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With so much going on out there in the news mix, it’s hard to make sense of it all.
A lot of our domestic headlines right now are dominated by falling house prices, climbing interest rates and then inflation.
Outside of NZ there’s a major energy crisis in Europe, a war in Ukraine and just last week, Xi Jinping, China’s autocratic leader, was re-appointed for a third term. Then there’s talk of falling share markets, crashing Crypto and the prospect of a global recession.
The underlying themes that pervade our news sound bites are of the end of “free” money, and the rise of geopolitical risk. We can’t do anything about geopolitics, so let’s focus on the economic side of the equation.
In New Zealand, we’ve been through a period of insanely low interest rates, with the OCR dropping to 0.25% in the midst of COVID – ushering in an unheralded period of monetary stimulus. At the same time the Government has compounded things by loosely throwing money around.
Initially, that washed through asset prices, and we saw everything hit record levels. However, with COVID supply-side disruption and a pullback from globalisation, these forces eventually translated into the dreaded inflation.
And that’s where we find ourselves now.
To start with, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has gone incredibly hard on interest rates to tame inflation. We’ve had an unprecedented hike in the OCR from 0.25% to 3.50% in the space of just one year, and home loan rates have more than doubled from 2.00% to 5.50%.
At the same time, an incompetent Government has set about breaking the NZ productive economy. We’ve lost sight of the most basic economic principle – that we can only spend what we earn, and we only earn by going about business. No amount of wishful thinking or fairy dust puts money in the tin.
The thing with a slowing economy (not just in New Zealand, but around the world) is that it will eventually take the pressure off inflation and interest rates, but maybe not just yet.
Commodity prices are also falling. The Materials Price Index of commodity prices is down 11% year-on-year, even after factoring in higher energy costs.
And shipping costs have plunged, as the world economy slows. The Drewry World Container Index, which measures the cost of transporting a shipping container across major shipping routes, is down more than 60% year-on-year.
Apart from the challenge of severe labour shortages (which continue to plague economies all over, not just NZ’s) all of the supply-side issues that kick started the current bout of inflation have evaporated.
High interest rates will bite and take billions out of the economy in terms of discretionary spending. That will put our retail sector under pressure. And without a full resumption of tourism, hospitality is likely to struggle.
Whilst construction activity has remained strong as builders push to catch up on incomplete projects, by 2023 the forward order book will have started to dry up – and we’re likely to see a weakening of the private construction sector.
And a weaker economy and increasing immigration will help to take the pressure off labour shortages as well.
A slower economy will also take the pressure off interest rates. For a long while now we’ve been saying peak mortgage rates will be between 5.50% and 6.00%, and I’ve yet to see anything to change my mind on that.
House prices are down 15.00% in nominal terms, which unwinds the meteoric rise in house prices we saw last year – and that’s largely the result of higher interest rates. In inflation-adjusted terms, house prices are down 23%, taking them back to where they were in December 2015, so we’ve seen the impact of unusually low interest rates fully unwind.
With interest rates stabilising and the economy opening, my expectation is that the nominal drop in house prices is largely done in the absence of other macro issues. We are at full employment and homeowners are experiencing higher household incomes.
From a global perspective, debt-fuelled consumption is coming to an end thanks to a combination of higher interest rates, and high absolute levels of debt. Borrowed money always has to be repaid eventually, and that helps to limit people’s future consumption.
It also feels like we’re becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of our consumption habits – trending away from buying things that don’t last, that we don’t need and buying “junky” gifts for unsuspecting loved ones. And that’s a great thing.
But slowing consumption has implications, most significantly in the form of lower long-term global economic growth.
A weaker global economy (and higher interest rates) will continue to hit global share markets that are already down over 25% this year. Higher interest rates turn into weaker growth which eventually translates into weaker business profits.
That’s because we produce stuff that people need, we’re about as far away from trouble as you can get, and we have a moderate ‘liveable’ climate. We’re one of the only countries in the world that is self-sustainable, which sounds a bit nihilistic.
The world is far from coming to an end, and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about New Zealand’s place within it.
As inflation gets under control, expect to see interest rates fall, with mortgage rates coming back to around 4.50%.
House prices will stabilise, we’ll start to see new areas of innovation that deliver more value to consumers and make our lives better, and the world will keep turning, just like it always has.
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Microsoft's Windows 8 purports to be a PC operating system for every device. But a PC experience may no longer be necessary.
Microsoft is releasing test builds of Windows 8. Here's why it's rushing to get a new Windows version into the market (hint: tablets).
Microsoft Windows is by far the most widely used operating system in the world, but there were a few big bumps in the road on the way to global domination.
Founder Steven Villegas has been running the business for 16 years hoping utility kilts will one day be mainstream menswear.
For an exclusive CNNMoney list, research firm Universum Global surveyed business students at colleges around the world to see where they most want to work.
CNNMoney speaks to British people to find out their views ahead of the referendum on EU membership.
Unemployment is down, gas is cheap and America is growing. But just how strong is it?
Investing should be cheap, effective and easy. These products simplify your financial life.
Move over Apple! Google is now the most valuable brand in the world, according to a BrandZ ranking.
The 15 highest-paid corporate chiefs in America took home nearly $700 million last year -- about $47 million apiece on average. Expedia's Dara Khosrowshahi tops the ...
Spending an afternoon in Bentley's luxurious new $230,000 SUV.
The Robb Report has selected these as the best new cars and SUVs for anyone who doesn't have to worry about how much they spend.
|Tesla driver killed in autopilot crash said the technology was 'great'|
|Puerto Rico makes historic default on general obligation bonds|
|Stop driving these Hondas right now, says regulator June 30|
|Workers strike at Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City|
|China is crushing the U.S. in 'economic warfare'|

domain: news


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A pub landlord's ingenious idea for how to cope with not being able to let people eat inside saw business boom during the tail end of the lockdown.
Darren Roberts, who has been running the Holland Arms in Abergele for 12 years, was unable to let punters sit inside for food after reopening last month because of government coronavirus rules.
But a trip to B&Q gave him an idea. He noticed the store was selling tents at £120 a go, so bought four and put them around the picnic tables in the beer garden.
Darren, 41, said customers loved eating out in them, and he's decided to keep them in place even now people are once again allowed to eat inside the pub.
He said: "We were looking for a marquee, but they're expensive. We found these there. They're a bit expensive but they're cheaper than a marquee.
"People have booked and re-booked. They're all sterilised with spray after every use.
"People are happy to sit outside, and some people feel a bit safer sitting out there."
Darren, who runs with business with his wife Lynette, 40, and her sister Sheri, said the tents could have the sides up or down, depending on the weather.
And he said son Jenson, six, had proved himself a natural when it came to waiting on.
Darren added: "He's been a little superstar, wearing his little Spiderman face mask and helping take people out."


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The $750,000 Genovation GXE electric Corvette now holds the record for the fastest street-legal electric vehicle.
There is no shortage of highly-modified Corvettes in the world. However, Genovation Cars are doing things a bit differently. Their electrified C7 Corvette starts life as a Grand Sport chassis and evolves into the fastest electric vehicle in the world. While the company plans on producing a limited run of 75 of these crazy beasts, the price tag is $750,000. No, that is not a typo. Three-quarters of a million dollars is what you’ll pay to own one of these.
Road and Track report that this is not the company’s first go-around with an electric Corvette. In fact, the world record broken by the GXE was already held by them in their C6-based electric Corvette supercar. It was certainly no slouch with its 205 MPH top speed, but the C7-based GXE set out to take it up a notch. According to the Genovation website, the GXE makes an astonishing 800 horsepower and 718 pound-feet of torque. What’s even crazier is the fact that the electric motor comes mated to your choice of either the factory manual or automatic transmission. So, how fast is it?
To find out, the Maryland company traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Which, in our opinion, boosts the cool-factor even more. Upon its remarkable runway pass, the GXE cracked 211.8 MPH. Putting its top speed above that of the C7 Z06 and just shy of the legendary ZR1’s 212 MPH top speed. However, Genovation claims it is capable of over 220 MPH.
While this is an incredible feat, is this thing worth $750,000? We understand the amount of time, effort, and engineering going into it, but the price tag just seems a tad steep.
Other than the obvious swap to electric power, the GXE packs quite a bit of change. The bespoke leather and Alcantara are pretty significant upgrades over a standard Corvette interior.= Additionally, Genovation claims that, in normal driving conditions, it has a charge range of over 175 miles. Which, is pretty impressive, considering they claim it maintains a 50/50 weight balance and will still handle like a dream.
Overall, this electric Corvette is pretty slick. While we love the sound of the roaring V8s, we can appreciate electric vehicles, especially when they look this good. Though, the price tag certainly puts it far outside of our realm of possibility.


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Oppo Find X6 will be a big departure from its predecessors in both looks and hardware.
Oppo is redesigning the Oppo Find X6 after the last two generations following the same design. An image has surfaced showing the massive rear camera cutout of the phone with a more prominent Hasselblad branding.
According to the leak, a 32MP lens will sit behind a periscope zoom lens as a new addition to the phone. Previous rumors have pointed towards a 50MP 1-inch main camera with a 50MP ultrawide camera. The non-pro model will come with an older Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, while the pro model will get the latest and greatest SD 8 Gen 2.
Oppo Find X6 is expected to be unveiled by February next year, but the exact date is not confirmed yet.


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Speaking at CrewConnect Europe earlier today, global maritime financial services company ShipMoney has advised maritime leaders that reducing the amount of cash onboard can help in the industry’s drive towards sustainability.
Addressing delegates in Copenhagen, ShipMoney President Stuart Ostrow said: “As the industry continues to look for sustainable initiatives, why are seafarers incurring extra costs just from receiving their wages in cash? Sending money back home and exchanging money at port all add up to unnecessary costs for seafarers, in an age when wire-transfers and card payments are as regular as clockwork.
“By adopting a digital payment strategy and reducing the amount of cash onboard, Masters and seafarers can build a sustainable initiative, which will save time and money. For seafarers, absorbing exchange rates and the cost of sending money can make a huge difference in their monthly pay packet. Using an online porthole and reducing these costs, will give seafarers more power over how much money they send home, and how they spend it. This doesn’t mean to say that vessels should be cashless, rather just have less cash.”
Mr Ostrow’s comments following earlier warnings he gave ship managers and owners about the escalating costs of transporting cash to vessels.
“For an average fleet of 50 vessels and 20 crew onboard each ship, the costs of transporting cash can be in excess of $580,000 per annum,” he said earlier this year.
For Further Information Please Contact: Alexander Preston/Catherine Varney Tel: +44 (0) 1296 682104
ShipMoney Web: www.shipmoneycorporate.com
Notes to Editor:
ShipMoney is a global maritime financial services company, offering products for owners, managers and crew, which includes a prepaid Visa payroll card that provides an alternative for crew receiving wages in cash or wired home; and a prepaid Visa purchasing card that provides an alternative way for Masters to pay for provisions, emergency repairs and other ship expenses.


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Smiggle is preparing to open an Oxford Street flagship and has reported a surge in first-half sales outside of its homeland.
The Australian kids’ stationery specialist, which is owned by Premier Investments, delivered record first-half global sales of A$170.7m (£106m) in the 26 weeks to January 27 – a 26.7% gain on last year’s total.
The performance was driven, it said, by 35 new store openings and “strong” like-for-like growth.
Over 60% of Smiggle’s sales during the half were made outside Australia, with its British business the main contributor.
Smiggle is on track to open between 30 and 40 new stores in its current financial year, including the opening of a “global flagship” store on London’s Oxford Street in May.
Premier said the store will “provide key exposure to the brand internationally”.
It opened 23 new shops during its first half, including locations in Manchester’s Trafford Centre, West Quay Southampton, Oxford Westgate and Glasgow Buchanan Galleries.
Premier expects the UK to be Smiggle’s biggest market by the end of this financial year and predicts its British business alone will hit A$200m (£125m) in annual sales by 2019.


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SAScon close to sell out ahead of Thursday opening
The annual two day event SAScon - search, analytics and social media conference – which opens this Thursday at MMU Business School, has only 25 tickets left with the maximum of 300 tickets nearly reached. Prolific North is the conference's media partner.
Tickets can be bought for individual days and info can be found here.
Keynote speakers include John Veichmanis, Expedia’s vice president for Global Paid Search and Google Analytics’ product manager Clancy Childs and in recent days a new panel has also been introduced in response to the recent ‘Penguin 2.0’ Google update.
Released two weeks ago, Penguin 2.0 is 'a statement of intent by Google to clean up its search engine result pages (SERPs)'. The 'Penguin' panel will bring together Mediacom’s search strategy and social director, Pete Young, Branded3’s director of search, Patrick Altoft, CEO of SearchWorks, Nick Garner and renowned SEO authority Paul Madden.
Pete Young, one of SAScon’s founders, said: “There’s been plenty of speculation that the latest update from Google is not significant but conversely there is widespread concern that it has drastically tightened link building parameters.
“The panel will share cutting-edge industry opinion, and also field audience questions on how the Penguin update is already affecting SEO efforts.”
Other speakers at SAScon include Alastair Thornton, marketing director of thomsonlocal.com, Mike Little the founder of Wordpress and Andy Mihalop, head of digital at MoneySupermarket.com.


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RadioShack’s shambling remains were given another shock of life today. Antennacraft By Radioshack Tdp2… when they were acquired by another business that plans to relaunch the once-great merchant as an online-focused brand name.
The store’s remains were acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a start-up founded in 2019 that’s been scooping up brands from other faded retail giants also, consisting of Pier 1, Modell’s Sporting Item, Dressbarn, and more. REV states RadioShack’s website already has “strong existing sales and sales capacity,” and the company is “positive” it can further raise awareness of the brand name worldwide.
REV claims it’s successfully turned around other companies it’s released as online brands. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dressbarn more than doubled its revenue in between the first and 2nd quarter of 2020.
RadioShack was established in 1921 and became a retail staple in the ’80s and ’90s for anyone looking to get tech essentials. REV didn’t state whether those RadioShack licenses would stick around. Antennacraft By Radioshack Tdp2
REV says it will “soon relaunch” RadioShack’s site. For those of you still sticking on to fond memories of the store, there’ll be a familiar sufficient location to go when you desire to buy overpriced HDMI cable televisions and knockoff headphones.


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Increased digital wallet adoption, more competitive credit card offers and the wider availability of e-commerce tender types have culminated in a raging battle for the number one spot.
How can financial institutions (FIs) and card issuers stay competitive while being the primary payment choice for consumers? Nowadays, it’s all about the value-add of a payment type that makes it the top wallet choice.
Our latest guest post is guided by Wildfire Systems‘ chief revenue officer, Shawn Conahan.
Wildfire is a white-label loyalty, rewards and cashback platform seeking to allow FIs to integrate wider consumer value into their payment systems.
Conahan develops strategic partnerships with various finance, banking and fintech companies for the platform. His position enables the creation of new revenue streams and modernises FI customer experiences to position them competitively for the future of banking and money.
He has been an entrepreneur, senior executive and investor in the wireless, technology and Internet industries for over 15 years. His industry experience includes digital media, wireless technology and big data where the common thread has been building platforms with broad applicability.
Here, Conahan discusses the application of rewards schemes within payment systems, and the positive experiences this combination generates:
Today, consumers have more ways to pay for things online than ever before. Options like PayPal, Venmo, ApplePay, Affirm and Klarna have become commonplace within online checkouts.
Alternatively, they can use their debit or credit card. Or, there’s also the option to pay via gift card or store credit. And of course, these are in addition to a lease-to-own option offered by many merchants.
There is a battle for primacy among payment options, with many surfacing on product pages ahead of the cart. This means a user never even has a chance to enter their credit/debit card’s primary account number (PAN).
At the same time, consumers are moving increasingly toward digital wallet-based payment options due to their simplicity. ApplePay processed $6trillion in payments last year, surpassing Mastercard.
The advantage to consumers is that their spending power is now disembodied from any physical tender. There is now a single point of contact, like a smartphone, to access large stores of buying power.
The result is a levelling of the playing field among payment options in the minds of consumers. ‘Money’ has become an abstract concept. It represents a collection of actual wealth combined with various lines of credit, which lives in a nebulous ‘cloud’ somewhere.
The availability of point-of-sale phone taps and e-commerce clicks is allowing consumers to conjure up their ‘money’ at any time.
So how does a card issuer or bank differentiate its payment options? And additionally, how can they compete for primacy in a sea of consumer choice?
This comes when the focus remains on the consumer and their desire for value and simplicity. Although simple, achieving the reality isn’t so easy.
When it comes to payment options, the highest value option with the lowest friction (e.g., the most simplicity) is always going to win.
Here is how to achieve both:
Focus on value
When times are good, people don’t mind saving money. But when times are tight, they actively seek out ways to save money.
During economic anxiety, helping customers to extend their budgets is a winning strategy that drives loyalty and purchase volume.
Cash-back rewards and coupons aren’t just nice-to-have features anymore. For a payment tender’s value proposition, they’re table stakes.
Consumers expect rewards, and they are coming to expect them from their payment provider. In fact, a recent LendingTree survey found that 50 per cent of consumers feel that loyalty programmes are more important than ever.
Furthermore, 75 per cent of consumers joined to receive rewards for spending while 66 per cent joined to access discounts.
Thus, rewarding consumers with cash-back on their purchases, and with coupons that can save the average consumer hundreds of dollars per year, is the ultimate addition to an FI’s value prop. These rewards will keep its payment option at the top of consumers’ minds.
Not only that, but shopping rewards typically also stack on top of whatever additional value consumers may be provided from the FI via a cut of interchange fees.
Focus on simplicity
Consumers are overwhelmed by e-commerce payment options, many integrated into merchants’ websites before they ever get to the checkout page. Thus, the best strategy is to move upfunnel to achieve payment tender primacy – which has the added benefit of providing the consumer with the simplest payment option of all.
One way for an FI to do this is to offer a tool that does the following:
- Enables customers to activate cash-back and coupons as they shop online
- Gives them a one-click checkout that auto-fills their PAN
With this method, the first thing consumers see when they land on a merchant’s website is the FI’s branded tool, on top of all other payment options, reminding them they are receiving cash back for shopping when they use the FI’s payment method.
Then, when it is time to pay, a single click fills in their pre-stored payment information. The result is a delighted customer and a durably loyal relationship built on value and simplicity.
Cashback and coupons are the fastest-growing loyalty product among financial institutions including banks, issuers, and payment providers, and the most adopted mechanism to deliver it is the humble browser extension.
These tools have been popularised by large industry players like Capital One Shopping and PayPal’s $4billion acquisition of Honey.
Both of these have driven awareness among consumers, and with this awareness plus the uncertain economic environment, cashback and coupons are in high demand.


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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Cambodia has suspended the export of human breast milk, a business pioneered last year by a former Mormon missionary.
A legal officer at Cambodia’s Customs Department, Rath Nisay, said Tuesday that Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth recently signed a letter effectively stopping the sole exporter – U.S. company Ambrosia Labs Ltd. – from carrying out its business. The product is marketed as food for babies and as a supplement for adults with special needs, such as bodybuilders, and sells for as much as $4 an ounce.
He said the suspension was mainly because of concerns about the health effect on babies of nursing mothers selling their milk, and that the Health Ministry would have to determine if human milk should be subject to regulation in the same category as human organs.
Bronzson Woods, the founder of Utah-based Ambrosia Labs, could not be reached for comment, but said in an interview last year with the Salt Lake Tribune that donors’ children were required to be at least 6 months old as advised by the World Health Organization to ensure they receive proper nourishment from their mothers’ milk.
A woman who worked for Ambrosia Labs’ affiliated company and supplier in Cambodia, Kun Meada, or Mother Gratitude, said it stopped collecting breast milk about a week ago because the company is applying for a license from the Health Ministry.
Kong Sopheakdey said about 20 women, mostly poor and living in slum areas, supply milk to the company, and each is paid 2,000 riel (50 cents) an ounce.
The company also provides bonuses for extra production and pays for transport to its office, she said. It also provides a free medical checkup to make sure the mothers are in good health and produce enough milk.
Nhem Channy, 29, said she has been selling her breast milk since she had her second child and earns about $12 per day, supplying once in the morning and once in the afternoon. She had been a trash collector until a neighbor told her about the opportunity to sell her breast milk. Her husband is a construction worker but doesn’t have regular work.
She said she cried when she heard about the export suspension because she supports her family, including three children, with her sales of breast milk.
“Now the company is closed, what will happen to our lives, we will live with hunger,” she said in a telephone interview.
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PORTAGE, Mich. — It's the busiest time of year for mailing services now that the holiday season has arrived.
With the growth of e-commerce, it's no lie that these services are needed and pressured to provide a quick delivery.
FedEx Ground opened up a new 318,000 square foot automated facility back in July.
It is designed to add package capacity through the sortation of us to 12,000 packages per hour.
"We have seen tremendous growth due to COVID and e-commerce, and you know, we're continuing to build up the network to handle that growth, and we're in a good position going into the holidays," said a FedEx Ground Portage's Senior Manager Sean O'Donnell.
The new #FedExGround facility in #Portage is looking to hire an additional 50 people on top of the 100 they hired last month in preparation for the holiday season. @FOX17— Lauren Kummer (@LaurenKummerTV) December 6, 2021
Apply here: https://t.co/eyZgJKLePN pic.twitter.com/OBuKVIJWor
FedEx Ground told Fox 17 their growth has skyrocketed, and their previous facility was only half the space of the new one.
The new space adds package capacity, better efficiency and quicker turnaround times.
"In our prior building, it was a manual sortation facility, meaning employees would have to look at packages and put them in areas based on zip codes and address. Now with our new facility, it's all automated, meaning it's that process is automatic with a button, we can send any package anywhere in the building, so it just allows a lot more accurate sortation, and again, the speed of sortation has increased as well," said O'Donnell.
With a larger space also comes creation of jobs, especially for the holiday season. FedEx's new space already employing 350 people.
"It definitely does not reduce the jobs. We still have a lot of unloading, loading and specific positions in the warehouse, but we set a goal out in November to hire 100 employees, we hit that mark," said O'Donnell.
Even with those additional employees hired last month, the facility is looking to add around 50 more.
"We offer part time positions, full time positions, flexible scheduling, you name the schedule, we can we can accommodate. We have a great tuition assistance benefit as well. $5,200 per calendar year, and we start out at $15.50 an hour here in Portage, so very competitive package we offer," said O'Donnell.
If you're interested in applying, you can view open jobs by clicking here.
For people looking at using FedEx to ship packages this holiday season, the company is suggesting people ship them out as early as possible.
Click here for shipping date deadlines in order for packages to arrive by Christmas Day.


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The Fed Goes All Out & Removes More Data To Shape The Economic Collapse Narrative
The BIS chief bashes cryptos, wants to know why people are trying to create their own currency. The BIS says cryptos do not meet the requirements for currency. Payroll numbers come in and the unemployment rate moves up to 4%. Labor participation rate are at 1970 levels. More part time jobs were added as retail stores close down and layoff people. The real estate bubble has popped in Manhattan, prices are coming down and people are having a difficult time selling their place. Russia places penalties on the US. The yield curve inverts and the Fed decides to get rid of this type of data because it is misleading. The Fed pushes the agenda to remove all information that will show the Fed was responsible for the economy collapsing.


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CFM says jet engine testing going to plan
PARIS Oct 16 (Reuters) - CFM International, the world's largest maker of jet engines by number of units sold, said on Wednesday that testing of a new powerplant for the next generation of narrowbody passenger jets was going according to plan.
CFM, a joint venture between General Electric and France's Safran, is developing the LEAP-X engine for the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo, as well as a Chinese competitor now under development, the Comac C919.
It competes partly with a new engine being developed by United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney.
"We are on track and on schedule for all three programmes and have had no showstoppers that we can see," Chaker Chahrour, executive vice president of the Cincinnati-based engine maker, told reporters in a conference call.
- Housing, jobs data weaken, but overall economic picture still upbeat
- U.S. diplomats, but not prosecutors, seek to quell India dispute |
- Target cyber breach hits 40 million payment cards at holiday peak |
- New York Mayor-elect's reputation for lateness parodied on Twitter
- Last-minute Obamacare exemption for those with canceled plans


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Former Fresh King Inc. president Peter Leifermann has joined J&C Tropicals Inc., which hopes the hire will boost its locally grown program.
Leifermann, who resigned his position at Homestead, Fla.-based Fresh King in May, joined Miami-based J&C as a salesman/category manager in mid-September, said Adrian Capote, co-owner and vice president of sales.
Capote said J&C will tap into Leifermann’s expertise sourcing Florida-grown lychees, longans, star fruit, avocados, kumquats and other specialties.
“These are items that make a great fit for our line but that we’re not strong on,” Capote said. “We want to market a lot of Florida-grown (product) to retailers. We’re not marketing as much as we should be.”
J&C grows, ships and imports tropical fruits, roots and vegetables.
Leifermann, who has been in the produce industry for almost two decades, was a salesman for Coosemans Atlanta in the late 1990s before joining C-Brand Tropicals Inc., which Fresh King bought in 2006. Leifermann was a managing partner of C-Brand.
He is the second Florida produce veteran to join J&C since August. On Aug. 3, Rudy Leon, who worked for food-service companies in the Sunshine State for more than 20 years, joined the company Aug. 3 as a senior salesman.


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Here's the plan - let's get some of the biggest names in technology to invest in east London so that the area can become a rival to Silicon Valley. So will San Francisco, Palo Alto and Mountain View be shaking in their boots when they hear the prime ministerial vision outlined this morning to a gathering of hi-tech hopefuls?
Probably not - which is not to say that the idea won't be welcomed by the small technology firms currently clustered in an area around London's Old Street, known by some as Silicon Roundabout. The arrival of Californian giants like Facebook, Google, Intel and Cisco, which have all promised David Cameron either investment or advice for his east London tech hub, can only serve to add to the buzz.
Right now, east London has nothing more than a shoal of hopeful minnows, so a few giant fish will at least give the area more of a hi-tech identity. The government says that we are not bad at starting firms, but not so good at growing them into world-beating giants. The problem is that the likes of the music streaming service Last.fm, a Silicon Roundabout success story, get to a certain size and then sell up, often to an American giant.
The government hopes that the presence of the likes of Facebook, coupled with the collaboration of prestigious London universities like Imperial College, will help replicate the kind of environment that has made Silicon Valley such an engine of American growth.
What about any concrete measures to make it happen? There is some money - £200m in equity finance, though that is cash that has already been announced.
There is the "new" entrepreneur's visa, designed to lure individuals with bright business ideas to Britain - though this is just a modification of an existing scheme which the government says just hasn't been delivering enough entrepreneurs to these shores.
And there's a commitment to re-examine intellectual property laws for the internet age. Of course, that was done a few years back under the previous government's Gowers Review - but again, the coalition seems to think that wasn't fit for purpose.
What many entrepreneurs will say is vital for this dream to be realised is a change of culture to one where it is natural for young people with bright ideas to abandon their studies and start a business - as Mark Zuckerberg did to start Facebook, or Larry Page and Sergey Brin to make Google a world-beater.
From what I see of Britain's start-up scene, we are getting there, but it takes time. After all Silicon Valley did not take off for many decades after Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded their company in 1939.
And is east London really the prime site for the UK's tech champion? Some would say that Cambridge, already home to several billion-dollar technology companies, has a better claim, or the Thames Valley, where a host of major firms employing thousands of people are clustered along the M4.
Still, the start-up crowd, sipping cappuccinos in Shoreditch cafes, has just been given a wake-up call from the very highest levels of government. The test will be whether they can now go on to create the Googles, Facebooks and Ciscos of tomorrow.


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Tesla Inc's Elon Musk
on Thursday mocked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
just hours after a federal judge ordered him and the regulator
to justify their securities fraud settlement, which let Musk
remain chief executive.
scrapped plans to move its headquarters to the Netherlands on
Friday in the face of a British shareholder revolt, keeping one
of the country's most valuable companies in London ahead of
Shares in Intu Properties soared
more than 37 percent on Friday after a consortium including
British billionaire John Whittaker and Canada's Brookfield Asset
Management said it was considering a bid for the
shopping centre owner.
The United Kingdom's integrity
will be preserved as part of any Brexit deal and there will be
no new regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest
of the UK unless the province's executive agree, the Brexit
ministry said on Friday.


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5G coverage on EE just keeps on improving, as the network has recently upgraded its coverage to 5G in 13 new towns and cities across the UK, making for 125 UK locations with EE 5G in total.
The new locations are:
- Leamington Spa
- St Albans
In terms of numbers of places that still puts EE slightly behind Three with 154, and O2 with 150, but it’s closing in on them, and it’s way ahead of Vodafone on 57 (though Vodafone also offers 5G roaming).
Of course, numbers of locations doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s also about the size of those locations and how comprehensive the coverage is within them, and on that front EE is likely in a strong position, since it was the first UK network to launch a 5G service, so it’s had plenty of time to strengthen its coverage.
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Alongside the announcement of bringing 5G to 13 new locations, EE also revealed that it had been named the number one network for gaming in independent tests from RootMetrics. In these UK-wide tests, EE recorded the fastest aggregate median download speed of any network, the lowest jitter, and the lowest packet loss.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer business, said: “Today’s recognition shows the continued investment we’re making to keep our customers connected to what matters most to them, whether that’s enjoying the latest gaming release, sharing video calls with loved ones, or online learning. Our award-winning 5G service is now available in 125 towns and cities across the UK, and our rollout continues so we can bring the best mobile experience to even more people and places.”
To celebrate this achievement, EE is also launching a new ‘Gaming Unleashed’ bundle, which will be available to customers who purchase a Samsung Galaxy S21, Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra on a Smart Plan.
It comes with 12 months access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with Cloud Gaming (which among other things lets you stream Xbox games on your phone – something which 5G will help with) and a Razer Kishi controller (worth £218), so you’ll really be able to put EE’s 5G and gaming credentials to the test.


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Lamont joins New Canaan Advertiser coffee
Watch this week’s coffee here.
Join us again next Friday, May 15, as we take the coffee online again.
Watch this website for a new link so you can join in at 9 a.m. on that date.
Update: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has joined the New Canaan Advertiser’s weekly virtual coffee for Friday, May 8.
Original story: NEW CANAAN — The New Canaan Advertiser’s weekly virtual coffee will be joined by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday.
The weekly event, which has gone on for nearly two decades, had to shift online recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To attend this week’s session via Zoom, visit zoom.us/j/9251671532 and use meeting ID number 925 167 1532. The event begins at 9 a.m.
Anyone withing a microphone or camera can dial in using a smartphone by calling +1-646-558-8656 and entering the above meeting ID number when prompted. Those from areas outside the northeast can find the proper dial-in number at zoom.us/u/aedBoLt4sU.
Particpants are asked to mute their microphones until they are ready to speak. Those watching the meeting without a microphone can use the chat window to ask questions.


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Claudia Winkleman's daughter was involved in a horrific burns incident
Investigators will carry out random spot checks on costumes for sale across Britain in a bid to prevent further tragedies like that suffered by eight-year-old Matilda, who was seriously burned whilst out trick-or-treating.
The terrified youngster's supermarket wizard robes caught fire and turned into a "crackling fireball" whilst she was out enjoying the spookiest night of the year with friends near the Winklemans' London home last Halloween.
It burned so hot that bubbling black fabric from the costume melted on to her skin, leaving the youngster needing plastic surgery.
Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia set up the campaign in the aftermath of the horrific incident to secure tougher safety standards after being disgusted to learn that fancy dress costumes currently only have to be tested to the same level as toys.
As a result, today business secretary Sajid Javid announced a wide-ranging probe into the fancy dress industry, which will include an investigation of whether current EU safety guidelines on the costumes are robust enough.
The Strictly presenter demonstrated how easily fancy dress costumes set alight
Trading standards officials will test costumes from hundreds of fancy dress retailers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for flammability to assess whether they are safe.
Mr Javid said: "My immediate concern as a father and a minister is that children wearing these fancy dress costumes are safe.
"It is unacceptable for any costumes to be sold that do not comply with safety standards.
"That's why I've granted funding to trading standards to carry out spot checks as part of a nationwide investigation. Parents should feel confident that any fancy dress they buy meets required standards."
There are concerns that many fancy dress costumes may be unsafe
It is unacceptable for any costumes to be sold that do not comply with safety standards
Trading standards officials will report back to the business secretary later in the autumn.
Last year 43-year-old Claudia teamed up with the BBC consumer show Watchdog in a special episode in which experts gave a shocking demonstration of how easily high street fancy dress outfits turn into fireballs.
As a result of her crusade, this year's Halloween outfits sold by Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Marks & Spencer will meet the stricter standards applied to night wear.
Mrs Winkleman is a presenter on the BBC hit show Strictly Come Dancing
Leon Livermore, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: "In light of the upcoming Halloween season, we welcome the Government funding for trading standards to investigate the safety of children's fancy dress costumes.
"CTSI takes issues of product safety very seriously, and hopes the evidence gathered as part of this investigation will help to establish whether the current flammability standards are still fit for purpose."


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•Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is expected to adjust excise duty rates for specific products, effective October 1.
•It will see prices of petroleum products, motorcycles, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, SIM cards and confectionary products go up.
Manufacturers are appealing to the government to put on hold the implementation of the inflation adjustment, saying it is not sustainable.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is expected to adjust excise duty rates for specific products, effective October 1.
This is at a rate of 6.3 per cent (average inflation rate for the financial year 2021/2022) as determined by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
It will see prices of petroleum products, motorcycles, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, bottled water, cosmetics, SIM cards (which were recently listed as excisable less than three months ago) and confectionary products go up.
Also to be affected are tobacco and nicotine products and raw hide and skins where taxes will go up by the set rate, with consumers shouldering the price increase.
This comes barely three months after the Finance Act 2022 increased excise tax rates go up by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent , effective 1st July 2022, for some of the products with alcoholic beverages being the hardest hit.
A further increase of 6.3 per cent within three months will result in a massive 16.3 per cent to 26.3 per cent cumulative tax increase in one year, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) says.
“Such an increase will significantly impact on mwananchi, who is already overburdened by the ever-increasing cost of living,” KAM chief executive Anthony Mwangi said yesterday.
Since 2018, the cumulative increase in annual inflation has risen to 26.56 per cent.
The latest taxes will add up to the already high cost of raw materials and intermediary inputs which has increased by 15- 20 per cent due to global commodity price hikes.
Furthermore, import costs have increased due to the weakening Kenyan shilling.
“Fuel prices have also reached a historic high, with a large portion constituting taxes and levies, resulting in a high distribution cost and further increasing the price at which a consumer buys the locally manufactured product,” Mwangi said.
According to manufacturers, the continued rising cost of doing business, mainly occasioned by high taxation is giving an edge to neighbouring countries who are finding a cheaper market in the country.
“The hash tax regime is a zero-sum game that has shifted manufacturing to our East African Community neighbours who are now exporting to Kenya,” KAM said.
The inflation adjustment will also stifle Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), who are considered the backbone of job creation and the economy at large.
SMEs are one of the Kenya Kwanza government’s key focus areas under its Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda 2022 – 2027.
It singles out regressive taxation, bureaucracy and regulatory compliance costs as the biggest impediment to getting Kenya out of the “economic hole” the country is currently in.
Yesterday, KAM said it is identifies with the current government’s manifesto, even as it called for a review and rationalising of all business licenses, to cap total licensing costs at 1.5 per cent of turnover fees.
“Implementing the tax increase goes against the government’s intention to reduce the cost of living, support agriculture through agro-industry value chains, support the growth of SMEs and create jobs for Kenyans,” Mwangi said.
Last week, service sector players warned of impending massive lay-offs as traders adjust to low sales and high cost of doing business.
At least Sh15.7 billion is expected to be lost in employment income on about 35,364 jobs which will be lost, the Bars, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association (BAHLITA) said.
The taxes which came with the Finance Acy have already led to a decline of 21 per cent and 32 per cent in barley and sorghum-based beers, respectively, the association notes.
“There is a need to give investors time to recover from the effects of Covid-19. Two years down the line, the industry is still struggling to get back to its feet,” General secretary Boniface Gachoka said.


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Bailey quits Burberry after losing the top job, but he's set to get a goodbye payout of up to £13m
Christopher Bailey is quitting Burberry after 17 years at the luxury brand.
The 46-year-old fashion designer is stepping down as chief creative officer to 'pursue new creative projects' after he was ousted from his role of chief executive earlier this year.
Bailey will leave with a payout of up to £13million made up from a mixture of salary, bonus and incentive allowances.
He will continue to receive his £1.1million salary and £440,000 cash allowance until the end of next year and will also be entitled to a bonus for the year to the end of March which could be worth up to £2.2million.
Beauty and the chief: Christopher Bailey with actress Kate Beckinsale and model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
On top of that Bailey will receive shares under the firm's complex incentive schemes worth up to £10million. He is, however, giving up around £16million worth of shares.
He will remain in his role until March 2017 and provide support to chief executive Marco Gobbetti until the end of the year.
His departure brings to an end an era which saw the firm transformed from an old-fashioned British manufacturer best known for its trademark 'check' pattern, to a global fashion powerhouse.
Bailey was appointed in 2001 by the then-chief executive Rose Marie Bravo, who was tasked with reinventing the brand image of the classic brand, which was popular among so-called 'chavs'.
When she left in 2006, Bravo named Angela Ahrendts, who Bailey knew from his time at Donna Karan, as her successor.
Over the next eight years the pair cleaned up the business, buying back licenses and creating classic British looks that played to the firm's new brand image.
By 2011 it was generating £1.5billion in sales – a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, and had grown its market value to £5.8billion.
The fashion brand also invested heavily in digital by ramping up its social media strategy, live streaming its fashion shows, and partnering with well-known models and actors such as Emma Watson, Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn to promote its clothing.
When Ahrendts left in 2014 to run Apple's retail programme, Bailey was promoted to the dual role of chief creative officer and chief executive.
The move drew criticism from shareholders due to Bailey's lack of corporate experience, and undermined his ability to focus on the product.
After falling sales and profits, the company hired ex-Celine boss Gobbetti to take the helm and Bailey was moved into a new role of president and chief creative officer.
The son of a Yorkshire carpenter, Bailey lives in London with his partner, the actor Simon Woods. They have two daughters.
Bailey said: 'Burberry encapsulates so much of what is great about Britain. As an organisation, it is creative, innovative and outward looking. It celebrates diversity and challenges received wisdoms.
It is part of the establishment, but it is always changing, and always learning. It has been a truly inspiring place to work.'
Analysts said Phoebe Philo, Celine creative director, who worked with Gobbetti while he headed up the firm, could be in the running to replace Bailey.
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Results For "Wunderman-Thompson"
4 News Found
Bata awards global creative mandate to Contract India
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - November 28, 2019
The creative agency will handle strategic and creative duties for the European footwear major’s key geographies in LATAM, Europe, Asia and Africa with the support of its group companies
Dalmia Cement reaffirms commitment to the nation with new brand positioning
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - September 18, 2019
‘Future Today’, the new brand positioning is planned to be strengthened with 360-degree marketing plan


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© Toshiba Memory Business | September 19, 2018
Toshiba Memory and WDC opens new memory fab
Toshiba Memory Corporation and Western Digital have officially opened a new semiconductor fabrication facility, Fab 6, and Memory R&D Center, at its Yokkaichi operations in Mie Prefecture, Japan.
Toshiba Memory started construction of Fab 6 – a dedicated 3D flash memory fabrication facility – back in February 2017. Toshiba Memory and Western Digital have installed manufacturing equipment for key production processes including deposition and etching. Mass production of 96-layer 3D flash memory utilising the new fab has already begun, a press release reads. Demand for 3D flash memory is growing for enterprise servers, data centers and smartphones, and is expected to continue to expand in the years ahead. Further investments to expand its production will be made in line with market trends. The Memory R&D Center, located adjacent to Fab 6, began operations in March of this year and will explore and promote advances in the development of 3D flash memory. “We are excited about opportunities to expand the market for our latest generation of 3D flash memory. Fab 6 and Memory R&D Center enable us to maintain our position as a leading player in the 3D flash memory market. We are confident that our joint venture with Western Digital will allow us to continue producing leading edge memories at Yokkaichi,” says Dr. Yasuo Naruke, President and CEO of Toshiba Memory, in the press release, “We are pleased to be opening Fab 6 and the Memory R&D Center with our valued partner Toshiba Memory. For nearly two decades, the successful collaboration between our companies has fostered growth and innovation of NAND flash technology,” said Steve Milligan, Chief Executive Officer, Western Digital. “We are ramping production of 96-layer 3D NAND to address the full range of end market opportunities from consumer and mobile applications to cloud data centers.”
COVID-19 highlights the gravity of the secondary market for SME Cha Jin-Seok, Chief Financial Officer of SK Hynix, said it best in the company’s Q1 earnings call, “Because of a never experienced pandemic, even basic business activities such as maintaining normal operations and predicting future demand have become challenging tasks.”
GlobalFoundries to implement ITAR at US manufacturing facility GlobalFoundries plans to implement export control security measures at its most advanced manufacturing facility, Fab 8, in Malta, New York.
Rebound Electronics expands in Asia The independent supplier of electronic components says it is investing to increase its market coverage in Asia with the opening of several new offices and setting up a customer service & telesales centre.
Samsung expands foundry capacity with new production line Samsung Electronics says that it plans to boost its foundry capacity at the company's new production line in Pyeongtaek, Korea, to meet growing global demand for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) solutions.
Super Dry Totech expands Long Term Storage Solutions offering The most recent development for Super Dry Totech, is the acquisition of a new building to expand on capacity & to minimise risk by assuring continuity should a disrupting incident occur in one of the facilities.
Ynvisible acquires electrochromic display company rdot Printed electronics specialist, Ynvisible Interactive, announces that it will acquire the printed electrochromic displays business of rdot AB of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Manz receives follow-up order for display production equipment Manz says it has received an order with a total volume in the low double-digit million euro range for display production equipment.
Aehr Receives initial order from new customer for FOX-NP solution Aehr Test Systems says it has received orders from a new customer and their subcontract manufacturing supplier for a FOX solution including a FOX-NP full wafer test system, an initial WaferPak Contactor, and a FOX WaferPak Aligner to perform production qualification of their silicon photonics devices.
AIM names new director of product management AIM Solder has appointed Timothy O’Neill to the position of Director of Product Management.
Seoul Semi files patent suit against automotive LED light distributor Seoul Semiconductor says it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Onyx Enterprise Int’l Corp., a distributor of automotive components.
X-FAB expands foundry offering for silicon-based microfluidics In order to address heightening demands, X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE, has taken steps to simplify the integration of microfluidic elements with CMOS and SOI dies.
Renesas withdraw from LD/PD business and close production Renesas has decided to withdraw from the laser diode (LD) and photo diode/detector (PD) businesses, and to close the production line at its Shiga Factory, which manufactures compound semiconductor products.
TSMC confirms its intention to build new US fab The Semiconductor giant has announced its intention to build and operate an advanced semiconductor fab in the United States with support from the US government and the state of Arizona.
Flisom to set up shop in Hungary The Swiss solar technology company chose Kecskemét, Hungary as the location for its plant of industrial capacity.
VRG Earns ISO 9001:2015 Certification VRG Components, an independent distributor of electronic components, have been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification.Load more news


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California legislators are preparing to ban PFAS, the “forever chemicals” widely found throughout the environment, in food packaging while also imposing strict rules on advertising and requiring manufacturers to disclose toxic chemicals used in cookware.
The state senate voted voted Friday to pass the Safer Food Packaging and Cookware Act. It goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature after a concurrence vote in the General Assembly.
PFAS refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class that includes thousands of chemicals that have been found in many types of food packaging, including microwave popcorn bags, some fast food wrappers and many compostable containers.
Research has linked these chemicals to serious health risks, including liver damage, birth defects and cancer. They’re called “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the environment and in human bodies.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently found that most foods it tested were free of PFAS, except for canned tuna, protein powder and fish sticks.
Not just food
It’s not just food that alarms environmental and public health advocates, however. The chemicals are widely used in packaging, cosmetics and in cookware, among others.
The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) said the legislative action is long overdue.
“There is no reason why toxic chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, birth defects and other serious health problems should be anywhere near our food,” PIRG official Emily Rogers said in a statement. “And yet, PFAS have been permitted in our food packaging and have been allowed to hide underneath greenwashed labels that leave even the most savvy customers feeling lost and confused. T[he] vote puts us one step closer to putting an end to that, and is a victory for public health.”
Currently, manufacturers are able to claim that products are “PFOA-free” or “toxin-free” if the products lack certain ingredients such as PFOA, a specific type of PFAS, even if they contain other, very similar chemicals, such as other types of PFAS. The bill would ban that practice.
The bill would also require manufacturers to disclose on the packaging for cookware and bakeware products all potentially hazardous, intentionally added chemicals that are present in the final product. Further, manufacturers would be required to provide a link and QR code to connect consumers with more information on these chemicals.
“Parents shouldn’t need to spend their time researching every piece of cookware they buy or wonder whether a takeout container is going to threaten their kids’ health,” CALPIRG state director Jenn Engstrom said.
Still used in cosmetics
The California bill is likely to be beneficial to consumers nationwide, since changes in labeling practices and packaging tend to be applied uniformly by manufacturers. But cosmetics are still a wide open field, both in California and the nation.
A recent study reinforced earlier findings that a wide range of cosmetics contain PFAS.
“Lipstick wearers may inadvertently eat several pounds of lipstick in their lifetimes,” said Graham Peaslee, senior author of the study and professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame. “But unlike food, chemicals in lipstick and other makeup and personal care products are almost entirely unregulated in the U.S. and Canada. As a result, millions of people are unknowingly wearing PFAS and other harmful chemicals on their faces and bodies daily.”
The majority of products with high PFAS levels did not list PFAS on the label, the study found. Products tested included lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, foundation, concealer, lip balm, blush and nail polish and are sold in the United States and Canada.
Legislation pending in Congress would ban PFAS from cosmetics but the measure’s fate is uncertain.


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Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on September 14 that more economic sectors will be allowed to reopen as the COVID-19 lockdown is no longer feasible amid fears that it can have more negative implications.
"The reopening of 11 economic sectors in states under phase one of the National Recovery Plan was appropriate due to the high vaccination rates in the states," he said.
The leader noted that these sectors must comply with strict regulations and requirements such as mandatory wearing of masks in public places and presenting a certificate of vaccination for 14 days./.
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During the stream, as well as playing the game, the Xbox On team and Tim will be trying astronaut ice-cream, astronaut fruit snacks, and doing a giveaway where you can win awesome Mars Horizon prizes including:
Join us for another livestream tomorrow! ASA have decided to launch a new branch of their space agency on Friday the 13th. They’re selecting the unluckiest traits for their agency to see what mayhem they can create.
What could go wrong? 😱 Don’t worry, the Jemkin will be there for luck🎃
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game in which you lead a major space agency as you guide humanity to Mars. Construct a base, design and build rockets, conduct missions throughout the Solar System, and write your own history of space exploration. Created with support from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Check out the announcement trailer to see the game in action.
The full game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 17th 2020.


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The adoption of cloud computing is accelerating across different customer segments in Southeast Asia, a top Malaysia-based regional executive for Amazon Web Services told Nikkei Asia, as the company competes for business with other global providers descending on the region.
AWS is investing big in the race to develop cloud data centers in Southeast Asia. It announced in March a 25.5 billion ringgit ($6 billion) investment in Malaysia after pouring money into Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. AWS’ investment in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries now stands at $22.5 billion.
Other big names that offer cloud data services have joined the fray, including Microsoft, Alibaba, Tencent, IBM, Oracle, and Google. Microsoft announced a five-year $1 billion investment in 2021 in Malaysia, while Google will be setting up a cloud region — the location where the public cloud data is stored — in the country, one of its 33 such systems worldwide. Malaysia topped real estate consultancy Knight Frank’s inaugural SEA-5 Data Centre Opportunity Index published last month as the most attractive destination for data center investment among five Southeast Asian countries, beating out Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.
Peter Murray, head of Malaysia and ASEAN Emerging Markets for AWS, described a noticeable pickup in the embrace of cloud technology, including by startups and enterprises in various industries as well as sectors such as financial services, natural resources and energy. “We are seeing significant growth across media and telecommunications as well and we believe that will continue to play a key role in helping Malaysia, ASEAN as well as global organizations who may have operations and be based in Malaysia to increase their productivity,” Murray said in a recent interview. AWS’ strategy amid the intensifying competition is “to build what our customers are telling us is the most important thing to them,” he said. “And 90% of what Amazon builds is driven by what customers are telling us matters the most to them.”
Murray cited two banks in Malaysia AWS has worked with, Bank Islam and Al-Rajhi Bank, that are utilizing its cloud in launching digital banking services. Bank Islam’s Be U digital bank, meanwhile, was developed with AWS’ support to create new digital financial services like mobile applications, loan facilities and services that adhere to Islamic financial regulations.
Carsome, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, is running their services on AWS’ serverless technologies and using its machine learning technology to digitalize and improve customer experience. Carsome, Malaysia’s first unicorn, or startup valued at $1 billion or more, utilized workflow system Amazon SageMaker to streamline customer services by developing machine learning systems that incorporated 175 car inspection points.
AWS is also helping Malaysia’s state-owned oil conglomerate Petronas commercialize its cloud-based logistics services to improve efficiency via the Stear platform, which was launched in November last year and jointly developed with Petronas, professional services company Accenture and AWS. Murray said Stear supports offshore exploration, production and development and is enabling improved fuel management, intelligent routing and better vessel scheduling with near real time voyage traffic tracking.
Murray said Petronas aims to use Stear to reduce carbon emissions associated with logistics operations. “That’s a really exciting future statement and intent that we will have with many customers, the way that they are able to build and run innovative new technology workloads, which are actually able to show a dividend in terms of the reduction in carbon consumption and the increase in energy efficiency as well,” he added.
“We see continued [cloud technology] adoption [and] we see continued growth and skills within the Philippines,” Eric Conrad, company regional managing director for Southeast Asia, told a press conference on the sidelines of the AWS ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Thursday.
AWS announced late last year its plan to launch a local zone in the Philippines, which is part of a bigger undertaking to establish 10 new local zones in the region. The local zones are meant to help AWS customers reduce latency of critical workloads and drive productivity, among others. In the Philippines, AWS provides cloud services to companies like BDO Unibank, Globe, GCash and UnionBank.
The upcoming local zone in the country is a “reflection” of AWS’s optimism in the Philippines, Conrad said. The facility will complement AWS’s existing infrastructure in the Philippines, which include Amazon CloudFront and AWS Outposts.
“In the Philippines, we see continued acceleration in terms of the digitalization and the use of technology to drive sustainability, and good environmental practices,” he added.
“We’re really excited with the momentum that we’re seeing,” Conor McNamara, company managing director for Southeast Asia, said in his keynote address.
In Singapore, AWS has spent over $6.5 billion on infrastructure and jobs in the island state. One of AWS’s clients is Singapore-based superapp Grab, which has powered its mapping system with the help of AWS’s cloud technology.
“We estimate better ETAs, and all of it are powered by data,” Philipp Kandal, chief product officer at Grab, said during the opening session of the AWS Summit.
Meanwhile, AWS has also promised billions of dollars in investments in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Since 2017, the Amazon unit has trained over 1 million people across the region on cloud skills.
“We offer the most complete set of relational and purpose-built databases,” Laura Grit, VP/distinguished engineer at AWS, said during the summit. “Our goal is for you to focus on innovation that matters for your business,” she added.


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Intel has bought the global navigation satellite system division of ST-Ericsson, acquiring assets, intellectual property and staff to enhance its mobile chip business.
The chip giant is taking over the GPS unit of the loss-making fabless joint venture between STMicroelectronics and Ericsson aimed at wireless and semiconductor products in the mobile sector, according to the EETimes.
The financial details of the transaction were not revealed, but STMicroelectronics said that the sale will reduce the cost of closing ST-Ericsson by an estimated $90 million (£59 million), thanks to a combination of cash from Intel and the fact that it will no longer have to make redundancy payments to employees joining Intel.
STMicroelectronics revealed that the cost of closing the business would amount to between $350 million (£231 million) and $450 million (£298 million), making the sale of assets vital. The parent companies are absorbing some assets and employees, while 1,600 people will lose their jobs.
AMD, Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm were previously cited as parties interested in acquiring ST-Ericsson or some of its products, but it remains to be seen if STMicroelectronics and Ericsson can offload other assets.
Among the terms of the acquisition, Intel will acquire intellectual property and a team of 130 employees in England, India and Singapore. They are expected to join Intel's wireless platform research and development business.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in August.


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The Walt Disney Company has confirmed that Amazon Web Services (AWS) powered the global roll-out of its Disney+ streaming service.
Since its launch in November 2019, Disney+ has signed up more than 100 million subscribers to its streaming platform and has steadily expanded the geographical coverage of its service to 59 countries around the world, with Amazon’s help.
“After announcing the intent to launch a dedicated streaming service in August 2017, the Walt Disney Company spent a year laying the foundation for the streaming service,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
“Leveraging a flexible, secured cloud video infrastructure powered by AWS, Disney+ was able to handle more than 10 million new Disney+ sign-ups within 24 hours of its 12 November 2019 launch.”
To capitalise on the popularity of the service, Disney has committed to expanding its use of Amazon’s cloud services even further to incorporate its machine learning, database, storage, content delivery, serverless and analytics services into its public cloud stack.
The company also cited several examples of how AWS technology is already underpinning the delivery of its streaming services to customers, with the firm name-checking its real-time data analysis tool Amazon Kinesis as enabling it to quickly pick up on trends within its streaming data, while its serverless, time-series database Amazon Timestream enables it to monitor the quality of the video content being streamed to viewers.
“Disney+ has completely reinvented what is possible in content delivery by challenging convention and using cloud technology to build a streaming product from scratch that had never been launched and marketed before on such a global scale,” said Joe Inzerillo, executive vice-president and CTO of the the Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer division.
“AWS has been our preferred cloud provider for years, and its proven global infrastructure and expansive suite of services have contributed meaningfully to the incredible success of Disney+.”
Carla Stratfold, vice-president of global and strategic accounts at AWS, added: “Only AWS’s proven global infrastructure and unparalleled set of capabilities deliver the reliability, scalability and breadth of functionality to power one of the world’s most exciting streaming services and its expansion around the world.
Read more about media and entertainment companies using cloud
- Microsoft added to the host of “innovation partners” that Walt Disney Studios relies upon to ensure its creative teams have access to the latest and greatest technologies.
- The BBC’s head of architecture within its design and engineering team lifts the lid on the work the broadcaster has done to migrate its BBC Online infrastructure assets to the cloud.
“We look forward to continuing to provide comprehensive cloud capabilities and expertise to the Walt Disney Company to help them reinvent streaming entertainment for Disney fans globally.”
News of the technology tie-up between the two companies coincides with several other announcements about the work AWS is doing to build out its portfolio of sector-specific cloud services for the media and entertainment industry.
AWS already has a number of high-profile reference customers in this market, including streaming giant Netflix, and is offering clients dedicated access to services – and those of its partners – that are tailored to their sector-specific needs through the AWS for Media & Entertainment initiative.
Services offered through AWS for Media & Entertainment will focus on enabling the firm’s customers to digitally transform their content production, media supply chain, archiving, broadcast, streaming and data analytics process, said the company.
The company has also announced the launch of Amazon Nimble Studio, which is geared towards cutting down the time it takes creatives to make content by providing them with the cloud tools to stand up a virtual studio in hours, rather than weeks.
“With Amazon Nimble Studio, customers can rapidly onboard and collaborate with artists from anywhere in the world, and produce content faster and more cost-effectively,” said the company.
“Artists will have access to accelerated virtual workstations, high-speed storage and scalable rendering across AWS’s global infrastructure, so they can create content faster as part of virtual teams.”


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Florida Court Dismisses Lawsuit Claiming Apple 'Broke' FaceTime on Older iPhones to Save Costs
A court in Florida has dismissed a consumer lawsuit alleging that Apple intentionally "broke" FaceTime on older iPhones as a cost-saving measure (via Bloomberg Law).
In 2017, a similar class-action lawsuit was brought against Apple in California that claimed Apple broke FaceTime in iOS 6 to force users to upgrade to iOS 7. According to the lawsuit, Apple forced users to upgrade so it could avoid payments on a data deal with Akamai.
Apple agreed in February to settle the lawsuit in California, but the federal court in the Florida case ruled on Tuesday that the claims against Apple did not meet timeliness requirements. According to U.S. District Court Judge Raag Singhal, the complainants had several chances to file suit against Apple, but didn't lodge their complaint until August 2019.
Apple used two connection methods when it launched FaceTime in 2010: a peer-to-peer method that created a direct connection between two iPhones, and a relay method that used data servers from content delivery network company Akamai Technologies.
Apple's peer-to-peer FaceTime technology was found to infringe on VirnetX's patents in 2012, however, so the company began to shift toward the relay method, which used Akamai's servers. Within a year, Apple was paying $50 million in fees to Akamai, according to testimony from the VirnetX trial.
Apple eventually solved the problem by creating new peer-to-peer technology that would debut in iOS 7. The class-action lawsuits, however, alleged that Apple created a fake bug that caused a digital certificate to prematurely expire on April 16, 2014, breaking FaceTime on iOS 6.
The lawsuits claimed that breaking FaceTime in iOS 6 allowed Apple to save money because it would no longer need to support users who did not upgrade to iOS 7.
Top Rated Comments
There was no guarantee offered That FaceTime would last forever. It’s similar to how old game servers get turned off years after a game is released so certain features stop working.
It doesn't matter what the court says when it doesn't suit your personal believes.
I have absolutely no idea why anyone would want to go backwards (like nearly a decade), but I keep telling myself, people are weird!


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Over the weekend, a British tabloid ran an article reporting that Beyoncé’s new clothing line, Ivy Park, which is distributed through Top Shop, is being manufactured in a sweatshop located in Sri Lanka.
According to The Sun, the clothing line uses “poverty-stricken seamstresses” at the MAS Holdings factory in Sri Lanka to make the clothes.
On Monday, WWD reports, the brand issued a statement: “Ivy Park has a rigorous, ethical, trading program. We are proud of our sustained efforts in terms of factory inspections and audits, and our teams worldwide work very closely with our suppliers and their factories to ensure compliance.”
According to WWD, 400 rupees is the minimum wage in Sri Lanka ($2.68 at current exchange rates), and MAS Holdings said that its workers make more than double the minimum wage.


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Electric Vehicle Sales Fall After China Scales Back Subsidies
【Summary】China, the world’s largest automotive market, cut back subsidies for electric vehicles. The small act resulted in the first time electric car sales fell by 14 percent.
From a market perspective, China dictates a lot of what happens in the automotive industry. That especially holds true for electric vehicles. With the government doubling down on emissions regulations, automakers have had to regroup and introduce battery-powered cars or see their sales dwindle. For the most part – China's plan worked. Consumers purchased large amounts of EVs and they were extremely popular. Recently, though, China rolled back its purchase subsidies for electric cars and sales fell.
Electric Car Sales Tumble
According to Bloomberg, global electric-car sales fell for the first time after China scaled back its subsidies . The change in pace highlights just how large of a role government assistance plays in electric vehicle sales. The outlet cites Sanford C. Bernstein that reports monthly EV sales fell by 14 percent last month. Only a total of 128,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in July. While EV sales fell in China and North America, sales actually increased in Europe.
The decline in sales came after China decided to reduce funding for individual purchase of new-energy vehicles on June 26. The decision was made in an effort to encourage automakers to focus on innovation. Unfortunately, the reduction in electric-vehicle subsidies and a slowing economy have turned consumers away from EVs.
A 14 percent decrease isn't small and it doesn't bode well for automakers, as they continue to pour millions into coming out with more electric vehicles. As the outlet points out, automakers are expecting battery-powered vehicles to be the next big thing and a decline in sales doesn't paint a good picture for the future. The situation is even more precarious when you consider that sales of gas-powered vehicles aren't doing too well either.
Just A Hiccup?
Before July, global electric sales were doing extremely well. Bernstein claims that figures were up by 35 percent. Despite the setback in July, researchers still believe that 2019 will be a good year for EV sales. By the end of 2019, 2.9 million EVs are expected to be sold, which is up from 2.4 million from last year.
"Unsurprisingly the growth momentum halted in July amid subsidy cuts, Bernstein analysts stated in the report. "Despite expected short-term weakness in 2H19, we continue to be positive on long-term EV demand."
Dissecting the sales further, Bernstein's report claims that Tesla dominated electric-car sales, accounting for 20,000 units sold in July alone. China's BYD was close behind with 16,000 units sold. BMW and another Chinese company, BAIC, accounted for 9,000 and 8,000 electric vehicle sales respectively. All other brands accounted for 75,000 electric car sales.
Vineeth Joel Patel
Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods
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Tesla finally makes good on pledge to build 5,000 Model 3 electric cars per week
Tesla has finally made good on a pledge to build 5,000 Model 3 electric cars per week.
The 5,000th vehicle rolled off the production line early on Sunday morning, hours after the electric car maker’s chief executive Elon Musk’s midnight goal.
Centre stage: The 5,000th Model 3 rolled off the production line early on Sunday morning
It came after a massive push at the firm to meet the deadline, with staff working long hours and Musk sleeping at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California.
The company even pitched a tent in its car park to house an extra production line as part of its last-minute efforts.
Emailing employees afterwards, Musk, 47, wrote: ‘What an incredible job by an amazing team.
‘We either found a way or, by will and inventiveness, created entirely new solutions that were thought impossible.
‘Intense in tents. Transporting entire production lines across the world in massive cargo planes. Whatever. It worked. I think we just became a real car company.’
Pleased: Tesla chief executive Elon Musk
But Dave Sullivan, of market research firm Autopacific, said: ‘Reaching it is one thing, consistently producing 5,000 per week with outstanding quality is another.
‘I don’t think producing 5,000 once is anything to get excited about until it’s repeatable.’
Tesla’s goal of building 5,000 Model 3s per week is seen as crucial to it becoming profitable. The car is the first the company has aimed at the mass market, with a starting price of about £27,000.
Nearly half a million reservations have been made but a series of production delays have meant the car maker has struggled to meet demand.
Musk claimed Tesla would next aim to make 6,000 Model 3s per week by next month.
Tesla shares fell on Wall Street last night, closing down 2.3 per cent, or $7.88, at $335.07.
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Denmark’s biggest labor union has joined the strike carried out by Tesla mechanics in Sweden. The news increases the pressure on Tesla to recognize collective bargaining rights for its employees.
IF Metall, the Swedish trade union representing the mechanics, has been on strike for six weeks. The strike has garnered support from workers across Sweden, most notably postal workers and dock workers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shown little sympathy. Musk recently took the postal service to court for delaying the delivery of license plates.
In response, the Danish union 3F Transport is now participating in a “sympathy strike” to prevent dock workers and drivers from handling and transporting Tesla cars destined for Sweden. All union members are supporting this strike.
According to The Guardian, industry watchers believed that Tesla might try to bypass the Swedish dock worker strikes by delivering their cars to Danish ports and transporting them by truck to Sweden. With 3F’s sympathy strike, this won’t happen.
By staging the sympathy strike, 3F aims to get Tesla to sign a collective agreement at the earliest opportunity.
The strikes could eventually spread to Norway too. Fellesforbundet (Norway’s biggest private-sector union) has previously stated its willingness to prevent Swedish Tesla cars from entering the country.
Tesla’s Sweden strike has dragged on for so long because Swedish workers fear that the company is a threat to the nation’s labor model.
Unlike the United States, Sweden has few laws guaranteeing workers’ rights. For instance, Sweden has no national minimum wage.
To compensate for this, approximately 90 percent of Sweden’s workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Tesla, which is well-known for its hostility to unions, is refusing to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the striking mechanics.
The trade union movement is afraid that if Tesla wins, other multinational companies will refuse to sign collective bargaining agreements with their Swedish workers.
IF Metall is prepared to continue the Swedish Tesla workers’ strike for as long as necessary. The union says that its $1.26 billion fund can pay striking workers for decades.
Image Source: Nicklas


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The car that the racing legend won with at the 1993 Monaco Grand Prix is expected to sell for a record sum.
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Presented by Bonhams, the automotive trio will also share the stage with a pair of prancing horses.
A British first edition breaks six figures at Bonhams in London.
The 1931 banner notched $525,800 at the Dallas house.
The Series III coupe is the only one of its kind with left-hand drive and a 6-cylinder engine.
Sotheby’s London is offering two of the statesman’s canvases on November 21.


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Seoul, S. Korea, March 4, 2019: SsangYong Motor Company (CEO Choi Johng-sik; www.smotor.com), part of the Mahindra Group, today announced that the company sold a total of 9,841 units in February 2019 – 7,579 units in domestic sales and 2,262 in exports.
SsangYong's February 2019 sales rose 8.3 percent over the same month last year, showing an uptrend at home and abroad. It was driven by the better-than-expected market response to the Rexton Sports KHAN, launched in January, despite fewer working days in February, due to Lunar New Year holiday.
The company's February domestic sales rose 7.2 percent over February 2018 helped by the over 20 percent increase in sales of the Rexton Sports year-on-year thanks to the popularity of the Rexton Sports KHAN.
The Rexton Sports KHAN is leading the growth of the open-typed SUV in the overall SUV market with great reviews and various options for customers.
SsangYong's February exports jumped 12 percent from a year earlier, showing a recovery, thanks to the new lineup and stable sales of the Tivoli brand.
The company expects its exports will recover faster as the Rexton Sports KHAN is scheduled to be introduced globally at the Geneva Motor Show this month and going to be shipped abroad soon.
In addition, its global sales will increase rapidly as the brand-new Korando, a key model for the company’s sales growth, has been launched.
Choi Johng-sik, CEO of SsangYong Motor Company, commented, "Despite fewer business days in February, the sales of the Rexton Sports are on the upswing as the open-typed SUV market is expanding," adding, "We will increase our global sales based on the strengthened lineup as the Korando, SsangYong’s technology-intensive model, has been added."


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The rule that FinTechs must ask permission every 90 days to continue to access customer account data has been scrapped.
FinTechs no longer have to ask for permission every 90 days to continue to connect through open banking.
This will impact payment institutions, e-money institutions and more.
The FCA has outlined the payments sector as a priority in its 2020/21 Business Plan.
What does this mean?
The FCA’s priorities are to make sure “customers transact safely with payment firms; payment firms meet their regulatory obligations while competing on quality and value; and consumers and SMEs have access to a variety of payment services”.
The move will remove a common friction point FinTechs like e-money institutions and personal finance management (PFM) apps have had to deal with as customers “drop off” from the re-authentication.


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It’s well known that American teachers spend a lot of money out of their own pockets for school supplies. In 2018, teachers report spending a lot more than last year. And their favorite place to shop for those supplies is Amazon.com Inc.
A recent survey of 538 K-12 teachers conducted by SheerID and Agile Education Marketing finds that teachers report spending an average of $652 on classroom supplies, instructional materials and professional development in 2018. That’s a 39% increase from last year and the highest amount since the survey started in 2013. In fact, 2018 was the first year that the survey didn’t show a decline in average spending by teachers.
“The opportunity [for retailers] here is greater than it has been in the past,” says Bill Schneider, vice president of product marketing for SheerID. The biggest beneficiaries, he says, will be retailers that offer special teacher-only discounts and are savvy about using a multichannel strategy to reach out to teachers.
In 2018, teachers shopped most often at, Amazon (No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000), followed by Michaels, Barnes & Noble Booksellers Inc, (No. 74) Staples Inc. (No. 5) and Office Depot Inc. (No. 14), in that order, the survey found. All of those retailers have special rewards and/or discount programs exclusively for teachers.
Given their spending outlays, it’s no surprise that teachers report seeking special discounts. 88% of teachers say they actively seek out retailers that provide teacher discounts—especially those offered online. The report found that teachers are more likely to purchase from a retailer that offers an online teacher discount for classroom supplies (92%) and personal items (82%), as opposed to one that doesn’t offer those discounts online.
The type of offer most favored by teachers is free shipping (preferred by 90% of educators), followed by a large discount on a single product (87%). In addition, 80% of teachers said “everyday” discounts for teachers—as opposed to back-to-school sales alone—are important to them.
Asked where they most often hear about teacher discounts, 80% of respondents cited other teachers, followed by social media (58%), and friends and family (52%). That, Schneider says, indicates teachers have a lot of influence among their peers. Another reason for retailers to court teachers as customers, he says, is the impact they have on technology purchases by school systems. According to the survey, 70% of teachers either choose technology for the school or have an influence in decision making for technology purchases.
Among consumers as a whole, the National Retail Federation’s annual survey of 7,320 consumers June 29-July 9 found that 49% of back-to-college consumers will shop online this year, up from 44% in last year’s survey. This is the top choice and next are: department stores (40%), discount stores (35%), office supply stores (31%) and college bookstores (30%).
For kindergarten through eighth-grade household shoppers, 55% of consumers will shop online for back-to-school items this year, up nearly 10 percentage points from 45.5% in last year’s survey, which was conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.Favorite


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Let's start with the obvious: The Jordan Future is not an entirely new design. That midsole/outsole combination should be immediately recognizable as the underpinnings of the Air Jordan XI (complete with carbon fiber plate and full-length Air), and the upper, with its woven construction and off-center lacing, has a decided NSW/HTM feel. But taken all together, this off-court model does represent something of a new direction for Jordan.
The shoe itself simultaneously attracts and deflects attention—the design is simple, but 3M threads run through the upper, and the classic translucent Jordan XI outsole glows. "That tooling, even though it's almost 20 years old, it's still incredibly modern looking," says Jordan Brand footwear director David Schecter. "That was the tooling [designer Ben Kirschner] chose for a really reductive, clean, sophisticated modern upper." Suede hits can be found on the tongue and ankle collar. "The comfort is unbelievable," Schecter says. "It's lightweight, it's really reductive, there's no overlays, there's not a lot of stuff on the shoe."
Opinions on this first shoe will be mixed, of course, but that's the way it's supposed to work for any new Jordan. "You want an emotion," says Schecter. "It's OK to have something polarizing, but you want something." They'll get that.
"We talk about all the time, honor the past and be faster than the future," Schecter says of Jordan's overall direction. "No pun intended on the shoe."
The Jordan Future releases on March 1, and will retail for $185.


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In the year 2023, a prominent e-commerce player made significant strides in diversifying its logistics and delivery services, extending its reach beyond its core platform. The company introduced innovative solutions such as “Supply Chain Services” and “Shipping Solutions,” all while optimizing its fulfillment network. These strategic moves have brought this entity closer to direct competition with well-established logistics firms.
Throughout the year, this industry leader expanded its array of supply chain services, catering to its sellers’ needs. These services encompassed various aspects, from the bulk distribution of products to parcel shipping for orders made on platforms other than its own. Simultaneously, the company worked diligently on refining its fulfillment network, aimed at reducing operational costs and enhancing the speed of deliveries.
However, these ambitious expansion plans could face hurdles in the form of regulatory challenges. In September, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against the company, citing its fulfillment services as an example of anticompetitive behavior.
As this industry leader continues to broaden its footprint in the logistics sector, it faces a mixed landscape of growth opportunities and regulatory scrutiny. Here, we take a retrospective look at some of the key supply chain-related developments in the eventful year of 2023.


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On 6 August 2020, the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, amended the directions regulating sport under the level three lockdown and, on 17 August 2020, ...
Not many are aware of the National Sport and Recreation Act 110 of 1998 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and those who are will undoubtedly be aware of the Acts concise form.
n a previous contribution, we reported that the alert level 3 regulations created two difficulties with regard to the regulation of sport. The regulations were ambiguous as to whether or...
On 28 May 2020, after consultation with the relevant cabinet members, Minister Dlamini Zuma determined that alert level three will apply from 1 June 2020, and issued regulations governing alert level 3.
Adams & Adams
On the 28th of January 2020, the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (Aware.org) launched the new Code of Commercial Communications ("new Code").
On 11 December 2019 the Minister of Sport and Recreation published the Draft National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill intending to regulate the unregulated fitness industry.
Adams & Adams
English rugby club Saracens' relegation from Premiership Rugby for breaches of the salary cap is the big news in the world of sports law this year.
The Rugby World Cup win and the fervour which surrounds this glorious win remain fresh in almost every corner of South African society.
The Little Master himself, Sachin Tendulkar, is heading to court in Australia against sporting goods manufacturer Spartan.
It's been widely reported that Roger Federer has signed a 10-year, USD300-million sponsorship deal with the clothing brand UNIQLO.
Who knows why Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini at the FIFA World Cup 2014. Perhaps it's a compliment to great Italian defending?
An application was brought before the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria for the right to record and broadcast the proceedings of the criminal trial of local and international sports icon, Oscar Pistorius.
Along with all the stories of great sporting feats that have come out of the 2012 London Olympics, there’ve been a fair number of stories of absolute lunacy.
Spoor & Fisher
Major sports are big business and vast sums of money are involved in staging sport events.