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In recent decades, Vietnam has often been unfairly written off by many buyers in specialty coffee as a high-volume producer of robusta coffee. Yet for first-generation Vietnamese-American entrepreneur Sahra Nguyen, such a narrow view of Vietnamese coffee overlooks a rich coffee culinary coffee history, as well as a promising future in the quality-focused specialty market.
In April, Nguyen opened the doors to Cafe Phin inside the An Choi restaurant in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood, specializing solely in Vietnamese brews using a combination of robusta and arabica beans. Supporting the venture is Nguyen Coffee Supply, an importing and roasting company formally launched by Nguyen in New York last year.
Prior to coffee, Nguyen found success as a published writer, film producer and media entrepreneur. Her familiarity with specialty coffee grew after she opened Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen in Bushwick in 2015.
Despite her interest in coffee, Nguyen said she has struggled to find the kind of traditional coffee that she remembers from her childhood — often involving a robusta and arabica blend brewed manually in single cups with a flat-basket phin brewer.
In 2016, while visiting family in Hanoi, Nguyen was introduced to a coffee producer from Da Lat in the Central Highlands who had been producing specialty grade coffee on a 12-hectare family farm for nearly four generations. A fluent Vietnamese speaker, Nguyen immediately developed a direct trade relationship and drafted a business plan in which she would source and roast high-grading arabica and robusta coffees.
In 2018, after two years of planning, she opened Nguyen Coffee Supply, sourcing and roasting coffees exclusively from Da Lat, while boasting of being the first ever Vietnamese-American and woman-owned coffee importing company in the United States. The company also proudly boasts of being “millennial-owned.”
“Despite the scrutiny, I’m educating folks on the possibilities that robusta can be good if it’s grown and produced with care,” Nguyen told DCN, adding that despite much of Vietnamese coffee being commodity grade, there are a lot of Vietnamese producers who are working to meet higher quality standards.
“Vietnamese coffee can be really great if it’s grown well, produced well and if it’s roasted well; this includes robusta coffee,” Nguyen said. “I want to break the norm that not all robusta coffee tastes bad.”
Currently, Nguyen roasts the beans herself once a week on a 30-kilo Probat roaster located at the company’s production warehouse in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood.
Furthering the cause is the has been the opening of Cafe Phin, which has been maintaining hours for five days per week inside the An Choi restaurant. The coffee bar offers both of NCS’s core products: a 50/50 blend of arabica and robusta called “Loyalty,” and a 100 percent arabica single-origin called “Courage.”
Drink options include: batch brew; the “Phin batch brew,” brewed on a 220-gram phin brewer; an individual phin brew using a traditional 22-gram phin brewer; and pourovers using Hario V60s. Cafe Phin also serves traditional Vietnamese coffee drinks, including the Ca Phe Den (traditional condensed Vietnamese black coffee brewed with a phin), Ca Phe Sua (phin-brewed coffee over condensed milk), and Ca Phe Sua Da (Phin brewed coffee over ice).
A rotating menu of specialty drinks currently includes the Coconut Vietnamese Coffee, the Ube Iced Latte (a purple yam dessert with phin-brewed coffee), and the Sea Salt Vietnamese Shakerato. Nguyen and her team are constantly experimenting with new drinks, such as a new variation of cold brew and a strawberry milk latte.
All of these drinks are designed to give the customer a uniquely Vietnamese coffee experience.
“Third wave coffee is centered around the quality of the coffee. I want the fourth wave to be centered around the people that actually grow the coffee,” Nguyen said. “Coffee professionals are at a place where we can redesign the system abroad, focusing on farmers and producers at origins and their methods and their livelihoods, oppose to just concentrating strictly on the coffee.”
Towards this effort, Cafe Phin is donating a portion of its proceeds to organizations that advance Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American causes within specialty coffee. The company us also constantly speaking with producers in its network to make sure their socio-economic and financial demands are being met, according to Nguyen.
“I opened this cafe to honor my Vietnamese heritage and to showcase Vietnamese coffee and Vietnamese culture,” Nguyen said. “I want to shatter the stereotypes about Vietnam and show folks the versatility of Vietnamese coffee beans and drinks.”
Cafe Phin is located at 85 Orchard Street at Broome inside of An Choi in Lower Manhattan.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to better describe Sahra Nguyen’s past career experience.]


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What started with supply shortages and purchase limits has turned into an industry saturated with shops in a matter of less than three years.
Recent data from Statistics Canada shows in-store cannabis sales have displaced roughly 50 per cent of black market sales.
Something he said was the goal of legalization in the first place.
“Obviously a significant milestone for the industry to not only have achieved the growth that it has over the first few years”.
There are now 71 cannabis retail locations across the province — up from 42 in 2019.
The growth can also be seen in sales, in particular seeing an increase of 10-15 per cent at the beginning of the pandemic. Those numbers have started to level out as the pandemic carried on.
Despite the growth, finance minister Scott Fielding says the industry’s revenue is still far behind alcohol sales.
Fielding said Thursday revenue associated with cannabis was around $14 million.
“For the most part, most years we get about a dividend of $650 million from liquor and lotteries, through a variety of things, through casinos, through alcohol sales and cannabis,” Fielding said. “The cannabis number is there but it’s quite low.”
However, there’s still time and new products to bridge the gap.
edibles have skyrocketed in popularity, with the gummy form of cannabis appealing to a new demographic.
“We see people coming into stores they would have never tried a cannabis product prior to legalization, they’re now finding that you know what some of these edible products or drinkables actually are a pretty attractive value proposition versus beverage alcohol”.
The non-smoking options are calorie and hangover-free according to the CEO, something he thinks could pave the way for the future of cannabis in Canada.

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The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement makes some big promises about removing barriers to trade and freeing up the flow of goods and services. It would be one of the world’s largest free trade blocs. The agreement was originally signed by 44 countries in March and signatories to the deal now number 49, but when will it come into force and what are challenges in putting it in place?
“The process of ratification is progressing very, very well,” Albert Muchanga, the African Union’s commissioner for trade told RFI on the sidelines of the World Export Development Forum in Lusaka. “It’s possible that by March [next year] or by December this year we should have the minimum of 22 countries required to ratify and bring it into force after a month.
“We are in constant touch with the six countries that haven’t signed,” says Muchanga. “Most of them have indicated that they should be able to sign before the end of this year.”
Seven countries have ratified the agreement so far – Chad, eSwatini (formerly known as Swaziland), Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda, Niger. Leaving 15 countries needed to activate the agreement and make the free trade bloc a reality.
“Quite a good number of them have assured us that they’re going to ratify by December this year,” says Muchanga, a Zambian national, who previously worked as Zambia’s ambassador to Ethiopia.
Africa’s largest economy has still not signed the agreement, despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s promises in July that he “will soon sign it”. Buhari’s administration had originally said it was concerned about protecting the country’s businesses and industry.
“The government of Nigeria has not finalised the stakeholders consultations, they’re almost there,” says the AU trade commissioner.
Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou is in touch with Buhari, according to the commissioner, in his role as “champion” of the CFTA on the heads of state level. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who signed the agreement in July, is also liaising with Buhari, adds Muchanga.
“The government [of Nigeria] is actively involved with the stakeholders to ensure that there’s buy-in from everybody,” says Muchanga. “But there are quite a number of stakeholders who may not be fully convinced – some could come from business, some could come from the trade union movement, some come from the regions,” the commissioner adds, refusing to be more specific, saying he is not in a position to comment.
Potential stumbling blocks and ‘adjustment facilities’
Some general concerns centre on the potential impact a continental free market could have on particular sectors of national economies. If a smaller economy was swamped by tariff-free imports from a more developed economy with more competitive businesses, there could be job losses.
“They should shift focus, their new domestic market is the African Continental Free Trade Area and they should produce to scale,” says Muchanga. However, the commissioner also refers to safeguards that may be available to intervene on occasion of unexpected surges of imports.
“If a country has a sudden inflow of imports it can enforce safeguard measures to ensure the economy is not disrupted.”
The other matter for national governments is the loss of revenues from removal of tariffs at border posts. In this case, an adjustment facility may be able to pick up the slack in reduced revenues.
“As to the shape which it will take, we don’t know, the study is underway and we hope to get it out by the end of the year,” the AU official says.
Muchanga cites a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), stating that governments may face a reduction in revenues from tariffs in the short term. Nevertheless in the long term “everybody is going to benefit” and there can be a shift to using sales tax to make up the difference.
Non-tariff barriers could be an issue for the functioning of the CFTA once it is up and running. These may be as simple as delays at border crossings or controls on foreign exchange. This hurdle will be dealt with by a special monitoring mechanism, says the AU commissioner, triggered by the coming into force of CFTA. The monitoring will examine non-tariff barriers and analyse how they are “evolving” with the opening up of the African single market.
In tandem with efforts by the African Union to further hammer out the details of the CFTA and push the continued ratification of the agreement, the International Trade Centre has published a 57-page guide for African businesses. It acts as an assessment of the 450-page CFTA agreement, which itself is a starting point for more detailed negotiations.
“A business guide to the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement” was launched at the World Export Development Forum and aims to “identify potential synergies, issues, opportunities and benefits for African business”.
It highlights a number of expected benefits of CFTA. But also outlines difficulties in the ongoing negotiations over “sensitive” goods that need to be protected and how tariffs will be phased out for countries at different levels of economic development. “Member states are now moving into the heart of negotiations,” says the guide.
The CFTA could cover a potential African market of some 1.7 billion people by the year 2030, representing a total gross domestic product of more than 3 trillion US dollars. It is hoped that intra-African trade will be doubled by the year 2022.
Key decisions on specific elements of the CFTA are likely to be taken at the next African Union summit in January 2019, according to the International Trade Centre.


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Food firms active in the travel retail market will need to increase focus on providing consumers with guilt-free options produced via a hyperlocal supply chain to increase their chances of survival and growth in a rapidly evolving post-COVID-19 era.
Food and beverage manufacturers in the Middle East have been urged to stop toeing the line in terms of making any off-pack claims for their products, given increasing awareness and warnings raised by governments in the region.
Chinese plant-based yoghurt firm Jooma has launched a new coconut yoghurt range and revamped its almond yoghurt recipe, in addition to colour-coding its various products to enhance its consumer appeal in the market.
Thai healthy snacking brand MUNCHHH has developed an award-winning range of snacks based on what it has termed the ‘middle ground’ of snacking, with a priority on balancing health and indulgence to keep consumers coming back for more.
Products with a healthier focus are the next major trend within frozen foods sector, with NPD thriving from countries with advanced cold chain systems such as Australia to those with less developed logistics such as India.
The deadline has been extended to submit your entries for the 2022 NutraIngredients-Asia Awards, which will recognise the most innovative products, ingredients, research and ventures operating across APAC.
The Thai government has set its sights on emerging as the South East Asian regional leader in the areas of both organic food production and cannabis technology development, amid hopes that these sectors will help deliver a boost to the local economy.
Global alcoholic beverages giant Diageo has highlighted how promoting responsible drinking is important for alcohol firms to expand reach and retain consumer loyalty post-COVID-19, especially via digital initiatives.
Singapore’s upcoming implementation of its sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) labelling system Nutri-Grade is driving local beverage firms to reformulate and create low-sugar product options to avoid potential repercussions, including upcycled drinks firm...
A ‘milestone’ study has been published supporting the link between flavanol consumption and cardiovascular health. FoodNavigator speaks to Mars Edge’s science and nutrition director Catherine Kwik-Uribe about the implications of this ‘landmark moment’...
There has been a slew of product innovation surrounding gamma-aminobutyric acid – better known as GABA – in Japan, with the ingredient incorporated in an array of dosage formats under the Foods with Function Claims (FFCs) framework.
Today we can reveal the latest expert industry speakers from some of the world's biggest brands who are confirmed for our Growth Asia Summit, an in-person, face-to-face conference taking place in Singapore
Icelandic microalgae specialist Algalif and global vitamin manufacturer Divi’s Nutraceuticals have pooled skills to develop highly concentrated beads of sustainable, natural astaxanthin that will ramp up the health benefits of nutritional bars.
The South Korean government has updated national standards for food packaging recyclability, meaning that food and beverage manufacturers will need to review their current packaging to ensure it doesn't fall into the ‘difficult to recycle’ category.
The alternative protein sector in China – more commonly known as New Protein locally – is hopeful that it could finally get its own Green Financing system in line with China’s 2060 carbon neutrality goals, similar to existing financing systems in the...
A set of new nutraceutical regulations operationalised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) this month will make it easier for companies to innovate and import a broader range of supplements, although there are still some ‘bottlenecks’...
As more consumers add plant-based foods to their diets, Cargill is expanding its RadiPure pea protein into the Middle East, Turkey, Africa (META) and India, which it said will help food and beverage manufacturers in the region respond to evolving marketplace...
The Japanese government has published a series of foreign language brochures on food and radiation in hopes of winning back the confidence of foreign markets that still have food and beverage import bans in place following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Kirin is aiming a 20 per cent growth in the number of regular consumers buying functional foods and drinks containing its immune health ingredient LC-plasma – and it is seeking to do so by working with brands that can incorporate the ingredient into various...
Drinking low- and no-calorie sweetened beverages (LNCSBs), as a substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) leads to small improvements in body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors, according to a new study.
The Australian beverage sector has hit out at veiled warnings of price increases and tax hikes for soft drinks detailed in the country’s latest obesity strategy, claiming that such policy measures are ineffective.


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PUBG Corp. and Tencent Games are flexing pretty hard as PUBG Mobile celebrates the second-year anniversary of its release.
The popular mobile battle royale broke the 600-million-download mark just in time for its second birthday, with 50 million players actively logging in daily throughout the world.
That impressive mark doesn’t even include the China market, according to Tencent Games.
While PUBG Mobile officially turned two on March 21, the game has already been celebrating for more than a week.
Under its #2getherWePlay campaign, the game rolled out a special retro arcade and amusement park feature on March 12. The anniversary amusement park features a pair of retro-style mini-games that are reminiscent of Duck Hunt and Galaga.
Players can run around the amusement park and use Arcade Coins to play. Alternatively, they can be activated straight from a battle when a player obtains Game Tokens in-battle.
In line with its second anniversary celebrations, PUBG Mobile also rolled out Royale Pass Season 12, which gives players access to special Daily, Challenge, and Elite Missions where they can earn a variety of rewards and items.
PUBG Mobile also shared the video below to look back at a remarkable previous year. The past 12 months saw the game expanding “outside the world of gaming for several unprecedented collaborations”. These included promotions with professional basketball players, a street wear design collaboration with Bathing Ape, and a partnership with DJ Alan Walker to produce theme songs for the game.
The game also had tie-ups with pop culture IPs such as The Walking Dead, Godzilla, Angry Birds, and Resident Evil 2.


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Andy Kropa / Invision / AP / Shutterstock
Joe Weiders Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend selected Shaquille O & # 39; Neal as his honorary ambassador for the 2020 event. The selection of the Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion, widely recognized as one of the world's most recognized athletes, is part of Olympia's ongoing initiative to reach new audiences, men and women in to inspire all sports to adopt the principles of fitness and bodybuilding.
Olympic chief Dan Solomon explains: “In recent years Shaq has become an enthusiastic supporter of Olympia Weekend. He follows the bodybuilding scene with the same authenticity and passion that has made him one of today's most sought after product sellers and a powerhouse in the world of business and entertainment. Shaq was at Olympia last year and his relationship with the fitness community is evolving. "
As one of the most popular athletes of his generation, Shaq's interest in bodybuilding and fitness will also come into play a month before the Olympic weekend when he joins forces with the former IFBB Professional Bodybuilder Roc Shabazz for the ROC ATLANTA EXTRAVAGANZA presented by SHAQUILLE O’NEAL. The event, approved by the NPC and IFBB Professional League, will take place on August 22 in Atlanta.
Shabazz, who was recently appointed Shaq's Chief Fitness Officer, added: "If Shaq writes his name on something, you know it will be big. We are planning a great experience for fans, athletes and sponsors."
Olympia Weekend has been the hallmark of the fitness industry for 55 years. Given the growing number of visitors and sponsors at the 2019 event, plans are already in place for 2020, and organizers have started laying the groundwork for a series of upgrades to the popular arena production and convention show.
As part of his role as Honorary Olympia Ambassador, Shaq will promote the Olympia Weekend worldwide and document his own fitness trip to his millions of fans via social media.
Join Shaq and the world's best bodies from September 10th to 13th in Las Vegas Trifecta presents Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, which presents Wings of Strength, Visit MrOlympia.com for more information.


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The company, which is in the process of acquiring Liberty Global’s cable assets in Germany and CEE, saw slight TV growth in Italy and Portugal, while its Spanish and German markets slipped back.
“The majority of our operations performed well, with ongoing momentum in Germany, further underlying recovery in the UK and continued good growth in AMAP, all of which helped to offset increased competition in Italy and Spain,” said Colao.
“Our commercial performance was solid, with further broadband market share gains in Europe, a record number of customers adopting our converged propositions, and the continued success of our world-leading IoT platform.”
During the quarter the company added 128,000 new broadband customers in Europe, almost half that of the previous year.
Including VodafoneZiggo the Group now has 19.9 million broadband customers, of which 13.6 million take a high-speed service over fibre or cable, 13.8 million TV customers and 6.0 million consumer converged customers.


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Wells Fargo & Co will give away all of its proceeds from the Payroll Protection Program in order to aid in the recovery of small businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic. The exact amount pledged is currently sitting at $400 million.
According to data from the company’s June Gallup/Small Business Index, the next 12 months will be met with decreasing or stagnant revenues for at least half of the surveyed small businesses.
The Financial Game Plan
The company will join forces with nonprofit organizations to provide small businesses with capital, technical support, and long-term resiliency programs through its Open For Business Fund. Businesses owned by minorities will be given priority assistance, with at least $28 million to be allocated to African-American entrepreneurs.
This was emphasized in an interview with Mary Mack, the company’s president of consumer banking. “If we look at the communities we serve and the intent and spirit of the program, we believe it was to lean in to help those businesses that were perhaps the most fragile,” she explained.
Throughout June, more than 179,000 customers were funded by the company under the PPP, with an average of $56,000 allocated per individual, leading to a total of $10.1 billion. Of all loans given, 84% were to companies that have less than ten employees. From that group, 60% were given at most $25,000, and 90% of these applicants only had an annual income of at most $2 million. Since there has been an extension of the PPP by the federal government, Wells Fargo will once again accept eligible PPP applicants via a link in Business Online Banking® or CEO®.
Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo’s CEO, explained that “by donating approximately $400 million in processing fees to assist small businesses in need, Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund creates opportunities for near-term access to capital and addresses the road ahead to meaningful economic recovery, especially for Black and African-American entrepreneurs and other minority-owned businesses.” He then added, “Wells Fargo is committed to helping small businesses impacted by COVID-19 stay open and get back to growth.”
The Open For Business Fund
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the fund’s initial grants will see Community Development Financial Institutions – aka nonprofit community lenders – receive an allocation of $28 million. The goal is to enable minority-owned small businesses to survive and thrive since they are twice as likely to close compared to the rest of the industry.
Among the first grantees is the Expanding Black Business Credit Initiative (EBBC), which aims to address the racial wealth gap in African American communities by supporting the launch of the Black Vision Fund in order to increase the flow of capital to Black-focused CDFIs for transformational work. CDFIs in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest are also to be given priority for receiving capital support.
Another of the first grantees is the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which targets more than 2,800 entrepreneurs, providing grants and low-cost capital to sustain employment, stave off revenue losses, and preventing any vacancies from occurring among the vulnerable small businesses in both urban and rural markets across the country.
Ron Busby, Sr., CEO of US Black Chambers, Inc said that “Black businesses have faced the largest shutdown of any diverse group in the country.” He added, “We lost 41%, or 450,000 Black-owned small businesses, in this pandemic so far and all of those businesses provided jobs so we need to accelerate an economic agenda that helps them recover. The funding that Wells Fargo is putting back into Black businesses and other minority-owned small businesses across the country is truly going to be appreciated and will give the kick-start entrepreneurs need to continue and grow.”
The Small Business Index
The Small Business Index provides a quarterly pulse-check of the wider economic landscape and sentiment from small business owners on their economic situation. Though higher optimism on their financial outlook was highlighted in June compared to April, it was still about 19% lower than in January, a few months before the pandemic reached US shores.
In an oversampling of female and racial minority business owners, the survey conducted in June showed that around half of these owners felt that the US economy has entered a depression or recession, while about a quarter of them felt unprepared for the damages brought about by the pandemic.
Not Alone In The Fight
Meanwhile, other major lenders like Citigroup, Inc. have decided to make use of the stimulus packages they receive from the government to support small businesses that are adversely affected by mandatory COVID-19 shutdowns. However, those banks stated that they will use the fees generated to cover the costs of all the necessary infrastructure needed to keep the program running.
Compared to Wells Fargo’s average of $56,000/business owner, JPMorgan Chase & Co has contributed an average of $123,000. According to a Reuters analysis of program data released on July 6, Chase and Bank of America Corp provided 4,258 plus 3,345 loans of at least $1 million, compared with Wells Fargo’s 929.


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Cairo – Mubasher: The US dollar exchange rate against the Egyptian pound rose by 2 to 7 piasters at 16 banks at the end of Thursday’s trading session.
The USD grew by EGP 0.07 to EGP 16.66 for buying and EGP 16.75 for selling at Credit Agricole.
Meanwhile, the USD went up EGP 0.06 to EGP 16.64 for purchasing and EGP 16.74 for selling at Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait.
In addition, the USD increased by EGP 0.02 to EGP 16.72 for buying and EGP 16.82 for selling at Suez Canal Bank.
Likewise, the USD rose by EGP 0.01 to EGP 16.65 for buying and EGP 16.75 for selling at National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, Misr Iran Development Bank, and Egyptian Gulf Bank (EGB).
In the meantime, the USD grew by EGP 0.04 to EGP 16.65 for buying and EGP 16.73 for selling at Commercial International Bank (CIB), Arab African International Bank (AAIB), and Bank Audi.
Furthermore, the USD went up EGP 0.02 to EGP 16.71 for buying and EGP 16.81 for selling at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB).


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The entire whisk(e)y category is a force to be reckoned with. Bourbon’s rapid growth shows no signs of slowing, with the super-premium end alone rising 10.5% to 5 million 9-liter cases in the U.S. market last year, according to Impact Databank. Scotch whisky, too, is faring well, with export sales reaching an all-time high of around $6 billion in 2017 and shipments to the United States growing 7.4% to 9.9 million cases.
“Whisk(e)y on the whole is booming,” says Jose Barrios III, who manages the Miami-based retail chain Vintage Liquor with his father, Jose Barrios II. “We’re seeing more and more new whisk(e)y drinkers and I don’t expect that to stop anytime soon.”
While whiskies from the traditional producer countries, including the United States, Scotland, Ireland, and Canada, are undoubtedly leading the charge, world whiskies—from countries like Japan, India, France, and Australia—are in the midst of their own upswing. “It’s really a global phenomenon,” says Michael Boccanfuso, marketing manager for Baron Francois, Ltd., importer of Rozelieures and Meyer’s French whiskies. “Consumers today are open and willing to discover new tastes and step aside from the larger brands. They’re looking for new stories, origins, and interpretations of a product that they already know.”
In addition to gaining more fans each year, world whiskies are earning top industry accolades. Of Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 Whiskies of 2017, two are world whiskies: Rampur Select from India ranked No. 5 with a 93 score and Fukano 2017 Edition, a Japanese whisky, came in at No. 20 with a 90. “Consumers are venturing out to try whiskies from other countries and learning about the quality that’s coming from nontraditional markets,” notes Raj Sabharwal, founding partner and managing director at Glass Revolution Imports. The company handles several international single malts, including Amrut from India, Sullivans Cove from Australia, The English Whisky Co. from England, and Hammerhead from the Czech Republic. “Consumers are also more willing than ever to move toward the premium and super-premium end, which has been a boon to world whisky brands like ours, which range from $55 to upwards of $650,” Sabharwal adds.
As long as the quality is there, today’s consumers don’t shy away from spending more, Boccanfuso says. “Price isn’t really an issue—it’s about getting the customer to taste the product.”
Education And Exploration
Boccanfuso notes that although sales of whiskies from nontraditional countries are rising, this is still a key time for education. “In New York alone we sold 1,200 bottles across our French whiskies within the first two months of launching, and since then our brands are slowly but consistently growing,” he says. “For now, it’s about building awareness on the French whisky category.” According to Impact Databank, French whisky shipments to the U.S. market were up 36.6% in 2017 to 108,000 proof gallons.
Allison Parc launched the single malt French whisky Brenne in October 2012 and the brand has grown steadily, with a current year-over-year growth of 42%, she notes. “Brenne is a truly unique brand, and we’re keeping our growth strategy laser-focused,” Parc says. As of last year, Brenne is part of craft spirits specialist Samson & Surrey’s portfolio, a partnership Parc says will help bring the brand to the next level of success and consumer awareness.
A large part of Brenne’s marketing focus is on exposure and education. “Giving people the opportunity to taste Brenne allows them to experience what makes us stand out,” Parc explains. “We’re also working hard to create experiences that are both relevant and authentic to who we are as a brand and to the daily lives of our consumers.” For example, this year the brand is launching the “Brenne French Salon,” an event series designed to foster conversations among women around culture, community, and entrepreneurship, while also learning about Brenne.
The key to success in any category is to engage directly with consumers, according to Morgan Robbat, CMO of Hotaling & Co., which imports Nikka Japanese whisky, Kavalan from Taiwan, and The New Zealand Whisky Collection. “This is a time of exploration and discovery, and we believe in a bedrock marketing foundation built on education and storytelling,” Robbat says, noting that Hotaling & Co. hosts such events as seminars that challenge the perception and norms of world whiskies. “As the world becomes more global, the interest in locality has grown, leading to the discovery of high-quality whiskies from a diverse range of countries.”
William Berkoff, beverage director for BevMax, a retail chain based in Stamford, Connecticut, has noticed that today’s consumers seem more sophisticated in general. “Our guests are traveling and tasting their way through countries, which has fueled their thirst for new and different products,” he says. The chain carries 36 different world whisky brands, which Berkoff notes is “practically every world whisky brand that’s available in Connecticut.” He adds that BevMax is one of the largest U.S. retailers of Bastille 1789 blended French whisky ($31 a 750-ml.), but Japanese whiskies outpace all other world whiskies in sales, with Suntory’s Hibiki Japanese Harmony blended whisky ($70) leading the pack.
Chicago-based chain Binny’s Beverage Depot carries more than 30 world whisky brands, representing over a dozen countries. “They garner a modest percentage of sales but they’re growing rapidly—enough to warrant a ‘World Whisky’ section on our shelves,” says Brett Pontoni, specialty spirits buyer. He adds that the retailer’s top-selling world whisky is Hibiki Japanese Harmony ($65 a 750-ml.). “Japan is on fire right now, as are India and France,” Pontoni notes. “Much of the drive seems to be toward malt-based whiskies, and consumers are shedding preconceived ideas of what countries ‘should’ produce whisky.” Other brands outside of Japan that are selling well at Binny’s include Amrut ($70-$180 a 750-ml.) and Paul John ($55-$290) from India, and Armorik ($45-$120), Brenne ($60-$100), and Bastille ($32-$80) from France.
Pontoni doesn’t see demand for these nontraditional whiskies waning. “We take instruction from our customers, and right now they’re asking for these items,” he says. “We’ll continue to satisfy those requests by exploring the category and adding to our selection accordingly.”
Bobby Garg, president and CEO of SG Worldwide—which imports Rampur Indian whisky ($70 a 750-ml.)—notes that this is just the beginning for the category. “Though there have been great, traditional whisky producers offering fantastic products for decades, it’s only in the last few years that the rest of the world took notice of these brands,” he says, adding that emerging brands like Rampur are challenging the long dominance of Scotch, Bourbon, and Canadian whiskies on the U.S. market. “This is true globalization.”
Japan Holds Strong
There’s no question that Japan has cornered the world whisky market: According to Impact Databank, Japanese whisky shipments to the U.S. were up 34.7% in 2017 to 401,000 proof gallons. “The growth figures that we’re seeing don’t even begin to represent the true unconstrained demand in the market today,” says Lucas Erickson, senior marketing director for Beam Suntory. He adds that the Suntory portfolio—which includes Yamazaki and Hakushu single malts and Hibiki and Toki blends—has nearly doubled its business over the past two years.
“Japanese whiskies continue to do well for us,” says Sasha Staskiewicz, spirits director at Union Square Wines & Spirits in New York City. “Nikka’s lineup of products ($70-$400 a 750-ml.) has been very popular. Rice-based Japanese whiskies like Ohishi ($90) and Fukano ($100) have also been generating a lot of buzz.”
Today’s top Japanese whiskies have paved the way for new brands to enter the market each year. “The discovery of Japanese whiskies like Nikka by U.S. enthusiasts has really helped redefine what it means to be a single malt whisky,” Hotaling & Co.’s Robbat says. In 2017 the Nikka portfolio reached 45,000 cases sold in the United States, up 28% from the previous year, according to Impact Databank.
The booming popularity of Japanese whiskies has reached the on-premise in a big way. As the availability of Japanese whiskies in the U.S. market continues to grow, all types of on-premise venues—though particularly Asian-focused ones—are collecting top brands to fill their backbars. Ani Ramen House in Jersey City, New Jersey boasts an impressive 50 different Japanese whiskies, including rare and limited offerings such as Suntory’s Yamazaki Mizunara Cask 2017 Vintage for $150 a 1-ounce pour. Though American whiskies dominate the menu at the Houston whisk(e)y bar Reserve 101, it also features 16 different Japanese whiskies, ranging from Toki ($10 a 1½-ounce pour) to Hakushu 18-year-old ($75). The bar also offers whiskies from England, France, Taiwan, Tasmania, Spain, and Wales.
Erickson notes that Suntory’s Toki blended whisky label ($40 a 750-ml.) has been performing especially well since its introduction in July 2016, thanks largely to its natural mixability. “Toki was created to be the ideal base for the Japanese Whisky Highball and to be used in cocktails,” he explains. “It has become one of our most popular whiskies, readily found at bars and restaurants and at retail.”
The Japanese Highball has indeed taken the bar scene by storm, especially as Asian restaurants continue to be popular nationwide. At the upscale Chinese restaurant Imperial Lamian in Chicago, the Toki Highball ($11) is a simple blend of Toki and soda water with a lemon twist. The venue carries ten different Japanese whiskies ranging from Toki ($10 a 2-ounce pour) to Yamazaki 18-year-old ($55). At the Portland, Oregon-based Asian fusion venue Departure, The Story of the Treasure Ships ($18) is a twist on the Highball, featuring Toki, house-made hibiscus-jasmine tea soda, house-made bamboo syrup, and lemon juice.
Further capitalizing on the popularity of the Japanese Highball, Beam Suntory launched a proprietary Toki Highball machine last year, which dispenses the ready-mixed cocktail and can now be found in select bars across the country. “Alongside the Highball machine, we’re also offering bars special Toki Highball mugs, and our two U.S. ambassadors are presenting Toki Highball classes to bars across the country,” Erickson says. “Our sales force on the ground is doing the same.”
A Whole New World
With Japanese brands leading the way, whiskies from all around the world are gaining credence in the U.S. “As the world whisky category continues to grow, we expect our brands to grow 10%-15% this year, bolstered by expansion into new markets and distribution channels,” Glass Revolution’s Sabharwal says. “There are now three Indian single malt brands available in the U.S. market; the Japanese whisky category continues to expand; and we’re seeing new brands from such countries as Sweden, France, Belgium, South Africa, England, and Denmark.”
Sabharwal adds that Amrut Indian whisky alone has seen 10%-15% growth year over year, and the brand is now available in 45 states, up from just three when Glass Revolution first began importing it. The company plans to launch a Japanese whisky in 2020 and is also finalizing the details of adding whiskies from Germany and Denmark to its portfolio.
“The world whisky category is still in its nascent stage, but there’s some healthy competition happening as more brands are introduced,” SG Worldwide’s Garg says. “The response to Rampur has been exceptional. We’re now present in more than 20 states in key retail chains and premium outlets like Costco and Total Wine & More.” He adds that the company plans to launch new Rampur expressions in the future, and will release limited-edition packaging to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Rampur Distillery in select markets by the end of the year.
Brenne’s Parc notes that though the world whisky category is only just now starting to form, its long-term growth potential is huge. “My plan is for French whisky to become as recognizable as Japanese whisky is today,” she says. “I believe that a rising tide raises all ships: The more awareness we can generate together, the more we can all benefit as individual companies.”


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Win! 50,000 Steam keys for PC game Hostile Waters
Skyforge: we have 1,000 gift packs to give away
Mac-loving Aspyr Media has confirmed it’s to launch a Mac version of Civilization V this “holiday”.
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Civ V hitting Mac this year


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Channel integration is an undeniable reality. Either by embracing the conventional move of starting off in physical retail and then moving to digital channels or taking the less common route of going online prior to launching their first brick-and-mortar stores, retailers are unanimous to acknowledge the importance of having a presence in both physical and digital spheres of commerce.
Euromonitor was invited to attend the Fórum E-Commerce Brasil 2017 which happened from July 25 to 27, in São Paulo, where speakers of all sorts of backgrounds shared their experiences regarding sales strategies, management and technology when it comes to digital commerce in Brazil.
Mobile channel has stablished a new behavior amongst consumers
According to Anthony Long, from Kimberly Clark, mobile devices made a revolution in retail by making it possible for an ever-wider group of consumers to have access to the internet. According to Long, the mobile technology led to a new global mindset.
A similar point was made by Euromonitor International’s head of Digital Consumer research, Michelle Evans who gave an overview of the digital landscape in Latin America, addressing how income inequality among consumers and high costs with mobile phone services are obstacles for digital channels to expand their business. Evans presented a segmentation study of Latin American’s to emphasize the importance of mobile for retail, as consumers are more likely to purchase products through their smartphones than using their computers. Despite being still far ahead from markets in developed economies, Latin America presents interesting growth opportunities in e-commerce, especially those related to electronics, food and air tickets. Euromonitor expects that these categories combined will drive over USD36 billion in online sales in 2020.
Omnichannel: an undeniable reality
Lodovico Brioschi, co-founder of the fashion brand Amaro, spoke about how the omnichannel is reshaping the relationship between online and offline. Brioschi predicted the “death” of shopping malls as known today, stating that they might turn into places where consumers go for entertainment and social gathering rather than shopping. Brioschi emphasized the importance of shopping malls adapting to this new reality where digital and store-based channels are intertwined, with purchases being carried out online at brick-and-mortar stores. According to Brioschi, those sales are counted as sales of the store itself, which therefore will not be in conflict with the mall’s interest.
The challenge of integrating channels convincing store-based retailers that the online channel is an ally rather than an enemy was one of the topics brought by Jonas Waisberg, sales director of Mash Underwear. Waisberg presented the case of Mash’s kiosks, soon to be launched in shopping malls, where consumers will be able to shop using tablets available at on-site. In addition, Waisberg spoke of the online channel as an element to help increase traffic in brick-and-mortar stores. The reason behind this is that consumers are more likely to make the transaction online and then go to a physical store to get the product, so as to not have to pay for shipping. Once at the store, it is easier to engage them with the brand.
The same point was made by Fernanda Galhego, marketing manager at Campneus. Galhego presented her case of building Campneus’ e-commerce from scratch and discussed the challenge of creating the company’s first e-commerce to sell a product that, such as underwear, is not typically purchased online: tires. According to Galhego, “tires” was the keyword whose search grew the most during last Black Friday in Brazil when compared to the year before, signaling that Brazilians are seeing digital channels as an alternative worthy of consideration when searching for the best value deal. While they shopped online for tires, the actual product was taken off from the physical store, where they typically end up paying for additional services, such as tire balancing. Therefore, besides increasing the traffic at brick-and-mortar stores, this strategy helps stimulate additional purchases that contribute to sales at physical stores.
Another hot topic in nearly every presentation was the struggle to integrate channels, so as consumers can return products at the most convenient channel, no matter where the product was purchased in the first place. Price integration was common issue to all speakers, pointing out the urgent need to build strategies so that prices displayed online are the same as the ones on the shelves.
On the technology side, Rodrigo Nasser, founder partner at ITU Partners, spoke of the future of client service in e-commerce when assessing the increasing pace of adoption of chat bots that can not only work through filtering of attribute values, but also through comprehending natural language. André Fatala, Magazine Luiza’s CTO, pointed out that artificial intelligence favors the online channel so as to enhance consumers’ purchasing experience, as well as help retailers manage their inventories.
Recapping the event
From a broader perspective, channel integration was posed as a key challenge to make e-commerce move further in Brazil. A consumer who purchases a good online wants to be able to return that product, if necessary, at any store from that brand – which is currently not the most commonplace. Price integration is essential, as consumers still encounter different prices for the same product when comparing online and offline channels form the same retailer. With the help of artificial intelligence technologies, customers expect retailers to eliminate barriers between digital and store-based retail, so as to put consumers’ purchasing experience first. Those retailers who can adapt will certainly be the ones to gain consumer’s preference over the following years.
Click here to download Euromonitor’s presentation at the Fórum E-Commerce: http://go.euromonitor.com/EV-LA2016-Forum-e-commerce_LandingPage.html


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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (NEWSPLEX) -- An official opening date has been announced for the Wegmans at Fifth Street Station.
The store will open on Nov. 6 at 7 a.m.
Of the expected 550 employees, 500 will be new hires and from the local community. The store is currently hiring and training for 350 part-time positions in every department.
It is also recruiting 200 full-time employees, and more than 100 have already been hired.
Store manager Chris DePumpo said, while the store opening is still six months away, nearly 3,000 people have applied for a job at the new store, and many full-time hires are already at work in other Wegmans locations.
"I don't think it's fully understood that we invest millions of dollars in training our folks, so right now we're bringing people on board and they began training last week," said DePumpo.
Wegmans pays travel and meals during training. Part-timers will also start training long before the store opens.
Applicants are encouraged to apply online or call (877) 934-6267, option 4, for more information.
Applications are not available or accepted at the construction site.


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More than 25 years of democracy and political stability have allowed Brazil to make major strides in economic development, including cutting its official poverty rate by half. Yet the forces that provided much of the economy’s momentum during the past decade—an expanding labor force, credit-fueled consumption, and high commodity prices—are beginning to stall.
This recent slowdown has exposed the more fundamental issue of the country’s long-term weakness in income growth. Although Brazil has become the world’s seventh-largest economy, it ranks 95th in the world for GDP per capita. Most households have experienced only modest income growth, while inefficiencies and extra layers of taxes and tariffs push the prices of many consumer goods beyond reach. Having successfully lifted millions out of extreme poverty, Brazil must now deliver on the promise of a middle-class life.


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State warns about certain skin creams
April 17, 2017
• Says they pose possible health risk
• Thought to contain mercury
Californians are being warned Monday not to use certain skin creams that have tested positive for high levels of mercury. Mercury is a toxic chemical and regular or prolonged exposure can result in mercury poisoning.
The California Department of Public Health says the skin cream marketed as “La Tía Mána” and an unlabeled cream, were recently tested and found to contain high levels of mercury. Both were being sold by flea market vendors.
While there have been no reports of illnesses associated with these specific products, similar skin creams have previously been associated with health issues nationwide, the state says.
Consumers should discontinue use of these products, as well as any skin cream that lists mercury, mercurio, mercurous chloride, cinnabar, or calomel in the ingredients, or is otherwise packaged without any labeling.
Symptoms of mercury poisoning include irritability, depression, nervousness, difficulty concentrating or remembering, fatigue, tremors, shaking or weakness, tingling or numbness in hands, feet or around the mouth.
For more information, contact the California Poison Control System at (800) 222-1222, or the California Safe Cosmetics Program’s hotline at (877) 325-3223.


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The trio of Xiaomi Mi 5, Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and Xiaomi Mi Mix has been trialing Android 8.0 Oreo for several months now and it seems the company is happy with the results. The three are now receiving the stable version of Oreo with the latest MIUI 9.6.1 update.
Users of Xiaomi Mi 5 have had the Oreo beta for the longest time compared to the Mi Note 2 and Mi Mix, but the stable version is available to all three as of this writing. The update is available over the air, but we also have download links to the recovery files for the three devices, which you can grab and install the update manually.
All three Xiaomi phones have been around since 2016 and with the latest update to Android 8.0 Oreo, it marks the end of the road for the trio when it comes to major OS upgrades. But of course, Xiaomi will keep on sending MIUI-based updates, with the latest MIUI 10 beta already available for the three.
Also read: Xiaomi MIUI 10 release roadmap


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Kate Winslet reveals the new Longines Saint-Imier Collection
October 2011: Late September this year saw a marked event in the history of the famed watch brand Longines, which is popularly known by its winged hourglass logo. The brand was originally set up in 1832 in what was then a small village nestling in a valley deep in the Swiss Jura Mountains in Saint-Imier. The fate of Longines and the village of Saint-Imier has thus been closely interwoven.
Christened the Longines Saint-Imier Collection, the brand launched a series of exceptional timepieces in the name of Saint-Imier to pay tribute to its almost 180 years of watchmaking heritage, as the beautiful Kate Winslet graced the occassion.


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AT&T Donates $5,000 for tablets used in digital therapy efforts
YOUNTVILLE, Calif., Nov.
Integrated Telecommunication Services Stocks Under Review - Verizon Communications, Frontier Communications, Telefonica, BCE Inc., and Portugal Telecom
Editor Note: For more information about this release, please scroll to bottom.
LONDON, November 21, 2014
FCC proposes facilitating technology transitions by modernizing consumer protection, competition rules
North American optical transport market spending drops in third quarter of 2014, according to Dell'Oro Group
RCN Business Brings Full Suite of Enterprise Communications Services to 450-460 Park Avenue in New York City
MONTRÉAL and HALIFAX, Nov.


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(January 6, 2011) — SEMI appointed Debasish Paul Choudhury to the position of president of SEMI India, effective January 15, 2011. Choudhury will succeed Sathya Prasad, who is leaving SEMI but will continue to participate as a member of the SEMI India PV Advisory Committee through the management transition.
Choudhury assumes full responsibility for SEMI operations in India and will oversee development of the association’s programs, committees, products and services in the region. He is responsible for relationships with SEMI members as well as industry, government, academia and other local associations in India. Additionally, he is charged with supporting SEMI members from all regions that have interests in SOLARCON India and the region’s burgeoning photovoltaic manufacturing supply chain. Also read: SEMI News and Views by Jonathan Davis
"This is a critical time for India’s high-technology manufacturing future," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, "with a rapidly developing solar PV supply chain, a growing global role in semiconductor development and consumption, and a promising future in emerging high-growth markets such as high-brightness LEDs. Debasish Choudhury will bring valuable industry experience that will be a tremendous asset for India industry and SEMI members."
Debasish Choudhury brings over 16 years of management, industry information and exposition planning experience to SEMI. Choudhury previously served as Country Manager and Regional Editor for Trafalgar Publications Ltd. and was responsible for the South East Asia editions of Global SMT & Packaging magazine and Global Solar Technology magazine. He launched the online edition of the Global SMT & Packaging magazine and was also instrumental in launching the online version of Global Solar Technology magazine. He was the website editor of Global Solar Technology.
From 1998 to 2008, Choudhury was a general manager in the Electronics Business Group of Exhibitions India, where he started Solar Tech India, a solar technology trade show, as well as numerous other trade events dedicated to the technology, electronics and financial services industries.
SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. For more information, visit www.semi.org
PV Group represents SEMI member companies involved in the solar energy manufacturing supply chain. Members provide manufacturing equipment, materials, cells, modules, sub-systems, and components to the solar energy industry worldwide. For more information, visit www.pvgroup.org


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Comp store sales ahead of April projections
April 25, 2006,
New York -- Building on robust Easter holiday sales, and helped by sales of seasonal merchandise, same-store retail sales picked up by 5.1% during the third week of April, the Johnson Redbook Index said. This year's late Easter holiday made for an easy comparison over last year, when Easter sales fell into March, and April sales were proportionately softer.
Discounters performed strongly with a 7.3% increase, down somewhat from the 7.9% increase reported the week before in the run-up to the holiday. Department-store sales rose by 1.6%, and improved on a 1.4% increase the prior week.
Redbook analyst Catlin Levis said, "Top selling merchandise categories, showing a strong seasonal bias, were concentrated in spring apparel, home improvement, food and basic consumables."
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Nearly 2,400 millionaires received unemployment benefits, report says
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- Staff Nashville Business Journal
Nearly 2,400 people who received unemployment insurance in 2009 lived in households with annual incomes of $1 million or more, according to a new report issued by the Congressional Research Service.
The data was released after about 1.1 million people exhausted their jobless benefits during the second quarter of 2012, when more than 4.6 million filed initial unemployment claims, Bloomberg reports.
Ditching payments to high earners is one idea being considered as U.S. lawmakers face a projected $1.1 trillion deficit for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, with the nationwide jobless rate at 8.1 percent, Bloomberg adds.
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But bag label Jas MB has taken every girl’s dream to the extreme in an attempt to create the world’s biggest bag. Jas Sehmbi, the man behind the label, has designed a large-scale version of his classic Traveller bag. Measuring over two meters in height and four metres in length, as well as using over 55 square metres of locally sourced leather, it claims to be able to accommodate up to 40 people inside.
When the concept for the installation was devised, there was no man better for the job than Jas. Studying art in east London, Jas lasted only three months before deciding that bags were the career path he was going to take.
He moved into retail to learn the trade before beginning to design and make his own bags, launching his first shop in 1985. 20 years on and ten years after the launch of his Jas MB label, he can now boast sales in over 500 stockists in 27 countries worldwide as well as exclusive Jas MB stores in Japan and Shanghai. He’s also collaborated with the likes of Louis Vuitton Japan, Simeon Farrar and Mihara Yasuhiro.
The bag installation, in collaboration with advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, was launched at the agency’s head office in London recently. A variety of hot young things stepped out of the cold to witness this bizarre feat, including actress Annabelle Wallis and T4 presenter Jameela Jamil.
Guests were invited to step inside the bag and write, draw and scribble to their hearts content on the luxurious white lining in order to create a symbol of sharing space, art and culture. After leaving Saatchi and Saatchi the giant Traveller will then be taken around the world to be displayed in Japan, China, Paris, Milan and New York.


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New Mobile 3D Technology Drives Golf’s Digital Evolution
Guided Knowledge (GK) debuted its technology in the Inventor’s Spotlight Forum at the PGA Show and was awarded the United Inventor’s Association’s Pinnacle Award. GK is pioneering technologies that can see you in action, assess your performance and provide real-time feedback via digital coaching tools.
The UIA’s Pinnacle Award for Best in Show recognizes the successful development of a product takes talent, knowledge and tenacity. The award is designed to recognize the broadest range of efforts by the inventors, including design, market research, sales, fulfillment, manufacturing and quality.
“We couldn’t be more proud to be the recipients of the prestigious Pinnacle Award. We have been working hard to create entirely new 3D technology that is mobile, accessible and offers elite golfers and their coaches an unprecedented 360-degree view of their swing signature,” says Kevin West, CEO. “We are grateful to the United Inventor’s Association for recognizing the technology, the team and the potential for our first product.”
Warren Tuttle, President of the United Inventors Association said, “The ability to provide instant feedback to your performance through next generation high tech analytics made Guided Knowledge our Pinnacle Award winner.”
GK’s patent-pending technology includes the GK Smart Suit, a base layer garment embedded with 18-sensors that can measure speed, angle and direction at a rate of 1K samples per second. This enables theGK Motion System to capture users’ biomechanical movement patterns in extreme detail and with unparalleled accuracy. The motion data is transmitted to the GK Pod and processed using a series of complex algorithms to analyze and understand the user’s performance. The GK App provides performance feedback via a customizable metrics dashboard as well as a sophisticated 3D avatar with a 360-degree view. The performance data is stored in the Cloud, which allows users to access and/or share the feedback anytime, anywhere across devices.
GK’s first product caters to elite golfers and their coaches. However, the technology can be applied to numerous sports like running, tennis, baseball and skiing as well as other categories like health, wellness, workplace, performing arts and others. GK is scheduled to launch its golf product in Q1 2019.
About Guided Knowledge
Guided Knowledge is a U.K. based tech start-up comprised of a dedicated team of sports scientists, biomechanists, mathematicians, engineers, golf experts and creatives. We are pioneering the next generation of wearables that offer bespoke digital coaching tools and analytics in real-time, anytime and anywhere. Visit www.guidedknowldge.com or follow us on Twitter @guidedknowledge to learn more.


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Published: October 3rd, 2017
Shropshire food producers and processors and horticulture businesses are being urged to submit applications for EU funding to help their organisations grow before the 2018 deadline.
Companies operating in the food sector including businesses involved in meat processing, yoghurt and cheese production, egg packing, food and drink processing and storage facilities, and dairy, fruit or grain production can apply for grants worth up to £170,000 to support their growth plans.
£3.5 million is on offer in the Marches for eligible businesses through DEFRA’s latest round of funding in its Growth Programme.
The grants are made by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), which is part of the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF).
Funding could pay for constructing or improving buildings or buying new equipment and machinery. It will be awarded to projects that increase productivity, adopt new techniques, processes or innovations, and those that create business efficiencies, new jobs or new joint ventures and partnership working within a supply chain.
Grants can cover up to 40 per cent of eligible project costs with a minimum grant of £35,000 and a maximum grant of £170,000.
Roger Phillips, Chairman of the Marches ESIF committee, said: "An example of a typical project could be forming a co-operative of local meat producers to support a slaughter and processing business to expand its meat cutting and packing facilities.
"Food manufacturing is an important growth sector in the Marches and this funding could help many businesses unlock serious growth potential.
"Investment in the food and drink sector through infrastructure, equipment and machinery will create jobs and support supply chains that will in turn boost our economy across the Marches."
Expressions of Interest for funding bids must be submitted by January 2018. For more information and advice on how to apply, contact the Marches Growth Hub on 0345 6000 727 or email [email protected].


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AT & T ZERO Charger eliminates 'vampire draw'
AT&T has announced that its hoping to step into Buffy's shoes and rid the world of vampires. Just as the undead feast on the life-force of unsuspecting victims, mobile phone chargers can continue to suck power from the mains even when disconnected from the device and left in the wall socket. With the forthcoming release of the ZERO charger, AT&T is aiming to change that.
As its name might suggest, the ZERO charger from AT&T and Superior Communications automatically shuts down when it's no longer needed, putting an end to "vampire draw" that can suck out "as much as 5 to 20 times more energy than stored in the battery", enough wasted energy to "power 24,000 homes for a year, or brew three to four million cups of coffee each day" according to calculations made by the company.
The communications giant estimates that around 277 million wireless device users charge their device at least three or four times per week for around eight hours. Around 80 percent of those users are thought to leave the charger plugged in even when the battery is fully charged and the device disconnected which can continue to draw 170mW when idle and, according to AT&T, accounts for around 12 percent of the annual electricity usage in the U.S.
The ZERO charger will be available in AT&T stores throughout the U.S. or online from May for about the same price as other chargers and is said to improve on charging efficiency as well as not wasting power when it detects that it is no longer connected to a device.
USB "block and cable" connectivity ensures multiple device current and future compatibility and could lead to a cut in the number of chargers produced (which will result in less of a land-fill problem). Its eco-friendly credentials continue by being encased in recycled packaging.


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Why else would the ratio of insider selling to insider buying be at more than a two-year low?
As of Aug. 9, the ratio of insider selling to insider buying in the total stock market stood a bit below 5, according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Put another way, CEOs and board members are selling $5 worth of stock for every $1 they're buying. (They always sell more than they buy.)
The important part of this news isn't just that the sell/buy ratio is at its lowest level of the past year. Rather, it's the lowest reading since March 2009, when stocks hit their bear-market bottom of 666 on the S&P 500.
Have a look at this chart I whipped up using data from Thomson Reuters, showing the ratio of insider selling to insider buying over the last 12 months. Note how insiders didn't sell into the June swoon either:
The Dow has taken a thousand-point round trip in the last couple of days. Meanwhile, the VIX (VIX) volatility index (also known as the investor fear gauge) has gone apoplectic. It's popped 30 percent in three sessions.
Volatility equals risk because it increases the odds that you will buy high and sell low. This, of course, is the opposite of what you are trying to accomplish. Insiders get the buy-low-sell-high game.
True, we still have plenty of time left in August, so the ratio of selling to buying will likely rise before month's end. The message, however, remains clear: Insiders -- who know more about their businesses than you do -- don't sell low.


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Deals on Fitbits and other wearables are starting to pop off ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
UPDATE: Nov. 8, 2022, 5:30 p.m. EST This story has been updated with the best smartwatch and fitness tracker deals at major retailers ahead of Black Friday 2022. Here’s a quick overview:
BEST FITBIT DEAL: The all-new Fitbit Sense 2 is on sale everywhere, but it comes with a free Sport Band when you buy it directly from the brand — $199.95$299.95 (save $100)
BEST APPLE WATCH DEAL: The first-generation Apple Watch SE (44mm) with cellular connectivity is currently $10 cheaper than the version without; grab it from Best Buy and you’ll receive a free 4-month Apple Fitness+ subscription — $209$359 (save $150)
BEST GARMIN DEAL: The Garmin Forerunner 735XT also has a new personal best on Amazon, beating its previous record low by about $50 — $119.99$349.99 (save $230)
Fitness trackers and smartwatches have always been some of the hottest products during Black Friday, and this year’s sales are already no exception. Best Buy, Walmart, and other major retailers are barreling into the holiday shopping season with deep discounts on Fitbits, Apple Watches, Samsung Galaxy Watches, and Garmin wearables, with Google Pixel Watches and Amazon Halo Views likely on deck for the coming weeks.
Read on to peruse our running list of the best Black Friday fitness tracker and smartwatch deals you can shop now — and be sure to bookmark this page while you at it, as we’ll be updating our picks regularly.


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Amazon is (likely) about to conquer another retail business: grocery stores.
On Thursday, the companythe opening of its first ever Amazon Fresh grocery store in Woodland Hills, California.
The store stocks “a wide assortment of national brands and high-quality produce, meat, and seafood,” and offers seamless in-store and online shopping, Amazon says. Prices will be “consistently low,” and Prime members get free same-day delivery.
The store will also offer prepared foods every day, including baked bread, made-to-order pizzas, and hot sandwiches.
Amazon has implemented a number of health and safety measures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including daily temperature checks for employees, required face coverings for both employees and customers (with free disposable masks available to all customers who want them), as well as operating the store at 50 percent capacity. …
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SetJam's chief executive officer Ryan Janssen announced through an email that SetJam, video discovery startup, has been acquired by Motorola Mobility. The CEO however, refrained from disclosing the financial terms of the deal.
SetJam happens to be an emerging video discovery outfit from New York. The company specialises in offering service that helps users in finding online videos. It was slowly and gradually surfacing as one of the leading brand names in the market, amongst a handful of tough competitors such as SideReel and Clicker.
"I'm writing to let you know that today SetJam was acquired by Motorola Mobility. We are all very excited about this transition here at SetJam," Ryan Janssen's said in the email, according to a c|net report.
"Motorola and SetJam share the vision of making content delivery, discovery, and consumption seamless across any screen, and as a world leader in video technology, Motorola will provide us with unprecedented levels of reach and distribution," he added.
SetJam has been recently working on a personalisation technology that would enable users to recommend videos. This technology may certainly find its use in Motorola's ever increasing IP enabled TV set-top boxes.


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Since the day the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons was announced, our local unions and members have been taking action to protect our stores, our jobs, and our customers.
Union members, customers and allies across the country have been working hard as part of the “Stop the Merger Coalition” to convince the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that this merger is a bad deal for everyone.
Here’s a brief snapshot of what we’ve been doing to oppose the devastating proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons:
Getting the Word Out: spreading the word through social media, press releases, and community events. Members have been letting everyone know why this merger is a major problem, including a threat to jobs, competition, higher prices, and how it will hurt our local communities. Follow @stop_merger on Twitter/X and @nogrocerymerger on Facebook & Instagram for the latest!
Talking to Decision-Makers: advocating with policymakers in the federal government and state Attorneys General in California, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Washington, D.C., and many more to ensure they understand our concerns. UFCW Members are testifying, sharing stories, and making sure your voices are heard where it counts. The news coverage has been massive and important in getting our stories out to the public.
Making Our Case: UFCW members are leading the fight to show federal and state policymakers that prioritizing the impact on grocery store workers is paramount to a thriving network of grocery stores in our local communities. Without workers’ lives being a primary consideration, the ones who benefit will be the Kroger and Albertsons executives. Albertsons owners already took nearly $4 billion out of the company and now are looking to cash in with a $146 million golden parachute.
Taking It to the Streets: promoting rallies, petitions, and meetings. We’re making sure our communities know what’s at stake and getting them involved. We’ve joined forces with other groups like farmers, community allies, and consumer advocates who are also worried about this merger. The more people we have on our side, the stronger our message becomes.
Our fight isn’t over. Your involvement is crucial to our success. For example, by adding your stories of harm from past mergers, we are forcing the FTC to take notice that the people who are hurt most by these mega-mergers are the workers and the communities they serve.
Send a Message to the FTC
The FTC has the power to block this merger. Take action now by sending a message to the FTC to let them know we stand united in opposition to the Kroger/Albertsons merger.
Maryland Attorney General Survey
Live in Maryland? The Attorney General of Maryland is conducting a survey on the Kroger/Albertsons merger. Take a moment to tell him what you think of this disaster deal in the making:


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As volatile commodity prices threaten to make summer utility bills as unbearable as the heat, National Grid is modifying its program designed to help customers pay outstanding balances.
The Public Service Commission Wednesday approved National Grid’s proposal to change its AffordAbility Program for low-income customers. Attempting to make it easier for debtors to receive arrears forgiveness credits, National Grid altered the program’s payment criteria to a monthly from an annual basis.
Under the old AffordAbility requirements, customers needed to make 12 consecutive monthly payments to receive a $250 credit at the end of that period. Given that many customers already burdened with debt failed to make those payments, they often dropped out of the program.
National Grid will now issue $20 arrears forgiveness credits to program participants each month they make a payment for up to 24 months.
In announcing the PSC’s approval, commission Chairman Garry Brown said the old program “has not been as effective as originally intended.” Louis Manuta, a senior attorney with the Public Utility Law Project in Albany, said the annual payment criteria had made AffordAbility “almost doomed to fail.”
The PSC-approved changes could boost participation in AffordAbility by 11 percent to 6,075 from 5,464. Its annual arrears forgiveness amount could jump 83 percent to $1.45 million from $789,000.
“We’re pleased that the commission accepted the proposal we worked out collaboratively with other interested parties to benefit our customers who qualify to participate in the plan,” said National Grid spokesman Albert Bianchetti.
Demand for the program has been growing as rising food and gasoline prices have wreaked havoc on consumers’ budgets. During the first quarter, 260,000 consumers owed arrears totaling $188.1 million in National Grid’s service territory, compared to 250,000 consumers owing $151.2 million a year earlier.
With summer electricity prices projected to be up to 66 percent more expensive than a year ago, the ranks of customers in arrears is expected to grow. But Bianchetti noted National Grid starting planning for program modifications two years ago — preceding the recent run up in commodity prices that has pushed crude oil over $130 per barrel.
“It’s going to be a very tough winter for everybody,” said Manuta.
More from The Daily Gazette:


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According to a new study from non-profit editorial staff, The Markup, Canada’s wireless data rates are the most expensive in the world of 28 tested countries.
“In Italy, which has some of the cheapest data plans in the world, it will cost you a penny to check your Twitter feed – compared to 15 cents in Canada, which is among the world’s most expensive places to update an app,” explains The Markup.
In a chart called “What you get for your money in Canada”
Despite being the most expensive, Canada ranks second with France and Sweden in terms of the speed required to load a website that is 2.9 MB in size in 0.9 seconds. South Korea, Norway and Australia are in a three-way draw in the first half of 0.6 seconds.
In Canada, despite the recent introduction of unlimited plans, the vast majority of packages still have data cookies. Since Canada has such a large landmass, new companies are struggling to establish reliable nationwide networks, ”explains The Markup.
As a result, only three national networks exist and can charge extra for the coverage. However, some costs vary regionally. Residents of Saskatchewan, for example, get access to SaskTel’s cheaper plans because the network provider only maintains services in that province, ”the website adds.
Charts compare “How much does it cost to …”
- To visit a website size (2.9 MB) based on the average size of a website according to the HTTP Archive, July 2020.
- Checking Twitter size (12 MB) based on data usage after two minutes of browsing according to Canstar Blue analysis.
- Listen to a podcast (31.1 MB) based on the average length of a podcast and the average size per minute of a podcast. Data retrieved from Pacific Content.
- Watching an hour of Netflix (1 GB) based on maximum size for one hour of standard definition video according to digital trends.
Of these four tests, Canada ranked the most expensive based on mobile data prices from a 2019 Cable.co.uk study.


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Signals. Signals. Signals.
Although I never fear a bearish storm. I more like a green screen. Today it was. Finally.
Over the last weeks the sentiment was so negative, that a lot of people could not imagine a 24% movement up in marketcap was likely to happen. If you are better informed, you know it had to happen. The market was extremely oversold while the news was so positive over the last weeks. All the ''TA-experts'' we're shorting on bitcoin and people missed the bigger picture. Ironicly, these people definitely did not learn from the January sell-off, that occured after the unhealthy OVERBOUGHT market. Every parabolic movement up will crash. Every parabolic movement down will soar. That is how it works. Buy low, sell high.
I never have been more bullish on cryptocurrencies than I am now. The signals are so good. Fantastic. Overwhelming. Really, the bulls will run into the streets very soon. Let's discuss some strong signals you can talk about while you are drinking a glass of champagne this weekend.
The Big Boys are in the market
Hate it or love it. But the big boys ''smart money'' like VC's and instutional investors entered the market with a lot of noise. They make the mass believe they are 'preparing' to trade cryptocurrencies. We, as smart traders, know they already filled their bags. Seriously, why are you announcing that you prepare to invest with the result you have to buy higher? It is brutal they dare to think society is so stupid.
UAE will use blockchain technology to make the country more efficient
United Arab Emirates presented their blockchain strategy ‘UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021’. According to Cointelegraph UAE will safe over 3 billion dollars per year the government spends on document circulation annually. Moreover, the technology would save millions of work hours, reduce government documents by 389 mln, and save 1.6 bln kilometers spent driving.
This news will definitely not have an effect on the market on the short term. Most probably Dubai will hire thousands of people to develop this blockchain and never use any cryptocurrency out there. But, and that is very important, it is a strong signal how serious blockchain technology is. Governments are extremely complex with a lot of bureaucracy, but so are millions of companies too. Companies with 10.000, 100.000 or 1 million employees, but also companies with 10 employees. All these companies will start using blockchain technology one day. Companies that will choose proven projects that are now some small cryptocurrencies. And that is something to put in perspective.
Yahoo! Japan buys a 40% stake into exchange BitARG
Yahoo! is the 4th biggest website in Japan and the 40th biggest website worldwide with a yearly revenue of 1.3 billion dollars and 8.500 employees. Indeed, it is not a small local supermarket that buys an exchange. The deal cost Yahoo somewhere around 20 million dollars. Okay, nice, you maybe think. But, again, this is a huge signal. A huge signal that big mainstream (tech) companies recognise blockchain is here to stay. And so are cryptocurrencies.
I hope you love this week as much as I do. It is time to enjoy the weekend.
Stay tuned, many good things are working out under our eyes.


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Latest news … Gold prices are among the subjects of daily research. The yellow metal, which exhibits fluctuating graphics due to the pandemic that has hit the whole world, becomes the center of investor attention and is also at the center of the economy. Good; How Much Are Gold Prices Today? 6 November 2020 today, how much do 22 carat bracelets cost, whole, half, gram and quarter gold?
HOW WAS THE PRICE OF GOLD? NOVEMBER 6, 2020
The last minute trend in gold prices has begun to be studied. You can access detailed gold prices in our news and see the data in real time.


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PROS Partners with CognitiveScale
PROS, a cloud-based commerce software company, is partnering with CognitiveScale, a provider of industry-specific augmented intelligence software, to leverage cognitive cloud technologies that will enhance the value of PROS solutions.
PROS applies data science and artificial intelligence to solve complex business problems, training its algorithms with best-practices data from real-world implementations. CognitiveScale will augment PROS' data and science with artificial intelligence software inputs to help end users with highly personalized, intelligent, contextual, and evidence-based insights and recommendations. The integrated solution was designed on CognitiveScale's open and extensible platform and populated with knowledge graphs, data sources, and trained models.
"Companies are entering a new era of digital business with buying experiences that are forever changed," said PROS Chief Technology Officer Rob Reiner in a statement. "Cognitive algorithms and machine learning will enable competitive enterprises to create frictionless and personalized buying experiences across every customer channel. The personalized experiences of today will become the individualized, segment-of-one experiences of tomorrow, as cognitive algorithms and machine learning galvanize what customers expect from their purchasing experiences."
"We are bringing scalable, practical artificial intelligence to the enterprise that pairs man and machine with intelligent user engagement and business processes," said CognitiveScale CEO Akshay Sabhikhi in a statement. "Our software is industry-optimized and compliant and can support the most demanding enterprise workloads. PROS is at the forefront of the modern commerce experience, enabling companies to personalize the selling experience with speed, precision, and consistency across its sales channels. We look forward to enriching these engagements with inputs that deliver even richer contextual insights."


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Buy and Save
The Institute of Sociology has carried out a price monitoring in the chain stores of Minsk
How It Works
The surveys regularly held by the Institute of Sociology point to a decline in the major parameters of the consumer confidence index in Belarus. This has shaped a different consumer behavior of Belarusians. The difficult economic situation made people more conscious about what they buy, how much they buy and how much they pay. The prices for staple foods and essential commodities top the list of people’s concerns.
Therefore, the Institute of Sociology carried out a research project to compare prices for con-
The Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has carried out a comparative analysis of consumer prices in the chain stores of Minsk. The analysis has revealed that a family of four will save Br646,570 per month if they do their grocery shopping in Euroopt.
sumer goods in various chain stores of Minsk. The products to be analyzed are included in the consumer goods basket for a family of four adopted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Belarus.
The survey examined prices in eight chain stores: Almi, Bigzz, Vester, Gippo, Euroopt, Prostore, Rublevsky, and Sosedi. Prices were compared across 166 food commodities. If an identical item (the product of the same trademark) was absent from any of the above-mentioned stores, it was substituted by an equivalent product. The survey revealed that the prices in Euroopt were the lowest, therefore its prices were taken as a benchmark for tracking price trends.
According to the survey, monthly four-member household spending on the market basket totals Br2,461.510 in Euroopt against Br3,108,080 in other retail networks. Therefore, a family might save up to Br646,570, or 26.3%, by doing shopping in Euroopt.
The findings disclosed even a more appreciable price difference across certain staple foods. Thus, tinned vegetables in Euroopt are cheaper by 72.2% in comparison with the prices in other stores, olive and sunflower oil by 69.9%, cereals by 65.1%, fruit by 55.1%, tea and


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Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Makes First Powered Flight
If I ever could have one beer with any celebrity of my choosing I’d pick Richard Branson. He’s got to be by far one of the coolest company owners, and one of the coolest rich dude on the face of the planet. I’ve read up a lot on him since the SpaceShip One launches, and now Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo has made it’s first powered flight.
According to Forbes, at 7.02 am on April 30th, the SpaceShipTwo made space tourism a reality.
The 60-feet long rocket-powered vehicle is the descendent of SpaceShipOne that won the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE in 2004 by breaking governments’ monopoly on space travel (albeit to 300,000 feet not all the way into orbit).”


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Last Wednesday, December 31, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed General Motors' final recall for 2014. Affecting more than 92,000 Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles around the globe, the recall pushes GM's total recalls for 2014 north of the 30.4 million mark.
2014 IN REVIEW
Last year got off to a quiet start, especially at GM. The automaker was celebrating the end of its four-and-a-half year bailout (thanks to the federal government's sell-off of remaining GM shares). The company had also announced the arrival of a new CEO: Mary Barra, a longtime GM employee and the first woman to occupy the top spot at a major automaker.
Then, February arrived, and with it, Switchgate. GM recalled nearly 780,000 older vehicles to fix dodgy ignition switches. Two weeks later, the automaker added 588,000 more cars to the list. New troubles kept popping up, like the fact that some at GM knew about the faulty switches as far back as 2001, yet no recalls had been issued before 2014.
Ultimately, a host of people were called to testify before Congress -- including Barra herself -- which led to a lot of soul-searching, an intense internal investigation, and a system for consumers to file complaints against GM. Last we checked, the claims were still rolling in.
Over the weekend, GM posted what could be its final list of recalls for 2014. As you'll see from the chart above, the automaker recalled 30,433,365 vehicles between January 1 and December 31, with 26,951,675 of them registered in the U.S.
What's interesting, though, is that greater numbers of recalls weren't just a trend at GM. Automakers from Detroit and around the globe were sending notices left and right -- perhaps because of the added public scrutiny brought on by the GM Switchgate scandal. Whatever the cause, though, 2014 is now unofficially known as the Year of the Recall.
GM's final recall of 2014 involves a range of Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC trucks and SUVs from the 2011 and 2012 model years. Given the Switchgate fiasco that dogged the automaker earlier in 2014, it's perhaps fitting that GM's last recall of the year also stems from a problem with ignition systems.
Specifically, NHTSA says that the problem lies in the ignition lock actuator, which can bind, "making turning the key difficult or causing the ignition to get stuck in the 'Start' position". If the latter happens, NHTSA reports that the key may snap back to the "Accessory" position while the vehicle is in motion, causing the engine to shut off and cutting power to the brakes and steering wheel.
That, in turn, makes the affected vehicles more difficult to steer, increasing the risk of a crash. Worse, with the key in the "Accessory" position, airbags may be disabled, increasing the risk of injury during an accident.
The recall affects the following GM vehicles from the 2011 and 2012 models years:
- Cadillac Escalade
- Cadillac Escalade ESV
- Cadillac Escalade EXT
- Chevrolet Avalanche
- Chevrolet Silverado HD
- Chevrolet Silverado LD
- Chevrolet Suburban
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- GMC Sierra LD
- GMC Sierra HD
- GMC Yukon
- GMC Yukon XL
All told, the recall affects 92,221 vehicles, 83,572 of which are registered in the U.S.
GM hasn't yet indicated when it will begin sending out recall notices, but when it does, owners will be able to take their vehicles to the appropriate Cadillac, Chevrolet, or GMC dealer, who will replace the ignition lock housing as necessary, at no charge.
If you own one of the vehicles listed above and have questions, you're encouraged to contact GM customer service at 800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 800-462-8782 (GMC) and ask about recall #14696. If you prefer, you can also ring NHTSA at 888-327-4236 and inquire about safety campaign #14V827000.


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(1/8/2019) Enjoy a night out in Freo on us
The City of Fremantle is offering the chance to win a gourmet night out in Freo as part of the City’s latest destination marketing campaign.
The #freofoodie competition can be entered by simply spending $20 or more at any participating Freo café, bar, restaurant or pub, during the month of August for a chance to win a $500 voucher to spend on a #freofoodie feast.
Look out for the #freofoodie map in participating venues and ask for your unique codeword to enter online on the Freofoodie page of the visitfremantle.com website.
Two lucky winners will be drawn every Monday from 5 August to 2 September, with a total $5000 worth of prizes to be won.
Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said with its outstanding selection of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes, there was no better place for a winter foodie feast than Fremantle.
“Fremantle is already Perth’s favourite entertainment precinct and there are exciting new hospitality venues opening up all the time,” Mayor Pettitt said.
“Whether it’s brunch and a coffee at a cosy café, a steaming bowl of ramen from a street side food hall or Nonna’s pasta special and a glass of red wine on the café strip, Freo really does have something for everyone. You can even make a weekend of it and stay at one of our many modern and boutique hotels.”
To accompany the #freofoodie competition the City of Fremantle has also produced a series of videos featuring chefs from some of Freo’s top restaurants including Bread in Common, Manuka Woodfire Kitchen, Propeller and Madalena’s bar - which has just been nominated for Gourmet Traveller’s ‘best new restaurant of the year’ award.
The #freofoodie promotion is the latest campaign to be rolled out by the City of Fremantle as part of our Destination Marketing Strategic Plan and the ‘This is Fremantle’ brand. It aims to generate visitation to Fremantle during one of the quietest off-peak months of the year.
This latest campaign will utilise digital and radio platforms to raise awareness of Fremantle as a winter dining destination and guide visitors to the visitfremantle.com website and social media channels.
The radio component of the campaign will be delivered via Nova 93.7. It follows two campaigns delivered earlier in the year that generated over half a million video views and an increase in website traffic to visitfremantle.com of over 100 per cent.
There is still time for businesses to sign up as part of the campaign. If you are interested in participating in the campaign as a business please contact email@example.com
To view the new #freofoodie videos click here.


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February 9th, 2022
Halborn is thrilled to announce the appointment of Paul Merugu as the new Field CISO to spearhead our ambitious scaling and product development plans following our recent acquisition of Web3 automation startup Abyss Consulting and the launch of our new Research and Development division, Halborn Labs.
Paul Merugu is a cybersecurity industry expert with over 15 years of experience working across multiple industries including banking, financial services, healthcare, insurance, hospitality, retail and technology. He has held senior positions at Ernst & Young Consulting and CA Technologies where he worked as a trusted security adviser to various Fortune 500 companies and successfully delivered several large security programs. He has a background in computer science and specialized in security architecture. He’s an engineer at heart who loves to dig into complex cyber security problems and solve them with modern technology.
“Halborn is one of the best blockchain and DeFi security companies in the world,” said Merugu. “I am incredibly excited to work with the impressive roster of security talent at Halborn to develop a full stack offering of security services and products for DeFi, Web3, NFTs and smart contract platforms.”
Halborn Co-Founder and CISO Steven Walbroehl echoes Merugu’s excitement: “Paul’s appointment as the Field CISO takes the Halborn’s cybersecurity growth trajectory to a new horizon. His undoubtable tech, management and people skills will be a strong asset to scale and expand Halborn’s security services and products in the near future.”
Halborn has been one of the fastest growing companies in the Web3 space, with over 150 blockchain companies as clients and a staggering 1,150% YoY growth rate. If you’re a security expert looking to join our team, visit our Careers page and get in touch!


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# Rebound stronger than that in previous downturns
# Economy now 2.8 per cent above its previous peak
ECONOMISTS looking for reasons to upgrade their Singapore growth forecasts into double-digit territory were presented with plenty yesterday.
A review by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) found that the economy's recovery from the global recession has been stronger than rebounds from previous downturns.
In fact, the economy has rallied so sharply that it is now about 2.8 per cent above its previous peak in the first quarter of 2008, the MAS said in its twice-yearly macroeconomic review yesterday.
And with the recovery broadening and global demand returning, the economy is likely to continue on a 'firm recovery path' for the rest of the year.
This is likely to raise hopes of higher economic growth than the Government's official forecast of 7 per cent to
9 per cent this year. Economists have suggested that even double-digit growth is not out of the question, as long as the economy stays on the recovery path in the coming months.
The MAS review seemed optimistic on this point. Although the pace of growth may moderate from the sizzling 32 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in the first quarter of this year, 'the underlying drivers of growth are likely to remain intact, and the level of economic activity sustained at a high level', said the MAS.
While the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in February that the outlook for the second half of the year remains uncertain, the MAS yesterday said it is now less likely that there will be a significant pullback in output for the rest of the year.
Growth will be led mainly by improvements in IT manufacturing, trade-related services and tourism-linked activities, it added.
In tandem with the recovery, more jobs are likely to be created this year. But not all industries will hire at the same pace, the MAS said.
Prospects look brighter for job seekers in financial services, as banks expand in anticipation of high demand for corporate banking and wealth management services in the region.
A strong recovery in trade also bodes well for hiring in the wholesale trade and transport and storage industries, as well as in supporting industries such as business services, the MAS said.
On the other hand, workers in the retail, hotel and restaurant industries may be less in demand after the hiring blitz by the integrated resorts last year. Since these industries tend to recruit more foreign workers, employers may also be more directly affected by the impending hike in foreign worker levies and cut down on hiring.
Similarly, manufacturers and construction firms are unlikely to embark on enthusiastic recruitment drives this year in the light of the levy hike, said the MAS.
But in general, the labour market has already tightened significantly with the economic recovery and wages in some industries may soon go up.
While this sounds good for workers, higher wage costs will add to inflation, which is already expected to come in higher than normal this year. Consumer prices may grow by as much as 4 per cent in the fourth quarter - the highest level in almost two years - and are forecast to rise 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent for the whole year, the MAS said.
The main culprits are the prices of cars and the costs of commodities such as oil. Each could account for about two-fifths of inflation this year, the review said.
'Price increases are likely to be especially steep in the coming quarters, due largely to higher car prices, before moderating towards the end of the year.'
Anticipating these inflationary pressures, the MAS earlier this month tightened policy by letting the Singapore dollar appreciate in a 'modest and gradual' fashion.
Yesterday, it said the tighter stance was 'appropriate and timely, considering that the Singapore economy has recovered strongly from the global financial crisis, and is likely to continue on a firm recovery path'.
Source: Straits Times, 29 Apr 2010