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European privateness activists have filed a criticism in opposition to Apple over software program that tracks the behaviour of iPhone customers.
The Vienna-based non revenue group noyb which stands for “none of your online business” says it has requested information safety authorities in Germany and Spain to look at the legality of Apple”s monitoring codes.
The codes, often known as Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), are just like the cookies that web sites use to retailer info on a person’s behaviour.
However the non-profit group says that Apple’s iOS working system creates distinctive codes for every iPhone that enable the corporate and different third events to “establish customers throughout purposes and even join on-line and cellular behaviour.”
The group argues that this quantities to monitoring with out customers’ information or consent, and violates the European Union’s digital privateness guidelines.
The privateness group stated additionally it is at the moment reviewing the same system utilized by Google.
“Monitoring is simply allowed if customers explicitly consent to it,” stated Stefano Rossetti, a lawyer for noyb in a statement.
“Whereas Apple launched features of their browser to dam cookies, it locations comparable codes in its telephones, with none consent by the person. It is a clear breach of EU privateness legal guidelines.”
“Smartphones are essentially the most intimate system for most individuals they usually have to be tracker-free by default,” says Rossetti.
Apple has dismissed the claims, made by the group, saying they had been “factually inaccurate”.
“We sit up for making that clear to privateness regulators ought to they study the criticism,” the corporate stated.
“Apple doesn’t entry or use the IDFA on a person’s system for any objective. Our goal is at all times to guard the privateness of our customers”.
The tech big has additionally acknowledged that the most recent model of its software program provides customers larger management over whether or not apps can monitor them, together with whether or not their info could be linked with information from third events for the aim of promoting, or sharing their info with information brokers.
“Our practices adjust to European regulation,” Apple stated.
The non revenue group has filed quite a few instances in opposition to main tech corporations, together with one in opposition to Fb that just lately led the European Union’s high courtroom to strike down an settlement that permits corporations to switch information to the USA over snooping considerations.


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On August 20 and 21, downtown Brooklyn provided the LGBTQ community a safe space to geek out at the second annual FlameCon. Attendees descended upon the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott to get their fill of fan-crafted merchandise and to discuss everything from representation in nerdy media to their favorite fanfiction. Saturday afternoon began with a panel simply titled “Self-Publishing,” moderated by King Features Syndicate’s editorial project manager Tea Fougner, dressed up like X-Men’s Emma Frost.
Self-publishing continues to be an enticing option for writers just beginning their careers and traditionally published authors looking to put forth new passion projects. Here, Amanda DeWees, who is featured on SELF-e Select for novels like Sea of Secrets and Nocturne for a Widow, and hybrid author Rachael Herron (the “Darling Bay” and “Cypress Hollow” series) chat about their paths to self-publishing and the future of the industry.
Attendees, prompted by questions from a panel of their fellow librarians, discussed several hot-button issues at LJ’s Day of Dialog last week. The Town Hall meeting—planned to encourage the “dialog” promised on the day—was chaired by LJ’s Prepub Alert editor Barbara Hoffert, who introduced Stephanie Anderson, Head of Reader Services at Darien Library, CT; Melissa […]
On Tuesday, Simon & Schuster tentatively dipped its toes into the lucrative self-publishing market with a service called Archway, launched in partnership with Author Solutions, Inc. (a company owned by Penguin parent company Pearson, but separately operated). The announcement has raised several eyebrows both for the service’s cost—which is thousands of dollars more than similar […]

domain: news


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In APS Bank’s first 2024 Senior Management Offsite, CEO Marcel Cassar highlighted that the inroads of fintech and bigtech into banking are not just a threat, but real.
“They are redefining banking customer expectations. And while the ability of challenger banks to run profitable business models was still a question mark, they are appealing to a new generation of customers by offering a simpler user experience,” he expanded.
The Senior Management Offsite’s first theme of the year was: ‘Delivering to our customers: What can we learn from challenger banks?’
A challenger bank is a modern, digitally focused operation that competes with traditional banks by offering innovative, user-friendly services, typically accessed through mobile apps or online platforms.
The two-day event had a packed agenda with presentations by international and local experts from various backgrounds and industries.
Banking staff representing different activities and generations also contributed with their own insights of the digital experience.
A curated panel of bank customers and tech start-up founders shared what exceptional customer service means to them in the digital age.
Retail Marketing Ltd CEO Jonathan Shaw believes Malta should join forces with other island nations that face similar logistical challenges.
He spoke at the launch of electric vehicle ultra-fast charging stations by the Group’s engineering arm, Mekanika.
While the Water Services Corporation subsidiary reported a decrease in pre-tax profit, Vincent Micallef still says 2023 was a ‘milestone’ ...
During her visit, she shared the various opportunities for women within the maritime industry.


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Dutch superyacht makers posted record sales in 2018 exceeding €1.5 billion as demand for ever larger, smarter and highly customized yachts continues unabated.
Data compiled by Amsterdam-based SuperYacht Times shows the average price of a Dutch-built superyacht hit a record €86 million last year, up from about €60 million in 2017. Right now, 60 superyachts are in build across the Netherlands, of which 13 are 80m. or longer.
Dutch builders won orders for 17 motor and 2 performance sailing yachts in 2018.” This brings “ the total number of new builds underway to 60, 13 of which are longer than 80 meters,” SuperYacht Times reported.
The release of the data comes in the week when custom builder Feadship opens a yard in the Port of Amsterdam where it can build up to 160m (525ft.)long and 22m (72ft.) wide.
Feadship’s 4th yard underscores industry-wide confidence that the market for very large, very high-end yachts will grow as will demand for quality refits and maintenance.
Oceanco recently acquired 2 large halls in the Port of Rotterdam. Damen Shipyards Group, parent of superyacht builder Amels, is eyeing a Port of Amsterdam site. Feadship Director Jan-Bart Verkuyl says his new yard “significantly enhances our options.” Feadship is also doubling capacity at an existing yard at Makkum.
Dutch superyachts account for almost a third of the value of superyachts worldwide.
Jeroen Sirag, export director of the trade lobby HISWA Holland Yachting Group, says this reflects their “extraordinary degree of sophistication” and the readiness of ultra-rich individuals “to come to the Netherlands and invest in the finest yachts money can buy.”
Confirming the Dutch superyacht sector’s crown jewel status, the new Feadship yard will be opened Thursday by Queen Maxima. Feadship is a cooperative venture of the Royal De Vries and Royal Van Lent shipyards. The latter marks its 170th anniversary in 2019.
The Dutch industry began a drive last year to turn the Port of Amsterdam into a superyacht destination, equipped to do maintenance and refits – work that now flows to Mediterranean yards. This will generate jobs for builders, suppliers and other industry actors. “We can see this strategy bearing fruit for all parties concerned,” said Sirag.


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Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the eurozone’s finance ministers, has accused Apple of “[failing] to grasp” the public outcry concerning tax avoidance by multinational corporations.
He was referring to last week’s landmark decision, which handed Apple an enormous tax bill of 13 billion euros ($14.52 billion), based on its supposed underpayment of taxes in the Republic of Ireland. Apple paid a reported 0.005 percent tax on its European profits in 2014.
“The Apple response shows that they don’t grasp what’s going on in society and they do not grasp what’s going on in the public debate,” Dijsselbloem said during the Ambrosetti forum of business leaders in Italy. “This is a very strong moral issue and large companies, even if they’re this large, can’t say ‘this is not about us, there’s no problem here.’”
Interestingly, Dijsselbloem has previously clashed with the European Commission over his decision to offer a “sweetheart deal” to Starbucks in the Netherlands, where is finance minister. The case of Apple, however, is one he insist is different.
Since Apple was handed its tax bill, both Apple and the Irish government (despite being the country that would benefit from the windfall) have said they will appeal the decision.
In an interview concerning the case, Tim Cook — who has also written an open letter defending Apple’s position — said the demands for money amounted to “political crap,” and that anti-U.S. bias could be behind the E.C.’s decision.


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As we previously reported, there are two possible dates SVT are looking at to host the contest next year in Sweden. Those are May 11th and May 18th according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. Today, global Superstar Taylor Swift announced her international tour dates for her record breaking “The Eras Tour”, which she will bring to several countries in 2024 – also to Swedens Friends Arena… on May 18th. Ruling out a possible Grand Final for that weekend in Swedens biggest arena!
No Grand Final in Friends Arena on May 18th
With Taylor Swift announcing her dates for her European stops today, the show on May 17th (with the possibility to add more dates for the weekend) rules out a Grand Final in Stockholms Friends Arena for May 18th. This means according to the rumored possible dates this leaves May 11th as the only option for Stockholms Friends Arena or is the contest going to Malmö or Gothenburg?
The Eras Tour
Since March Taylor Swift is touring her “Eras Tour” in the United States. The 52 shows sold out in minutes. According to Ticketmaster the demand for the tickets to her tour could have filled over 900 stadiums. Her south America dates that went on sale just last week showed the same demand. More than one million people in the virtual queue for each date. Ticket for the European Dates will go on sale soon and one thing will be sure, this will be the hottest ticket available.


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Sears and KMart find a new way to talk about layoffs
Sears and K-mart say they will save 500 million dollars a year if their merger goes through. Some of that will be in job cuts, though the companies aren't saying how many.
In fact, they're shy about using the term "job cuts." Or "layoffs." Or "terminations." The preferred turn of phrase is "head count changes."
Whatever they're called, a brand consultant says the reductions could create a public relations problem for the companies. "Does that mean there's going to be a lot of pink slips for Christmas?" asks Linda Kaplan Thaler, who runs an advertising and marketing firm. "That's a bad thing."
Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to appear July 26 before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to a witness list released by the panel Wednesday.Full Story >
Two Trump advisers acknowledged that the president's public comments largely reflected what they have heard him say about Sessions privately.Full Story >
Facebook is launching a news subscription product to help publishers make money from the articles people share and read on its platform.Full Story >
Republican senators are hunkering down for a last-ditch attempt to prevent their own divisions from pushing their health care bill to oblivion.Full Story >
Football coach Hugh Freeze would have been released under a moral conduct clause in his contract if he had not resigned, Ole Miss officials said.Full Story >


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How Brands Are Encouraging Customers To Reuse Packaging
With a third of U.S. trash coming from packaging waste, brands are launching special offers and experiences to motivate consumers to recycle and reuse
Roughly one-third of trash in the U.S. today is made up of packaging waste, and even with ongoing recycling efforts, 36 million tons of packaging waste end up in landfills. However, many consumers remain unaware of this staggering problem and how throwaway culture contributes to it.
To raise awareness of the problem that packaging waste poses, retailers and brands are experimenting with ways to contain and sell their products with a pathway to reuse. Two major brands are motivating customers to participate in reuse and recycling with discounts and unique shopping experiences:


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Polymershapes LLC has acquired Patriot Plastics Inc., a distributor of plastic rods, tubes and sheeting in Woburn, Mass.
Terms of the deal, announced March 4, were not disclosed.
“I've known and admired the Patriot Plastics business and their owner, Jim Ferraro, for many years and am delighted they are now part of the Polymershapes family,” Kevin Short, president and CEO of Polymershapes, said in a statement. “Their reputation for top-notch customer service and ease of doing business, coupled with deep product and application knowledge, makes them a perfect fit with our organization.”
Patriot Plastics, founded by Ferraro on Patriots' Day in 1976, supplies to end markets such as medical, aerospace, semiconductor and electrical. The company distributes a similar product portfolio as Polymershapes with a focus on engineering thermoplastics, according to Polymershapes Northeast Region Director Rick Gough.
“The acquisition of Patriot Plastics is additive to Polymershapes' customer base and strengthens our position for engineering thermoplastics in key markets,” Gough said March 6 in emailed responses to Plastics News.
Patriot Plastics will continue to operate out of its roughly 10,000-square-foot facility in Woburn as a division of Polymershapes. Derek Gagnon, general manager of Polymershapes Massachusetts, will oversee day-to-day operations.
Ferraro, who is retiring, will assist the business during the transition.
Polymershapes, based in Charlotte, N.C., is a major distributor of plastic rods, sheets, tubes, film and related products. The company employs more than 700 people and operates more than 70 stocking facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Chile. Services include cut-to-size sheets, film conversion, and CNC routing and machining.
The acquisition of Patriot Plastics is the first for Polymershapes as an independent company in North America, following a 2018 share acquisition from a joint venture in Chile, the company said. Polymershapes was a partial owner in the joint venture, Polymershapes Chile SA, which now operates as Polymerland. Polymershapes Chile was part of Saudi Basic Industries Corp.
In 2016, Polymershapes was sold to private investment firm Blackfriars Corp. in Northbrook, Ill. Blackfriars also owns Laird Plastics Inc., which is part of the firm's North American Plastics group. Prior to its sale to Blackfriars, Polymershapes was owned by Sabic and operated as Sabic Polymershapes.
Sabic Polymershapes was the former GE Polymershapes business, dating back to GE Plastics' 2001 purchases of Commercial Plastics & Supply Corp. and Cadillac Plastics. In 2007, Sabic bought the entire GE Plastics business from General Electric Co.
“I think this is going to be a continuing story of small acquisitions by Blackfriars through either Polymershapes or through Laird Plastics,” Mel Ettenson, editor of Global Plastics Letter, said in a March 6 phone interview.
Global Plastics Letter covers the shapes distribution market. In 2016, Ettenson ranked Laird Plastics as the top company in the shapes distribution sector, with estimated sales of $550 million. Polymershapes was No. 2, with estimated sales of $525 million. Patriot Plastics represents about 1 percent of Polymershapes' annual sales, he said.
“It's a small deal,” Ettenson said.
The transaction is part of a continuing trend in the shapes distribution market, where privately held companies with annual sales between $5 million and $10 million are acquired by larger firms — in this case, most likely Blackfriars, which “controls a big portion of the shapes market globally,” he said.
“As these small acquisitions continue to develop, who is going to be doing the buying for Blackfriars?” he added. “Is it going to be under Polymershapes, or is it going to be under North American Plastics?”


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The upcoming Star Trek series will be available to the global Netflix audience, 24 hours after its international premiere on CBS in January.
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If you are a Netflix user in India, you must have noticed the sudden surge of Star Trek content on the streaming platform. Now we know the reason behind the same. Netflix has bagged the rights to stream the new, upcoming Star Trek series exclusively on its streaming platform world over. Yes, all you Trekkies can tune into Netflix as CBS’ latest intergalactic saga unfolds in January 2017.
The new Star Trek season is a revival of the series after almost 12 years, the last one being Star Trek: Enterprise, which concluded back in 2005. From what we hear, the series will not be connected to the upcoming film, Star Trek: Beyond, in any way. Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, the new episodic series will begin shooting later this year, and will be available on Netflix, 24 hours after its CBS premiere in January.
So, if you are a true Trekkie at heart, you can start binge watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: First Contact, and even Star Trek: The Animated Series, on Netflix right now.
Digit caters to the largest community of tech buyers, users and enthusiasts in India. The all new Digit in continues the legacy of Thinkdigit.com as one of the largest portals in India committed to technology users and buyers. Digit is also one of the most trusted names when it comes to technology reviews and buying advice and is home to the Digit Test Lab, India's most proficient center for testing and reviewing technology products.
We are about leadership-the 9.9 kind! Building a leading media company out of India.And,grooming new leaders for this promising industry.


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By Ingrid Marson
Special to CNET News.com
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A major identity theft ring has been discovered that affects up to 50 banks, according to Sunbelt Software, the security company that says it uncovered the operation.
The operation, which is being investigated by the FBI, is gathering personal data from «thousands of machines» using keystroke-logging software, Sunbelt said Monday. The data collected includes credit card details, Social Security numbers, usernames, passwords, instant-messaging chat sessions and search terms. Some of that data is then saved in a file hosted on a U.S.-based server that has an offshore-registered domain, according to Sunbelt.
In the two days that Sunbelt has been monitoring the file, the company has seen confidential financial details of customers of up to 50 international banks, said Eric Sites, vice president of research and development at the Clearwater, Fla.-based security software maker.
«For almost every bank that is listed (in the file), it’s possible to get into the person’s account,» Sites said.
Along with passwords for online banking sites, information on credit cards also has been gathered. Sites said that Sunbelt had found one customer’s credit card number, expiration date and security code, in addition to name and address. That information would allow anyone to use the credit card, he said.
«The types of data in this file are pretty sickening to watch,» Sunbelt President Alex Eckelberry wrote in a blog posting dated Saturday. «In a number of cases, we were so disturbed by what we saw that we contacted individuals who were in direct jeopardy of losing a considerable amount of money.»
Sunbelt said that the people behind the scheme have obtained access to a considerable amount of bank information, including details about one company account containing more than $380,000 and another account that has «readily accessible» funds of more than $11,000.
An FBI representative was unable to confirm whether or not an investigation was taking place.
Previous Next The data theft is carried out by a Trojan horse downloaded at the same time as CoolWebSearch and a mail zombie, Sunbelt said. Patrick Jordan, a Sunbelt employee, discovered the identity theft ring while researching a variant of CWS, which is a malicious program that hijacks Web searches and disables security settings in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser.
«During the course of infecting a machine, he (Jordan) discovered that a) the machine he was testing became a spam zombie and b) he noticed a call back to a remote server. He traced back the remote server and found an incredibly sophisticated criminal identity theft ring,» Eckelberry wrote in the blog posting. «We are still trying to ascertain whether or not this is directly related to CWS.»
The malicious code is hosted on a Web site that mainly hosts pornography, which Sites was unwilling to name. Users of Windows XP who have not installed Service Pack 2 are particularly vulnerable, as the code could be automatically downloaded without the user’s knowledge, Sites said. Sunbelt is currently investigating whether users of earlier Windows versions, such as Windows 2000 and Windows ME, are also vulnerable.
«If you have an unpatched Windows machine, when you go to the URL it will automatically download everything from the Web site, including the Trojan. All you have to do is type in the URL and you’re hosed,» Sites said.
The Trojan is a new variant, so antivirus and anti-spyware vendors do not yet block it, Sites said. Sunbelt plans to send information on the Trojan to security companies as soon as possible.
The activity could be the latest attempt by a criminal gang to use spyware for financial gain. In March of this year, Britain’s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit foiled an attempt to steal about $390 million from the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui. In that case, keyloggers were used to relay passwords and access information to the criminals who intended to transfer the funds electronically. A man in Israel was arrested after allegedly trying to transfer $25 million of the funds.
«We are aware of (Sunbelt’s claims) that personal information was captured. But we can’t confirm it until we can take a look at it,» said an eBay spokesman. «If it is the case, we will act accordingly and appropriately.»
eBay owns online payment service PayPal.
Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London. CNET News.com’s Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this report.
By Ingrid Marson


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One thing that is surprising to some foreigners living in Thailand is how little the Thai government has compensated Thai businesses for the enormous loss of income they have experienced in the last 16 months.
Huge losses due to government lockdowns and other Covid-19-based restrictions.
Compare the Thai government response to the financial help given to businesses in the United States and Europe and, for a sizable number of Thais that own businesses, they did not get the help they would have had they been located in a more developed country.
In many instances, even if Thai businesses are eligible for government help, and many are not, they still do not get it.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s economy continues to worsen.
With the latest government lockdown now in place in Bangkok and nine provinces until July 31st — a lockdown the government strangely insists is not a lockdown even though its characteristics fit the description — it is only a matter of time before the Thai economy disintegrates further, and even more Thai businesses suffer catastrophic economic loss and closure.
The economic crisis in Thailand is not just affecting businesses, of course, but also the millions of Thais that work in them.
According to the IMF:
Low-skilled workers and informal and migrant workers have been hit hard, particularly women and the youth, who have suffered disproportionately from diminished employment opportunities in contact-intensive sectors bearing a significant burden of the layoffs observed in 2020.
In language a lay person can understand, that means poorly-educated, low-skilled workers, whether Thai or migrant, have seen their jobs disappear in far higher numbers than others in Thailand.
People working in the accommodation, food services, transport and entertainment industries have been the most severely affected.
In a Bangkok Post article today, operators of tour vans, a business highly-dependent on foreign tourists, are asking the government for more financial help.
Many van operators are saying they cannot even afford the monthly loan payments on their vans, let alone basic living expenses for their families. Government-mandated debt suspension would help but, so far, it has not arrived.
In the same newspaper last week, Thai economist Chartchai Parasuk’s article ‘Time to accept we can’t beat Covid-19‘ criticizes the Thai government’s current Covid-19 restrictions, and in its first sentence warns:
If the government does not wish to see a collapse of society, it must rethink its Covid-19 strategy.
Mr. Chartchai goes on to talk about the lockdowns and restrictions on restaurants the Thai government has mandated.
A few years from now scholars and critics might find out that nation-wide lockdowns and specific activity lockdowns, such as bans on indoor dining or closing down construction sites were not only ineffective measures but also unreasonably costly. A case in point is Thailand. On May 18, the government restricted in-restaurant dining to 25% of a restaurant’s seating capacity hoping that it would lower daily infection rates.
On the contrary, daily infection cases rose from 3,500 per day to 5,000 per day.
Instead of re-examining the strategy, the government opted for a stricter measure of zero dining-in. The results? Daily infection cases rose further to 6,000 per day and, along the way, killed thousands of eatery establishments. Nice work?
To show just how bad the economic situation is in Thailand, one that is not generally being reported by the mainstream Thai press, you only have to watch videos like the one recently uploaded by Thailand-based YouTuber Jonny There is Something Happening. (Watch below)
A YouTuber that has supported his local Thai community — both with exposure on his YouTube channel and financially — for most of his years living in the Kingdom.
In his video, he interviews bar owners and some of the women working in the bars. All of whom say government lockdowns have destroyed their incomes and their businesses, and some of whom were on the street protesting the lack of government financial aid. (Article continues after video)
In more positive news today, however, the Thai Cabinet has just approved financial aid for operators and people affected by the latest lockdown measures now in effect in Greater Bangkok and the far South.
According to the Bangkok Post:
The aid is limited to those in nine sectors: construction; accommodation and food services; arts, entertainment and recreational activities; other services as stated by the Social Security Office; transportation and warehouses; wholesale and retail businesses; administration and service support; science and academic activities; and information and communications.
Thai nationals will receive no more than 10,000 baht each (approximately $326), while non-Thai nationals will be limited to 7,500 baht. The self-employed will receive 5,000 baht (approximately $163), if they are registered with the Social Security Office.
Business owners who hire workers under the social security system will be compensated 3,000 baht per employee, but the amount will be capped at 600,000 baht per business.
Utility subsidies for both businesses and individuals will also be granted for the next two months.
Whether the money promised actually gets to Thai businesses is yet to be seen.
But at least the Thai government now seems to be admitting the country’s economic woes, mainly due to Covid-19 lockdowns and other Covid-related restrictions, are not going away any time soon.


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TSX Venture Exchange announced its 2011 TSX Venture 50 list last week, and several Canadian technology companies made the cut.
The list is a ranking of strong performing companies listed on TSX Venture Exchange. The companies were chosen based on share price appreciation, trading volume, market capitalization growth and analyst coverage. The list has 10 companies in five categories—Clean Technology, Mining, Oil and Gas, Diversified Industries, and Technology and Life Sciences.
CounterPath Corporation ranked fifth in the Technology and Life Sciences category. The Vancouver-headquartered, globally functioning company develops and markets voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) products (like soft phones) and technology for service providers like Verizon and AT&T.
CoutherPath’s stock (CCV) has grown from $0.40 a year ago to $2.20 today.
David Karp, the company’s chief financial officer, credits CounterPath’s success to its investment in research and development. Since its inception in 2002, the company has spent $120 million on research and development and holds 24 patents, which Karp says provide a significant competitive advantage.
Being featured on the list provides a huge benefit to companies like CounterPath, he says. “It certainly increases the awareness of our company by investors, analysts and ultimately will lead to greater trading in our stock.”
CounterPath has a positive future because of an emerging market for the company’s products, especially because of an increasingly mobile workforce, the CFO says.
“Issuers will benefit from increased international awareness of Canadian companies, which expands the Canadian capital pool,” says Carolyn Quick, director of corporate communications for TMX Group.
Calgary-based company Cortex Business Solutions Inc. ranked third in the same category as CounterPath. It provides services for companies to make their accounts payable and accounts receivable processes electronic.
“Technology is a very active sector,” says Ryan Lailey, vice president of business development at Cortex. Around this time last year, Cortex had about 50 employees, he says, and now has 92. The company’s market capitalization also increased dramatically over one year, while its stock (CBX) stayed relatively stable with a 52-week range of $0.34 to $0.60.
In January 2011, the TSX Venture saw nearly 19,000 trades in the technology market, with a total value of almost $42 million.
For Lailey, being included on the Venture 50 list means increased visibility. Despite his company’s growth, this is especially important for small Canadian companies looking to expand, like Cortex is into the United States, he says.
Canada’s technology sector, Lailey says, doesn’t have the same level of interest from investors as the U.S. “Canada is more resource-focused,” he says, which can be a challenge for tech startups and small companies.
The potential merger of TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange, then, could favour companies like Cortex.
Lailey says he personally thinks the merger could be beneficial. “It seems like there’s a big push globally to merge markets,” he says, which could mean increased visibility for Canadian technology on the world stage.
“I would look at is very positively as an opportunity to trade in Europe,” Karp says of the potential merger. “It will also make it easier to raise capital in Europe,” he says, for both CounterPath and other companies.
The TMX Group argues the same, that “…issuers will benefit from increased international awareness of Canadian companies, which expands the Canadian capital pool,” says Carolyn Quick, director of corporate communications.
Karp says he expects the merger to go through. “I think it makes a lot of sense.” CounterPath is already publicly traded in Canada and the United States and functions all over the world, but he says Canadian companies could still benefit from further exposure abroad.
Other Canadian tech companies that made the list include Vancouver’s NanoTech Security Corporation and Calgary-based Pure Technologies Ltd.
The TSX Venture 50 companies will be awarded at a reception on March 31.


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How to protect yourself against the latest big iPhone security scare (Updated)
Update: A12 processors are safe
There has been a great deal of coverage of this, but it is important to stress that, buried in the Project Zero write-ups, the researchers confirm the following:
“…none of the exploits bypassed the new, PAC-based JIT hardenings that are enabled on A12 devices.”
Which essentially means iPhone XS and XR devices are not and never have been affected by the vulnerability.
(Thanks to a generous reader for pointing this out to me).
The report also seems to suggest that other mobile browsers are susceptible to similar flaws — which is a HUGE problem on platforms that *cough* don’t deploy security software updates effectively…
It seems an undisclosed number of (hacked?) websites have been used to attack iPhones for two years. The researchers claim just visiting those sites (which it does not name) “was enough for the exploit server to attack your device, and if it was successful, install a monitoring implant.”
If the attack succeeded, the researchers claim criminals could get deep access to data on your iPhone.
“The implant has access to almost all of the personal information available on the device, which it is able to upload, unencrypted, to the attacker’s server,” they claimed.
Is this still a threat?
Apple patched iPhones against this threat with the release of the iOS 12.1.4 security patch in February 2019, which means you can be reasonably certain your current iPhone isn’t impacted, so long as it is up to date.
The Google team is cited as identifying flaws in IOKit and Foundation in those release notes.
Both related to memory corruption.
It is not known if older versions of the OS were proofed against this particular bug when the company introduced security updates for those in June.
Who was affected?
In theory, everyone using an iPhone – but that’s not precisely the case. Security researchers seem to think this was a state-sponsored attack that was geographically targeted.
Your smartphone is your enemy
In a note to any smartphone user, Project Zero researcher Ian Beer warned,
“All that users can do is be conscious of the fact that mass exploitation still exists and behave accordingly. Treating their mobile devices as both integral to their modern lives, yet also as devices which when compromised, can upload their every action into a database to potentially be used against them.”
What can I do to protect against this threat?
The problem with threats of this kind is that they are invisible, low level and hard to detect – however, there are some signs that may help identify if your device has been hacked:
- Has battery performance suddenly degraded? Check Settings>Battery and if you see an app you don’t recognize using a lot of power, delete it.
- Check your mobile data – are you suddenly using more than you ordinarily do, even though nothing has changed? That suggests something may be using your data in the background.
- Are you experiencing more app crashes than normal? You might want to delete the app(s) concerned and reinstall them from the App Store.
- You should also check that you recognize all the apps you have installed. This isn’t foolproof – in the case of the latest security threat, the malware doesn’t pose as an app – but you may find something you don’t remember putting into your phone. Remove it if you find it.
What can I do to protect myself now?
- Always update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
- In the case of this particular vulnerability, the malware isn’t persistent – simply rebooting your iPhone will stop it working if it is there at all – though data that has been purloined will be gone.
- I’m guessing that ultra-secure passcodes for all your apps may also help.
What can Apple do?
I think it’s time Apple developed on device AI-driven network-monitoring tools. These should assess outgoing communications from any device and warn users if information (such as passwords) is being shared using an app the user hasn’t approved.
Security protection has moved on.
It’s not about firewalls and virus checkers but connected cybersecurity systems and network traffic awareness. AI should be perfect for this, and major security vendors are most definitely exploring solutions of this kind.
The only problem (for users and for journalists) is that it remains quite challenging discerning good actors from bad in a fragmented security industry.
I am always dubious to recommend security solutions from firms I’ve not come across before, unless I have some way to affirm their credentials, and I believe that’s the correct approach.
Stay safe out there…


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IGN affiliate FGN Online has printed an intriguing story today suggesting that InterAct Accessories is "already planning a line of peripherals" for the Xbox. Since Microsoft is keeping even the release of the console a tight secret, news like this suggests that things are going along nicely with the development of the new Xbox. Or very own Vincent Lopez is at Comdex this week and he has noticed that the Xbox is keeping a lower profile than Tal when it's time for his quarterly performance review. Check out FGN Online's full story by clicking here.
-- IGN Staff


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- Operators sign off on ten-year wholesale agreement, enabling Vodafone Germany to access incumbent’s FTTP network for the first time.
- Commercial terms agreed back in December 2020, but discussions on the workings of Telekom’s new wholesale FTTP and VDSL products only took place “in recent months”.
- Incumbent claims agreement is “positive” for both companies, although Vodafone has not issued a statement and refuses to comment.
Telekom Deutschland flagged that it had reached agreement with Vodafone Germany on delivery of new fixed-line wholesale products for VDSL/vectoring and fibre-to-the-premises.
The agreement, which runs for ten years, is significant in that it gives Vodafone access to Telekom’s FTTP infrastructure for the first time.
The two operators agreed commercial terms (pricing) for the two products as far back as December 2020; in the case of VDSL, it was a renewal of a wholesale agreement struck in 2013, which was also framed as a ten-year agreement at the time.
As far as TelcoTitans can determine, Telekom and Vodafone have now shifted the ten-year agreement span forward from when the FTTP and VDSL products actually became available, which appears to be last month.
According to Telekom, negotiations on the FTTP product only took place in “recent months”. The “specific focus” of those talks, the incumbent added, was availability of different speeds (the maximum is up to 1Gbps) and ordering processes.
Telekom also gave a commitment to “carriers” — so not just Vodafone, it seems — that it will be transparent on FTTP availability and expansion plans.
This February, Telekom agreed a ten-year deal with 1&1, giving the smaller infrastructure player access to its FTTP network. The arrangement builds on another ten-year agreement, signed by the two companies twelve months earlier, giving 1&1 wholesale access to Telekom’s VDSL/vectoring equipment.
Telefónica Deutschland (O2 Germany) in October 2020 agreed a ten-year renewal and expansion of its wholesale broadband infrastructure access agreement with Telekom (Deutsche Telekomwatch, #98). The deal envisaged wholesale fibre-to-the-cabinet and FTTP products, complementing VDSL access, although Telekom — as far as TelcoTitans can gather — has yet to make an official confirmation announcement that O2 Germany has access, or is using, its FTTC or FTTP infrastructure.
According to Telekom’s announcement on the Vodafone deal, “both companies take a positive view of the agreement reached”.
Telekom Chief Executive Srini Gopalan seemed to be upbeat on the new deal, too. “Voluntary, commercial agreements based on open access — like this one between Vodafone and [Telekom Deutschland] — are the basis for rapid fibre rollout in Germany”, he said. “We stand for open networks and for cooperation under fair commercial conditions”.
TelcoTitans, wishing to get Vodafone’s view, was unable to get responses to questions related to possible sticking points that might have delayed the availability of the FTTP product from Telekom, and the extent of Vodafone’s commitment to using it. “In contrast to Telekom, we have not published our own press release on this”, said a Vodafone spokesperson.
Telekom says it has now passed about 3.6 million households with fibre, and that VDSL is available to 34.3 million households.


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In China, investment, industrial output and retail sales are expected to advance at a slower pace in April than March—partly because of the comparison to figures from a year earlier, when the world’s second-largest economy was slowly emerging from its coronavirus lockdown. Retail sales are expected to have risen 24.9% from a year earlier in April, according to a median forecast of 15 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Fixed-asset investment likely rose 19.2% in the first four months of the year, and industrial production, often considered a proxy for growth, is forecast to jump 9.1%.
In the first quarter of 2021, Japan’s economy likely contracted 1.2% from the previous quarter, according to economists surveyed by data provider Quick. Economists say private consumption weakened in the three months to March due to the government’s state of emergency in some major prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka.
U.S. housing starts rose to a nearly 15-year high in March, underscoring strong demand for homes amid low interest rates, millennials entering their prime homebuying years and a desire for more household space driven by the pandemic. Builders, however, have complained of rising lumber costs and labor-supply constraints, and economists are forecasting a small step back in April construction numbers.


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Twitter has become an invaluable tool to score the best Black Friday deals this season. Retailers more and more adopt Twitter to announce their Black Friday deals. Especially with Amazon the Black Friday deals are time limited and if you are just a minute too late, they are gone.
Don't Miss: The hottest Apple Rumors for 2017
The best way besides sitting all day long before your computer and hit refresh on the Amazon Black Friday Deal pages is to use Twitter. Amazon tweets many of the Black Friday deals as they go live and on top of that leaks special video game deals ahead of sale. Today you can expect three video game deals that will be pre-announced one hour before sale. Yesterday Amazon leaked a $139 Nintendo DSi XL deal via Twitter.
A lot of other retailers including Best Buy, Target and Walmart make heavy use of Twitter to announce Black Friday deals and promotions. We have compiled a special Black Friday Twitter list which makes it easy to follow all of them. We also added several deal news sites to complete the real-time Black Friday Twitter feed.
Follow I4U News on Twitter to stay ahead of the Black Friday deals game.
Thanksgiving week is here and Black Friday 2010 Deals are already on sale and most Black Friday Ads for the actual Black Friday, Nov. 26 are available. You can now find the best deals of the season on TVs, Laptops, Phones, GPS, Blu-ray players and other gadgets. For the hottest Black Friday deals and complete coverage of the biggest sales event of the year visit our Black Friday 2010 Hub.


text: Now, pot proprietors report myriad, different issues with the Medical marijuana newly launched seed-to-sale system. Some have struggled to get logged in at all. Some growers say the system has been scrambling shipping orders, and sometimes automatically changing which store is supposed to receive the marijuana. Some store managers, meanwhile, say they have not been able to receive shipping manifests, and don’t feel comfortable buying wholesale pot without that required documentation. Some reported that the disruption halted business altogether since the first of the month; others reported that it slowed business down or made simple tasks cumbersome. “By and large, we just can’t get product right now. We’re basically selling off our back stock,” said Jason McKee, the General Manager of Ganja Goddess, a pot shop in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. He said shelves are beginning to look more sparse, and if the technology issues don’t allow a fully-functioning wholesale market soon, some stores could face shortages. Alex Cooley, the vice president of Solstice, a marijuana grow, said his company was having to re-label each plant with a new barcode because of technical issues. Officials with the state and MJ Freeway said that widespread bugs in the system have been fixed. “There was a legitimate issue with transfers in the system,” said Jeannette Horton, the vice president of Global Marketing & Communications for MJ Freeway. “That got resolved Monday.” She said other problems stem from integration issues with third-party companies whose software connects with the Leaf Data System and is used by marijuana companies for internal tracking and bookkeeping. She said it was a priority to get that third-party software integrated.


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Most Recent Articles In Fashion Scoops
Latest Fashion Scoops Articles
BIRTHDAY BASH: Chloé is celebrating its fifth anniversary in China with a fashion show of its spring-summer collection. The event, which will take place Friday evening at the Shanghai Expo Center, will be broadcast live on the brand's website and its newly launched Chinese-language blog, www.jesuischloe.com. The evening will also feature a modern dance performance by Bonnie Chen, a Chinese supermodel.


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Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan plans to use blockchain in agro-industrial sector
The presentation of the blockchain system has taken place at the Ministry of Agriculture, Processing Industry and Melioration of Kyrgyzstan, Tazabek reported referring to the ministry’s website.
"To date, the requirement to establish a national food safety system in the Kyrgyz Republic using blockchain technology is topical," the State Secretary of the Ministry Maksatbek Tashbolotov said.
Representative of “Central Asia International” company, the Initiator and Technical Director of the introduction of the blockchain system among cattle and small ruminants Sun Xiaodong said that the use of distributed databases in the blockchain simplifies such processes as reaching an agreement or reporting, which benefits both processors and farmers.
While previously, reaching an agreement required detailed verification of paper documents from different sources, now the technology allows to agree on the details of the transaction in the very process of concluding the agreement, thereby reducing the number of sources from which reporting is required.
This data exchange space allows for organizing the supply chain: establishing contacts between suppliers, carriers, buyers, operators of warehouse services.
This is important for the food products with their short shelf life. As the world experience shows, the introduction of blockchain technologies in the agro-industrial sector solves the problems of farmers: it simplifies the sale of their products and allows for excluding intermediaries from the supply chain.
In order to achieve successful results, the blockchain requires the involvement of all participants of the production and supply chain. This means that suppliers of resources for farmers, the farmers themselves, traders, ports, banks, logisticians, processors – all of them use single interface and enter their digital information into single blockchain.
SOURCE: Trend News Agency


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Aug 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM | LGT Navigator
LGT Navigator: Earnings season picks up speed again in Europe
Investor interest this week is once again focused primarily on the current corporate reporting season. After the series of quarterly reports reached its peak with strong results from the US tech companies Apple, Alphabet and Amazon last week, the next few days will be dominated by European blue chips, including Oerlikon, Bayer (Tuesday), Allianz, BMW (Wednesday), Adecco, Siemens and Adidas (Thursday). At the beginning of this week, the latest survey results of the ISM-index will be of particular interest and will also be closely followed.


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Increasingly becoming integrated into the mainstream sports industry, esports is the fastest growing global live-entertainment sector, with revenues expected to hit $1.557 billion by 2023, a projected increase of 101% from 2018.* Globally, the total esports audience is also forecast to grow by 64%, reaching 646 million by 2023.*
Games such as League of Legends, Dota, FIFA, Call of Duty and Fortnite have huge followings and attract mass audiences to live events.
The inexorable rise of esports is seeing new venues being built to accommodate the rising stars, while existing stadia and arenas are being transformed to host the ever-growing number of tournaments.
With venues seeing tens of thousands watching their heroes compete on the digital battlefields for millions of dollars of prize money, Esports Venue Summit is the perfect platform to discuss the opportunities in this sector and to understand the requirements of this evolving global industry.


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It is practically impossible to discuss post-title packages for the Ford Mustang without bringing up the Saleen name. Steve Saleen’s company rolled out their first high performance Mustang back in 1984, so with the arrival of the 2019 model year, the company is celebrating 35 years of go-fast packages. Over the course of the past 35 years, Saleen has offered up limited edition models to celebrate key anniversaries such as their 5th, 10th, 20th and 30th with models like the SA 5, the SA 10, the SA 20 and the SA 30 with SA standing for Saleen Anniversary followed by the number of years.
With that in mind, it should come as no great surprise that for their 35th anniversary of post-title Ford Mustang packages, Saleen is rolling out the SA 35.
35 Years, 780 Horsepower
The Saleen SA 35 package for the 2019 Ford Mustang GT is based on their Black Label package, so it is their top-of-the-line configuration. This includes a new front fascia, a new hood, unique side skirts, a new rear wing, a new lower rear fascia, a unique taillight panel, forged monoblock wheels and plenty of unique badging from front to rear.
Next, the SA 35 Mustang features a Saleen Racecraft R-Code suspension setup, but the most important aspect to many people is under the hood. This anniversary edition pony car is fitted with a supercharger and a free-flowing exhaust system that work together to increase the output to a whopping 780 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque.
We don’t know how much the SA 35 Mustang will cost, but with such an elaborate upgrade list and only 10 examples slated for production, they are probably going to be pretty pricy. However, for the deep-pocketed Mustang fan who wants to have a very powerful, very unique pony car, the Saleen SA 35 is certainly an interesting prospect.


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The Illinois attorney general's office on Monday opened an investigation into numerous toys identified in a Tribune investigation as containing high levels of lead.
"We need manufacturers to realize that they are going to be held accountable," said Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff to Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.
The Tribune reported Sunday that testing by the newspaper found 21 different toys sold in the Chicago area violated Illinois' law for lead. Some items also exceeded much looser federal limits.
A day later, Smith said the state attorney general's office will investigate each of the 21 products and contact the companies involved to demand they remove those items from shelves in Illinois. State law, among the strictest in the nation, bans all toys with a lead content over 600 parts per million.
The order will apply to retailers, manufacturers and distributors. If necessary, Smith said, state officials will test the tainted products themselves.
The investigation also will try to determine the distribution network of each product, how many of the tainted items were sold in Illinois, and whether the manufacturers will offer refunds, Smith said.
She said she anticipates opposition from some manufacturers -- mainly because of Illinois' tough stance on lead in toys -- but added that she expects companies to pull their tainted products eventually.
As the Tribune noted in its Sunday story, two toys made by the same company can contain varying levels of lead, from high amounts to none at all. Manufacturers often use a tangled web of subcontractors in China to produce part or all of the toy, and the quality of the work can vary.
Using a hand-held scanner, the Tribune this fall checked about 800 toys and other children's products sold in the Chicago area. Items scanning over the legal limit for lead were sent to the Iowa laboratory for testing and a Chicago lab for further analysis.
Lead can accumulate in a child's body and cause learning delays.


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Equestrian shop Equestri LifeStyle has opened shop closer to the action in San Juan Capistrano.
The online retailer previously had a store in Costa Mesa at the Orange County Fairground Stables.
The San Juan Capistrano store at 31441 Avenida de la Vista is on the Rancho Sierra Vista Stables property.
“Although we loved Costa Mesa, it was time to upgrade,” owner Alexa Skonieczny said. “We love being on the stable grounds so people can virtually ride by or stop by before or after they ride instead of having to really drive over.
“San Juan was a no-brainer, it’s such a big horse town with so many barns and a top-class show facility off Ortega. Even though there are a few other tack stores in the area we weren’t concerned because we are so different.”
Skonieczny is a Newport Beach resident.
Prices start at $5 for grooming supplies and go up to $900 for helmets.
Contact the writer: firstname.lastname@example.org or Twitter: @HannahMadans


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Nikolai, 25, was offering pedestrians tulips from the back of a car in the center of Vladivostok on Valentine’s Day. He had bought 200 hundred tulips from a local producer and sold about 180 by the early evening, pocketing a nice profit. A former worker on a fishing trawler, he said he would like to open a chain of butcher shops because he sees weak competition and strong demand for meat. The current competitors don’t understand marketing and he felt he could grab market share.
He added that he is part of ”a trend of young people trying to start their own businesses.” I asked if his parents were involved in food retail as well. He said was born at the end of the 1980s, during a very tumultuous period in Russia’s history, and was raised in a village by his grandmother, who has since passed away. ”There are many of us in Russia,” he said, referring to orphans.


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While Australia has been able to find alternate buyers for it’s commingled recycle in the wake of China’s “National Sword” policy, other Asian nations are following China’s lead, putting Australian recycle under fire - and back to square one.
As Australia shifted it’s attention to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam to solve it’s recycle crisis, the Asian nations are busy implementing new policies to prevent their countries from becoming an international dumping ground.
Following an earlier decision to issue a stop on all new recycle import permits, Vietnam has now banned all further e-plastic imports, indicating further restrictions were to follow.
Thailand and Malaysia, also concerned with the sudden influx of recyclables, have implemented plans that would see a ban on all plastic imports as early as 2021.
Commenting on their plan, Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Surasak Kanchanarat, said Thailand needed “... to ensure that domestic and plastic waste is used by the recycling industry first, before importing these materials from other countries.”
And it’s not just legal recycling causing concern. Malaysia in particular has seen a huge increase in the number of illegal plastic sorting facilities, shutting down over 140 operations since early last year.
Now India, Australia’s fourth largest importer of waste, has put an end to plastic imports entirely in a bid to close the gap between waste reprocessing and generation. With close to 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste produced each day, India has enough material to support its own recycle industry without importing any material.
The issue facing Australian recycle has gone far beyond simply finding other countries to accept it’s recycle. This past year has seen the price of Australian (and indeed, the world’s) recycle drop significantly, with a large oversupply in the global market.
While prices have started to steady themselves, the news of National Sword brought the price of recycled paper down to $0/tonne for May, June and July of 2018, recovering now to roughly $8 - $10/ tonne. Plastics and cardboard, while still at least retaining value, dropped 76% and 40% respectively.
A recent report from 60 Minutes suggested the folly of Australian recycle, that it wasn’t ‘really’ recycling and equating it to a ‘waste of time’. This type of reporting is sensationalistic, and does nothing to help anyone. As I see it, the key issue from the program that aired Sunday night (apart from the known struggles in the aftermath of China’s National Sword policy), were the unscrupulous Australian exporters of plastic recycle selling to illegal reprocessing facilities in Malaysia.
Who are these exporters? Why have they been allowed to sell their material to illegal waste facilities? But these questions were nowhere to be seen, with 60 Minutes instead suggesting our recycle industry was a ‘con’. For the plastic sent overseas to legitimate recycling facilities, it’s no con.
Clearly Australia’s reliance on selling recycle overseas, as well as our oversight on exporters, is not ideal or sustainable. The Australian government needs to invest significantly in our domestic recycle reprocessing and sorting if we are ever going to own our own recycle process end to end.
The recycling efforts of Australians are not a waste of time, and it’s an embarrassing statement to stand behind. While admittedly the industry is not perfect, throwing our hands up and proclaiming our recycle is nothing more than a con job solves nothing.
Australians have never been the type to give up easily; when the going gets tough, we roll up our sleeves. If we start investing more in our infrastructure and focus on industry legal reforms, we can only move towards a brighter future.
As a packaging company, we feel a responsibility to curb the amount of plastics and single use items out there in the consumer market. By promoting bamboo, PLA, sugarcane, wood and carboard products that are compostable, we believe that with our customers we can change Australia for the better. Join us in embracing eco-friendly and compostable packaging and reduce waste to landfill - one product at a time.


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Dynamiq GTT 115 Hybrid launchedSeptember 19, 2017
Viareggio, 19. September 2017. Dynamiq is delighted to announce the launch of the GTT 115, the avant-garde superyacht designed in conjunction with cult Studio F. A. Porsche. The GTT 115 is the latest embodiment of the Dynamiq philosophy to design and build next-generation yachts for discerning owners with a matching mindset:
“The launch is the culmination of a long process of design and development to introduce a new kind of superyacht to the market,” says Sergei Dobroserdov, CEO of Dynamiq. “The modern gentlemen’s superyacht, the GTT 115 draws on the latest technology to combine comfortable high-speed cruising over 21 knots with efficient fuel consumption and long range of more than 3,400 nautical miles. GTT 115 is undoubtedly the most advanced superyacht at the Monaco Yacht Show with her round-bilge hull form, podded propulsion, Hull Vane and exclusively developed stabilization system with 4 fins and interceptors. Her bespoke hybrid system with 3 variable-speed generators are tributes to our strong belief in the sustainable future of yachting. At just 35 meters overall, the yacht offers the versatile spaces and feeling of a much larger vessel. On top of all this, GTT 115 is finished to the highest quality and looks super cool in her fashionable Rhodium Grey metallic paint. We decided to limit production to 7 units to make the GTT 115 a true collector’s item.”, continues Dobroserdov.
"Taking the spirit of high-performance sportscar styling to the high seas, the Dynamiq GTT 115 is designed to appeal to car lovers and forward-thinking yacht owners who appreciate the advantages of speed, style and our philosophy of intelligent performance," says Roland Heiler, CEO of Studio F. A. Porsche.
The GTT 115 will make her international debut at the coming Monaco Yacht Show and will be moored at berth H01 directly in front of the prestigious Monaco Yacht Club, where Dynamiq has its exclusive showroom. Dynamiq’s first launch, 39m Jetsetter, will also be anchored in the Bay of Monaco and a tender will be available to shuttle VIP guests between the two superyachts. The GTT 115 Hybrid is listed for sale at €13.950.000 Euros, while Jetsetter’s asking price is €14.545.500.
Dynamiq GTT 115 takes Monaco Yacht Show by stormOctober 9, 2017
The brand new Dynamiq 35 meter superyacht GTT 115, designed in collaboration with Studio F.A. Porsche, was one of the jewels in the crown at the 2017 Monaco Yacht Show that came to an end on 30th September.
Moored in pride of place in front of the famous Monaco Yacht Club, where Dynamiq has its exclusive headquarters, the sleek, silver-painted gentleman’s motoryacht with hybrid propulsion and Hull Vane for fast, efficient and long-range cruising, attracted admiring glances from the dock.
With no fewer than 270 on-board visits from the media, brokers and clients during the four-day Show, Roland Heiler, CEO of Studio F.A. Porsche, was on hand to respond to questions, along with project partners Vripack, Minotti, MAN, Sabrina Monte Carlo, Bowers & Wilkins, Fashion for Floors, OnlyYachts and THG.
VIP guests included Pierre Casiraghi, nephew of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Vice President of Yacht Club de Monaco, and Bernard d’Alessandri, Secretary General and CEO of the Monaco Yacht Club. Both have followed the development of the GTT 115 from the start and were present at the keel laying ceremony in Viareggio.
“With M/Y Jetsetter, our first launch, anchored offshore, and the new GTT 115 moored alongside the Yacht Club in Port Hercules, Monaco was a tour de force for Dynamiq,” says Sergei Dobroserdov, founder and CEO of the Monegasque brand. “The reception from the brokerage community, our media friends and prospective clients was outstanding. We’re looking forward to revealing new and innovative developments in the Dynamiq range in the near future.”
Dynamiq teams up with Monaco Yacht Clubs’s GC32 sailing team MaliziaAugust 16, 2017
Dynamiq is proud to announce its official sponsorship of the Yacht Club de Monaco Malizia team led by skipper Pierre Casiraghi, Royal family member and active Dynamiq supporter. The initiative with the Malizia team consolidates Dynamiq’s sponsorship of some of the world’s most thrilling sailing regattas as official supplier of the 35th America’s Cup and the Melges 40 Grand Prix team Synergy GT and supports Monaco Solar boat annual races.
“Dynamiq has a strong sailing spirit and supports innovation in the world’s most thrilling sailing regattas, both in its hometown of Monte Carlo and globally. Our sponsorship of the Malizia team is just the latest example of our close relationship with the Yacht Club de Monaco and Pierre Casiraghi, who share our passion for benchmarking innovation and performance,” says Sergei Dobroserdov, founder and CEO of Dynamiq.
Pierre Casiraghi is Vice President of the Yacht Club de Monaco and together with Bernard d’Alessandri, YCM General Secretary, attended the keel laying in Viareggio of the new Dynamiq GTT 115 designed by Studio F.A. Porsche which will be presented during the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show.
NEW DYNAMIQ DEALER IN MEXICOJuly 20, 2017
Dynamiq continues to expand its global dealer network with the appointment of Luis Quintana from Yacht Group Mexico. Luis will act as an ambassador for Dynamiq, working closely with the sales team in Monaco and the shipyard in Viareggio in order to successfully position the brand in Mexico. Established in 2004 and based in Mexico City, the yacht brokerage firm has a sister company, Yacht Center, in Venezuela.
“Yacht Group brings to the alliance 12 years' experience in the Mexican market and 50 years in the boating industry with operations in Miami, Caracas and Mexico,” says Luis. "Our goal is to position Dynamiq as the most innovative and classy superyacht brand in the Mexican market by focussing on the design, performance and customer service that enables owners to have the best boating experience.“
“This is an important addition to our dealer network,” says Maurizio Magri, Dynamiq Commercial Director. “With growing investment from both the private and public sectors in marina infrastructures, the yachting scene in Mexico is set to expand in the future. Moreover, Mexicans are well known yachting enthusiasts with discerning taste. I’m sure that with Luis in our team we’ll be able to further develop such a promising market."
Dynamiq’s new commercial office opens for business in the world famous Yacht Club de MonacoJuly 7, 2017
Yacht builder Dynamiq proudly announces the opening of its new commercial office inside the Yacht Club de Monaco complex. With many of the world’s most prestigious private yachts flying the Yacht Club’s burgee, the new location serves to improve access to Dynamiq’s global customers, brokers and dealer network.
“With our new commercial office, we want to establish a symbol that stands for our Monegasque roots, local partnerships and transparent shipbuilding approach,” says Sergei Dobroserdov, CEO of Dynamiq. “Our new headquarters is a place for maintaining an open dialogue with clients and yachting professionals that will help to shape the future of our company.”
“The opening of the office in the heart of Monaco’s yachting hub means Dynamiq is able to offer its clients a uniquely exclusive service,” says Maurizio Magri, commercial director of Dynamiq. “I would like to welcome everyone to the 4th floor of YCM to discuss their new Dynamiq yacht and configure it down to the smallest details online using our unique configurator. I promise that in less than half an hour you will have your plans customised, priced and a delivery date negotiated and confirmed.”
Dynamiq’s new contact info:
4th floor, Yacht Club de Monaco
Quai Louis II
Tel: +377 97 70 83 88
Dynamiq’s M/Y Jetsetter wins Robb Report Annual Best of the Best AwardsJune 3, 2017
Robb Report, the manual of modern luxury, has announced the winners of its 29th annual Best of the Best awards, spotlighting more than 150 brands across the luxury sector. Unveiled in the magazine’s June issue, which also sees a dramatic and groundbreaking design evolution as part of Robb Report’s 360-degree brand refresh, the hotly anticipated list is a connoisseur’s guide to the planet’s finest new automobiles, yachts, watches, wines, hotels, men’s fashions, and more. Robb Report’s list of Best of the Best winners for 2017 fall into six categories: Wheels, Style, Journeys, Leisure, Home and Wings & Water.
Dynamiq Jetsetter has been recognized as a winner of the Wings & Water category in the Most Transparent Yacht subcategory. All 2017 Best of the Best award winners and honorees were unveiled in the June issue of Robb Report magazine, on newsstands June 6.
Said Brett Anderson, Robb Report’s editor in chief, “Choosing among the most exceptional products, services, designs, and destinations to be found anywhere in the world is certainly no mean task for the editorial staff. The process began a year ago, and in the end our final decisions are guided not only by our obsessive passion for absolute quality—that’s a given—but also by the people, places, and creations that speak to our imaginations in a language uniquely their own.”
In addition to surpassing Robb Report’s highest standards of quality, this year’s Best of the Best honorees were selected through a nearly yearlong process, with potential brands and products considered for their brand story, track record, and overall timeliness.
The first Dynamiq superyacht, the 39 metre Jetsetter, is the first in the Dynamiq GTT 130 series, offering a unique combination of a top speed of 21 knots, an enormous sun deck and an ocean-going autonomy of 3000 nautical miles. The superyacht elegantly pairs its sporty design with the brand’s trademark: ‘Live Smart. Be Dynamiq’. Dynamiq is a new name in the world of superyachts based on the principles of innovation and functionality, creating a new category: the Smart yacht.


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Boston, Massachusetts — The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts (AASP-MA) has issued a statement confirming it will represent both direct repair program (DRP) and non-DRP shops, while simultaneously calling DRP conditions a “detriment to [the] industry” in its position statement.
“AASP-MA is a pro-consumer association representing all collision repairers and mechanical repair shops, regardless of insurance affiliation,” the trade group states in its position. “However, it is our firm belief that the restrictive and suppressive insurance referral and ‘program’ contracts are a detriment to our industry and could create a liability risk for vehicle owners and collision repairers.
“We strive to advance the industry through education, regulatory enforcement, and legislation to dismantle the control and influence insurers have on consumers and our industry,” wrote AASP-MA.
According to the group, AASP-MA is comprised of independent collision repairers, dealership collision shops and mechanical repair facilities. The organization says it “strives to provide education and support to assist all shops to achieve their desired objectives.”
The group has not elaborated but has publicly posted the mission statement on its website.


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The highly transmissible Omicron variant has prompted companies in the manufacturing and resource sectors to downgrade their earnings forecasts amid ongoing uncertainty linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cascades Inc., the Quebec-based packaging and tissue company, said Monday it expects fourth-quarter results to fall below its already revised outlook after Omicron-related labour shortages and supply chain issues worsened in the latter half of December.
The cut at Cascades followed an announcement last week from Teck Resources Ltd. that its fourth-quarter steelmaking coal sales would fall below its already lowered guidance from Dec. 5 following severe flooding in B.C. that washed out key rail and road infrastructure. The Vancouver-based company warned that COVID-19 was also leading to higher costs and could disrupt production.
Sick leave along with labour shortages, throttled supply chains and inflation all make for angst-inducing variables over the first half of 2022.
“If people are sick due to coronavirus and take extended time off, the company may not be able to mine the volumes that they had expected to,” Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp., said of resource outfits.
“Even if you have the people, can they do their work, if you don’t have the parts?” he asked of manufacturers. “And if you can get the parts, are you paying reasonable prices?”
Swathes of the technology and transport sectors may have cause for concern as well.
“During this period of stricter lockdowns, people stayed at home. They did their work, and they needed the technology in order to do that,” Chopra noted.
“But now as people go back to work, go back to the office, that trend – it just won’t be the same. You just don’t have that big forecast or spend.”
Airlines continue to be battered by low demand prompted by the spread of Omicron, lockdown restrictions and government advisories against international travel.
Air Canada and Transat A.T., the two biggest publicly traded Canadian carriers, cancelled more than 17,800 February flights between early November and last Friday, or 48 per cent of their scheduled trips for the month, according to figures from airline data firm Cirium.
However Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist for Edward Jones, pointed to an increased likelihood of “a reopening 2.0” heading into spring and summer.
Demand largely depends on whether a more deadly or contagious variant emerges, she said.
“But if Omicron starts to show signs of fading and the demand picture remains strong, we think some of the cyclical parts of the transport market can do well.”
Bombardier Inc. continues to benefit from business aviation tailwinds, as the private jet maker takes advantage of higher demand and a low number of used aircraft for sale globally.
Rising production and strong demand for manufactured and consumer goods generally along with an expected easing of pandemic restrictions should work to the advantage of industrial and transport companies in 2022, says analyst Kevin Chiang of CIBC World Markets.
“That being said, we expect a more challenging start to the year as supply chain issues, inflation concerns and Omicron weigh on sentiment and results.”
Cascades said it now expects fourth-quarter adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization to come in at $62 million – 29 per cent below its prediction from six weeks earlier.
On Dec. 22, the company warned that the figure would be about $20 million below the third-quarter comparable result of $107 million.
Cascades said the COVID-19 variant has compounded existing constraints on labour and transportation, especially in its containerboard and tissue segments. The shortages have led to higher costs and unplanned downtime, the company said, on top of inflationary costs in logistics and energy.
Its Canadian operations were hit especially hard after the relentless rainfall in B.C. late last year.


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Xiaomi is expected to launch two new smartphones Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro soon. While the Xiaomi 12S Pro has received China 3C certification and has appeared online several times, the Xiaomi 12S has been spotted on benchmarking site Geekbench. The listing on the website has revealed key details including Android OS, RAM, model number and processor details. Also Read – Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro 5G now selling for Rs 28,999, down from Rs 39,999 on Amazon
It is expected that both the handsets of Xiaomi can be launched sometime later this year. Also Read – Xiaomi Launches ‘Battery Replacement Program’ in India at a starting price of Rs 499
Xiaomi 12S Expected Specifications
according to a report by 91mobilesXiaomi 12S has been spotted with model number 2206123SC. The “C” at the end of the number indicates China only. On the Geekbench site, the smartphone has managed to score 1328 in single-core and 4234 in multi-core tests. Also read- Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G, Xiaomi 11T Pro, Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge users will get free YouTube premium subscription: Here’s how
The Geekbench listing further reveals that the smartphone will run on Android 12 OS-based MIUI skin out-of-the-box. As for the chipset, all we know by now is that it will be an octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 2.02 GHz, three at 2.75 GHz. The Xiaomi 12S is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Additionally, the listing also revealed that the phone will offer up to 12GB of RAM.
It was earlier reported that the Xiaomi 12S is likely to come with support for 67W fast charging and the Xiaomi 12S Pro will come with 120W fast charging support. On the camera front, the smartphone is expected to come with a triple rear camera setup. The Xiaomi 12S may feature an AMOLED display that offers a 12Hz refresh rate display. The smartphone could be available in Silver color option.
Xiaomi is also expected to launch the Xiaomi 12 Ultra soon. This camera is expected to come with a red Leica logo on the back panel placed on the island. It can come with punch hole curved AMOLED display. For the rear camera, it is likely to feature a quad-camera setup. The smartphone can come in premium materials like leather, glass or ceramic.
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The brand has long centered around connecting people and seems determined to carry that branding to its next stage as a metaverse company.
Articles filed under
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Chinese giant Alibaba and Canaan team up to work on AI. Meanwhile, Valentine NFTs are created by meta-human using auction data.
By returning data ownership and reshaping human-machine interactions, the third generation of the internet promises an interconnected future.
Decentralized autonomous organizations are ripe for robot takeovers, says SingularityDAO’s Marcello Mari. After all, why do decentralized entities need leaders?
Blockchain has achieved platform status, writes Don Tapscott of Blockchain Research Institute. Get ready for the ‘trivergence’ that will shake up the world.


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New Delhi. Startup Unnati, a startup selling agri inputs and agricultural produce, has launched the first-of-its-kind digital integrated card linked to its platform with the aim of helping farmers grow income and includes purchasing seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. This card, launched in partnership with Paytm Bank, will enable farmers to reach a larger market to gain their agricultural inputs.
Will help in increasing income
This newly launched card will help farmers increase their net income by reducing the cost of seed fertilizer and facilitating them to sell their farm produce at good prices. In addition, the card will allow farmers to get real-time updates in every aspect, including a pay-out to avail better lending rates conveniently and seamlessly.
Rs 250 will have to be paid
The card requires farmers to pay Rs 250 as an advance, a one-time charge authorized by the RBI. The card will facilitate farmers to use other services for free. In terms of the benefit that farmers get from this, they will be able to recoup it in the first two months of the issue of the card.
Will also save
The card will motivate farmers to increase their habit of saving, help them make better decisions about advanced farming methods, and produce better yields in quality and quantity. This will save the farmers from getting stuck in debt trap and facilitate better agriculture in the country.


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A Kickstarter campaign to launch an action figure of US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has smashed its target goal.
The campaign was looking to raise $15,000 by March 31st and has already passed the $30,000 mark.
The figure comes from Brooklyn-based design studio FCTRY, the same team that launched a Hilary Clinton action figure last year.
FCTRY has outlined plans to donate $1 from every Sanders or Clinton figure sold to the respective candidate’s presidential campaign in a bid to ‘get real people and small businesses engaged in politics.’
‘We’re hoping our $1 per toy model can serve as an innovative, accessible model for grass-roots campaign finance reform," stated FCTRY.
‘By donating a fixed portion of each sale to a political campaign our customers support, we can democratise campaign finance and make participation much more accessible to the average person.’
Check out the campaign video for FCTRY’s Bernie Sanders video below:


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Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta is contesting in court the European Commission's decision to ban the use of thiamethoxam, a seed-treatment pesticide. Similar action has been taken by German chemicals giant Bayer, which claimed that the decision to prohibit the use of the pesticide over concerns that it damages bee populations was wrong and based on incomplete evidence.
Independently of each other, both companies announced on Tuesday they were taking the EC to court. The ban on thiamethoxam was imposed without an unanimous approval from all European Union member states. Since they could not reach a clear majority for or against the ban, the EC made a decision unilaterally. The Commission decided to suspend the pesticide, along with two more neonicotinoid chemicals, over a period of two years.
The choice was based on evidence from a report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), stating that the chemicals presented a very high risk to bee populations and put the entire food chain under threat.
Commenting on the legal action taken by Syngenta, chief operating officer John Atkin said that this was a move Syngenta would have preferred to avoid but that the company had no alternative considering the company's firm belief that the decision was inaccurate. He explained that the EC had wrongly associated the overall decline in bee health with thiamethoxam. Atkin pointed out that farmers were denied the opportunity to use a very effective product applied at low doses and have been forced to use less sustainable alternatives.


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Mamee Food Service Debuts at Food & Hotel Malaysia Exhibition 2023, KL Convention Centre!
Across 4 days at KL Convention Centre, Mamee Food Service Monstars led by Jennifer Chee, Chef Faizul, Bruce Wayne Ngiam, Kae Jie, Rebecca, Chee Jian and Zhong Hao ran the show at Food & Hotel Malaysia Exhibition with strong support from Felix Pang.
In what was their debut at the exhibition this year as part of an on-going extensive 5th anniversary celebratory campaigns, many were essentially surprised to see Mamee has a venture in the Food Service industry while keen to learn more on the innovative and versatile products on parade.
Excitingly, Ben’s Independent Grocer won a GOLD MEDAL in the Culinaire Malaysia 2023 for their participating dish “Aussie Steak with Creamy Tteokbokki Dressing “ using DAEBAK Tteokbokki Sauce, as inspired by Chef Faizul.
Indeed, it was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with people from the F&B industry (AEON, Pizza Hut, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Secret Recipe, See Hoy Chan etc), and most importantly to feature, demonstrate applications of their products and for others to discover how MAMEE Food Service can elevate businesses food solutions as they continue living up to their “Your Local Culinary Expert” tagline.


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Henig: Efforts underway to boost trade with UK
06:00 | 29/12/2022
(VEN) – Both capital and production technology of domestic enterprises remain modest, it is necessary to connect resources in order to help businesses efficiently take advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), said Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Multilateral Trade Policy Department in a talk with Vietnam Economic News’ Hoa Quynh.
What is your assessment of the UKVFTA’s impact on UK-Vietnam trade?
We have seen that the UKVFTA has benefited both sides. The UK’s exports to Vietnam are increasing significantly, helping to balance the bilateral trade and at the same time enabling Vietnamese manufacturers to make use of more UK sources of raw materials, technologies and products to improve production capacity.
Vietnamese enterprises export coffee, pepper, vegetables, garments, and footwear to the UK, achieving growth of almost 100 percent and implementing market diversification strategies.
To what standards and practices should Vietnamese exporters pay attention in trade with the UK?
In addition to preferential tariffs under the UKVFTA, other advantages for exports to the UK are related to that market’s diversification of supply sources. However, the UK’s high standards and different thinking about environmental and labor issues are factors to which businesses need to pay attention. The UK has a traditional relationship with its former colonial countries, India and Pakistan for example, which compete with Vietnam’s strong products, such as rice.
Despite certain difficulties, the UK is a high-potential market for Vietnamese exports. However, many Vietnamese exporters are not confident of entering a new market with strict standards and barriers like the UK, hampering achievement of Vietnam’s targets related to the UKVFTA. While both capital and production technology of domestic enterprises remain modest, it is necessary to connect resources in order to help businesses efficiently take advantage of the UKVFTA.
What will the Ministry of Industry and Trade do to help enterprises take advantage of the UKVFTA?
The relevant authority needs to replicate successful export models and implement market access sharing programs for businesses in order to maintain export growth to the UK.
Based on the experience of UKVFTA implementation since May 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will work with localities and sectors to promote the agreement in accordance with the actual needs of enterprises. The ministry will build and operate an FTA portal to increase regular interaction with businesses.
We expect that local authorities will have a stronger involvement in the UKVFTA implementation. The government recently approved a project to evaluate FTA implementation efficiency in localities, which is expected to boost local authorities’ activity in accompanying enterprises’ FTA exploitation.
Hoa Quynh LINK
Henig: Potential remains for Vietnam’s exports to EU
10:49 | 28/12/2022
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on December 27 organized a conference to review the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) over the last two years.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said that since August 2020, Vietnam and the EU have seen positive results in their two-way trade despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first year of the EVFTA’s implementation, bilateral trade between Vietnam and the EU reached US$54.9 billion, up 12.1 percent over the same period the previous year, of which export revenue reached US$34.5 billion, up 11.3 percent.
In the second year, it reached US$61.4 billion, up nearly 11.9 percent, of which exports reached US$45 billion, up 17 percent.
In the first 11 months of 2022, two-way trade turnover reached US$57 billion, up 14 percent over the same period last year, of which exports reached US$43.5 billion, up 21 percent. Key export products from Vietnam recorded positive growth such as textiles, footwear, and seafood, with year-on-year increases of 24 percent, 19 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
The results show that Vietnamese enterprises have taken advantage of the EVFTA. Four out of ten Vietnamese enterprises have benefited from the EVFTA, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
However, according to the MoIT, the EU market still offers opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises despite facing difficulties in accessing the market.
Deputy Minister Khanh said that Vietnam’s brand has not been built or is not popular in European countries.
The value and benefits that Vietnamese businesses earn are not commensurate with their potential, he added.
Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director General of the MoIT’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, said that the ministry plans to coordinate with other ministries and agencies to further provide enterprises with EVFTA-relating information.
Besides, the ministry will also assess the implementation of the EVFTA in provinces and cities nationwide through FTA INDEX which is expected to launch in late 2023.
The ministry will open training courses for enterprises, and speed up solutions to support enterprises in accessing and taking advantage of the EVFTA.


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BBH's Pelle Sjoenell leaves for video games company
BBH's worldwide chief creative officer has left the company after 12 years.
Pelle Sjoenell will depart for Activision Blizzard, the video game company behind titles including Call Of Duty and Overwatch, where he will work as chief creative officer.
Joakim Bergström, the chief creative officer at BBH's Singapore office, will replace Sjoenell at the agency.
Sjoenell said: “Activision and the future of gaming hits right where my dreams and passions have always lied. To pass this amazing baton to Jab feels so damn good. He’s someone I have looked up to and been inspired by throughout the years and I feel very confident that the Black Sheep will be in the hands of a great creative leader and shepherd.”
BBH’s global chief executive Neil Munn added: “Pelle has been with BBH for over a decade and has made a substantial contribution to our business in that time. He set up our thriving office in LA and has nurtured our accelerating presence across North America. Of course, you never want to lose a great leader, but we do so with excitement for what lies ahead in his next chapter, and a sense of pride in what he will go on to achieve.
“I am delighted that we are able to promote Jab into the Worldwide chief creative officer role. He is proven on the global stage and, after five years as a Black Sheep, is already a fine carrier of the BBH creative flag. Jab’s progressive view on creativity is sure to be an energising catalyst for the whole of our business.”


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ASHLEY, Pa. — Newswatch 16 met with members of the wedding industry in Luzerne County inside the empty Grand Bank venue in Ashley to talk about their concerns for the future of their businesses.
“Governor Wolf said there's light at the end of the tunnel. But I don't know what that light is like. It could be a freight train coming at me because that's what it feels like some days,” said Ashlee Martinelli, the owner of The Grand Bank and Every Little Thing—two wedding-focused businesses in Luzerne County. “I have no idea. There's no way to anticipate what comes next.”
On Monday, the governor increased indoor event capacity to 15 percent from 10 percent.
But that's not enough for places like the Grand Bank to hold events again. It’s not just these venues disappointed with the small increase.
Smaller businesses like DJs and linen services say it hurts them too.
“If you can't get that many people in to have your wedding, it trickles all down to those different vendors and event planners,” explained DJ and owner of Platinum Production Entertainment Joshua Turner. “The vast majority of this is a lot bigger than just saying, 'Hey, the reception halls have been hit the hardest.' Well, if a DJ can't go in there and obviously DJ, he's affected, and the florists are affected, so it's a bigger scope than it is just by saying, you know, we only bumped up 5%.”
While some people are still having smaller ceremonies, Kelly Horn with Lavender Linens says her business often gets cut out.
“What's happening now is that we're just not being needed, you know. Even with the smaller weddings that people have been having, they don't tend to do the upgrades. So they're keeping very basic, which kind of keeps us out of the loop,” said Horn.
Because the industry is so dependent on planning ahead, these owners say delays in restriction changes only mean a longer financial pain for these types of businesses.
“Until the governor decides to release things even more, so you know the industry itself is being decimated over the next couple of months,” said John Phillips with MCR Design Group.
“It’s so damaging that I fear for a lot of our vendor friends, like will everyone come back from this? I want to be that ‘Jenny’ boat in Forrest Gump after the storm that that rides it out, but it gets harder and harder to keep that positive attitude when it's just like, punch after punch,” said Martinelli.
As of now, all these small business owners say they can do is wait for the governor to make another announcement about lifting more restrictions.


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SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, May 25, 2023 – (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) – Synergy House Berhad, a cross-border e-commerce seller and furniture exporter of ready-to-assemble (RTA) home furniture, announced today that the Group recorded revenue of RM51.6 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2023 (1Q FY2023) from sales in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) market segments.
For 1Q FY2023, the Group registered profit before tax of RM3.6 million and profit after tax of RM2.6 million. There are no comparative figures for 1Q FY2023 as this is the first interim financial report that Synergy House is announcing in compliance with the listing requirements of the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.
The Group’s B2B segment recorded a revenue of RM27.4 million or approximately 53.10% of the Group’s total revenue while the B2C segment recorded a revenue of RM24.2 million or approximately 46.90% of the Group’s total revenue in 1Q FY2023. In comparison, the B2C segment’s contribution towards total revenue in the full financial year 2022 was at 25.57%. On a geographical basis, the United States of America was the Group’s largest market, contributing to approximately 49.47% of the Group’s revenue in 1Q FY2023.
Executive Director of Synergy House, Mr. Tan Eu Tah said, “As the Group enters the final stages of its initial public offering (IPO) journey, we want to reiterate that there is long-term potential in the B2C market segment for RTA home furniture. Synergy House is currently in market expansion mode whereby we are focusing on investing in our B2C sales channel aggressively for wider market outreach. For the first quarter ended 31 March 2023, we have achieved total B2C revenue of RM24.2 million, which is close to 50% of our total B2C revenue for the full financial year ended 31 December 2022 of RM49.6 million.”
Executive Director of Synergy House, Mr. Teh Yee Luen said, “As part of our expansion, we have allocated resources and funding to build up our brand name, reputation and reviews on e-commerce platforms. These includes more aggressive advertisement and promotions on the e-commerce platforms that we market on which will bear fruits in the longer term. We see huge potential in the global e-commerce furniture market and we are consistently sowing the seeds for future B2C growth.”
Synergy House is raising RM34.4 million through the issuance of 80.0 million new shares at an IPO price of RM0.43 per share which is expected to support the Group’s future growth and expansion plans.
For the financial years ended 31 December (FY) 2019, FY 2020, FY 2021 and FY 2022, the Group registered revenue of RM111.5 million, RM122.9 million, RM184.3 million and RM194.1 million respectively. In particular, Synergy House’s B2C segment has seen encouraging growth, with sales reaching RM49.6 million in FY2022 from RM1.99 million in FY2019 at a compound annual growth rate of 192.17%.
Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad is the Principal Adviser, Sponsor, Underwriter and Placement Agent for the IPO exercise.
Synergy House Bhd: https://www.synergyhouseberhad.com/
Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)


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FSG LAWYERS: Represented Loomworks Apparel (P.J. Salvage) on its acquisiton by Delta Galil.
INTREPID INVESTMENT BANKERS: How digital technologies are giving brands a makeover.
Details on Industry Insight.
The surf industry's nemesis, the Hollister retail chain owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, is actively looking for sites abroad, Reuters reported today.
Hollister clothes basically mirror styles created by Orange County surf brands, but are designed at Abercrombie & Fitch headquarters in Ohio. The stores look like upscale surf shops, with couches, surf magazines and boards on the walls. Teens love to hang there, and the clothing price points are lower than authentic surf brands.
A couple months ago I was at the Irvine Spectrum Center on a Friday night. The Hollister store was jammed with kids hanging out and shopping. There was a line at the cash register. I walked over to PacSun store and it was empty. I was the only customer in the place.
When I interviewed PacSun CEO Sally Frame Kasaks, I told her that story. She acknowledged that was a problem and said the PacSun remodel program should make the stores more inviting.
Long before Kasaks arrived, I remember former CEO Greg Weaver telling me international expansion could be in PacSun's future. But as the company struggled domestically, those plans haven't materialized. Now Hollister will beat them to the punch.
Hollister has 422 stores across the U.S., more than its sister Abercrombie & Fitch chain. PacSun is still much larger than Hollister, with 841 PacSun stores.
Hollister's web site is worth checking out for the sheer audacity. They even have a live Webcam at the Huntington Beach pier.