipated to take some additional time. To maintain regulatory continuity and uphold food safety standards, the FSSAI has re-operationalized the provisions of these draft amendment regulations. This re-operationalization is effective from 01.01.2023.
The FSSAI’s actions underscore its dedication to enhancing food safety and ensuring that food products meet stringent quality and labeling standards. This move not only reflects the authority’s responsiveness to the evolving needs of the food industry but also its commitment to protecting the interests of consumers. As the final amendment regulations take shape, stakeholders can look forward to a more robust framework for labeling and display standards, which will ultimately benefit both the industry and the public.


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Bright spot among the gloom for TV ads
The outlook for the $2.8 billion metropolitan free-to-air TV advertising market remains subdued, despite a better than expected result for the first half of the year.
KPMG figures out last week showed that the metropolitan TV ad market shrank by 1.9 per cent from January to June.
Channel Seven picked up the lion's share with 40 per cent, Nine with 34.45 per cent and Ten trailed with 25.5 per cent, according to figures released by FreeTV. But the KPMG figure surprised some analysts; Goldman Sachs had pegged the half to contract by 5.1 per cent and figures from researcher SMI, which tracks the advertising booked through media agencies, had the half down at 2.4 per cent.
Goldman is now revising its forecast for the current financial year to be up 1.7 per cent, once the Olympics is stripped out, though it added in a note to clients: ''While this is relatively modest we remain cognisant of the subdued ad market conditions, as well as the uncertainty and 'shortness' in the ad market flagged by broadcasters.''
Seven's director of sales Kurt Burnette said the second half of the year was ''showing some promise''. Speaking about the results he said: ''It was about where we thought it would be.''
He acknowledged that the current quarter would be tough as the Olympics sucked advertising out of the market but thereafter it was looking up, though he could not be drawn into specifics as Seven is in closed season.
''We are feeling good about the [next] half but that is based on what we are seeing.''
While there was still plenty of short-term activity by advertisers, especially around the Olympics, few advertisers were committing short term, preferring, as Mr Burnette said, to be ''talking long-term''.
Nine, meanwhile, has continued to deny reports that it is failing to fill spots in its Olympics advertising schedule, and that it may fall short of its revenue target by tens of millions of dollars.


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Hong Kong – To celebrate the eSports and Music Festival, the city’s tourism board has released a video campaign that gamifies its streets.
The video transforms the city into a e-sports battlefield using computer renderings, combining its signature neon signs and skyscrapers with elements from real games. The campaign runs alongside Hong Kong’s dedicated eSports & Music Festival, and aims to introduce a new type of eSports tourist to the city.
‘eSports has become one of the most popular entertainment [forms] for the next generation. As a trendy city, Hong Kong has always introduced new forms of experiences to locals and travellers alike. That’s why this city is the perfect place for this sporting event,’ Tina Chao, general manager of marketing at Hong Kong Tourism Board says.


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At least the iPhone paperweight-ification is optional; owners of hacked iPhones can stay with an outdated release of the system software...
Some hackers had characterized Apple's warning as "a scare tactic." Despite Apple's history of playing cat-and-mouse games with hackers in the past, company officials insisted they were "not proactively" trying to make hacked iPhones useless.
It was unclear how many iPhone owners had unlocked their phones, but the programs — including several that can be downloaded for free — appeared to be particularly popular with European consumers. Apple isn't selling the iPhone in Europe until November, so the unlocking software allowed Europeans who bought iPhones in the United States to use the $399 devices.
Installing Apple's latest iPhone update is optional.


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With US-led trade skirmishes opening up on multiple fronts, it’s natural to wonder if the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is in jeopardy. Here, Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Solutions’ Stephen Lingard explains why he thinks NAFTA is not likely to be canceled—at least not outright.
As 2018 has progressed, we’ve seen global trade conditions continue to deteriorate. China recently announced tariffs of 25% on more than 100 US products in retaliation to earlier announced US steel and aluminum product tariffs and the threat of additional ones. Also, Donald Trump’s administration has said it plans to invoke Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, which could significantly increase the number of products and trade subject to higher tariffs to the tune of $100 billion.
With trade skirmishes opening up on multiple fronts, we think the United States may feel increased pressure to get a NAFTA deal done ahead of this summer.1 That’s when the Mexican presidential election and US mid-term election campaigning will be in full swing. Otherwise, the United States risks attempting to win a trade war on multiple fronts, which tends to end badly if history is any guide.
We’ve already seen the United States drop one of its more contentious demands during a recent round of NAFTA negotiations that called for 50% of auto components to be made in the country. This demand was a “non-starter” for the Canadian and Mexican auto industries. Perhaps this concession signals a US desire to get a NAFTA deal done soon so the country can turn its attention to the real elephant in the room on trade—China.
Impact on the Canadian Economy and Markets
On the other hand, in the event NAFTA goes away there is a probability that trade could revert to the 1989 US-Canada bilateral free trade deal, which shares similar trade rules with NAFTA in many areas. In our view, this possibility can’t be ruled out. It seems to us that Trump likes to negotiate bilaterally and has so far eschewed multi-lateral trade or other policies.
The economic impact of reverting to the previous US-Canada trade deal would be minimal in theory. However, investment would likely be held back until more certainty emerges.
There is also a small probability that if NAFTA dies, trade would revert to World Trade Organization rules. Under this agreement, tariffs on most products could rise to around 4%, although select products could have tariffs of 25% or more.


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2017 was a year of plenty for gamers, but not even a year such as this could fill in all the gaps in the marketplace. Among the revival of 3D platformers and the hit parade coming out of Japan, fans of arcadey racing games are still waiting for their turn. Sure, there have been a few scattered entries in the genre, but none have really captured the magic of Burnout or F-Zero. When even top competitors like Need for Speed are stalling at the starting line, it leaves the door wide open for a small game to swoop in and remind everyone about why the genre matters. Maybe Antigraviator is going to be that game.
Developed by a Belgian team known as Cybernetic Walrus and published by Iceberg Interactive, Antigraviator looks to be one of several games hoping to pick up where Wipeout left off. The teaser trailer shows sleek hovercars known as Gravs blasting through the loops and bank turns of the game's twelve tracks. It also showcases some vehicle customization, which consists of free skin choices as well as part upgrades that can affect a Grav's performance. Skins, Gravs, and parts are unlockable in the game's single-player campaign, and the game also supports local four-player couch co-op and a full online multiplayer suite.
Of course, what would a futuristic racing game be without some combat? Antigraviator features track hazards that are triggered by racers in the heat of the moment. The developers mention options ranging from activating hover mines and missile launchers all the way to triggering rockslides and collapsing tunnels a la Split/Second. There is certainly some untapped potential in the "Interactive Track" department, and we can only hope that Cybernetic Walrus are creative enough to take advantage of that.
Originally Antigraviator was on Kickstarter back in April of this year, but the campaign failed to gain much traction. However, Cybernatic Walrus was able to get Iceberg Interactive on board to publish the game to continue bringing the game to life. Iceberg Interactive CEO Erik Schreuder spoke a bit about how Antigraviator fits their portfolio, “We’re huge science-fiction fans, as you might have guessed from our portfolio. A futuristic racing game definitely fits the bill for us and we couldn’t be more excited to publish Antigraviator.”
The game has been developed on Unity, and is aiming for a mid-year 2018 release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam.
Are you looking forward to Antigraviator? What's your favorite futuristic racing game of all time? Let us know in the comments below!


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WeAre8, the sustainable social media app, has launched its first Australian marketing campaign as the company plans to expand into New Zealand.
The social media app, which pays users to watch ads and donates 60% of its revenue to social and environmental causes, has launched its first consumer marketing activity and revealed local celebrity “change makers” who will add from content and influence to application. .
WeAre8 Australia CEO Lizzie Young told The Drum the campaign is targeting an audience she calls “champions of optimistic change” to attract up to 2 million Australians to the app.
“There are 2 million people in Sydney and Melbourne who are part of our identified segment of ‘optimistic change champions’. These are early adopters, university students and parents with young children. Our initial goal is to convert some of those 2 million people to the platform as quickly as possible.”
“It’s too early to talk about how we’re going against this, but the curve is going in the right direction every day,” Young says.
WeAre8, launching in Australia on August 8, following its UK launch in April, aims “to be good for the planet, hate-free, put money in your wallet and celebrate and stand up for the well in the world in just eight minutes a day.”
It’s the brainchild of Sue Fennessy, the Australian-born, London-based tech entrepreneur who founded Standard Media Index (SMI). The mission is to create a positive social media environment and revolutionize the $450 billion digital advertising market with an effective, efficient and transparent model.
Fennessy has enlisted Young, a media veteran who left her role as managing director of local markets and group marketing at Nine Entertainment Company, to head up the Australian operation.
A unique win-win model
WeAre8’s model pays users – or citizens as WeAre8 calls them – to see ads and answer a few questions about them for eight minutes a day. Citizens can use the money they earn from watching the ads to invest in charities or causes through the app or keep the money for themselves, ‘there’s no judgment,’ says Young.
The app partners with groups and organizations (it calls them impact partners) in eight different areas: climate equality, poverty, health, peace, water, education and development. animal wellbeing.
The ad model means brands only pay for a fully completed video view, so there’s zero waste and high engagement. WeAre8 Australia launched with nine brands already on board: Suncorp, SBS, Dove, Rexona, Omo, Virgin Australia Airlines, Nature’s Own, Coles and Telstra, and Young says more announcements are imminent.
“We ask brands to pass 6.5% of their social media spend to us, but it’s risk-free because we only charge them for a fully completed video view,” Young says.
“We’re asking brands to give us the opportunity to demonstrate what we can do in an environment that does the right thing for people and the planet. There’s no waste for brands either. from a financial perspective, because we only charge when the video view is fully completed. We can guarantee engagement and attention and that’s important for brands.”
“We had nine launch partners, who we spoke to about the fact that we were starting, not from scratch in Australia, because we had organic citizen growth on the platform, but definitely a very small audience. But their point of view was that they wanted to be there from the start and grow with us, and I think that’s because there’s no risk for a brand.
WeAre8 reports a 98% sign-up rate for the ad and a 100% view rate. In terms of ongoing engagement, WeAre8 has a 37% click-through rate. Young notes a case study for Nike UK, which received 180,000 free-text responses to the ad.
So what’s the problem ?
The biggest challenge for WeAre8 is scale. The success of the model relies on people working efficiently, and the more the better. Australia has the highest social media penetration in the world, with 82.7% of Australians using some form of social media at least once a day, so getting people to start using another platform could be s prove difficult.
“Absolutely the biggest challenge is citizen growth, converting people and getting them to add to their existing social media repertoire,” Young says. “There are 21 million Australians on social media platforms, and they spend an average of 90 minutes a day. Our view is that we want to be part of that repertoire, so you can go hang out in the metaverse or learn a dance on Tik Tok, you can tweet on Twitter, but you’re changing the real world on WeAre8.
“We try to take a small chunk of the time people spend on social media daily and ask them to dedicate it to WeAre8 because here they have the power to change the world. Just by coming to see us for eight minutes a day, the money automatically goes back to climate solutions and causes that matter to help solve some of the Australian community’s biggest social problems.”
WeAre8 is already a BCorp and currently donates 60% of its revenue to people and the planet. Its citizens are following its lead, with 54% donating their income to the app’s impact partners.
As the cost of living rises and people face increased pressure on their living expenses, Young is keen for WeAre8 to help. She wants to forge partnerships with supermarkets, telecom operators and utility companies to help WeAre8 citizens with the cost of living. The company already has an agreement with UK telco EE where people can use their WeAre8 wallet to pay their mobile phone bills.
Content is still king
Although scale is a significant barrier, WeAre8 also relies on good quality content to retain its citizens. To help fuel this, WeAre8 enlisted local celebrities and influencers to create content and help migrate their existing social media followers to the sustainable app.
Australian AFL legend, former Australian of the Year and Indigenous lawyer Adam Goodes, ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter Adrian Eagle, author, climate adviser and founder of the global program I Quit Sugar Sarah Wilson, Maori artist Stan Walker and new Yellow Wiggles Tsehay Hawkins all logged into the app.
Young says these changemakers and their many followers are key factors in attracting the target audience. The marketing campaign will seek the rest through outdoor, audio and streaming radio, television, video on demand, online video, street posters on recycled paper and chalk from street in high traffic locations such as college campuses. Marketing does not include any paid social channels.
“It’s all about the content,” Young continues. “It’s one thing to bring people there, but we need them to come back every day. That’s what our model is based on. We want to be habitual but not a habit. We want people only stay eight minutes because we think it’s healthy, but we need it every day because that daily rhythm is their ability to make an impact.”
“That means you need to have a great content strategy, so we’re currently working with people from the creative community across photography, arts, culture, music and the full range of creative industries to put in place creative advice We also have a creative fund where we redirect 5% of our revenue to the creative economy, for promising creators who need a funded project or have an idea, we want to help them get it done for help create content that is engaging and interesting.”
Expansion strategy: Next stop NZ
Hot on the heels of the Australian launch, Young says she is looking across the divide to New Zealand as the next launch market.
“It’s early days, obviously, but we’re seeing positive signs of citizen growth, creators coming to the platform and brands. Our ambition is to launch in New Zealand as quickly as possible. Then we’ll go in America, Canada, then Southeast Asia early next year.”
WeAre8 has big ambitions. “On a global level, we will be very happy to reach the one million citizen mark, it will be a big hurdle to reach.”


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Overwatch has had a toxicity problem since day one. I suppose that is nothing surprising for an online game, but it has been around for long enough now that everyone thinks they're an expert with a deep understanding of the meta. It can get heated when a discussion (flaming) happens around suggesting (demanding) players switch heroes.
Thankfully, the game is taking a big step next week to fight the toxicity. In a talk with PCGamesN, director Jeff Kaplan announced starting this week, if you report a player, you will get a notification in game if action is taken because of it. He explains:
If you've reported somebody and they've gotten actioned you'll be notified in-game. We've done a pilot program where we were experimenting sending emails to people. As of that Winter Wonderland patch we'll have the technology to do it directly in the game. Hopefully that restores some of people's faith in the system and then they use it more.
On top of this, players who are close to some kind of punitive action will get a warning encouraging them to just be cool for like a second.
While this is hardly going to stop toxicity all together, it will likely encourage players to use the report feature more often as there will actually be a back and forth dialogue instead of it feeling like throwing a bottle into the sea. Here's hoping it helps.


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Oh rumor mill, please don’t let it be true that Verizon is interested in buying Netflix.
The report from DealReporter, via Deadline, has sent Netflix’s stock price soaring. That’s great news for Netflix shareholders, but potentially terrible news for Netflix customers.
(MORE: Netflix Reveals New Mindset, New Competition and New Friends)
Netflix is currently available on smartphones, tablets, game consoles, televisions, set-top boxes and computers, regardless of who’s providing the internet service. The obvious concern with a Verizon-owned Netflix is that the service could be limited in some way to Verizon’s own subscribers, whether it’s through Verizon Wireless on phones and tablets, or through Verizon’s home internet service.
Of course, an acquisition would be subject to regulatory scrutiny, and it’s possible that the FCC would make Netflix maintain the status quo of supporting lots of devices on any internet service provider–at least for a few years. But even then, Netflix could change for the worse.
Netflix, you see, is a disruptor of traditional television services. The company’s not interested in propping up old business models such as cable television and pay-per-view video, and so it has aggressively pursued more content, often going up against other media companies to do so. Netflix successfully bid against HBO and AMC for the upcoming series House of Cards, and struck a deal with 20th Century Fox to bring back Arrested Development. It has beefed up its movie catalog so that bored couch potatoes don’t have to pay for on-demand movies through their cable boxes. Why would a Verizon-owned Netflix spend millions on content deals when it’s better off letting established media companies take on those expenses? After all, there’s no business lost if customers hang onto their Verizon TV subscriptions to get that content.
If Verizon wants to get into streaming video, I’d much rather see the company build a service with Redbox, as rumored. Creating a competitive service to Netflix would take a lot of work, including investment in content and a push onto phones, tablets and game consoles. The choice of an alternative service would be good for consumers. Buying Netflix itself–a service that’s already dominant–would too easily lead to complacency by Verizon. Let’s hope this scuttlebutt goes away.


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Today is National Wear Day and to celebrate Macy’s stores are offering a 20% discount to shoppers who wear red in-store. In addition to wearing red in-store, shoppers can take advantage of the discount online with coupon code WEARRED. Macy’s is also offering 10% off of sale merchandise.
Wearing red is a great way to increase awareness and help the fight against heart disease. The American Heart Association’s mission is to build healthier lives which are free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. By purchasing Go Red items a portion of your purchase goes directly to the American Heart Association to help in the fight against heart disease.
Macy’s is offering 20% off to shoppers who wear red between February 2-6 in-store. Macy’s also has a large selection of Go Red items for sale in-store as well as online.
Happy shopping, wear red and stay fabulous
I.N.C.dress at Macy’s for Go Red. Photo: Macy’s


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City Furniture, Ashley open Boca Raton superstore
- Susan R. Miller
Tamarac-based City Furniture opened a 93,680-square-foot superstore showroom on Thursday in Boca Raton that it touts as “innovative and green.”
The store houses both City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore showrooms under one roof at 3350 Airport Road.
It is built to LEED-certified standards and could be the first furniture store in the region to achieve that status if it is awarded. Only a few stores nationwide have achieved that status.
The $11 million complex features rooftop solar tubes and LED lighting inside and out. It also has water efficiency features, including an irrigation system designed to use 78 percent less water, and dual-flush toilets and low-flow urinals expected to use 42 percent less water.
Design features include walls paneled with reclaimed wood and natural stone feature walls. The facility was built by Stiles and designed by Garcia Stromberg.
“Building green is a natural extension of our corporate values and sustainable practices,” City Furniture President Keith Koenig said in a news release. “Going forward, we’ll look to achieve LEED certification in every location where that’s doable.”
Koenig said the project generated more than 200 construction jobs, and 50 retail jobs were created.
The opening comes at a time when retailers are beginning to become bullish again.
However, that hasn’t been the case in the last few years. He said City Furniture suffered a 40 percent drop in revenue from 2006 to 2009.
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Ikea India, Will Beside Brand Building, To Focus On e-Commerce, and Explore Store Formats To Sell Products..
The Swedish furniture retailer Ikea will follow a three-step retail strategy in India, Ikea India Pvt. Ltd chief executive Juvencio Maeztu said.
The first priority is to build the brand in India through large-format stores, said Maeztu, adding that this is important for companies that place a huge emphasis on the so-called touch-and-feel aspect of retailing.
The next step will be e-commerce, but “always over the base of an Ikea store,” he added.
The third step will be to experiment with new formats. “In other parts of the world, you have smaller sized stores, a pop-up store, or different concepts that we are exploring and trying,” said Maeztu on the sidelines of a workshop organized by the company in Bengaluru. The company has identified 49 Indian cities where it wants to set up physical stores….
Continue to read…


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Even without high fuel costs, companies in today's global environment are spending more on transportation. Federal Express notes that most companies now spend in the range of 10 percent of their revenues on shipping, up substantially from 2 to 4 percent a decade ago.
That's partly because far more companies are importing and exporting these days. A FedEx survey shows that about half the companies polled expect significant increases in their imports and exports over the next three years, while only 5% expect them to decline. A dominant 80 percent of respondents say cost savings from imports have at least somewhat met their expectations. http://www.fedex.com/
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is


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The Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry into The Reader's Digest Association's telemarketing practices, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Reader's Digest late Monday.
Reader's Digest received a letter from the FTC inquiring whether the company complies with the national no-call registry as well as rules governing negative-option transactions and unordered merchandise, according to the document.
The FTC last year enacted more restrictive rules for negative-option marketing, in which consumers are offered a free trial and billed unless they opt out by a specified date, in response to consumer complaints that they were receiving charges for items and services they did not agree to buy.
“The FTC letter states that the inquiry follows consumer complaints,” Reader's Digest stated in the document. “The letter makes no specific assertion of any wrongdoing by us.”
Reader's Digest said its legal counsel reviews its marketing practices in advance and that it would cooperate with the FTC. According to the document, the inquiry is in its preliminary stages.
The FTC and Federal Communications Commission, which jointly enforce the no-call list, both have started investigations based on consumer complaints of telemarketing calls that violate the list. Neither agency has issued fines yet, though the FCC has issued eight citations, most recently to Mortgage Concepts Inc., New Smyrna Beach, FL.


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South African wine exports to China are increasing rapidly, having reached 11 million litres in 2014. The Western Cape is driving a focused strategy as part of Project Khulisa to sustain this growth. A high level delegation from the Western Cape Government is in China this week on an official visit to, amongst others, promote the province’s wine offering in this key market. Premier Helen Zille and Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde are leading the delegation.
Since 1994, South African wine exports have grown from 50 million litres to 500 million litres globally. China is currently South Africa’s 6th largest export market for packaged wines by volume.
During a press conference in Shanghai on Wednesday night (11 November 2015), Premier Helen Zille and Economic Opportunities Minister, Alan Winde, briefed Chinese media on the province’s plans to boost wine exports to the Asian country.
Yesterday, Premier Zille and Minister Winde also met with one of China’s biggest importers of Western Cape wine, Perfect China.
The media briefing took place during a networking session for South African and Chinese businesses, which was hosted by the Hong Kong branch of Wines of South Africa ( WOSA).
The South African Consul General in Shanghai, Thabo Thage, joined Premier Zille and Minister Winde for the briefing.
Premier Zille said South Africa was one of the world’s most unique wine destinations. As an example, ours is the only country to produce the Pinotage cultivar. South Africa is one of only a few countries to have launched a traceability seal which guarantees that wine was produced ethically, an important feature for the Chinese market which prioritises high quality offerings and food safety.
Earlier Premier Zille had told the South African and Chinese businesses that growing trade with China was a priority of the Western Cape Government, with the country being home to 10% of the world’s population. Minister Winde confirmed that China Customs statistics for the first half of 2015 were promising: “We have doubled our market share and our value share is up 104%.
Through Project Khulisa, we aim to double the export of wine to China by 2025. If the current trend continues, I am confident we will reach that goal.”
Minister Winde said the wine industry was an important job creator, employing over 289 000 people in the country and 167 000 residents of the Western Cape.
Premier Zille and Minister Winde’s programme also included a meeting with Perfect China. Over the past three years, Perfect China has imported ten million bottles of South African wine into China. The company plans to host a wine training workshop for its staff in the Western Cape next year. They have more than 10 000 outlets in China and also expressed an interest in hosting larger staff events in the province.
Premier Zille and Minister Winde committed the Western Cape Government’s support for these events and undertook to engage in further discussions with Perfect China.
SOURCE: SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICIAL NEWS


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Early earthquake warnings? There's an app for that
For many of us, smartphones have become the primary tool for organizing our lives. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are working to turn them into tools for not just organizing but saving lives.
Specifically, USGS geophysicists are developing earthquake early-warning systems that can grab data from smartphones and pass along alerts to those in the path of earthquake shockwaves.
According to USGS geophysicist Sarah Minson, the idea for smartphone crowdsourcing came out of the service's work on the ShakeAlert early-warning system that is being deployed on the West Coast using seismic instruments.
"It was really pretty spontaneous," she said. One team member suggested using consumer GPS to supplement the data from USGS's scientific instruments. "People hadn't looked really looked at consumer GPS before, probably because the accuracy in terms of your location of GPS in your phone is really quite terrible. But its ability to sense your change in position from point A to point B is really quite good."
In fact, the team determined that the GPS available in smartphones is capable of detecting earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or greater. Using specific software, a smartphone can transmit an earthquake’s detected location and magnitude to the USGS, which can then send alerts to others in the path of the shock waves.
"You can transmit information at the speed of light," Minson explained. "The damaging secondary waves – S waves – travel about 3.5 kilometers per second. That's fast but not as fast as the speed of light."
While the warning may reach people only seconds in advance of the earthquake, those seconds can be critical. "If you get a warning you can get under your desk and hold on," she said. "A few seconds is also long enough to do stop doing something you don't want to be doing during an earthquake, such as a doctor operating on a patient."
While Minson's team has proved the viability of using smartphones in an early-warning system – and published the results of their study in the April 10 edition of the new AAAS journal Science Advances – there are currently some practical limitations. First, of course, is that earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 7 can't be accurately detected using the current accuracy of GPS in consumer smartphones.
As a result, Minson said, "in the United States, the system would be at most a supplement, augmenting the early warning system that we are building with scientific instruments." But she notes that many areas of the world have no early-warning system at all, so even the limited sensitivity of smartphones can provide a critical advantage.
Another hurdle is that consumer smartphones currently don't allow direct access to GPS data. "The hardware in the phone is great, but the OS usually doesn't let you actually access that data," Minson said. Accordingly, smartphone manufacturers will have to cooperate before volunteers’ smartphones could be looped into a crowdsourced early-warning system.
In the meantime, the USGS team just received funding from U.S. Agency for International Development for a one-year project to develop a smartphone-based earthquake early-warning system in Chile. According to Minson, this project will not be using crowdsourced data. "These will be phones that we own and dedicate full-time to early warning," she said. "But it will give us an opportunity go through the exercise, providing the software for the phone, pulling acceleration data off the phone, pulling GPS data off the phone and bring the data back for analysis."
Posted by Patrick Marshall on Apr 21, 2015 at 2:07 PM


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In a major move in April 2014, Kustom Group and Lawter announced the transfer of Lawter’s varnish business to Kustom Group, which will produce, market and sell these varnishes in North America and the Caribbean. Lawter also permanently closed its LaVergne, TN manufacturing facility. That follows on Kustom Group’s 2010 acquisition of VarChem Products LLC from Sun Chemical.
By making this acquisition, Kustom Group adds Lawter’s brands to its portfolio, while also adding purchasing synergies.
“Lawter has been the bellwether of the industry for many decades,” said Michael Gerkin, Kustom Group’s president and CEO. “So when they approached Kustom about the potential of us buying the varnish business so that they could concentrate on their resin and alkyd business, we were excited about the opportunity. Adding names like Cinergi, Uroset, Luminex, Halex, 100S and A1407, among many others, to Kustom’s stable of products gives us a larger footprint in the North American ink market.”
“Kustom Group showed our commitment to the ink industry with the purchase of Lawter in May of this year,” said Mike Cuppari, sales and marketing manager for Kustom Group.
“With Kustom’s recent purchase of the Lawter vehicle line, we are excited to add names like Cinergi, Uroset, Luminex, Halex, 100S and A1407, among many others, to Kustom’s stable of products, which include the VarChem line of vehicles which was acquired in 2010,” added Jerry Trauth, product manager ink applications, Kustom Group. “With these acquisitions, Kustom continues to expand and gain a larger footprint in the North American ink market.”
The market for vehicles and varnishes remains sizable. Cuppari said that Kustom Group’s best estimate of the vehicle and varnish market is around 21,000,000 pounds per year, broken up fairly evenly between water-based, oil-based and UV-based technologies, with the percentages of water-based vehicles and varnishes slightly at 40%.
Matt Grodd of Kane International estimated that water-based technologies are the majority of the vehicle and varnish market.
“UV is growing in publication (magazine print, advertisement, etc.) and I would guess now has 20% of the market,” Grodd said. “Oil-based is about 25% of the market, still dominating the newspaper print business, with water making up 55% (a huge portion of the water market being printed board stock).”
Cuppari and Grodd said that in particular, the UV and water-based markets are showing growth.
“In the past few years, we are seeing some movement from oil-based products towards water and UV,” Cuppari said. “This is due to the trends to become greener by reducing the use of materials that contain VOCs. We also see future growth in Low Migration type products. With the construction of our new facility to produce Nestle Compliant and Swiss Ordnance materials, we are ready to meet the need for these products.”
“For high end good appearance, the UV market is growing, but for the majority of the low end work, the water technologies are moving ahead for cost reasons,” he added. “Only those printers with solvent recovery will resist water due to its impact on their recovery systems.”
Challenges in the Market
Ink formulators are being tasked with meeting new requirements from printer. As a result ,vehicle and varnish manufacturers are being asked to solve many challenges by their customers.
Trauth said that Kustom Group is putting emphasis on staying current from a technical, regulatory, and compliance perspective, to be a partner to customers and an accessible resource they can tap when needed.
“Regulatory requirements are changing quickly, including new GHS Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and labeling requirements on the horizon, along with other compliance issues,” Trauth added. “Offering vehicles and support that solves our customers’ technical problems with products that meet the various regulatory legislations worldwide, or end-use restrictions such as low migration and Nestle compliance are important. Kustom has made a commitment to better understand and keep up with the various restrictions and requirements to be another resource to our customers in that regard.”
“Vehicles are required to print fast with good color strength and over prints are required to cure at low temperature with high performance (gloss, rub resistance, chemical resistance etc.) all at a low price,” Grodd said. “Press speed is a critical issue.”
With more domestic ink manufacturers either producing their own varnishes or bringing their materials in, vehicle and varnish manufacturers are developing specialty coatings to meet their customers’ needs.
For example, Kustom Group has developed its KB-5001/KB-5000 Nestle compliant sheetfed gel and its KS-230/KS-240 UV/EB Nestle compliant gel for plastic, among its new offerings. Kustom Group has also developed UV LED products, including LED-200 LED Litho Photoinitiated Extender and LED-300 LED Flexo Photoinitiated Extender, as well as KS-304 UV/EB High Viscosity, Fast Cure Dispersion Vehicle.
“In 2013 many of the domestic ink makers produced a large portion of their ink outside of North America to supply the U.S. needs,” Cuppari said. “We see this trend continuing in 2014. This resulted in a double-digit decline in the vehicle and varnish market in 2013, and we expect this segment to be down again in 2014.
“With this downward trend in the vehicle/varnish market at Kustom, we are focusing on a growing interest in specialty coatings,” Cuppari added. “We have developed and continue to develop specialty water, UV, and LED coatings to meet the growing needs for these products.”
Eventually, the varnish industry will find a floor where the volumes will stop decreasing and will flatten and potentially increase,” Gerkin concluded. “Until that time, the varnish industry will continue to consolidate to right-size itself for the graphic arts market it serves. Kustom Group feels that it is important that our customers understand that Kustom will be here for the long haul. We want to give our customers confidence that their partner, Kustom Group, will be available to them as they deal with future challenges.”.


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Apple’s iPhone 5 is 2.5 times faster at responding to touches than Google Android devices, according to a benchmark test by game and app streaming firm Agawi.
The results confirm what users believe about the devices, and they highlight a feature that is usually left out of technical comparisons.
In its first TouchMarks benchmark test, the iPhone 5 responded to touches at an average time of 55 milliseconds, compared to 85 milliseconds for the iPhone 4. The closest Android device was the Samsung Galaxy S4 at 114 milliseconds.
“Apple trounced the competition,” said Peter Relan, chairman of Agawi. “There is this whole other dimension of responsiveness that Agawi cares about.”
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Agawi studied the iPhone 5 and compared it to Android touchscreen smartphones such as the Google MotoX, the HTC One, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. It also compared results for the Nokia Lumia 928 on Windows Phone, which came in at 117 milliseconds. The company started doing the tests as part of its work in delivering Flash-based Facebook games and other apps as interactive streams to iOS devices.
The TouchMarks benchmark measures the touchscreen latency, which is as important to users as display quality. Most competitive discussions focus on pixels per inch and quality of image. The TouchMarks benchmark measured the minimum app response time [MART] scores. The benchmark tests the lightest possible apps, measuring how immediately they respond on a given device.
“Even a two-year old iPhone 4 beat out the other Android devices,” Relan said. “You expect this from Apple’s design team, while others may view their responsiveness as good enough. Now we know why the Android touch keyboard is not as snappy.”
Agawi is making the benchmark and methodology available on its web site. Agawi’s AppGlimpse division plans to measure other phones in the future, including the upcoming iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. It will also measure response times for games, tablets, and apps streamed from the cloud.
“App responsiveness is judged by how quickly the app can respond to your inputs,” said Rohan Relan, cofounder and CEO of Agawi. “Smartphones with touchscreens that have lower MART scores feel snappier. This is probably why, to many users, the iPhone keyboard feels more responsive than an Android phone keyboard.”
Agawi specializes in tech that runs rich, interactive apps in the cloud and streams them to iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 devices. The company’s team of engineers test responsiveness so they can measure just how acceptable the cloud-based content is to users. The team built a device dubbed Touchscope that can measure response times to a level of accuracy that is plus or minus 4 milliseconds. It then adds the cloud processing response time to calculate the actual delays experienced by users.
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With vaccines front-and-center, the Cold Chain will take on new importance in the coming year. Supply chain management is hard enough, but keeping the entire chain continuously temperature controlled is much more challenging. Yet that’s exactly what’s required for temperature-sensitive products like vaccines, medicines, foods, and some chemical products.
As with temperature-sensitive products like seafood and steak, vaccines are perishable and require a low temperature environment to maintain quality. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines currently under development, including the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, are RNA-based and will require constant refrigeration at very low temperatures so they stay effective. And as with fresh foods, they can spoil.
“This [extreme cold chain] is completely new territory for health care supply chains. So this is a brand new logistical challenge, to distribute this vaccine and get it to the right place, while maintaining the integrity of the product.”Soumi Saha, pharmacist, Premier (Source: CNBC)
Stray outside the prescribed temperature limits, and the result will be a lot of discarded vaccine. A 2019 study estimated that 25% of vaccines are degraded by the time they arrive at their destination. This is largely due to mishandling and poor shipping procedures, which costs companies US $34.1 billion annually. Compared to these direct costs, the cost of shutdowns to economies worldwide in response to COVID-19 is immeasurably greater. And these numbers do not even take into account the human cost – physically as well as financially – of illness that could have been prevented by timely delivery of high-quality vaccines.
Conquering the Cold Chain Challenge
The need for a trusted, secure cold chain will be large, as experts estimate that somewhere between 12 billion and 15 billion COVID-19 vaccines are needed globally. Given these facts, what are the cold chain implications?The Covid Vaccine Cold Chain Challenge: There is a need for a high capacity, trusted, secure cold chain, as experts estimate that somewhere between 12 billion and 15 billion COVID-19 vaccines are needed globally. Click To Tweet
Expect a need to handle diverse cold chain product requirements. With multiple vaccine developments in play, there is uncertainty about which COVID-19 vaccine will be approved first and in which countries. The most likely scenario is that multiple treatments will exist. In that case, different vaccines may require different temperatures and different handling procedures. Hence, supply chains would need the facilities to handle such situations, and staff throughout the cold chain would need appropriate training on how to handle each vaccine properly.
With more than 30 vaccines in the testing pipeline worldwide, it’s not yet possible to tell at which temperatures an approved vaccine will need to be stored. Certain candidates will require ultra-low temperature storage (-80°C storage), while others may only require -50°C to -40°C and some may allow storage at normal refrigeration temperatures. The smart move is to plan for these now, and be ready when vaccine approval arrives.
Capacity constrained last mile deliveries. Another question is how frequently deliveries will need to be made to points of care. This will depend on the refrigeration capacity of health care organizations and hospitals, staffing resources, and the locations where vaccines will be given and many other factors, including the shelf life of the vaccine itself and timing of follow-up dosing, if required.The Covid Vaccine Cold Chain Challenge: It may not be a single dose. Some vaccines require follow dosing, so delivery and timing must be carefully coordinated. Click To Tweet
Prepare for the initial demand and dependent demand. In all likelihood, certain vaccines will require booster shots, where the booster shot will need to be delivered weeks or months after the initial dose and will need to be the same vaccine type as the first shot. The interval between first and second doses will likely vary for different vaccines. So, demand planning will need to take this into account, as well as the fact that people tend to be unreliable when it comes to scheduling follow ups on time. This forecast inaccuracy means that dynamic supply chain re-allocations are likely needed to match supply with actual demand in near real time to minimize waste/spoilage due to under or over supply at delivery points.
Expect substantial cold chain investment. Expansion will likely be needed in shipping and storage capacity – planes, trucks and cold storage warehouses, but also cars, vessels, and donkey-capable technology to the far reaches. This is a global problem impacting every global community. In the end, the determining factor regarding investment will be how the infrastructure is connected and utilized between the vaccine production location and the points of consumption for each vaccine type.
Expect a surge in related supply. The supply chain scale will be essential to accommodate the other supplies needed for both the production and treatment services. Short supplies are already a concern for vials, bioreactors in the production lines. Immunization programs require the vaccine dose and essential supplies at the sites such syringes, needles, swabs etc.
Secure your supply chain. To make matters worse, criminals are targeting pharmaceutical companies, their systems and supply chains. To combat this threat, and assure customers and patients of the authenticity and quality of their products, companies need full monitoring, track-and-trace, chain of custody, and point of origin information across all sites and parties to ensure integrity of supply. This includes maintaining product quality with security measures and tracking to combat the problem of counterfeit products entering the supply network.
Plan beyond year one. Of course, the world hopes this first round of vaccine development will be enormously successful, yet this is not likely to be a “one-and-done” situation. As with the annual recurrence of the flu, the expanded need for cold chain capabilities is likely to persist as a multi-year effort.
Part 2 of this series is now live: Part 2: Solving the Vaccine Cold Chain Challenges


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Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter IV’ Projected To Sell Over 850K Units
Billboard now reports Lil Wayne’s first post-prison album, Tha Carter IV, may sell between 850,000-900,000 by week’s end on Sept. 4. This news comes after initial reports suggested sales of over 700,000 units.
Wayne’s forthcoming release will mark his third number-one album to date.
“If “Carter IV” shifts 850,000 or more, it will instantly mark the biggest sales week for a hip-hop album (or one by a male artist), since his own “Carter III” bowed with 1.01 million on the June 28, 2008 chart according to Nielsen SoundScan.”


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Grindr revealed wants to pull their ethnicity preference filtration a purpose which criticise in past times for perpetuating racism by permitting white in color individuals filter app users of colors within the then production in solidarity with Black physical lives topic.
„you stand in solidarity aided by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and hundreds of thousands of queer individuals of coloration that get on our app every day,“ Grindr said in a Twitter blog post on Summer 1. „we’ll become hushed, and we will never be lazy.“
In accordance with the „zero-tolerance rules for racism and dislike message,“ the software will not offer air filter, which enabled users to filter visitors determined raceway and ethnicity.
„Racism doesn’t set in all of our community,“ Grindr representatives had written in a statement to Insider. „To help you carry out our role, we have chose to take away the race filtration from your Grindr app. The moment the filter is taken away, consumers will not be capable of narrow kinds by ethnicity. We all give thanks to all of those which has supplied suggestions.


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Everyone has a different tradition on how they prepare their turkey for Thanksgiving.
According to several health agencies, they are saying don't wash your turkey before cooking it!
Amy Keating, who is a consumer reporter stated "You can’t wash off bacteria with water, and rinsing out the turkey risks splashing its juices all over the sink."
Experts are saying to open plastic wrap and drain any liquid into the sink before throwing the packaging out, then pat the turkey dry with paper towels and wash your hands and utensils with hot water and soap when you are finished.
If you wash raw meat before cooking, bacteria in raw meat and juices can spread to other foods, utensils and surfaces.
Do you usually wash your turkey?!


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San Diego woman, sister, arrested for Cabazon car break-ins
Cabazon A 27-year-old San Diego woman and her 15-year-old sister were arrested Friday after reportedly stealing $1,500 in merchandise from vehicles at a shopping center in Cabazon, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said.
Deputies were called out to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets about 4:40 p.m. Friday to investigate a vehicle burglary report. Witnesses said they saw two women break into the car, remove items and leave in a black Porsche Cayenne with paper plates.
Mall security helped the deputies find the siblings in an adjacent parking lot, and arrested them. The woman was identified as Marisa Aguilar, and the sister’s name was withheld because she is a minor.
A search of the vehicle by sheriff’s investigators yielded $1,500 in merchandise, including Coach purses and an iPod that belonged to the victim, as well as some jewelry, iPhones, wallets, foreign and domestic currency, shaved keys and metal dealer plates.
While the two suspects were being processed at the Cabazon station, a second person called to report that their car had been burglarized in the same parking lot. The merchandise that they reported missing matched that of the remaining items in Aguilar’s car.
Aguilar was booked into jail on suspicion of burglary and several other charges. Her sister was booked at Riverside Juvenile Hall on similar counts.


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Netflix glad 2011 over but 2012 may mean more pain
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote) probably would like nothing better than to put 2011 behind it. But 2012 may be no walk in the park either.
Investors, who have pushed Netflix shares up 50 percent since late November, believe the company that revolutionized the home video industry may have plugged a torrent of defections after a widely excoriated price hike and a bumbling attempt to hive off its DVD-mail business as "Qwikster."
But it still faces a deluge of competition, a tarnished brand, and a costly expansion that will erode bottom lines, at least in the short term.
Netflix wants to steer customers away from DVDs and into its streaming business. To do so, it is writing hefty checks to add more movies and TV shows to its online service, and has warned that content costs will nearly double this year. At the same time, Netflix faces the loss of newer movies from Liberty Media Corp's LMCA.O cable channel Starz at the end of February.
"2012 is going to be a transition year," said Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson, who rates Netflix "overweight" and has a $100 price target on the stock. "The good news for Netflix is expectations have been ratcheted down quite a bit."
When the video rental company led by CEO Reed Hastings releases fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, all eyes will focus on whether the company has stemmed U.S. subscriber defections that helped spark a massive selloff last year.
Hastings, once a golden boy of Wall Street who could do no wrong, was forced to backtrack on the Qwikster name change and at one point apologized for "arrogance," but the damage had been done.
Netflix lost more than 800,000 U.S. customers in the third quarter of 2011 and warned that DVD-by-mail subscriptions would decline sharply in the final three months of the year, triggering the company's largest single-day share price plunge since 2004. But the company said total U.S. subscribers, which includes customers who pay for the online streaming service, would be "slightly up" for the quarter. Continued...


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By David Murphy
Typeface company Monotype Imaging has bought mobile marketing firm Swyft Media for a figure in the region of $12m (£8m), with an additional $15m achievable through an earn-out. Swyft Media’s 10 employees, including co-founders Evan Wray and Sean O’Brien, will move into Monotype’s office in New York City.
Swyft Media delivers branded content such as digital stickers and emoticons to mobile users within messaging apps such as BBM, BAND, Kik, Kakao Talk, Renren, TextPlus and Viber. The brand effectively sponsors the stickers and emoticons, enabling mobile users to use them in their messages. Following the deal, Monotype says it plans to add some of its font collections to Swyft’s inventory.
Swyft has developed sticker campaigns for brands including Sony, MGM, SEGA and Dreamworks. According to research from Business Intelligence, at the end of 2014, nearly 2bn people worldwide were using mobile messaging apps. Monotype plans to add some of its fonts to the Swyft inventory.
Swyft also operates a retail channel, which allows consumers to personalize texts with authentic, branded content like stickers, emoticons and themes. While users benefit from creative ways to express themselves brands benefit from reaching millions of consumers and monetizing branded content that people want …read more
Source:: Mobile App News


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The new 12-sided £1 coin, which came into circulation on Tuesday, has a hidden high security feature which will add to it being “the most secure coin in the world”.
Officials at the Royal Mint have not released any further details regarding the secretive feature, but it is one of several new design aspects intended to make the coin more difficult to counterfeit.
As well as being composed of two metals, other features include a hologram, milled edges and micro-lettering.
In May 2015, a survey by the Royal Mint found that one in 40 pound coins were fake.
But not everyone will experience the benefits of the new £1 coin straight away as some ticket and vending machines will not immediately accept it.
Tesco trolleys across many of its stores will be unlocked as the supermarket giant performs upgrades so that they can accept the new coin.
A Tesco spokesman said last week that “fewer than 200” of its stores will be affected.
The old coin and the new coin will co-exist together for a period of around six months, until the round pound ceases to be legal tender on October 15.
The new coins have been made at Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, at a rate of three million per day.
The coins will gradually filter into general use so it might take a few days, or weeks, before people start to see the new £1 coins appear in their change.
The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) estimates that when the new coin goes into circulation, around 85% of vending machines will be able to accept it while still also taking the old coin.
It said that with around half a million vending machines across the UK, ensuring all of them are upgraded is a “major operation”.
The body has estimated that all vending machines will be fully upgraded by the end of the transition period on October 15.
One pound coins were first launched on April 21 1983 to replace £1 notes. The Royal Mint has produced more than two billion round pound coins since that time.
The production of the new coins follows concerns about round pounds being vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters.


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There are a number of distinct issues that limit the reach of rechargeable batteries — slow charging times, high cost, limited battery lifetime, and safety issues. Ultracharge (ASX:UTR) may have the solution.
UTR has signed multiple new deals with partners, acquired complementary intellectual property, advanced a pilot project, and raised A$2.5 million to create and commercialise technology to capitalise on the rapidly growing battery manufacturers’ market.
In its latest deal, UTR has entered an MOU with China’s leading fluorine chemical manufacturer, Sinochem Lantian Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Sinochem Group, which is a Chinese state-owned Fortune Global 500 company.
This agreement makes the most of the IP that UTR acquired from Coorstek a few months prior — enabling the production of a superior electrolyte salt (LiFSI salt) which can increase battery lifespan and performance.
The deal with Sinochem comes on top of a cornerstone Joint Collaboration Agreement with Dotz Nano (ASX:DTZ) to integrate the use of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in its anode technology for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries.
The deal involves a three-month pilot cooperation program to develop longer-lasting, faster-charging and more dependable technology utilising GQDs.
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The potential in the lithium-ion battery space has been compared to that of solar energy with a market that could expand well beyond electric vehicles to a far broader range of future applications.
UTR is working hard and fast to become pioneers in this space, and with the rate at which technology is moving, could be well on track to improve its $25 million market cap.