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Telkom and MTN are set to face off at the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s complaints and compliance committee on Thursday over a dispute of interconnection fees, the money they charge each other to carry calls between their networks. Authority spokesman Paseka Maleka Telkom lodged a complaint against MTN at the end of June. It appears the two companies are having trouble negotiating the terms of an interconnection agreement.
Cell C, which launched its third-generation (3G) mobile network in the Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth on Friday, is playing up its launch offering of two broadband modems with 24GB and 60GB data bundles. But the company has also quietly introduced two new data-only products at prices that are significantly lower than the offerings that are bundled with modems and much cheaper than anything offered by rivals MTN and Vodacom.
Telecommunications operator Cell C will launch the first leg of its mobile broadband network in Port Elizabeth. TechCentral has established that Cell C will launch its third-generation (3G) network, on which it is spending about R5bn in 2010, in the Eastern Cape city.
With more than half a dozen SA operators rolling out their own national networks, consolidation in SA’s telecommunications industry looks inevitable. There’s a chance Cell C and Dimension Data could be the ones to kick it off. Didata division Internet Solutions looks a bit like the odd man out these days. The converged service provider, which remains a powerful force in the corporate market, is the only big player in its space that doesn’t have its own significant investment in telecoms infrastructure.
Kenyan telecommunications operator Safaricom has increased its market share from about 60% three years ago to over 80% on the back of its M-Pesa cellphone money transfer service. Now Vodacom is hoping to emulate those market share gains in SA. That’s the word from Mark Taylor, newly appointed MD of Vodacom Payment Services, the company that houses the company’s M-Pesa offering.
It’s Friday again and that means another episode of SA’s business technology podcast, TalkCentral. This week, your hosts Duncan McLeod and Candice Jones delve into the ongoing drama at the department of communications, where fired communications department director-general Mamodupi Mohlala has been reinstated — at least for now — by minister Siphiwe Nyanda.
Vodacom has lost its exclusivity over Apple’s iPhone in SA: MTN will launch the product in the country within weeks. The cellular network operator will announce late on Thursday afternoon that it will begin selling the iPhone device through its channels. TechCentral has learnt that MTN will issue a press statement later on Thursday confirming what many had already expected: that it has secured a distribution agreement with Apple.
Apple’s iPad could go on sale in SA within a matter of weeks. Core Group, Apple’s sole local distributor, has confirmed it is in talks with the US company about bringing the tablet computer to the country.
Core Group executive director Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk says the company has held “lengthy discussions” with Apple and that Core will distribute both versions of the iPad – the cellular-ready product and the Wi-Fi-only configuration – exclusively to the SA market.
It’s long been government’s desire to bridge the digital divide, to get communications technology in the hands of the rural poor. But its every attempt to address the problem has failed. Now commercial operators may achieve what government couldn’t. The late Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the former communications minister, had her heart in the right place. She genuinely wanted people in underserviced areas to get access to the latest communications technology.
Telkom has resumed its high-profile anti-Neotel taunts on Gauteng billboards, this time erecting a giant sign just metres in front of its rival’s new head office in Midrand, north of Johannesburg. In a clear reference to Neotel’s orange corporate branding, the Telkom hoarding says: “Remember, exercise caution when you see orange.”


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Pack Expo set to break records
Organizers again expand square footage, expect 10% larger attendance.
in the NewsSalonCentric: One Beautiful Network Q4 2017 Rail/Intermodal Roundtable: Improvements apparent; work remains The State of the DC Voice Market CBRE data shows a decline in U.S. industrial real estate availability Air cargo continues to carry the day in Asia Pacific More News
PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, the owner and producer of PACK EXPO Las Vegas (Sept. 23-25, 2013; Las Vegas Convention Center) announces that it is expanding the show floor yet again to meet supplier demand.
“With just two months before show time, PACK EXPO is still growing,” says PMMI president & CEO Charles D. Yuska. “After expanding the show floor to accommodate supplier demand, we plan to add yet more exhibit space.”
More than 1,600 processing and packaging solutions providers are on board to occupy over 700,000 net square feet, making the 2013 edition the largest PACK EXPO Las Vegas since the event first opened in 1995.
“Our exhibitor numbers are already up 15%, and the floor itself has expanded by 12% compared to the 2011 Las Vegas show,” says Yuska.
In fact, PMMI has added a third Innovation Stage to expand PACK EXPO’s on-floor educational programming, delivering even more insights to attendees looking to learn about ways to enhance sustainability, efficiency, automation and food safety measures.
But it’s about more than booth space. PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013 is also on track to play host to its largest audience of attendees. Attendance is expected to well exceed 26,000 manufacturing professionals from the baking and snack, beverage, confectionery, pharmaceutical and other industries - a 10% increase over 2011 numbers.
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A survey by head hunters ECHM has revealed that the accounting recruitment
market is set for a bumper year.
In a survey of 460 finance professionals across the UK, ECHM found that the
overwhelming majority of accountants working within commerce and public practice
are optimistic about the job market for 2006.
Confidence is strongest in London & SE (79.4%) closely followed by
Yorkshire & NE (77.8%) and lastly Manchester & NW (62.6%)
Accountants were also generally satisfied with their remuneration packages.
Nearly four out of five respondents working in Yorkshire & NE were happy
with their pay and benefits compared to 60.4% in London & SE and 60.2% in
Manchester & NW.
In terms of work life balance, however, Londoners reported the worst
work/life balance with only 49% satisfied compared to 61% in Manchester &
NW and 57% in Yorkshire & NE.
Accountancy Age Jobs is delighted to announce the launch of a brand new look website for finance and accountancy professionals
The UK gender pay gap will not close until 2069 unless action is taken to tackle it now, according to new research by Deloitte
Three former Tesco executives, including the former finance director of Tesco UK, have been charged with fraud by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to a £263m accounting scandal at the retailer.
Deloitte chief executive David Sproul is among 11 chief executives to take part in global executive search firm Odgers Berndtson’s CEO for a Day scheme


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More than 22,000 pounds of Healthy Choice frozen beef products are being recalled due to a failure to disclose a milk allergen on the labeling.
Texas-based Valley International Cold Storage Acquisition said the recalled frozen meals are labeled as Korean-Style Beef but contain a chicken sausage and pepper product that includes milk.
The 9.25-oz cartons, labeled "Healthy Choice POWER BOWLS Korean-Style Beef" and produced on July 22, 2022, were shipped to retail locations nationwide. They include the establishment number "34622" on the end flap of the carton, the lot code "5246220320" and a "best if used by" date of April 18, 2023.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says it is concerned that the recalled product may be in consumers' freezers.
"Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them," FSIS added. "These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the recalled product. Individuals concerned about an injury or illness should contact a health care provider.
|CAG||CONAGRA BRANDS INC.||28.86||-0.17||-0.59%|
Consumers with questions about the recall can call consumer packaged goods food giant Conagra Brands, the owner of the Healthy Choice brand, at 800-672-8152.


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Liverpool have made an encouraging start to the new Premier League season.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are unbeaten after three games, having brushed aside Norwich and Burnley before being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at Anfield by Chelsea last time out.
One of the most high-profile clubs in all of world football, the Reds sell an impressive number of replica shirts each season. Judging by fan reaction to their newly-released third strip, however, it is unlikely that their latest offering will break any sales records.
Inspired by some of the iconic flags of the Kop, the predominantly yellow kit features red and yellow checked trim on the arms and around the collar. The shirt, which is now available for pre-order on the club’s official website, will set supporters back £69.95.
Kit manufacturers Nike must have been hoping for a more positive response to the strip, which has been blistered by Liverpool fans on social media since its unveiling on Wednesday morning.
The major issue raised by supporters is that the shirt resembles the uniform worn by staff at a famous fast food chain. You can check out the new kit below, as modelled by Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane.
Twitter has been awash with mentions of Ronald McDonald ever since the clip was made public – and you can’t deny the resemblance!
“Announce Ronald,” declared one supporter, captioning an image of the famous McDonald’s mascot.
Another reply asked: “Does it come with a Happy Meal if you pre-order it?”
“When you’ve got Liverpool away at 3pm, but you’ve got your evening shift at Wimpy at 7pm,” joked a further comment.
Liverpool quiz: Can you name the club’s most expensive signings in each of the last 10 years?
“This kit is a 2/10,” stated a fifth response.
“Hope we don’t have to wear it this season,” wrote a final unimpressed supporter, summing up the general mood towards the new strip.
In truth, Liverpool won’t be wearing the kit all that often. However, by the sounds of it, neither will many of their fans!
RANKING THE BEST & WORST TRANSFERS (Via The Football Terrace)


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'CHOOSE MK QUALITY - FOR A BETTER LIFE' CAMPAIGN
By giving away CDs and by elaborating the promotional activity for purchasing domestic products - "Choose MKquality - For Better Life" to representatives of the Economic Chamber and the Association of Commerce Chambers, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski officially launched the new campaign for buying Macedonian products on Sunday outside the Tineks supermarket located in Skopje's Karpos 3 municipality.
The PM said this campaign was a logical resumption of "Buy Macedonian Products" campaign implemented in 1999 which "gave excellent results" according to the presidents of the Economic Chamber and the Association of Commerce Chambers, Branko Azeski and Venko Gligorov respectively. The Republic of Macedonia has quality products. All we need is to raise the awareness regarding the goods made in Macedonia. That is the objective of the campaign "Buy Our Quality Products For Better Life", said Gruevski at campaign's launch.
He emphasised the importance of buying domestic products for the development of economy and industry as well as for opening new jobs. We need to strengthen the sentiment of nationality and to overcome the Macedonian complex that everything that is foreign has better quality. We cannot expect to be respected by others, unless we don't respect ourselves, stressed Gruevski. The Macedonian PM said that by buying Macedonian products which "have the best ratio price-quality in the region and beyond", beside investing in meeting our needs, we would invest in improving the national competitiveness and enterprises' productivity.
The owner's earnings increase with each bought product made in a local factory. Hence, the owner will invest in opening new plants, even factories, which will contribute to opening new jobs and raising the salaries, noted Gruevski, adding that the most important thing was that the money remain in the country. President of the Economic Chamber Branko Azeski said that Macedonia had quality products at the Western market eight years after conducting the first campaignn "Buy Macedonian Products". He added that the global business community favored such campaigns, which currently were being implemented in Croatia, Denmark, Great Britain and were being prepared in several EU member countries. Welcoming the campaign, the president of the Association of Commerce Chambers Venko Gligorov said that it would contribute to bolstering the business climate in Macedonia. This campaign contributes to creating an ambient, motivation to produce and work better, he said.
The new campaign is also being supported by number of business community representatives hoping that it would contribute to raising the awareness of the local buyer that Macedonian products had quality, "thus obliging them to justify the choice of the local buyer with quality products." The quality for us is, first and foremost" an uncompromising condition for success, they said.


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Microsoft Xbox News
News on Microsoft Xbox continually updated from thousands of sources around the net.
2 hrs ago | QJ.net
The basis of an online fighting game is being able to find people to fight and do it fair and square, theoretically.
Trending on the Topix Network
6 hrs ago | International Business Times
Visitors play a Playstation 4 at the Sony exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2013 in Cologne in this August 21, 2013 file photo.
9 hrs ago | Cinema Blend News
New market research reports and analytical forecasts are looking ahead to the future.
13 hrs ago | I4U Future Technology News
Know you're going to run out to the store for Tuesday's big gaming release Titanfall ? No need to waste gas money, you can still get release day shipping and a $10 bonus if you pre-order online from the Microsoft Store by 6PM Pacific on March 9th.
15 hrs ago | WLBT-TV Jackson
Video games are not just for kids anymore, and app games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush on Facebook have opened the doors of gaming for an older generation and women.
Interesting idea @tb100!...I will ask Rich...he is now out of Berkeley running a start-up, BTW, he will be presenting this technology at emerging technologies summit That's interesting.
Truth be told, few know exactly how many Xbox One's Microsoft has sold since its debut late last year.
Hi Eurogamers! It's your weekly care package dropped from the Outside Xbox battlecopter.
But now, the situation is different. The Oculus Rift is no longer just a tech demo that a journalist has tried and said was cool.
If you've picked up one of those new Turtle Beach headsets for your Xbox One , you might have noticed a little sticker pasted to the base of the included Xbox One Headphone Adapter that reads "Controller Update Required."
State police on Thursday charged Tyler A. Valdez, 16, of 19 Colgate Drive, Massena, with misdemeanor fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
While it took a little patience , the first wave of Xbox One-compatible gaming headsets have begun shipping to retailers, just in time for the release of Titanfall.
It is always nice to see fanboys on both sides of the divide presenting their arguments to tell the world as to why their point of view is correct, and here we are two contenders in the video game console department - the Xbox One and Sony PS4.
Twitch broadcasting is coming to the Xbox One next week alongside the launch of Titanfall and Microsoft shared details and a walk-through Friday on how to setup and start your own live gaming stream from the console.
Bells and whistles eh readers. That's what the new all-singing, all-dancing controllers for the Xbox One and PS4 are bringing to your gaming .
Activision and Infinity Ward announced Thursday the second DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts for the PS4 , PS3 , Xbox One , Xbox 360 and PC.


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Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: Flipkart celebrates the success of self-made women entrepreneurs on the platform
Flipkart, India's homegrown e-commerce platform, has been providing ongoing operational assistance, customer analytics, and training to sellers across India to run their online businesses seamlessly
With the assistance of Flipkart and the growing global e-commerce industry, many women entrepreneurs have expanded their businesses online, with spectacular success stories to share
Flipkart’s initiatives and industry-first policies introduced to help women sellers make a mark for themselves
Flipkart, India’s homegrown marketplace, through their industry-first initiatives has consistently strived to help women business owners and entrepreneurs to flourish in the e-commerce industry. In tandem with its endeavor to help women entrepreneurs with their online businesses, the platform has introduced several programs that have led to many success stories of women across the country. As we celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, spearheaded by the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, Flipkart highlights a few inspiring stories of Indian women who have triumphed over all odds to succeed in their entrepreneurial journey.
Through Flipkart’s collaboration with Indian women entrepreneurs, it encourages their aspirations for professional advancement and supports their ascent to success. Recently, Flipkart introduced an array of industry-first marketplace policy changes and established new capabilities to build a more inclusive e-commerce ecosystem that contributes to the growth, prosperity and empowerment of women seller partners, spread across India.
Here are a few success stories of Flipkart’s women sellers across the country, that showcase the true potential digital transformation can bring to local businesses and the support it can provide to women aspiring to be successful entrepreneurs.
Name: Charu Gupta
Business: Saikara Collections
Charu Gupta, an aspiring and independent woman, has always believed that there is no shortcut to hard work. As the founder of Saikara Collections that deals in party supplies and home decor, the initial few years were tough to develop her business. She was working for different jobs before becoming a small business owner, but the initial step towards starting something of her own was owing to some crisis in the family. However, with an initial capital of INR 5,000 in hand she founded her own company. Guided by Flipkart’s insight and support from her loved ones, she transformed her small business into a thriving enterprise and within six months her business earned a gold tag on Flipkart.
Staying true to her mantra, courage and perseverance along with her undying wish to make it big for her family kept her going all along. Reminiscing about her journey, she says, “Securing a turnover of INR 5 crore today, I can’t help but look back at 2015 when everything changed for me. Every move I make, starts with highlighting my persistence to not only redefine my own limits, but those set by the society for me as a woman entrepreneur”, she added.
From doubting her skill sets as an entrepreneur by wholesalers to having to adapt to the e-commerce ecosystem, her journey has been a rollercoaster ride. Triumphing over all odds and becoming a Flipkart seller, changed the game for her business. Within no time, her small business became a national hit, the turnover crossed INR 1 crore, which was a significant milestone compared to the INR 5,000 initial capital she invested. Within a year after her launch on Flipkart, it grew by 400%.
Her journey is more than just being an entrepreneur, her company is more than just a business today and Flipkart has helped her dream come true. Her success is also a success to other women employed by her. With her story she will continue to inspire many women entrepreneurs and encourage them to take that first step.
Name: Chitra Vyas
Chitra Vyas is an inspiration to many who are ambitious in the entrepreneurial space. Her story highlights the importance of not giving up amidst challenges that life throws at us. She started as an amateur and with her consistent efforts she went on to win the ‘Best Entrepreneur’ award on Flipkart.
Chitra who hails from Hyderabad started her journey as an entrepreneur selling electronics on her own website that she had owned earlier. Facing multiple logistics and distribution challenges, she turned to Flipkart in 2015 and under the guidance of her manager provided by Flipkart, her business and entrepreneurial journey took off well.
She started her website with a small investment from her uncle, but upon facing several challenges and lack of expert guidance to ensure product visibility in the market, she had to close down her company in 2015. During that time, Flipkart emerged as a ray of hope with which she aspired to see better results for her business.
Within a brief period of joining the platform, the sales surged. She received 100 orders within a week. “Flipkart gave us the guidance we needed to broaden our customer base. An account manager was assigned to help us with our business and based on his advice we started adding more categories to our listings. That’s when we decided to begin exploring our opportunities in the fashion category and started selling footwear,” she added.
Over the years, understanding the space better, most of her own extended family members who had never shopped online and were skeptical about the product quality have started buying essentials and other products on Flipkart.
Her growth on the platform has been encouraging and she wishes more business owners would take note of her journey and take the initial step in starting a business online. She says, “I never imagined I would become such a successful entrepreneur with a small business like mine. But coming so far and making it big is definitely satisfying and overwhelming at the same time. Considering my efforts and growth, I was awarded ‘Best Entrepreneur’ among Flipkart’s women sellers in 2018. It’s a nice feeling when you start with five orders and now you receive 700 every day on an average. We started small and now we have an entire office. We are still enjoying the journey and wish more women entrepreneurs to be a part of the online revolution.”
Name: Sristi Mishra
Sristi Mishra is a microbiology graduate from Dehradun who moved to Mumbai after getting married and found an interest in jewelry making while watching YouTube videos. Soon, she picked it up as a hobby and decided to earn from it. Her story is a true inspiration for anyone who wishes to turn their hobby into a successful business.
Sristi is a self-taught entrepreneur who started designing and making jewelry by watching YouTube videos. What started as a hobby is helping her earn and build a name for herself as an entrepreneur. She picked up the art fairly quickly by watching videos online and became quite efficient with it. While browsing through a few stores at a mall, she observed that customers were interested and were buying designs similar to hers. Encouraged to pursue her hobby and build a small business out of it, she decided to sell her handmade jewelry online. She founded a company named JBNFashionGallery and partnered with Flipkart in 2017.
Considering the wide customer base online marketplace provides, she was firm with her decision to make her business exclusive to the ecommerce platform. Sristi says, “If you’re selling online, the risk is relatively lower as compared to running a business offline. I am happy that I am getting to run a business at the comfort of my home. Today everyone has shifted to digital platforms and shopping therefore has become convenient with access to a wide array of products which earlier was next to impossible offline. For small business owners like us it's a huge enabler to offer our products to national consumers. Another great aspect of running business online is access to consumer insights which helps in keeping up with the latest trends online”.
Recalling her journey, she shared what it was like to start a small business with just INR 5,000 and growing the business many folds over the years. She is happy to witness how proud her family members are today as she is the first member to start a business of her own. She is upbeat about the future and plans to add more categories in the women's accessories segment, with products such as handbags, purses, wallets, etc. while continuing to expand her business nationally.


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Free two-hour delivery has some high hidden costs for its providers, and Amazon isn't paying those in full, or so alleges a new lawsuit seeking class-action status.
Al Jazeera America and Reuters report that the suit's plaintiffs are four California couriers for Amazon Prime Now, which launched in New York and recently arrived in California, just touching down in the Bay Area to drop off food and select goods with celerity usually reserved for streaming content. Although couriers for the service wear Amazon Prime Now uniforms, don't confuse them with employees, the company appears to insist. The LA Times writes that while the plaintiffs are nominally paid $11 an hour, they earn under the state mandated minimum wage o $9 when accounting for gas, tolls, maintenance, and other expenses.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday and naming Amazon and contracted courier service Scoobeez, adds that "[p]laintiffs cannot reject work assignments, nor can they request that their deliveries be restricted to a particular geographic area."
Further, "[p]laintiffs who do not follow defendants’ rules or instructions are subject to discipline up to and including termination," and claim they are denied overtime pay, workers' compensation, and mileage reimbursements they deserve.
Like drivers for Uber, whose class action lawsuit is moving forward in California, the Amazon couriers believe themselves misclassified by a company seeking to skimp on benefits to keep prices low for customers.
Lawyers are seeking class-action status in the suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Amazon and Scoobeez, its contracted courier service. The named plaintiffs, four drivers from Orange County, allege they were classified as independent contractors even though Amazon set their schedules and controlled virtually all aspects of their work.
"These are people who are in no way, shape or form in business for themselves," said a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "They’re people who interviewed for a job, were hired for that job and show up to an Amazon warehouse every day."
The Business Times explains that Amazon now maintains two fulfillment centers, one in San Jose, the other in San Francisco. In a larger context, the lawsuit comes at a time when virtually every aspect of Amazon's business is under fire, from its corporate work environment, as profiled in The New York Times, to its warehouses, which have been muckraked over time and time again.


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Posted Aug 18, 2012By
Volunteers for FoodForward L.A harvest oranges as part of a “fruitanthropy” program to “share the abundance” of produce for local food banks at the Huntington Library on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in San Marino, Calif.
The 626 Night Market at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014. E-Mail staff photographer
People shop at the last San Marino farmers’ market Friday evening, July 25, 2014 after the San Marino City Co
The MPK Night and Farmers Market with 30 food trucks and booths, live entertainment, carnival games, shopping oppor
Hundreds taste food from different cultures along with music, and gifts during the 626 Night Market at Santa Anita
Fast Fire’d Blaze Pizza, is located at 667 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Blaze Pizza is the largest an
Bass player Mike Davis, of Temple City, who opened the Love Hate Kick Ass Kitchen at the Love Hate Rock Bar in East


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Wildflowers were blooming on the banks of the Hudson River on Monday, thanks to the fertile imagination of Wes Gordon at Carolina Herrera.
Yahoo Japan said on Thursday it will acquire a majority stake in the online fashion retailer Zozo founded by billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, known for buying pricey art and his space travel plans.
Model-actress Cara Delevingne has claimed modelling has made it difficult for her to become an actress because she was always "trying to look hot".
Model-actress Kaia, who is just 18, feels like she is living a life of a 70-year-old woman, owing to her hectic work schedule.
The third edition of ‘Azyame’, the flagship fashion entrepreneurship programme by Irthi Contemporary Craft Council (Irthi), an affiliate of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA), in partnership with London College of Fashion, kicked off recently to support the next generation of Emirati women fashion designers.
Lindbergh recently shot pictures of women for the "Forces for Change" issue of British Vogue magazine that Meghan, wife of Britain's Prince Harry, guest edited.
Singer Ellie Goulding wore a standout bespoke gown, which took over 640 hours to complete, for her wedding with beau and art dealer Caspar Jopling. The white gown from the label, Chloe, was designed by Natacha Ramsay-Levi.
Model-actress Cara Delevingne ate a rat during a wilderness adventure with TV survivalist Bear Grylls.
Only days after her stunning loss at the US Open, Serena Williams went from tennis court to runway, presenting the second collection of her fashion line.


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The European startup ecosystem is full of interesting and exciting news, twists and turns. At EU-Startups, our aim is to keep you informed on everything that’s going on and share the inspiring entrepreneurial spirit this continent has to offer. From big funding announcements, duocorns picking up pace, to new partnerships and conscious collaborations – there’s never a dull day!
This week, a new edtech course to empower women at work, pet tech spreading its wings and new funds to back Ukrainian entrepreneurs.
Launches and Expansions
- Coaching company topbird launched its Women at Work toolkit – a course designed to help women spread their wings and soar in the workplace. The three-week course places the emphasis on community and personal experiences, instead of relying on ‘tick-box’ training.
- Vegan pet food brand Omni launched its crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs to help accelerate its growth and develop its community following. The brand has enjoyed 30% avg month-on-month revenue growth since launch.
- Impact Force, a Ukrainian NGO, powered and supported by numerous Ukrainian and international partners, launched a business accelerator Impact Business for Ukrainian entrepreneurs who are committed to recovery efforts in the most impacted areas of Ukraine’s economy.
- Insurtech Peppercorn launched one of the world’s first conversational AI insurance assistants, on Confused. It uses intuitive, smart technology to help customers through the insurance process, removing the need for call centres and manual forms. Not only does this keep operating costs low, but it also results in fairer pricing for consumers.
- Pet tech startup Lassie expanded to Germany, giving pet owners the chance to access pet insurance that focuses on helping pet parents keep their beloved pets healthy. The aim is to reduce vet costs and prevent problems or injuries from happening in the first place.
Acquisitions and Partnerships
- Global music technology platform Orfium acquired London-based Soundmouse in a deal that brings together the global players in digital music and broadcast rights management and reporting.
- Flooid announced a strategic partnership with FreedomPay, the global leader in Next Level Commerce™, to bring industry-leading Retail solutions to merchants globally. Powered by FreedomPay, Flooid allows merchants to connect their retail channels, removing barriers between online and in-store payments.
- Revieve®, a personalized digital brand experience company working with global brands, retailers and digital services providers in the beauty, skin, health and wellness categories, entered into a global strategic partnership with Google Cloud enabling the beauty industry to deliver personalized experience solutions.
- B2B Payments provider Libeo teamed up with BNP Paribas to help French companies get ahead of a major new regulation – Mandatory electronic invoicing.
- Mastercard and Ubirider, Portugal-based makers of the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform Pick designed to serve riders, transport operators and cities, have entered into an agreement to jointly offer Innovative digital solutions that combine operational, payment and ticketing resources and data for public transport agencies and operators.
- ONE, the UK-based provider of financial services across digital and fiat currencies, announced it is joining forces with award-winning RegTech provider Know Your Customer to deliver a more seamless onboarding experience for clients.
- Last mile delivery specialist, Stuart teamed up with bodo, a logistics platform for eCommerce brands, to provide sustainable, same day and instant deliveries across London. The collaboration will enable eCommerce brands to provide their customers with more flexible and convenient delivery options, as consumer demand grows for rapid turnaround on items.
- Coincover, the UK-based digital asset protection technology company, unveiled a new partnership with Fireblocks, an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing, and issuing digital assets.
- Arcwide, a global IFS Cloud services provider, and Silico, the business process simulation platform, announced a strategic partnership to optimise decision-making.
- Lansweeper, a global leader in Technology Asset Intelligence, announced the acquisition of critical assets of RankedRight, a provider of vulnerability management solutions, for an undisclosed fee.
- Choco acquired Katoo to enter the Spanish market and bring restaurants into a new digital age.
Milestones and Insights
- VC platform for real estate innovation, PT1 – PropTech1 Ventures completed the first closing of its Fund II, with a target size of €100 million. €44 million has already been raised in the first closing, which is more than three times the volume of the first closing of the first fund.
- The country of Mongolia is now working with Swedish technology company Astrid to introduce new forms of AI-powered learning, designed to empower young learners with English-speaking skills. The project was jointly developed to provide Astrid’s AI-powered app to every single young learner and English teacher in Mongolia. The project is aligned with Mongolia’s Vision 2050 and its aim to position itself as a leading Asian country in terms of its social development, economic growth and its citizens’ quality of life.
- iYFM announced the partial exit of its investment in leading planning and forecasting software and services business, Vuealta, through the sale of its fast-growing software division to the long-standing partner and supply chain solutions business, Anaplan.


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“If these firms are buying U.S. debt with that money, then U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions in debt payments to the same U.S. companies they already buy billions of dollars from in iPads, software and routers,” Sheridan reports. “‘It means American taxpayers are effectively rewarding U.S.-based technology firms for avoiding taxes,’ said Nick Mathiason, the author of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism report.”
“But the situation isn’t a surprise — or even a problem — according to international tax experts,” Sheridan reports. “‘U.S. corporations can defer taxes by keeping earnings abroad and they can continue to defer the tax by buying U.S. Treasuries,’ said Michael Knoll, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School… Knoll said that there are some benefits from having big companies owning U.S. debt. After all, the yield on a bond goes down when investors are buying bonds. So the bond purchases may help keep interest rates low.”
“Some argue that the 35% tax rate on foreign profits should be lowered to encourage U.S. companies to bring that money back home. But others think Congress should impose rules that penalize companies for shifting earnings out of the United States,” Sheridan reports. “What Apple, Microsoft, Google and Cisco are doing is perfectly legal. And the companies stressed that it’s up to Congress to enact new rules if they aren’t happy about the practice of parking cash overseas.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In November 2012, Tim Worstall wrote an interesting article for The Register. In case you missed it:
Under the current U.S. corporate tax system, it would be very expensive to repatriate that cash. Unfortunately, the tax code has not kept up with the digital age. The tax system handicaps American corporations in relation to our foreign competitors who don’t have such constraints on the free flow of capital… Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex. You can see it in our products and the way we conduct ourselves. It is in this spirit that we recommend a dramatic simplification of the corporate tax code. This reform should be revenue neutral, eliminate all corporate tax expenditures, lower corporate income tax rates and implement a reasonable tax on foreign earnings that allows the free flow of capital back to the U.S. We make this recommendation with our eyes wide open, realizing this would likely increase Apple’s U.S. taxes. But we strongly believe such comprehensive reform would be fair to all taxpayers, would keep America globally competitive and would promote U.S. economic growth. – Apple CEO Tim Cook, May 21, 2013


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WISErg is raising more money to support demand for its device that turns excess food scraps at grocery stores into a nutrient-rich liquid.
The Redmond startup just reeled in $12.3 million of a larger round, with a second close expected shortly, WISErg CEO Larry LeSueur confirmed with GeekWire today. The CEO wouldn’t provide further details about investors or how the money will be used.
“It is all about scaling up faster and bigger,” he said.
WISErg last raised money just over a year ago, bringing in a $11 million Series B round from Second Avenue Partners, former Microsoft and Amazon.com executive Brian Valentine, and others. Total funding for the 7-year-old company is now north of $20 million.
LeSueur, an ex-Microsoft manager, co-founded WISErg in 2011 with former colleague Jose Lugo. The startup helps grocers recycle their old produce and unsold prepared foods with the “Harvester,” a machine that intercepts nutrients still existing in food waste. The recycled material is then transferred to a nearby WISErg facility, where final steps are taken to convert them into a liquid which can be sold to local agricultural farmers, along with other individual consumers. The machine also provides data reports to help grocers and restaurants better manage perishable inventory and ultimately save money.
The fertilizer being produced by WISErg is of high quality because it is derived from all organic materials, as demand is growing among large agricultural operations. The idea is to target the natural fertilizer to specific non-grain crops, from lettuce to potatoes to tomatoes.
WISErg, one of the “Seattle 10” startup companies in 2014 and one of Fast Company’s top 10 “Most Innovative Companies in Food” for 2015, sells its technology and hardware to stores like PCC, Red Apple, and Whole Foods, which is focusing on zero waste for its new chain of budget grocery stores. Restaurants and other food service facilities are also customers.
Valentine, a former Amazon and Microsoft exec who is a WISErg board member, told GeekWire last year about the opportunity to apply technology to the 40 billion pound food waste problem in the U.S., replacing “archaic” systems in the waste industry with advances in science, biology and analytics.
“If you can think about reducing the 40 billion pounds (of food) by 20 percent, and you think about what is leftover — capturing and re-using it into the actual food chain as opposed to letting it go to waste — than I think that is a pretty good impact you can have on the planet,” he said.


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Over 50 billion coconuts fall from trees annually and while the white, fleshy part of the coconut is edible and used for everything from baking to beauty products, the majority of the husks are discarded. Researchers from Switzerland and the Philippines have developed a sustainable method to produce construction panels, or cocoboards, out of what is commonly thought of as waste materials.
People in the Philippines are facing a severe shortage of adequate living space, which affects low-income families and individuals more drastically than other economic groups. By using coconut husks to build their homes they have found an inexpensive and sustainable building material.
The husk of a coconut is rich in fibrous materials and is mixed with a tannin-based adhesive and pressed together to create something similar to a fiberboard. These panels are then used in construction to create homes.
To make cocoboards even more sustainable, they are manufactured, delivered, and installed locally. By eliminating costly manufacturing and shipping procedures, cocoboards are incredibly environmentally friendly. This process contributes to a circular economy.
The research team is currently conducting further studies on customer acceptance of cocoboards, and beginning to develop a business strategy associated with local production.


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New York Bakery to stay open with Uncle Leo’s purchase
NORWALK — Around the clock for a half century, Muro’s Original New York Bakery & Deli has cranked out freshly baked breads for restaurants and delis throughout the Norwalk area, to go along with its popular breakfast and lunch counter.
Thanks to a midnight offer from another longtime Norwalk baker, the Main Street institution will keep the ovens going for the foreseeable future — with a second sign over the entrance.
After owner Dominic Muro announced plans this week to close New York Bakery for good on Memorial Day weekend, Leo Spinelli reached out with a proposal to purchase the bakery, with Muro accepting and planning to continue working there a few days a week, with his son Brian Muro staying on as well.
On Friday afternoon, Dominic Muro expressed enthusiasm and relief for the late intervention by Spinelli.
“I’ve known Leo for many years,” Muro told Hearst Connecticut Media on Friday. “We sat down and compared numbers and made a decision.”
Spinelli operates Uncle Leo’s Not Just Bagels in the Georgetown district of Redding, previously running Spinelli’s Not Just Bagels in Norwalk. Spinelli said he wants to both preserve New York Bakery going forward, as well as gain needed commercial kitchen space to expand production for Uncle Leo’s.
Spinelli had secured space in 2016 for a new Uncle Leo’s location in Wilton on the Danbury Road, but said he has held back opening on worries he would be unable to keep up with demand. With New York Bakery’s facility and staff, he said he plans to open in Wilton by the end of May or early June.
Muro has run New York Bakery for a half century, taking it over in 1967 from his father in law who had moved it to 52 Main St. after the flood of 1955 destroyed its earlier location on River Street.
Muro had blamed limited parking for impacting the bakery’s retail business at certain times of the day — he said more than 300 people come through on any given day — but Spinelli said he plans to keep New York Bakery at its present location, while adding Uncle Leo’s to the marquee above.
“I want to keep the original bakery — that’s why he’s staying with me,” Spinelli said. “I don’t want to change anything here — everyone loves it, why change anything?”
Leslie Lake contributed to this report.
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman


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Facebook releases its Portal, Google stops Google+ for consumers, YouTube cracks down on duplicates and Instagram uses AI to prevent bullying
Facebook and the Portal
Despite ongoing rumours about privacy breaches and data scandals, Facebook has recently released its new smart speaker. The first physical Facebook product, which acts as a video chat device is designed to take video chat communication to the next level. Looking like a tablet, it comes in a 10-inch 720p version for about $200 (known as Portal) and a 15.6-inch 1080p version for $350 (known as Portal+). The Portal has a smart camera and smart sound, which registers movement and follows the user around whilst they are moving within the room. However, while this new hands-free feature ensures that no word or image is missed, Facebook states that it is also possible to completely disable the camera and microphone with a single tap, or by blocking the camera lens with the camera cover provided. It also assures the users that all contents of the Portal video calls are being kept private through added security measures, such as locally run AI technology on the Portal, rather than through Facebook’s servers or the similarity to other voice-enabled devices, like Amazon’s Alexa, where a voice command is the start of the transmission of data to the specific servers. With a list of partners, the Facebook Portal also expands into the tablet category, featuring Spotify and Alexa built-in voice controls, with rumours, that Netflix and YouTube will follow.
Google+ to shut down in August 2019
Google has taken steps to close down its social network Google+ for consumers, after a bug has exposed private data of approximately 500,000 accounts, enabling third-party app developers to not just access data of users who had granted permission, but also their connected friends. The data included names, emails, demographic information and other profile data. In times of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, Google had decided to not disclose the lack of user security straight away in order to avoid the “public relations headache and potential regulatory enforcement”. According to a statement from Google, there was no evidence found that the profile data was misused and the thresholds for public disclosure were not met. As a further response to the security breaches, Google promises now to establish more user control over information in Google accounts granted to third parties. As a consumer social network, Google+ has never really reached a similar popularity such as Facebook or Instagram, and is currently registering low engagement and usage with 90% of the visits being less than 5 seconds, hence, the loss for consumers can’t be considered crucial, although it might fuel new discussions around social network data security. The network will, however, remain available for businesses.
YouTube cracks down on duplicates in its YouTube Partner Programme
In order to ensure that the content posted on the video-streaming platform is valuable and original, YouTube has now started removing duplicate videos and the accompanying channels from its YouTube Partner Programme. The YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) allows creators to monetise their content on YouTube, and those channels which meet the specific criteria for eligibility can apply to be part of the YPP. If a channel has been removed from the programme, the owner can reapply after 30 days if they want to rejoin the YPP. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions for duplicate videos, outlined by YouTube if for example originality is given through adding a “significant original commentary, educational value, narrative or high quality editing”. Some best practices for being re-included in the YPP are adding a commentary to show presence in the video, linking from your website to the YouTube channel, providing enough context about the videos in the channel and video descriptions as well as making sure the content is aligned to YouTube’s policies.
Instagram uses AI to prevent bullying
Online bullying is considered a complex issue and Instagram is now introducing new features to detect online bullying through artificial intelligence (AI). While it has been possible for users to report inappropriate comments and contents for a while, the new tool will detect bullying in photos, captions and live videos and sends them directly for a review to the Community Operations team. With this, Instagram is trying to protect the youngest users of the community from bullying or having a harmful experience. The feature is now available globally.Read more


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You may be familiar with bots due to recent news headlines, but few are familiar with the extent to which the underground bot economy operates. These tools are becoming increasingly easy to access for bad actors — and one of their biggest targets is merchants. Bots are HUMAN Field CTO Frank Walsh will discuss how automated bot attacks are being leveraged by sophisticated cybercriminals to steal personal information like credit card information, to fund their various schemes.
- Learn how the downstream impacts of bot-based account fraud.
- Discover what happens to payment fraud once accounts are secure.
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Andrey Kuzmin - Fotolia
In the wake of its recent Cloud Summit in London Ingram Micro has added to the services it can offer resellers increasing the level of automation available to encourage more partners to get involved with the hosted services market.
The crux of the improvements to the services on offer come as a result of the roll out of changes to the Odin platform, which is now providing automated processes to reduce the complexity of providing hosted services.
There are two main options with Automation Premium and Essentials with the first level combining automated processes with data analytics to help resellers keep an eye on what's happening with their customers.
The essentials option gives the partner the chance to automate the purchasing, provisioning and reselling of cloud technology.
The distributor has also launched a cloud referral programme and is generating pre-negotiation distribution agreements with pricing to speed things up for the channel.
Apay Obang-Oyway, director cloud & software, UK&I at Ingram Micro, said that all the expectations were for more spending around cloud and resellers needed to be supported in their efforts to capture some of that revenue.
“With enterprises now saying that their cloud and hosting budgets are likely to grow far more than their general IT spend in 2017 according to 451 Research, this is an opportune moment for partner organisations to grow a cloud business that can address their needs," he said.
"These new services and technologies are aimed at eliminating that complexity and enabling partner organisations to focus on what they do best – meeting customer needs and building profitable businesses," he added.
Ingram held its Cloud Summit in London earlier this month with the assembled channel audience hearing that the number of cloud opportunities was increasing and that the distributor was committed to being one of the partners of choice for those looking to sell hosted services.


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Study Highlights Location Data Uses in Real Estate, Retail Analysis, Smart Cities
Location intelligence firm Cuebiq released a study this morning showcasing the kind of deep location data that its platform can reveal. For a month, Cuebiq tracked geo-behavioral patterns of anonymous consumers in the Westfield World Trade Center (WTC) shopping mall, right after the mall’s grand opening in August. The study differentiated between tourist and local visitors, and the most interesting piece of data that showed up was about consumers’ top three favorite brands.
Analyzed visitors showed the strongest brand affinity for brands Zumiez, Prada, and Best Buy. But none of those brands were located in the Westfield WTC mall. This indicates potential for the mall to increase foot traffic by adding those stores to the location. Cuebiq’s data analysis also showed that Sundays were the most popular day at the mall, and Thursdays the least popular.
The platform links with mobile apps and leverages their privacy settings for GPS and public Wi-Fi networks to gather data about where consumers come from, how much time they spend at points of interest, and where they go afterward.
Cuebiq CEO Antonio Tomarchio told Street Fight that initially most of the company’s revenue came from the advertising sector, but now a third of it is coming from non-advertising markets such as commercial real estate planning, retail analysis, and finance.
“I’m here in Austin at a commercial real estate development conference,” said Tomarchio. “I’ve been here for three days and I can tell you, the appetite for this type of data is massive.”
Tomarchio says that this detailed level of data also provides specific reasoning that can help developers and marketers make decisions – such as when to push advertising offers out, and how far away from the point of interest location a campaign should target customers.
“How many miles did [the consumer] drive? Where did they go after they left my store? If you are a retailer or quick service restaurant and you’re planning to open new store, how do you choose the exact location of where to place the new store? Until now, companies were using data from surveys, but surveys are static. You do it once and you don’t do it again for three or four years,” Tomarchio says. “Now … it’s basically in real time.”
Today’s retailers already know a lot about their customers, thanks to customer relationship management (CRM) software, but Tomarchio says that most of the time, once the consumer leaves a physical location, the brand loses touch.
“Who are those customers, what do they do in the physical world when they leave the store?” he asks. “Do they go to my competitor? What’s their brand visitation frequency? What interests them in the physical world? Are they movie-goers? This gives true details about the audience. It’s very useful for considering promotions or ad campaigns.”
Cuebiq’s data basically enriches CRM systems with data about what consumers do once they leave the store. Tomarchio says about 80% of Cuebiq’s data has location accuracy to fewer than 10 meters, and with that kind of accuracy the opportunities are immense.
“With our data we can understand the flows of car traffic, or if pubic transportation is working properly, we can understand the commuting patterns of people who are commuting to a city,” he says.
Tomarchio also says he knows what vertical this kind of data will be essential for in coming years.
“Smart city planning,” he says. “That’s where we’re going with leveraging this.”
April Nowicki is a Street Fight contributor.


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Tag / Health
Press Releases • Dec 08, 2016 08:30 GMT
For the fourth consecutive year, UNICEF and Panalpina have joined forces to fly relief goods to an African country where population movements, food insecurity, malnutrition and natural disasters have led to a health emergency and precarious humanitarian situation. In the morning hours, a Panalpina chartered cargo aircraft landed in Chad with more than 80 tons of life-saving goods on board.
News • May 02, 2016 08:00 GMT
One of Panalpina’s oil and gas customers is currently engaged in a 15-year drilling program in Oman. The customer enlisted a big steel manufacturer, to supply 62 kilometers of gas pipeline to support the project. Fast track development meant the customer required longer than usual pipes. To ensure timely shipment of this irregular-shaped cargo, Panalpina’s expertise was called upon.
News • Mar 09, 2016 14:50 GMT
Panalpina recently delivered an exceptionally large shipment of pharmaceutical products to Brazil. A cargo plane took off from Frankfurt airport carrying 187 pallets of temperature-sensitive cargo, destined for Brasília International Airport. The shipment was an urgent order from the Brazilian Ministry of Health.


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Amazon has got in some trouble, all because of the name it decided to give its voice assistant: Alexa. Now, parents in the UK who named their kids the same have gone after the tech giant to change the name of its AI-powered voice assistant to something that is non-human as their kids are being picked upon by bullies, as per a report by BBC.
Imagine your name being Alexa and that you are still in school. Someone calls you with your name only to issue a command like it is done to smart devices by Amazon. How would that feel? The bullies will have a field day with the Alexa jokes and may even get uncomfortably or disgustingly creative. The report says that even the adults are behind cracking Alexa jokes. Something of the sort seems to be happening to kids who have been named Alexa. So much that some parents have reportedly even changed the names of their kids.
The report says that there are more than 4,000 people called Alexa aged under 25 in the UK, and some of their parents have approached The BBC with similar stories of their children facing the brunt of jokes and being bullied.
Amazon says that it is “saddened” by the experiences these kids have had to face. The tech giant said in a statement to The BBC: “We designed our voice assistant to reflect qualities we value in people – being smart, considerate, empathetic, and inclusive. We’re saddened by the experiences you’ve shared, and want to be very clear: bullying of any kind is unacceptable, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Is Amazon actually going to change the wake word of its AI digital assistant? The tech giant says that besides Alexa, it also offers other words like Echo, Computer and Amazon. But the issue is with Alexa being the wake word. As long as it stays in the dictionary of Amazon, there is no stopping the jokes. But as of now, there is no confirmation that the company is going to scrap the name.


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The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox amid fears that their auto-renewal terms are unfairly hammering gamers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday that its consumer law investigation will seek to determine if the consoles' business practices are legal.
It will focus on the use of auto-renewals for online gaming contracts, cancellation and refund policies and their terms and conditions.
As well as buying consoles and games, gaming aficionados can pay for online services, such as playing against rivals, communicating with other players and extra games.
This can involve a membership which is often entered into on an auto-renewal basis, where money will be automatically taken from a person's account.
The CMA has written to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox requesting information about their online gaming contracts to help "better understand their practices".
It is also calling on customers who use these services to get in touch with the CMA and share their experiences in order to assist the investigation.
The probe will seek to determine if the contract terms are unfair, whether it is too difficult to cancel or obtain a refund and if the auto-renewal process is transparent.
The antitrust body insisted that at this stage it has not reached a view as to whether or not the companies have broken consumer protection law.
However, if the CMA decides that they have, it could take enforcement action.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: "Roll-over contracts are becoming more and more commonplace and it's essential that they work well for customers.
"Our investigation will look into whether the biggest online gaming companies are being fair with their customers when they automatically renew their contracts, and whether people can easily cancel or get a refund.
"Should we find that the firms aren't treating people fairly under consumer protection law, we are fully prepared to take action."


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New Delhi: Shares of Reliance Industries rose nearly 2 per cent on Friday after announcement that Intel Capital will buy 0.39 per cent stake in Jio Platforms.
The heavyweight stock jumped 1.53 per cent to close at Rs 1,787.50 on the BSE. During the day, it gained 1.83 per cent to trade at Rs 1,792.80. On the NSE, the stock rose 1.57 per cent to settle at Rs 1,788.
The company’s market valuation jumped by Rs 17,109.55 crore to Rs 11,33,168.55 crore on the BSE. In terms of volume, 8.57 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and 1.35 crore on the NSE. Electronic chip maker Intel’s investment arm, Intel Capital, will buy 0.39 per cent stake in Mukesh Ambani’s digital unit, Jio Platforms, for Rs 1,894.50 crore, the company said on Friday.


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After a year of pandemic-related hiatus, Medica opened its doors to visitors from all over the world last Monday. Medipee, the eHealth start-up from Moers, which is developing a device for contactless urinalysis, was one of the exhibitors. The leading international trade fair once again attracted many thousands of visitors from all over the world this year.
“We are very pleased to be able to be on site again this year,” says Thomas Prokopp, co-founder of Medipee, who participated virtually as an exhibitor with his company last year. “The personal contact in the last few days – especially with international trade visitors – is enormously important to us. It is absolutely not comparable to the virtual output!”, Prokopp continues.
For 40 years, Medica has been the first point of contact for all companies in the field of medical technology. It is regarded as the world’s largest medical trade fair and is annually transformed into the most important place for leading minds in medical technology. Medipee presented itself in the exclusive joint stand of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and attracted the attention of visitors not only for this reason. The medical technology company around Thomas Prokopp, Paul Bandi and Frank Willems has dedicated itself to the goal of revolutionizing urinalysis.
On the very first day of the fair, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dr. Dirk Günnewig, was one of the first guests to inform himself about Medipee. With their apple-sized device, which is attached to any commercially available toilet for sampling, the often cumbersome and unhygienic urinalysis can be carried out completely automatically and contactlessly in combination with an intelligent app for the smartphone. The data is then available digitally and can be reused.


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Sheerline expands sales team
Sheerline has expanded its sales team with some new key appointments, further strengthening its reach North and to the South West.
Howard Hirst joins Garnalex as area sales director – North. Howard brings with him a wealth of experience and looks forward to helping existing customers realise their growth ambitions, as well as expanding Sheerline’s network northwards. He will also cover the North of Wales.
Also strengthening the sales team is Martin Hepburn, who started as the area sales manager covering the West Midlands, South Wales and South West at the beginning of July.
No stranger to the fenestration industry, Martin brings with him over 30 years’ of experience in commercial management, business development, and strategic sales planning. He’s spent the past five years as the commercial sales manager (trade and retail) for Reynaers.
Tony Basile, Sheerline’s national sales director, commented: “These new positions, working alongside Paul Greenaway who covers London and the South East, are key to helping us deliver the service levels we are committed to, for each and every Sheerline customer.”
Roger Hartshorn, Sheerline CEO, also said of the new appointments: “It’s fantastic to welcome Howard, and Martin onboard. Having worked with Howard at both Eurocell and Liniar, I’m confident that we will continue to achieve our ambitious growth targets. It’s good to have him back in the family!”
“With these new appointments, we’re combining the best of tried and tested with new blood to create a strong and experienced team with a depth of knowledge from across the industry. That we’re able to attract and retain such talent is a testament to our commitment to our people, products, and customers,” he added.


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Bradley partner Chad Elder was quoted in Law360 on the Big Tech companies that are still fending off attacks from lawmakers about their market dominance. The House Judiciary subcommittee recently held its sixth hearing examining the power of digital platforms Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Although lawmakers hinted at novel enforcement actions or legislation that could eventually target the industry, experts say immediate change appears unlikely.
That's partly because companies like Amazon and Facebook are so popular among their users, said Elder.
Although there is bipartisan support to clamp down on the sector, Elder said the looming election could make it difficult to reach a consensus.
"On some level, the hearings may amount to nothing more than political venting, a shot across the bow of Big Tech firms that they are being scrutinized more closely than they previously realized," Elder said.
Lawmakers also questioned Facebook and Amazon about past transactions in which the companies may have engaged in predatory pricing and then bought out their competitors. Elder noted that "pricing below cost to drive out a competitor or force it to merge are already clearly covered by existing antitrust law," meaning the DOJ already has the tools it needs to go after that type of conduct.
Elder said it's unlikely Amazon would be forced to sell off its private-label business, but that Congress could pass legislation to impose regulations on the company's business practices. This could, for example, provide some separation between the retail and marketplace businesses.
The original article, "Bipartisan Big Tech Antitrust Efforts Still Facing Headwinds," appeared in Law360 on August 3, 2020. (Login required.)


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- Infowars - http://www.infowars.com -
Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to jail for tax dodge
Posted By jwilson On June 19, 2013 @ 1:11 pm In Old Infowars Posts Style,Tile,World News | Comments Disabled
June 19, 2013
An Italian court Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce and Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of around one billion euros ($1.33 billion), according to media reports.
Lawyers for Dolce and Gabbana, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, immediately said they will be appealing, and under Italian law the sentence will be suspended in the meantime.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005 to avoid paying Italian taxes.
Article printed from Infowars: http://www.infowars.com
URL to article: http://www.infowars.com/dolce-and-gabbana-sentenced-to-jail-for-tax-dodge/
Copyright © 2015 Infowars. All rights reserved.


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H&M has been fighting to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS and promote safe sex for years now, and their newest collection is a unisex sportswear dream come true. They offer fresh spring cotton tops with bold typography, zip-off sleeve parkas in taupe and deep orange, off-white chino's with a built-in belt, and (our favorite) the All-In-One jumpsuit, which we'd already be stocking up on, even without the charitable component. 25% of the proceeds will be sent off to organizations around the world that are working to stop this deadly disease in its tracks. Get ready to grab a few pieces from this affordable, fun collection and spread the word!
Parkland Students Announce Their Sweeping Gun Control Policy Prop...
After a mass shooter opened fire, killing 17 of their classmates and wounding many others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida,


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MG's sales in Europe last year overtook those in China, home of parent company SAIC, as the former British brand continues to lure more customers to its value-priced range of electric and combustion-powered cars.
Last year MG sold 113,917 cars in Europe, twice as many as in 2021, figures from market researcher Dataforce show. In contrast, the brand's sales last year in China were 110,101, according to figures from sales aggregator Bestsellingcarsblog.com.
The momentum has continued into 2023, with sales in Europe at 20,736, up 143 percent, according to Dataforce. The brand is now the 23rd largest in Europe by unit sales, moving ahead of Jeep, Cupra, Porsche, Land Rover and Honda.


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Europe’s Vacation Hot Spots Have a Message for Tourists: Sorry, We’re Full
Want to visit Amsterdam? Well, how about a trip to Harderwijk instead?
That's the message from the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC), which has taken the unusual decision to stop marketing the city of Rembrandt as a tourist destination.
The reason? Over 17.5 million sightseers visited Amsterdam in 2016 and based on current growth models, that’s expected to double by 2030. The Dutch believe they're faced with a stark choice: act now or pay the price later.


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A study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Information Resources Inc. (IRI) has identified the top-performing companies in the U.S. consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. It is the first study to compare both public and private CPG companies using a combination of three metrics—dollar sales growth, volume sales growth, and market share gains—based on comprehensive retail- and consumer-market tracking data.
BCG and IRI analyzed the 2012 performance of more than 400 CPG manufacturers with annual U.S. revenues of at least $100 million. Recognizing that players in different size categories face different opportunities and challenges, the research team generated three distinct top 10 lists of winning companies: small ($100 million to $1 billion in retail sales), midsize ($1 billion to $5 billion in retail sales), and large (more than $5 billion in retail sales).
Among large companies, the top three performers were Lorillard, The Hershey Co., and Anheuser-Busch InBev. The top-performing midsize companies were Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., Chobani, and Starbucks. And the top-ranked small companies were TalkingRain, Idahoan, and Handi-foil.
“Our research with IRI shows that there is no single formula for success in the CPG industry,” said Jeff Gell, Senior Partner at BCG. “Companies are winning in various ways—through superior execution of their base businesses, innovation, and better management of price-volume tradeoffs. We are excited about working with IRI to bring distinctive analyses and compelling insights to the marketplace.”
The findings reveal that most winning companies are successfully growing their base businesses through gains in distribution. Pricing, however, is a key source of dollar sales growth for many of the large-company leaders, with growth in dollar sales outpacing volume sales growth. In contrast, growth in volume sales is a key source of dollar sales gains for small and midsize stars, suggesting that a more sustainable rise in consumer demand is powering performance.
These drivers of growth underscore a significant trend in the CPG industry: small and midsize companies are increasingly taking market share from large competitors. All top 10 small and midsize companies gained market share in 2012, with eight of the small-company winners grabbing at least 1.0 percentage points. Since 2009, large companies as a group have ceded 1.4 percentage points in market share, a drop that amounts to more than $10 billion in lost sales.
Among large-company winners, only three are growing from both their base businesses and innovation. Steps such as launching innovations that are incremental and do not detract from the existing portfolio can help balance growth from both parts of the business. Meanwhile, small- and midsize-company winners are generally concentrating on a few product categories in which they have a competitive advantage and experience strong consumer demand.


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“The Moto Z4 flagship is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor”
Last year, Motorola unveiled its Moto Z3 with 5G connectivity support via a Moto 5G mod. Now, the company is said to be working on a fourth-generation model in the series, called the Moto Z4, which will likely launch at some point in the near future. The phone has been in the rumour mill for a while and reports suggest that it will come with a refreshed design. Now, we bring to you the first official press render of the Moto Z4, which reveals key details regarding the flagship’s design.
The Moto Z4 press render comes from a reliable source and shows the phone will ship with a design that looks pretty similar to that of its predecessor, the Moto Z3. The only notable difference here you see is an edge-to-edge display with a waterdrop-style notch on top to house the selfie camera. The phone has thin bezels on the sides, the top, and the bottom.
The render suggests that the Moto Z4 will feature only a single primary camera, which is rumoured to be a 48-megapixel sensor sourced from Sony. There’s a 16-pin pogo connector at the back, which will allow users to attach Moto Mods. A fingerprint sensor isn’t visible on the device, which suggests the handset will have an in-display fingerprint sensor. Lastly, the handset’s power button and volume rocker are placed on the left side in the render.
As far as the specs are concerned, the Moto Z4 is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest top-of-the-line Snapdragon 855 processor. Just like its predecessor, the phone will offer 5G support through the 5G Moto mod. The device is likely to offer vanilla Android experience and could boot Android 9 Pie out of the box. The smartphone is expected to retain the 3.5mm headphone jack and feature a USB Type-C port. Sadly, no other details about the handset’s specifications are available at the moment.
It’s worth mentioning that similar-looking CAD-based renders of a Motorola device being referred to as the Moto Z4 Play are also floating online. However, our source suggests that Motorola has no plans to release a Play model in the Z series this year.


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Incentive spending at General Motors’ four brands was down 46 percent in the third quarter of this year.
According to Cox Automotive, GM’s incentive spending was trimmed by 46 percent in Q3 to an average of $2,994 per vehicle. The publication found Chevrolet cut incentives to an average of $2,726 per vehicle, while GMC was close by at an average incentive of $2,935 per vehicle. Cadillac and Buick trimmed incentive spending to an average of $4,845 and $4,020 per vehicle, respectively.
Average transaction prices at GM’s four brands have risen this year as the microchip shortage took a bite out of the automaker’s production output, limiting inventory at dealerships. GM’s overall ATP rose 16 percent in Q3, Cox Automotive reports, surpassing the $50,000 mark for the first time at $50,392.
While ATPs were up, the market showed some signs of cooling off in Q3, with GM sales falling a significant 37 percent to 443,117 units. This underperformed the market average significantly, with vehicle sales down 13 percent industry-wide in Q3.
“In the U.S., which accounts for the bulk of GM’s revenue and profits, sales plunged by a third during the third quarter,” Cox Automotive observed. “GM underperformed the market, allowing Toyota to surpass it in sales for the second consecutive quarter, the first time that has ever happened.”
Chevrolet saw the biggest sales decline in Q3 of GM’s four brands. Chevy sales fell 37 percent to 284,045 units, with both Toyota and Honda outpacing the budget-friendly American brand. For reference, Chevy sold nearly 543,000 units in Q3 of 2015. GMC sales fell by 33 percent, while Cadillac sales fell by 32 percent and Buick sales 20 percent.
While this may look bad on the surface, Chevy sales were down mainly because it prioritized production of its larger, more expensive and more profitable models amid the chip shortage. Inventories and sales of popular budget-minded models like the Chevy Equinox waned, but sales of models like the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban increased. Sales of the Corvette were also up 60 percent in Q3 amid sustained high demand for the recently introduced eight-generation model.


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Bench reopens Berlin store
09 Aug. 2012
BENCH FLAGSHIP REOPENS IN BERLINSix years after debuting in Berlin-Mitte, last week on August 2 streetwear label Bench reopened their flagship store on Rosenthaler Straße 50 with a new and refined shop concept.
The British label runs 49 stores in Germany and Austria and sells their collections in over 30 countries worldwide.
|Back to home|


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Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories. Twitter might be looking into enhancing its security with two-step authentication. And while we're on the subject of security, Oracle expedited the release of its Java security patch. Originally scheduled for release on Feb.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, United States, Oracle employs 105,000 people worldwide as of 1 July 2010.


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On Saturday we reported that Washington lawmakers were considering an increase in beer taxation as a means to bridge the state’s budget gap. It was little more than a rumor at the time we reported it. Today the Associated Press confirmed that the state Senate has moved a budget-balancing plan over to the House of Representatives in the form of a new tax proposal that includes a significant increase to beer taxes.
The biggest portion of the new Senate Democratic plan raises $90 million by increasing the state sales tax to 6.6 percent from 6.5 percent, but another $58 million comes from an increase to beer taxes. The plan calls for a tax of 50 cents per gallon, which translates to about 43 cents per six-pack. Those numbers apply to the producer and not necessarily to the consumer. According to the A.P. report, “Microbrews, which have a strong following in Washington, would be exempt.”
My sources with the Washington Brewers Guild tell me that they are assuming the line would be drawn at 60,000 barrels produced per year. By definition, a brewery is considered a microbrewery if it produces less than than 60,000 barrels per year. This tax, however, would not be levied on the beer that a brewery produces.
The $58 million figure indicates that the tax would be applied to beer sales/shipments by breweries which not only produce, but ship, large quantities of beer. That means only the larger beer producers, or shippers, would be taxed, not our local, smaller craft breweries.
Of course, my interpretation of the situation is based on the limited information we have available at this point. I know that people in the craft beer business are worried and are opposed to beer tax increases like this whether they directly impact craft brewers or not.
On the surface, the fact that this tax increase does not apply to our beloved local craft brewers might seem like good news; however, taxes are a one way street. It’s a slippery slope, to use an outworn euphemism. At the very least, this increase makes it easier for them to justify any future beer tax increases. The craft beer industry may not be so lucky next time.
Because beer is discretionary spending, many people (including the governor) believe that this tax increase is worthy of consideration. What they fail to recognize is that beer drinkers already pay more than their share of taxes and further tax increases will negatively impact one of the only growing industries in the state.
You might think that brewers will simply pass the burden of tax increases on to the consumer, however beer drinkers have already been pushed to the brink. The breweries must consider the fact that some consumers might not be willing to swallow a 43 cent per six pack price increase right now and therefore the brewers will not risk pushing away consumers by increasing the purchase price. Likely, the breweries will have to absorb a significant portion of tax increase themselves.
The result is that these tax increases promise to hurt the beer industry. If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that the beer industry in Washington is growing. Jobs are being created. The beer industry should be fostered and not attacked.
Large breweries or small, a new tax on one is an attack on all.
Folks, it is time for us to unleash the hounds. We’ve got numbers, all we have to do is exercise our right to free speech. Please, please call or email your representatives in Olympia – click here to find your representative and send a message.
Be simple and direct. Tell them that you do not want them to increase any beer taxes. This tax increase harms the brewing industry, which is one of the only growth industries in the state right now. As consumers, we are already being asked to carry more than our share of the burden.


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First Look: Selena Gomez's First Fragrance
Posted Thursday April 12, 2012 2:18 PM GMT
Taking over the world one industry at a time, Selena Gomez is thrilled about the release of her new fragrance this spring.
The “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress explained that everything about the scent was very intentional, all the way down to the shape of the bottle.
Gomez gushed, “I knew I wanted a tall bottle, because I feel like it can kind of stand up with all the other fragrances.”
Selena also noted that her new fragrance, described as having top notes of orange, pineapple, peach and raspberry, a heart of purple freesia, musk, and dewberry, and amber, vanilla, chocolate, and coconut base, is only the first of a long line of similar releases.
She explained, “Each will represent me as I am at that time. It’s kind of me winging it. I definitely like to wing things.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images


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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Administrator Joshua Sharfstein today regarding reports of unsafe practices employed by food manufacturers. Brown asked the administration to evaluate testing and labeling practices of food manufacturers in order to better protect consumers.
“Consumers are not only being asked to bear the burden of ensuring the safety of the manufactured food they purchase, but that they are being given inadequate information to fulfill that misplaced responsibility,” Brown wrote in his letter to Vilsack and Sharfstein. “I am writing you to ask that you take action immediately to right this dangerously wrong situation.
Brown referenced an article appearing in today’s New York Times reporting how some food manufacturers are no longer requiring their suppliers to test for food pathogens and are no longer cooking their products sufficiently to kill any bacteria that may be present. Instead, these companies are relying on consumers to heat purchased food products to specified temperatures in order to avoid health hazards. Brown pointed out that consumers should not be responsible for making unsafe food safe.
Brown also pointed out the dangerous trend of outsourcing in food production. More elements of the supply chain for processed foods are being outsourced to countries with weak food safety standards. Brown has authored legislation that would give the federal government new authority to recall tainted foods and establish a federal program that would quickly and accurately trace the source of tainted food. Brown’s legislation would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to mandate recalls of the foods under their respective jurisdictions.
A full copy of Brown’s letter to Vilsack can be found below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack & Acting Commissioner Sharfstein,
In today’s New York Times, there was a disturbing article (attached) describing a trend in which consumers are not only being asked to bear the burden of ensuring the safety of the manufactured food they purchase, but that they are being given inadequate information to fulfill that misplaced responsibility. I am writing you to ask that you take action immediately to right this dangerously wrong situation.
According to the Times article, some food manufacturers are not requiring their suppliers to test for food pathogens, nor are they cooking their products sufficiently to kill any bacteria that may be present. Instead they are relying on consumers to heat purchased food products to specified temperatures in order to avoid health hazards. In some cases, the instructions are so vague or the heating procedure so involved that it is unrealistic to expect consumers to abide by it. More to the point, consumers should not be responsible for making unsafe food safe.
The article also pointed the problems involved in identifying the source of a food safety hazard, problems which are multiplying as the supply chain for processed foods diversifies and the processing itself is increasingly outsourced to other countries.
Secretary Vilsack and Acting Commissioner Sharfstein, I ask that your two agencies look into these issues and work together to resolve them. Specifically:
• What can be done to ensure that food manufacturers properly test and process their products to ensure that they are safe before they are sold to the public?
• To what extend should the rules around food labeling change to ensure proper and easily followed cooking instructions?
• What actions should FDA and USDA take to bolster food traceability and ensure suppliers properly test the ingredients they sell to food manufacturers? I have introduced legislation, the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act (S. 425), that would establish a food traceability system at the Food and Drug Administration so that we can track foods from farm to fork. Would S. 425’s approach meet your needs?
• S. 425 would also give the FDA and USDA mandatory recall authority. I believe the food safety gaps highlighted in this article reinforce the need for this legislation. What are your thoughts on mandatory recall authority?
I appreciate your leadership and would be glad to discuss this request in more detail.


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New figures have revealed that Jaguar Land Rover sold 25,176 vehicles in October, an increase of 10% from a year ago.
The company have sold 35% more vehicles in the first ten months of 2012 compared to the same period a year ago.
Phil Popham, Director of Group Sales Operations, said: "During a very competitive year for premium car sales, and in an increasingly uncertain economic environment, I am delighted to see strong demand for our products and that we are still performing well across all our key markets."
More top news
Henry Davies, 4-years-old, saved his mum's life by dialling 999 after she collapsed at their family home.
Women who take newer brands of the pill are almost twice as likely at risk of blood clots than using older types, a new study has found.
A car ended up on a motorway embankment and got stuck in the trees after the driver lost control.


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Clothing on sale in the high street is being made in Britain in dirty, dangerous and “appalling” conditions, according to secret television footage which will intensify pressure on a fashion industry hit by a series of sweatshop scandals.
For three months, a reporter for Channel 4’s Dispatches worked undercover in workshops in Leicester, stitching garments for British retail chains including Bhs, run by Sir Philip Green, who is advising David Cameron on public sector “efficiency” savings.
In the investigation - to be screened tonight - the undercover reporter found:
* “dangerous, pressurised sweatshop conditions”;
* pay at half the legal minimum wage;
* workers exhorted to work faster under threat of the sack;
* cramped and over-heated conditions with unsanitary toilets and at least one blocked fire exit.
Workers’ identity and legality was also not checked, according to the programme, Fashion’s Dirty Secret.
The factories were making clothes for five high street brands: Bhs, owned by billionaire retailer Sir Philip’s Arcadia group, New Look, Peacocks, C&A and Jane Norman.
All of the companies, with the exception of Jane Norman, are members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which has a code of conduct aimed at preventing abuses of workers, or they have their own supplier codes of conducts.
Several of the companies launched immediate investiations into the programme’s findings. Arcadia said the investigation showed that a supplier sub-contracting out the work had “clearly breached” its code of conduct.
C&A group described the abuses uncovered as “appalling”. In a statement, C&A said: “The working conditions described... constitute a blatant violation of international social standards, national laws and individual rights. We find such practices appalling.”
Undercover investigators have regularly found back-breakingly long hours, low pay and dangerous conditions at foreign sweatshops supplying British retailers, in countries such as Bangladesh and India.
To glean conditions for textile workers in British factories, Dispatches sent a reporter to work undercover in a number of factories in Leicester.
Channel 4 said there were multiple breaches of the ethical trading and the retailers’ own codes of conduct.
Conditions were “dangerous,” it said, describing one workshop thus: “The basement unit was cramped, over-heated and inadequately ventilated, with unsanitary toilets, dirty staircases and poorly lit corridors. With the greatest risk being fire, his only fire exit was completely blocked.” There were no clean facilities for providing drinking water.
There was no training or safety guidance before the reporter was set to work and sewing machines were not equipped with appropriate safety guards.
At both factories, the reporter was warned he would lose his job unless he worked faster. He was paid cash in hand of £2.50 by one employer and £3.33 an hour by another; the adult national minimum wage is £5.93. Textile workers said there were other similarly exploitative workshops nearby. Neither factory asked for documentation to check the worker’s legal status, citizenship or right to work in the UK.
A large number of the workers are Asians on student visas who are not supposed to be working, according to Gurjeet Samra, a Sikh elder who works with the Indian community in Leicester. Asked what life was life inside such factories, he replied: “It’s like slave labour, it’s like going back a hundred years in the way they treated. The people are so helpless they just got to do whatever they can... the bosses can shout at them or they can insult them, and these people can’t do anything about it.”
Channel 4 said: “With British consumers keen to buy the latest designer looks at cheap prices, this film exposes the real human cost behind high street fashion.”
Sir Philip’s Arcadia, which owns Bhs, said the group did not own or control any factories. But, it added, Channel 4's investigation had “found a supplier had clearly breached our strict code of conduct”. Arcadia said it used thousands of factories across many countries, which were regularly audited.
"The supplier concerned was contacted immediately and an investigation is underway,” it said, adding that any goods produced by the factory were being withdrawn from sale.
Arcadia added: "This incident is extremely disappointing as we are currently endeavouring to support UK manufacturers. In this case this has sadly backfired but it will not stop our efforts to continue to try to use UK manufacturers where possible."
C&A said it had launched an immediate investigation into the programme’s findings. However it added it did not have a contract with the factory investigated, saying the work had been sub-contracted.
Philip Chamberlain, its head of sustainable business, said: “The working conditions described are unacceptable to us. For this reason we have decided to suspend our business relation with the respective manufacturing supplier.
“New orders will not be placed with this contractual supply partner, until such time that a credible action plan has been presented to an accepted by C&A, in terms of his ability to fully control his supply chain in the future.”
Peacocks said: “We won’t be commenting before the programme because we don’t know what the full facts are.”
A spokesman for Jane Norman said that it had "come as a complete surprise and disappointment to find out that one of our suppliers engaged a factory that was apparently acting illegally and engaging in unfair and unlawful employment practices." The firm said that it was investigating the Dispatches allegations fully.
New Look thanked the investigators and said it shared “concerns about factory conditions in Leicester”. After carrying out its own investigation, the company met with its UK suppliers to remind them of “the risks linked to sourcing from UK factories, including poor health and safety, lack of transparency, lack of records, risk of illegal workers, minimum wage violations, unpaid and witheld wages, lack of proper contracts, sick pay and holiday pay”. New Look added that it did not allow sub-contracting in its supply chain.
Peacocks is also launching its own investigation. A spokesperson said: "Peacock's is committed to ethical business practice in all our operations... We are taking the issues raised very seriously and have immediately launched a full investigation."
Knitwear firm allegations
* Since relatively few garments are now produced in the UK, sweatshops scandals of late have primarily centred on Asia. But last year a BBC documentary alleged that a Manchester knitwear company – which supplied the retailer Primark – had employees who worked up to 12 hours a day and were paid £3.50 an hour. An undercover reporter said she was offered a job without being asked her name. An Afghan man said he was an asylum-seeker and had been working illegally in the country for three years. The film said the company had deliberately deceived Primark during an audit, which the firm denied. Primark said last summer procedures at the company had been improved to comply with immigration law, but it was still concerned about hours of work and pay.
Dispatches: Fashion's Dirty Secret, airs at 8pm tonight on Channel 4.


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President Donald Trump’s surprise vow to slap new tariffs on Mexican goods has an unintended consequence: It further undermines the chance of a trade resolution with China.
The U.S. is set to impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from June 10, Trump first announced in a Twitter post Thursday night. The move came as a shock as the White House just took a formal step to kickstart approval of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement.
Trump’s 180-degree turn on one of U.S.′ largest trading partners is sending a ominous message to the international community that he can’t be trusted, Wall Street policy analysts said, adding that China, already skeptical of Trump’s reliability, is now less likely to sign a trade deal with him.
We view this action as further deteriorating the U.S.-China trade fight. Chinese officials have stated their concern about the reliability of President Trump as a trading partner. These tariffs were announced the same day as significant advancement of the USMCA. If China does not believe a deal will stick, why negotiate?
said Ed Mills, public policy analyst at Raymond James, in a note.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump are set to meet at the G20 summit in Japan next month, but the Mexican tariffs put into further doubt that a “substantive” meeting is possible, Mills added.Read More
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