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General Motors will introduces Apple’s chatty voice assistant Siri into several of its car models in 2013. The feature will be available to iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 owners, and Siri will be working through these cars’ standard Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system. Users will be able to make hands-free calls to contacts on their iPhone, play songs in their iTunes library, listen to, compose and send messages and add appointments to calendar.
FuzeBox launched Fuze for Mac, the world’s first native video-conferencing app for OS X. FuzeBox is one of the only apps that was built on Apple’s campus. By going native on the Mac, FuzeBox was able to add more features than it has in the browser-based version as well as take advantage of everything the Mac has to offer, including the retina screen.
As a result of losing the direct viewing of Instagram photos Twitter went swiftly ahead in releasing a photo filtering service. The service will be very familiar to Instagram users who will still be able to share their filtered photos but they will appear as a simple link rather than a rich media preview of the photo, which is just bad user experience.
An absolutely negative PR blow for Apple, and their mapping system is now threatening people’s lives as described in this short article: Victoria Police Online News Centre – Police concerned with Apple iOS 6 mapping system.
Just a few months ago, “a San Jose jury awarded Apple more than $1 Billion dollars in its case against Samsung, the trial’s judge, Lucy Koh, is now aiming to settle the issues between the two companies.”
““I think it’s time for global peace,” Judge Koh told Apple and Samsung’s lawyers at yesterday’s hearing, according to the A.P Specifically, she’s referring to a calming of the patent wars prevalent in the technology world over the past decade, and which the Apple v. Samsung case is a poster child.”. “While one analyst predicted that Apple would be the overall winner in yesterday’s hearing, it appears that Judge Koh isn’t leaning towards either company. Samsung is aiming to cut its massive fines in the trial and is calling for a new trial, while Apple is pushing to increase the fines and potentially ban the sales of certain Samsung phones. Koh didn’t seem to favor either of those outcomes.”
Stayed tuned for the latest news in the Apple v. Samsung case, “it’s expected to hit the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., and it could potentially reach the Supreme Court, according to the AP.”
Rewind back a few years, before the iPhone took over the world. Japanese phone carrier NTT Docomo was the subject of every U.S. report on how mobile in Japan rocked in every possible way. Well that was then, Docomo has just reported its biggest-ever loss in subscribers: 40,800. The reason?” As Reuters notes, competitors Softbank and KDDI carry the iPhone. Softbank grew by 301,900 subscribers, and KDDI grew by 228,800. Since receiving the iPhone 5 Softbank and KDDI are using it t capture Japanese customers.” And it’s the lack thereof that is causing NTT Docomo its worst subscriber results ever.”
In its final defense to stop the bleeding, Docomo has introduced the new “Disney” smartphone, which is ran on Android. So the question here would be….”is whether Disney can put NTT Docomo into the net gainer’s club another time or if Japan’s largest carrier will finally see the light and start carrying a truly diverse set of phones.”
“T-Mobile has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together next year. Additional details will be made available at a later date,” T-Mobile spokesperson told ABC News.
T-Mobile wouldn’t elaborate on the exact products to ABC News, but T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere said while speaking at the Deutsche Telekom conference Thursday that it will carry the iPhone and will offer it in a different way.
T-Mobile is the last major U.S. carrier to get the iPhone; Sprint, Verizon and AT&T all offer it. (AT&T was the first in 2007.) For lack of the iPhone, a high-speed LTE network and some other benefits, T-Mobile fell behind in the U.S. and lost customers. But 2013 might be the year the carrier turns it around with its plans to acquire Metro PCS, launch its LTE networks and now offer those all-important Apple products.
Adverts on smartphones and other roaming devices could become obsolete under plans by Adblock. On the 27th November 2012] Eyeo – developer of AdBlock Plus – will launch a version of its popular program for Android phones in a move that is likely to cause headaches for the mobile advertising industry.
Some 50 million people have already downloaded the PC version of AdBlock Plus, which prevents pop-up and display adverts on websites as well as the hitherto unavoidable ads that precede videos on sites such as YouTube.
Kickfolio is a neat little start-up backed company that is really making a push to be relevant. Kickfolio offers, “a way for developers to upload builds of their mobile applications to its platform, allowing others to then interact with the apps on the web, as opposed to having to download a test build locally to their mobile device.” So, that means no downloads and no UDID’s and you have a fully interactive app in your browser. There are other similar products already out there such as Pieceable or AppSurfer. However, Kickfolio differs in a couple regards. Kickfolio uses HTML5 and not Flash. Kickfolio’s CEO Edward Dowling said that, “Their solution was great, but it was not terribly performant.”
Cardign is an app that essentially puts a name to a face. The app uses the facial recognition as a sort of QR code to pull up information. If you want to connect via social media and you are at a conference all you have to do in snap a picture of their face. After taking a picture, you can then pull up all of their contact details, FaceBook page, Twitter page, etc. Cardign founder Jean-Luc David believes that, “it’s a far easier way for people to connect at in-person networking events and other social functions,” since it eliminates some of the finicky elements of contact transfer apps like Bump.
When you download the app, it makes you take 3 photos of yourself in order to be added to the database. TechCrunch posted a review and give it generally positive notes, but did harp on some key issues. “Cardign is an impressive, interesting tech demo in its current form, but with a growing user pool it could become an extremely useful networking service.”
In the increasingly crowded mobile payment card-reader space, it’s not just technology that’s being cloned. In the scramble to build traction and outrun the pack, startups are borrowing each others’ business strategies too. The latest move comes from Berlin-based mobile payment startup SumUp, which opened for business in August backed by more than $20 million in funding. SumUp has just announced a nationwide partnership with German taxi hailing mobile app, Taxi.de – following a move by rival German mobile payment startup Payleven last month, which signed up a Berlin taxi association to trial its tech.
Taxi.de does not break out user numbers — but its Android app has had between 5,000 and 10,000 installations on Google Play in the past 30 days. It also offers an iOS app.
The partnership between SumUp and Taxi.de is an exclusive one, according to the startup, and should see its mobile payment card reader used by taxi drivers across Germany — assuming it gets widespread adoption from the drivers (who will have to sign up to receive their card reader and start taking payments via SumUp).
On Thursday, Foursquare announced an update aimed at businesses: the ability to add events to their listings. The company is touting it as a new way for businesses to leverage the location-based social network over at business.foursquare.com.
While there are already movie, concert, and sporting events in the Foursquare app, which anyone can see and edit for themselves, this addition allows businesses to add their own. The company has a few suggestions: a trivia tournament, open mic night, wine tasting, book signing, author appearance, arts and crafts fair, and a fundraising event.
A member of IBS Group and a leading global provider of advanced application and product development services, recently introduced a Mobile Applications Development Kit for engineering needs of aerospace and other enterprise, at the Aeromart Toulouse 2012.
The new kit adds another dimension to Luxoft’s existing technology solutions portfolio for engineers and includes a Mobile Bill of Material (BOM), a Mobile Certification Application, and a Mobile 3D-Visualization Tool.
The ultimate goal of each of the kit’s modules is to add capability for the engineers and mechanics to assess tasks “on the go” during a new aircraft inspection, existing aircraft maintenance or during the engineering and assembly process. Combination of mobile secure ecosystem and visualization adds granularity to every aspect of the engineering and maintenance process, streamlining the reporting, giving quick access to the bottom level of detail and bringing the entire process closer to the real-time mode.
Some of the most common security gaffs nestled inside of those decompiled and inspected Android apps according to Godfrey Nolan, founder of RIIS and author of both Decompiling Java and Decompiling Android?
- Without using obfuscating tools like HoseDex2Jar, people can easily reverse engineer the code in most Android applications.
- Sensitive data is being stored unencrypted on devices.
- Code that communicates with back-end systems often includes plain text security credentials. That means your security problem is no longer people getting those embarrassing and X-rated images you’ve taken of your ‘front end’, but instead, they now have access to your entire ‘back end’ as well.
The new Premium Suite upgrade from Samsung has added some new features to Galaxy S3. Samsung launched a video today showing just some of the features coming to its flagship handset. The upgrade, which was previously announced for the Galaxy Note 10.1, adds a new featured called Page Buddy that predicts what the users want to do based on their actions. So, if the Galaxy S3 owner plugs in earphones, the software will load the music player.The upgrade also supports multiple windows on the phone at once.
“Samsung is gearing up to produce plastic flexible displays for mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reported. The screens are lightweight, nearly unbreakable, and could result in flexible devices down the road.”
MetroPCS shares are down 7% on Tuesday after their merger with T-mobile has started. The week before its shares spiked as it was rumored Sprint would counteroffer MetroPCS for a merger. However, Sprint has not counter offered so their shares have begun to fall. The focus on Sprint’s part in this merger has undervalued MetroPCS’s stocks.
T-Mobile will finally have the iPhone, dispelling a shadow that had long hung over the carrier, some customers just won’t come to a T-Mobile store if there’s no iPhone, regardless of whether they plan to buy the phone. The move is part of a broader shift to go completely toward its “Value” plans, in which customers pay full price for a phone in exchange for a lower monthly rate.
“‘T-Mobile has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together next year. Additional details will be made available at a later date,’ T-Mobile spokesperson told ABC News.
T-Mobile wouldnt elaborate on the exact products to ABC News, but T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere said while speaking at the Deutsche Telekom conference Thursday that it will carry the iPhone and will offer it in a different way.”
While some see potential in Microsoft’s Surface tablet, most industry watchers appear to have written off the device at this point. Orders were reportedly cut in half following a slow launch, and Microsoft’s debut slate has been hammered time and time again by reviewers and analysts. The latest to pile on is Boston-based brokerage firm Detwiler Fenton, which estimates that when all is said and done, Microsoft will have sold fewer than 1 million Surface tablets in the slate’s debut quarter.
Read more: http://bgr.com/2012/12/05/microsoft-surface-sales-q4-2012-est/
The time we spend making calls on smartphones pales in comparison to the other activities we use it for, like surfing the web, logging into Facebook, streaming music and video, and of course playing games. It’s that latter functionality that a startup called Green Throttle wants to tap into, and given the horsepower of today’s smartphones, it makes a lot of sense. The company envisions harnessing the power of today’s well-equipped Android smartphones and tablets in order to play console-like games on your HDTV. Right now the concept is limited to select devices — Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S II and S III, HTC One X, Kindle Fire HD, and Asus Transformer — though the company says it’s adding to the list quickly. The system is fairly simple. You load Green Throttle’s Arena app on your compatible device and start gaming using the company’s Bluetooth-enabled Atlas controller, which looks a lot like an Xbox 360 controller, then push your phone’s HDMI output to an HDTV
Read more: http://hothardware.com/News/Startup-Company-Green-Throttle-Turns-Your-Android-Smartphone-Into-a-Game-Console/
Marketing companies have been focusing on the number of cores a smartphone has as a major selling point in recent years. The obsession with mobile processors has been a boon to the chip makers, giving added visibility to companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia. Recently however, the chip industry has gotten to the point where more cores will result in diminishing returns.
It is generally accepted that four cores will be the de facto limit for now. More cores means less battery life. Chip making companies are now taking measures to maximize the battery life because that is what consumers have been shown to truly care about.
The world’s most downloaded ad-blocking software has plans to release a mobile version of its product. Worldwide revenue from mobile advertising alone measures 5.3 billion dollars a year. The release of Adblock Plus mobile will no doubt make these advertisements on smartphones and roaming devices obsolete.
The iPhone 5 is scheduled to launch in South Korea on December 7th along with over 50 additional countries being added in December as well. Including Brazil, Russia, and Taiwan. This will boost iPhones sales vastly. This will further increase the iOS presence as a major mobile leader.
” Samsung announced on its Samsung Tomorrow blog that the Galaxy S III will be getting a special “Premium Suite” upgrade that will add Galaxy Note II features such as Multi Window, Page Buddy and Contextual Awareness and more. With Multi Window, users can open two app windows at once, Page Buddy will add smart actions such as opening up specific music when headphones are plugged in, and several Contextual Awareness features will allow you to instantly add tags after a photo is taken or choose to see most frequently displayed apps while searching. ”
“Google finally has introduced a way for companies to distribute Android apps internally, a capability available to Apple iOS developersfor several years.
Google on Tuesday said it has expanded the Google Play Store to include a service called Google Play Private Channel.
To use the service, organizations need to have a Google Apps for Business, Education or Government domain. A Google Apps administrator must enable the Google Play Developer Console for employees already registered as Google Play apps publishers who will be publishing apps internally. The ability to download internal apps through the Google Play Private Channel also is controlled by Google Apps administrators for a given domain.
Google advises IT administrators to be sure to create dedicated role accounts for publishing apps through the Private Channel, so that internal apps remain accessible in the event the app publisher ends up leaving the organization.”
“Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today that the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S. have agreed to fast track a service that will let people text the emergency 911 line.
AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile have all signed on and major deployments are planned to roll out in 2013 and the service should be fully available nationwide by May 15, 2014.”
“Today’s word that T-Mobile plans to sell Apple products in 2013 certainly sounds like great news to the iPhone and TMO faithful. The question remains, however, if the carrier can deal with the increased load Apple’s uber-phone will put on its network. ”
Mike Krieger wants companies to think about whether they’re getting the design right or if they have the right design. He fleshes his theory out by providing eight basic principles that will help build products that users really want: understanding, observing, synthesizing, ideating, prototyping, and iterating. Read more here.
“Canada’s wireless industry is vowing to combat mobile device theft following months of pressure from the federal telecom regulator, police and politicians.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, an industry group representing carriers, announced a plan on Thursday to make it more difficult for criminals to reactivate stolen devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers.
At the crux of that strategy is a push by carriers to “blacklist” stolen gadgets a move that would reduce the incentive for theft. By Sept. 30, 2013, carriers will make it standard practice to verify whether a device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity number is listed as stolen in Canada and internationally before it is cleared for activation.
The new verification process will cover the vast majority of cellphones operating in Canada, including new handsets that run on LTE (long-term evolution) networks that are becoming the biggest targets of theft. It would also apply to tablets that run on LTE networks through a subscription, but would not include those that only use WiFi.
The launch of an industry strategy follows months of pushing from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, MPs and police, which have criticized carriers for failing to do their part to protect consumers. Canadians are among the world’s heaviest users of smartphones and increasing numbers are falling victim to violent robberies in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, a trend that is being dubbed iCrime.”
Typing a password into your smartphone might be a reasonable way to access the sensitive information it holds, but a startup called EyeVerify thinks it would be easier—and more secure—to just look into the phone’s camera lens and move your eyes to the side.
EyeVerify’s software identifies you by your “eyeprints,” the pattern of veins in the whites of your eyes. Everybody has four eyeprints, two in each eye on either side of the iris. The company claims that its method is as accurate as a fingerprint or iris scan, without requiring any special hardware.
A patent agreement between Apple and HTC forbids the Taiwanese company from making and selling mobile devices that copy what is described as the ‘Distinctive Apple User Experience,” according to a redacted version of the agreement filed in a California court.
The ‘slide to unlock’ feature at the bottom of the screen of some Apple devices, for example, could qualify as a distinctive Apple user experience, while the ‘pinch to zoom’ functionality does not, and will not be considered a ‘cloned feature,’ according to the document.
Individual developers may feel like it’s an uphill battle trying to get consumers to open their wallets, but taken as a whole, the market for mobile apps has grown an unprecedented amount.
According to ABI Research’s most recent market data, the cumulative revenue base made from pay-per-downloads, in-app purchases, subscriptions and in-app advertisements will pass $30 billion by the end of 2012–nearly double the growth of 2011.
If you want to get an inexpensive smartphone from T-Mobile, you’d better do it fast. FierceWireless reports that T-Mobile will formally kill off its smartphone subsidies in 2013 and will replace them with a new system where customers “pay an upfront fee for their devices and then pay the balance of the device in affordable monthly installments
By the end of this year, around 831 million smart devices – smartphones and tablets – will be sold. In 2013, that number will reach 1.2 billion, according to the forecasts made by Gartner.
It looks like mobile smart devices are the new big technological advancement taking over the world. With over 1 billion to be sold in 2013, developers have an extremely wide audience to market to. It is going to be interesting to see how this is accomplished in the next few years.
It’s the holiday season and that means people all over are thinking about not just buying the best gift for their loved ones, but also at the best price they can find. We enjoy retail deals so much that we created faux holidays, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These two dedicated shopping days give consumers the thrill of discovering the greatest deal.
Shopping on mobile is revolutionizing how consumers and retailers engage and is doing so in ways that cross-channel commerce could never imagine. SAP and Google teamed up with Retail Systems Research (RSR) to answer some powerful questions on how the retail enterprise will respond to this mobile shopping revolution in a research paper entitled “Keeping Up With The Mobile Consumer”.
While the Instagram API uses both non-secure HTTP and secure HTTPs connections, the weird thing is that it uses the non-secure path for your account’s authentication. All it does is store a standard cookie on your device, sent without encryption. What this means is that if you’re using an unsecure connection, like public Wi-Fi at Starbucks, someone could potentially intercept that cookie and use it to authenticate themselves into your account.
Traveling over the holidays can be hectic. But Google is doing its part to simplify matters some.Google announced today that it is updating its Search for Android application and its Google Now predictive search tool.Why? The Internet search giant is rolling out new features intended to boost streamline holiday travel.“As you head off this holiday season,” Google says, “the latest update to Google Now makes it even more useful for traveling. Before you even leave your house, Google Now will tell you what the weather will be like at your destinationjust in time to make sure you remember to pack those mittens.”
Hong Kong: Apple’s rank in China’s smartphone market, which is set to become the world’s largest this year, fell to No 6 in the third quarter as it faces tougher competition from Chinese brands, research firm IDC said on Thursday.
Apple’s third quarter ranking was two spots below its position in the second quarter in terms of China’s smartphone market share by shipments, IDC said. The US giant’s market share in China was under 10 per cent in the third quarter.
New smartphone regulations in China have caused concern among technology companies. The regulations, filed by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to a WTO database of technical barriers to trade. China’s WTO trade barrier notification listed safety, rather than national security, as the chief reason for the regulations. China has long made use of vague standards and other guidelines that are technically voluntary but end up being mandatory in practice. China had recently approved of the iPhone 5 this week, while the USA and many other countries have had it since September.
This year, CEO Tim Cook has been talking about U.S. manufacturing more than usual. Partly to counter Apple’s largely make-it-in-China strategy but also because of U.S. manufacturing strengths.
To wit: “It’s not known well that the engine for the iPhone and iPad is made in the U.S., and many of these are also exported…. The glass is made in Kentucky,” he said today to Bloomberg.
LTE connections in North America rocketed to 22.3 million — adding almost 19 million subscriptions in 12 months and representing 51 percent of all 43.7 million LTE connections worldwide at the end of the third quarter of 2012, reported 4G Americas, according to data from Informa Telecoms & Media. Another “billion” milestone is expected by the end of 2012, with all 3GPP technologies, including GSM, HSPA and LTE, comprising a massive subscription base of 6 billion and more than 90 percent of the global cellular connections.
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., introduced a new ultra-low power near field communication (NFC) solution that will enable mobile devices with contactless communications and data exchange, including next-generation mobile payments. The QCA1990 is the industry’s smallest, ultra-low power system-on-chip (SoC) with an overall footprint that is 50 percent smaller than current NFC chips available in the market. When paired with Qualcomm Atheros’ WCN3680 1-stream, dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0/FM chip, the QCA1990 will enable seamless user experiences in the mobile, computing and consumer electronics markets.
A village council in an Indian Village voted to ban the use of mobile phones for girls and unmarried women, giving the reason that mobile phones promoted extramarital affairs and unsanctioned marriages. Even with mobile phones becoming a key device of importance, many traditional societies still have issues with the new technology. This ban only proves that the village still holds traditional male power in the village, and hopefully in time the town will repeal the ban.
With there still being hundreds of traditional old style villages around, until they fully accept technology, the villages will continue to fall behind.
According to an U.S. mobile analytics firm called Flurry, this year mobile app use has risen. Between December 2011 and 2012 mobile app usage went from 94 minutes a day to 127 minutes a day. While T.V. stayed at 168 and web browsing went down two minutes to 70.
For mobile app developers this is a good sign as it means users are valuing their time with mobile apps and using them longer. This leads to buying more apps and causing the industry to continue to grow.
Minimizing the likelihood that miscommunication could lead to lower quality medical care, Polyglot Med Spanish offers the immediate audio translation to over 3,000 common medical words, phrases, and assessment questions in both Spanish and English. The app is free and can be found in both the Apple AppStore and Google Play marketplaces.
YouTube has released an app optimized for the iPhone 5 and iPad, returning true, full-screen mode to users who have been without it since the launch of iOS 6 in September. YouTube was forced to launch its own independent app in September, but it was optimized only for iPhones and iPod Touches with 3.5-inch screens, not the 4-inch screens used for the iPhone 5 and latest generation of the iPod Touch. The app was also not optimized for iPads. YouTube also improved the general functionality of the app.
New startup called AddAppt has introduced their app for the Apple AppStore. The application allows the user to sync their contacts information between users mobile, desktop, and iCloud address books. Some of the functionality on synching contacts already exists but the new startup claims to have found the right solution for the problem. The app has a simple design to allow it to work fast and effectively but at the same time there are limited functionality. The user has to manually delete information that they dont want to share instead of giving the user an option to choose what is shared. Also another downside is that the people you want to add to you contacts have to use the app too so they can approve that you want to include them in your address book.
iPad models continue to dominate the tablet market even after the introduction of new tablets including the Windows Surface that has had a slow start. Apple decided to updated their large iPad with the new iPad mini even that the older model was only six months old. The supply has caught up with the demand on the fourth generation iPads but you still have to wait for couple of weeks to get an iPad mini. Analyst have estimated Apple to sell between 24 to 26 million iPads this last quarter from which 6 to 7 million would be Mini versions. Analysts also note that iPad mini is stealing business from the larger model but that both will sell well during the holiday season.


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2020 Sino-Philippines Educational Exchanges Seminar highlights deepening ties and friendship through online English education
In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the founding of bilateral relations between the Philippines and China, Beijing-based leading online English education platform 51Talk hosted the 2020 Sino-Philippines Educational Exchanges Seminar held in Beijing, China on October 16, 2020, and was broadcast via live stream. Graced by the two countries’ top diplomats, education officials, and 51Talk representatives, the activity aimed to strengthen and develop bilateral education exchange and cooperation between the two countries. 51Talk also successfully broke a Guinness World Record which was announced during the program.
H. E. Huang Xilian, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, delivered the keynote speech and emphasized the people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and the Philippines.
“China’s emerging industries such as online education under the epidemic have catalyzed a new win-win cooperation model for China and the Philippines. On the one hand, it has helped China’s distance education, and on the other hand, it has provided a large number of online job opportunities for the Filipino people,” said Ambassador Xilian.
“Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Duterte, China-Philippines relations have entered a “new golden age”, and the cooperation in various fields between the two countries has achieved fruitful results,” added Ambassador Xilian. “As a well-known online English education company in China, 51Talk has fully tapped the talents from the Philippines in the past several years. With the help of online digital technology, 51Talk has opened a window for thousands of Chinese children to communicate with foreign teachers worldwide, and it has created a worthwhile online platform for China-Philippines educational cooperation,” the Ambassador added.
Philippine Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Jose Santiago Sta. Romana on the other hand shared how learning a language exposes someone to new and exciting worlds and helps broaden perspectives while enriching experiences.
“Learning a language helps bridge the present embodied by our youth to a future that is full of opportunities for their personal development—that of their families and their communities,” said Ambassador Sta. Romana.
“I’m very pleased that 51Talk is giving an opportunity to 20,000 competent Filipino educators to take part in nurturing the eagerness of nearly 300,000 young Chinese people to learn the English language. This educational exchange albeit virtual provides an enabling environment for cultural exchange between Filipinos and the Chinese. As the demand for online-based learning surges in China brought about by the new normal, it is my hope that more doors will be opened up for more and more Filipino educators in the same mutually beneficial manner,” added Ambassador Sta. Romana.
Jack Huang, CEO and Co-Founder of 51Talk, talked about the role of the online education platform in promoting the bilateral cooperation and exchanges between China and the Philippines.
“The year 2020 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. Under the guidance of the two countries’ presidents, the support to the Belt and Road Initiative to synergize development strategies was strengthened. Because of this, the Sino-Philippines relations have grown ever more vibrant, with fruitful cooperation outcomes in various fields, particularly on the education front. And we at 51Talk are very happy to have contributed to the strengthening of the ties of our two countries through online education,” said Mr. Huang in his speech.
In May of this year, 51Talk donated 5.25 million pesos worth of medical equipment and supplies to several hospitals in the Philippines to aid in their efforts to combat COVID-19. As the pandemic additionally caused economic fallout and the loss of millions of jobs, 51Talk launched several campaigns to spread awareness of the livelihood opportunities available in the platform to attract 30,000 online English teachers.
“Through 51Talk, nowadays, Filipino online teachers are well-received among Chinese families. Chinese parents understand that Filipinos share their roots from Asia and that they have a better understanding of the Chinese culture which helps them in teaching Chinese kids effectively,” added Mr. Huang.
Another highlight of the seminar was the official announcement of 51Talk’ssuccessful attempt to set a Guinness World Record of “the largest online video album of people waving.”
“I’m so honored to be here in Beijing today on behalf of Guinness World Records and as having adjudicated the attempt for the largest online video album of people waving,” announced Iris Hou, Guinness World Records adjudicator. “It’s been a great pleasure to witness this amazing attempt!”
The Guinness World Records, originating from the United Kingdom, has over 65 years of global authority of record-breaking achievements.
51Talk launched a campaign to set the record in June of this year in both the Philippines and China and was able to engage more than5000 people to participate. 51Talk initiated the feat to express the friendship between the two countries in celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations as well as to show to the world the unity and relationship between the peoples of both countries.

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South African Couple Is Thrilled To Open Experimac’s 100th Store In Cape Town
August 11, 2016 // Franchising.com // Cape Town, South Africa - It’s a landmark event that’s no small potatoes. But truth be told, potatoes played a big role in making it all happen.
On Friday, Aug. 19, Experimac, the one-of-a-kind retail storefront concept that specializes in sales of pre-owned Apple® computers, devices and much more – will be celebrating the sale of its 100th store, scheduled to open this October in Cape Town, South Africa.
Julian and Cesca Nieuwoudt will be introducing and growing the Experimac brand in South Africa as master license partners. To say that 43-year-old Julian and 38-year-old Cesca are making an extreme career transition would be an understatement.
For two decades, Julian has been in the farming industry, specializing in potato seed production. With Cesca joining him in the business since marrying 15 years ago, they grew to become one of South Africa’s top 20 potato producers. But two years ago, the couple received an offer for their land from South Africa’s largest carrot grower, who was looking for additional farming land. They decided the time was ripe for change and sold their farm.
Looking for a new, exciting opportunity with outstanding growth potential, Julian discovered Experimac while doing some online research and was immediately intrigued
by the retailer that not only specializes in the sale of pre-owned Apple® computers and devices, but also offers repair of laptops, phones and tablets; trade-ins of existing devices; software and system updates; and sales of accessories.
Operating under the United Franchise Group umbrella, the Experimac brand was launched in November 2014 and now has 51 locations open in the United States with 52 additional stores in various stages of development.
“We couldn’t be happier to now be entering South Africa,” said Jim Muir, founder of the Experimac concept, “and to have this be our 100th store in such a short period of time.”
In addition to its entry into South Africa, Experimac recently opened a pilot store in Sydney, Australia. A master license has also been awarded for northern Mexico, with the pilot store already in development, while a deposit has been received for a master franchise in Chile. Plans are also under way for expansion in Canada, France, Nigeria and western Africa.
The Nieuwoudts will open their first Experimac in the Willowbridge Shopping Centre in Cape Town and plan to open an additional five stores themselves in the Western Cape while selling franchises in all major centres of South Africa including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
“We are looking forward to opening our pilot store and working with the United Franchise Group to build Experimac into one of the most well-known and reputable brands in South Africa,” Julian said.
As if launching new careers wasn’t enough, the Nieuwoudts are also uprooting their family and moving almost 1,000 km from their current home in Bloemfontein, Free State to Wellington in the Western Cape by year’s end.
“Making the move to the Cape is a challenge, but it is also something we both knew we would have to do,” Cesca said. “Besides, the Western Cape is the most beautiful part of South Africa and we are really looking forward to calling it home.”
For the Nieuwoudts – who estimate they have invested more than $400,000 in launching their new venture – the timing couldn’t be better for meeting the needs of consumers. The technology sector is obviously booming. In 2014, about 302 million computers were sold worldwide, generating about $304 billion in sales revenue. At the
same time, nearly seven billion cell phone subscriptions were purchased worldwide by May 2014, nearly one for every person on the planet.
According to Franchising.com, having a blueprint for international growth has been increasing in popularity for U.S.-based franchisors. According to Franchising.com’s findings, “80 percent of the world's population lives in areas that are considered emerging markets. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that over 75 percent of the expected growth in the world's trade over the next two decades will come from developing countries, particularly big emerging markets, which account for over half the world's population, but only 25 percent of its gross domestic product.”
In addition, the report said that finding well-qualified master franchisees outside the U.S. can pave the way for growth of a franchise because “the qualified master franchisee can be the key to identifying and recruiting talented franchisees who fit the system and successfully execute the franchise concept.”
Since Experimac specializes in selling used products, particularly used Apple® products, the products can be sold at a price point that is accessible to a much-wider range of customers. When customers enter competing retail stores that sell new computers, Smartphones and tech equipment, only one out of every 100 or so people actually purchase something because of the high price point, but they are much more likely to buy at Experimac.
Experimac customers typically enjoy average savings of 60 percent on pre-owned Apple® products over big-box retailers. And Experimac takes the risk out of purchasing pre-owned equipment with a 90-day guarantee. If something breaks, Experimac will repair or replace the defective part at no cost.
“Apple® is a brand that is respected throughout the world. It is in high demand because of its reputation, but its products are also expensive to buy and repair,” Cesca said. “With Experimac, we will be able to supply South Africa with quality, pre-owned Apple® products with a warranty, as well provide a place to repair and upgrade all your Apple® products. And all work comes with a guarantee!”
Experimac is the latest addition to the United Franchise Group family of brands, joining a team with over 30 years of franchise experience. Capitalizing on a sustained demand for Apple® products, Experimac provides pre-owned computers and devices, repair of laptops, phones and tablets, trade-ins of existing devices, sales of accessories and upgrades. Experimac has 00 locations nationwide. For more information visit www.experimacfranchise.com.
About United Franchise Group
Led by CEO Ray Titus, United Franchise Group houses a successful group of business-to-business franchise systems. United Franchise Groups concepts specialize in personalized business services including signs, embroidery, business brokerage and outdoor advertising. With nearly three decades in the franchising industry and more than 1400 franchisees throughout the world, United Franchise Group offers unprecedented leadership and solid business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Sanderson & Associates
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NYC developer drops big investment on Miami riverfront!
Site can hold 100,000 square feet of office and retail space.
Southwest 3rd Street between Miami Avenue and Southwest First Avenue (Inset: Shahab Karmely)
New York developer Kar Properties LLC just dropped $33 million on a 2.9-acre site on Miami’s riverfront — triple the amount it sold for in March 2011.
While plans for the lot have not been announced, the property at Southwest Third Street between Miami Avenue and Southwest First Avenue, can hold up to 920 apartments and 100,000 square feet of office and retail space, the Daily Business Review reported.
Last year, Kar purchased another 1.8-acre riverfront plot at 24 Southwest 4th Street for $27.5 million, which the developer intends to turn into a residential condominium building. [DBR] — Sasha von Oldershausen
Back to Blog


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Sugar Hill Cidery
Five years ago, Jennifer and Greg Bailey were selling hardware in St. Paul, population 970. Then their son came up with an idea for a brewery, and the couple has been brewing up business success ever since.
Their Sugar Hill Brewing Company opened three years ago in St. Paul, and Sugar Hill Cidery held its soft opening this summer in nearby Norton. “In the hardware business we were surviving, but that’s about all,” Jennifer recalls. “We decided our area needed something different, and a hardware store wasn’t one of those things.”
The Baileys met Tim Blankenbecler, Director of the Mt. Empire SBDC, during their “hardware” years. “We got a lot of help from Tim,” Jennifer says. “When we decided to open a brewery, he helped us write the business plan and find funding.”
After the brewery opened, the City of Norton, 20 miles down the road, approached Jennifer and Greg with a proposal that offered a new slant on brewing — a cidery. “We like things that are different. We asked our head brewer if he could make cider. He told us, ‘I can ferment anything!’ We decided to go look at some buildings in Norton,” Jennifer explains. “We included Tim Blankenbecler early on,” Greg adds. “We knew he would be realistic and wouldn’t encourage us if we didn’t have a workable business plan and good cash flow.”
Tim assisted the Baileys once again with writing their plan and connecting them to sources for financing. The Baileys were able to secure a $50,000 grant and three loans from economic development agencies to make the cidery project possible. “It was really a public-private partnership,” Greg says. On the facilities side, the City of Norton invested over a million dollars to renovate a formerly vacant car dealership where the cidery would be located. “The city had the headache of remodeling, which helped us a lot,” Jennifer notes. Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball stated that Norton’s investment in turning the car dealership facility into an economic enterprise would have a transformative effect on the downtown area. It will house a farmers market and an entrepreneurial center along with the cidery that seats more than 200 people.
The Baileys also increased their workforce. “Currently we have 65 employees,” Greg notes. Future plans include installing equipment for bottling at both the brewery and cidery. “Tim will be there when we start talking about that,” Jennifer adds. “Whenever we have a problem, we call Tim. He always comes up with a strategy.”
Both Greg and Jennifer are quick to direct others to the SBDC. “The SBDC has been a great help,” Jennifer concludes. “When someone says they want to start a business, I tell them — that’s a good idea, but call the SBDC first.”


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In the 12-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac, 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon. If equity investors get their way, it will be a green dragon.
Barring a big December rally, China’s stock market will finish in the red for the third consecutive year in 2023. Chinese stocks listed in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen have lost approximately $1 trillion in market value this year for a host of reasons.
The world’s second-largest economy is experiencing a bumpy recovery from the Covid pandemic. As third-quarter GDP data confirmed, consumer spending is relatively healthy. The property market, on the other hand, remains in a state of turmoil. Then you have a depreciating currency in the yuan, which has ramped up pressure on China’s government to stimulate growth.
The good news is that China is on pace to meet its 5% growth target, albeit a conservative one. With the emerging market expected to deliver extra special growth this decade, stimulus measures have been effective but not enough to appease investors.
Given the sharp performance disparity between U.S. and China stocks, a rotation to the Far East may be a good portfolio strategy ahead of the February 10th start of the Chinese New Year.
After all, the Shanghai Composite is trading at just 12x trailing earnings compared to the S&P 500 at 21x. If China’s housing crisis improves and economic growth accelerates, investors could be in for some fiery gains in the Year of the Dragon.
Of course, the Shanghai Composite’s valuation is where it is because it has been assigned a ‘risk discount.’ But as the volatile market inevitably gets de-risked, these three stocks could benefit from having strong risk-reward profiles.
#1 - ZTO
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) is China’s leading express delivery company by parcel volume. It supports both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailers through 96 sorting hubs, 31,000 pickup and delivery outlets and 100,000 last-mile posts.
The company is benefiting from China’s online shopping rebound in a big way. Third quarter adjusted net income was up 25% year-over-year to RMB 2.3 billion. After delivering more than 7.5 million parcels during the period, ZTO’s market share expanded to 22.4%. Price competition has intensified, but rather than get bogged down in a pricing war, management has opted to focus on improving service quality to boost earnings and maintain its market leadership.
An expanding market share in China’s massive e-commerce opportunity has Wall Street thinking 2024 could be the year of the bull for ZTO. Three firms have issued buy ratings since the Q3 update. Their average price target of $34.00 points to 60% upside over the next 12 months.
#2 - NTES
Up 40% year-to-date, NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) has been an outperformer in 2023 — and analysts are expecting more of the same next year. Wall Street is unanimously bullish on the online gaming and services provider with a perfect 10 out of 10 firms calling the stock a buy. The $135.00 consensus price target suggests NetEase can run another 33% from here.
NetEase is winning over the Street and investors because its growth has been impressive despite operating in a tough environment for Chinese technology companies. Revenue increased 12% in the third quarter, a reflection of consumers’ willingness to spend on digital games, music and learning tools. All four operating units recorded growth, including the core gaming business, which amassed 50 million players for its blockbuster Justice mobile game.
#3 - BYDDY
BYD Company Limited (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) is an industrial conglomerate best known for its electric vehicles (EVs) and energy solutions. On Friday, the company announced that November production and sales volumes were up 66% and 64%, respectively. The bulk of the growth came from ‘battery’ EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs and ‘new energy’ vehicles. BYD also makes electric-powered commercial vehicles, including buses.
The results coincided with two major milestones: 1) BYD zoomed past Nissan by selling more than 300,000 new energy vehicles during the month and 2) due in large part to a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, the company is taking market share from Tesla in China.
This week, BYD was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight at J.P. Morgan. Look for it to continue closing the gap between rival Tesla — and outrun the dragon in 2024.


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The Derby Conference Centre has made a six-figure investment in its facilities as business continues to boom post-pandemic.
The centre saw a 108% increase in business in the first quarter of the year after restrictions lifted.
This has allowed it to invest £120,000 in the building to support meetings, conferences, and events in the coming year.
The Derby Conference Centre, which is a Grade II listed building, houses an array of conference rooms and meeting rooms, as well as 50 en-suite hotel bedrooms and self-catering accommodation at its India House Hotel.
The refurbishment of all meeting rooms, conference rooms and bedrooms are planned to be complete by the summer.
The renovation includes a significant upgrade to the meeting room technology, with new high spec projectors, screens, speakers, and video conferencing equipment.
Alongside this, new coffee machines and a vending machine, have been installed so that guests are able to enjoy a selection of hot drinks and snacks in the newly redecorated meeting rooms.
Air conditioning is also planned to be installed across all meeting rooms and the sunken lounge before the summer heat arrives to ensure that the customer experience is comfortable.
Matthew Hutchings, managing director at the Derby Conference Centre, said: “If there was ever a positive from the pandemic, it is that it has allowed me to assess where we are as a business, and what we can do to enhance the customer experience.
“It is great news that we are able to undertake this large refurbishment, and with upcoming days at the DCC having sold all 12 of our meetings rooms, I am looking forward to seeing the conference centre busy and vibrant again.”


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Senator the Hon ‘Jonno’ Duniam, Federal Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries, enthusiastically launched the ACPF/APFA/FRDC project to profile Australian prawns by their environmental fingerprint at the Boatbuilders Yard on 9th October. This event followed the ‘trace metals’ project taking home the 2019 WA seafood industry award for best RD&E project.
At the industry-led launch Assistant Minister Duniam said that the technology will:
“…enable us to protect our brand, protect our product, and make sure that we leverage (the Love Australian Prawn brand) to the best of our ability. . . We want to support you to make sure you have the right tools for you to protect your markets”.
Approximately 70 people joined the ACPF and AFPA to celebrate the launch of this technology – a world first for prawns.
The ACPF Board agreed at its August meeting that routine but random sampling of Australian prawns in retail outlets needs to occur with the aim of promoting good practices and building consumer confidence. An in-market sampling trial which commenced in September is soon to be completed in all states, with samples being analysed.
The ACPF has also agreed that stakeholders such as supermarkets, industry members, retailers, and Government agencies should be able to access the database of prawn profiles to address suspected prawn substitution cases under commercial in-confidence terms.
Our appreciation is extended to all fishers who supplied prawns for analysis, Dr Janet Howieson, Curtin University, who co-ordinated the project and collection of samples, and Source Certain International who continue to assist with utilisation of the technology. ACPF members will be consulted on Stage 2 of the project going forward.


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Guangdong industrial automation exhibition
Release date:2017-12-14 Author: Click:
The fifth international industrial equipment exposition by changzhou changzhou industrial economic federation, changzhou changzhou entrepreneurs association federation, mould industry association, jiangsu province, changzhou high-tech enterprise association and jiangsu robot and intelligent equipment industry technology innovation strategic alliance, sino-german industrial 4.0 alliance and changzhou big exhibition service co., LTD. Jointly organized the, this exhibition is expected to more than 600 Chinese and foreign well-known enterprises, a total of more than 1800 booths, exhibition area of 45000 square meters, the event as thousands of products, Through the enterprise, with suppliers and purchasers as zero distance contact, face-to-face communication, set up industrial products exhibition, brand publicity, one-stop procurement, cooperation and exchange platform for the big, more and better to share the equipment manufacturing industry in the international and domestic advanced concepts, technology and information, and further improve the level of the development of advanced manufacturing industry and the core competitiveness, is one of the maximum scale of jiangsu province industrial equipment manufacturing industry event. Changzhou smart and equipment in China, at present, the development of the work is in an orderly way, around the "made in China 2025" changzhou action outline, strive to will be the the exhibition: distinct themes, rich in content and form of the novel, and perfect service brand exhibition. To build a national first-class intelligent manufacturing city to make a positive contribution.
Hangzhou Bergerda Automation technology co., LTD.Our participation in this exhibition has won the support and affection of many customers. The satisfaction of customers is our pursuit. We will continue to serve customers wholeheartedly.
URL of this article:https://en.bergerda.com/news/367.html
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Tales of Arise will have an open world feel to it despite being a Japenese role-playing game. This information was revealed by the game producer Yusuke Tomizawa in a recent interview.
Speaking to Gamekana, Tomizawa revealed some interesting new details about the upcoming game. He confirmed that the upcoming game is not an open world game but instead, it’s a traditional JRPG which will make players move from towns to dungeons throughout the story.
Tomizawa also said that the game will an open world feel to it and that the high and low altitude differences will be visible.
Afterward, Tomizawa revealed that the game’s combat system will feature an “encounter method”. Unfortunately, the game producer is not ready yet to talk more about the battle system of the game but he did say that there wouldn’t be too many changes to its core formula in comparison to the previous games in Tale series.
Tales of Arise was officially announced at E3 2019 during Microsoft’s press conference. Those who haven’t played the previous games in the series shouldn’t be worried. Yusuke Tomizawa confirmed in a recent blog post that the game’s story will be a standalone tale and not linked to the previous games in Tale series.
There’s a new in-game engine trailer now available by Bandai Namco for Tales of Arise. The latest trailer was shown during the Tales of Festival in Yokohama, Japan and it reveals the names of main characters in Tales of Arise.
During the trailer, players are introduced to Shionne, a girl from the planet Thorna and Alphen, a man from planet Dahna. Apparently, Shionne is cursed with “Thorns” which results in her causing pain to everything she touches. As for Alphen, he can feel no pain with no memories. Interested folks can check out the trailer of the game below.
Tales of Arise release date is expected to be sometime in early 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game is in development by Bandai Namco Studios and will be published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Minoru Iwamoto, artist of famous RPGs like Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria is the character designer and art director of Tales of Arise.
We expect to learn more about Tales of Arise open world and combat system soon so stay tuned to know more about the game first.


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By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) offered on Thursday its gloomiest view on regional economies in more than a year as supply constraints disrupted factory output of cars and other products, clouding the outlook for the export-reliant economy.
In a quarterly report, the central bank slashed its economic assessment for five of the country’s nine regions – the biggest number of cuts since July last year – signalling alarm over the output disruptions and the hit to consumption from the coronavirus pandemic.
The cautious view may trigger a downgrade in the BOJ’s growth forecast for Asia’s second-biggest economy this fiscal year, when it issues fresh quarterly projections at its Oct. 27-28 policy meeting.
In a sign of the broadening damage from the global chip and parts shortage, the BOJ cut its view on output for four regions including the Tokai central Japan area – home to auto giant Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corp.
“Southeast Asian factories are resuming operations but not at full capacity, so it will take time to see (supply constraints) ease,” Shinichiro Hayashi, head of the BOJ’s branch overseeing the Tokai region, told a briefing.
While demand for IT goods and machinery remains solid, such supply constraints cloud the outlook for exports, which have been key drivers of Japan’s fragile recovery.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda maintained his optimistic view on the economy, saying it is likely to recover as the pandemic’s damage begins to fade.
Analysts also expect consumption to rebound thanks to the lifting of state of emergency curbs from October, a sharp decline in new infections and progress in vaccinations.
Recent rises in energy prices add pressure on manufacturers, though it will help consumer inflation accelerate towards the BOJ’s 2% target.
“Core consumer inflation is hovering around 0% but we expect it to turn slightly positive reflecting rising energy prices,” Kuroda said in a speech to the branch managers, indicating that global inflationary pressure is spreading even to a country which has long struggled to shake off deflation.
“As the economy continues to improve and the impact of mobile phone fee charges dissipate, consumer inflation will gradually accelerate,” he said.
Japan’s core consumer prices halted a 12-month run of decline in August, as energy costs offset the impact of cuts in mobile phone fees as well as weak consumption blamed on the coronavirus pandemic.


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Spokane Valley Police warn of new computer scam
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Valley Police received a report of a different version of a common computer scam.
On March 8, Crime Check received a report about a new scam. The potential victim received a call from a male saying that she was due a refund for a past computer purchase. The potential victim gave the scammer access to her computer and the name of her bank.
The scammer then said he accidentally deposited $2,500 into her account and convinced the potential victim to purchase gift cards at a local store to reimburse the mistake. When she arrived at the Spokane Valley Target to purchase the gift cards, employees warned her that this was a scam.
Police warn people to not ever be intimidated or convinced to provide access to a computer, personal banking information, or to pay anyone or any company with gift or prepaid credit cards.
COPYRIGHT 2020 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.


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2021 could see ‘record high’ sales of construction equipment
By Andy Brown30 March 2021
Global construction equipment sales in 2020 performed much better than anticipated and the forecast for 2021 and beyond is now better than expected prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to market specialists Off-Highway Research.
Continued modest growth in China in 2021, combined with a bounce back in sales in other countries around the world – generally of 5-10% – have the potential to take global construction equipment sales to a record high in 2021.
Off-Highway Research managing director, Chris Sleight said, “The buoyancy is such that the question is not so much whether there will be demand for equipment, but whether manufacturers will be able to meet it. History has shown that a global volume of one million units or more can equate to supply shortages in critical components.”
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the cyclical construction equipment market was expected to fall in 2020 and beyond. The overall decline was expected to be around 5%.
In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold and national lockdowns came into force around the world, it was feared that global markets would crash. Annual declines of 20-40% were anticipated in worldwide equipment sales.
However, according to Off-Highway Research, 2020 saw little change in global sales. In fact, the market performed better in the pandemic than it was expected to prior to the Covid outbreak.
The consultant said the most important factor in this performance was the huge stimulus spending in China, which saw the market rise from already buoyant levels of 2019 by a further 30%.
In addition, the downturn in other parts of the world was not as severe as was feared when the lockdowns started. Instead of the anticipated falls of 30% or more, most markets declined by 10-20% and some even grew. The overall fall for the world, excluding China, was 12% in 2020.
The forecast for 2021 and beyond is now generally better than was expected prior to the Covid outbreak. Sleight added that, “It is therefore expected that 2021 will be characterised by equipment supply constraints and long lead times for machines. Off-Highway Research believes these factors are the major challenge to its forecasts and the industry reaching its sales potential, rather than any demand-side impediments.”


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As soon as once more, the concurrent Steam participant rely report has been damaged, with the Thanksgiving weekend in America seeing a brand new all-time excessive for simultaneous gamers logged into the Valve shopper. It appears PC gaming continues to go from power to power, as free video games together with CS:GO, Dota 2, Warzone 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, and Misplaced Ark high the charts alongside long-time stalwarts reminiscent of GTA 5, Name of Obligation: Trendy Warfare 2, and Rust.
As winter approaches and issues get colder, it seems that avid gamers are selecting to spend their time inside with their PCs. It’s price noting, as reported by Eurogamer, that the overall quantity consists of idle gamers – all customers who’re signed in are counted, no matter whether or not they’re really enjoying a sport or not. However, the continued climb following a number of new peak data set over the course of 2022 reveals how the recognition of PC gaming continues to develop. The report was beforehand damaged twice in October, and reveals no indicators of slowing as we head in direction of Christmas.
The official Steam charts overview stories a peak on-line participant rely of 31,336,174 on November 26, the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. This was reported at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm GMT / 3pm CET, suggesting that the numbers aren’t all coming from the American viewers – though it additionally looks as if avid gamers are longing for some Saturday morning gaming as they change on their PCs.
Steam monitoring web site SteamDB stories a barely increased all-time peak of 31,379,760 at across the similar time, and notes that 9.3 million of those had been actively enjoying a sport on the time the report was reached. Of the preferred video games, it’s price noting that Trendy Warfare 2 – the one sport within the high 5 that isn’t free-to-play – does have a free element due to Warzone 2 and its new DMZ mode. Nevertheless, it’s additionally the highest promoting sport by whole income, suggesting that loads of PC customers are spending cash on the most recent Name of Obligation.
It stays to be seen whether or not the vacation season will herald even increased numbers, nevertheless it actually seems to be just like the climb isn’t set to decelerate but. The Steam autumn sale is presently reside till November 29, so there’s plenty of alternatives to seize a few of the finest PC video games that cash can purchase at a reduction.


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There’s a reason why 43% of cannabis ad spending goes to out of home (OOH) — think billboards, bus shelters, kiosks and transit advertising. Regardless of the format, OOH offers cannabis brands a high impact canvas to reach consumers in big, impactful ways that are always authentic and contextual to consumers’ lives. What’s more, while other forms of media have typically shied away from cannabis advertising, OOH has helped the industry grow by raising awareness, increasing call volume and web presence and even driving consumers to apply for cannabis cards.
In fact, the longstanding partnership between cannabis and OOH is likely to get even stronger. Here are five insights that every cannabis marketer may not know but should know about how OOH can help maximize the value of an OOH buy and transform business.
- Insight 1: OOH is Still Reaching Consumers – Even During COVID – Let’s first address the elephant in the room – how can OOH media drive value during COVID-19? While the first few months of the pandemic were tough, OOH – one of the strongest forms of media – is already springing back. Data recently reported by Geopath shows that overall mobility across the US is now at 92%, on par with the first week of March numbers before COVID restrictions went into place. So consumers are moving about again – perhaps differently than before, but the data shows their activity has sprung back. In fact, despite COVID, MAGNA Global predicts that the OOH industry is on track to return to record breaking revenues in 2021 with anticipated gains of 9%.
- Insight 2: OOH can drive sales – and now we can prove it – Today’s OOH is about a lot more than counting cars or foot traffic. Today’s OOH is exciting, audience-focused and results-focused and still an incredible value. Targeting and measurement analytics? We got it. Integration of third party or first party data into our analytics? We’ve got that, too! You can tell you whether more people showed up at a dispensary based on seeing ads. You can track the lift in search engines; lift on social media; and demonstrate brand activation – like how many people showed up at a dispensary and made a purchase.
- Insight 3: Integrating online media into the OOH experience improves results – For those cannabis advertisers looking to move into digital advertising, today’s OOH has lots of new tricks that make it so much more powerful for advertisers when combined with online media. In fact, it’s really hard for any other medium to come close when it comes to results and value. OOH drives online activation more efficiently than TV, radio, print or even digital displays. Why? OOH assets are big screens driving consumers to small screens – we serve as a trigger and prompt. And, OOH increases the ROI of search advertising by 40% when added to a media plan.
- Insight 4: OOH drives consumer behaviors – OOH has a strong ability to influence consumer behavior and this leads directly into their online activity. Large portions of consumers are going to their devices before making purchase decisions. Last year a Nielsen OOH report showed that 90% of US residents 16 or older noticed some form of OOH inventory in the last month and that 66% of OOH viewers were prompted by an OOH ad to take some action on their smartphone.
- Insight 5: Cannabis is Essential – Red state or blue state, the cultivation, processing, and sale of cannabis were deemed essential business activities in multiple state stay-home orders intended to reduce spread of coronavirus. These official designations, for medical and recreational marijuana, validate cannabis as a mainstream commodity and business. For cannabis entrepreneurs in these states, this is great news. OOH can help your reach consumers and grow your business during the remainder of COVID and beyond!
As cannabis brands continue to seek ways to parlay their newfound status as essential businesses into sales, marketers would do well to explore ways to take the enduring partnership of OOH and the cannabis industry to new levels using the power and excitement of today’s OOH to grow your businesses.
Post Published August 26, 2020


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Members of the Online Merchants Guild (OMG) have expressed concern about recent statements made by Amazon in response to pending antitrust legislation. Importantly, much of what Amazon has said about these bills is self-serving. Amazon may have led you to believe that these bills threaten the viability of the platform’s FBA services thereby jeopardizing the competitiveness of its thriving third-party marketplace businesses as well as the hundreds of thousands of competing, small businesses across the nation. But the legislation doesn’t say that — Amazon does. Amazon is scared of the accountability that they are facing, you don’t have to be.
OMG is disappointed – but not surprised – at the alarming tone of Amazon’s communications, which, as intended, sent an immediate chill throughout the online community. Please note: This tactic exemplifies exactly the monopolistic market control these types of legislative reforms hope to mitigate or, hopefully, abolish completely. Once again, to be clear. The email you may have received from Amazon purporting to protect your interest as a competing on-line business illustrates the type of manipulative, marketplace behavior that OMG hopes will be eliminated by the pending antitrust legislation.
OMG understands why Amazon contacted you about this pending legislation as it watches its control of the marketplace diminish. We look forward to working with Amazon and all other stakeholders to ensure that any resulting legislation or other regulatory reform appropriately protects the interests not only of the platforms, brand owners and marketplaces, but also the rights and remedies of independent small business owners, their employees and consumers.
For more information about OMG and how you can become a part of our mission to advocate on behalf of the 3rd party merchant community, please fill out the form below.


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Fashion giants H&M and Zara owner Inditex have revealed fresh sales slowdowns due to restrictions to curb the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
H&M - the world’s second largest clothes retailer - said sales fell by more than a fifth at the end of its fourth quarter to November 30 due to temporary store closures and as fewer customers visited its shops amid tightening restrictions.
The Swedish group saw sales overall fall 10pc in local currencies in the three months to November 30, with declines widening from 3pc earlier in the quarter to 22pc between October 22 and November 30.
H&M said that, after a “strong recovery” in its third quarter, sales tumbled at the end of the fourth quarter “as the recovery transitioned into a new slowdown as a result of the pandemic’s second wave”.
Spanish rival Inditex said sales falls narrowed to 14pc in local currencies over its third quarter to October 31 from as much as 44pc in the first quarter.
It also saw the rebound brought to a sudden halt as tighter coronavirus restrictions forced it to close stores.
The chain said sales recovered to prior year levels in early October, before falling to 81pc of year-earlier levels in November as more restrictions came into effect.
This lifted to 87pc of year-earlier levels in the first 10 days of December, although it said 8pc of its stores remain closed, with an extra 10pc having to shut during the weekends.
Inditex reported net profits of €866m for its third quarter, down from €1.17bn a year earlier.
H&M said its fourth quarter performance left local currency sales 18pc lower overall in its full year, with net sales down 20pc at 187 billion Swedish krona (€18.3bn).
Over the fourth quarter, net sales fell 15pc to 52.5bn Swedish krona, with the biggest declines recorded in Spring.


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Kellogg’s – the owner of Pringles – has pulled all advertising from the PE With Joe YouTube channel, after being accused of advertising to children.
PE With Joe has grown hugely popular during the lockdown period, as people look for ways to exercise from home.
The popularity has meant the workout, which were originally targeted at adults, have been extended to children.
Kellogg’s had placed pre-programme ads for Pringles in the videos.
And with this brings certain legal concerns in the UK, where the advertising watchdog does not allow food and drink bands to promote “less healthy” products on children’s TV, or any media channel, with an audience of more than 25 per cent under-16s.
It is part of the Government’s childhood obesity plan measures.
However, there are certain loopholes which allow brands to advertise such products on digital platforms like YouTube.
And while this means the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will not pursue formal charges against Kellogg’s, the company is still under fire from advocate groups.
A Children’s Food Campaign spokeswoman told The Guardian: “A pop, skip and a jump is a misleading and counterproductive message for industry to be pushing. Placing this ad directly before Joe’s hugely popular children’s daily PE class is a total betrayal of his work, and highly insensitive, irresponsible marketing. Children don’t need more salt, more saturated fat, more sugar, more excess calories being pushed to them during a pandemic, or indeed at any time.
“Children are even more of a captive audience during this lockdown, and we are hugely concerned they are still being subjected to unhealthy food advertising like this. The food industry and government focus should be on building up people’s health and resilience, not undermining it.”
Kellogg’s has responded to the criticism, confirming it removed the ads as soon as it was notified children were now being targeted by the fitness channel.
“It was not our intention to advertise Pringles to a younger audience. We are careful about where we place our advertising as we know we have a responsibility to act in the right way,” the company said in a statement.
“Joe’s fitness channel has historically been aimed at adults which was the case when we placed our advert on it (booked on 18 March). His audience shifted recently with the launch of ‘PE With Joe’.
“As soon as we were made aware that the audience of his channel had changed, we took steps to remove our advertising and we have put measures in place to prevent a repeat.’’
Stan has announced that the Stan Original Film Transfusion commenced filming in Sydney earlier this week and will premiere on Stan in 2022. Transfusion is a taut, muscular thriller starring Sam Worthington (Avatar) as Ryan Logan, a former Special Forces operative, who is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife and is thrust […]
According to a decade of data collected by iStock, Australian brands turned to imagery depicting outdated gender stereotypes during the pandemic. Tracking the keyword ‘women’, iStock by Getty Images found that in 2020, ANZ brands and businesses reverted to gender stereotypes. Images of mothers home-schooling were used at almost twice the rate of images of […]
Schwartz Media is congratulating Maddison Connaughton on her three years as editor of The Saturday Paper. Connaughton has decided to finish up her editorship this month. “It’s been an honour to edit the paper,” Connaughton said. “The Saturday Paper is one of the brightest voices in Australian media and I have been happy to see […]
As domestic travel booms, AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC has partnered with Tourism Australia. Together, they have produced a special edition that reveals the nation’s best-kept secret locations across all states and territories. The collaboration highlights the hidden gems on our roads less travelled, expanding tourism into many places that will no doubt welcome a boost to local […]
On Thursday night’s MasterChef ep, the chefs were tasked with cooking with classic culinary staple two-minute-noodles. Instead of serving them with a handful of shredded cheese and plenty of watery, dubiously beef-y ‘soup’ (as is the B&T preferred method), the chefs had to use the noodles to make something new. To a bonafide two-minute-noodle lover, that […]
Research from EdBbirdie using Spotify data has identified the most popular songs to study to. After analysing thousands of studying and homework playlists on Spotify, American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘drivers license’ came out as top song to study to. It featured on 48 study playlists, while other top songs included ‘Ophelia’ by The Lumineers, ‘Falling’ […]
Nine has announced a record six major sponsors for the 2021 season of adrenaline charged Australian Ninja Warrior. Leading health insurer AIA Australia joins Nutri-Grain, ALDI, Energizer, KFC and Bendigo Bank. Season five of Australian Ninja Warrior premieres Sunday June 20 and will feature innovative, bespoke in-show branding that compliments both the editorial of the […]
Cannes Lions has published its entry numbers ahead of Cannes Lions Live, which will run from June 21-25. 29,074 pieces of work have been entered from 90 countries, with entries spanning two years after the awards were paused due to the global pandemic in 2020. Simon Cook, managing director, LIONS, said that this was a […]
Dayna Stewart is the Business Director – Digital Marketing, Media & Creative Services at The Nudge Group. Here, she discusses the challenges that come with building a successful marketing team when working remotely. Before COVID-19 changed the way businesses work, most marketing teams spent their days together in a meeting room collaborating on the next […]
The line-up for the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival has been announced as the legendary event returns live in Las Vegas in September. This year, the epic two-day lineup for the iHeartRadio Music Festival main stage will feature performances by Billie Eilish, Cheap Trick, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Florida Georgia Line, Journey, Khalid, Lil Baby, Maroon 5, Nelly, […]
Shop! ANZ is calling on shopper and retail marketing professionals from all retail related disciplines to participate in the first ANZ Shopper and Retail Marketing Industry Survey in four years. This important research provides a guide of where the retail marketing industry in Australia and New Zealand has come from and what is anticipated to […]
In this guest post, Ania Kubiak (main photo), A/NZ country manager at Lucid, offers her tips on how to align your brand with customers’ fast-moving expectations… In today’s digital world, the speed at which consumers’ perspectives and opinions on political and social environments is changing faster than ever before. Consumers are inundated with new information […]
CondÉ Nast, the publisher of publications such as VOGUE, Vanity fair, Pitchfork and The New Yorker has agreed to raise the minimum wage for employees after a campaign by the New Yorker union. The union had previously organised a protest, which saw New Yorker staff demonstrating outside VOGUE editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s home. Placards at the protest had […]
GoDaddy has announced it has been named as the official website builder partner of the Australian Olympic team for the Tokyo 2020 Games. GoDaddy has a history of supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners in Australia. Many Australian Olympic athletes are small business owners themselves, running businesses and side hustle to help support the pursuit […]


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The $14 billion New York-based car parts giant Genuine Parts Co, which bought out the Repco business in Australia for almost $1 billion in 2013, says it will have a close look at the Metcash automotive division as a potential acquisition as it seeks further expansion in a rapidly consolidating sector.
John Moller, the Melbourne-based managing director of the local operations of Genuine Parts Co, which owns 312 Repco stores and also runs the Ashdown Ingram auto electrical and air conditioning parts business, said the firm has a dual strategy of pursuing both organic growth and acquisitions.
He said the local business currently generates annual revenues of $1.3 billion and he wants to build on that. Grocery wholesaler Metcash announced on Thursday it was investigating a potential initial public offering of its automotive division, which includes the Autobarn parts outlets and the Midas mufflers business, after just three years in the highly-competitive auto parts industry.
Mr Moller said there was only room for big businesses with large scale and this trend had been driven by the increasing number of different vehicles on the road and the increasing complexity of them, which meant auto parts businesses had to cary vast amounts of stock and have a highly sophisticated distribution network.
He will be closely examining whether the Metcash automotive operations, or parts of it, might be a good fit, he said.
"We're always looking. I wouldn't say no to anything.
"It really is a matter of whether or not there is a good fit and where the overlap is," he said.
Size that counts
But Mr Moller said the key to success in the Australian automotive parts after-market, which is worth $14 billion annually when both the retail and trade component is combined, is size.
"It's fair to say the industry is headed toward scale. If you look at the complexity of the car park and the inventory you now have to carry, it is all about size". He said there are 68 different makes of vehicles in Australia and thousands of derivations across them all because of different engine sizes and models. The Repco business carries 400,000 different product lines, known as stock keeping units (SKUs).
Analysts suggest that if the Metcash automotive division was valued on a similar multiple to the Burson Group, which listed on the ASX last year and is the largest auto parts supplier to trade customers, it would have a market capitalisation of between $350 million and $450 million.
The Genuine Parts Co Australasian business, with Repco as its flagship, has made five smaller acquisitions in the past two years, the last being cemented in April, 2015, when the Ashdown Ingram business acquired Australian Electrical Automotive, which operates seven outlets and has revenues of between $10 million to $12 million. Over the past two years other businesses including the 11-store R&E Auto Parts, RDA Brakes and PJL Diesel Electric have also been acquired, along with a tyre repair business from Bosch.
Mr Moller said the strategy is to drive growth from existing businesses and to make acquisitions.
"It's a combination of both."
Genuine Parts Co bought the Repco group business in two bites, initially taking a 30 per cent stake and then completing the buyout of the remaining 70 per cent for close to $800 million in 2013 from private equity firm Unitas capital, previously known as CCMP Capital.
Repco was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a stand-alone entity between 2003 and 2006, but was de-listed when it was bought by CCMP in 2006. One of its main competitors is Supercheap Auto, owned by the Super Retail Group.
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Handicare targets U.S.
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. – Handicare took “a big step” into the U.S. market recently, when it created the position of business development director and hired Chris Blackmore.
The Norway-based company has a presence in the U.S., but with Blackmore’s contacts, it hopes to make significant strides here. Previously, Blackmore was a regional vice president of sales for Pride Mobility Products.
“After 14 years, you get the opportunity to form quite a few relationships,” he said. “My goal is to quickly expand their provider network.”
To date, Handicare has been best known in the U.S. for stair lifts. The U.S. division of the company formed when RoMedic and Sterling Stairlifts, both based in Pennsylvania, were acquired and merged in 2012.
Blackmore’s goal is to not only expand Handicare’s provider network for those products, but also play a pivotal role in helping the company decide which of its other growing cadre of products to make available in the U.S. Two initial targets: the Gemini rollator and Linido bath safety lines.
“We expect to expand the number of lines considerably in the next year,” he said.
Blackmore says his conversations with providers have confirmed to him that these types of retail-oriented products are a key factor in maintaining their success going forward.
“We want providers to consider us a manufacturer that gives them the opportunity to sell high-quality products that help keep them profitable,” he said.
It’s all a “big investment” for Handicare, a company still fairly new to not only the U.S. market but also the homecare market (its roots are in the institutional market), says Jennifer Gora, marketing director.
“It’s a big step,” she said.


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Both global and local macro-challenges can have serious implications for the people of Bangladesh
The next stage of Bangladesh-India relations should involve long-term, innovative projects.
Bangladesh earned $3.83 billion in merchandise exports in May, the lowest in nine months, as buoyancy in demand ebbed owing to higher inflation, according to data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) today.
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said Bangladesh is not taking oil from Russia in fear of sanctions.
India today indicated that it would not allow the food security of its South Asian neighbours to be hit by the ban imposed on exports of wheat and that the measure was a temporary one.
India increases the minimum export price of onion to $700 per tonne from $425 to restrict onion exports, prompting a further hike in its prices in Bangladesh.
No matter the solution found for Greece's debt crisis, fixing problems in Greek tax structures, foreign investment flows and export activity must take place for the economy to start growing again.


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He’s back to being a lean, mean, fighting machine — and he’s back to bending up his Undefeated IVs.
Diadora, like almost every other brand in footwear, has been revamping its classic silhouettes with modern knit uppers.
Teased on his Snapchat, Future has a very interesting new Reebok sneaker coming out.
The Under Armour Curry 3 has officially had it’s price reduced to $100 and the silhouette’s latest colorway has just dropped.
The Kansas Jayhawks have been equipped by the Three Stripes for a long time but these Crazy Explosive Low PEs were unexpected.
For the Warriors’ second Playoff win last night Stephen Curry rocked an interesting Curry 3ZER0 PE.
It’s 4/20 and Reebok Classics has the perfect Classic Leather collection for the occasion: the ‘Munchies Pack’.
With limited options and a hefty price tag, Nike’s latest flagship sneaker has hit the brand’s customization service.
When Ewing Athletics unveiled a 33 Hi constructed with a nearly seamless woven upper, I knew I had to get it on my feet. The latest
Those that are patient save hella bread. A handful of great Curry 3 colorways are on sale now for just $140 $75 each.
If you wanted to teach your kids the alphabet and have them learn their basketball history at the same time, this is the book you should support on Kickstarter.
Yet again, adidas has partnered with Parley for the Oceans to create jerseys from Parley Ocean Plastic.
As of late, NikeLab seems to be reinventing every classic silhouette we know. The next model to get a new build is the Air Max Plus.
While at Oracle arena for Game 1 of GSW vs PTB, @LetsGoWarriors spotted some interesting Kevin Durant PEs.
Almost one year to date after FILA and Shoe City first linked for the ‘Puzzle Piece’ FILA Cage, the two are back promoting Autism Awareness with a new sneaker.
In its latest collaboration with Reebok, world renowned shop Undefeated has brought one of basketball’s most storied sneakers to a classic silhouette that still seems modern today: the InstaPump Fury.
The man running StockX, the Internet’s stock market of things, appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter to discuss the latest in Playoff kicks.
When the Supra Skytop V launched in February we knew pastel builds were coming — we just didn’t know they’d arrive so soon!


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Go Ape has launched its debut Christmas party package for those looking to end 2019 on a 50-foot high. It’s the ideal alternative to traditional office Christmas parties, letting you swap tired turkey dinners and typical Christmas excess for swinging through the trees and teambuilding in the great outdoors. Challenge your team to take on […]
Go Ape launches Alternative Christmas Parties package
Christmas Party Planning: The necessary evil?
Is Christmas party planning getting earlier? It’s crazy that we’re already running around finding venues and crafting the seating plan, says Declan Halton-Woodward, EA at Handelsbanken Wealth/Heartwood… My unpopular opinion is that Christmas parties are a bit of a scam; it’s astounding the premium we pay for events in December and there’s the ever expanding […]


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The Zimbabwe national team will wear kits supplied by Mafro for their game against Senegal on Thursday after it finally arrived.
The Warriors were forced to use an unbranded alternative kit for their opener against Algeria after logistical issues.
However speaking to Soccer24 Francis Chitanda said, ‘I can confirm that the Warriors now have the Mafro kit and will wear it tomorrow for their game against Senegal
On the issue of replicas for the fans Chitanda said they had also faced similar logistical issues but were expecting replicas for fans to arrive soon.
‘We have been facing similar issues in getting them to Zimbabwe but I can assure fans that they are on their way and will be here soon.


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How much beer does $3.41 billion buy, exactly? That's the amount Japanese beverage company Asahi is reportedly offering beer goliath SABMiller to take Peroni and Grolsch off its hands, according to Reuters.
Last month the world's largest beer company, AB InBev, made a deal to buy SABMiller — the world's second largest beer company — for a whopping $106 billion. But as part of that deal, which would create the biggest beer conglomerate the world's ever seen, SABMiller must first unload Dutch beer label Grolsch and Italian beer brand Peroni; according to Reuters sources, "AB InBev wants to avoid getting bogged down in regulatory scrutiny over a European portfolio that already includes Corona and Stella Artois."
If the deal goes through, "it would be the biggest overseas beverage acquisition ever by a Japanese company." Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are expressing concern that the SABMiller-AB InBev deal could hurt the American craft beer market, and two dozen beer lovers banded together to file a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the massive merger.