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SIA: Cooling down NYC with annual Summer Snowdown media event.
CIT: West Coast team featured in Fashion Manuscript.
Details on Industry Insight.
Second quarter 2010 consolidated net sales increased 24 percent to $221.8 million, compared to second quarter 2009 net sales of $179.2 million, including a 2 percentage point benefit from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Second quarter 2010 net loss was $10.6 million, or $(0.31) per diluted share, compared to net loss of $9.9 million, or $(0.29) per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2009.
The company raised its outlook for full year 2010 net sales to increase 14 to 16 percent and maintained its outlook for operating margin of approximately 7 percent.
The board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on August 26, 2010 to shareholders of record on August 12, 2010.
The company’s cash and short-term investments at June 30, 2010 totaled approximately $398 million with no long-term debt.
Press Release Source: Columbia Sportswear Company On Thursday July 22, 2010, 4:05 pm EDT
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM - News), a leading innovator in active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment, today announced net sales of $221.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, an increase of 24 percent compared to net sales of $179.2 million for the same period of 2009, with 2 percentage points of that increase resulting from changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Second quarter net loss totaled $10.6 million, or $(0.31) per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $9.9 million, or $(0.29) per diluted share, for the same period of 2009.
Tim Boyle, Columbia’s president and chief executive officer, commented, “Results for the second quarter, our smallest revenue quarter of the year, were better than our April outlook, primarily due to stronger reorders and fewer cancellations in our U.S. wholesale business and higher than expected sales from our retail stores, leading to double-digit growth in every product category.”
“While the consumer retail environment remains uncertain, we are optimistic about the upcoming Fall season, including the global launch of our innovative Omni-Heat™ warmth technologies. Omni-Heat’s launch will be supported by the largest and most highly integrated marketing campaign in the company’s history. In addition, our Sorel® brand is poised to have a breakout year as more leading footwear retailers embrace the brand and more women realize they can get great fashion in a winter boot without sacrificing great performance.”
Second Quarter 2010 Results
The second quarter is the company’s smallest revenue quarter, historically accounting for approximately only 15 percent of annual net sales. As a result, regional, category and brand net sales results often produce large percentage variances in relation to the prior year’s comparable period due to the small base of comparison and shifts in the timing of shipments.
The 24 percent increase in second quarter 2010 sales compared with the second quarter of 2009 was driven by 27 percent growth in the U.S. to $123.7 million; 30 percent growth in the LAAP region to $51.8 million, including a 9 percentage point benefit from changes in foreign currency exchange rates; and 15 percent growth in the EMEA region to $38.6 million, including 1 percentage point negative effect from changes in exchange rates. These increases were partially offset by a 3 percent decline in Canada sales to $7.7 million, including a 13 percentage point benefit from changes in exchange rates. (See “Geographical Net Sales” table below.)
Compared with the second quarter of 2009, second quarter 2010 sportswear sales increased 24 percent to $121.9 million, outerwear sales increased 24 percent to $43.4 million, accessories and equipment sales increased 45 percent to $17.8 million, and footwear sales increased 16 percent to $38.7 million. (See “Categorical Net Sales” table below.)
Columbia® brand sales totaled $199.4 million in the second quarter of 2010, a 23 percent increase compared with the second quarter of 2009. Mountain Hardwear® brand sales increased 39 percent to $18.3 million. Sales of Sorel, Montrail® and Pacific Trail® brand products were insignificant during the second quarter of both years. (See “Brand Net Sales” table below.)
The company ended the second quarter of 2010 with approximately $398 million in cash and short-term investments, compared with approximately $318 million at June 30, 2009. Inventories increased 6 percent to $310.5 million at June 30, 2010, compared to $293.4 million at June 30, 2009.
2010 Financial Outlook
The current economic environment, which involves high unemployment rates in many of our key markets and restricted credit markets for consumers and retailers, among other challenges, reduces the predictability of retailer and consumer demand. All projections related to anticipated future results are forward-looking in nature and are based on backlog and forecasts, which may change, perhaps significantly.
The company raised its outlook for full year 2010 net sales to increase 14 to 16 percent compared with 2009, based primarily on actual first half results, the previously announced 19 percent increase in Fall 2010 order backlog, and incremental direct-to-consumer sales.
2010 gross margins are expected to increase approximately 75 basis points compared to 2009 gross margins of 42.1 percent, due to a higher proportion of full price sales in our wholesale business, an increased proportion of direct-to-consumer sales, and more favorable foreign currency hedge rates, and increased costs to expedite production and delivery of Fall orders to customers.
Selling, general and administrative expenses are expected to increase approximately 75 basis points as a percentage of sales due to a combination of several factors, including the effect of the company’s retail expansion, increased marketing investments to support the global launch of the company’s Fall 2010 products, reinstatement of personnel and benefit programs that were curtailed or postponed in 2009, incremental costs related to IT infrastructure and business process initiatives in preparation for a new multi-year ERP implementation, and transitional costs associated with internalizing the sales organizations in North America and Europe.
As a result, full year 2010 operating margin is expected to approximate full year 2009 operating margin of approximately 7 percent. The company is currently planning a full-year income tax rate of approximately 28 percent.
The company expects a mid-teen percentage increase in third quarter 2010 sales compared with the third quarter of 2009, driven by the previously announced increase in advance seasonal orders, coupled with increased direct-to-consumer sales. Third quarter 2010 operating margin is expected to contract approximately 200 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2009. This expected operating margin contraction consists of approximately 100 basis points of gross margin contraction and 100 basis points of SG&A expansion. The anticipated gross margin contraction is due primarily to incremental costs to expedite production and delivery of Fall 2010 orders. Third quarter SG&A expansion is consistent with the factors contributing to the increase in full year SG&A.
The board of directors approved a dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on August 26, 2010 to shareholders of record on August 12, 2010.
The company will host a conference call on Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. To participate, please dial (866)551-3680 in the United States, (212)401-6760 outside the U.S.; Conference ID 9177149#. The call will also be webcast live on the investor information section of the company’s website at www.columbia.com, where it will remain available until October 22, 2010.
Columbia Sportswear plans to report financial results for the third quarter of 2010 on Thursday, October 21, 2010 at approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT. Following the earnings report, the company plans to publish a commentary by Tom Cusick, senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, at approximately 4:15 p.m. EDT to the company’s website at http://investor.columbia.com/results.cfm. A public webcast of Columbia’s earnings conference call will follow at 5:00 p.m. EDT at www.columbia.com.
About Columbia Sportswear
Columbia Sportswear Company is a global leader in the design, sourcing, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories and equipment. Founded in 1938 in Portland, Oregon, Columbia products are sold in more than 100 countries and have earned an international reputation for innovation, quality and performance. Columbia products feature innovative technologies and designs that protect outdoor enthusiasts from the elements, increase comfort, and make outdoor activities more enjoyable. In addition to the Columbia® brand, Columbia Sportswear Company also owns outdoor brands Mountain Hardwear®, Sorel®, Montrail®, and Pacific Trail®. To learn more, please visit the company's websites at www.columbia.com, www.mountainhardwear.com, www.sorel.com, and www.montrail.com.


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Apple today unveiled iOS 15 at WWDC 21. The update will be arriving on iPhones when it is released to the public this fall, with the developer beta coming soon. iOS 15 includes several new features for Wallet, Photos, Weather, and Apple Maps including new animations, graphics, and more.
iOS 15: new features in Wallet, Photos, Weather, and Apple Maps
After adding credit cards, store loyalty cards, and car keys to Wallet, Apple is continuing to add more capabilities to the app with iOS 15. Starting this fall, keys for everyday places will now be available in the Wallet app. These keys can be for home and work and even hotel keys. Identity cards will also be available in the Wallet app in participating states in the United States. The tech giant is working with TSA to use digital IDs in airports.
The Weather app is also getting revamped with iOS 15 with a new design for the Weather app shows beautiful new animated backgrounds with precipitation and air quality. These layouts can change depending on conditions like wind, rain, etc. It will also show details on wind speeds, UV index, and barometric pressure.
Apple Maps will now offer new details roads, neighborhoods, trees, buildings, and more. New driving features show turn lanes, crosswalks, bike lanes, and traffic conditions. Users will also be able to pin favorite transit lines on iPhone and Apple Watch.
The app is now available in Spain and Portugal, it will also be made available in Australia and Italy later this year. The tech giant is also introducing an AR-based feature in select cities like London, San Francisco, and New York City that allows users to figure out where they need to make their next turn with an augmented reality experience
The Photos app is receiving Interactive new memories built on the fly and paced on the beat of the music. Apple Music library can be used for a selection of millions of songs. Memory mixes let users quickly remix using filters, music, and more. The looks are not filters but based on the photos and their colors, as well as the music genre and beat.
- AirPods features with iOS 15: conversation boost, ambient noise reduction, Announce notification and more
- Messages in iOS 15: Shared with You, better integration with other Apple apps and more
- FaceTime in iOS 15: Spatial Audio, SharePlay, cross platform calls and more
- Apple announces iCloud+ with major privacy updates including Mail Privacy Protection, Private Relay and more
- Apple introduces major updates to Health app including Health Sharing, Blood Glucose highlights, fall risk notification and more
- WWDC 21 HomeKit announcements: home keys, SharePlay, third-party support for Siri and, new Matter interoperability standard

domain: news


text: A Ryzen 5 3500 processor was first spotted in an Alienware desktop, which confused PC users and tech sites. \n \nAfter all, the chipset was never announced before it was unveiled in the Alienware tech, so what is happening? \n \nBut it didn’t take long for AMD to make a clarification to Tom’s Hardware regarding the 3500 processor. The bottom line? Yes, the company indeed is offering the Ryzen 5 3500 chip, and it is now available to their OEM partners. However, the chip is not going to be available in all regions, so check with your distributor first. \n \n \n \nAMD said in a statement that the processor would help their OEM partners exploit AMD’s solutions for the enhanced gaming experience. They can also use the PCIe 4.0, the Ryzen Master Utility, Precision Boost Overdrive technologies to produce powerful builds. \n \nThis is eerily similar to what happened with the 5300M graphics card that was first seen on the MacBook Pro. Prior to the announcement, AMD has not said anything about rolling out the GPU. Then everybody is caught by surprise when the MacBook Pro was launched. \n \nIt was only after the fact that AMD announced that they are making the 5300M available for PC users. The GPU offered to Windows users even has 22 compute units (CUs) compared to the 20 for the MacBook. The problem is that the 5500M at 4GB of GDDR6 memory is capable of 24 CUs. At this point, there is no indication that any such GPU is available for Windows users. \n \nThe Ryzen 5 3500 processor has six cores with a base clock of 3.6GHz. However, you can boost this up to 4.1GHz. It is built using the 7nm process and the Zen 2 microarchitecture. The processor is powering up the Alienware Aurora R10, which is being billed as the Ryzer Edition. \n \nBack in October, rumors about its release already made the rounds on the Internet. AMD never denied nor confirmed those speculations. And the month ended without the company rolling out the processor. It showed up on an Indian website and was being offered for 11,199 rupees or about 154 USD. \n \nEverybody moved on to other rumors and forgot about the 3500. At least, until it was spotted on the Alienware desktop. \n \nFor now, the Ryzen 5 3500 chip is only available for AMD’s OEM partners. AMD has not revealed whether It is available for the end-users.


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Windows 10 Mobile will arrive in December
Lumia 950 And Lumia 950 XL will arrive on the market as early as next month, but we will have to wait a few more weeks before seeing Windows 10 Mobile on the “old” Lumia.
According to a company spokesperson on the Microsoft Lumia Facebook page, Windows 10 Mobile will be available on supported smartphones starting from December.
Also, as feared, it is specified that the update requires a device that has at least 8 GB of internal memory.
There is no precise date yet, but the timing corresponds to what was expected, namely the new Lumia 950 family to lead the way and Windows 10 Mobile for everyone (or almost) before the end of the year.


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March 10, 2014
The online logistics provider uShip has announced a partnership with the online auction business eBay, when it comes to arranging larger-than-parcel shipments.
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
The expert, Mark Betner from CITGO, will answer your questions
ALK Releases New Software Aimed at Shippers, Brokers, 3PLs
ArcticPro Uses Smart Tech to Diagnose A/C Problems
Commercial Vehicle Group Launches Corsair Seat
Loading Ramp Swivels Internally and Externally


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The Philippines Intellectual Property Office has embarked on an ambitious programme of development aimed at bringing the country’s IP system into line with international standards. Recent initiatives under the programme include the introduction of arbitration rules and proposed amendments to the Intellectual Property Code.
04 July 2011
In the spirit of promoting and encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines has signed the Rules of Procedure for IPO Mediation Proceedings. The rules, which took effect on October 21 2010, introduce compulsory mediation in certain cases.
14 December 2010
In <i>Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas v Tabaqueria de Filipinas Inc</i>, the Supreme Court has held that consumers were unlikely to be misled into buying Tabaqueria de Filipinas Inc's cigars instead of Tabacalera's. Among other things, the court pointed out that the products of both parties were sold under different trademarks.
14 October 2009
The Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Intellectual Property Office has dismissed an opposition filed by Advance Magazine Publishers Inc, the owner of the well-known VOGUE mark, against the application for the registration of the trademark VOGUE, VIGOR, VALUE V3 for garments and accessories. The Bureau of Legal Affairs disregarded precedents of the Supreme Court with regard to the dominancy test.
22 April 2009
A group of high-ranking IP lawyers in the Philippines has called for the removal of their country from the United States Trade Representative's Special 301 list.
09 March 2009
The Intellectual Property Office has upheld an opposition filed by FremantleMedia Limited, the owner of the IDOL marks, against the registration of the trademark RADIO IDOL (and design). Among other things, the office recognized that the IDOL marks were well-known trademarks under the Paris Convention and the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
09 February 2009
The director general of the Intellectual Property Office has upheld a decision of the Bureau of Legal Affairs in which the latter had found that Green Cab Pizza Haus was liable for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Among other things, the director general held that Green Cab sought to free-ride on the goodwill associated with Yellow Cab Pizza Co's trademark.
23 October 2008
The Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Intellectual Property Office has upheld FreemantleMedia Limited's opposition against Audio Visual Communications Inc's application for the registration of the mark RADIO IDOL for broadcast media and communications services. Among other things, the bureau held that Audio Visual sought to free-ride on the reputation of FreemantleMedia's IDOL marks.
23 September 2008
The Court of Appeal has overturned a 2007 decision in which it had affirmed the conviction of Richard Chua for violation of the Intellectual Property Code. Among other things, the court held that since Jollibee Food Corporation's goods did not compete with Chua's footwear, use of the JOLILBEE mark by Chua was unlikely to mislead consumers into thinking that Chua's footwear originated from Jollibee.
25 July 2008
The Supreme Court has stripped an individual named Wilfro Luminlun of his licence to use the trademark OTTO. Among other things, the court found that Luminlun's use of the mark for goods other than jeans violated the terms and conditions of a licence granted to Luminlun by the owner of the mark.
25 April 2008
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Two Colorado residents are suing a marijuana grower for allegedly spraying plants with a fungicide that becomes toxic when ignited. The claimants allege that the grower sprayed the plants with the fungicide without alerting consumers.
Brandan Flores and Brandie Larrabee accuse the cannabis retailer and distributor LivWell of spraying plants with Eagle 20.
The Eagle 20 fungicide contains myclobutanil, a chemical that releases toxic fumes when burned. The fungicide is commonly used for fungi control on grapes and other edible crops, but is not approved for use on smokeable crops such as a tobacco.
“As such, persons who smoke cannabis that has been sprayed with Eagle 20 inhale … poisonous hydrogen cyanide,” the lawsuit states.
Steven Woodrow, lawyer for the plaintiffs, says the complaint marks the first product liability action against a company in the legal marijuana industry as far as he knows. Woodrow is seeking a class-action lawsuit.
Flores is a recreational user, while Larrabee, who has a brain tumor, has a medical marijuana card. They are not claiming that the chemical caused them to be sick, but that they would not have bought the marijuana had they known of the use of the fungicide.
LivWell, in turn, claims the plants are safe to smoke.
“Testing of our finished product by an independent, state-licensed lab approved by the City of Denver showed that our products are safe – as we have always maintained,” said John Lord, LivWell owner, in a statement.
Denver health regulators previously withheld LivWell’s products from sale while they were being tested for the chemical. Only low levels of myclobutanil were detected, and the plants were released for sale. The plaintiffs claim that even low levels of the chemical can be harmful.
Photo Credit: Coleen Whitfield
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Much like Christmas and birthday wish lists, my kids have compiled their own “wish list” of fireworks for our Fourth of July celebration. My youngest took inventory of firecrackers leftover from last year (aka, a stash he had hidden) and determined we need Roman candles, bottle rockets, parachutes and artillery shells. This year’s explosions and bright lights won’t be easy on the wallet, so it’s a good thing that promising numbers from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual cookout analysis show that both bellies and wallets can be full after larger Independence Day gatherings this year.
AFBF’s analysis shows the average cost of a summer cookout for 10 people remains affordable at $59.50 nationwide. Missouri residents can expect even greater discounts, with the Midwest region checking in at $56.83 – the lowest mark of the nation’s four largest regions. This cost of less than $6 per person delivers a satisfying menu comprised of cheeseburgers, pork chops, chicken breasts, homemade potato salad, pork & beans, strawberries, potato chips and fresh-squeezed lemonade with ice cream and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
Overall, the nation’s cost of a holiday cookout this summer is down 16 cents from last year. Of the 12 items in the 2021 Fourth of July cookout basket surveyed by AFBF, seven decreased in price compared to one year ago when prices were higher due to the pandemic. Notably, strawberries are up 22 percent from 2020 due to strong demand and the effects of several weather elements during the early 2021 harvest season.
AFBF economists note that the cost of transporting, processing and packaging farm-grown foods is a major component of the total cost of the menu. As evidenced by the lengthy lists of agritourism destinations and Missouri meat producers available on the Missouri Farm Bureau website, local options are once again helping keep costs manageable for families. So not only do delicious foods travel shorter distances and, in turn, keep more money in a Missourian’s wallet, but knowledgeable shoppers can rest easy knowing that their purchases support farmers and ranchers in nearby communities all across the state.
One of the most notable takeaways from AFBF’s annual Fourth of July cookout analysis surrounds the market habits of Americans nationwide. Before 2020, 45 percent of food was consumed away from home. However, this changed due to the pandemic. Recent research indicates that almost two-thirds of shoppers now report cooking and eating at home far more than previous years. This increase in supermarket demand led to higher retail food prices in both 2020 and 2021, compared to pre-pandemic prices in 2019.
As you and your family celebrate our nation’s birthday, remember the farmers and ranchers who carried on through global uncertainty during the past 18 months to ensure that stores remained stocked and plates stayed full – all at a reasonable cost to consumers.


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Aditya Birla Group has initiated first step to unlock value in retail biz. It is in talks with large private equity players like KKR, Carlyle, Apax, Temasek.
KM Birla's company may be expecting to raise about Rs 3,000 cr by selling close to 20% stake in the retail business to at least two private equity firms.
In October 2013, the Income-Tax Department had unearthed Rs 25 crore in cash at a corporate office of the Aditya Birla Group in New Delhi.
Gupta was chosen fo.r the project due to his 12-year stint at McKinsey & Co., which helped him gain deep insight into the long-term potential of various businesses.
Hindalco, an Aditya Birla company, Kumar Mangalam Birla and several unnamed government officials figure in the FIR filed by the CBI. They have been accused of cheating and conspiracy to defraud the exchequer.
Birla also said that the PM was also supporting the cause of women and had big plans for imparting education to them.
Prashant Gupta, who, till recently, moved to head the e-commerce project, had been managing the chairman’s office for the past three years.
"SC must take strong note of such cases when lodged wrongly against retired bureaucrats which simply end up defaming the person," said Parakh


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By Morgan Bryce
According to Earth Fare Spokesperson Laurie Aker, this opening is part of the store’s commitment to improving the overall customer experience
"We have been doing re-grand openings at other locations in many other markets in which Earth Fare operates. During the past 18 months, the company has invested in many of its stores to bring a refreshed shopping experience for our loyal, longtime customers,"
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Electronics Production | December 03, 2009
STmicro shuffles sales organisation new
STMicroelectronics has changed its global sales and marketing organization around. All changes will be affective from January 1, 2010.
The Greater China and South Asia region will be led by Corporate Vice President Francois Guibert, who has guided ST’s efforts in the Asia/Pacific region since June 2006. ST’s headquarters for sales and marketing will be based in Shanghai, while the company will keep its manufacturing headquarters in Singapore. The Japan and Korea region will be led by Corporate Vice President Marco Cassis, currently the head of ST Japan. Corporate Vice President Bob Krysiak will spearhead ST’s efforts to expand into Central and South America and continue to increase market share in North America. Andrea Cuomo will continue his work as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sales and Marketing for ST’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.


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Macy’s has revealed customer data could have been breached on both Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com, with the number of accounts affected unclear.
Macy’s has reported a strong first quarter, citing a 3.6 percent net increase in revenue from the same period last year. Comparable sales, net income, and stock prices were also up for the quarter.
After a year of woe's, Ivanka Trump's self-titled brand is trying to bump up its fashion retail sales.
Hoping to kickstart the local social commerce niche, Australian mums Kim Westwood and Liz Tehan have launched Set That.
In previous years, Australians have had to miss out on big bargains available to US customers in Black Friday online sales. This year, things have changed.
World renowned New York City department stores Macy's, Bloomingdales, Saks and Barneys are opening up the online channels to target Australian 'Power Shoppers'.


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Digatron appoints new GM in China, extends presence in Australasia
Battery testing and formation equipment firm Digatron Power Electronics appointed Yuetchin Hoi in February as the new general manager for its manufacturing and sales operation in Qingdao, China.
Hoi takes over from Karl Sobotka, who was a well-known industry figure in Digatron’s China business and who is going into retirement.
Digatron CEO and managing director Kevin Campbell said: “One of the many strengths of our new GM is that he truly is a global business strategist.
“Hoi has specialized in helping western companies leverage the opportunities in Asia, especially China. He has been living in Asia and building businesses there for the past 28 years, and having lived in Shanghai for more than eight years, he has developed extensive business networks.”
Hoi was president at Stanley Works Asia Pacific for six years from 2000 through 2006. A member of Stanley’s Corporate Executive Council, he reported directly to the chairman and CEO, John Trani. He was the regional leader of Stanley’s five plants and 15 sales and distribution offices across the Asia Pacific, from China to Australia and New Zealand.
Hoi had previously spent four years with Thomas & Betts in a variety of positions, most latterly as VP for sales and marketing for Asia, based in Taiwan.
Before joining T&B in 1996, Hoi was regional marketing and engineering manager, Asia for Framatome Connectors International. (Now known as Areva of France)
Digatron also announced on March 14 it had signed an agreement with the Adelaide-based technical services company Gelco Services to provide sales and support in Australia and New Zealand.
As well as sales and technical support, Gelco will carry out local commissioning, calibration and service on all of Digatron’s products, including the firm’s most advanced technology, its silicon carbide MOSFET technology, which it says is already installed in both countries.
Gelco Services is an automotive industry consulting firm that specializes in electrochemical engineering and testing automotive batteries, charge systems and infrastructure.
Digatron has offices in Germany, US, China and India.


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Farewell to Stanley's Young America furniture line
April 6, 2014,
HIGH POINT — Stanley Furniture's announcement this week that it is shuttering its Young America youth line has left many — from retailers to licensing partners — wondering what's next.
Stanley CEO Glenn Prillaman said the company’s priority now is assisting retailers in transitioning the brand from their stores.
Prillaman said that was one reason the company announced its Young America exit before the start of the High Point Market.
“Our earnings release was scheduled for April 16,” he said. “So imagine you were a customer and you came to market — we knew we didn’t have a future, but we didn’t tell you. You get back home and a week later, we tell you we’re not moving forward with Young America. That wouldn’t be very customer-friendly. We wanted them to be able to have some time to think through this prior to market, then come to market and be able to find a replacement for the floor space that we occupy.”
Stanley will take orders on Young America until April 28. Once those orders are fulfilled, the factory in Robbinsville, N.C., will close.
In addition to the Young America line, the company had licensing agreements with several parties, including Pottery Barn, the juvenile buying group Brixy and Mod Mom Furniture creator Kiersten Hathcock.
“We’ve communicated with Brixy — in the timing of the decision, we wanted to make sure we treated them as fairly as possible, too,” said Prillaman. “We didn’t want to put them in a position where they had received floor samples and spent lots of money on photography prior to the decision.”
Brixy Executive Director Jill Cartwright said the group has several other manufacturers who are interested in partnering on the furniture venture, which they still plan to pursue.
Pottery Barn sells the Stanley-produced Harper and Shelby children’s and teen collections through its PB Teen division. Young America will fulfill orders for Pottery Barn through April 28, but will no longer produce furniture for the brand after that, Prillaman said.
Young America’s relationship with Mod Mom Furniture owner Kiersten Hathcock also will end. Hathcock came on board earlier this year as a spokesperson for the brand, with plans to eventually produce a Mod Mom furniture line with Young America. Hathcock, who came to High Point for market, has several meetings lined up with other interested parties.
“For me it just means that I’m talking to other manufacturers for licensing and seeing where that goes,” she said. “I’m a person who feels that when one door closes, another one opens. I feel pretty good because as soon as the news hit, I was getting calls from people who were interested in working with me.”
Prillaman expressed his regret that these relationships with retailers and licensing partners will have to end, but said he hopes the company’s swift decision will help retailers and partners move forward quickly.
Retailers interviewed for this story said they were disappointed at the news.
“I am very sad that Young America couldn’t make it,” said Libby Payne, youth gallery manager at Top 100 store Furnitureland South in Jamestown, N.C. “It takes time to build a brand and a reputation like they had with Young America. They have accomplished so much over the years. They are an icon in the juvenile world and their exit is certainly going to leave a void in the youth furniture business. They will be sorely missed.”
How well retailers adjust depends largely on how much of the product they carried. Mory Moshtaghi, owner of youth furniture specialist Children’s Land in San Diego, has sold the line about 10 years and today devotes about 2,000 square feet of his 9,000-square-foot showroom to Young America.
But he said he is prepared to deal with the loss of the line by looking to other suppliers in the youth furniture segment.
“It is unfortunate, but we just have to go on with our lives and our business,” he said. “Otherwise, it will cause us to fall behind. We have to just pick up our other lines and move forward.”
He added that he is disappointed for the company’s workers, who put in a lot of hard work to keep the line going. About 400 employees at the Robbinsville plant are facing layoffs.
“I feel sorry for the people that will be laid off,” Moshtagi said. “(Young America) tried very hard to bring jobs into the U.S. and have been working days and nights to do that, but unfortunately, there hasn’t been that much support for them from consumers.”
Another retailer said the news did not come as a huge surprise.
“We suspected a little of it,” said Ryan Councill, project manager for Tyson Furniture Co. in Black Mountain, N.C. “We ran into some issues with (shipment) delays and quality and we knew they could only do it for so long.”
“It has dwindled for us because of the quality issues and timing delays in getting it,” he added, noting that on-time deliveries are important, particularly with cribs. “Consumers will only wait so long for youth furniture. If it doesn’t get here in time for the child to arrive, you are pretty much shot.”
Thomas Russell contributed to this story.
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If you missed our recent webcast with Lectra on what the furniture factory of the future will look like, then you can click here to watch the recorded version. Topics include what trends and challenges are affecting furniture factories in the US & Worldwide and how these challenges are changing furniture production.


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With a Slew of App Updates, Google Continues Its Crusade for the Enterprise
If there was one company in Google’s sights on the second day of its I/O developers conference on Thursday, it was Microsoft. Sundar Pichai, SVP of Chrome and Apps, was eager to remind us of the many ways that Google’s enterprise apps suite rules over the Redmond giant’s offerings.
In the 5 years since Google released Gmail to the public, for instance, the app has grown to reach 425 million monthly active users. Governmental agencies in 45 out of 50 U.S. states are using Google apps, as well as more than 66 universities and five million businesses across the U.S.
As always, Pichai and the apps team pride themselves on the platform’s collaborative properties. Chrome’s synchronicity across devices, Google docs’ realtime updates, and precious, precious speed: Chrome’s speed, Pichai says, saves more than 13 years of human productivity over the course of a lifetime.
“Try doing that with Sharepoint,” Pichai said.
After years of rumors and leaks, Google Drive finally launched weeks ago, and the app is spreading across platforms fairly quickly. Google Drive hit the 10 million user mark and is slated to appear on iOS and iPad on Thursday, the first appearance on Apple’s mobile platform.
Google is also pushing its Chromebooks, the low-cost, web-focused laptops powered by Chrome OS. The new generation of Samsung Chromebooks launched three weeks ago, touting more powerful specs and faster performance than last year’s generation. Google will soon begin selling Chromebooks in more than 100 Best Buy retail locations across the U.S., continuing to seed the landscape with the fledgling platform. (It also helps that Google will give all the developers attending I/O a free Chromebox.)
And, of course, Pichai and his team continue to push the Chrome browser: Usage of the platform has exploded over the past year, with more than 300 million active users, nearly double the number from only a year ago. That number most likely has nowhere to go but up, considering Google announced it is bringing Chrome to iOS devices beginning on Thursday.
Then there was Google Compute Engine, which takes a direct shot at Microsoft’s Windows Azure, and also at Amazon Web Services. It’s a textbook infrastructure-as-a-service play that shows how readily and quickly Google can scale up and down on demand. There are still a lot of details yet to be disclosed about how the service will work and as yet it’s only for early customers on a trial basis.
But the places where Google and Microsoft are not competing head to head are growing fewer by the day.


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Gateway 3ds official released a news on sep.13th,2014. They released a video about the latest game SMASH BROTHERS which can be played on gateway 3ds. that’s an amazing news for us who prefer SMASH BROTHERS. If you have a 3DSV4.1.0-4.5.0, then you can buy a gateway 3ds to enjoy this games. http://www.digitopz.com/buy-gateway-3ds-for-3ds-3ds-xl-from-official-retailer-p-1279.html
One of the much-anticipated 3DS games of the year has been recently released to our friends in Japan and we at Gateway want to share the experience with our friends all over the globe!
Watch the Gateway exclusive video below. (NOTE: We are using Gateway OMEGA 2.3b Launcher.dat with emunand 8.1, and a SD card larger than 2GB)


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British consumers are facing further price hikes after the pound fell to an all-time low against the dollar, exacerbating the cost of living crisis. The value of the pound plummeted after Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
A weaker sterling means imported groceries, petrol, cars and consumer goods will become more expensive as companies pass price increases on to consumers. It will also drive up the cost of mortgages and overseas vacations.
food, drink and clothing
According to the British Retail Consortium, UK supermarkets import around 40% of their groceries. So, the depreciation of the pound means that food prices are likely to rise, further contributing to the cost of living crisis.
Kris Hamer, Director of Insights at the BRC, said: “It is inevitable that if these pressures continue, some of the cost will have to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.”
As the pound sterling dropped sharply in early trade on Monday, the Belfast restaurant posted Morne Seafood tweeted: “Well, those are the California wines from the wine list.”
Across the hospitality industry, bars, restaurants, importers and producers had similar thoughts as they digested the impact on US and European imports. “It’s clear that anything that’s imported and paid for in dollars or euros has only gotten more expensive,” said Bob McCoubrey, owner of Morne Seafood.
However, there’s a lot more at stake than Napa Valley Zinfandel being on the wine list.
Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, said: “One in five wines imported into the UK and bottled here are US wines. Sterling’s crash will push up prices for consumers and put hundreds of British jobs at risk at bottling plants across the UK.”
Those who buy products from the US to resell may choose to stock something else, but some manufacturers face much greater challenges.
Peterborough-based Oakham Ales prides itself on its Citra Ale, made from the US hop of the same name. It has no choice but to buy in dollars and must now either pass the cost on to consumers – and risk making them resist the price – or take the pain and take a major financial hit.
“It’s just one shock after another,” Oakham spokesman Nick Jones said, lamenting the recent strain in the wake of the pandemic and rising energy costs.
Non-food retailers import more of their goods than supermarkets, meaning prices of clothing and other essential items are also likely to rise.
oil and petrol
A weaker sterling could mean an extra £7.50 to fill up an average family car, according to the AA.
Wholesale oil markets are priced in dollars, which means that each barrel of oil will become more expensive for anyone buying in pounds, like e.g. B. British petrol stations.
Fuel prices have fallen from a record high of 191.53 pence a liter at UK petrol stations following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the AA said the easing in wholesale prices is being partially offset by the sterling’s nosedive.
The AA calculated the likely impact on prices at the pump compared to Feb. 24, the last time Brent crude was below $90 a barrel. Sterling’s fall from $1.35 to $1.07 since then, they say, is reflected in pump prices of more than 14p a liter, or £7.50 for a 55-litre tank once VAT is factored in .
Ultimately, while major transport and logistics companies have hedged their fuel costs, higher costs mean higher prices for all consumers.
cars and electronics
Technology and manufacturing products imported from other countries are likely to be affected by price increases, as are UK-made goods if parts and machinery are imported from abroad.
The latest US government figures show that the US exported $69.1 billion worth of goods to the UK in 2019, with the main categories being precious metals and stones, aircraft, mineral fuels and machinery.
Consumer electronics and manufacturing technology, such as factory equipment, are likely to be affected because those items rely on trade in U.S. dollars, the Institute of Export and International Trade said.
Marco Forgione, Director General of the IEIT, said: “Current pressures on the pound are likely to hit consumers hard as the cost of imported goods rises.”
The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates further in response to the weakening pound, with financial markets on Monday forecasting interest rates could nearly triple to 6% next year.
The 2.2 million people with adjustable rate mortgages will feel the impact immediately if interest rates continue to rise. Fixed-rate mortgages will also be affected, as around half will expire in the next two years. Lenders including Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society temporarily suspended mortgage deals to new customers Monday due to volatility in financial markets.
A weaker pound makes holidays more expensive and UK travelers will find their money doesn’t last as far abroad.
Holidaymakers exchanging their sterling for dollars or euros are getting less than they used to. For example, the Post Office offers an exchange rate of 1.0247 for pounds to dollars, which means you would get $410 for £400.
Other holiday destinations like the Bahamas and Barbados are also pegging their currencies to the dollar, so visitors to those countries will also be affected.
The weaker pound could also push up flight prices as airlines have to pay more for fuel.
#Shock #shock #weaker #pound #affect


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As Apple turns 40 its iPhone brand shows no sign of stopping.
The US tech firm announced its latest device last month and it appears to have already sold out.
Fans wanting the new iPhone SE are facing a wait of over two weeks to get hold of one with Apple's online store showing no immediate availability.
Apple haven't released any official figures but unconfirmed reports suggest the new 4-inch device is a hit.
The iPhone SE looks identical to Apple's older 5s but it features many of the top specs found in the firm's flagship 6s and 6s Plus.
Tucked inside its 4-inch shell is an A9 processor, 12-megapixel camera which can shoot video in 4K quality and Apple Pay compatibility.
Prices for the 16GB version start at £359 which makes this the cheapest iPhone Apple has ever launched.
Apple is currently showing April 22-27 as the earliest date for shipping.
The SE won't be the only new iPhone to arrive in 2016.
Apple is expected to launch its next flagship in September and it could feature some radical changes.
Rumours suggest the iPhone 7 will be thinner, lighter and feature dual rear cameras for improved image picture quality.
The firm may also ditch the headphone port with can connecting via bluetooth or the lightning connector.


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Is there any truth to this? While there are no hard facts, the prospect is not that unlikely. IGN has learned that Ion Storm is scratching its head over how to bring the enormous, texture-heavy PC and Xbox game to the PS2, and would rather not do so, given the significant difference in system architecture.
But Eidos, seeing the huge PS2 market at its fingertips and the massive popularity of Deus Ex, is working to get the team to bring the next Deus Ex, in whatever form, to PlayStation 2. It almost makes more sense to bring a different game altogether than to try and port DX2: Invisible War.
We have yet to hear an official word from Eidos regarding the game, but check back with IGN for more news regarding this game as it happens.


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You might have noticed a new addition to the NCI Schedule Boards, Game Afternoon & Game Night! The Game events started up just last month, and are scheduled for 12PM slt and 6PM slt every Monday at NCI South.
NCI has launched a new event this week called Games Night or Games time. This will be a social event where members are invited to gather at NCI South and try out some of the games available there. We have Frootcake, Canâ€™t Stop, Skeeball, Zilch, U-Know and others. ~ Wellington Beam
Even if you aren’t interested in playing the games, you are more than welcome to hang out and chat, so don’t be shy to head over and say hello! The games are always left set up, so even if you miss a scheduled game event, you can drop by and start up your own with your friends!


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The painting is so realistic that the brand couldn’t take its gaze away from it and commented on the post.
If you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen a post that appears to be a basic snapshot of a filter coffee but, upon closer scrutiny, turns out to be a painting. The drawing was so good that even the brand was taken aback. Now, the artist has returned and has created even another stir — this time with a picture of a packet of Maggi.
Varuna Shreethar of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, stunned the internet with her mesmerizing digital art when it was discovered that it was not filmed on camera but painted by someone. On Saturday, the 21-year-old artist published an old artwork of India’s favorite instant noodles on Twitter.
Similar to her earlier article, the iconic yellow box of the Nestle product with a bowl of 2-minute noodles looked just like the packets we see in stores or at home.
As the post gained popularity, Maggi India took note and entered the debate. “This photo has definitely stolen our ‘Dil’ (heart),” the food brand said, adding, “keep displaying the #maggilove.”
The young artist was moved by the company’s response and responded, “Maggi has been my most favorite snack since I was a tiny kid, yearning for this complete circle moment [sic].”
Previously, she revealed to indianexpress.com about her technique that she blends “hyperrealism with impressionism” in her work and that “that’s why I keep the texture so raw in the paintings.”
“I’m not trying to imitate an image.” That’s why cameras exist; I wanted to make a painting that resembled something you adored,” she continued.
Like her prior work, Varuna’s painting of Maggi Noodles first had netizens asking if it was an art piece or a photograph. “Wow! Extremely realistic!! “a user said. According to the second user, “These are simply mind-boggling. I followed you because of your handle name, and I’m pleased I did. The filter coffee painting was a work of art. Please keep it up. cheers”. “I still can’t believe this is a painting, OMG!” remarked the third user.
The image of a cup of filter coffee uploaded by the Chennai-based artist on Twitter had surprised netizens. It almost makes you believe it’s an actual photograph. What do you think? It’s a lovely sketch, and all you need to do is zoom in numerous times to be sure. “I painted filter coffee!” read the image’s description. The photograph has received over 51K likes since it was posted. The image, which has left many people perplexed, has become popular on social media and is ideal for individuals who want coffee after a hard day at work.
The authored article is written by Darshana Joshi and shared with Prittle Prattle News exclusively.


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DTT Surveillance recapitalizes
Updated March 23, 2012
BOSTON—BV Investment Partners, a private equity firm based here, is the new owner of DTT Surveillance, a provider of managed surveillance and business intelligence to the restaurant and hospitality industries, following a recapitalization announced March 15. The deal includes a $40 million credit from Capiltal One Bank.
“We recapitalized the debt and some of the equity,” Marco Ferrari, co-founder and principal at BV, told Security Systems News. “We now own a controlling stake.”
John Robuck, senior director at Capital One Bank, told SSN that the $40 million is a five-year revolving line of credit. "We are excited to partner with the company as it builds on its prior success of helping the restaurant industry reduce theft and manage customer productivity," he said in an email interview. "Using our team's deep industry experience, we created a unique financing solution for DTT Surveillance to help the company fund its working capital needs and continue to execute its growth strategy.”
The $40 million revolver represents a $20 million increase over DTT's former credit line.
Sam Naficy, CEO and president of DTT, called the recapitalization “a very favorable transaction for the video managed services space,” noting that previously some managed-video services players had trouble getting deals done.
DTT, whose customers include McDonald’s, Subway, Dairy Queen, Burger King, Dunkin Brands and YUM Brands, was ranked No. 1,491 on the 2011 Inc. 500/5,000 “fastest-growing companies” list. According to that listing, DTT had 2010 revenue of $14.3 million. Naficy would not disclose DTT's 2011 revenue, except to say it was “significantly higher than 2010.”
Naficy remains a “significant shareholder” in DTT. Post Capital Partners and Gemini Investors have a minority ownership in the company. Post and Gemini led a $7 million investment in the summer of 2009. It was DTT’s first institutional financing and was done in partnership with Naficy. “[This recap] provides partial liquidity for Post and Gemini,” explained Michael Pfeffer, co-founder and managing director of Post Capital.
DTT is the only investment in the security industry that Post Capital Partners has made thus far. Pfeffer said Post would like to make other investments in the security industry, but “we haven’t found one that’s compelling enough yet.” Post invests in service-type businesses with recurring revenue.
DTT is also the first pure-play, security-industry investment for BV Investment, Ferrari said. The firm has invested in the communications space since 1983, having done “15 different cable deals … a lot of telecom, CLEC, RLEC, wireless and towers,” he said. One current investment, EnTouch Systems of Houston, and one former investment, Vision Communications, both offer security services.
Ferrari said BV has spent the past three years looking at the security space. “We find it attractive from an equity perspective [with RMR] and low churn compared to the cable space,” he said.
Naficy said he intends to grow DTT “significantly but methodically.” Soon, he’ll be adding to his sales staff. He also mentioned a move into other verticals, something he has talked about in the past.
DTT is “starting to touch retail and convenience stores and now … with new capital we may jump in a little more seriously into one of those,” Naficy said. The reason the company hasn’t strayed too far from QSR yet is that “the [restaurant] space is so hot for us … we have less than 4 percent penetration in our own sweet spot.”
BV’s Ferrari, Louis Bertocci and Vik Raina have joined DTT’s board of directors. The Edmonds Group acted as M&A and financial adviser to BV in the deal.


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In the past, African customs and beliefs encouraged families to have lots of children. Today the number of children per family has dropped slightly, with the average family having one child less in countries like Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. These are countries with birth control campaigns, more urbanization and more girls enrolled in schools.
In countries hit by civil war, the number of children per family remains high: the Democratic Republic of Congo or Burundi and Somalia have averages of around six children per family.
In any other circumstances these figures would contribute to the economic development of the country. But in these war-torn countries, total population growth includes a high number of combat-related deaths.
To sustain their increasing populations, African countries will need an annual economic growth rate of between six and eight per cent over a period of ten years. But growth is currently only at three per cent.
Africa has shown considerable growth in the last fifteen years; thanks to mobile technology which has opened the continent up to the rest of the world and restructured the way people do business. This is contributing to a growing, prosperous middle class in several countries and specifically in the United Republic of Tanzania.
The hosting of the football World Cup by South Africa, for the first time in the continent, demonstrated a confidence in the future of Africa and is reassuring both overseas investors and Africans.
But globalization of the Africa economy has brought problems like migration from rural to urban areas. This increases the wealth gap in the population.
And farmers are going to have a difficult time feeding one billion Africans. The agriculture sector grew from “2.5 per cent in 2000 to almost four per cent in 2005”; this was mainly due to the expansion of farming land. But agriculture is meeting difficulties because of the increase in population.
Another issue Africa will have to tackle is urbanization. In 1950, Alexandria and Cairo were the only cities with more than one million inhabitants but now there are around 80 cities of this size in the continent.
Life expectancy in Africa is currently at about 63 years (it used to be less than 45 years in the then Tanganyika during the colonial era). Poor conditions are exacerbated by lack of proper sanitation, poor health care and an education system that is unable to support demand. More than half of the 2.5 million people living in cities, the capital commercial city of Dar es Salaam, live in slums.
And the financial crisis might not have affected sub-Saharan Africa in the same way as Western states, but it has left African governments’ development programs looking more fragile. Young people are the key to sustainable growth and prosperity.
By 2030, Africa is expected to be home to “1.7 billion people —potential consumers with over $6.7 trillion (U.S.)” of combined consumer and business spending.
These numbers indicate the enormous potential of Foreign Investors including China-African relations and the benefits that could result from economic and social partnerships.
For example, the China-Tanzania Youth Forum could be an excellent beginning for long-term engagement, but such initiatives also should facilitate deals in the short run.
Along these lines, China could create an investment fund to support Tanzania startups doing business with China and joint ventures between China and Tanzanian partners to help lift barriers to doing business and hasten economic partnerships.
Such partnerships could help generate cutting-edge research to inform policies, build human capital, and advance effective institutional, technical and policy configurations critical to policy success.
China is one of the leaders of the 4th Industrial Revolution, so special attention could be paid to digital transformation and collaboration in digital government, businesses in industries without smokestacks, and cyber security.
To build the basis for long-term relations and mutual support, China could increase the number of education, volunteering, and cultural exchange opportunities for Chinese in Africa.
China could increase its support for Chinese conducting research on Africa, as well as for the development of a Chinese-African joint research initiative, laying the foundation for long-term friendship.
Future agendas would gain from including experts’ perspectives on climate change, women and youth economic and political empowerment, and the future of technology, among other topics.
The enthusiasm at this proposed inaugural dialogue herein indicates these bilateral forums can have exponential effects on development, investment, and political initiatives between emerging partners.
Africa’s advocates throughout other emerging economies should continue to share their collective knowledge with the citizens and leaders of their countries.
As the profiles of China’s and Tanzania’s initiatives grow, China must encourage international organizations’ acceptance of key development and economic policies.
The China’s growth in recent decades is remarkable and serves as inspiration for Tanzania’s potential at this transformative stage in its history.
The debate on the benefits of trade has dominated this decade, and Africa has cast its vote for more and better trade with itself. In March 2018, African countries signed a landmark trade agreement, the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which commits countries to remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods, progressively liberalize trade in services, and address a host of other non-tariff barrier.
If successfully implemented, the agreement will create a single African market of over a billion consumers with a total GDP of over $3 trillion. This will make Africa the largest free trade area in the world.
Its scope exceeds that of a traditional free trade area, which generally focuses on trade in goods, to include trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy, and possibly e-commerce.
It’s complemented by other continental initiatives, including the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right to Establishment, and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
The scale of African Continent Free Trade Area’s potential impact makes it vital to understand the main drivers of the agreement and the best methods to harness its opportunities and overcome its risks and challenges.
The signing of the African Continent Free Trade Area in Kigali comes at a time when the benefits of trade are actively contested, and global powers that traditionally promoted trade as a crucial driver of growth are now calling into question its very tenets.
This apprehension is not without cause. It is broadly recognized that, while globalization and trade produced the impressive economic expansion of the past three decades, the gains have not been fairly distributed.
The World Bank population-weighted Gini index shows that inequality rose steeply between “1988 and 1998 and declined only moderately by 2013”. Although global poverty has fallen, prosperity has not been fully shared.Recent evidence by ECA shows that when African countries trade with themselves they exchange more manufactured and processed goods, have more knowledge transfer, and create more value.
In fact, manufactured goods make up a much higher proportion of regional exports than those leaving the continent— The real test of the African Continent Free Trade Area, however, will be how quickly African countries can accelerate export diversification and product sophistication and make trade more inclusive.
Trade diversification of exports is important as it allows countries to build resilience to movements in demand, due to economic downturns in importing countries but also price dips.
In the case of commodity exporting countries it supports a shift from an over dependence on commodities to higher-value added products and services.
Economic diversification allows for more inclusion of small and medium sized enterprises and helps encourage innovation as more markets open. It is also productivity enhancing.
In contrast, most East Asian economies were able to diversify exports at a rapid pace and converge to the levels of China and Korea.
Against this backdrop, the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to enable countries to break into new African markets as they both diversify by export destination and type of goods produced.
The AfCFTA will increase intra-African trade in agricultural products by between “20 and 30 percent, with the highest gains in sugar, vegetables, fruit, nuts, beverages, and dairy products”.
The agreement is expected to expand access to markets at the regional and international levels, thus generating state revenue, increasing farmer income, and expanding both farmer and country capacity to invest in modernizing the agricultural sector through processing and mechanization.
The AfCFTA as a result should stimulate demand for intra-African food imports, supporting a predominantly women-led sector. Diversification should also lead to increased sophistication of export products.
Product sophistication refers to the share of value addition in a product, or product upgrading. Increased value addition and sophistication increases productivity and increases the overall value of exports.
On the diversity criteria, African exports have generally lagged behind, and there is no evidence of quality convergence. The AfCFTA will improve export sophistication across the continent by enabling more countries to integrate regional and global value chains and consequently increase the quality of exports.
Differences in export performance and product sophistication demonstrate that across the continent there is potential for increased diversification, the creation of regional vertically integrated industries, and the development of globally competitive regional value chains.
It is promising that the 5th phase government led by exuberant Dr. JPJ Magufuli, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania is already strategizing on how to benefit from the agreement and developing clear plans of action to take advantage of national, regional, and global markets in the African Continent Free Trade Area context.
The African Continent Free Trade Area can play a game-changing role in Africa’s economic diversification and inclusion. This is not an opportunity to be missed and 2019 will be a defining year.
This unprecedented dynamism of the continent is creating opportunities for trade and investment and is drawing interest from an increasingly diverse group of external partners.
Democracy is consolidating, although the prevalence of tensions and, in some countries, violence during elections point to areas for improvement.
The demographic tidal wave looms closer, and job creation has not yet been able to catch up. Despite continued progress on governance, more efforts are needed to eradicate corruption and to elevate the voice of women and young people in the decision-making.
With that aim, we hope to promote and inform a dialogue that will generate sound practical strategies for achieving shared prosperity across the continent.


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Hostess to liquidate, costing 106 Triad jobs and 617 statewide
Posted: Friday, November 16, 2012 11:24 am | Updated: 11:52 am, Fri Nov 16, 2012.
Richard Craver/Winston-Salem Journal
The decision today by Hostess Brands Inc. to liquidate the company’s assets will leave 106 employees in the Triad and as many as 617 statewide without a job.
Hostess, which made Twinkies, Sno Balls and Wonder Bread, re-entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January – its second filing in less than a decade -- as part of a tactic to lower labor and operational costs amid increased competition.
The shutdown will affect 18,500 employees nationwide, as well as 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 5,500 delivery routes and 570 bakery outlet stores.
The state and local job counts were according to WARN Act notices the company filed in May with local elected officials and the N.C. Commerce Department ...


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Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) is making a bold bet on the recovery of global leisure travel. The hotel operator is acquiring Apple Leisure Group in an all-cash deal that values the leading luxury resort operator at $2.7 billion. The transaction will expand its global presence in the luxury leisure travel segment. It's also a sign it sees that category recovering as increasingly widespread vaccine distribution enables more people to travel worldwide.
A transformational transaction
Hyatt is buying Apple Leisure Group from affiliates of private equity firms KKR and KSL Capital Partners, which took the company private in 2016. Apple operates more than 100 properties with 33,000 rooms in 10 counties. In addition, it has a membership program, Unlimited Vacation Club, with more than 110,000 members, as well as a travel distribution platform.
The deal will accelerate Hyatt's transformation into an asset-light business, as Apple doesn't own the real estate of the hotels it operates. Further, the transaction will double the number of resorts in the Hyatt system, increase its global footprint, and accelerate its growth, given Apple's large pipeline of signed hotel agreements and deals in advanced stages of negotiation.
Hyatt plans to sell some of its hotel real estate following this transaction to further shift its strategy toward generating fees. The company intends to fulfill its existing promise to sell $1.5 billion of hotel real estate this year. In addition, it now plans to sell another $2 billion of hotel real estate by the end of 2024. That will shift its mix of fee-based earnings from 57% in 2019 to 80% by 2024 as it completes the Apple deal and sells off additional hotels.
Betting big on a global travel rebound
Aside from accelerating its transition to an asset-light hotel management company, the Apple deal will further strengthen Hyatt's position in the global leisure luxury travel industry. It will become the largest operator of luxury hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean, the largest operator of all-inclusive luxury resorts globally, and the second-largest luxury operator in the world.
That will enable Hyatt to benefit from the expected recovery in global luxury leisure travel. While 2020 was an awful year for hotels, forecasters expect luxury leisure travel to grow at an 11% rate from 2021 through 2027. Several factors drive that view.
For one, Americans have accumulated $2.3 trillion in excess savings during the pandemic, with the highest amounts saved among high-income earners. Combine that with the fact that leisure travel is the top spending priority for 70% of Americans, and Hyatt sees a coming global travel boom.
It will now be in an even better position to capture this demand by adding Apple's resort portfolio to its footprint. In addition, the company will benefit from Apple's vacations brand portfolio. It's one of the largest tour operators/packagers in North America. Those brands will now have access to double the number of resorts to build tours and packages for travelers by adding Hyatt's existing hotels to the mix. The company will also have the opportunity to leverage Apple's vacation club to drive higher occupancy across its hotel portfolio.
Traveling in style
Hyatt believes that global leisure travel will recover from the pandemic led by the luxury sector. That's leading it to buy Apple Leisure Group to expand its global presence in that sector. It sees that deal as the perfect fit for its asset-light strategy, which should generate an increasing amount of higher-margin fee income -- something for investors to consider.


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China has rolled out more measures to protect foreign trade entities and keep supply chains stable against the economic fallout of the unabated Covid-19 pandemic, according to guidelines released by the State Council.
China will step up credit support to foreign trade firms, especially micro, small and medium ones, and extend financial support to major foreign-funded companies, which are eligible for the low-cost re-lending and rediscount quota, said the State Council.
More efforts will be made to help foreign trade firms expand clientele, as well as to improve trade facilities and services, including cross-border e-commerce platforms, cross-border logistics and overseas warehouses.
To facilitate trade flow and travel, China will add more flights with its major source countries of investment while increasing the total amount of international passenger flights in a phased manner on the condition that Covid-19 risks are prevented.
The guidelines also urged more support to hi-tech industries, stressing the need to encourage foreign investors to invest in the sector.
Belt and Road Initiative
The 2020 China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT) and the Belt and Road Investment Congress will kick off on September 8, as scheduled, in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province.
The pavilions featuring investment and industry promotion will cover an exhibition area of about 110,000 square meters, with 16 specialized display zones, the Fujian provincial government said at a press conference.
The scale of offline activities, however, will be controlled due to epidemic prevention and control requirements.
Currently, a total of 209 merchant groups have planned to attend the exhibition, with exhibitors from 35 countries and regions, including Britain, Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea, making clear their intention to participate in the event.
This year’s fair will focus on themes including new infrastructure, the digital economy and scientific and technological innovation, said Lin Jian, deputy mayor of Xiamen.
There will be an industrial internet innovation and development conference, as well as high-tech, smart-city and fintech exhibitions to display new technologies and products, Lin said.
Meanwhile, the fair will hold a series of forums on the latest global economic development trends within the context of epidemic prevention and control.
The south China city of Guangzhou has seen a full recovery of the exhibition industry, following a disruption caused by the Covid-19 epidemic in the first half of this year.
From the beginning of July to August 11, the city’s exhibition area of Pazhou hosted 36 exhibitions, with a total exhibition area of 900,000 square meters, according to the municipal bureau of commerce. The events drew about 700,000 exhibitors and visitors.
The exhibitions covered fields from building decoration, biomedical equipment, industrial automation, automobiles, environmental protection to cultural tourism and leisure and entertainment, providing procurement, exchange and cooperation platforms for the real economy.
The restart of the exhibition industry has spurred the city’s hotel industry and comprehensive consumption, according to the bureau.
Guangzhou held 690 exhibitions in 2019, with a total exhibition area of 10.24 million square meters, both ranking second among Chinese cities.
However, the city’s exhibition industry ground to a halt at the end of January due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic. A total of 112 exhibitions originally planned between February and June had to be postponed or canceled.
In June, the 127th Canton Fair, China’s largest export fair held in Guangzhou, moved online for the first time.
Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Ltd inaugurated early this week its annual program of “Seeds for the Future 2020 in Bangladesh” to develop local information and communications technology (ICT) talent and the thorough transfer of knowledge.
The program mainly focuses on bridging the gap between academic and industry knowledge. Selected participants can get insights into the latest developments in the global ICT industry and get the opportunity to enhance their ICT expertise and skills. The program is also a long-term corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity dedicated to the top STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and ICT students worldwide.
In Bangladesh, students from a number of leading universities will be participating in the program this year. The selected students will be attending a five-day online program of cultural and technological training from the Huawei Headquarters of China (Beijing and Shenzhen).
The stories were written by Yang Zhijie and Liu Licong, and first published at ATimesCN.com. It was translated by Nadeem Xu.


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Second Life creator Linden Lab's virtual reality platform might be getting closer to actual reality. The company just announced that it's invited the first outside testers to Project Sansar, its working title for a new VR world that is expected to open in public beta next year.
Second Life, which maintained a core group of devoted users and a steady economy even after fading from public view, was a virtual world in its own right — just not one that was meant to be experienced through a headset. Although Linden hacked in Second Life support for the Oculus Rift development kits last year, the long-term plan has always been to create a totally new, VR-native network to run alongside the older platform. That was revealed earlier this year as Project Sansar, which is being touted not just as a world, but as "WordPress for VR." Linden Lab has described it as infrastructure that will let users create their own VR experiences and visit other people's.
Project Sansar has been billed as the "WordPress of VR."
Today, Linden Lab says it's inviting a small number of people to kickstart that process. Beyond that, the scant details suggest that Project Sansar is still in an early state. A company spokesperson says the first testers are "talented 3D content creators Linden Lab knows well," which could indicate that it's drawing from the pool of Second Life architects and designers. For now, Project Sansar doesn't have its own building tools, so they'll be using the Maya modeling software and exporting the results into the game (something that's also common in Second Life). The final release is supposed to have its own tools and support a variety of third-party software.
Project Sansar's first visitors are mostly, it seems, testing very basic functionality; they'll make their own environments and look at those created by other users and Linden Lab itself. As we've previously heard, more members will be added over the course of 2015, a beta version is supposed to launch alongside the consumer Oculus Rift headset, and a finished release could be out by the end of next year. Besides VR headsets, Project Sansar will support traditional PCs and, eventually, mobile devices.
So far, the general public hasn't seen anything from inside the world, just the stylized concept art above; Linden Lab was vague about when we might see more. But the project evokes some very familiar tropes from science fiction, including the VR-themed novel Ready Player One. Linden Lab also isn't the only company working on a platform for virtual worlds. The company's founder and ex-CEO, Philip Rosedale, has been showing off a conceptually similar system for the past year. An alpha version of his program, known as High Fidelity, is currently available for download.


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In September 2019, Singapore deployed more than 32,000 QR-codes across different merchant categories
According to GlobalData, the push for digital payments amid COVID-19 is driving the adoption of e-payments in Singapore.
The country aims to keep on making steady progress in reducing cash usage along with the support of different government measures. This way, the cash share in total payments volume expected to decline from 48.3% in 2019 to 39% by 2023.
The data found that the number of credit transfers boosted from 61 million in 2015 to 133 million in 2019 whereas card payments increased from 611 million to 1.2 billion during the same period.
In addition to that, the launch of the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) in September 2018 enabled the QR code-based payments to gain popularity and be widely used across the country.


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What an exciting day! First the news that GreenPois0n will be released on Sunday. Then we learned that GreenPois0n will only work for the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch 4G, and finally, the news fell that Comex is working on his own jailbreak for iPhone 3GS.
One question about the GreenPoison jailbreak remains… Will it be a tethered jailbreak, or an untethered jailbreak?
On one side we’ve got Chpwn telling us that the tethered status of GreenPois0n is a surprise. My take on it is that these guys wouldn’t want to give us a “bad surprise” on Sunday when GreenPois0n is released. If it was untethered, they’d set the expectations low right away by telling us it is indeed untethered. This makes me believe it will be an untethered jailbreak.
On the other side, we’ve got iPhone hacker Veence who clearly said on Twitter that GreenPois0n will be untethered.
So while this wasn’t officially confirmed by MuscleNerd or a member of the Chronic Dev Team, I strongly believe GreenPois0n will be untethered. What do you think?


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Harbor Branch researchers find way to culture conch pearls
Florida's next cash crop might be pea-sized pink pearls grown in the brown bodies of queen conchs.
Two scientists at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce have learned how to prod conchs to produce pearls on command. Their next move: Launching a business that they hope will create tens of thousands of conch pearls — and millions in revenue — every year.
Conchs naturally produce pearls in response to irritation, and the pink pearl market relies on fish-processing plants to find the gems as conch flesh is turned into fodder for fritters and stews.
In the ocean, well-formed, lustrous conch pearls are truly a one-in-a-million prize, says Megan Davis, a Harbor Branch scientist and co-founder of the start-up company Rose Pearl Inc. Only one in 10,000 conchs makes pearls, and of those, one in 100 is of gem quality. The rest are misshapen, discolored or tiny.
Now Davis aims to generate a steady supply of farm-raised conch pearls. So-called cultured oyster pearls have been around for decades, but coaxing pearls from conchs has proved tricky.
"People have tried and maybe produced one or two," Davis said. "Nobody has been able to produce them consistently."
With millions in sales on the line, Davis is cagey about exactly how Rose Pearl raises its pink gems. She does say that she inserts a small piece of mollusk shell into the conch's body to spur the growth of the pearl, and that the conch survives the process and can even produce another pearl.
With rich colors ranging from white to pink to orange, natural conch pearls long have appealed to jewelry buffs, especially collectors in Europe and Asia. The best of the gems can fetch $1,500 to $2,000 a carat.
How jewelers and jewelry buyers will respond is an open question. Until now, cultured conch pearls didn't exist, and news of Harbor Branch's breakthrough created a stir among conch pearl aficionados.
"In the world of pearls, this is a really big deal," said Peter Bazar, president of Imperial Deltah, a pearl distributor in Providence, R.I. "It will affect the conch pearl market tremendously. Once you can start making cultured pearls, it changes the whole map."
Bazar said he'll be surprised if those changes happen soon, though. Production of cultured pearls from abalones has taken years to ramp up, he said.
The cultured pearls "absolutely" will sell well, said George Elliott, a Palm Beach jeweler.
"Ladies just love the color," Elliott said. "It looks great next to their skin."
But Elliott also frets about falling values for natural conch pearls.
"Now that these cultureds are going to come out, you sort of wonder what's going to happen to the market," Elliott said. "It'll help the jewelry business in a way, but that whole (natural) pearl market is going to be done."
The natural conch pearl market is tiny. Fishermen find only 2,000 to 3,000 conch pearls a year. While the overall pearl market is measured in tons, the conch pearl harvest is weighed in pounds.
Rarity drives the value of conch pearls, and a pearl factory that creates thousands of the gems a year could pummel prices. Wrote a commenter on the NationalJewelerNetwork.com site: "I have a 110k cluster conch pearl earrings, better sell them before the cultured ones get on the market."
But Tom Moses, senior vice president at the Gemological Institute of America, said a large supply of cultured conch pearls could turn buyers' attention to what has been a tiny market.
"I doubt it will have a negative effect on the natural pearl market," Moses said. "If anything, it will probably draw more attention to the natural conch pearl market, and maybe create even more of a demand."
If conch pearl prices mimic the oyster pearl market, where cultured pearls fetch a third to half the price of natural pearls, cultured conch pearls would sell for $500 to $1,000 a carat. Davis said she'll be careful to label her gems as cultured.
"All the pearl dealers want to make sure we're not mixing the cultured pearls with the natural pearls," she said.
Davis and another Harbor Branch scientist, Hector Acosta-Salmon, spent two years and close to $500,000 perfecting their process. Most of that money came from Harbor Branch, Davis said. She was reluctant to apply for public grants that would require her to divulge trade secrets, and private investors were wary of an unproven process.
"It's been very difficult to raise research dollars for this project," Davis said.
Armed with 200 pearls created in tanks at Harbor Branch and a thumbs-up from the Gemological Institute of America, Davis hopes to raise $1 million to push Rose Pearl into full production.
FAU would receive royalties, and Davis is thinking big: She envisions a day when Tiffany or another prominent jeweler snaps up thousands of Rose Pearl's gems.


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mParticle Expands C-Suite on Heels of $150 Million Series E Funding
Customer Data Infrastructure Company Continues to Build Out Its Executive Leadership Team As It Prepares for Next Wave of Growth
This release was originally published on PR Newswire here.
NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2021 - mParticle, the largest independent Customer Data Platform, today announced the appointment of three new executive leaders. On the heels of its $150 million Series E funding round, mParticle is positioned for significant market expansion as the demand for customer data infrastructure accelerates. The appointment of Karen Gallantry to Chief Revenue Officer, David Morgan to Chief Financial Officer, and Chris Wagner to General Counsel will rocket forward the company's global growth trajectory.
"Building out, and up leveling our leadership team, is the first part in our go forward strategy to successfully navigate this next phase of our growth," said Michael Katz, mParticle CEO. "Our team has never been stronger, and I couldn't be more excited to give Karen, David, and Chris the recognition they deserve."
As Chief Revenue Officer, Karen Gallantry will oversee sales, enablement, revenue operations, partnerships, and customer success. Gallantry has been with mParticle since 2019 as General Manager for the EMEA region and most recently as the head of international business. In her tenure at mParticle, Gallantry has made a significant impact on the business. Under her leadership, the company grew revenue in EMEA by 200%. She also oversaw successful expansion into the APAC region, the company's third major market.
David Morgan, newly appointed Chief Financial Officer, will develop and implement the financial processes, controls, and systems to support rapid business growth, as well as lead all investor relations and investor communications. Prior to mParticle, Morgan spent more than ten years at Amazon in various finance roles. As part of his Amazon tenure, he built the financial processes and mechanisms to launch new customer-facing businesses, expand into new countries and regions, and grow businesses that operated on a global scale.
In his role as General Counsel, Chris Wagner will be responsible for overseeing mParticle's legal function including commercial transactions, M&A, employment, privacy, and general corporate matters. Prior to mParticle, Wagner was Associate General Counsel and Principal Counsel at SendGrid and Twilio, respectively, where he supported SendGrid's massive growth, culminating with the company's successful IPO in November 2017 and the $3 billion acquisition of SendGrid by Twilio in February 2019. He also led a commercial transactions team and a legal M&A integration function during his time at Twilio.
Unlike other CDPs, marketing clouds and generic data pipelines, mParticle helps teams address the nuanced nature of customer data to drive personalization at scale. As teams move beyond third party cookies and create more durable, privacy-friendly strategies, they have the opportunity to create a data flywheel where better data leads to better personalization leading to more engagement and richer data. Addressing the underlying needs around data quality, governance and connectivity is the precursor to creating compounding effects that benefit the entire enterprise rather than a single team.
mParticle makes it easy to holistically manage customer data along the entire product and customer lifecycle. Teams across companies like Starbucks, NBCUniversal, Spotify and Airbnb use mParticle to deliver great customer experiences and accelerate growth by solving the foundational challenges that impede success at scale. Founded in 2013, mParticle is headquartered in New York City with employees around the globe.


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On this week’s episode, James and Stefan discussed:
- Does the N in Android N stand for New York Cheesecake?
- Android N has window based multitasking baked in
- Google will give you $100,000 if you can hack Chrome OS
- First iPhone 7 leak suggests dual camera system and smart connector
- Here Maps is breaking up with Windows Phone
- Fossil plans on launching 100 wearables this year
- Michael Koors launched an Android Wear watch
- Instagram will soon be algorithm driven
- Stephen Elop found a job in the land down under
- Nintendo’s first iOS game is out (Japan Only)
- The head of Motorola has been kicked out
- Sony prices the PS VR and says when it’s coming out ($400, October)
- Is Sony working on a PS 4.5?
- And how one iPhone nearly took down a passenger jet


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Oh, blimey - it gets better :: Jar Of Pitt, Jolie Air For Sale On eBay
LOS ANGELES -- Ever wanted to breathe the same air as Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie? One eBay auction promises you just that.
source = http://www.davesdaily.com/out.php?id...47/detail.html
The seller says the highest bidder will get a wide-mouth, one-quart Mason jar of air that was captured at the Los Angeles area movie premiere for "Mr. And Mrs. Smith," which stars Pitt and Jolie.
For the skeptical types, there are pictures on the auction page showing the jar being held up at the premiere as Jolie and Pitt both stop by to say hi to fans.
The seller says the item is up for auction to raise money for his satirical news Web site.
The winner of the auction also will receive two "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" T-shirts.
The bidding was up to $510 by Friday morning. The auction ends on June 19.
Thats up top in my list of craziest eBay auctions ever...!
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - Confucius


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The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the zonal unit has recovered a whopping amount of Rs 25.04 towards GST from five automobile dealers in Nagpur.
The DGGI, zonal unit had received a tip-off about GST evasion from these premium and high-end four-wheeler dealers. They used to charge GST from the customers at the time of sale but did not pay the same to the government.
During the investigation, all these dealers confessed to tax evasion, after which DGGI recovered Rs 25.04 crore which also included the interest of Rs 28.47 lakh.
DGGI sources said, Rs 15.44 crore were recovered from Ms Anand Techno Pvt Ltd, authorised dealer of Jaguar, Rs 2.34 crore from Ms Mandhan Motors Pvt Ltd, authorised dealer of BMW, Rs 27.74 lakh from Ms Star Bikes, authorised dealer of Kawasaki, Rs 5.77 lakh from Ms Legend Bikes LLP, dealer of Harley-Davidson and Rs 6.91 crore from Ms Anand Mine Tools Pvt Ltd, dealer of Jaguar.
Get all the latest and current news Nagpur here. For an exclusive & live updates from the Nagpur, stay connected with THE LIVE NAGPUR.


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02-20-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
Details slow to emerge on incident, but speculation centers on possible modifications
02-17-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
A federal jury in Duval County, Fla. decided in favor of Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in the first federal Engle case to go to trial.
02-16-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
Should the industry expect a backlash over e-cigarettes?
02-15-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
Lawsuit seeks to protect right to promote, sell legal products
02-14-2012 Category News Published in Tobacco E-News
Initiatives to emphasize adoption of certain tobacco product restrictions
CEO calls increases a tribute to strength of "brands, people and business model."
Pricing and productivity help company's fourth-quarter earnings
02-13-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
Two Republicans seeking $1.29 increase for pack of cigarettes
02-10-2012 Category News Published in CSP Daily News
Consumers will buy out of state, return to cigarettes, retailer says
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Answer depends on whether, how Imperial Oil decides to move ahead with brand sale


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Little Green Pharma will launch more flower product into the Australian market following the rise in popularity of the dosage form.
The company said it had noted a “distinct shift” towards flower and is working on developing more strains for release in the 2023 financial year.
The product pipeline was outlined in its annual report in which the Perth-based operator also admitted sales from its Danish facility had been slower than expected.
LGP’s focus on flower comes as figures from the Therapeutic Goods Administration show flower accounted for 37.5% of approved SAS-B prescriptions in the first five months of 2022. June’s figures have yet to be released.
In its report to shareholders, LGP said the Australian market is “continuing to evolve with a distinct shift towards cannabis flower products as a preferred dosing formulation”.
Its launch of three flower products over recent months will be followed by additional strains before the end of March 2023, the firm said.
Writing in the report, chief executive Fleta Solomon described the nine-month financial year to March – shortened by three months to reflect a change in its reporting structure – as “outstanding”.
She said the company is working on more than 20 strains at its Danish facility, all at various stages of development. Deals with Four 20 Pharma and Demecan in Germany, and Sana Life Sciences in the UK, are “testimony to the success of the program”, Solomon said.
“Our secret sauce is the shared development of bespoke flower strains sold exclusively to key purchasers in high-volume jurisdictions such as Germany, paired with continued roll-out of LGP-branded oil and flower products in the same jurisdictions,” she said.
“This European presence also allows the group to compete in markets not previously available such as Italy, Portugal and Scandinavia while dramatically reducing approval time, logistics and costs.
“Importantly, it positions Little Green Pharma perfectly to take advantage of significant new markets in France, Italy and Poland as they either grow or open up in the future.”
Revenue of A$10.m was 50% above the previous 12-month period, helped by a 72% increase in international sales and a 21% increase in prescriber numbers in Australia.
However, losses deepened to $20m, largely due to a $14m investment in research and development, LGP said.
The company also acknowledged sales from its Danish operation “did not ramp up as quickly as expected” although the facility is “capable of scaling to meet almost any third-party demand”.
LGP shares rallied 42% over the past five days to $0.32 per share.


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E-commerce giant Alibaba has seen a record 27 per cent increase in gross merchandise value sold during this year’s 11.11 shopping festival.
The festival took place in Shanghai over a 24 hour period with more than 180,000 brands participating. Australia, Japan, United States, South Korea and Germany were among the top countries selling in the event, with 230 countries and regions having participated.
In the first hour of 11:11 Global Shopping Festival, sales of Australian lamb increased 775 per cent from 2017.
The top categories of imported products bought by Chinese consumers by GMV included, health supplements, milk powder, facial masks, nappies, infant and toddler nutrition and everyday skin care products.
Total GMV settled through Alipay reached RMB213.5 billion ($42.45 billion), with more than 40 per cent of consumers buying through international brands.
According to Alibaba, RMB6.9 billion ($1.37 billion) of GMV was settled in the first one minute and 25 seconds, and RMB69.3 billion ($13.78 billion) in one hour and 48 seconds.
“Today we witnessed the strength and rise of China’s consumption economy, and consumers’ continued pursuit to upgrade their everyday lifestyles,” Alibaba Group chief executive Daniel Zhang said.
“Participation from the entire Alibaba ecosystem enabled our brand and merchant partners to engage with consumers like never before.”
Last year, Alibaba saw sales reach RMB168.2 billion ($33.45 billion), which broke the previous year’s record of RMB120.7 billion ($24 billion).


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Fast food workers took industrial action this week in New York City to fight for higher pay and the right to join and form unions.
Workers supported by New York Communities For Change protested outside of McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Dominos and restaurants who are part of the Yum! Brand chain (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC) on Thursday.
New York Communities For Change had previously helped unionise car wash and supermarket workers in New York. Fast food workers are demanding a pay rise to $15 per hour.
Strikes took place at various restaurants around the city all day, culminating with a 4pm rally at the McDonald’s in Time Square. Organisers said the first demonstration, at a McDonald’s near Grand Central Station at 6am included 14 of the 17 employees scheduled to work that shift.
McDonald’s restaurants are primarily owned and operated by franchisees, and so they claim not to be involved in labour disputes. For example one of NYC’s largest restaurant-management companies, Riese Organisation, owns about 75 restaurants including KFC, Taco Bell and other fast-food chains.
Pamela Waldrom, a 26-year-old mother of two young children, works at Riese’s KFC restaurant in NYCs Penn Station, said she said she has been working there for eight years, and that her $7.75-an-hour pay is barely enough to justify the hour-and-a-half commute from Brooklyn’s Flatbush area. “I am going to school and supporting my kids. I can’t cover half of my expenses with this pay,” she said. “It just feels good to be out here and know that there are other people in the same position as me, and we can fight for change together.”
Jonathan Westin, organising director for New York Communities For Change, said the success working with grocery store and car wash employees encouraged the group to take on the fast-food giants. “We found that the biggest industry of low-wage work in the city is fast food,” he said. “The fast-food industry has been seen for so long as teenagers working after-school jobs, but that isn’t the case anymore, especially after the recession.”
The National Restaurant Association sided with the fast food giants, saying: “The New York City restaurant industry is to be commended for providing jobs through a sluggish economy.” And laughingly Scott DeFife, executive vice president of Policy & Government
Affairs for the National Restaurant Association, “The industry, including quick service restaurants, is one of the best paths
to achieving the American dream and has provided opportunities for millions of
You can support the NYC fast food workers by signing their petition here. G’wan, you know you want to!