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The Fortnite craze is not stopping anytime soon as reports are confirming that gamers are buying physical copies of the game at outrageous prices online.
A Commercial Success
Epic Games' multiplayer shooter continues to attract players with its free-to-play model, but it looks like fans still want to have something tangible. The title officially launched last year with a PVE mode called Save the World and was shortly followed by the popular Battle Royale game mode. Insiders claim that the developers opted to include the latter to cash in on the genre popularized by Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).
Unlike the competition that features realistic graphics, gameplay, and weapons, sources suggest that the cartoonish graphics, outlandish weapons, and building mechanics Fortnite gave it its charm. Currently, its PVE mode remains optional, while the PVP option is available as a free digital download. However, it looks like players are ready to fork out more than the original retail price to snag a physical copy.
A Reseller's Dream
Right now, searches on Amazon and eBay show multiple offers that range from $100 and up. Since Epic Games is no longer churning out physical copies of Fortnite, resellers are taking advantage of the situation. What makes this interesting is the fact that people already know the PVP game mode is available as a free download. Furthermore, the physical version only contains the original PVE and still requires users to download the add-on.
The items being offered online come in various states. Those that are sealed and in mint condition noticeably fetch top dollar, while others still command prices more than the original SRP. Reports noted that there are offers with missing documentation, damaged cases, and even the bare disc only. It goes to show that there is a strong demand wherein collectors just want to get their hands on a disc-based copy.
A Favorable Forecast
Even though there is a noticeable demand for the physical copies of Fortnite, Epic Games confirms that it does not have plans to physical re-release. It looks like the publisher will continue to focus their efforts on the digital version only. Reports reveal that the studio continues to earn a lot from in-game purchases, which are mostly cosmetic.
Meanwhile, fans will be glad to know that the Save the World content will be turned into a free-to-play option as well in the future. Therefore, it will be somewhat redundant for gamers to purchase a physical copy since all of the game modes are already available to download at no cost.
Fortnite is currently available for multiple platforms, such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS, and recently, on the Nintendo Switch. The Android version of the shooter is reportedly coming out soon.


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Developments in connected and autonomous vans and the move to electrification will come under the spotlight in an online conference by Logistics UK this week.
Taking place on Friday 27 November, the virtual Future Van Conference will enable both members and non-members to get to grips with the latest changes and challenges, including Electrifying your Van Fleet, Autonomous Vehicles, Ultra-Light Logistics and EV Power Solutions.
The event will again include a talk from expert futurologist Fergus McVey of 7th Sense Research UK, who will discuss ‘The World Now’, looking at the pandemic and how it has impacted future plans and developments.
Denise Beedell, vans and urban policy manager at Logistics UK, said: “The vans market is changing rapidly to meet challenging environmental targets and soaring customer demand for greener deliveries and servicing, with more van operators seeking to electrify their fleets. We are excited to offer this event to provide delegates with the information they need to move forward in this developing market.”
Delegates will also be able to ask questions to speakers via text or video chat and engage with industry suppliers online in the Exhibition Hall.
Places cost £199+VAT for Logistics UK members or £250+VAT for non-members.
For information and bookings, visit www.logistics.org.uk/futurevan or call 03717 11 22 22.

domain: news


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Yes you read that headline right, Steam is finally allowing uncensored adult visual novels on their platform. Mangagamer posted an announcement to their blog yesterday stating that they have obtained approval from Valve to release the yuri VN Kindred Spirits on the Roof on steam without any content changes. The game’s Head Translator Kouryuu had this to say:
“It’s great to see our years of effort finally paying off as visual novels containing adult content gain more mainstream acceptance and recognition as a valuable medium for artistic expression.
This is monumental news for the industry as a whole. Everything will be open and up-front with this release; no off-site patch or workarounds.Kindred Spirits will be sold on Steam completely uncensored. Seeing frank depictions of same-sex relationships welcomed on such a major gaming platform is a true testament to the open-mindedness of our society and the growing desire for mature entertainment that people of all walks of life can enjoy.”
While I agree this is great news for yuri fans, I also feel it’s important to realize that Kindred Spirits is reportedly extremely soft-core, so if you’re hoping to see a flood of hentai VN’s on Steam soon you may be disappointed. Still, this great news for developers of adult games and hopefully opens the door to more localization of not-porn-but-adult visual novels.


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Google integrates AdMob app inventory into AdWords platform
Roughly two years after acquiring AdMob for $750 million, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has fully integrated the mobile ad network into its signature AdWords platform, enabling more than a million online advertisers to reach consumers on mobile devices.
According to Google, advertisers may now access mobile app inventory from directly within the AdWords interface, with the tools to create and manage display campaigns that run across more than 300,000 mobile apps on the AdMob network. Advertisers can build, launch and optimize campaigns across multiple mobile platforms including Google's own Android and Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS, with full transparency into where the ads run.
AdWords advertisers may now target consumers according to specific smartphone or tablet device models or a particular manufacturer brand. AdMob already enabled campaigns targeting specific mobile operators, operating system versions and Wi-Fi. Advertisers can also hone their mobile campaigns by selecting from different application categories available in the Google Play storefront and Apple's App Store, or searching for individual apps.
"As mobile continues to grow, we'll continue to develop integrated advertising solutions designed to harness the specific features of mobile devices, usage and context," writes Google Mobile Ads Director of Product Management Jonathan Alferness on the Google Mobile Ads Blog.
As of the end of 2011, AdMob controlled 24 percent of the worldwide mobile display ad market, according to research firm IDC. Independent Millennial Media follows at 17 percent, trailed by Apple's iAd at 15 percent. Google is on pace to generate 2012 mobile advertising revenues in excess of $4 billion, according to a forecast issued in January by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
- read this Google Mobile Ads Blog entry
Google revamps AdMob auction bidding
Forecast: Google mobile ad revenues could top $4B in 2012
Google restructures mobile ad services, limits AdMob to apps
Google launches contextual ads within mobile apps
Google's Android Market surpasses 400,000 app benchmark
Android device activations rocket past 700,000 a day


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Hung Hom, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. Studies show that by 2050 the human population will reach 9.9 Billion and that two out of three people will be living in cities. And this forecast is the reason why Nissan brought together industry leaders, government officials, company executives, and media representatives, including yours truly, for the seventh edition of Nissan Futures, which was held in Hong Kong from March 8-10, 2019. Under the theme “Transform the Way We Drive and Live”, the event gathered key leaders to discuss the evolving mobility needs and the future of cities in Asia and Oceania.
On Day 1 (March 8, Friday), we drove the Nissan Leaf from the Kerry Hotel in Kowloon Bay, around Hong Kong and back, to get a feel of the electric vehicle (EV) in everyday city traffic conditions. We were asked to drive it in various modes and experience it on city roads, and up and down Hong Kong’s mountain roads. At one point, the organizers instructed us to drive the Leaf in Eco mode to see how we can economize the use of our car’s battery charge. Sufficed to say, the Nissan Leaf performed like a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE) but with the added benefits of almost instantaneous torque and zero emissions from its electric motor. Its range was extended with its 60 kWh battery pack, which allowed us to drive worry-free. After almost two hours driving around Hong Kong, we came to the conclusion that EVs are the wave of the future. After all, 400,000 Nissan Leaf owners can’t be wrong.
Nissan Leaf in the Philippines in 2020
Day 2 (March 9, Saturday), was the actual Nissan Futures thought leadership and panel discussions. Yutaka Sanada, regional senior vice president for Nissan Asia & Oceania, opened the sessions. “Asia Pacific is home to more than 2.1 billion urban residents, that is 60 per cent of the world’s urban population. This brings increased pressure on the region’s cities and mobility systems. Through Nissan Futures, we can discuss solutions for the region’s city and mobility systems. Driven by our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision, we are committed to bringing safe, smart and sustainable mobility to more people.” Sanada-san introduced Nissan’s e-Power concept where the Nissan Leaf not only provides mobility but clean energy to power future homes and offices. He also announced that the Leaf will be introduced in the Philippines by 2020.
Maarten Sierhuis, former NASA engineer and now Chief Technology Director of the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley, presented the future of mobility in which human-driven and autonomous smart EVs will have a major role in transporting people and goods. Vivek Vaidya, Associate Partner and Senior Vice President of Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, presented a study on the evolving role of mobility in the cities of the future and offered insights on the future of mobility in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney. Vaidya noted that among these cities, Manila is unique because majority of its population relies on around 10,000 jeepneys for mass transportation, which other cities do not have. He sees e-Jeepneys as a unique solution to Manila’s transportation and environmental problems.
The Future of Cities: Changing the Way We Live
The first set of discussions centered on transforming the way we live and the future of cities. Moderated by Cassian Cheung, Adjunct Professor from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, the panelists included Maarten Sierhuis of Nissan; Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT); Tim Washington, Founder of JET Charge, Australia; Hung Yuen Justin, Director of GRST Energy Limited; and Assistant Secretary Leonido “Bodie” Pulido III, of the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE).
The panelists discussed solutions to the congestion and pollution caused by the unprecedented number of people and vehicles in urbanized areas around Asia and Oceania. While most are hopeful that technological advancements will offer solutions, DOE Asec. Pulido hoped that the heritage, individuality and uniqueness of each city will remain intact. The panelists agreed that each city has unique problems that require unique solutions and that EVs and autonomous driving with human interfaces will be integral parts of future cities. Governments should plan for infrastructure to support EVs and the eventual change from fuel-powered cars to EVs. JET Charge’s Washington suggested that vehicles will no longer be considered merely as financial assets but as mobile energy assets as well, since these EVs will also be supplying power.
The Future of Mobility: Changing the Way We Drive
The second set of discussions focused on the future of the automobile. Moderated by Vivek Vaidya, the panelists included Vincent Wijnen, Senior Vice President of Nissan Asia & Oceania; Daesung Yoon, Vice Chairman of Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA); Iain MacBeth, Head of Foresight, Transport Innovation Directorate, Transport of London; Iim Fahima Jachja, Founder of Queenrides, Indonesia; and Yossapong Laoonual, President of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT).
The panelists agreed that the future of Asia and Oceania’s roads will have more EVs transporting people and goods, increased autonomy, and improved connectivity. Wijnen stated that with 400,000 Nissan Leafs sold since its introduction, Nissan has opened opportunities for future electric mobility ecosystems. They also foresee that the widespread EV technology and charging infrastructure plus the increasing autonomy of vehicles will provide convenience to end users as well as new opportunities to increase road safety, which is passionately advocated by Queenrides’ Jachja. With improved interconnectivity, the panelists foresee the rise of ride-sharing businesses and the decreased demands for individual vehicle ownership. They cited the current trend where “millennials” favor ride-sharing services over driving, especially when autonomous vehicles become part of the mainstream.
Smart, Safe, Sustainable and Superb
The general consensus among the panelists is that EVs with zero emissions provide smart, safe and sustainable mobility systems that can also help provide energy solutions, especially with improved batteries, increased power and range, and the promise of solar-powered charging stations to lessen the dependence on oil-fired power plants. Autonomous safety systems, interconnectivity and smart mobility solutions such as “Connected Vehicle to Everything” (V2X) protocols can help prevent vehicle collisions and lessen traffic-related deaths that could lead to a zero-fatality future. Nic Thomas, Global Director for Nissan’s Electric Vehicle Division closed the event by showing that the Leaf is already capable of doing most of these things today. In short, the future is almost here now.
And in a fitting way to showcase the increasing evolution of electric vehicles, Day 3 (March 10) found us in the grandstands watching the 2019 HKT Hong Kong E-Prix race (Formula E) where the Nissan e.dams team with drivers Oliver Rowland and Sebastien Buemi fielded two electric race cars. Unfortunately, after a promising start, the Nissan Formula E racing team suffered damages to both cars around the wet circuit, which ended their race early. Like in Formula One (F1), Nissan plans to funnel the learned technology from the high-performance e-racing cars to mass market electric vehicles. During the entire weekend, Nissan showed that they are committed to an entirely electric and exciting future!
Watch out for our test drive review of the 2019 Nissan Leaf coming really soon.


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Hewlett-Packard No Longer Interested In Multi-Billion-Dollar Acquisitions (HPQ)
"We don't need a $5 or $6 billion acquisition," she told the network. "I think there are acquisitions in the hundreds, $300 million range, maybe some up to a billion and a half that we might be interested in."
Whitman added that she thinks "acquisitions will become part of our future to further our strategic initiatives and shore up some of the product holes in maybe some of our businesses."
That said, the Hewlett-Packard leader admitted that the company has a history of making expensive acquisitions that don't always pan out. To prevent that from happening again, she said that the firm would be judicious in deciding which companies to buy.
New firms will be a secondary goal, however. Whitman believes that Hewlett-Packard still has a lot of leverage left within its existing assets, and that it is important for the company to optimize those resources.
Whitman also said that when making an acquisition, Hewlett-Packard to do so in order to really accelerate the business. But it will not make a purchase to buy growth alone.
"Right On Track"
With regard to the firm's performance, Whitman told CNBC that she thinks Hewlett-Packard is "right on track."
"We're two years into a five-year turnaround," she added. "There are businesses that are doing quite well. There are businesses that haven't quite turned the corner yet. But overall I'd say we're on track. We've got a lot of heavy lifting ahead but feel good about where we are."
When Jim Cramer (who interviewed Whitman) asked how Hewlett-Packard could execute a turnaround plan along the lines of the one Louis Vincent Gerstner, Jr. implemented for IBM (NYSE: IBM) in the '90s, Whitman said that she takes a lot of inspiration from that company.
"But the situation was quite different," she added. "IBM was months away from running out of cash and not being able to make payroll."
Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard generated a "tremendous" amount of cash during the third quarter alone. The company had previously expected to generate $5 billion this year. As of now, the firm has already generated $7.2 billion.
"We are a profitable, healthy financial company," said Whitman. "We're down to almost a zero net debt position on the operating company."
But some businesses are declining due to industry shifts, she said. Others are flat.
"What we have to do is align all our resources -- R&D, sales -- against those growth areas so we can migrate away from those declining businesses to the growing businesses," Whitman insisted.
The goal is to capitalize on "this new style of IT," such as the cloud, big data, security, Moonshot or 3Par.
"We've got a lot of great things in the portfolio, and we have to really accelerate the growth of those great products," Whitman affirmed.
No Turnaround Extension
Finally, Whitman told Cramer that she did not think Hewlett-Packard would need to extend the window for its turnaround.
"When you do turnarounds, there are bumps in the road," she explained. "There are ups, there are downs."
But Hewlett-Packard is making fundamental changes that Whitman said will be better for the long haul.
"No one has greater reach and scale than HP," she added. "No one has the ability to bring products to market as fast we do when we work really well together. So there's a lot to be said for HP as it is today. We aim to prove that out."
If the company can't prove it, Whitman acknowledged that she might have something different to say when her five-year plan is over.
Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.
Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Dubai Deputy Ruler inaugurates ATM 2013 as Middle East’s biggest travel and tourism event celebrates 20 years of industry milestones
HRH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, officially inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013 today, in the presence of senior government officials, leaders of the regional and international travel industry as well as high-profile participants.
Cutting the ribbon to mark the opening of the 20th anniversary edition of the show, His Royal Highness then toured the exhibition with Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of Arabian Travel Market, and various dignitaries as the four-day industry showcase got underway.
This year’s sell-out anniversary edition, which is taking place at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, will welcome over 3,000 exhibitors from 87 countries with exhibition floor space covering more than 22,000 square metres.
For more information, visit www.arabiantravelmarket.com


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A Burnham-On-Sea charity shop has issued a fresh appeal to residents not to leave donations in the street outside its premises after a pavement was partly blocked on Tuesday evening (September 1st).
Weston Hospicecare has found scores of items – including books, clothes and furniture – left in the doorway of its shop in Burnham’s College Street.
On Tuesday evening, the pavement was partly blocked by the donations which included a parm, a hoover and bags of donations in the entrance, as pictured here.
Harry Cardno, Communications Officer at Weston Hospicecare, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are not taking donations at the moment at any site and on average it costs hundreds to remove items left in doorways of, or outside of, our charity shops that are not sellable.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to our superb supporters who have donated so many goods during the period when we had our donation stations. Unfortunately we do not have any more storage.”
“Six shops are now open for trading and each have their own coronavirus plan and setup to keep customers and staff safe.”
“Of course we are really grateful to every single person who has turned to support the hospice. Particularly during this tough period.”


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The RSN works to encourage a thriving rural economy in order to help support our rural communities.
A survey is asking rural communities about their experiences of online bullying in a bid to uncover the extent of the problem. The Countryside Alliance launched the online survey saying it strongly condemned online bullying of any kind - and had...
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Chicago – hhgregg’s
long-awaited entry into the Chicago market will formally take place tomorrow
with the opening of its first 14 area stores.
ceremonies will be performed at each new location at 2:45 p.m., followed by the
official store opening at 3 p.m. Customers attending the festivities will have
a chance to win prizes, including a Frigidaire stainless-steel kitchen
appliance package, a 55-inch LG 3DTV, a Magellan GPS device and hhgregg gift
The chain will
also hold a grand-opening sale at area stores Sept. 15-24.
rollout represents the company’s largest single-market launch to date, and puts
the Indianapolis-based CE and majap chain in direct competition with local
independents Abt Electronics and Grant’s Appliances while encroaching on Sears
Holdings’ hometown turf.
The addition of
the Chicagoland locations brings hhgregg’s store count to 204 showrooms in
Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia.
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Watch List - May 23, 2019
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Consumer-Direct Sales Dominate The Charts - May 22, 2019
- 2019 TWICE Top 100: Best Buy Keeps The CE Crown, But Barely - May 21, 2019


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The new administration’s efforts to reverse course on many of the gains that gig economy businesses achieved under previous White House leadership took another step today as the Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a guidance letter that indicated typical gig workers are independent contractors. By scrapping the April 29, 2019 letter, the Biden DOL sent yet another signal to businesses that they will have an uphill battle in classifying workers as contractors for at least the next four years. What do businesses need to know about today’s activity?
A federal appeals court just resurrected a pivotal gig economy battle that at one time seemed to be the center of the legal universe – but for a variety of reasons seems much less important these days. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief administrative order on January 28 that took the landmark Lawson v. Grubhub case out of suspended animation and placed it back on its active docket, ready to be argued and eventually decided. But thanks to a recent California Supreme Court decision and a critical ballot measure outcome, the outcome seems fairly predictable while the overall stakes seem much lower. What do gig economy employers need to know about this recent activity?
Joe Biden made no secret about his position on the gig economy when he was in campaign mode. “Employer misclassification of ‘gig economy’ workers as independent contractors deprives these workers of legally mandated benefits and protections,” his campaign website said. “This epidemic of misclassification is made possible by ambiguous legal tests that give too much discretion to employers, too little protection to workers, and too little direction to government agencies and courts.” And the first few steps he has taken since assuming office have demonstrated that he’s serious about taking on gig businesses: mere hours after being sworn in, he froze the Labor Department rule that was about to make it easier to classify workers as contractors. Not to mention that he nominated Marty Walsh to the top position at the Labor Department, a staunch union advocate who will no doubt take up Biden’s charge to render it even harder for gig economy companies and other businesses to retain independent contractors. But when it comes to Biden’s loftiest ambition in this arena – passage of federal legislation to ensure as many gig economy workers as possible are classified as employees – he may run into an expected roadblock: his own party.
Just two months after 58% of Californians voted it into effect and not even one month after it became law of the state, a group of workers and a major union have filed suit to overturn the results of Proposition 22, the ballot measure that ensured that app-based rideshare and delivery drivers could be classified as independent contractors. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) joined with a group of rideshare drivers to go straight to the California Supreme Court on January 12 and ask it to invalidate the new law as being unconstitutional and otherwise unenforceable.
If it had been released at some other point in time and under different circumstances, perhaps gig economy businesses would be celebrating the release of a federal rule that makes it easier to classify workers as independent contractors. But the fact that it wasn’t formalized until the waning days of the current administration means that the rule faces long odds of ever taking effect. We wrote about the rule in our Legal Alert that can be found here – feel free to check it out if you want the particulars of what the rule could bring to the table when it comes to establishing a worker classification standard. The Alert also provides details regarding the roadblocks the rule faces: the impending “midnight” memo to be released on January 20 that will temporarily freeze this rule and prevent it from taking effect on March 8 as planned; the probable litigation that will be filed to block the rule from taking effect on a permanent basis; an incoming administration that will almost certainly take additional steps to shelve the rule; and a possible replacement rule that would almost certainly be worker-centric. Add to that the recent news that Marty Walsh will soon head the Labor Department – his labor background makes it all but certain that he will oppose this rule – and you can see why it seems unlikely that the rule will ever become the law of the land.
It’s typical as the year winds down to turn our attention to the upcoming new year to try to figure out what’s in store for us. And like no other time in most of our lives, we’re looking forward to putting the past year in the rearview mirror and flipping our calendars to start anew. As we begin to ponder what 2021 might look like for us, we’re particularly interested on this blog to forecast what the new year will bring for the gig economy industry. Here are our top three predictions for the new year.
With only a few weeks left in 2020 and a new administration set to take control of the Department of Labor a few weeks later, companies that rely upon a gig economy business model may be in store for a nice gift this Christmas season. According to Ben Penn and Bloomberg News, the Labor Department is planning on releasing its final misclassification rule – that will make it easier to categorize workers as independent contractors – before Christmas. Under this schedule, it will be set to take effect two months later. By then, however, there will be new leadership in the White House and at the Labor Department. Will that changeover mean that this gift for businesses will eventually turn into a lump of coal?
Delivery and rideshare drivers who work in the gig economy should get priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. In a December 10 letter sent to governors in all 50 states, Khosrowshahi notes just how reliant Americans have become on gig workers during the pandemic, earning them a spot near the front of the line. What do you need to know about this development?
In a recent op-ed penned in Business Insider, DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu laid out a three-step plan necessary to ensure that our nation’s workplace laws stay current to address the ever-growing gig economy by creating a hybrid model of worker somewhere between employee and independent contractor. The November 29 piece also discusses some of the ways in which his company and similar businesses have been instrumental in providing needed services to consumers and all-important compensation for workers looking to manage through the pandemic and ongoing financial crisis.
The federal government has taken another step to further incentivize highly skilled workers to join the gig economy: it has proposed rules that would permit publicly held gig companies to offer equity compensation to their employees as payment. The rules, proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, would allow these companies to pay workers in stock during a five-year pilot period. “As our economy and work arrangements evolve, we must be willing to experiment with concomitant changes to our regulations,” commissioners Elad Roisman and Hester Peirce wrote in a statement that accompanied the release. However, there’s a good chance the rules may never get off the ground at all due to the impending changes in Washington, D.C. What do you need to know about this recent announcement?


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Bharti SoftBank, a joint venture between business group Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank Corp., announced today that it has acquired a 36.5 percent stake in ScoopWhoop, an Indian-focused media startup. Though financial terms were undisclosed, the deal is interesting because it’s the latest in a series of investments by SoftBank in Indian startups. The Japanese telecom giant recently said that it intends to invest about $10 billion in India over the next few years.
SoftBank also recently ramped up its focus on entertainment when it invested $250 million in California-based Legendary Entertainment. Its investment in ScoopWhoop gives SoftBank a chance to add yet another entertainment company to its portfolio, albeit one that has a different model than Legendary Entertainment ScoopWhoop collects entertainment content that is meant to be shared over social media networks, a similar model to Buzzfeed and Upworthy. ScoopWhoop currently claims 20 million monthly page views and over 8 million unique visitors per month across its website and mobile app. About a half of its page views are accessed via smartphones.
Last week, SoftBank announced that it led a $210 million investment in Ola, an Uber-style service based in Mumbai. At the same time, SoftBank participated in a $627 million round in Snapdeal, an e-commerce business. Other investments in India include mobile ad startup InMobi and Bharti.
SoftBank has enjoyed previous success from investing in companies located in fast-growing markets—its war chest is funded in part by returns from the $20 million stake Son invested in Alibaba back in 2000, which is now estimated to be worth around $75 billion.
Other emerging Asian startup ecosystems SoftBank currently has a stake in include Indonesia, where it recently invested (along with Sequoia) in marketplace Tokopedia and Korea, where it recently purchased streaming video startup DramaFever.
In a statement, Madhu Nori, CEO of Bharti SoftBank, said “About a half of India’s population are under 25 years old and the use of social networks with smartphones is growing rapidly among this segment. As a result, Media consumption patterns are rapidly evolving and this space is ready for disruption. The team at ScoopWhoop have demonstrated significant growth by leveraging their strength in understanding and creating locally relevant content for India’s young audience. We believe the partnership offers immense synergies for both parties to create great content experience for India’s mobile internet population.”


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January 10, 2014
WHEN the Cuban government said in December that it intended to let the population buy modern cars without requiring permits, many suspected there would be a catch. They were right.
|8/30/16||New Cuba tourism seen slow to take off despite U.S. flights
Marc Frank and Jeffrey Dastin, Reuters
|8/30/16||New Cuba Flights May Intensify Lobbying to Dissolve Tourism Ban
Stephanie Beasley, Bloomberg BNA
|8/29/16||Cashing in on Cuba: Why the U.S. tourism industry isn’t waiting for Congress to lift the embargo
Angelo Young, Salon


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Vans has announced the release of the Cab 7, Steve Caballero’s latest pro-model shoe. Vans’ first pro shoe was the original Caballero Signature Hi-Top in 1989.
The Cab 7 is made of a synthetic-leather-and-mesh upper with synthetic-rubber underlays, ghillie lacing, deluxe sockliner, tongue overlay, an interlocking EVA/PU midsole, a visible air-heel unit, recessed stitch grooves, and a gum-rubber outsole. It will be available in stores in April and will retail for about 75 dollars.
After twenty years as a pro, Caballero is still a prolific traveler and tours constantly, including regular stints on the annual international Vans Warped Tour, Australia’s Big Day Out events, and competitions across the U.S. and Europe.


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*If it wasn’t enough that BP was basically trying to kill off every living creature in the Gulf, the chief operations officer, is encouraging seafood eaters to consume their toxic waste product in the form of Gulf fish.
Doug Suttles told the public that he would “absolutely” eat Gulf seafood. He says that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has done some extensive testing and has cleared consummation of BP oil massacred seafood.
He told reporters, “I have a lot of confidence in those agencies and I trust their recommendations and I would eat their food — the seafood out of the Gulf, and I would feed it to my family.”
I want some long term testing. Will that fish give me cancer? Will that shrimp in my Louisiana gumbo give me the runs?
Let’s be honest here. We all know that they not only contaminated the waters with their oil, but also with some chemicals to disperse it throughout the ocean.
Anderson Cooper and his buddies at CNN made a special report about the catastrophe, highlighting the damage the disaster caused. The dispersants have killed wildlife, damaged the ecosystem, polluted the ocean and beaches.
Coast dwellers don’t even eat the seafood anymore. They’re eating chicken, pork, and turkey, not only because the fish are dead, hiding, and swam away, but also because the seafood don’t taste right.
BP has just about cured me of seafood, though I will miss my Southern style crab cakes and no C.O.O. of the culprit company gonna convince me it’s safe to eat oil marinated fish.
Read the story here.


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Cayman Branded Coca Cola Cans
Coca Cola has launched a new Cayman-branded can in the Cayman Islands.
The new can, which features the Cayman Islands coat of arms and a statement reading ‘Cayman Islands Taste The Feeling’, was first presented at Christmas at the Castle which took place on the Great Lawn at Pedro St. James on December 6. The event was sponsored by Tortuga Fine Wines & Spirits, Coca Cola and the Ministry of Health.
“Introducing the new and official #cocacola look! It will hit the stores very soon! Can’t wait to see all your pictures with it,” said an early morning Facebook post from Tortuga Fine Wines & Spirits.
The personalized Coca Cola can trend was created in 2011 in Australia. Initially, they made 150 popular first names (e.g. Eric, Mary, Susan…) and also included generic names like “Dad”, “Mum”, “Bro”, hoping to capture 42 per cent of the population in Australia. But with the success, the concept of personalized cans has branched out internationally.


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MultiCam's Open House Offers Free Software Training
The event will also feature live demonstrations and factory tours.
Mechanized CNC cutting producer MultiCam will host free software training and product demonstrations during a July 8-9 open house at the company's Dallas, Texas headquarters. Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the event will feature live demonstrations of the company's router, plasma, waterjet, knife, digital registration and laser technologies, as well as training with the company's EngView package and point-of-purchase design software and AlphaCam 3D sign-making software.
The training classes are limited to the first forty attendees. EngView training will take place from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and AlphaCam training will take place from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. In addition, the company will host tours of its upgraded factory and one-on-one consultations. Complimentary food and drink will be provided.


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British Columbia installs new oversize/overweight travel restrictions
October 19, 2018
•Land Line Staff
Beginning Nov. 19, truckers driving on provincial highways in British Columbia will need to reevaluate their trucks’ weight and size for larger loads. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recently announced new travel restrictions during inclement weather.
More specifically, the restrictions apply to provincial highways that are designated as “Carry Chains” routes for commercial vehicles or “Winter Tire” routes for passenger vehicles any time those routes are under a travel advisory.
Travel restrictions will apply to loads that exceed 100,000 kilograms gross combination vehicle weight, approximately 220,000 pounds or 110 U.S. tons. Restrictions also apply to trucks that are 4.4 meters in overall width, which is approximately 14 feet.
According to a news release, the province has noticed an increase in the number of road closures provincewide that involve commercial vehicles. This comes despite a decrease of serious commercial vehicle-related crashes. The instances of commercial vehicles causing closures by spinning out on the highway or extending closures due to their inability to regain traction on the road surface have increased, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
“Even heavy-duty tow trucks are not designed to pull loads with weights that exceed 100,000 kilograms, and a load exceeding 4.4 meters blocks a very significant portion of the roadway when disabled, especially in heavy snow,” according to a statement from the Ministry. “It is difficult for maintenance contractors to remove snow when vehicles are blocking the way, resulting in longer than usual road closures.”
Commercial vehicles exceeding 100,000 kilograms or more than 4.4 meters in width must not be dispatched during extreme winter conditions and travel advisories, the Ministry advises.
The Ministry will make all Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement inspection stations available to commercial vehicles that are in transit during travel advisories for staging and chaining up.
Questions about the new restrictions may be directed to firstname.lastname@example.org or to Jan Lansing, manager commercial transport, at email@example.com.


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We are moving!
Australian Boating Supplies has been at shed F31 for 12 years and now its time to move on to a bigger and better premises!
We are staying within the blue gates of Gold Coast City Marina and moving into shed C17, which is directly opposite our current location. Over the next month Dave, Helen, the ABS team and a number of contractors will be putting in the hard yards and converting the dusty workshop into a beautiful chandlery store ready to open on Monday 27th April.
Our new premises is 10metres longer and includes a partial mezzanine floor and conference space, allowing us to bring our warehouse stock instore, give Dave and Helen proper offices and the girls more display space! Shed C17 also has 4 dedicated customer carparks, located before the boom gates and rear access for customers coming from the water or hardstand.
Over the weekend the demolition has already started with much of the plasterboard, windows and internal doors already removed. Today the stairs which were located in the middle of the shed are being removed.
Keep updated on all the progress by following our blog, Facebook or Instagram.
Removing the plasterboard.
Thank you tea lady!...and Billy.


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Finn Bálor reveals inclusive Bálor Club “For Everyone” T-shirt
Finn Bálor took to social media earlier today to reveal his new Bálor Club “For Everyone” T-shirt design, available now at WWEShop.com and WWE Live Events. The shirt features a rainbow design to promote inclusivity of the LGBTQ community around the globe.
Twenty percent of the sales price before applicable sales tax of each shirt will benefit GLAAD, from April 2 through June 30.
“Everyone deserves to be accepted and included,” Bálor said. “Bálor Club is for everyone.”
Forreal— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) April 2, 2018


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Some retailers also say they have started pushing consumers to devices other than Huawei, given the uncertainty about their future supplies.
A global race to automate stores is underway among several of the world’s top retailers and small tech startups, which are motivated to shave labour costs and minimise shoppers’ frustrations, like waiting for cashiers.
Retailers are planning a campaign to highlight how the latest revision in the charges they pay to enable debit card transactions is an anticonsumer move.
Capillary Technologies, which provides inventory and customer relationship management solutions to retailers, is going multiproduct to tap market demand and drive growth.
Startups such as Goodbox and Lookup are attempting to make daily online shopping a more personalised experience, while also helping merchants acquire and retain customers.
E-commerce suits the structure of demand in India — a lot of people buying a little bit each that adds up to a lot; and scattered over a geographically long tail.
After launching in New Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, FirstHandle launched the app in Bengaluru today.
Editor's Picks ›
- Rainshine Entertainment picks up stakes in two media companies
- Social e-commerce startup CityMall raises funds
- ETtech Top 5: Udaan valuation zooms, Political parties bullish on Facebook ads & more
- Bithumb looking to engage with govt for regulated exchange
- Tech Mahindra sees a revival in large deals
- ShareChat transparency report says it provided user info to govt on 33 out of 41 requests
- Political parties go big on Facebook ads as state elections near
- Udaan raises $585 million at $2.8B valuation
- Emerging tech is helping companies grow revenues 2x: Report
- Shubh Loans has raised $4.8M as a part of its Series A round


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Luxury travelers are undeterred by the cost of travel today, according to a panel of agency owners who spoke during Virtuoso Travel Week’s press conference last week.
The conference, held live in Las Vegas, was also available virtually.
“Clients aren’t even asking about costs in some cases,” said Anthony Goldman, joint managing director of the Goldman Group in Australia.
They have a desire to travel and a newfound sense of urgency because of the halt in travel the pandemic caused, Goldman said.
From the Window Seat: At Virtuoso, a microcosm of industry activity
Beth Washington, founder of Getaway Guild in Washington, agreed that the highest level of luxury travelers “are not really blinking an eye at the inflated prices.”
“I see more of the sticker shock in the aspirational traveler,” Washington said. “Maybe they just entered the luxury travel market before the pandemic. Those are the clients that I do think are a little bit more sticker-shocked by prices right now.”
But, while that group of clients might be experiencing some sticker shock, most of the pushback is verbal, and they end up booking regardless.
“I think that goes to the current demand and the passion for taking a trip and having an experience coming out of the pandemic,” Washington said.
Sticker shock is also happening among repeat clients who have already experienced a particular travel product, said Susan Bowman, vice president of marketing and industry relations with Transat in Canada.
A client who has rented a villa for years might be shocked to find it is 40% more to rent the same villa today than it was previously. The cost is likely higher because of labor costs, but Bowman said it’s difficult to explain the steep increase to consumers.
That, coupled with car rentals, is really driving up trip costs. Bowman noted that clients recently needed a van, which was $11,000. They did take it because they couldn’t find anything else, but “that is not sustainable,” she said.
However, Virtuoso surveys have found evidence that agency owners’ optimism has been steadily on the rise since January of this year as the omicron variant of Covid-19 began to recede.
While the verdict is still out as to whether the current environment is the new normal or a travel bubble, having luxury clients who aren’t batting an eye at prices isn’t a bad problem to have.


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A worldwide condom shortage is impending as the world’s largest producer of condoms is forced to shut down production.
Malaysia’s Karex Bhd makes one in every five condoms globally. And its three Malaysian factories were shut down under a coronavirus lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the virus.
Its condoms are normally marketed internationally by brands such as Durex, supplied to state healthcare systems such as Britain’s NHS or distributed by aid programmes such as the UN Population Fund.
The company was given permission to restart production on Friday, but with only 50 per cent of its workforce, under a special exemption for critical industries.
“We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary,” he said. “My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programmes … in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months.” the chief executive, Goh Miah Kiat said.
Malaysia has had 2,161 coronavirus infections and 26 deaths. The lockdown is due to remain in place at least until 14 April.


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The August 20 edition of HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® revealed the 13th annual “Players,” people to watch in housewares during the next 12 months.
Selected by HomeWorld Business editors, the Players represent a cross section of a diverse housewares business— from established to newly installed company leaders; from large to small operations, from big-box to specialty retailers; from trade show managers to celebrity endorsers.
The HomeWorld Players are in the spotlight not only for how they might impact their respective organizations in the coming months, but also for how they might impact the overall housewares business.
Tom Neth, ThermoServ, President
PLAYER’S CREDENTIALS: Tom Neth was named to the position of president of ThermoServ in 2013, and has since overseen a variety of brand expansion initiatives tasked with growing the company’s product portfolio and retail partnerships.
WHAT TO WATCH: Just three years ago, ThermoServ underwent a major rebranding effort that aimed at repositioning the brand and its product lineup. Alongside the refresh, the company launched melamine tableware to complement its drinkware.
At the time, Neth noted, “This shift in focus towards casual entertaining provides a great opportunity for retailers to take another look at the ThermoServ brand. And we think they’ll be excited at what they find.”
Since then, the company has continued to support its growth plans. In 2016, ThermoServ invested more than $3 million on an expansion and optimization project at its facility, which included renovation of its office and manufacturing. Both spaces focused on strategizing how to best communicate with and meet the needs of the company’s retail partners and end consumer.
In March, ThermoServ illustrated its growth with a major new presence at the International Home + Housewares Show. The company nearly tripled its booth size to 1,500-square-feet, which had been designed with the brand’s new look in mind, and also allowed it to highlight its expanded product lines, including its Tritan from Eastman tabletop drinkware and new melamine collections.
The company has also focused on growing its food service business, with several acquisitions. Last year, the company acquired United States Dinnerware Inc.’s commercial melamine tableware brand, Prolon, and in 2018 acquired Capitol Cups, which had been serving the retail, food, restaurant and convenience store industries.
PERSPECTIVE: Neth continues to lead the charge in ThermoServ’s growth plans. Of the company’s latest acquisitions, Neth noted its desire to continue growing in the coming years. “We are making great gains in the convenience, retail and food service industries, and we look forward to growing our ability to serve each of them with domestically produced, high quality drinkware,” he said.
2019 HomeWorld Business Players (click on name for profile):
- Heshy Biegeleisen, Gourmia
- David Whitley, True Brands
- Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s
- Walter Lehneis, Groupe SEB USA
- Henry Liu, Cangshan Cutlery Company
- Darbie Angell, Darbie Angell
- Kevin Blossom, Spectrum Brands
- Mike Evans, Bush Industries
- Tom Neth, ThemoServ
- Jayme Smaldone, Mighty Mug
- Robert Wang, Instant Pot
- Ryan Gilchrist, Wayfair
- Davide Sereni, Luigi Bormioli/Bormioli Rocco
- Kristi Forbes, Forty One Madison
- Jean-Philippe Peugeot, Peugeot Saveurs North America
- Michelle Gass, Kohl’s
- Bob Maricich, International Market Centers
- Lance Hood, Progressive International
- Kenneth Wilkes, Corelle Brands


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Stocks should rally if the U.S. and China agree to new negotiations and a ceasefire in the trade war, but the economic impact of tariffs will continue.Market Insiderread more
More than 300 companies are talking to government officials in Washington about how detrimental the trade war is.Marketsread more
Powell stresses the central bank's independence in a speech that comes amid continuous pressure from the White House to cut interest rates.The Fedread more
The trade war between Beijing and Washington appears to have depressed Chinese property purchases in the United States. China's own actions may also be playing a role.Real Estateread more
Stocks in Asia were set to open lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tempered expectations for a potential interest rate cut.Asia Marketsread more
In a text message, Grisham confirmed to CNBC that she will still be working for the first lady even as she takes on her new roles.Politicsread more
Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders is resigning amid the furor over the Trump administration's treatment of migrant children.Politicsread more
NBC is taking the office back from Netflix as it seeks to bolster its own streaming service launching in 2020.Technologyread more
Wayfair employees plan to walk out tomorrow, after no action was taken in response to their opposition to the company supplying border detention camps with beds for children.Retailread more
Micron beat analyst estimates on earnings and revenue for its fiscal third quarter of 2019.Technologyread more
Omarosa Manigault Newman, who had been a senior advisor to President Donald Trump before her firing, was sued for allegedly failing to file required financial disclosures.Politicsread more
Technology stocks were hurt by a "challenging earnings season" last month but that's created a window of opportunity in both Amazon and Facebook, J. P. Morgan internet analyst Doug Anmuth tells CNBC. The two tech giants are Anmuth's top picks for the coming year.
"Amazon obviously took its lumps in [the third quarter] after earnings," Anmuth said. "The key is, once Amazon gets past [the fourth quarter], we would expect growth to accelerate in early 2019."
Jeff Bezos' e-commerce empire "stands out" the most among the internet names Anmuth covers, he said in a note to clients on Thursday. J. P. Morgan believes Amazon's core retail business remains strong. The analyst also sees the company's profitability to be further driven by its Amazon Web Services and advertising businesses.
Facebook's "stock has been under a lot of pressure for a long time," Anmuth said, but the third quarter "saw numbers which showed stability in the user base." While some view Facebook "as a 1-trick pony" built around advertising, Anmuth said CEO Mark Zuckerberg's company is "clearly pushing harder"
Anmuth noted that Facebook doubled its safety and security staff to 20,000 from 10,000, saying the firm is "certainly spending a lot of money around that investment."
"I think they are taking much more serious steps than a year or two ago," Anmuth said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street. " He sees Facebook finding growth again in three ways: Reversing the negative tide of public opinion, further stabilizing its core user base and identifying new revenue sources.
"I think the bar has been kind of set in an appropriate place," Anmuth said.
The holiday shopping season has begun, and J. P Morgan took a deep dive into how investors can better understand the e-commerce world as Amazon gears up to do battle with the likes of Target, Walmart and eBay.
"I think people might miss the fact that 2018 is the third year of acceleration in e-commerce growth," Anmuth said, adding that this is a strong industry "continuing to get stronger."
Another little-known fact is that e-commerce sales are "still very much driven by desktop," Anmuth said. Only 28 percent of e-commerce is done through mobile devices, according to J. P. Morgan, with desktop dominating the remaining 72 percent.
Amazon and Target are especially competing with first time offers on shipping this holiday season. Bezos' company took off its $25 minimum for non-Prime members to get free shipping, while Target is offering free 2-day shipping.
"It was notable that this was the first time they're removing the free shipping threshold," Anmuth said. "Speaks to the competition that's happening in terms of logistics."
That's "probably a bigger shift for" Target than for Amazon, the analyst said.
Read J. P. Morgan's 2018 holiday retail outlook here.


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Third party developers are beginning to release software updates to guarantee Leopard compatibility following the release of Apple's new OS.
VMware's Fusion 1.1 is an updated version of its virtualisation software for Intel Macs. The version presently available was tested with the pre-release version of Apple's new OS, but the company will introduce a final build once it has had a chance to test against Leopard.
Nolobe today announced Interarchy 8.5.4, a maintenance release that adds Leopard support and is recommended for all Interarchy 8 customers. The update also improves reliability when waking Intel Macs from sleep.
Ergonis Software has announced a Leopard update to PopChar 3.3, its popular tool for inserting umlauts and special characters into the text of any application.
"As with every time when Apple rolls out a new version of Mac OS X, we know that many of our customers would not upgrade to the new OS without being sure that their favorite font utility works on the new platform," said Christoph Reichenberger, founder and CEO of Ergonis Software. "We are happy to announce the Leopard-ready version of PopChar X today, right after the official release of Mac OS X 10.5."
Ovolab has released free Leopard-compatible updates for its telephony software Phlink and its photo geolocation software Geophoto.
Aquafadas last week announced the immediate availability of software updates for iDive (1.8.6) and PulpMotion (1.4.6) which are fully compatible with Mac OS 10.5 Leopard. iDive includes a new export feature to send clips to the new iMovie'08 library and use them right away while PulpMotion gets a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Further Leopard compatibility updates for Mac applications are emerging hourly, readers should keep an eye on developer websites for their favourite applications.


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The transition to CMOS image sensors in professional medium-format cameras takes its second big step after Phase One's IQ250 arrived in January.
A move to an image sensor made with CMOS chip manufacturing technology will mean more adaptable cameras, the medium-format camera maker promises.
This revamped version of Sony's NEX-7 has luxury touches including titanium knobs and hand-stitched leather. Here are three prototypes Hasselblad revealed at Photokina.
The professional camera maker, expanding beyond its market with a big boost from Sony, announces the $6,500 NEX-compatible Lunar camera and its ambitions for much more.
A new camera body from the high-end camera specialist will be easier to use and better protected against the elements. Also: a new 24mm lens and a macro converter.
The medium-format camera maker has pared prices of professional models such as the HD4-60 by thousands of dollars.
The storied medium-format camera maker is in new hands as Ventizz Capital Partners acquires it. The private equity firm plans to invest capital for growth.
The relationship between Phase One and Mamiya has been corrected. Phase One acquired a controlling interest in Mamiya.
Extended multishot technology will quadruple the H4D-50's resolution starting in the first quarter of 2011. Also: two new Hasselblad lenses that can keep up.


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Business de-risking specialist, Marketwise Strategies has become the market research partner to VentureFest North East, the regional innovation conference for North East England.
Specialising in strategic research for new product development and business growth, Marketwise Strategies works with science and technology businesses and universities, across the UK and internationally. Formed in 2000, the company has a strong track record in supporting innovation and delivering robust market insights to inform corporate and marketing strategies.
VentureFest North East Executive Director, Simon Green said,
“We’re delighted that Marketwise Strategies has become a partner of VentureFest North East. We’ve worked with the team there for many years, on various projects, and their specialist knowledge of innovation makes them a great fit with our plans. A large part of managing innovation projects is reducing risk, which is exactly what Marketwise Strategies’ services can help with. We’re looking forward to working together on helping North East businesses get their ideas to market.”
The VentureFest North East innovation conference takes place on 8th November 2016, at St James Park, Newcastle upon Tyne. Growing to 700 people this year, it’s a unique day in the business calendar that’s packed with inspirational speakers and practical workshops to help new, existing – and aspiring – businesses to make new connections, raise finance and explore opportunities.
Jacquie Potts, Managing Director at Marketwise Strategies said, “In our experience, VentureFest North East excels at bringing people together to create new business opportunities. It attracts – and delivers results for – businesses of all sizes and sectors. Whether you are trying to raise finance, find new market opportunities, access expertise or simply be inspired, it is a superb event – and well worth attending. We have taken part in previous VentureFest North East events, including the innovation conference in 2015 and Finance Camp earlier this year, and found them outstanding, with a great mix of people.”
At the VentureFest North East conference in November, Marketwise Strategies will be delivering a workshop session on de-risking innovation.
Registrations for the conference are now open at www.venturefestnortheast.com and attendance is free to all businesses.


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Matthew Chang, co-founder of the Jacksonville Venture competition, and Tim Gibbons, editor of the Jacksonville Business Journal sat down with Anne Schindler, host of First Coast Connect to talk all things JVC.
Matthew’s Vision for the Venture Competition
Matthew Chang, initiated this Venture Competition last year with a clear goal in mind: to fill a crucial gap in Jacksonville’s startup ecosystem. The aim? To provide easier access to funding for company founders and, ultimately, to keep startups right here in Jacksonville. Matthew emphasizes the importance of retaining startups within the city, highlighting the unfortunate trend of local founders seeking funding elsewhere, such as Charleston, South Carolina, or even Tallahassee.
According to Matthew, the issue isn’t a lack of money in Jacksonville, as evident from the city’s affluent areas like the beaches or San Marco. Instead, the challenge lies in educating local investors on how to invest in startup companies. The Jacksonville Venture Competition serves as a platform to bridge this gap by spotlighting startups, educating investors, and fostering connections between them.
The Role of the Jacksonville Business Journal
The Jacksonville Business Journal joins as a sponsor of the event, reflecting their commitment to nurturing the city’s innovation ecosystem. Timothy Gibbons emphasizes the importance of building a community where companies, investors, and entrepreneurs can connect and thrive. By sponsoring events like JVC, the Business Journal aims to foster growth and collaboration within Jacksonville’s business landscape.
Creating Opportunities for Connection and Investment
The Jacksonville Venture Competition isn’t just about pitching ideas; it’s about creating collisions—opportunities for individuals from various backgrounds to meet, connect, and collaborate. With a maximum purse size of $1.2 million, the competition offers substantial funding opportunities for winning startups.
Learning from Past Experiences: Lessons from One Spark
Reflecting on past entrepreneurial events like One Spark, Matthew and Timothy acknowledge the lessons learned. While events like One Spark showcased the appetite for connecting ideas with funding, they also encountered challenges, particularly regarding logistics and sustainability. The Jacksonville Venture Competition aims to address these issues by offering a focused, packaged event centered on business growth and investment.
Join Us at the Jacksonville Venture Competition
If you’re eager to be part of Jacksonville’s thriving startup scene, mark your calendars for March 12th and 13th. With ample networking opportunities, live pitch sessions, and the potential for substantial funding, this event is not to be missed. Get your tickets today: https://904tix.com/events/jacksonville-venture-competition-3-12-2024.


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[introduction] this field in electronic commerce by the whole industry chain of the carnival, this year is fifth years.
Wang Liang Chen Kexin technology Tencent reported on November 8th
annual double 11 electricity supplier shopping war is about to open, this is the carnival of the whole industry chain involved in e-commerce, to this year is the fifth year.
back in 2012, Tmall and Taobao group Alibaba with two channels, the gains of 19 billion 100 million sales performance. This year, with the sinking of the brand, the competition between the old and new brands, the introduction of the mobile side, Alibaba group is undergoing a series of changes.
peers fierce fire, how much traffic can be separated from this feast in comparison with previous years, this year, 11 What are the two points
extends to offline
is different from previous years, this year, the first time the concept of playing 11 O2O. Tmall announced this year, covering 11 of the many traditional brands of physical stores, including Uniqlo, GAP, and other more than and 300 brands under the line of 3 stores. In addition, Tmall reached a strategic cooperation with intime. Suning also launched the O2O online shopping festival.
, however, there are still many difficulties in the entire retail industry in order to achieve O2O. For example, most of the online and offline systems do not dock, the flow of information and capital flow is difficult to butt together, to achieve the flow of goods is unrealistic.
O2O requires at least the following four factors: one is the line of the same price, two is the open membership system, three is the line of benefit sharing issues, four shops need to cover 3G.
although O2O is not easy to achieve, many stores are still sweeping two-dimensional code, the form of coupons, but the release of online and offline shopping break ice signal. A clothing Amoy brand founder believes that online or offline integration will be achieved within two years.
mobile terminal debut
double 11 this year, many companies will focus on the mobile shopping market competition. Tencent, science and technology today that in the double 11 period, WeChat will provide the Tencent’s comprehensive shopping fast and easy web site opened a special store entrance, easy fast network will be in the WeChat version 5 and above my bank card interface, easy fast on-line double click on the 11 WeChat store, there will be a variety of popular goods WeChat exclusive special offer after entering the orders after the user will jump directly to pay WeChat. And this is the first time to carry out the depth of the combination of physical electricity supplier WeChat.
with the gradual promotion of WeChat payment, will further solve the most important aspects of mobile e-commerce payment.
of Tmall in the mobile terminal 11 for micro Amoy, including Taobao Alipay wallet, travel. In addition, the Alibaba investment group Gould’s map will come in handy in O2O, will participate in the activities of double 11 for user navigation, which line shop. < >


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CURAÇAO HAS REOPENED FOR TOURISM – ALL COUNTRIES WELCOME
After being closed for international tourism for months, Curaçao is happy to announce they have now reopened and are accepting tourists from all countries. Curaçao lifted entry bans and started welcoming tourists on June 12, 2020, adding more countries to the list July 1 and finally opening to all countries on January 1st, 2021.
Starfish Cayo Guillermo resort to open in December
TORONTO — Starfish Cayo Guillermo is set to commence operations on Dec. 10, marking the 20th property in Cuba for Canadian owned-and-operated Blue Diamond Resorts. Nestled on the shores of Cayo Guillermo in Cuba, the all-inclusive resort – formerly known as Club Cayo Guillermo – offers modern updates to common areas, restaurants and the majority of its 296 rooms.
TURKEY: COVID-19 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS
Turkey was quickly becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world prior to the pandemic. With its breathtaking natural beauty, archaeological sites and oceanfront resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts, the country truly has something for everyone.


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LYON, France – Following a successful one-year trial involving 500 parking spaces at the Lyon Airport, Stanley Robotics and VINCI Airports announced this week they agreed to expand the program to more than 2,000 spaces by summer 2020.
The innovative outdoor car park is “entirely managed by robots,” in which seven autonomous robots work simultaneously to deliver cars to the parking lot from 28 cabins that are available for customers to drop off or pick up their vehicles. The companies said that the project, initially started in 2017, ultimately aims to offer more than 6,000 parking spaces.
The “robot valet service” frees up time for passengers looking for free spaces or trying to locate their vehicle in a traditional parking lot or garage. After booking a space through the Lyon Airport website, passengers can drop off their vehicle in one of the dedicated cabins, and travel to the airport using a shuttle bus. The robot then takes care of the car, parking it within the secure car park area. When a passenger returns, they can pick up their vehicle in one of the cabins.
“This agreement represents a major development stage for our benchmark project on the Lyon Airport site, and for our service,” said Clement Boussard, CEO of Stanley Robotics. “The opening of 2,000 spaces illustrates how far we have come in terms of maturity, with a product that is increasingly professional. It represents a significant leap forward in the history of our young company, and boosts are confidence in our plan to conquer the airport market and get other projects up and running right now.”
The project aligns with the airport company’s sustainable development approach, the company said. “The robot valet service provided by Stanley Robotics and developed in Lyon meets the strategic objectives of Lyon Airport, namely, to enhance customer experience and reduce the environmental impact of the airport’s activities,” said Tanguy Bertolus, CEO of Lyon Airport. The companies said the project:
- Reduces land use by making it possible to create 50% more spaces within the same surface area, since vehicles can be packed in very closely, and several layers deep. This helps preserve the surrounding soil structure.
- Limits C02 emissions by eliminating the need for passengers to drive around the car park, looking for a free space. Robots in the system are powered by electric motors that don’t emit C02. The companies estimate that 100 tons of C02 emissions can be avoided for 2,000 parking spaces over a one-year period.
The companies released the following statistics regarding usage of the 500 spaces during the trial period:
- 8,000 users utilized the service – with currently about 750 uers per month.
- 95% of customers said they would use the service again.
- The robots have traveled 2,000 km since opening.
The Lyon Airport served 11.7 million passengers in 2019, offering 130 direct destinations and 52 new routes in the last three years. It is managed by VINCI Airports, the leading private airport operator in the world, managing 46 airports in France, Portugal, the U.K., Sweden, the U.S., and other countries. Stanley Robotics is a venture-backed company that offers a smart and high-density car storage solution for airports and other car logistics industries. The full-stack solution comprises of fully autonomous robots and intelligent storage management software.


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Lineup announced for Virtual Cheese Awards 2021
Virtual Cheese Awards 2020 winners cheeseboard Photograph by Richard Walker/ImageNorth
The Virtual Cheese Awards in association with Food & Drink Wales is back for a second year to celebrate Great British cheese.
The event is the world’s first cheese awards to be judged live online and it will take place on Friday 7 May 2021 from 11am-4pm. The programme is packed with cheese-related interviews, panels and tastings aimed at demystifying and celebrating British cheese and its producers. Profits from the awards will be donated to the Specialist Cheesemakers Association to fund its bursary fund to financially support specialist British cheesemakers.
The stars of the event are the expert cheese judges who will be tasting, sniffing, inspecting and scoring a whole range of British cheese across seven categories including Best British Cheddar, Best British Blue and Best British Artisan Soft cheese.
The day will culminate with a final judging of the final top-scoring seven cheeses at 3pm and the crowning of Britain’s Best Cheese at 3.30pm.
Sarah de Wit, founder of the Virtual Cheese Awards and Cheese & Dairy consultant said: “We’re really proud to be running the Virtual Cheese Awards for a second year and are able to celebrate and reward the most innovative and exciting cheeses being made in Britain today. It’s been a tough year for the whole industry, but the resilience, creativity and passion of cheesemakers has really shone through. We can’t wait to see who wins this year’s Best British Cheese!”
The judges include Druv Baker, co-founder of Tempus Foods and Masterchef winner, Tracey Colley founding director of Academy of Cheese, Sam Wilkin, head cheesemonger at the Cheese Bar Group, Perry Wakeman, head of cheese at Rennet & Rind, Emma Young The Cheese Explorer, Holly Shackleton, editor of Speciality Food magazine and cheese buyers from Selfridges and M&S.
The event is being hosted by food and drink broadcaster and all-round local food champion, Nigel Barden who will be chatting to people from all areas of the cheese industry including, Richard Clothier, MD of Wyke Farms, Greg Parsons, owner of Sharpham Cheese and Mark Pitts-Tucker, head cheese grader at Davidstow.
There will also be a discussion looking back at the Year that Challenged British Cheese with Andy Swinscoe, The Courtyard Dairy, Steven and George Fletcher from Berkswell cheese and Philippa Christer from Specialty & Fine Food Fair.
Gill Hall, owner and cheesemaker at Butler’s Farmhouse Cheeses will be sharing her cheese and cracker tips alongside Clare Styles from Peter’s Yard crackers.
Owen Davies, MD at Ty Caws will be celebrating his favourite Welsh cheeses with Nigel Barden and there will be a Savour the Flavour British Cheese and drinks pairing curated by George Beach, Mudwalls Food, George Lang, The Cheese Merchant, Sophie Buxton, Cheshire Cheese Company and James Richards, Vin Neuf.
A proportion of the event will be streamed live on the Virtual Cheese Award’s Facebook and YouTube channels (main stage). However, there is additional content on a HopIn site which will include all the judging. Tickets for this are available to buy for a charity donation of £5, £10, £15 or £20 with all proceeds donated to the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.


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Jeff Gennette, Chairman and CEO of Macy’s since 2017, plans to retire in February 2024 after a total of four decades with the retailer. He will be replaced in the top spot by Macy’s EVP and Bloomingdale’s Chairman and CEO Tony Spring, who has been named Macy’s President and CEO-elect and gained a seat on the board of directors.
As part of the leadership transition, current CFO Adrian Mitchell’s responsibilities have been expanded to include the role of COO. Macy’s had eliminated the COO position, it turns out temporarily, in March 2021. Mitchell will lead the stores, technology and supply chain teams in addition to his current real estate and finance responsibilities. Gennette will work with both Spring and Mitchell until his retirement to ensure a smooth transition.
“I’m excited that Tony Spring has been appointed Macy’s Inc.’s President and will become CEO upon my retirement,” said Gennette in a statement. “He has delivered strong results at Bloomingdale’s and has been an ally and trusted partner in advancing Macy’s’ strategies. Tony consistently innovates for the customer, is an exceptional brand builder and an excellent talent developer who has strengthened our culture through his leadership. And I’m delighted that Adrian’s role has greatly expanded, leveraging his deep strategic expertise, commitment to omnichannel operational excellence and strong financial discipline.”
Spring has been with Bloomingdale’s for 36 years where as CEO he helped the banner deliver its highest-ever sales volume and record customer engagement in 2022, as well as repositioning the Bluemercury brand for growth.
Mitchell, who has served as CFO since November 2020, has been integral to the development and execution of the retailer’s Polaris transformation strategy. Prior to joining Macy’s, Mitchell advised retailers as a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and was CEO of home furnishings retailer Arhaus LLC.


text:
Show of faith in Carphone
Directors at mobile phone chain Carphone Warehouse have shown their faith in the company by splashing out £500,000 in shares.
Charles Dunstone, chief executive of the mobile phone chain, spent £250,000 to increase his stake in the company to nearly 38%.
Carphone Warehouse's chief operating officer David Ross spent £200,000, while its chief financial officer Roger Taylor paid out £50,000.
The three made their move as Carphone Warehouse' share price stood at 130p - a third below its flotation price of 201 1/2p last July.
The purchase also came just hours before Carphone Warehouse entered its closed period ahead of its annual results presentation on 29 May.
Mr Taylor said the three felt the West London-based company was undervalued and that the shares 'looked cheap'.
He said the company had been caught up by the gloom surrounding the telecoms sector, and in particular concerns over lower sales of cheaper pre-pay mobile phones.
He added, however, this was not Carphone Warehouse's main market: 'Our market has not changed. We are confident of showing exceptionally good growth. We deserve a good rating.'
Analysts are forecasting pre-tax profits of £48m for the year to 31 March, compared with £25.1 million a year earlier.
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Last month in Brussels, Cycling Industries Europe held their inaugural meeting and we’re pleased to announce that See.Sense has been elected to its Board of Directors, with Irene McAleese, Co-founder and CSO of See.Sense as our representative.
Tony Grimaldi, CEO of Cycleurope and President of Cycling Industries Europe welcomed Irene to the board: “One of the ambitions of Cycling Industries Europe is to represent the diversity of businesses in the cycling sector. I am delighted that See.Sense has been elected to our board with Irene McAleese as its representative, because she brings extensive experience in linking bicycle accessories to the digital and start-up sectors which are so important for the future of our industries. Her entrepreneurial background will really strengthen our team.”
Cycling Industries Europe is the main advocacy voice for cycling related businesses in Europe and works to bring the whole industry together. They are currently embracing the market’s move to digitalised and innovative solutions to create sustainable mobility options, which is where McAleese hopes to lend her expertise.
“At See.Sense we believe that industry should come together to help grow the market for cycling. I'm really looking forward to helping the voice of industry influence support for cycling in Europe”, says Irene McAleese.
See.Sense joins industry giants such as Accell Group, SRAM, NextBike, WTB, Pon.Bike, Trek and Cycleurope on this Board. See.Sense is the first and only SME on the Board of Directors.


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Whole Foods Haight Street will open on Feb. 16 with a decidedly local taste, thanks to Harvindar Singh, Whole Foods’ Northern California forager.
Singh roams Bay Area farmers markets and beyond to dig up small food companies with products worthy of aisle space.
Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) puts its money where its customers’ mouths are: Since starting a local microloan program in 2007, Whole Foods has loaned $795,000 to 15 Bay Area companies, Singh said. Loans of $125,000 to three other companies are pending, among them Ritual Coffee Roasters. Larkspur’s Rustic Bakery is the most recent loan recipient; it’s using the money to expand to other regions and to create a new line of single-serve flatbreads.
Whole Foods has publicly committed to lending up to $10 million in low-interest loans to local businesses nationwide.
These loans aren’t to start companies but to help existing companies scale to serve more Whole Foods stores, as well as other accounts. Coracao Confections in Emeryville is Whole Foods’ first exception and first seed grant; Singh found the raw chocolate maker at a farmers market and felt he had to find a way for them to create a product that Whole Foods could carry.
Lack of funding for food startups
Nevertheless, almost all loan recipients say that without the financial support from Whole Foods, they could not have grown so fast and could not have created so many new local jobs. Many loan recipients, including Back to the Roots (BTTR) Ventures and Three Twins Ice Cream, said that Whole Foods is among the only capital available to many new food businesses.
“We have tried to go to banks, and we have some small lines of credit, but nothing even close to what you need to open a factory — especially since we were trying to raise money around the onset of the economic downturn,” said Neal Gottlieb of Three Twins Ice Cream, which used a $25,000 loan from Whole Foods to help build a factory in Petaluma. “It really says something when your customer is the one lending you the money.”
Three Twins’ revenue increased 50 percent and crossed the $1.5 million mark in 2010. It has added the equivalent of seven full-time positions to staff the new facility, which is only at 20 percent capacity. Three Twins has expanded to Southern California and Pacific Northwest Whole Foods and will soon enter the Rocky Mountain region. It plans to go national.
Nurturing the young ones
Many young companies see a spot at Whole Foods as their ticket to success. It is the platform on which all other expansion dreams rest, yet many don’t know how to work with a large company. Singh helps them with that.
“A lot of them, with a little financial help and getting hooked up with a distributor and having the right product at the right price, can do very well,” Singh said of new Whole Foods vendors. “I’ll work with our regional coordinators and buyers to try to help and chart growth for these guys, and often we will take a margin cut to help them grow.”
Singh estimates that he has brought about 300 local companies to Whole Foods since 2007, and some 130 local growers supply Northern California Whole Foods.
Take BTTR Ventures. Its founders, Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora, were UC Berkeley seniors who met by chance in a business ethics course in 2009. Their professor proposed a sustainable business idea to grow mushrooms from used coffee grounds, and both Arora and Velez seized on it. They managed to grow oyster mushrooms from used coffee grounds in an old paint can and showed off their bounty to Berkeley Whole Foods.
Based on that encounter, the regional produce coordinator said that if the two could figure out how to grow oyster mushrooms from used Peet’s Coffee grounds on a commercial scale, Whole Foods would carry and promote them. In October 2009, BTTR sold its first 3.14 lbs. of oyster mushrooms to Berkeley’s Whole Foods. In March 2010, BTTR received a small business loan from Whole Foods and used the money to master grow-at-home mushroom kits, at Whole Foods’ behest.
“They are much more mentors than even buyers. They were instrumental in coming up with our product,” Arora said. BTTR now sells only mushroom growing kits, which produce about a pound of oyster mushrooms in just 10 days. The kits were in all Northern California Whole Foods by Earth Day 2010, and now BTTR kits are in nine regions and close to 200 stores with plans to go national.
This week, BTTR signed a lease for a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in West Oakland; it previously had a 1,200-square-foot warehouse. The company has seven full-time employees and expects to have 21 by year end. Revenue is under $1 million, but sales have tripled since October 2010 and are growing fast.
Scream Sorbet of Oakland hopes to tell a similar story.
“Scream has been on my radar for years,” Singh said of the Oakland sorbet maker that has been selling at farmers markets and recently opened a retail shop. “They were finally able to do retail, so (we) got them involved at a regional level. We said, ‘Let’s talk about packaging, how you will be merchandised, how you will be priced.’”
Scream Sorbet uses a machine called a “pacojet” that freezes fruits in such a way that they are super concentrated and smooth. Unfortunately, the process is a pricey one, since the machines only make 1 quart at a time. Scream will retail at Whole Foods for $8.99 and $10.99 for a 12 ounce package, depending on the flavor.
“They really seem to empower people at the local level, which is super exciting,” said Noah Goldner of Scream Sorbet, which will enter Whole Foods with the Haight store opening.
Working with nonprofit incubator
Singh and Whole Foods also work with La Cocina, a nonprofit incubator kitchen in San Francisco that helps immigrant women start food-based businesses. One of those is Azalina’s, which will supply some curry sauces and a coconut jam to the Haight store.
Whole Foods is even tapping the popularity of street food, working with street cart vendors to create shelf-friendly retail products.
“It was a roller coaster at first, trying to figure out how to do retail, how to scale up, how to source items, how to find jars,” said Brian Kimball, operator of San Francisco’s Magic Curry Kart since March 2009. Kimball started selling retail curry pastes to San Francisco Whole Foods stores in August 2010. He’s now looking for a local co-packer to manufacture his products. He said Singh has helped him, making introductions to people who might help, as well as offering tips on how to package and demonstrate his product to increase sales.
Becoming a food forager for Whole Foods was very much a right time, right place sort of thing for Singh. He had built up a farmers market in Washington State, and returned to the Bay Area where he started a farmers market in San Ramon before taking a job at Whole Foods.
“I felt like I needed a bigger platform where I could take all of my local vendors to the next level,” Singh said. Whole Foods currently has 12 foragers company-wide, and Singh was one of the first.
Jump from farmers to supermarket
East West Gourmet, maker of Afghani bolanis, was one of the first companies Singh brought into Whole Foods in 2007; he knew the Concord company from his farmers market days. Bolanis took off in Northern California Whole Foods — company sales grew from $2 million in 2007 to over $4 million in 2010 — so Whole Foods urged owner Nazie Sidiq to expand to Southern California.
Sidiq recently opened a new plant there and all 44 of the Southern California region Whole Foods (which include Arizona and Nevada) will start selling East West Gourmet bolanis in March or April. With the new plant and new locations, Sidiq anticipates she will have to double her staff, which numbers 80 in the summer when she is in over 100 Northern California farmers markets.
“Whole Foods helped me, but the reason I went there was because I started in the farmers market, and where you want to go after a farmers market is Whole Foods instead of a Safeway,” said Sidiq.
“The program now has built a good reputation that many new vendors just go to the store, or hear about me and contact me,” Singh said.
And many companies that find their way into Whole Foods, like Scream and Magic Curry, have hopes to secure a business loan. Scream would use it to build a bigger kitchen and buy more pacojet machines. Brian Kimball would increase his capacity and add new products.
“A lot of companies from San Francisco are launching at the Haight store,” Singh said. “We didn’t plan it that way. It just kind of happened because there are so many great food entrepreneurs out there producing some really great stuff.”
New local companies launching at Haight Street Whole Foods: Company Headquarters Azalina San Francisco Bicycle Coffee San Francisco Ceres Community Project Sebastopol Cook Soups Oakland Duarte’s Davenport HapaSF San Francisco Lovers Lane Far Ukiah Luke’s Local San Mateo Numa Snacks San Francisco Paulie’s Pickling San Francisco Rocket Ship Ice Cream San Francisco Rancho Gordo Napa Scream Sorbet Oakland Wholesome Bakery San Francisco


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It’s not too early to start planning your Black Friday. In fact, now is great time to start thinking about all of your holiday shopping. My husband (the true shopper in our home) is already gearing up for Black Friday — and it’s more than a month away. But he isn’t planning on leaving house.
Shopping in physical stores on Black Friday is what horror stories are made of. Herds of shoppers attacking display cases and each other. Mobs of consumption addicted customers competing for half-priced electronics or 90 percent off toys. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, consumers spent a record $52.4 billion over the four-day weekend following Thanksgiving in 2011. Due to the increasing chaos involved in Black Friday shopping, more and more people are opting to shop online the day after Thanksgiving to reap the benefits of at-home shopping while cutting costs. Despite the frenzy surrounding in-store Black Friday shopping, less than one-fifth of consumers plan to shop online, according to a 2012 PeriscopeIQ Retail Intelligence Survey. Look at the clear-cut advantages of online Black Friday and make the most of your holiday shopping.
No Waiting in Long Lines
Many consumers spend half of their day on Black Friday waiting in lines. You have to wait in line to enter the store, wait in line to grab those must-have products and then wait in line to purchase your items. According to a survey conducted by Blistex lip ointment, customers say an intense day of shopping can bring physical discomforts. 63 percent experience aches and pains, 40 percent complained of sore feet, 33 percent had back pain and 23 percent experienced chapped lips. Online Black Friday allows you to shop at your own pace in the comfort of your home, which means no lines.
Avoid the Crazy Crowds
There?s no denying that online Black Friday shopping equals less hassle. Black Friday is inevitably the biggest shopping day of the year and consumers flock to Wal-Mart, Target and other major retail stores to take advantage of major savings. You can avoid the unnecessary pushing, shoving and ill-mannered folks at your local shopping plazas by choosing to shop conveniently online.
Snatch Your Favorite Products
In 2012, the holiday value bundle for the Xbox 360 game console was amongst one of the most sought-after products. According to a press release published by HotBlackFridayDeals.com, consumers could find similar savings from Amazon and other online retailers without having to set foot inside an overcrowded mall. Nearly any product that you can find on sale in stores on Black Friday can be found online with similar or better discounts attached. Just like most major retailers, these deals are printed several weeks prior to the sale to allow you to save up for the products you desire most. For more information, you may want to consider Black Friday deals from JC Penny and your other favorite stores. Keep up-to-date on the latest brands, sales and special offers by signing up for texts and emails.
Achieve Maximum Savings
Some people spend weeks preparing for their Black Friday shopping, but obtaining the best deals comes down to just a few factors. Check your local Thanksgiving Day newspaper as it will most likely be stuffed with store ads, circulars and coupons. Many major retailers now provide circulars for online-only products, as well as coupon codes that can be inserted on the checkout page at the retailer?s online site. Compare prices with price-comparison online shopping sites, such as PriceGrabber.com to help you find the best deals possible. Also take notice of special ?Early Bird? or ?Night Owl? online shopping deals which can give you even bigger discounts when you shop at certain times of the day.


text:
The NRMA service, which recorded a $1 million loss last financial year, will end in April after decades of providing independent vehicle inspections.
The decision comes after the business was forecast to lose more than $1 million in 2006-07 and follows an eight-year decline in member demand, revenue and profit, an NRMA spokesman, Nic Frankham, said yesterday.
The chief executive of the MTA, James McCall, said consumers would not be affected because it would begin a similar independent inspection service by April.
"It's got implications for the people that work for NRMA and I'm very sad at the loss of jobs ? but we're happy to provide that service at a cheaper price," he said.
Mr Frankham said almost 50 staff were affected and would be offered jobs within the company.


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Quick Note: Kodak Bails on Digital Camera Market
February 9, 2012 12:06 PM
comment(s) - last by
Kodak also giving up on photo frames and pocket video recorders
It's no secret that photography company Kodak has been down on its luck in recent years. The company, which was once a pioneer in digital photography, found itself unable to compete with more agile competitors like
. Even more telling is with the rise of smartphones with increasingly better picture/video-capturing capabilities, the market for dedicated point-and-shoot cameras has been steadily eroding; a point that
Sony has already conceded
Given that Kodak digital cameras typically couldn't hold a candle to competition from Nikon, Canon, and Sony, it should come as no surprise that following the company's announcement last month that it was
filing for bankruptcy
that the next step would be to shutter its digital camera business.
Digital cameras, however, aren't the only casualties -- Kodak will also discontinue pocket video cameras and digital photo frames. These product lines will be phased out during the first half of 2012.
“For some time, Kodak’s strategy has been to improve margins in the capture device business by narrowing our participation in terms of product portfolio, geographies and retail outlets. Today’s announcement is the logical extension of that process, given our analysis of the industry trends,” said Pradeep Jotwani, President, Consumer Businesses, and Kodak Chief Marketing Officer.
Kodak will now focus its energies on its more profitable areas including retail photo printing, desktop inkjet printing, its Kodak Gallery online photo service, and traditional film capture business.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Never inovated
2/9/2012 1:38:44 PM
I would argue that diversification is what got them into this predicament. Seems to me that they couldn't decide whether they want to be a top notch imaging company or a consumer electronics company. Why would they get into digital photo frames in the first place? I'm pretty sure they didn't produce the LCDs, so they were basically repackaging someone else's products. I know I've also seen at least one cheapie camera that was clearly a generic knockoff with a kodak sticker on it.
They should be ashamed of themselves. They had decades of top notch optics and imaging experience. They've produced some amazing spysat optics that have only recently gotten declassified. But instead of focussing on their strong points they've chosen to market crappy "mee too" products. They definitely could have a clue from a company like Carl Zeiss, who produce lenses for several camera phones.
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