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Disneyland Resort Announces June Merchandise Events
Artist Dave Avanzino will be at Disneyana on Main Street on June 4-5 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. each day showcasing his custom letter or ticket book plaques.
The WonderGround Gallery is hosting an artist showcase from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on June 4. The showcase celebrates new releases from Ryan Hungerford, Michael Murphy, and Bill Robinson.
Artist Jeannine Schafer will also be part of an artist showcase at the WonderGround Gallery on June 4-5 and June 25-26 from 2-5 p.m. each day.
Stop by the Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland on June 11-12 to check out releases from ACME Archives and meet Guy Vasilovich. This event takes place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.
And finally on June 25 artists Craig Fraser, Jeremy Fulton, and Daniel Killen will be at Disneyana on Main Street U.S.A. from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.


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The Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell CUV may have been Hyundai’s featured vehicle at the Washington Auto Show, but an off-hand mention of an upcoming battery electric compact car stole some of the headlines. Mike O’Brien, chief U.S. product planner at Hyundai, declared that the automaker is working on a battery electric vehicle (EV) segment … and its plan is to have it on the market within the next three years.
Hyundai showcased the 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell CUV at the Washington Auto Show.
At the moment, Hyundai is testing the BlueOn EV in Korea, which is based on the i10, a five-door hatchback designed for city driving. The America-bound EV, on the other hand, will fall in the compact sedan segment, but O’Brien didn’t give away any more details than that:
“It will be a new product, that’s all we can say right now. It will be within the next three years. Not a firm production date, but soon.”
As for the Tucson Fuel Cell CUV, O’Brien said interest has been enormous so far, including 88,000 visitors to the 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell microsite in two months. The Tucson FCV has a driving range of 250-300 miles and can be completely refueled in less than 10 minutes. Initially, the zero-emissions Tucson will be available only at certain California dealerships late this spring.
The Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept midsize SUV is projected to get 89 MPGe in hybrid mode and 35 mpg in diesel-only mode.
A little more than a year ago, Volkswagen brought its CrossBlue Concept to the 2013 Detroit auto show, which detailed the automaker’s plans for a seven-passenger SUV. The CrossBlue Concept made another appearance in Detroit this year, only this time Volkswagen revealed more information about the vehicle – including its diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain – and announced that production for the midsize SUV will begin in North America in 2016.
According to Gizmag, the CrossBlue Concept’s powertrain will include a turbocharged four-cylinder TDI Clean Diesel engine, joining the likes of the 2014 VW Passat, Jetta and Touareg as Volkswagen models with TDI Clean Diesel engines.
The all-new midsize SUV is expected to have several driving modes – including Eco, Sport and Offroad settings – and its projected performance numbers are certainly impressive:
- 89 MPGe combined in hybrid mode
- 35 mpg combined in diesel-only mode
- 0 to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds
The CrossBlue Concept vehicle is designed to be slightly longer than the VW Touareg and will have a number of impressive technological features on the inside, such as a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system and iPad minis on the back of the front seat head restraints.
Whenever the term “all-new” is used to describe an upcoming vehicle, it typically applies to major changes to the exterior, new technology inside the cabin and/or an improved powertrain. The 2015 Ford F-150, on the other hand, is practically a different vehicle from the outgoing model.
Raj Nair, Ford Motor Company’s group vice president of Global Product Development, described the all-new pickup truck as “a dependable partner, mobile office and a go-anywhere workshop,” thanks to substantial changes to the body and a more technologically advanced interior. It’s also expected to be far and away the most fuel-efficient F-150 yet, largely because of two main factors:
1. The 2015 F-150 is up to 700 pounds lighter than the outgoing model since its body will be constructed with aluminum alloys already used in the military and aerospace industry.
2. A newly available 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine, which is projected to generate the “same power as some mid-range V8s” while delivering up to 30 mpg on the highway.
In addition to the new 2.7-liter and existing 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines, the 2015 Ford F-150’s powertrain lineup will include an all-new 3.5-liter V6 and a 5.0-liter V8. The pickup will also come with a number of new technological features, such as 360-degrees camera view, Blind Spot Information and Lane-Keeping systems.

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The title PlatinumGames and Square Enix managed to surpass half a million units sold worldwide.
Today marks exactly four years since Androids 2B and 9S embarked on an adventure set on a post-apocalyptic planet Earth riddled with alien machines. The eccentric creator Yoko Taro surprised us in 2017 with NieR: Automata
To celebrate the play’s fourth anniversary, Square Enix shared the latest game sales data, which we learned via Famitsu website. The work has exceeded 5.5 million units sold count physical and digital formats. The game’s official Twitter account in Japan thanked fans for all the support shown as follows:
Without a doubt, selling over half a million copies is no small feat, especially considering that this is a title released four years ago. Also, it looks like the game still has an appeal, as two months ago, on December 24, the tally was 5 million units.
NieR: Automata is currently available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Now the title can be enjoyed for free through Game Pass. Square Enix has also confirmed that NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 will be released on April 22, 2021 in Japan and Asia. To be able to benefit from it in the West, we will have to wait another day, 23 april.


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The fintech revolution continues apace, and whilst many startups are hoping that more recent and higher tech will lend a hand them take trade clear of conventional banks, these days an organization has won a big spherical of investment to lend a hand the ones incumbent establishments higher compete.
10x Future Technologies is a startup that has constructed a ground-up platform that comprises gadget studying, cloud services and products, encryption in any respect states and different more recent era. Aimed at serving to massive banks organize knowledge and transactions, construct new merchandise and paintings with customers, it has now raised £34 million ($46 million) in its first outdoor investment.
The Series A — one of the largest for a European monetary tech startup — comes from two strategic backers, Chinese Insurance massive Ping An and control consultancy company Oliver Wyman. Both paintings broadly with monetary services and products corporations, and the thought shall be to leverage the ones relationships to lend a hand 10x develop its trade globally, and in particular deeper into Asia by means of Ping An.
10x up to now has been bankrolled by its founder and CEO, who isn’t your atypical entrepreneur: up till ultimate 12 months, Antony Jenkins used to be the CEO of banking massive Barclays, revel in that he mentioned in an interview this week provides him a front-row seat to many of the issues that banks face these days.
“I’ve lived with all those problems, and I’ve talked with bank chief executives who have tried and been unable to solve these problems,” he mentioned.
Jenkins mentioned that 10x isn’t speaking about its valuation at this level.
10x, which used to be founded in 2016, has but to release a industrial product. Jenkins mentioned that the first deal has been secured: Virgin Money is making plans to release a banking carrier on the platform someday in 2018.
Virgin Money is a “greenfield” deal, an absolutely new providing from Virgin Money; however Jenkins mentioned that in reality the intention of 10x is to paintings with massive, present banks (like his former employer) to carry them into the 21st century.
Banks these days are complete of growing older infrastructure and legacy techniques which might be patched in combination. Most of them have expressed a need and mandate to replace the ones techniques for all the causes you could bet. Among the maximum vital are to make their knowledge extra protected (each as a result of of malicious hackers and breaches, but additionally rules like the PSD2), to make their services and products extra environment friendly, and to release new merchandise to be extra aggressive with the new wave of monetary services and products.
But the drawback is that for plenty of of them, up to now the prospect of rebuilding all their techniques has been insurmountable.
“The legacy technology that operates in most banks is a major impediment to serving customers better, and increased challenges from regulation and more capital requirements make it hard to fix,” mentioned Jenkins. “For all the money that they spend on technology, they still haven’t addressed this.”
In reality, in accordance to IDC, monetary services and products is about to be the largest sector when it comes to spending on IT in 2017. Together with production, monetary services and products will account for a complete 30 % of all IT spend, which can general $2.four trillion this 12 months, and develop to $2.63 trillion by 2020. (Those numbers discuss to the job forward for legacy industries, and in addition the alternative for the ones like 10x that need to lend a hand them.)
10x’s resolution, Jenkins mentioned, is a “turnkey solution” to modernise this: it ingests legacy account knowledge, on which it runs analytics to acquire energetic insights and in addition to lend a hand plan and run new services and products. Built round APIs, it’s “very simple” to upload in different services and products from 3rd events as smartly, one thing which isn’t all the time simple to do these days.
In contemporary occasions, we have now observed a wave of “new” banks being constructed from the floor up, with a contemporary tech stack, the use of more recent applied sciences like cell to faucet right into a more recent category of bankers. They come with the likes of Atom Bank (additionally founded by a veteran banker from the incumbent international); Monzo; and N26. 10x is other in that it’s positioning itself as B2B2C — this is, it’s promoting its services and products to different banks and does no longer intend to have a retail face of its personal.
It’s that agnostic place, blended with 10x’s promise of making the massive, legacy operations extra trendy, that its buyers, who’ve a vested passion in serving to their consumers stay from changing into out of date.
“The large majority of banks are highly constrained by legacy technology and rely on mainframe systems and other systems whose architecture is based on paradigms made 40-50 years ago. That is very difficult to change,” mentioned Jonathan Larsen, the leader innovation officer at Ping An, in an interview. “Banks are at a aggressive drawback, with fintech parts a fact at each and every degree of monetary services and products these days. Banks — even massive and world-class monetary establishments — have to adapt briefly or possibility changing into much less related.”
Featured Image: Anthony Bradshaw/DigitalVision/Getty Images


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SoftBank offers to buy Uber shares – but wants a 30% discount
SoftBank has reportedly told Uber it still wants to invest in the ride-sharing app, but wants to buy the shares at a discount rate.
“A person familiar with the manner” told Bloomberg that SoftBank executives have told Uber’s stakeholders they want the shares at a nearly 30% discount based on the company’s most recent valuation of $68 billion, possibly in response to the recent bad publicity surrounding the firm.
SoftBank is leading a consortium alongside San Francisco investment group Dragoneer that has agreed to buy at least 14% of Uber through the purchase of shares from employees and investors. Once the consortium has officially declared its offer, those affected will have 20 working days to agree to the terms. If it doesn’t reach the 14% threshold, it will likely increase its bid to encourage more people to sell up.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the scandal-hit ride-sharing company said, “We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber’s long-term potential. Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance.”
It’s thought that while most of SoftBank’s investment will be used to buy out current shareholders, around $1bn will be used to buy new shares. Should the deal go ahead, SoftBank is expected to own a substantial part of the company in anticipation of Uber potentially becoming a public company in 2019.
The claims come just weeks after the deal looked in doubt. On November 6, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that SoftBank “had not yet decided on the investment” and that progress would depend on “the price and the terms”. If such an agreement could not be met, SoftBank was also considering investing in US Uber rival Lyft.
According to Recode.net, SoftBank’s $93bn Vision Fund is not only the largest tech fund ever but also “the largest corporate venture capital fund of all time”. The Japanese conglomerete has previously invested large sums in UK tech firm ARM Holdings and US telecoms company Sprint.
After the announcement, the BBC reported that SoftBank CEO Son “is known to have an eye for potentially transformative industries and trends.” As an early investor in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Son owns close to 30% of its shares.


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It’s shaping up to be a slow year for Canada’s automotive sector, thanks to sluggish sales in the first three quarters combined with an expected decline in major manufacturing investments and a potential production dip from the prolonged General Motors Co. strike in the United States.
While the strike by 49,000 United Auto Workers, now in its fourth week, has only had a small impact on overall Canadian output so far, it could ding Canada’s gross domestic product if assembly lines remain at a standstill for the rest of the year, according to a TD Economics report released Wednesday.
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“Should the strike persist for the next few months, we estimate that it could reduce Canadian GDP by as much as 0.3-0.4 percentage points,” TD Economics stated.
The labour action over wages and health care comes at a transitional time for GM, which planned to cut production at several North American facilities to invest instead in electric and automated cars.


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Farewell Tesco Malaysia, and say hello to Lotuss Stores.
Yesterday (Monday, 15th February), the supermarket chain announced that it’ll be changing its name to Lotuss Stores or Lotus’s Malaysia, following a rebranding exercise that is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Several Malaysians have already took notice of the change while carrying out their usual grocery runs. Some shared that several Tesco Malaysia stores have already begun to distribute flyers informing visitors of the change. Meanwhile, those checking into the Tesco premise have also spotted the new name when scanning their MySejahtera app when checking in.
Last year, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd was sold to Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group entities. The acquisition was approved by the Malaysia Trade Competition Commission (MTCC) in November 2020. It remains unclear if the new name will be Tesco Lotus or Lotus’s (just like the ones in Thailand).
You’ll probably want to get your hands on your favourite Tesco merchandise, before they become antiques.
hold on to ur tesco bags, they might become antiques
— MGAG (@My_MGAG) February 15, 2021
What do you think of the new name Lotuss Stores?
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


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Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri told security analysts Wednesday that the company is ramping up its Next initiative to re-architect the company with game-changing improvements in the "quote to cash" supply chain for HPE partners.
The second phase of the ambitious Next initiative will reduce the number of touch points in the sales process -- a critical factor in getting price quotes to customers on complex solutions and closing deals faster -- by an order of magnitude from 1,000 to just 100, said Neri.
"Today, a transaction takes roughly 1,000 touch points across our processes from the time you log the opportunity into Salesforce.com all the way to building a quote, pricing, putting a PO (purchase order) in the system, shifting it to the supply chain and shipping the product," said Neri, who is the chief architect of the game-changing Next initiative. "Tomorrow when we are done we are only going to have 100 steps in that process."
Neri said the the "quote to cash" supply chain changes - which will directly impact the channel and direct sales force - will be implemented beginning next March and roll out through 2020. "Our approach is not a big bang," he said. "We are going to take a number of countries each quarter and revenue percentages and flip them over time. The reality is this we will be done sometime in the middle of 2020."
The dramatic improvements come with HPE moving from 10 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to a single global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. "That allows us to consolidate inventory and do better planning with more accuracy," said Neri.
HPE is also moving to a single e-commerce platform that will speed up the quote to cash and delivery of volume sales on products like Proliant Gen10 servers. "There is a big opportunity for us there," said Neri. "Today we are not as efficient as we could be in that market."
In addition, Neri said, the supply chain changes will open the door for real time, dynamic configuration in the enterprise market.
HPE solution providers said the supply chain changes are a channel game changer that they expect will accelerate HPE sales growth and increase partner profitability and customer satisfaction.
HPE- which is completely modernizing its IT systems- has already made big supply chain gains by moving to a single "data master" – a significant achievement given the many applications the company was running before the Next initiative.
"The single data master is key, it is strategic for what you do in the company," said Neri. "You can't run very efficiently when you have multiple data masters. Ultimately the data will not give you the insights you need."
HPE is also bringing the finance side of the business to a single ledger starting in the first quarter of the new fiscal year beginning on Nov. 1, 2018.
Among the major improvements from the first phase of the Next initiative which Neri outlined to analysts one year ago, are: a reduction in HPE sales compensation plans from 400 to 25; a reduction in the number of volume compute platforms from 26 to 10; a reduction in the number of value compute platforms from 27 to seven and the reduction of SKUs by a whopping 75 percent from 3,500 to 875.
"It has been remarkable," said Neri speaking about the business impact of the Next initiative. "It has been an incredible success not just on the financial side but on the culture side – our ability to execute faster."
Under the Next initiative, Neri also took out several levels of management between him and the country leaders. "For me that is very important because I get the truth," he said. "I get exactly what is going on. I don't have to guess because everybody actually applies a judgement to whatever forecast has been provided. I can see exactly the demand. I can see exactly what is going on from the customer point of view."
The Next initiative has also provided HPE an opportunity to move more business to channel partners under a plan that took HPE's direct sales reps out of 84 countries. "We want channel partners to be our franchise in those countries," said Neri noting that HPE does 70 percent of its business through partners.
Neri said HPE is well positioned to execute the massive supply chain changes with a "high level" of confidence.
In fact, he said he is "personally" driving the Next changes with HPE CIO Archana "Archie" Deskus. "I believe this is one of the most exciting things you can do to really transform the company,' he said.


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UGSRP's Annual Forum Featured in Guelph Daily Mercury
UGSRP's annual forum was held last Thursday evening, which featured Jonathan Bloom, Author of 'American Wasteland', Robin Poirier of Ocean Wise and HTM's Bruce McAdams. Catch highlights in the Guelph Daily Mercury article.
GUELPH — On one hand, 870 million people in the world go hungry. On the other hand, about a third of the food produced globally is wasted.
"If we redistributed two per cent of that waste, we could end hunger," said noted author Jonathan Bloom at a lecture at the University of Guelph Thursday night.
Sadly, that is not the case and Bloom outlined in detail how food waste begins at the farm, continues at the grocery store, and ends in restaurants and our own kitchens. It's a systemic problem, brought about in large part because consumers want their food to look perfect.
Bloom spoke to about 100 students, staff and community members at the invitation of the Sustainable Restaurant Project, an initiative of Prof. Bruce McAdams.
On the farm, food waste is often on purpose.
Fruit that is too small or misshapen is often considered unsellable and left to rot on the ground. Some of this discarded produce can be used as ingredients in soups, juices, and sauces where the imperfections aren't visible.
But a lot of food is discarded for the way it looks, Bloom said.
A percentage of food is lost in transit as well, but a good deal more because of 'best before' dates, Bloom said.
He said his first job was at a grocery store where his job was to go through shipments and throw away any food past the 'sell by' date stamped on the package.
"You still have seven to 10 days after the 'sell by' date when the food is safe to eat," Bloom said. "But stores would rather toss it than be seen as selling expired food."
There's a lot of food waste in restaurants, Bloom said, from customers who don't eat all their dinner to untouched bread baskets that can't be re-served, to cooking more food than necessary and not planning to reuse leftovers the next day.
We all know about food waste in our own kitchens. Bloom said about a quarter of the food we buy winds up in the garbage.
"We need to curb food waste because there are tragic outcomes, ethically, environmentally and economically. The juxtaposition of hunger and waste is morally callous," Bloom said.
Bloom provided the following statistics:
•870 million people in the world are hungry.
•one-third of the food produced globally is squandered. In dollars, that's $750 billion worth of food wasted globally, $240 billion in the United States.
•four per cent of the energy used to produce food, is for food that is not used.
•one-quarter of the water used to produce food, is for food that is not used.
•97 per cent of food scraps goes to landfill or an incinerator
Households are the largest source of food waste, he said, so everyone can play a part in reducing it.
Bloom said we should plan our meals ahead of time, buy what we need, store it correctly, cook the right amount, eat our leftovers, and compost and recycle as much as possible.
But not only food waste is generated in the food industry. Bruce McAdams has been investigating takeout packaging and the amount of waste it generates.
A McDonald's Happy Meal comes with 140 grams of food and 120 grams of packaging. The waste from 12 takeout meals is enough to fill half a clear garbage bag.
"Polystyrene is cheap and compostable containers are expensive," McAdams said. "Restaurants are regulated by the health inspector. No one is checking what goes down the drain or in the garbage."
Robin Poirier an account representative for Ocean Wise, explained how her organization helps consumers understand when fish has been caught in a sustainable way.
Fish caught using bottom trawlers, which scrape everything off the bottom of the ocean, or long lines, that often catch more than the intended catch, are not sustainable fishing practices, she said.
Ocean Wise has a recognizable symbol and when you see it on menus, you know low impact fishing methods have been used.
"There is a global loss of seafood. And if we don't change our methods by 2048, we'll be out fish," she said.
By Joanne Shuttleworth


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The adtech industry has found itself confronted with a rapidly growing challenge affecting all parties, including the average American household. The importance of Brand Safety as a topic has transformed into a movement to address current issues like the lack of transparency in advertising inventory and the proliferation of fake news on the web.
Chris Legg shares his top takeaways and retrospective from his week at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, highlighting big announcements from Comcast and Oath, the 5th Annual Mastercard LeRooftop Panel, and our co-hosted yacht party to kick off the week.
The National Association of Broadcasters hosted their annual NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center last month, attracting over 100,000 attendees for this year’s “The M.E.T. Effect” in mind: Media, Entertainment, and Technology.
If your business is considering raising capital, one of the first questions to consider is whether to seek equity, debt, or a combination. In May 2017, Axial asked four investment bankers, including our own Davis Rosborough (VP, Progress Partners), to share their thoughts on the most important factor CEOs and CFOs should consider when making this decision.
With the recent announcement of Open AP, many are asking who will follow. Fox Networks Group, Turner, and Viacom have all teamed up to create a new advanced audience platform specific to television, the industry’s first open platform for cross-publisher audience targeting and independent measurement.
Davis Rosborough (Vice President of Progress Partners) takes a look into the future: discovery and relevance are more important to the user than the delivery mode. The audience will increasingly decide on their own what is premium content.
Surrounded by senior-level executives and managers in the TV and Digital space, we heard from thought leaders and disruptors alike who addressed the continued evolution of advanced TV advertising during this Spring’s Advanced Advertising Summit, presented by B&C, Multichannel News, and NewBay Media at New York City’s Convene Conference Center.
Industry leaders and disruptors convened in Las Vegas for March 2017’s Shoptalk conference, one of the most important for retail and ecommerce. The event hosted thousands of retailers, brands, consultants, and analysts to discuss the incredible change that is taking place in retail and ecommerce.
GSMA hosted its annual Mobile World Congress in the week from February 27th – March 2nd 2017. The conference was held at the Fira Gran Via and the Fira Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain and featured all the newest technology in the mobile space. Over 108,000 people attended the event, all interested in learning and discussing where the future of mobile is headed.
Boston, MA - If data is “the new oil”, it pays not to spill any. But publishers are too readily emptying the can over to middlemen who are taking its value for themselves. That’s according to one boss whose position at the top of a programmatic video ad platform has led him to conclude publishers need to keep hold of the liquid gold.
Boston, MA - We’ve had pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll, in- and out-stream. But what if the future of video advertising lay more closely at the heart of the media that carry it? That is what’s on the mind of Alex Drosin, the co-founder of a tech company helping build mobile and TV apps for TV operators and content owners around the world.
Boston, MA - If you think paying $100 a month for a mega suite of 500 channels, most of which you never watch, is overkill, you’re not alone. That’s why we are seeing the rise of the so-called “skinny bundle”, a cut-down cable package which operators hope can reduce cord cutting.
Hollywood, FL - The Interactive Advertising Board (IAB) hosted its annual IAB Leadership Meeting from January 29-31. Held at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, the event hosted around a thousand attendees for three days of dynamic discussions covering the most pressing topics in the advertising and marketing industries today.
Boston, MA - First it was “Reach out and touch someone” for AT&T and now the ubiquitous “Green Line” for Fidelity Investments. Jim Speros had a hand in both creative endeavors, along the way refining his definition of creativity.
What’s to come? More saying than knowing. Much depends on predictability; and, much moves on the ability to see around corners. The eruption of this new administration’s first couple of weeks has sent the predicators back to rethink what’s possible.
Boston, MA - Not that long ago, the biggest challenge with apps used to be getting people to download them. Now churn is “the single biggest problem in mobile,” according to Raj Aggarwal of Localytics.
Now that we are a full month into 2017, complete with a new Presidential administration and new Super Bowl champions, we wanted to take a quick opportunity to look back at a few M&A transactions from 2016.
Boston, MA - To the uninitiated, Media Access Control could sound like something they’d like to be able to do during political campaigns. But as television content and advertising continue to go over-the-top, the household set-top box identifier known as MAC is slowly giving way to IP addresses and other alternatives.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the potential merger between Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and Charter Communications, Inc. (NasdaqGS:CHTR) in what would be a possible challenge to Comcast’s leading position as a MSO in terms of total US Pay-TV and fixed access broadband subscribers.
The National Retail Federation hosted its annual BIG Show in New York City from January 15-18 this past month. The conference was held at the Javits Center, and included hundreds of booths and thousands of attendees on hand to promote, debate and build on the significant growth of retail technology.
Boston, MA - In the media business, being in the television is like being in the kitchen—to the 100th power. Which is one of the reasons Dan Ackerman joined Samba.tv from a long stint at AOL. Like many others, he was frustrated about trying to make sense out of all the disparate data sources that might somehow shed light on how people consume content and advertising.
Boston, MA – Being able to touch more than seven billion mobile devices around the world isn’t difficult when you are telecom company Syniverse. It’s making sure you’re touching the right person that is a big focus these days, according to CMO Mary Clark.
At CES 2017, the countless displays of consumer technology across several industries showed us how the tech world is evolving. What became clear among all industries represented, however, was that the connection between consumer and good is closer than ever, and growing closer still.
Boston, MA - Despite the prevalence of binge viewing, as recently as 2015 marketers and media companies weren’t overly concerned about a shift to over-the-top viewing. “What we’re seeing is more of a sense of urgency in terms of trying to figure out how to measure, segment and do attribution as marketing dollars are starting to shift to over the top,” says Andre Swanston, CEO and Co-Founder of data and technology provider Tru Optik.
Ron Stitt lays out a modern vision for the local TV newsroom staffed by multi-tasking, highly productive staffers serving up much more relevant, engaging content (and a lot more of it). Getting there, however, involves completely refiguring budgets and personnel, plus the willingness to do so.
Boston, MA - When Ashley Swartz discusses the nuts and bolts of digital media, it’s reflective of her background in manufacturing systems. Hence her view that connecting disparate data and systems is “not sexy” and that media company content management systems “are dirty and messy.”
Boston, MA - To bring the power of programmatic advertising to marketers with localized targeting needs, unstructured data beats pre-packaged audience segments, says Frost Prioleau, CEO of demand-side platform Simpli.fi. It’s a mantra that is fueling Simpli.fi’s expansion into more precise measurement of mobile foot traffic and, very shortly, localized native advertising.
Boston, MA - Akin to what Pandora has done with streaming music, IRIS.TV brings adapted machine learning to video viewing preferences. Its white-label solution, licensed to digital publishers, uses artificial intelligence to create a “personalized viewing experience for every viewer,” according to CEO and Co-Founder Field Garthwaite.
Boston, MA - When placing video ads inside walled digital gardens, should you engage those gardens directly or through an intermediary? The direct route, according to Pixability’s Bettina Hein, comes with a fox and a henhouse.
Boston, MA – As digital media collide with traditional TV, the result is a tectonic shift that provides opportunities for companies with data, software and other workflow solutions. Playing matchmaker between large incumbents and tech entrepreneurs is Progress Partners, which recently gathered some 275 participants to “talk about the unusual suspects,” according to Davis Rosborough.


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Chocolates, roses and jewelry remain favorite options for Valentine’s Day gifts, but it appears some folks are thinking outside the box this year.
North Carolina is one of a handful of states where YETI coolers are among the top-5 Valentine’s Day gifts, according a study by discount shopping website offers.com.
The study analyzed hundreds of gift-related keywords, based on the percentage increase in February searches compared to the rest of the year and weighed by search volume according to Google search data.
YETI coolers came in as the No. 5 gift in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, and the No. 4 gift in Connecticut and the company’s home state of Texas. Sunglasses made the list as the No. 4 gift in the Carolinas.
Other states also have their quirks.
Cutting boards, whiskey and gummy bears made the top-5 in Wyoming. Flasks made the list in Kansas.
Engagement rings were the top entry for Alaska, men’s rings were tops in Vermont, and romance books are apparently items of interest in Colorado.
Men will spend an average of $17 more than women on Valentine’s Day gifts this year, according to a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 customers included in the study.


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Fri, 11 Mar 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Administrators are considering options, including a potential sale, after modular building firm Caledonian Modular fell into administration. The company, which is based in Edinburgh and has a manufacturing facility in Nottinghamsh... continue reading
Tue, 08 Mar 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Sven Christiansen, a furniture manufacturer based in Dudley, West Midlands, has entered administration after an accelerated sale process failed to find a buyer for the firm, which ceased trading last month. Located on the Pensne... continue reading
Wed, 02 Mar 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Administrators from FRP are seeking a buyer for Scottish seafood business Dawnfresh Farming, following the collapse of its parent company. Dawnfresh Seafoods and RR Spink & Sons (Arbroath), among the UK’s biggest producers a... continue reading
Wed, 16 Feb 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
House builder Mulbury Homes has fallen into administration, after suffering from cash flow issues and rising costs, among other pressures. Andrew Knowles and Steve Clancy of Kroll have been appointed as joint administrators and wi... continue reading
Wed, 09 Feb 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Property services business Mi-Space (UK) has been sold to Bell Group after its parent company, construction firm Midas Group, confirmed that it had entered administration. Mi-Space was one of five businesses to file notice of inte... continue reading
Fri, 28 Jan 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Bolton-based pharmaceutical firm M&A Pharmachem has fallen into administration after an attempt to sell the business failed. Following their appointment as joint administrators, David Acland and Anthony Collier of FRP Advisory are... continue reading
Tue, 25 Jan 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Manchester-based contractor Beaumont Morgan Developments has fallen into administration, with insolvencies continuing to mount in the UK’s construction sector. The company, which was founded in 2011, operated as a contractor... continue reading
Mon, 17 Jan 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
First Components, a precision engineering firm based in Brierley Hill, has fallen into administration and a buyer is now being sought for the business. The company entered administration after the loss of a significant contract im... continue reading
Fri, 14 Jan 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
PDR Construction, a contractor based near Hull in East Yorkshire, has fallen into administration, with a buyer now being sought for the company’s construction ledger. PDR Construction, which reported a pre-tax loss of £... continue reading
Thu, 13 Jan 2022 | ADMINISTRATION
Two Lancashire-based online retailers have fallen into administration, with Interpath Advisory set to continue trading the businesses while assessing options. The two businesses, Big Home Shop and Physioroom, both trade from lease... continue reading
Enisca, a multi-disciplinary engineering firm operating in t...
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Eschewing exotic fruits shipped from far away, some of his customers were developing a preference for locally grown food, and Barry, who sells a variety of produce boxes directly to consumers, decided to jump on the bandwagon.
In late December, he launched the “dogma box” a crate containing seasonal produce sourced as close to Boston as possible as a salute to the importance of supporting small local farmers and sustainable agriculture.
“There is a lack of local supply because there isn’t enough demand,” said Barry, 40, a Peace Corps veteran with a master’s degree in environmental economics, explaining that New England’s winter isn’t entirely to blame for the fact that less than 5 percent of the food Massachusetts residents eat is grown in-state.
For now, “seasonal” implies an abundance of root vegetables and apples.
Last week, 50 boxes were delivered to homes and offices in the Boston area, down from a high of 75 in early January. Barry said he suspects the limited winter selection is getting monotonous.
“If we make a commitment to farmers that we’ll buy what they grow, they’ll have the confidence to invest in technology like root storage and hot houses, and we can have year-round variety,” he said.
Barry isn’t the only player in the New England food chain to notice a growing demand for local food. With food sanitation scares, high gas prices last summer, the obesity epidemic, and writers like Michael Pollan (who exposed the global agribusiness), buzzwords like localvore, slow food, and community supported agriculture have become more popular.
hot on elephant
The 4 Stages of a Good Divorce. A Letter to my Children: You do not come from a Broken Home. Mom, can I Call her Mom, Too? To the One Who Tried to Break Me. An Open Letter to the Fixers. How your Stored Memories in the Amygdala can lead to PTSD. Jon Stewart makes first appearance since retiring—”it’s not your country.” Waylon shares 10 transformingly beautiful Quotes about Love. These People are Rare Gems—Keep Them, Fight for Them, don’t Give Up on Them. 40 Things I’ve Learned in 40 Years.


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For those who prefer to purchase green cars, the arrival of the Tesla Model 3 and the new-generation Nissan Leaf electric vehicles can’t come soon enough. U.S. sales of hybrids and plug-in vehicles last month fell from year-earlier totals, as Tesla customers awaited deliveries of the Model 3, whose 310-mile single-charge range was confirmed by the U.S. EPA last week, while Nissan was preparing to sell the 2018 model-year Leaf. November’s domestic electric car sales, which had been up more than 8 percent through October, declined 1.9 percent to almost 39,000 units. Plug-in vehicle sales were up, though by only 3 percent to about 14,000 units.
Front and center was Nissan, whose new-generation Leaf sales have gotten off to a great start in Europe but whose 2017 Leaf sales all but disappeared, plunging 88 percent from a year earlier to just 175 vehicles. Ford, that had been tracking ahead of 2016 figures all year, also had a rough month, with green-car sales declining 14 percent to 6,301 units, as Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrid sales dropped 60 percent and 27 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Read more
The end of the year is fast approaching, your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping is done, and the mutual fund you help manage is paying out some serious bonuses. What do you do with all that sweet cash? Well, if it’s over seven figures, we suggest hanging on to it until January when it could help you buy this amazing 1954 Jaguar D-Type race car.
We guess you’ve heard of the D-Type. For those of you unfamiliar, it’s Jaguar‘s famous race car that gave birth to the road-going XKSS, one of which was owned by Steve McQueen. The D-Type was known for its successes on the track, and frequent appearances at Le Mans, with a victory at the endurance race in 1956. This particular car also raced there in 1954 with the Jaguar factory team, and behind the wheel was Sir Stirling Moss. According to RM Sotheby’s, it led the race for a major chunk, but eventually retired due to brake issues. Read more
Major automakers predicted a competitive December as they rushed to sell cars and boost their numbers before 2017 ends. Most of them posted mixed U.S. November new car sales. Now they’re trying to sell down 2017 model-year vehicles, offering high discounts to consumers as the year-end nears. In 2016, the industry reported record annual sales of 17.55 million units.
Discounts have been above 10 percent of the average transaction price for 16 of the past 17 months. The National Automobile Dealers Association expects new vehicle sales to decline to 16.7 million units in 2018, after dropping to 17.1 million for the full year in 2017. If that forecast comes true, the race to move new vehicles off dealers’ lots will only intensify next year. A worrying trend for the automotive industry was a rising number of subprime loans. Subprime levels are at just over 20 percent of originations, against more than 30 percent prior to the Great Recession, but recent increases remain a concern. Read more
Lamborghini launches its flawless Urus SUV, creating a new niche in the luxury segment with benchmarking power, performance and driving dynamics, unparalleled design, luxury and daily usability. The Lamborghini Urus features a 4.0 liter V8 twin-turbo engine delivering 650 hp (478 kW) at 6,000 rpm, maximum 6,800 rpm, and 850 Nm of maximum torque already at 2,250 rpm. With 162.7 hp/l the 2019 Urus claims one of the highest specific power outputs in its class and the best weight-to-power ratio at 3,38 kg/hp.
The Lamborghini Urus accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 12,8 seconds and with a top speed of 305 km/h it is the fastest SUV available. Its low-line coupé styling and commanding road position belie the very comfortable ride, higher ground clearance, and luxurious space within together with the latest technologies. The 2019 Urus provides easy driving in the city, maximum comfort during long journeys, thrilling super sports car dynamics on the road and track, and versatile off-road abilities in a range of environments. Read more
The Saleen 1 was finally unveiled at the LA Auto Show as a compact, elegant mid-engine sports car that looks surprisingly finished coming from such a low-volume manufacturer. Although the car displayed at the auto show is just a prototype, we were surprised at how good it looks in person slathered in a dynamic orange paint. Even its leather-swathed interior didn’t have the usual glued-together toy-like appearance expected of cars like this.
Moving away from the high-powered exclusivity of its previous model, the Saleen S7, the Saleen 1 (or S1) will be a lightweight sports car. It will cost only $100,000 USD. With a mid-mounted 2.5-litre turbo four built and tuned in-house, the car will produce 336kW and around 475Nm of torque. This will propel its approximately 1225kg body to 97km/h in about 3.5 seconds. Low weight is also helped by the Saleen’s all-aluminium tub chassis and its 100 per cent carbon fibre body. Read more
With the season of giving in full effect, many shoppers prefer to give away gift cards as presents to their friends and family. According to a WalletHub survey, 41% of people say they prefer to receive gift cards this year from brands they love.
This holiday season, RepoKar Auto Auction is giving away a $100.00 Amazon Gift Card! All you have to do is upload a profile picture of you and your favorite car on Facebook and use the hashtag#GiftCardFromRepoKar. Make sure your photo is visible to the public and share it on RepoKar’s event page comment section: Win a $100.00 Amazon gift card with RepoKar.


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Sir James Dyson in dust-up with ‘country bumpkin’ rival Nick GreyNick Grey denies claims by Dyson that Gtech’s advertising campaigns were misleading
Two of Britain’s biggest vacuum cleaner makers are embroiled in a legal spat over rival advertising campaigns.
Dyson, run by the billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson, has filed a High Court claim complaining about a series of advertisements by Gtech, founded by Nick Grey, a self-described “country bumpkin”.
Gtech boasted that its new Gtech Pro cordless vacuum cleaner cleaned “15 times longer” than Dyson’s V8. Dyson also complained that Gtech made comparisons between the Pro, where dirt is collected in a bag, and the bagless V8. One of the ads said that bagless vacuum cleaners would “envelop you in a dust cloud every time you empty them”.
Wiltshire-based Dyson said that Gtech’s claims were “untrue and misleading”. It is seeking damages, or profits arising from the ads.
Gtech defended the ads. It said its testing was “fair”, “produced an objective measure” and was “not misleading”. Gtech denied that its claim about bagless vacuums discredited or denigrated Dyson’s brand.
Grey’s company also launched a counterclaim for damages of its own against Dyson for promoting the V8 by saying that it had “more than 10 times the suction power” of Gtech’s AirRam cleaner. The Worcestershire-based company said that this boast was “misleading”. Dyson denied Gtech’s claims.
Dyson, established in 1991, had sales of £3.5bn last year. Grey, who founded Gtech in 2001 and oversaw sales of £120m last year, has described his wealthier rival as an “inspiration”. Yet the two have clashed before.
Dyson has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority over some of Gtech’s campaigns, while Grey told The Sunday Times last year that he believed lobbying of stores by Dyson was partly to blame for poor sales of its AirRam after it launched in 2012.
Dyson said it would not comment on active cases. Gtech could not be reached.Source


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Report: Springfield among cities with highest number of car thefts
A new report found that Springfield has the eighth highest number of vehicle thefts among cities in the U.S. with more than 100,000 people.
According to Springfield Police's website, 40% of vehicle's stolen still had the keys in the car.
A report using data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and the U.S. Census Bureau's Community survey found that car thefts in Springfield are happening nearly four times more often than they are nationally.
"Around this time of the year the number one reason for theft unfortunately is the cold," Carmil Enciu the owner of Carmil Car Audio.
Enciu said thieves hot wiring cars and driving away isn't common anymore.
"No, that's movie magic, you can't steal a car like that," he said. "The number one reason cars get stolen is because people are leaving the keys in it, it's running and they're not there. It's not because thieves are that smart."
Enciu said the solution could be as simple as adding a remote start to your vehicle.
"80% of our business right now is remote starts and security," he said.
If you've already invested in remote start, Enciu said there are other security options to put your mind at ease.
"Aftermarket security you have stuff like impact sensors, so if somebody does hit [your car] it will go off, where as factory is only if you open the door," he said.
Enciu said there are even options to monitor your car using your cell phone.
"If you decide to add the phone feature you could literally be anywhere as long as you have cell phone reception," he said. "You could be in California on vacation and your car could be in Florida, if something is happening to [your car] it's going to let you know."
The report found the average value of a stolen car in 2018 was more than eight thousand dollars. Enciu said the extra security can be much cheaper.
"[Installation can cost] $200 to $600," he said. "I know it's a pretty big number but we've got thousands of different cars too, so it just depends on the car."
Springfield police say the believe the report is misleading.
There is a city ordinance that says you cannot leave your car running unattended in a public area. That ordinance does not apply to a private driveway.
to view the report.
for what Springfield Police say can protect your car from theft.


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Stevia manufacturers look to target dairy sector
Stevia manufacturers are making moves to target the dairy sector, with global stevia producer PureCircle launching a product aimed specifically at this category.
PureCircle is a leading global producer of “high-purity” stevia ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. The company is a driving force behind moving stevia from a niche ingredient to mainstream. PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was incorporated into PureCircle Limited in 2007.
PureCircle said the new product, Sigma-D, performed “at parity to sugar on key attributes”.
Stevia’s popularity growth
Stevia adoption rates have been on the rise in recent years, and many manufacturers are now realising the opportunity to offer mid-calorie products to their consumers with natural origin sweetness.
In October 2014, Australian Food News reported that the market for ‘natural’ sweeteners was continuing to grow, with stevia proving particularly popular.
Canadean found that as a result of increased focus on sugar calories, the consumer demand for non-caloric sweeteners is projected to grow 5 per cent a year until 2017. Of the 360 new products picked up in 2013, 38.3 per cent contained non-caloric sweeteners.
In 2013 the soft drinks industry consumed only close to 700 tons of Stevia ingredients, versus 12,300 tons of Aspartame, or 8,700 tons of Acesulfame K. The largest natural sweetener on the market is Stevia, but Canadean also found great potential in other herbal-sweeteners such as monk fruit.
Products launched with stevia as sweetener
Australian Food News has reported on several products released or announced recently that use stevia as a sweetener. In November 2014, Coca-Cola announced it would launched its Coca-Cola Life product, which uses a combination of sugar and stevia, in Australia in 2015. Australian Food News reported in October 2014 that spreads brand IXL had launched a stevia-sweetened range of jams in Australia.
Sigma-D aims to ‘unlock’ dairy category
PureCircle said its Sigma-D product was a response to the continued growth in the popularity of ‘natural’ sweeteners, and has been designed to unlock the dairy category, which has traditionally presented more complex challenges for formulators looking to reduce sugar while maintaining texture, indulgence and mouth feel.
The new product provides a combination of steviol glycosides, which PureCircle said ‘optimised’ taste.
““What works in a carbonated soft drink is not necessarily going to be the right solution for an acidified or sweet dairy product,” said John Martin, PureCircle’s Global Director of Technical Development and Innovation. “By understanding the sensory contribution of the different glycosides and how they interact in different product matrixes we can help select the best solution for the formulation goal and the result is continued innovation within our proprietary portfolio of high purity stevia sweeteners,” he said.
Sigma-D will be the first category specific launch from the PureCircle innovation pipeline.


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October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and there’s currently an auction running until the end of the month, called “The Pink Dial Project” that was designed solely to support research and awareness for Breast Cancer.
This is the inaugural year for The Pink Dial Project and it’s intended to be an annual fundraising event. The auction started earlier this week, on October 25, 2021, and ends this Sunday, October 31, 2021.
A total of nineteen brands plus one watch artist have donated to The Pink Dial Project, and Eric Ku, a well-known collector, who owns the online auction platform Loupe This, is running the auction.
The auction features unique timepieces (plus a Julie Kraulis Tank Louis Cartier unique print) — from Airain, Anordain, Ball, Baltic, Bamford, Bulgari, IWC, Jacques Bianchi, Longines, M.A.D., Montblanc, Oris, Panerai, Piaget, Rado, Roger Dubuis, Sinn, TAG Heuer, Zenith — that highlight the color pink and each winning bidder will receive a one-of-a-kind watch (or artwork) that can be worn and enjoyed, all while contributing to a good cause.
Learn more at Loupe This.


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The Guardian: A court in Munich, Germany, has banned further sales of Motorola Mobility tablets and smartphones in the country and authorized a recall of products currently in the sales channel. The decision comes in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Apple concerning its “rubber band” scrolling technology. Also known as “overscroll bounce,” the rubber band feature allows users to move through documents and bounce back to the center when they lift their fingers.
Before the recall can take effect, Apple must post a €25 million bond. Google-owned Motorola Mobility can also appeal.


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V-LCRO APRIL FOOLS DAY PROMOTION
April Fools’ Day has become a major cultural event, with consumers actively searching out hoaxes and news organizations eager to spread the word. And with so many people already talking, we saw an opportunity to make sure the conversation was about Lexus.
So Lexus, the company that takes itself very seriously 364 days a year, decided to take the day off and introduce the world to its latest innovation: the Variable-Load Coupling Rear Orientation system. In other words, a Velcro®-covered driver’s seat.
For the joke to work, we had to stay in character as long as possible. Imitating our own technology videos, we even used the same Lexus expert to announce the breakthrough. Team One shot a video for YouTube, created print for social media and even redid the Lexus homepage. In all, we produced over 50 pieces of unique content, all to support the hoax.
Our efforts really stuck with our audience: 1.5 million video views. 736,00 likes, shares and comments. Plus, features on ABC’s This Morning America and NBC’s Today show, and mentions in over 100 news articles, five times more than any other car brand’s April Fools’ Day efforts.


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No consensus in sight ahead of December WTO summit
- Marico’s Harsh Mariwala: Innovation can spur creation of successful Indian brands
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- Advent-backed ASK Group is working on a $250 million IPO
Paris: The new US trade representative, ambassador Robert Lightizer, has described India as “a valuable, strategic and economic partner”, underlining the importance of India as a major “player” in shaping the trade agenda at the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to people familiar with the development.
During a brief one-on-one meeting with commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting in Paris on 8 June, Lightizer and Sitharaman shared their perspectives on several trade issues, including the 11th ministerial meeting of the global trade body in Buenos Aires due in December.
Trade ministers from over two dozen countries, including the US and India, sharply differed on their priorities for the Buenos Aires meeting. India said it cannot imagine any outcome at Buenos Aires without the mandated permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security, said several trade ministers after the meeting.
The commerce minister said an outcome on special safeguard mechanism for developing countries to curb unforeseen surges in imports of agricultural products must be finalized at the ministerial meeting for addressing continued inequities in global agricultural trade.
Indonesia, South Africa and the coordinator for ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries concurred with India that there must be credible outcomes on the permanent solution for public stockholding programmes for food security as well as commitments for reducing farm subsidies, the person said.
India also warned that it will not agree to commitments for reducing trade-distorting domestic agricultural subsidies, maintaining that the Doha Development Agenda mandated the industrialized countries, and not developing countries, to undertake substantial reduction commitments.
Sitharaman made it clear that any outcome on fisheries subsidies—which is being prioritized as a major deliverable for the Buenos Aires meeting—must provide enhanced special and differential flexibilities for India’s tens of millions of poor and artisanal fishermen who survive on fishing, according to a trade minister who asked not to be named.
She also flatly rejected attempts to launch negotiations on e-commerce by the European Union (EU), Japan, Korea and several other countries on grounds that it is not part of the agenda. She said India will not accept any negotiations on investment facilitation or disciplines for small and medium enterprises as proposed by major industrialized and some developing countries.
The US said it will be guided by three principles in international trade. Outcomes in global trade must remain “free, fair, and reciprocal”, Lightizer said, maintaining that there has been no consensus on the possible deliverables for the Buenos Aires meeting.
But several other trade ministers from the EU, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Korea, among others, delivered an optimistic assessment about what can be accomplished at Buenos Aires. These countries pressed for outcomes on fisheries subsidies, domestic regulation in services, trade-distorting domestic support, digital trade, investment facilitation, and small and medium enterprises.
Effectively, there is no consensus on what must be accomplished at the Buenos Aires meeting in December, South African trade minister Rob Davies told Mint.
WTO director general Roberto Azevedo delivered a sombre assessment by saying that he cannot see any low-hanging fruits for harvesting in Buenos Aires.
Significantly, on a separate track, members of the OECD failed to agree to a common agenda on trade, investment, and climate change because of vehement opposition from the US, which insisted on having its language incorporated in the ministerial declaration.
Consequently, the chair for the OECD ministerial conference Anders Samuelsen, the foreign minister of Denmark, issued a statement in his own responsibility on international trade, investment and climate change which reflected the views of all other members except the US.
Samuelsen said there is “recognition that trade is an engine for economic growth, job creation and welfare, and we confirm the importance of international investment and free flow of capital.” He suggested that members, except the US, agreed to “the need to stimulate trade by focusing on reducing trade barriers and costs, without lowering international standards, including through trade facilitation and collaboration.”
Ministers attending the OECD meeting also concurred with the chair “for urgent, collective and effective action in order to address overcapacity across all affected sectors, including steel, aluminium and shipbuilding”.
Barring the US, there is near consensus among OECD members “on the importance of a strong commitment to rule-based free international trade and investment so that firms are able to compete in an open market on an international level playing field”.


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Bangkok ice-cream vendors who currently pedal their carts in the baking sun are hoping to benefit from a locally invented device that will allow them to store energy and drive their carts using solar power.
A 50 x 60cm solar cell built into the cart roof will capture solar power in a battery. Pracha Prakoonsuksapan, the managing director of AHT (Asia), a local freezer-manufacturer who has developed what he calls a solar-cell ice-cream cart, told The Nation that once the battery is fully charged, the vendor can switch to a mode that allows the motor to drive the cart.
It should be able to store energy for two hours after the sun has disappeared. An initial prototype is expected to carry 150kg of ice cream at 15km per hour.


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Ripstone Games has announced that it’s teamed up with developer Lab42 and World Snooker, to release the officially licensed ‘Snooker 19’ in 2019 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
“To be able to pick up and controller and play in the tournaments that make or break careers against anyone in the world, will be an incredible experience,” said former World Champion Shaun Murphy. “I can’t wait for the chance to try the game out, I’m sure it will make for a truly immersive experience.”
Snooker 19 will deliver the most authentic, realistic, and best-looking snooker game ever made with multiplayer modes, a single player career mode linked to real tournaments and compelling TV style presentation.
“As a sport, snooker has gone from strength to strength in the past decade and, at the same time, sports gaming has revolutionized”, said Lewis Ward of World Snooker “This is what makes working with Ripstone and Lab42 so exciting; seeing them create a state-of-the-art game that will deliver the most authentic snooker experience ever.”
Snooker 19 will be published on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch in 2019.
To visit the official Snooker 19 website visit: https://www.snooker19.com/


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Users today are more likely to recognize a phishing attack than they were a year ago, according to data from Wombat Security Technologies. In the 2017 Beyond the Phish Report, the security awareness and training company analyzed the results of more than 70 million questions answered by end users who completed its assessments and training modules, covering a variety of information security topics. The users came from a range of industries, including healthcare, retail, manufacturing and education. Across all industries, users performed better this year on questions around identifying phishing attacks, answering incorrectly only 24 percent of the time on average, compared to 28 percent in 2016.
Other bright spots include:


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Free digital copy
Get Speciality Food magazine delivered to your inbox FREEGet your free copy
The UK’s food to go market is expected to take off this year after suffering a 45.5% decline in 2020. Thanks to easing restrictions and the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, Lumina Intelligence expects the sector to grow by nearly a third to reach a value of £15.3 billion in 2021.
A wider recovery is expected to come in the following years, with the food to go market on track to climb to a value of £22.6bn in 2024. Katherine Prowse, insight manager at Lumina Intelligence said, “The sudden shift from a highly transient, on-the-go society, to one with restrictions placed on movement had a significant negative impact on the UK food to go market in 2020, with much trade diverted to other routes to market such as delivery.
“However, buoyed by the easing of restrictions and the swift vaccine rollout, we will see a resurgence of the market in 2021, before a full recovery to pre-pandemic sales levels by 2024.”
Independents with newly (or soon-to-be) reopened cafés and foodservice operations are well positioned to cash in on this trend.
Cafés are poised to make the most of the boom in takeaway coffee drinks, which made up 50% of all drinks consumed over the last four months, according to Lumina’s research.
Younger consumers in particular were the most likely to socialise outdoors on ‘coffee walks’, with nearly one in four having picked up the habit of purchasing a hot drink to go when on a walk with a friend since March 2020.
In the coming months, outdoor socialising will become more and more popular as lockdown restrictions ease, and food to go is poised to capitalise on this, with 21% of consumers saying they are likely to purchase food to eat in the park. For those aged 18-24, this figure rises to 38%, setting a clear opportunity to cafés and delis situated near green spaces.
Helen Thekli of Helen’s Coffee on the Green in Chingford, closed her shop for five weeks at the start of the pandemic and was nervous about reopening. “It was very nerve wracking going back and only doing takeaway – something we’d never done before,” she tells Speciality Food. “I also had to think outside the box, so I started offering afternoon teas.” The new offering quickly became popular with customers, who shared recommendations on social media.
“I was overwhelmed,” Helen says. “I have amazing customers and staff and the community spirit has just been truly, truly amazing. I’m told that I’m a rock in this and that when customers come to me they don’t just come for a coffee; it’s like coming in for a hug.”
Elsewhere, Sam Dickinson of The Fold Farm Shop, told Speciality Food that a food box service launched at the beginning of the pandemic was soon replaced by in-store options, as customers were keen to take advantage of the nearby nature trail. “I think people have been happy to come to the shop because we’re located outside of town. I think people use that as their opportunity to leave the house as well. It’s a nice environment to come to,” she says.
With more consumers planning to work from home in the future, there is also a growing focus on food to go products that are heated at home. One new start-up looking to make the most of this trend is D’Ambrosi Fine Foods in the Cotswolds. Owner chef Andrew D’Ambrosi told Speciality Food that food to go has “thrived” during the pandemic. “Our food is restaurant quality but specifically created to maintain consistency and taste on the reheat without compromise,” he explains.
As well as offering quality food to go, the shop supplies a curated selection of wines and liquors as well as homemade candles and floristry services, and the owners are now used to seeing a queue out the door made up of both locals and, when allowed, tourists. Although Andrew expects more consumers to shift to eating out in restaurants and pubs when they can, he is still confident about the future of his business. “Because we are unique in our approach, we believe our business will continue to do well.”
Indeed, Lumina’s research shows that in the years to come, convenience stores’ dominance in the food to go category will fall as it comes under pressure to compete with dedicated food to go specialists.
Changing working and socialising habits means the landscape for food to go is transforming. “Portable food to go solutions will strike appeal with consumers meeting friends/family in parks, whereas a shift in focus on food to ‘go home’, will provide a relevant solution to those home working,” explains Katherine.
But these changes pose great opportunities, with Lumina predicting the top 10 food to go channels will see a £1.1 billion sales opportunity between 2022 and 2024, and sandwich and bakery and coffee shop and café segments are poised to take the lead. For fine food shops, now is the perfect time to rethink your food to go options and ensure you have a selection in place to suit the latest habits of today’s consumers.


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Kameo in a SEK 66 million fundraising round backed by local investor Ilija Batljan.
Kameo, a Stockholm, Sweden-based company operating a crowdfunding platform for financial loans, announced securing a funding round of SEK 66 million ($7.8M).
The money was raised from local investor from Sweden, Ilija Batljan, who will join the board of directors with both his wife, Sanja Batljan, and daughter, Mia Batljan. With the fresh funding the company says it expects to become profitable.
Kameo, founded in 2014 by CEO Sebastian Harung, Bjørn Braathen and Urban Stärner, built a digital marketplace for crowdfunded loans to small businesses and property developers. The company previously raised funding from the Oslo, Norway-based investment bank ABG Sundal Collier.


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According to M&M, XUV700 is an all new global SUV set to redefine benchmarks in the SUV segment.
With over 30% growth in sale of EcoSport in Europe, Ford Motor Company has decided to move the production base of the vehicle out of its Chennai plant in India, and move it Craiova, Romania by end of 2017.
This will entail an investment of Euro 200 million.
The EcoSport exports to Europe, which was the backbone of Chennai plant's round the clock production, will make way for exports of small SUV to its home base in North America, a few years from now, said several people in the know of the company’s plans.
The shifting, which may appear as a loss to Indian plant, will now mark a major milestone in the domestic operations history, with supplies planned to its home base in North America.
Several people in the know of the company's plans, said the supplies to North America will begin once the middle cycle action or MCA variant of EcoSport is ready by 2017.
“The company is planning to export about 80,000 to 90,000 units to North America, which will compensate for production for European market a few years from now. While the sales in the domestic operation slowed down significantly, Europe continues to do well and the schedules for the coming two years is also healthy, ensuring high capacity utilisation,” said one of three people in the know of Ford India’s plan.
Interestingly, the announcement of shifting of EcoSport production to Europe happens at a time, when the new plant in Gujarat is being readied to supply ‘Ka’ the Ford small car to Europe. This will happen in few months.
Ford India spokesperson declined to comment on exports to North America, stating it as speculation however added that the decision to produce EcoSport for European customers in Europe is in line with its ‘One Ford’ plan to optimize efficiencies across its global manufacturing operations.
“Ford’s Chennai Vehicle Assembly Plant will continue to manufacture the EcoSport for other export markets around the world. We are steadfast in our commitment to build Ford’s presence in India and remain confident in the long term growth prospects of the Indian auto industry,” the spokesperson added.
Over 50% jump in EcoSport exports at Ford drove the overall utility vehicle exports from India to over 52% growth to 1.04 lakh units in April to Feburary of FY-16. Ford ships twice the number of EcoSport as against it domestic sales of 35,000 units.
The shifting of EcoSport to Europe is part of aggressive SUV and crossover launch planned by Ford in Europe for coming three years. The company is reportedly eying over 30% growth in SUV volumes in 2016 with an eye on selling over 2 lakh units.


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Black Friday Car Audio sales
Many automobile stereo retailers reported single digit gains over Ebony Friday or perhaps the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
The retailers whom presented greatly did actually show the greatest gains. As a result a few of the bigger professionals and those associated with purchasing groups eg MESA were obvious winners early in the holiday season.
BrandsMart U.S.A., Hollywood, FL ended up being up 9 per cent for Ebony Friday week in comparison to last year. Mickey Shorr (16-stores), Pontiac, MI ended up being up by single digits on Black Friday. Automobile Toys (50 stores)m Seattle, WA saw gains within the large solitary digits over the weekend. Custom Sounds, Austin, TX (16 shops) had been up 37 per cent for the week-end and Freeman’s Stereo Video, Charlotte, NC had been up 5 %. The second stores tend to be MESA (Mobile Electronics Specialists of America) users just who attributed their gains to MESA’s sale-in-a-box, web key phrase promotions and e-mail blasts.
MESA is keeping a K award giveaway to simply help drive traffic to its stores’ Twitter web sites.
“We had folks lined up during the doorways that exposed at 8 am, ” said Jeff Pitts of Mickey Shorr. It absolutely wasn’t an Apple-style crush, but there were 7 or 8 men and women waiting as doorways started at stores. The sequence ran specials including $99 remote starters (installed) and a $39.95 Kenwood CD player plus a $399 Kenwood in-dash navigation deck. “It’s exactly about promotions, ” said Pitts.
Car Toys noted its website traffic had been up considerably as had been on line sales.
BrandsMart’s Francisco Lozano said “Bright places had been in opening price things of solitary CD indash vehicle stereos and indash video.”
Custom Sounds attributed most of its 37 per cent gains to MESA benefits. “Having the MESA Ebony Friday marketing products pre-made for all of us allowed us to focus our time and effort on in-store merchandising and interaction to your staff, ” stated Personalized Sounds President Brain Dorsey. MESA’s e-blast themes additionally aided generate traffic together with shop sent out emails to customers on Wednesday mid-day in addition to Friday early morning. “Our reponse had been outstanding, ” he said.
The store in addition “brought deep” on promotional stuff like the Kenwood PW1210 bundle, Directed remote beginners, Alpine coaxials, JL sound JX amps, and Rockford Fosgate R1 loaded containers so it could aggressively discount. But as a specialist, the chain was able to step up clients in order that doorbusters only accounted for 1.4 per cent of sales, Dorsey stated. Additionally strong had been add-ons want radar detectors, screen tint, Hushmat sound dampening, Sirius/XM satellite raio and back-up cameras.
No all shops reported gains. We talked with a Midwest merchant who stated product sales were down, especially in in-dash navigation although his Christmas time business doesn’t often surge until mid-December with remote begin period.
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Can a Black Friday deal from Apple be combined with an employee discount? - Quora
No, Apple employees are not able to combine any deals with their discounts.


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Car and Driver's annual list of the "10Best" cars sold in America includes the BMW 3-series and the Honda Accord (as usual). Except this year the Ford Fusion Hybrid joins the Cadillac CTS/CTS-V in representing America.
Email scammers are attempting to "phish" for personal information by claiming, erroneously, to be selling the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid for $15,500 through a special government program. Don't send them your information.
AT&T announced yesterday it will spend $565 million over the next decade on more than 15,000 hybrid and natural gas-powered vehicles, mostly from Ford. Propane-powered Roush F-250s or Econolines anyone? [Freep]


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SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s major business associations remain less eager to sponsor the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics only two months away due to strengthened anti-corruption laws, industry insiders people said Thursday.
In a meeting arranged by Lee Hee-beom, who heads the winter sports games organizing committee, the country’s six leading business lobbies have been less willing to support the winter sports games than in the past due to related rules, they said.
The six business associations are the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea Federation of SMEs and the Association of High Potential Enterprises in Korea (AHPEK).
Lee called for aggressive support from them to promote the global sports event to be held from Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, 182 kilometers east of Seoul.
But the business lobbies have not announced any specific plans to sponsor the PyeongChang Olympics.
In the past, the FKI and KEF led efforts to sponsor major sports events held in South Korea such as the World Cup by raising funds from their member companies.
Moreover, as the government introduced the Kim Young-ran anti-graft law that took effect last year to strive for a more transparent and corruption-free society, companies have become more passive in financing or sponsoring outside events.
The FKI came under fire as chief executives of member conglomerates such as Samsung, Lotte and SK Group were accused of being involved in the massive corruption scandal that ultimately removed former President Park Geun-hye from office in March and put Samsung Group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong behind bars for bribery and other charges.
In March, the 56-year-old FKI came up with a “drastic” set of reform measures to transform itself into research-focused facility. It included a 40 percent reduction in its budget and workforce.


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Mondelez India announced its foray into the growing adult health malt food drinks (MFD) segment with its new product, Bournvita for Women. Indian consumers have trusted the credibility of Cadbury Bournvita for 70 years and now with the launch of Bournvita for Women are also aligned with the company’s values to constantly fulfill the need of consumers. This made-in-India innovation has been initiated to address the needs of the health conscious modern Indian woman. With the consumption of 2 cups of, Bournvita Women fulfills the recommended Dietary allowance of Calcium & Vitamin D.
Bournvita for Women highlights the company’s commitment to improving the nutrition and ingredient profile of its brands as changing lifestyles and rising awareness around health and wellness continue to influence consumer food choices.


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On 5 July 2023, global consulting firm AlixPartners forecast that domestic OEMs would secure more than 50% of China’s total car sales by the year’s end. This would represent a historic first in a national industry previously dominated by foreign brands, particularly from Japan.
“Japanese OEMs have lost their competitive edge in China. Their market share in the country is down from 23.6% in 2020 to 15.2% in 2023 and continues to drop,” says Tommy Shiekman, Automotive Specialist at Intralink—a consultancy that specialises in helping companies expand in the Asia-Pacific region. Indeed, there are already signs of strain for Japan’s largest automaker, Toyota. The company, which has been locked in a price war started by Tesla since January 2023, prematurely terminated the contracts of 1,000 workers at a factory in Guangzhou in July.


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NATURE By Elie Dolgin The feat, described on 27 February in Nature, turns a sugar in brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) called galactose into tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis (Cannabis sativa). The altered yeast can also produce cannabidiol (CBD), another major cannabinoid that’s attracted attention lately for its …
The heat is very much on CBD oil sellers these days as the FDA continues to crack down on companies selling “questionable” (to put it nicely) hemp-based products. In fact, since 2015 – when the FDA first issued warning letters to multiple CBD sellers – the industry has been forced to clean up its act, at least in terms of manufacturing operations and brand transparency.
Thermal Insulation. Thermal insulation products (Fig. 20, 21) are the third most important sector of the hemp industry of the EU. These are in very high demand because of the alarmingly high costs of heating fuels, ecological concerns about conservation of non-renewable resources, and political-strategic concerns about dependence on current sources of oil. This is a market that is growing very fast, and hemp insulation products are increasing in popularity. In Europe, it has been predicted that tens of thousands of tonnes will be sold by 2005, shared between hemp and flax (Karus et al. 2000).
What is clear, though, is the DEA’s classification of all cannabis extracts as Schedule 1 controlled substances. Even as more states “legalize it,” all forms of cannabis are still illegal under federal law. And that’s a problem for HempWorx distributors who have to move product. As the DEA spokeswoman told the Port City Daily news site in North Carolina, where marijuana is illegal but decriminalized: “The plant, for human consumption, is illegal, bottom line. If you ship it — then that’s interstate commerce, that’s trafficking, and so that’s a problem.”


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Reports suggest that Nintendo has canceled the Switch Pro and will not be producing a more powerful version of the Switch.
Instead, the company will likely focus on developing a next-generation system.
It is recently in the news that Nintendo will release a Switch Pro, a mid-generation update to the system comparable to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, for as long as Switch has been available. However, rumors about the Switch Pro being a canceled project are already spreading like wildfire.
Where did the reports come out?
Digital Foundry recently participated in a Q&A where they addressed questions from viewers, claiming in their YouTube video about the rumored Switch pro cancelation. If the crew thinks a new Switch will be released in 2023, they debate the long-rumored Switch Pro and what they think Nintendo will do next.
Rumors also suggest that XBOX will release its Game Showcase early next year.
Maybe we’ll never get to see Switch Pro
John Lineman claims that Nintendo originally had the Switch Pro in development, but the project was canceled. It is highly unlikely that Nintendo will offer a mid-generation update. Lineman continues by saying that other developers have already verified these plans to Digital Foundry.
Lineman stated, “From what I’ve gathered talking to several devs working on Switch, it appears like an upgrade intended for the console’s mid-generation is no longer in the works. My guess is that we won’t have to wait until 2023.”
Nintendo has had a lot of success with the Switch, so it seems logical that the company would be anxious about moving on to its next platform after the failures of the GameCube and Wii U. Fans who have been waiting for Switch Pro after hearing its cancelation are definitely hurt.
This sounds really unfair to users who have been with Switch since day one.
However, there’s still hope to get a loyal award. Multiple platformer titles and a new open-world MMO are coming in 2023. To add a bit of spice, Resident Evil 7 with Cloud Versions is joining as well.


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In the previous bear market cycle, the question on many people’s minds was whether blockchain technology was useful at all. However, the power of Uniswap and the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) provided a clear answer to this question. As we enter a new market cycle, the question of the usefulness of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is once again at the forefront of discussions.
Amelie Hua, a freelance writer and independent researcher, suggests that the answer to this question will not come from new blockchains or scaling layers, but rather from applications developed under new standards and protocols. The innovation seen in recent years has shown that old protocols have not brought any surprises, leading to the introduction of new ERC-721, ERC-1155, and ERC-998 token standards that may open up new applications and bring users to the blockchain for non-investment and non-financial needs.
ERC-998 is a token standard introduced on the Ethereum mainnet in May 2021 that assigns Ethereum accounts to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These token-bound accounts allow NFTs to own assets and interact with applications, creating a vast space for innovation. Hua explores the concept of “non-human account entities” within this new standard, focusing on three potential applications: gaming, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital IDs.
In the gaming industry, the integration of real players and non-playable characters (NPCs) could be revolutionized by ERC-998 tokens. Hua uses the example of the game “Kenshi,” where players can hire NPCs to escort caravans between cities. By creating entities that can switch between real player and NPC modes, ERC-998 tokens could enhance the gaming experience and provide new opportunities for players.
In the realm of AI, Hua suggests that ERC-998 tokens could provide a platform for digital entities to have accounts and manage their assets. This could lead to greater equality between AI and humans, as digital entities would have a secure and decentralized space to exist.
Finally, the concept of creating a digital version of oneself through data collection and AI training is explored. This digital avatar could potentially have persistence and even a physical robotic body, raising questions about the equality of digital entities compared to humans.
Overall, the introduction of new token standards like ERC-998 opens up a world of possibilities for blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. By exploring innovative applications in gaming, AI, and digital identities, the potential for blockchain to revolutionize various industries becomes increasingly apparent.


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I haven’t had the opportunity to get my hands on The Witcher or it’s sequel, Assassins of Kings, which came out last May for the PC. Now that it’s finally making its way to the Xbox 360, I’ll have my chance to see what everyone loves about this game. For the unfamiliar, Assassins of Kings is a third person fantasy RPG that throws you into the shoes of a Witcher — a badass demon hunter — who’s battling with a severe case of amnesia. The PC version was a huge success, but its console sibling is going to be a little different. Watch the video below to find out how.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings releases on the Xbox 360 on April 17.
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this week in horror
This Week in Horror - November 6, 2017 - Pet Sematary, Horror ...
Starry Eyes duo Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch will take over the Pet Sematary Remake, 2017 was the best year for horror movies ever, and James O'Barr will be heavily involved in the upcoming The Crow film. It's THIS WEEK IN HORROR with Whitney Moore!Posted by Bloody Disgusting on Tuesday, November 7, 2017


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Alexandria has been selected as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations in 2021, according to a list published by well known travel website TripAdvisor.
Among a list of 25 destinations worldwide, Alexandria came in sport 23, according to comments and ratings from travelers published on the website.
Previously, Cairo and Hurghada were selected for their 2020 list, as Cairo ranked in the 12th place and Hurghada in the 24th place.
“The Pearl of the Mediterranean has an ambiance more in keeping with its neighbors to the north than with those in the Middle East,” it says on the website, “Alexandria offers fascinating insights into its proud Greek past, as well as interesting mosques, the casino strip of the Corniche, some lovely gardens and both modern and traditional hotels.”
According to the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB), 300,000 tourists have visited Egypt since July at a rate of 6,000 tourists a day until the end of August.
Over 150 million travel and tourism jobs have been lost globally since the onset of COVID-19 outbreak. To support Egypt’s tourism sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Ministry of International Cooperation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the UN’s World Trade Organization (UNWTO) recently signed a COVID-19 tourism recovery technical assistance cooperation package to promote resilience, sustainability, and inclusive growth.


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Indicator of the Week: Producer input prices
INDUSTRY’s raw-material and fuel costs surged 2.6% last month, making a total rise of 18.9% on a year earlier, up from 12.7% in December. The main cause was a jump in food and crude-oil prices. This was the highest rate of input-price inflation since records began in 1986. Industry is also raising prices more quickly. Factory-gate prices were up 5.7% on a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since mid1991.


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Dubai sees rapid growth in hotel sector
Dubai has more hotels under construction or planning today than ever before. According to research by The Consulting House, a new hotel consulting firm based in Dubai, there are 31 new 5- and 4-star hotels either being built or confirmed for future construction in the city, containing a total of 11,770 rooms and suites, plus 1,305 hotel apartments.
“Dubai has a history of rapid growth in its hotel sector, having increased its supply from 167 hotels with 9,383 rooms in 1993 to 272 hotels with 23,170 rooms in 2002, but today’s ‘giant leap’ forward in future supply is quite unprecedented,” said Guy Wilkinson, director of The Consulting House.
“This confirmed growth is in addition to at least 100 other hotels, which are planned at The Palm, Jebel Ali and Dubailand, for example, for which details are as yet unconfirmed.”
The new hotels include some landmark properties that are sure to join the Burj Al Arab, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Emirates Towers as icons of the world’s hotel industry. For example, the new Dubai 250-room Armani Hotel, the first of a new chain of boutique hotels created by Emaar Properties in association with the famous Italian fashion designer, Georgio Armani, will be located inside the 560 metres high Burj Dubai, the future tallest tower in the world.
Another skyscraper, the nearby Forex Rotana Suites in the upcoming Dubai International Financial Centre free zone will offer 480 suites in a 72-storey tower.
Atlantis, the Palm, will eventually offer 2,000 low-rise hotel resort rooms on the Crescent of The Palm, Jumeirah, with the region’s largest water theme park, including an underwater archaeological ‘dig’ themed on Atlantis.
The Hydropolis Hotel will become the world’s first underwater hotel, with 300 rooms and suites at a depth of 20 metres off the Jumeirah Coast.
Many of the confirmed new properties will be built within Dubai’s new real estate ‘mega projects,’ including The Palm, Dubai Festival City, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers.
However, it is Dubailand, billed as the future Orlando of the Middle East, which looks set to become the focus of hotel construction, following an announcement that it will contain 50 hotels of 1,000 rooms each.
“Dubai has the hottest hotel market on the planet,” concluded Wilkinson. “The critical mass of new developments is creating a chain reaction, from a current construction boom to a future tourism boom. The shere number of foreign companies involved in these projects confirms their belief in Dubai’s future status as one of the world’s major players in the hotel and tourism sectors.”
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)


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Imprint Beer Company in Hatfield cemented itself as one of the best and most popular breweries in the country when it comes to double dry-hopped IPAs and fruited sours. Now they’re using their brewing expertise in some insane collabs with reputable breweries around the country. These include the wildly popular Mortalis Brewing and District 96.
First, Imprint collaborated with Mortalis on a Fruited Sour, and now they’re dropping an Imperial Stout. Mortalis released the collaboration with Imprint called Written In The Stars this past weekend, and now it’s coming to Hatfield. Imprint will have a full release of their version and a limited amount of the batch released at Mortalis’ anniversary. That version currently has a 4.63 on Untappd.
But that’s not all Imprint has in store this week. They’re releasing another collaboration with District 96. Imprint has been releasing some heavily saturated DDH IPAs, and this time it’s no different. They’re both releasing Snake and Bake, a hazy TIPA, this week. If you’ve been following Imprint’s DDH releases, you’ll know this is gonna be fire. Their Haze It Forward IPAs have scored highly on Untappd and been some of the best IPAs I’ve ever had. You don’t want to miss this one either.
If you’re lucky, some of these insane collabs will be available for shipping on Sunday, but I wouldn’t count on it. These beers are highly anticipated, so you should get there early on Friday, August 13th. It might be Friday the 13th, but this could be your lucky day to score a Mortalis beer.