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Gooseneck barnacles and the best Brazilian wines
00:00 / 00:00
28 October 2016
The tricky business of harvesting gooseneck barnacles in the Pacific and why Brazilian wine businesses are worth keeping an eye on. Plus: award-winning food writer and broadcaster Ravinder Bhogal’s first London restaurant.
28 October 2016
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Saudi corporate earnings to remain under pressure in Q3
Opportunities seen for investors with medium-term perspective, and entry points for long-term investors
Corporate earnings are likely to remain under pressure in Q3 2016. While the petrochemical sector may continue to post a decline in profits on an annual basis, the sequential performance is likely to be comparatively stronger on stable spread between product prices and feedstock cost, a report from Al Rajhi Capital research revealed. The cut in government spending might impact construction related sectors – real estate, cement and building and construction.
Consumer spending related sectors – retail and food & agriculture are also likely to witness a decline in profitability on lower disposable incomes and slowdown in other sectors of the economy, but will be positively impacted by increase in religious tourists during Haj season this year.
Crude prices rose in Q2 from the lows of Q1 2016. Brent crude prices steadily recovered to $48.05 (-21% y-o-y) per barrel at the end of Q2 2016, compared to $36.75 per barrel at the end of Q1 2016. This led to a rise in petrochemical product prices as well. All companies under our coverage reported higher price realization during the quarter on a sequential basis, though on an annual basis, petrochemical prices were still down in the range of 10-140%. Petrochemical product spreads rose during the quarter, which supported margin improvement. The petrochemical sector revenues fell 16.4% y-o-y, while net profit slipped 19.7% y-o-y.
“For the companies under our coverage, revenues fell over ~16% y-o-y, coming largely in line with our expectations,” it said. The sector’s net profit also slipped about 16.5% y-o-y, but most companies earnings beat our as well as market expectations. Margins were mostly stable despite the sharp fall in product prices, supported by increased spread between product prices and feedstock costs and the efficiency measures undertaken by most firms.
Strong SABIC results
SABIC posted a surprisingly strong set of results for Q2 2016, with net profit coming in at SR4.7 billion, beating our as well as consensus estimates by a wide margin. Adjusting for a one-off impairment for one of its subsidiary, the company’s profit stood at SR5.1 billion. “We believe the company’s profitability was supported by increased spread in the petrochemical division and the recovery in steel margins.”
In addition, the company’s listed subsidiaries also posted impressive performances – Saudi Kayan posted a profit of SR91 million after five quarters of losses.
Yansab trebled its profit over the same period last year to SR689 million (+203% y-o-y), while we had expected only a +70% growth in profit. The high growth was partly due to the low base of Q2 2015 when the company undertook a maintenance shutdown, but the surprise was mostly due to higher than expected sales volumes and lower cost of goods sold (excluding raw material costs).
NIC also beat market expectations, posting a profit of SR103.9 million, compared to a net loss of SR107.7 million in Q2 2015. The company had undergone a restructuring exercise, which is likely to have led to cost savings in this quarter. In addition, the company benefited from higher operating rates and the recovery in petrochemical and titanium dioxide prices.
On the other hand, SAFCO’s results were mostly in line, with net profit falling ~50% y-o-y to SR299 million due to the double impact of consistently falling product prices, together with the 66.7% hike in methane prices, its primary feedstock.
The company’s earnings will remain under pressure this year for the same reasons. APC’s profit (-23.5% y-o-y, +27.8% q-o-q) also stood mostly in line with our estimate, as profitability was boosted on a sequential basis by increased sales volume and higher product prices.
Sipchem was the only company under our coverage to disappoint, posting a net profit of SR26 million, down 76.4% y-o-y. The fall in profit was partly due to the maintenance shutdown at its International Polymers Company and Gulf Advanced Cable Insulation Company. However, the surprise is likely due to higher cost of goods sold and certain non-recurring expenses. The company also mentioned about non-renewal of certain contracts, but there is no clarity regarding the same.
Retail sector continues to be impacted by slowdown in consumer spending, however results (ex-Jarir) were above estimates led by better than expected margins. Cumulative revenue (for companies under our coverage) was 7.4% higher than our estimates, led by significant beat on top-line led by Al Hokair (benefiting from majority of Ramadan season falling in June this year vs. being spread out in June and July last year) and Al Othaim (benefiting from healthy LFL sales and aggressive organic expansion).
The significant surprise this quarter was better than expected gross margin (ex-Jarir), which we attribute to better product mix due to Ramadan. This led to operating profit for the sector coming 67% ahead of our estimates. Led by better operating profit, net profit beat our estimates by 47%, but this was mainly led by Al Hokair, which reported net profit of SR212 million vs. SR78 million estimated by us. Going ahead, we believe Q3 will be a weak quarter, especially when compared to Q3 2015, as second half of Ramadan fell in July last year. “We have Neutral ratings on Al Hokair, Extra and Al Othaim, while Jarir is ‘Under review’”
Revenue for companies under our coverage slipped 1.1% y-o-y in Q2 2016, while the sector’s net profit fell 9.8% y-o-y, primarily due to the weak performance from Savola. Savola’s revenue (-7.2% y-o-y) and net profit (-43.1% y-o-y) was negatively impacted by high competition in retail segment, currency devaluation and rising financial charges. The company is restructuring its retail business, closing down 51 non-performing Pandati stores in Q1 2016. Nevertheless, we remain Overweight on the stock with a target price of SR43, as most of the negatives are already factored in the stock price.
Almarai net jumps
Almarai‘s net profit jumped 18.6% y-o-y, above our and consensus estimates, on the back of better than expected gross margin, which expanded 150bps led by better product mix (due to Ramadan), lower input costs and operational efficiencies. While the poultry segment continues to face intense competition from cheaper imports, the situation has improved in Q2 as compared to the higher losses in Q1 2016. Herfy’s top line growth (+7.1% y-o-y) remained slow, despite aggressive restaurant additions, due to slowing LFL sales. The company’s net profit also grew at a similar rate of 7.4% y-o-y, supported by lower SG&A expenses and higher other income.
SACC’s net profit declined 17.5% y-o-y in Q2 2016, partially due to the higher base of Q2 2015, which was boosted by write back of provision for restructuring. We have Neutral ratings on Almarai, Herfy and Saudi Airlines Catering.
The trend of falling sales volume and profitability continue as the Kingdom’s construction activities continue to be under pressure. Companies’ operational performance was impacted due to lower than estimated average realized price on the back of stiff competition especially in the central region coupled with the impact of lower fuel subsidy. For companies under our coverage, top-line performance was in-line with our estimates, but bottom-line was mixed due to a number of negative and positive surprises.
Saudi and Southern Province cement were the top performers in Q2. Saudi cement revenue (+11% y-o-y) and bottom-line (-2% y-o-y) were slightly ahead of our estimates, while Southern Province’s revenue (-7% y-o-y) largely met our forecast, whereas bottom-line (-1% y-o-y) was ahead of our estimates.
Arabian and Yanbu cement were impacted as the demand situation in the Western region remained under pressure. Yanbu’s reported net profit (-35% y-o-y), came below our estimate. Arabian Cement’s bottom-line (-12% y-o-y) missed our as well as consensus estimates mainly due to the use of imported clinker. Yamama’s revenue (-18% y-o-y) and net profit (-39% y-o-y) missed our as well as consensus forecasts. Overall, we believe that construction activities will remain weak for the foreseeable future as the government spending adjusts to low oil prices through spending cuts and delay of unnecessary projects. We have assigned Neutral rating to Arabian, Yamama, Saudi, Qassim, and Southern and we are Overweight on Yanbu.
In Q2 2016, the telecom sector’s revenue grew 6.7% y-o-y. Zain reported an EBITDA of SR372 million (-14.5% y-o-y, below our estimate), on account of higher distribution and marketing expenses (infrastructure cost and implementation of biometric verification process). Zain’s customer base has decreased 8% since the introduction of the finger print implementation regulation in January this year. We believe the company will be able to expand its EBITDA margin in 2016 on the back of lower access charges and D&M costs. However, rising interest expense due to surging SAIBOR rates will pressurize profitability. STC reported a revenue growth of 11% y-o-y, which is commendable considering lower growth prospects in the telecom sector and impact of the biometric verification regulation. “We believe STC will be the key beneficiary of fixed broadband growth, which is a part of the transformation plan.” STC remains one of our top picks in the Kingdom. Mobily’s net profit was broadly in-line with our estimate, led by cost optimization, partially offset by rising interest cost. The top-line declined 7.5% y-o-y, owing to the interconnection rate cuts and implementation of finger print regulation in our view. “We expect the finger print regulation and rising interest rates to continue to negatively impact the performance of the telecom companies in the coming quarters (especially Zain and Mobily),” the report said.
Healthcare companies under our coverage reported a strong set of results in Q2 2016. Aggregate net profit rose 14% y-o-y, despite the fact that Ramadan shifted twelve more days to Q2. This was led by Dallah and NMCC which reported a net profit growth of 50% and 38% respectively. Dallah’s surprising results were helped by the increase in number of inpatients and outpatients. It also saw an increase in overall operating efficiency due to improvement in some contractual terms for services. NMCC’s operating profit rose 54% y-o-y to SR59.8 million ahead of our estimate of SR31.1 million. The huge beat was attributed mainly to the amended contract (at least 20% increased pricing) with GOSI which contributes to ~25% of revenues.
Mouwasat reported a 10% y-o-y growth in top-line clearly indicating higher utilization rates in its Riyadh hospital. Mouwasat’s net profit of SR62.3 million (+11 y-o-y), came in-line with our estimates. Al Hammadi on the other hand, reported a decline of 43% in net profit to SR20.9 million as a result of the closure of its main hospital (Al Hammadi AlOlaya). However, this was higher than our estimate of SR10 million, implying that Suweidi hospital was operating on high utilization rates, Al Rajhi Capital research noted. The company’s revenue increased 1% y-o-y despite the closure of its flagship hospital. “We have an Overweight rating on Al Hammadi and Neutral ratings on NMCC, Mouwasat, and Dallah,” it noted.
Tadawul All Share Index (TASI), the stock benchmark index of the Saud Stock Exchange, continues to nudge lower and has dropped to a four-month low post Q2 results, Al Rajhi Capital research showed. In some of the past years, we have seen a recovery in the market post the Ramadan holiday season – however, in the absence of convincing triggers and oil prices continuing to reverse gains witnessed in Q2 (May and June), market has failed to sustain higher levels. Q2 was an affirmation of the new cost normal for most companies after revision in subsidies took effect at the start of the year, Broadly, Q2 results were lackluster as the aggregate profit (ex – insurance) declined 12.5% y-o-y.
However, Petrochemical sector earnings were better than estimates, helped by cost cutting measures which are likely to continue. Average trading volumes have also remained low and has not recovered post Eid holidays. Going forward, while there might be slight recovery in oil prices, oversupply in the market, production from non-traditional sources and excess inventory issues will continue to put pressure on prices. However, on the brighter side, consumer spending patterns appear to be normalizing in The Kingdom and PMI data showed a recovery in the last month. IMF expects Saudi economy to stabilize its GDP growth to 2.25-2.5% implying steady improvement over the next couple of years (1.2% in 2016e). Q3 is seasonally a strong quarter for some sectors as Hajj pilgrimage visitors boost consumption in the Kingdom.
Overall, while the market may not have immediate triggers, we see range bound corrections as trading opportunities for investors with a medium term perspective, and entry points for long term investors, as long as the oil prices do not correct sharply. Similarly, investors are better off taking profits with any meaningful rally in the absence of convincing triggers.
TASI rose 4.4% in Q2 helped by recovering oil prices, following 10% decline in Q1 2016. Howeve,r Q3 started on a weak note, with oil price trending lower. Net aggregate profit of the TASI-listed companies, ex-Insurance) fell 12.5% y-o-y during Q2 2016. Though two sectors (telecom and transportation) reported a y-o-y growth in net profit, it was mostly due to one-off factors.
A gradual recovery in oil is likely to be the key trigger for TASI and also the petrochemical sector. Any additional measures taken to ease liquidity in the Kingdom would be viewed positively for the banking sector. These could be lowering the reserve requirement, increasing the LDR ratio, issuance of Sovereign bonds by the Kingdom etc. Continuous improvement in cost structure for the petrochemical firms, which helped them to post better than expected results in Q2 also to be closely watched. Telecoms sector is likely to see a weak Q3 as the impact of biometric system regulations could result in cancellation of some active accounts. However, a higher than expected voice/data usage during the seasonally strong Q3 could help offset this. As families return post extended school break, domestic consumption could get a boost.
This article first appeared in the Saudi Gazette on Aug. 9, 2016.

domain: news


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Late 2020 Nielsen data showed that energy drink consumption rose 10.6% on a year over year basis &md...
Booking: Priceline, Kayak & OpenTable
09/27/2018 5:00 am EST
In February, Priceline changed its name to Booking Holdings (BKNG); while somewhat cumbersome, the new name aligns with the firm’s leading website, Booking.com, the world’s largest brand for online reservations based on room nights booked, notes Doug Gerlach, editor of Investor Advisory Service.
As of June 2018, Booking.com offered approximately 1,925,000 properties consisting of 425,000 hotels, motels, and resorts, and 1,500,000 homes, apartments, and other unique places to stay.
Booking Holdings' properties include Priceline, Kayak, Agoda, Rentalcars and OpenTable, a restaurant reservation service. The company also owns a $2.4 billion stake in the Chinese travel company Ctrip (CTRP).
Booking Holdings earns much of its revenue and profit overseas. In 2017, 89% of gross profit came from international operations, mostly Booking.com. The company is especially strong in cross-border travel, which is growing faster than domestic travel.
The firm’s strategy for maintaining double digit growth is threefold. First, the company wants to combine and offer an entire travel package, not just a hotel reservation. It is using technology to aggregate travel services and provide automated customer service through mobile devices, the most common communication method for worldwide customers.
Second, the company is continuing to aggressively pursue alternative accommodation properties. Because of Booking Holdings’ strength in cross-border travel, the company has attracted customers that alternative property owners covet. This has led to 54% year-over-year growth of these properties on the Booking.com website as of June 2018.
Finally, China and other countries with rapidly growing middle classes, like India, are a priority. In addition to its investment in Ctrip, the company is investing $500 million in DiDi Chuxing, the leading ride-sharing platform that reaches 550 million users worldwide.
Five years of 14% earnings growth and a future high P/E of 29.5 could generate a stock price as high as 4,192. We use a low price of 1,402, the product of trailing twelve-month EPS of 83.14 and a low P/E of 19.0. The upside/ downside ratio is 4.5 to 1.
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From custom café racers to beautifully restored Bridgestone motorcycles, a full range of motorcycling interests will be represented at BikeBandit.com AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, featuring Indian Motorcycle, July 11-13 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Classic Clubs that will be located on Championship Row include the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club, Louisville Vintage Motorworks, Café Racer magazine and Bridgestone Motorcycle Club. The Club Corral, across from Championship Row, will include the Indian 4 Cylinder Club, the Kawasaki ZL Owners Association and the Cincinnati Classic British Motorcycle Owners.
"This will be our sixth year at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and it is the biggest café racer bike show that we do in the country," said Café Racer’s Mike Seate. "This show is a chance for our readers to see the new trends in custom bike building and the emerging styles of bikes. We should have 50 to 60 bikes in six classes."
The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club will have a large number of bikes from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, such as Honda CBs and Dreams, Yamaha XSes and XJs, Kawasaki H1s and H2s and Suzuki GSes and GTs.
"The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of North America is excited to return to AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days with more than 30 bikes from all the major Japanese makes," said the VJMC’s Sean Carrigan. "There are some real gems from the ’60s and ’70s coming this year, including show-level bikes and regular riders. When people see the ’67 red-and-silver Honda 305 Super Hawk or the S90 or the Suzuki Rotary or the XS650 Yamahas, they’re taken back in time."
Randy Gibbon, president of the Bridgestone Motorcycle Club, says his group is excited to educate riders on a lesser-known Japanese brand: Bridgestone.
"Before they made just tires, Bridgestone made motorcycles," Gibbon said. "We’re going to have one of every model of Bridgestone that was imported between 1963 and 1971. We’re also going to have some factory racers on hand, both a 100cc and a 175cc model. These bikes were well ahead of their time. They were rotary valve two-strokes. The 175s were very fast and dependable."
A more recent participant at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is Louisville Vintage Motorworks. The group has been growing back home at Louisville, KY, and their tent was a popular destination at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days last year.
"Louisville Vintage Motorworks is stoked to be back at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and we have a bunch of fun stuff planned this year," said the group’s Jason Price. "Our seminars are going to be quite unique, where we’ll talk about everything from fasteners to fabrication to how to create cool videos. We also like to remember that we’re a group of people, not just motorcycles, so we’re planning a story slam where each person will have 10 to 12 minutes to tell their best motorcycle story. We’ll have an emcee introducing each story, and we’re hoping it becomes a real popular attraction at our tent on Saturday."
For more on BikeBandit.com AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, featuring Indian Motorcycle, see www.amavintagemotorcycledays.com.


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Apple's problem is it doesn’t know how to grow its business. Not with respect to the huge chunk of money sitting in its various bank accounts ($137 billion). In that sense Apple is the story of American capitalism gone wrong.
The company has become an accumulation machine and reflects the problems of the American economy – hugely innovative and successful but paralyzed in the face of the 21st century’s investment needs.
Last week’s report from Bain and Co shows that the sheer level of capital accumulation is now a fundamental of the global economy. Though there is growth in underlying GDP around the world, the growth of financial assets is much faster.
But the irony in this is that the majority of assets still reside in the US and Europe. They are not finding their way to investment projects in emerging markets and are tending instead to inflate asset prices.
There are two clear lessons just from that report – American and European companies are under-serving real economic growth, and we will pay for that neglect in the long term. And investment horizons need to be longer term anyway – there is so much cash to burn that the time is ideal for long imaginative projects..
Companies like Apple, Google, Philips need to be evolving new paradigms in new economies not just trying to sell them on high margin devices or new ad mechanisms. Apple in fact needs to being painting a picture of itself as the post-device company, as Google might well do with Project Glass.
But this is Samsung’s CEO on Jan 2, 2013 having climbed to the top of the tree in smartphones.
“Forget about the past and start anew,” Lee exhorted employees in his New Year’s address on Jan. 2. “We must search out new businesses that Samsung’s survival depends on.”
What would a post-iPhone Apple look like? If you are an investor you have a right to know.
Anything that needs a liberating interface could be an Apple product or service. And the real economic needs of the growing world do not fit into the palm of your hand.
It needs to engage in whatever this crazy, chaotic, fast changing world wants of it because for as long as Americans sit back and congratulate themselves on their innovativeness, China will mop up the loyalties and markets of emerging market after emerging market. Apple has a role to play in imagining how these economies will benefit from its ingenuity. And time is tight.
News that China’s trade in goods now exceeds that of the United States is no surprise but it comes with some reassuring qualifiers. Add in services and the USA is still top. The US economy is still twice the size of the Chinese and per capita income is five times that of China’s.
The problem though is that nobody outside of the USA is looking for caveats when they observe the relative decline of American power. It feels like a result.
Yet, the USA still has the best and richest tech companies – yes, look at Apple and Google, just ahead of Samsung and likely to be overwhelmed by the new generation of Chinese tech companies that enter new markets with a development agenda as well as a product to sell.
The problem for America is not knowing how to use these great companies and their gifts, brains, and resource in strategic ways for the US economy. The problem for Apple is strangling itself with its device-focus and its inability to graft a development role onto its bank account.
Of course it is their market-given right not to spend its money but I am 100% sure that the US economy cannot prosper if its best companies hoard cash on this scale and I am as sure that competitor regions are happy to see them idle that cash away.
The cash hoards in fact are beyond imagination – can you conceive of how to spend $137 billion? Here is the crux of it, I think. Apple, like America, cannot conceive of its responsibilities in the wider world.
America and its companies lack a capitalist-driven agenda to participate in the great economic battles taking place in Africa and India and maybe that’s because they can skim decent margins on devices in China. According to The Guardian:


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The new look of Google Docs and Drive is rolling out right now
Google announced today that the rollout of refreshed interfaces for Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides hast started for all its customers.
Google notes that the "refreshed user interface is purposefully designed to streamline core collaboration journeys across our products". It is based on Google Material Design 3 and features several improvements according to the company's announcement on its Workspace Updates blog.
Design changes are not always liked by communities, as they may change workflows or remove features. It remains to be seen how the Google Docs, Sheets and Slides design changes fare in the eyes of Google customers.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
Google's Office applications Docs, Sheets and Slides receive the interface overhaul. Improvements include a new "simplified user interface" at the top of the document, user experience improvements regarding commenting, backgrounds, rulers and gridlines, and relocations of some features to "reduce clutter".
Google Docs users should find actions that they use frequently faster in the new layout, according to Google. The Office applications do not get new feature additions or changes in the release, as it is solely focused on design changes.
Google notes that users find the latest status information for the document with a click or tap on the clock icon at the top right corner. It lists the last edit and version history, among other information.
Google Drive, the company's file hosting, sharing and collaboration service, is also getting a new design. Google highlights key actions surfaced inline on files, the option to select multiple items at a time and perform batch operations on them, and new search chips, such as type, owner and last modified.
The changes improve Google Drive usability significantly. It is now easier to process multiple files at once, including deleting files in bulk, or using share and download options for a number of selected files.
Another new feature highlights key actions, such as share, download and edit, when hovering over files on Google Drive. Last but not least, the new search chips may help users find certain files faster.
Tip: check out a list of top Google Drive extensions for Chrome here.
About the rollout
The rollout affects all Google Workspace customers, G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google accounts. Rollouts start on March 6 and take about three weeks to reach all Google customers.
All Google customers will get the new designs in Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, and the new functionality in Google Drive in March 2023.
Now You: do you use Google Docs or Drive?Advertisement


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West Bengal CM, Left oppose jute packaging Act dilution
Kolkata , December 23, 2014: The Centre's proposed dilution and phasing out of Jute Packaging Materials Act has drawn united opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the CPI(M), as it would have severe impact on three lakh workers and 40 lakh jute farmers.
Banerjee in a recent letter to Union Textile Minister Santosh K Gangwar had said, "I believe that... the reserved percentage of jute packaging
material is about to be drastically reduced and phased out altogether."
Further, the step will suck Rs 8,000 crore out of the economy of which Rs 3,000 crore is by way of wages and Rs 5,000 crore as value of raw
jute industry buys from farmers, the letter said.
"I would request that cental government should not go ahead with the proposed reduction of reservation of jute packaging," the chief minister
said in the letter. A Union finance ministry note in November has recommended dilution and finally phase-out of the Act within next two years.
The step would jeopardise lives and liviohood of lakhs of families in West Bengal and jute related states, she apprehended.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP and CITU general secretary Tapan K Sen said they are totally against the proposed dilution.
He told PTI that opposing the Centre's move he had already raised the jute industry crisis in the Upper House on December 9.
Sen said he highlighted the livelihood involved with the industry and pointed out that already with the current level of dilution, farmers are facing deep trouble.
"The industry had cut the production level and due to this daily deployment of workers is about 15,0000 only, explaining the depth of the crisis.
"The situation is also affecting the jute growers as they are compelled to make distress sale of their jute produce at Rs 1,600 per quintal
although the minimum support price is Rs 2,400 per quintal," Sen said. Source: PTI
Move to completely phase-out jute packaging will hit 40 lakh families
New Delhi, December 12, The Government’s reported move to "completely phase out" the Jute
Packaging Materials Act 1987, will have “destructive impact” on the jute
industry spread over five States, affecting about 40 lakh workers, growers and their families, Tapan Sen, Rajya Sabha MP from CPI(M) has said.
In a letter to Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Sen urged the Government to reconsider its decision, adding that phasing out of jute
for packaging food grains by bringing it down to 70 per cent in the first instance and to zero in the process of next two/three years, and
exempting sugar packaging from the Act will sound the death knell for the industry.
Referring to this decision reportedly taken in a meeting of ‘Group of Officers held on October 16, based on directional observation of
Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, and conveyed to the Ministry of Textiles on November 11, Sen, who is also general secretary
of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said, “The biggest irony is that the meeting of the so-called stakeholders has not included the biggest
stakeholder, those who depend for their human survival on this industry, the workers and the jute growers.”
Pointing out that the biggest beneficiary of such a move would be the synthetic packaging lobby, both domestic and foreign, Sen said at
present the labour-intensive jute industry has a total installed capacity of around 29,000 sacking looms, which produce around 20.5 lakh
tonnes of jute sacks based on three-shift work. Out of this, domestic consumption (other than supply under JPM Act) is around 2.4 lakh
tonnes; export of Indian jute sacks ranges from 80,000 to one lakh tonnes on an average, leaving 17 lakh tonnes of sacks that remain un-channelised, he added.
Also, scaling down of jute sack production is directly affecting jute growers by way of the sharp decline in procurement with appropriate
support price, aggravated by the dilution of reservation under JPM Act since 2009-10 for packaging of foodgrains and sugar.
Sen also requested the Minister to ensure that duty-free import of jute sacks from Bangladesh (around 1.45 lakh tonnes annually) is stopped through anti-dumping measures.
Jute mill shut, 4,500 workers lose jobs
BHADRESWAR, Oct 30, 2014: Only two days before the Jagadhhatri Puja, the biggest
festival in the Chandannagore belt of Hooghly, around 4,500 workers of Angus Jute Mill lost their jobs on Monday.
The mill, located at Bhadreswar in Chandannagore subdivision, witnessed labour unrest since morning and the management, later in the day,
slapped a suspension of work notice at the gate. The management had declared suspension of work on November 14 last year which was lifted by December 1.
The genesis of the trouble lies in the management's decision to transfer 15 workers from the preparing department to its batching department on
Sunday. In protest, workers did not report for work on Monday. The management responded to this by hanging a suspension of work notice
outside the mill's main gate around 11 am.
On hearing about the notice, workers gathered outside the gate and started an agitation. Bhadreswar OC Debnath Sadhuka led a large force to the mill to bring the situation under control.
Union commerce minister promises jute industry revival
KOLKATA, October 13, 2014:: Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has assured Indian
Jute Mills' Association that her ministry will look into the issue of rampant import of cheap jute products from Bangladesh, which is severely
affecting the prospects of jute industry in West Bengal.
Sitharaman and minister of state for textiles Santosh Gangwar had a three-hour-long meeting with all the
stakeholders of jute industry, including the jute mills' association, various labour unions, research
institutes and export agencies.
Sitharaman said that the meeting was organized to take stock of the situation of the jute industry, adding that the Centre would take the
necessary steps for revival of the golden fibre. Chairman of the Indian
Jute Mills' Association Raghabendra Gupta told newspersons after the meeting that the Centre was planning a new policy framework for the
The apex jute body has also apprised the minister about the industry's
order position. "The order position is really bad. There has been a production cut of 30% to 40% in the last few months because of lack of
order. Cheap import of jute bags and yarn from Bangladesh worsened the
situation. There is an export subsidy on jute in Bangladesh, which we do
not have," he added.
Gupta said that the quantum of jute import from Bangladesh was around 2
lakh tonne every year, which was almost 15% of the total demand of jute
products. "This is a real problem and we have sought a countervailing duty on jute products imported from Bangladesh. The Centre will look
into this," he added.
Five jute mills have been closed because of lack of orders, while many
more may be forced to down their shutters in the near future if the order situation does not improve. There are 64 jute mills in West
Bengal, of which 33 are members of the jute mills' association. The jute
mills have the capacity to produce16 lakh tonnes of jute products every
"More than one lakh jute workers did not have anything to do for the last few months because of lack of orders," Gupta added. Source: The Times of India
Six Jute Mills Close in a Week in West Bengal
KOLKATA, June 22, 2014: Suspension of work has been declared in yet another jute mill
in West Bengal citing labour unrest, which took their number to six following the lynching of a mill CEO in Hooghly district on June 15.
Suspension of work was declared at the Victoria jute mill at Telenipara in Hooghly district last night following 'labour unrest', district police sources said.
The suspension of work was declared after the finishing department of the mill stopped work when 10 workers were suspended for taking a worker who fell ill to hospital, the sources said.
Labour Minister Purnendu Bose said the management of the mill was asked to attend a tripartite meeting on Tuesday on reopening of the mill.
This was the sixth jute mill to declare suspension of work following the killing of HK Maheswari, CEO of Northbrook Jute Mill at Bhadreswar in
Hooghly district, Sanjay Kajaria, a veteran in the state's jute industry and former chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association told PTI here.
The other such jute mills where suspension of work was declared were Hanuman jute mill in Howrah district on June 17, Auckland and New
Central jute mills in North 24 Parganas district on June 17, Weaverly Jutemills also in North 24 Parganas district on June 18.
According to an IJMA estimate, around 30,000 workers in the industry were jobless at present out of a total workforce of 2.5 lakh. Sourc
Jute Mill CEO Beaten to Death by Workers in West Bengal
Chinsurah, West Benga, June 16, 2014: HK Maheswari, CEO of North Brook Jute Mill, was beaten up by workers of
the factory when he rejected their demand for an increase in the weekly
working hours so that they are paid more, Hooghly Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Chowdhury said.
The SP said that the workers met Maheswari at 11 am in his chamber and
demanded that the weekly working hours be increased to 40 from the present 25, besides submitting a list of other demands.
The CEO's refusal to meet the workers' demands led to an altercation and the workers assaulted Mr Maheswari.
The CEO, who suffered serious injuries, was taken to a private nursing home where he succumbed this afternoon, SP Chowdhury said. Source: NDTV
Dry spell adds to woes of jute growers in West Bengal
Jalpaiguri , May 9, 2014 (ANI): A dry spell has affected lands under jute cultivation in Jalpaiguri
District in West Bengal and a lack of effective government intervention is leaving jute growers worried and in for huge losses.
This year, inadequate rainfall has left most jute farm lands dry and hampered the sowing of jute fiber plants
According to farmers, more than 40 percent of jute crops have been damaged due to no rain.
The farmers also claimed that they have been provided no help from the government despite the alarming situation.
"Rainfall has been very less. We are facing torture from the government and from the nature. How will we survive, the government is not paying
heed to our problems, even the cost of fertiliser is too much," said a farmer in Jalpaiguri district, Bijaya.
According to the weather department, last year Jalpaiguri district received 167.4 mm rainfall but this year it was only 7.6 mm of rainfall.
More than two lakh (200,000) people in the district are directly engaged in the jute industry.
The jute production in north Bengal is an ancient old agro-based industry.
The industry has been active since before the partition and jute being a cash crop had been a contributing factor to the economy as a whole for the north Bengal.
The districts of Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Malda are the main regions for jute cultivation in north Bengal.
The climatic conditions are usually favourable in this region for jute sowing. Though the industry has not accelerated at the pace expected, it
has contributed to the livelihood of many in the region. - ANI
Genetically modified jute to come up for GEAC nod
Mumbai, April 17, 2014: “GM jute is ready. The university is set to apply to the GEAC in a
month,” said Swapan K Datta, deputy director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), on the sidelines of a
round-table on ‘Addressing challenges of food security’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry .
Farmers expect that the success of GM cotton will be replicated in jute.“With jute being a non-food crop, GEAC should not have any problem in
approving it. The regulator has concerns only on food items,” Datta said.
Almost 30 per cent of the 250 million tonnes of foodgrains produced annually are packed in jute bags worth around Rs 6,000 crore.
Around 40 per cent of the jute bags produced are purchased by the Union
food ministry through the Food
Corporation of India, on behalf of different state food procuring agencies.
The country’s jute sector manufactures around 1.2 million tonnes of bags
in a year. The installed capacity stands at nearly 1.5 million tonnes. Source: Business Standard
India to help develop textile, jute sectors
Dhaka, March 24, 2014: The Indian government has agreed to extend technical cooperation to
Bangladesh in the textile and jute sectors.
"India has committed to provide technical assistance for improvement of
our textiles and jute sectors," a senior official told the FE Thursday
after the first meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) for cooperation
in the textiles sector between Bangladesh and India held in Dhaka.
The meeting discussed different issues including import of raw cotton
from India and keeping functional the International Jute Study Group
(IJSG), established under the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), the term of which expires on April 26 this year.
At the meeting a 17-member Bangladeshi delegation was led by Shamsul
Kibria, joint secretary of the ministry of textiles and jute while Sujit
Gulati, joint secretary of the Indian textiles ministry, led the six-member Indian team.
"We've agreed to continue the functions of IJSG but modality is yet to be finalised," the official explained.
Talking to the FE, Feroz Ahmed, secretary general of the Bangladesh
Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said the BTMA members were interested
to import 2.0 million bales of raw cotton from India under a special
arrangement to avert any unwanted situation in future.
The Indian government earlier promised to supply up to 2.0 million bales
of raw cotton to Bangladesh in the 2013-14 cotton season, starting in
October, even if a ban was imposed on such commodity export.
"The commerce ministries of both the countries are now working in this
contention," the official said while replying to a query relating to the raw cotton import from India.
He also said the JWC was now working to develop collaborations between
the textile institutions of the two countries such as the skill building
institutions, fashion institutes and research institutions.
"We expected that the next meeting of JWG will be held by the end of this calendar year in New Delhi," he noted.
Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on
cooperation in the textiles sector in New Delhi in August 2013 aiming to
strengthen bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
The MoU on textiles sector collaboration is a major trade facilitation
mechanism and provides for collaboration in various areas such as
fashion technology, skill exchange and productivity enhancement;
collaboration for upgrading and enhancing production efficiency,
management techniques and technical collaboration in development of textiles.
Later, a JWC on textiles was formed as an institutional collaboration
mechanism for speedy implementation of the MoU. Source: www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com


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Facebook is preparing to take on Twitter by adopting the messaging service's iconic hashtag symbol, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The propensity for people to post porn evidently prompted Twitter on Wednesday to stamp an adult rating on an updated version of its Vine video-snippet sharing software.
Twitter announced Tuesday that it has bought Bluefin Labs to ride the trend of viewers using smartphones or tablet computers to chat at social networks about shows they are watching.
Consumer efforts to protect personal data and remain "invisible" online is leading to a "data blackhole" that could adversely impact digital advertisers, technology research firm Ovum said Wednesday.
Royal KPN NV, the largest telecommunications company in the Netherlands, said Tuesday it plans to issue €4 billion ($5.4 billion) in new shares to regain financial stability after a bad year that finished with the company ...
Amazon.com stumbled for a short time on Thursday with aspiring visitors tripped in their efforts to reach the online retail titan's main shopping website.
Twitter's iPhone video-snippet sharing service Vine had concerns about porn exposed on Monday after adult content was bared briefly in an "Editor's Picks" section.
WhatsApp's mobile messaging service used by hundreds of millions of customers worldwide breached privacy laws in at least two countries, a joint Canadian-Dutch probe concluded Monday.
Twitter on Thursday launched Vine, a service that lets people share video snippets from iPhones or iPod touch devices.
Microsoft on Wednesday sent out word that it will "retire" its Messenger online chat feature on March 15 and replace it with the Skype Internet telephony service it bought last year.


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The Marketplace and Internet Tax Freedom Act combines two critical legislative issues – the Marketplace Fairness Act and the Internet Tax Freedom Act. What does this mean for retailers that sell goods and services online?
Wayfair has seen its advertising response rate increase more than two-fold with the Brother vs. Brother integration as compared to other prime time airings and the show ranks within the top five performing programs for Wayfair in terms of driving traffic to the website.
Building on Vitacost.com’s technology and fulfillment platform and linking it to Kroger’s existing digital capabilities will accelerate Kroger’s omnichannel strategy.
The purchase of Aspen builds on Plainfield, IN-based IDS’s strategy in e-fulfillment to serve 90% of the US with 2-day ground service, a critical component in the rapidly expanding ecommerce market.
As the deadline passed July 1, the two sides continuing talking to avert a west coast port strike.
Magento announced that it will retire two of its products, Magento ProStores and Magento Go, on Feb. 1. Here’s why Magento recommends that clients who can’t find the right alternative platform migrate their store to Bigcommerce.
The company’s more than 25 million registered customers can now pay for more than 10.5 million products including electronics, computers, game consoles and household items using Bitcoin through BitPay.
Held July 15-16 in Long Beach, CA, the knowledge gained at Growing Global will help you launch or refine your global ecommerce strategy, and save your company thousands of dollars in trial and error.
A joint NRF/NAM study found a West Coast port strike could cost the U.S. economy up to $2.5 billion per day.
Fine jeweler and watch retailer Betteridge announced that it has partnered with Borderfree to expand its online customer experience globally. By partnering with Borderfree, Betteridge now offers international shipping to over 100 countries and territories worldwide in more than 60 global currencies.
by Tim Parry
Posted 11 hours ago
by Ian Goldman
Posted 2 days ago
Posted 2 days ago


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*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on StudyFinds.
What time do you relax and unwind each day? Most adults are able to kick their feet back around five or six in the afternoon, but a new survey finds that parents have essentially lost all of their R&R time thanks to COVID-19. On average, exhausted moms and dads can’t relax these days until 8:39 PM.
In all, 2,000 British parents were surveyed for the research. They were asked how the coronavirus and subsequent school closures and lockdowns have impacted their day-to-day life. Life as a parent has always been hectic, but between entertaining and teaching their now homeschooled kids, household chores, and working from home, parents can hardly catch their breath these days.
Among the most frequently cited tasks blocking mom and dad from the couch were cleaning the kitchen, making sure the kids are in bed on time, and cooking meals. Surprisingly, one in six respondents even said they use their free time to clean even more. A parent’s work is never done.
Over three in four (76%) parents said they feel like a circus clown trying to juggle all of their daily tasks, and another 86% called their current life a “balancing act.”
The survey was conducted by OnePoll.


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In its Q1 trading update for the three month period ending 31 March 2020, Gamesys Group announced Thursday it will cut TV and radio advertising until Britain’s coronavirus restrictions are eased
The company announced it had increased the monitoring of player time and spend across all its sites and that it will suspend its direct-mail marketing and untargeted digital advertising but will continue to advertise its brands online, saying it was concerned not to target children and those with gambling problems stuck at home during the lockdowns.
First-quarter revenue at the company, which offers bingo and casino games, increased by 19% on a proforma basis to 155.3 million pounds ($191.64 million), boosted by strong growth in Asia and solid performance in the UK.
Shares in the company, which said its balance sheet was in robust financial health, were up 6.2% to 851 pence by 0719 GMT, Reuters reports.
The owner of brands such as Jackpotjoy, Virgin Games, Botemania also said it is providing 10 hours of free bingo every day in markets where regulations allow.
Gambling firms have flagged growing risks of gambling-related harm as more stuck-at-home Europeans bet online amid nationwide lockdowns. Another online gaming firm 888 said last week it was ramping up programs aimed at managing gambling addiction.
Gamesys said it had made a good start to the second quarter, with trends so far broadly in line with those experienced in the first quarter.
"The Group is in a strong position given our operational control of a portfolio of well-renowned brands and complete ownership of our technology platforms, said Lee Fenton, Chief Executive Officer. "We are confident that the business is capable of meeting the challenges in the current environment and continuing to thrive in the long term."


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There will be a total of 15 characters at launch ranging from the titular Tennis player himself Mario to Peach to Bowser and more.
We learned a ton of new details about the upcoming Switch sports game, including when it'll release around: June 22. For almost two months, Switch and 3DS owners have been waiting for the other shoe to drop after an exciting Nintendo Direct Mini back in January, and today, the time has finally come. Besides the normal shots, Mario Tennis Aces introduces three new shots, an energy meter, and the ability to break your opponent's racket mid game. One thing we do know is that it has a release date sometime in 2018.
Originally released for the Nintendo Wii U and ported to the 3DS, join Link and others as you fight your way through Hyrule to once again defeat Ganondorf. Featuring the very first story mode since the Game Boy Advance game, Mario Tennis Acesis a full-featured title that you can sink many hours into. There will also be online tournaments to compete against other players. The game was originally announced a year ago, and you can check out the teaser trailer below.
Finally, we have a single player expansion for Splatoon 2.
Okami HD will make a premiere with attractive cel-shaded graphics. There were plenty of announcements for both the 3DS and Nintendo Switch. The game will get a new single player expansion pack with 80 test facilities letting you play as an octoling known as Agent 8. The expansion will come in summer 2018 and can be pre-purchased today for $19.99.
Oklahoma Education Association holds press conference, announces demand for $10000 teacher raise
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs says that while they support a teacher pay raise, they do not support a walk out. Wiseman said he was inspired by teachers in West Virginia, who held a nine-day strike to gain a 5 percent pay increase.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" Teases Gamers With New Trailer
Destiny 2 is accessible through Battle.net with their ties to Activision, why not Call of Duty? . He recently moved to California to pursue whatever future endeavors were there.
Sadly, The Gender-Equality Gap Is Still Too Wide
REESE Witherspoon has revealed why she felt she had to stay silent after she was sexually assaulted by a director as a teenager. International Women's Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity.


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( STL.News) GoDaddy launched fourth-quarter revenues the other day as well as defeat assumptions. The firm introduced it included 1.4 million consumers in 2020, virtually double the number included in 2019, for an overall of greater than 20 million consumers. Go Dad CEO Aman Bhutani signs up with ‘Closing Bell’ to go over the firm’s customer growth.
See GoDaddy Reseller, UltimateHost.Domains
YouTube video clip offered thanks to CNBC-TV


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Valve’s Steam Machine initiative, alongside the associated Steam Controller project, has become the most infamous case of gaming hardware vaporware this side of the Phantom; however, it is Valve, so they do deserve the benefit of the doubt. And apparently, they are gearing up to honor our trust, with a final reveal for the Steam Controller, and what remains of the Steam Machine initiative, coming up at the Game Developers Conference 2015 in March.
This information comes to us from Origin PC CEO Kevin Wasielewski, who revealed the details to GameSpot today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“At GDC, they’re going to have more information,” Wasielewski said. “And we’ll be there. That’s the official stuff we can say. They came out with the controller, then they got some user feedback, and they had to revamp it; they got some more user feedback and had to revamp it again. So they went through that like three or four times. And now their controller is finalized. So now they’re going to production and at GDC is when they’re going to announce more stuff.”
He also talked about what was once the Steam Machine initiative, confirming that the Steam Machine name seems to be pretty much dead by this point, owing to their being no need for separate branding.
“I think that’s kind of pretty much dead,” he said of the term Steam Machine. “It’s like a living room PC–is now the new term. Living room PCs have been around forever. That’s not anything new either. But it seems like there’s a legitimate demand and push for living room PCs.”
It sounds like Valve may have scaled back on the entire effort to have specific Steam Machine standards and branding, and may instead be just content selling its controller and pushing the SteamOS on regular ‘living room PCs.’ Certainly, that would explain why companies that formerly had Steam Machines planned, such as Alienware, went ahead with releasing those machines even after Valve’s delay in pushing the standard out in the first place.
So, looks like GDC this year will be the place to be if you are a Valve fan. We’ll keep you posted.


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Revealed back at E3, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is one of Nintendo’s Wii U games for the holiday period this year. Unfortunately, we still don’t know anything about the game, and Nintendo hasn’t said anything about it since June (if you don’t take into account the announcements of the European and North American release dates, which were not accompanied by a new trailer or even screenshots).
And this week, the final European boxart for the game was revealed, via Amazon. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show one of the new characters (making their first appearance in the Mario Tennis series), teased when the game was announced. It look like we are going to wait a litttle bit more before finding out more about them, and the game itself.
Here’s the European boxart for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash on Wii U:
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U) comes out on November 20th in Europe and North America, and later this year in Japan.


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U-T SPECIAL REPORT
CRISTINA MARTINEZ / Union-Tribune
The dragon awakes
Foreign investments, global demand for cheap goods and labor give China the fastest-growing economy in the world
By Dean Calbreath
SHANGHAI, China – Jostling with the crowds in downtown Shanghai, it's easy to understand why economists predict that China soon will displace the United States as th
Gleaming storefronts along neon-lit Nanjing Street are laden with luxury goods by Ralph Lauren, Polo and Prada – and many are the real thing, not the bootlegged knockoffs sold on the cheap in the city's side streets and bazaars.
e world's biggest consumer nation.
Storm clouds over City Hall darken
Federal indictments, SEC sanctions could be next for San Diego
By Philip J. LaVelle
Is the hammer coming down on San Diego City Hall?
A flurry of federal grand jury activity suggests it will be, with more than a half-dozen demands since New Year's Day for documents on pension-system underfunding, labor contracts, reports to Wall Street credit-rating agencies and e-mail messages of a former top aide to Mayor Dick Murphy.
Lawmakers craft bill to put Schiavo case in federal court
By Robin Toner and Carl Hulse
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders reached a compromise yesterday on legislation to force the case of Terri Schiavo into federal court, an extraordinary intervention intended to prolong the life of the brain-damaged woman whose condition has reignited a painful national debate over when medical treatment should be withdrawn.
Protests mark 2nd anniversary of Iraq invasion
THE WASHINGTON POST and ASSOCIATED PRESS
CRAWFORD, Texas – Marking the second anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, President Bush yesterday cast the war as one of the "landmark events in the history of freedom."


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Nike Inc. joined the rest of the basketball world in holding their breath Wednesday night, as the company that once launched an ad campaign on the phrase “It’s gotta be the shoes!” must have been thinking “Pleasepleaseplease don’t let it have been the shoes.”
Duke University forward Zion Williamson, the top college basketball player in the nation and one of the best NBA prospects in the past decade, was lost to a knee injury just seconds into a key game against North Carolina when his foot slid on the floor and his Nike-made shoe exploded, twisting his knee and sending him sprawling.
Williamson’s foot actually tore through the side of his shoe.
Former President Barack Obama, who was in the crowd, was caught on camera putting it succinctly: “His shoe broke.”
Williamson left the game that was just 33 seconds old, and did not return. Duke said late Wednesday he had suffered a mild knee sprain — good news for those who feared much worse — but did not say how many games he’s expected to miss.
The 18-year-old Williamson is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The 285-pound forward has been averaging 22.4 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.
Social media was quick to pounce on Nike:
Rivals joined the pile-on. Puma tweeted, then deleted: “Wouldn’t have happened in the pumas.” LiAngelo Ball, whose family owns Big Baller Brand shoes, chimed in:
Many of the tweets were not far off the mark. If the shoe was defective, or if Williamson loses trust in wearing Nike, the company could lose potentially the next great basketball superstar as a pitch man.
Duke fans — some of whom had paid near-Super-Bowl-level prices for tickets — went home doubly disappointed; the Blue Devils lost to their intrastate arch-rivals, 88-72.
Investors expressed their disappointment in Nike, with shares
Reports of another shoe malfunction were making the rounds away from the court Wednesday. Owners of the Nike Adapt BB lace-less sneakers that can be tied and loosened via a smartphone app reported trouble with the Android


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The First Coast has a long history of fighting pirates. Much like the pirates of old, porch pirates are looking to steal treasures for themselves. The difference is they prey on doorsteps. Porch pirates may also take the form of the most unusual criminal.
A few days ago, multiple packages were delivered to Shayla Goshay's Jacksonville home. Goshay was at work but her door security camera notified her of the delivery.
"If I had not seen it, she would have been gone," Goshay recalled.
When Goshay checked her camera, she saw a teenage girl walking up to her front door and taking one of her packages: A Christmas present.
"When she heard me say put my stuff back she dropped it and ran," said Goshay, "I did find out she lives in my neighborhood. She is a little girl."
Goshay called police and presented the security camera video to the girl and her parents.
"I did show them, but she denied it, even though she was wearing the same clothing," Goshay said.
The experience so troubled Goshay, she is rethinking how she will have packages delivered to her in the future.
"I'm so skeptical I don't even want my stuff delivered at my house anymore," Goshay said.
Law Enforcement expert Mark Baughman said package thefts are crimes of opportunity.
"They're crimes of opportunity because they are easy to commit," Baughman said.
Safewise, a home safety and security company, found package thefts are at an all time high in 2020.
"This year, it has been an issue since about May," said Rebecca Edwards, a lead safety reporter and in-house expert for Safewise.
Edwards explained Safewise surveyed Americans in September about package thefts. Of the more than 1,000 people surveyed, 50% of them reported they had a package stolen from their home this year, 10% higher than the percentage of packages stolen in 2019.
Experts recommend the following tips to protect yourself from porch pirates:
- Be diligent in tracking of packages do not ignore the notifications like they're background noise.
- If you are not sure, have your packages delivered to a locker, shippers like Amazon has several available.
- You can elect to have your packages held with the carrier whether it is the US Postal Service, Fed Ex or UPS.
- Invest in a security to sends notices to your cell phone every time someone comes to the front door.


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The replica-car industry is celebrating with high-fives all around after the passage of the “Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015,” which loosens federal regulations on builders of vehicles based on those from the past.
SEMA goes so bold as to call it “a new era for the kit-car industry.”
The new rules, signed into law by President Obama, allow replica companies who create everything from ersatz ’32 Ford hot rods to Shelby Cobras to fiberglass Porsche Speedsters to bypass some of the more stringent requirements imposed on the mass producers of automobiles.
The kit-car provision, introduced by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) and Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), was inserted into a larger highway-construction bill and received strong bipartisan support, according to a SEMA news release. The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association has been pushing for the legislation since 2011.
“With this new law, Congress has demonstrated that it understands the importance of enabling U.S. companies to produce classic-themed vehicles that are virtually impossible to build under the current one-size-fits-all regulatory framework,” SEMA president and chief executive Chris Kersting said in a news release. “This program will create auto-sector jobs and meet consumer demand for cars that help preserve our American heritage.”
The law’s low-volume provision allows small manufacturers to construct as many as 325 replica cars a year in the U.S. that resemble production vehicles from at least 25 years ago. Replica vehicles are exempt from Monroney labeling regulations and special provisions are provided regarding NHTSA and EPA rules, including exemption from crash testing.
Previous to the new kit-car measure, the U.S. has had just one system for regulating production of vehicles that was established in the 1960s and designed for major automakers that mass produce vehicles.
“The (new) law recognizes the unique challenges faced by companies that produce a small number of custom cars,” SEMA said in the news release.
For Superformance, a California company well-known for offering high-quality “rolling chassis” replicas of Shelby Cobras, Shelby Cobra Daytonas, Ford GT40s and Corvette Grand Sports, the new law is a game changer that will allow them to sell completed turnkey cars directly to customers. Thus far, the company has sold the cars without engines, giving the option to the buyer of having them install the engine of choice.
“After years of building the best continuation and replica cars in the world, we are thrilled to finally offer our customers the option to buy a turnkey car right off the showroom floors of our dealers,” said Lance Stander, CEO of Superformance, LLC. “Now that we will be recognized by the government as a low-volume manufacturer, customers can walk in, buy a car and drive away just like any other new vehicle purchase, which will also streamline financing, registration and insurance options.”


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Culinary and hospitality school Le Cordon Bleu has launched the second edition of its Julia Child Scholarship, worth over £40,000, which provides extensive training alongside guidance from the school’s alumni.
One of Le Cordon Bleu’s most esteemed alumni, Julia Child, is renowned for changing career and becoming a pioneer of French food and home cooking. Over her career as a cooking teacher, author and advocate, which spanned more than fifty years, Child became a beloved culinary icon.
The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts was created by Julia Child in 1995 and became operational in 2004, with the ambition to honour and further Child’s legacy.
Taking place over 12 months and worth over £40,000, the scholarship, which launched in 2018, includes a place on Le Cordon Bleu’s Diplôme de Pâtisserie, recognised globally as one of the most respected culinary qualifications in pastry and baking; a three month Le Cordon Bleu Diploma in Culinary Management; an internship at the iconic Savoy Hotel; and luxury accommodation in the centre of the capital provided by Londonist for the duration of the programme.
Le Cordon Bleu has joined forces with some of its notable alumni, including Luiz Hara; Georgia Green; Dhruv Mittal and Evelina Ogorzalek, to provide additional mentorship to the winner.
The winner will also receive an exclusive prize from Churchill, the leading manufacturer of innovative tableware, as well as a 12-month membership with The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and tickets to The Business Show.
The second and third-place runners-up will receive high-performance Zwilling Diplôme knives.
The prize will be presented to the winner by esteemed Le Cordon Bleu alumna, Mary Berry.
With a turnover of around £25 billion, the food and drink industry in the UK continues to attract entrepreneurs. According to Cordon Bleu, the food sector has increased by 89% between 2000 and 2017, in contrast to the economy as a whole which has increased by 86%.
Le Cordon Bleu’s culinary art director, Emil Minev, said: “As an institute with a rich heritage spanning over 120 years, Le Cordon Bleu has a long-standing reputation of training the finest chefs and most innovative Food Entrepreneurs in the world. This year’s Scholarship will showcase this and offers a unique platform for those with exciting food business ideas.”
Prospective applicants can find further information and apply here.


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Huntsman Textile Effects and DyTech Taiwan have formed a collaboration that is set to drive sustainable excellence and world-class standards of high quality dyes and specialty chemicals for the Taiwan textile industry.
Huntsman Textile Effects will work closely with DyTech Taiwan, as its agent in Taiwan, to deliver sustainable, high performing processing and effects chemicals that have low environmental impact, with significant reductions in energy consumption and production time.
Commenting on this partnership signed in Taipei, Kent Kvaal, vice president of global sales and technical services at Huntsman Textile Effects said, “The Taiwanese textile industry is a strategic and promising market for Huntsman Textile Effects. We believe our partnership with the experienced DyeTech Taiwan team will help to bring world-class, environment friendly technical service solutions to our Taiwanese customers and we look forward to a successful collaboration with them, both within and beyond Taiwan.”
Adds Mr. Andrew Chen, director of DyTech Taiwan, “We are very excited about this partnership with Huntsman Textile Effects and believe this collaboration will create a new benchmark for the Taiwan textile industry in the areas of sustainability and differentiation, which are key ingredients to becoming a preferred supplier to key customers.”


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Soil & Sea: Reports from our producers
This article was originally published in November 2017
Washington’s Department of Fish & Wildlife approved a permit for another 1 million invasive Atlantic salmon to be reared in Puget Sound, despite one of the largest fish-farm spills in history. A Cooke Aquaculture fish farm failed in August, spilling more than 100,000 of the invasive fish, now detected as far north as the Fraser River in B.C. and west in the Quinault River. Gov. Jay Inslee says no new permits will be issued for new fish farms in Washington waters, for now, but says current laws and rules don’t prohibit Cooke from moving healthy fish into an existing net pen.
More than 90 percent of U.S. organic apples and 80 percent of U.S. organic pears are grown in Washington state. Organic tree fruit accounts for 21 percent of the total organic acreage in Washington state and more than $463 million in crop sales. This growth is a sharp contrast to 1988 when the state had only four organic apple orchards with less than 100 acres in production. Much of this success can be attributed to a few organic tree fruit pioneers who developed weed and pest management strategies to produce quality organic fruit.
Extreme weather and fire harms the wine industry. Napa Valley’s harvest was to be exceptional this year until a Labor Day weekend heatwave pushed temperatures up to 117° Fahrenheit. Some September-ripening varietals shriveled into unripe raisins in the heat, resulting in crop losses. Grape season mostly was finished by the worst of the October fires but smoke taint can make aging wine unpalatable and hot winds can kill grape vines. There is concern that “irreplaceable” vines more than 200 years old may have been damaged or destroyed in the fires.
A fire of undetermined cause destroyed the 100-year-old Port Moller, Alaska seafood processing plant owned by Peter Pan Seafoods. All crew and personnel were safe but the damage is extensive enough to halt operations for the rest of the 2017 season. The Port Moller salmon processing plant is 550 miles southwest of Anchorage and mostly processes Sockeyes but also some King, Coho and Chum salmon. Peter Pan was buying fish from and supporting a fleet of 105 drift gill netters and 30 set netter fishermen until the fire.
7,000 Kansas farmers won a lawsuit against Syngenta AG, claiming contamination of their corn by Syngenta’s GE seed caused China to reject 1.4 million metric tons of American corn and five years of depressed corn prices. A second trial involving 60,000 Minnesota farmers began in August. China requires GE food labeling and has a zero tolerance policy.


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When a casting agent called Product Design alumnus Nolen Niu (BS 99) asking if he would be interested in participating as a judge on a Spike TV show, he said “Hell yeah!” A fan of such shows as Bar Rescue and Catch a Contractor, Niu didn’t even ask what the show was about before agreeing to participate. That enthusiasm, and his well-earned reputation as a furniture designer, landed him a stint as one of three judges on the furniture design reality competition, Framework, Spike TV’s newest reality show, where contestants vie to be named best furniture maker—and win a $100,000 prize. There is still time to binge watch the entire series online before the finale, which will air March 10th.
At first it was a bit surreal for Niu to see himself on TV and to get recognized at some of the most random places. Overall though, “[this] has been one of the best experiences I’ve had during my career as a designer, says Niu. “The opportunity to judge a competition and hold a position of authority related to design was an absolute honor.”
In tune with the current maker movement, Framework offers a glimpse into the process of creating handcrafted goods. “The design and build process is very analog in nature compared to the completely digital lifestyles that we live in today. It’s important that these shows continue to be produced since it shines light on the level of complexity of the work we as designers and makers perform,” notes Niu.


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Despite a chaotic start, CD Projekt’s futuristic role-playing game has paid off for its creators. The studio grossed no less than 253 million in profits in 2020. Not so bad, if it’s pointless to remember all the setbacks Cyberpunk 2077 had at the time of its release, we feared dire consequences for the Polish studio CD Projekt, whose stock market share had plummeted. But in the end, the game’s financial impact on his studio seems to be more than positive. With 13 million copies sold at launch, Cyberpunk made big bucks in 2077.
Jackpot for CD project
Between that and the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which continues to sell well 6 years after its release, CD Projekt’s record promises to blossom for 2020. So it is only natural that Poles would be proud to announce their first financial figures ahead of the April 22nd close. What is there? 468 million euros in sales with a net profit of 253 million euros. This corresponds to 4 times more income and 6.5 times more profit than in the previous year. And it’s not ready to stop in 2021 yet. Cyberpunk 2077 faces a huge task that could revive the machine! Also read: From meakaya, writing from jeuxvideo.com MP


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Bala Cynwyd is poised to undergo a major development boom over the coming years on a scale of those in King of Prussia and Conshohocken, writes Natalie Kostelni for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Tishman Speyer Properties is planning to proceed with its plans to develop 2.1 million square feet of new space.
The proposal would transform this part of Lower Merion over the next three decades.
The New York real estate company wants to construct 757 new apartments and 720,000 square feet of office space along with a hotel, retail space, a 12-acre park, and an amphitheater.
The company plans to do this on the 61 acres it owns at Bala Plaza office complex.
The existing office buildings would not be demolished. Instead, the development would occur around them.
“It’s essentially a sea of asphalt,” said Al Fuscaldo, an attorney representing Tishman.
Other real estate companies are also looking at potential developments in the area, including Federal Realty Investment Trust, which is currently before the township with plans to redevelop the Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center into a mixed-use development, like apartments at The Delwyn and other shopping areas.
Read more about the development boom in Bala Cynwyd in the Philadelphia Business Journal.


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The view from the top of IT with TechWorld Editor Rohan Pearce
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is set to release what could be the first Windows Phone 7 handset for mainland China, a move that will finally bring the Microsoft mobile OS to a key market.
Motorola Mobility has joined LG and Samsung among the companies building VMware's hypervisor into their phones. The move is part of a larger push at Motorola to cater to business users.
Rumored layoffs at Yahoo could offer a clue as to how the company's new CEO, Scott Thompson, plans to redirect the stumbling Internet giant.
A series of natural disasters including the Queensland floods of 2010 prompted Brisbane-based bank, Suncorp, to implement a desktop virtualization project called Desktop Anywhere.
Cloud Sherpas and GlobalOne, which advise clients in implementing cloud-based Software as a Service applications, have merged in what is a sign of the continually busy M&A activity in the SaaS market.
Yahoo executives are planning a major corporate reorganization that could include thousands of layoffs, according to a report today by AllThingsD .
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will require Western Digital to sell off assets used to manufacture desktop hard drives to a competitor as a condition of its US$4.5 billion acquisition of rival Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, the agency announced.
Enterprises, it seems, are getting a bit more social.
Reports are circulating that Google is developing a voice assistant technology that would rival Apple's Siri.
Google yesterday patched 14 vulnerabilities in Chrome and handed out a record $47,500 in rewards to researchers, including $30,000 for "sustained, extraordinary" contributions to its bug-reporting program.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt painted a messianic picture of our technological future on Monday, involving holographic telepresence, self-driving cars, automatic translation and the widespread deployment of 1Gbps Internet access over optical fiber, bringing transnational peace and communication to all.
Implementation of Cloud services will create 14 million jobs internationally by 2014, with the greatest increases occurring in emerging markets, which are not constrained in deploying cloud systems by legacy infrastructure, according to a new study from Microsoft and IDC.
Google, alphabetically workings its way through a list of desserts for Android code names, has reportedly settled on Key Lime Pie for a version of the mobile operating system that could roll out next year.
Hoarding shows are popular these days. Hoarders, Hoarding: Buried Alive, Confessions: Animal Hoarding and on and on. The images are consistent: Boxes stacked to the ceilings. Piles of newspapers dating back to the Nixon era. Feral cats skittering behind furniture. Empty cans of cat food, beans and soup scattered everywhere.
You can take your work with you, thanks to several office suites which let you view and edit your documents on an Android device. Most were originally designed for use on a smartphone, but here are seven that are compatible with most Android tablets that run Android 2.3 (codenamed "Gingerbread").
If your IT department is resisting the "consumerization" trend, it's in the minority. Recent research shows that most enterprises are proactively addressing this trend and the new relationship between IT and users that often accompanies a consumer IT strategy. What do they know that you don't?
The WA Electoral Commission (WAEC) has commenced work on a telephone-based voting system after the funding for its internet voting system was withdrawn by the State Government.
U.S. prosecutors have filed papers seeking the extradition of Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload and three colleagues, who are charged in the U.S. with allegedly running a criminal enterprise responsible for online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works.
Siemens Enterprise Communications, which has been rebuilding itself here in the U.S. for the past several years, will punctuate the idea that it deserves another look with the announcement Monday of Version 7.0 of its OpenScape UC suite that enables the VoIP platform to support up to 500,000 users.
Every new version of Windows has included interface changes. Most of these have been minor--an icon moved here, a toolbar added there. Windows 8 will be different, using a completely new Metro interface as the primary environment, and removing important elements like the Start menu from the older but still accessible "desktop" interface. Even IT pros may need to do some web searching to figure out some features. What questions will your workers have, and will you have the answers?


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Target's loss of nearly $15 billion in market value since the start of a boycott over LGBT Pride merchandise has "woken" up other companies about the importance of staying away from controversial issues, says businessman Kevin O'Leary.
The Shark Tank star told Fox News that Target's market collapse will lead to a "complete change in the thinking of corporate America, particularly S&P 500 public companies." On May 17, before the controversy, Target's stock closed at $160.96 a share, giving it a market capitalization of $74.3 billion, according to CNBC and YCharts. Two weeks later, on May 31, Target closed at $130.93 with a market cap of $60.43 billion.
"The stunning collapse of Target's market cap is almost unprecedented," O'Leary said. "... How this happened is being scrutinized by lots of other boards right now. And it's a discussion that's going on every day with institutional investors. On one hand, companies want to show their support of diversity and all the mandates that society is discussing openly. On the other hand, the job of a business particularly from the perspective of an investor … are concerned that maybe they're losing their way in terms of what the prime objective is – your customers, your employees, and yeah, your shareholders."
"And so if you start to get too distant or too far away from the primary mandate, the market has proven itself to really, really punish you. And it's woken up all kinds of boards," he added.
The boycott and backlash, he said, shows the "power" of social media.
The controversy began in mid-May when social media users noted that some LGBT Pride items sold by Target were designed by British designer Eric Carnell and his company, Abprallen. Carnell openly calls himself a Satanist, although he says he views Satan as a metaphor. Another controversial item was a "tuck-friendly" women's swimsuit for biological males who identify as female but who have not had surgery.
Target pulled some items, including those made by Carnell, but stood by the rest of its Pride line of merchandise.
Since the backlash/boycott began, Target's social media posts have been filled with customer criticism. On May 22, the most popular comment under a Target Facebook post about pickup and delivery read, "I will no longer go to Target." On June 2, a Target Instagram post about a candy dispenser included this popular comment: "Get rid of the baby pride items please."
Target also donates to GLSEN, an LGBT group that has taken controversial stances on several issues, including recommending that schools allow biological boys who identify as female to be allowed to participate in girls' sports.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Brandon Bell/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.


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The Toyota Motor Corporation recently issued a warning that personal information belonging to its customers may potentially have been exposed following a vulnerability where an access key was made available publicly on GitHub for a period of close to five years.
Data leak discovered
The auto manufacturer’s official connectivity application, Toyota T-Connect, enables Toyota vehicle owners to connect their smartphones with their vehicle’s dedicated infotainment system. This allows it to link phone calls, navigation, music, fuel consumption, notifications integration, engine status, driving data and much more.
However, Toyota recently discovered that a segment of the T-Connect site’s source code was published in error on GitHub and included a dedicated access key for the data server where customer email addresses as well as management numbers were being stored.
As a result, it was possible for an unauthorised third party to gain access to the personal information of 296,019 Toyota customers from December 2017 to September 2022, when the GitHub repository’s access was eventually restricted.
By September 17 this year, the keys for the database were changed, ending all potential access from unauthorised third parties.
The recent announcement from Toyota states that customer names, phone numbers and credit card data has not been compromised in the leak as these details were not stored in the compromised database.
Actions following a data breach
Toyota has now blamed one of its development subcontractors for the mistake but has recognised it is still responsible for the mishandling of its customer’s data and apologised for any possible inconvenience caused by the incident
The Japanese car maker concluded its recent notice with a comment that while no signs exist yet of data misappropriation, it is unable to rule out the unfortunate possibility that an individual has accessed and stolen the customer data.
Toyota data leak notice explained:
“As a result of an investigation by security experts, although we cannot confirm access by a third party based on the access history of the data server where the customer’s email address and customer management number are stored, at the same time, we cannot completely deny it. “
To this end, all T-Connect users who registered during the period of July 2017 to September 2022 are now being advised to remain vigilant against scams like phishing attacks and should avoid opening any email attachments from unrecognisable senders that claim to be from Toyota.
While some threat operators who steal data will use it themselves in their own campaigns, others will sell the information on to other malicious actors. In some cases, a high price tag is attached to such dark web auctions. However, up-and-coming threat groups will sometimes give stolen data away for free to earn kudos.
This kind of security incident is becoming increasingly common and often result in large-scale leaks when troves left unprotected hold a considerable volume of sensitive data. To protect against threats of inadvertent data exposure, cybersecurity experts recommend that all data should be adequately safeguarded using encryption software. Whether information is stolen or simply left openly accessible online, it will remain unreadable when effectively encrypted.


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Profits fall at Foxtons following downturn in London property market
Foxtons Group PLC today announced interim results for the half year ended 30 JUNE 2017.
Lettings revenue £32.1m down 2% versus prior year; Volumes up 1% with several growth initiatives underway, offset by fall in rental rates. Remains a resilient, recurring revenue stream.
Sales revenue £22.2m down 29% in the half; mainly driven by the Q1 surge in the prior year. Q2 sales revenue down 3% overall versus prior year and impacted by increased political uncertainty towards the end of the period.
Commenting on today’s statement, Nic Budden, Chief Executive Officer said:
“Our performance has been resilient in the context of a London property market that has been further impacted by unprecedented economic and political uncertainty. Whilst sales commissions in the second quarter as a whole were down 3% versus prior year, sales exchanges and our under offer pipeline weakened through June and the early part of July. The growth in our lettings portfolio was encouraging, up 2% to c.19,800 tenancies and now accounts for 55% of group revenues, delivering a steady and recurring income stream.
“During the last six months we have maintained our relentless focus on delivering a market leading service for our customers and that remains our priority. We recently launched MyFoxtons for tenants and buyers, a sophisticated online portal to complement the equivalent for landlords and vendors launched last year, and early feedback has been encouraging. We have several new and exciting initiatives underway designed to build our lettings portfolio and strengthen our customer offer further. While conditions remain challenging, we are confident that these initiatives, together with the strength of our network, our balance sheet and our brand will support long term growth for our shareholders.”
Read Foxtons interim results for the half year ended 30 JUNE 2017 in full click here.


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In the most surprising news since Squaresoft and Enix announced their merging into one big RPG Archon, someone at Ubisoft has actually been paying attention to how their DRM has been received and hasn’t deluded themselves into thinking it was a job well done before sitting back in their leather high chair and laughing maniacally while stroking their cat.
Chris Early talked to Eurogamer today and said that he felt the best way to combat piracy was to essentially create more value for their products to entice players to buy their games instead of pirate them. Just give that last sentence a second read through but, this time, keep in mind that this is from the Vice President of Digital Publishing at Ubisoft. As in the guys who put out a DRM system that everyone hated and then called it a success. Despite causing games to be unplayable for legitimate customers, of course.
“The question is, with enough on-going content development, content release, engagement at the community level, can we create that kind of MMO value system? I think we can. As the rest of the game industry continues to evolve, the more you hear about cloud gaming, the more you hear about companion gaming, the less a pirated game should work in all of that environment. So, therefore the value of that pirated content becomes less,” says Early, showing a basic understanding of the industry that seems to have escaped Ubisoft in the past five years.
Even stranger is that he doesn’t regard pirates with the same rabid fervor as the company has been the entire time either. “Will some people still pirate? Yeah, they will. Will the person who really wants that broad experience pirate? We hope not.”
Interestingly, it seems Chris Early has had these views for a while now as he touched on many of these same points back in October 2011 in an interview with Industry Gamers. And that was a month before Anno 2070 was released to much infamy. And he seems like a person who is very much behind the idea of giving the player a great experience.
That’s been the delicate balance that the industry has walked over time. It continues to be one that we grapple with as an industry. How do we create content and receive good value for that, and at the same time, not inconvenience the player who has given us value there?
I really hope this guy ends up running Ubisoft soon.


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Feminist Designer of ‘Nasty Woman’ T-Shirts Expands Business
The left-wing feminist t-shirt designer who created the infamous “Nasty Woman” t-shirt is now expanding her business, but says she does not want to “capitalize on feminism.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Amanda Brinkman said she was expanding her t-shirt business to include more anti-President Trump slogans. Of course, the “Nasty Woman” t-shirt is based on the 2016 presidential debate moment when Trump called his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” for her attacks on him.
Since that moment, Brinkman has profited from the slogan, while donating some of the proceeds to abortion-provider Planned Parenthood and the left-wing ACLU.
“After the shirt initially went viral, I really wanted to think about different ways to sustain it,” Brinkman said. “I really wasn’t interested in going for the low hanging fruit of turning the Nasty Woman heart logo into baby clothes or putting it all over every kind of product imaginable.”
Her new t-shirts will include slogans such as “She persisted,” in reference to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) breaking U.S. Senate rules, and the words “Grab back” coupled with a graphic of a cat, in reference to Trump’s now infamous Access Hollywood tapes.
But, while Brinkman’s business model is to sell third-wave, anti-Trump feminism, she says she does not want to capitalize off feminism:
One thing I noticed in terms of apparel that has feminist slogans printed across it, is a lot of times these were being made by big box companies. People who were interested in making a quick buck who didn’t [contribute a portion of proceeds to charity.] Also, often times these shirts were being made in factories that are not well regulated, with girls working in pretty hazardous conditions.
We wanted to expand the online store to more of a platform to work with independent contractors and online brands. People who give back, people who are thoughtful about where their materials are coming from, people who aren’t capitalizing on feminism, per se.
As for Brinkman’s favorite anti-Trump t-shirts, she says its one that features the President with a clown nose that reads “F— no.” Brinkman also likes the pro-Hillary Clinton t-shirt that claims “The Future is Female.”


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Global supply chain management company APL Logistics (APLL) has completed its senior management reorganization, begun last year, with the appointment of Daniel C. Ryan as head of its Europe region, based in London.
In making the announcement, APLL CEO, Hans Hickler, said, "The APLL organization in Europe has grown by leaps and bounds. We now need to ensure we build on that strong foundation and work with our customers to meet their needs. Dan's skills and experience will help us do that."
Mr Ryan was most recently President of the Middle East region of APLL's sister company, APL. He has held a number of executive positions in the organization including in the logistics area and has worked in the United States, the Middle East and Asia.
He takes over from Vice President for Europe, Thomas Poulsen, who is leaving the company.
"We are delighted Dan is joining our organization," said Mr Hickler. "We are very much focused on growing our capabilities in Europe, including leveraging the synergies between the liner organization and our own where it provides a significant value-add to customers and Dan will be a strong contributor to that effort."
Mr Hickler thanked Mr Poulsen for his work in expanding the organization in Europe, particularly through merger and acquisition activity, and wished him well for the future.
Acting CEO of APL, Ron Widdows said, "While we are sorry to see Dan leave APL after more than 15 years, both APL and APLL will benefit from the sharing of experience."
In related organizational changes, Mr Widdows also announced the appointment of Ong Tuen Suan to the role of Regional Vice President for APL Middle East/East Africa and Managing Director of APL United Arab Emirates (UAE), based in Dubai.
"The Middle East/East Africa region, which is being rolled back under one APL Asia/Middle East umbrella, is a growing market for APL and with the changing political environment in the region, there are some significant challenges ahead," Mr Widdows said.
"Suan's 12 years experience, and in particular his most recent role as Vice President, Liner Controller over the past three years, have developed his already strong analytical and organizational skills and prepared him well for his new position."
Mr Widdows said that, additionally, combining the regional leadership role with that of head of APL UAE created useful synergies both commercially and operationally.
Mr Ong has worked in the United States, the Philippines and Singapore during his career. He will report to APL's head of Greater China, Brian Lutt, who is currently also overseeing the re-combined Asia/Middle East region.
About APL and APL Logistics APL provides customers around the world with container transportation services through a network combining high-quality intermodal operations with state-of-the-art information technology. APL Logistics offers end-to-end supply chain management services enabled by leading information technology. APL and APLL are wholly owned subsidiaries of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global transportation and logistics company engaged in shipping and related businesses.
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