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Spaghetti and pizza are so popular in North Korea that even street vendors serve Italian food, a worker in the first Italian restaurant in North Korea said in an interview.
Ri Bong Nyo, a server at an Italian restaurant in Kwangbok Street, Pyongyang, went on to praise Italian food’s nutritional value while talking with North Korea’s weekly Tongil Sinbo, published last Saturday.
“There used to be only our restaurant dedicated to Italian dishes but later another one appeared in Pyongchon district (in Pyongyang),” she said. “Now there are many restaurants, big and small, including even street vendors which serve spaghetti and pizza.”
Many even cook such Italian dishes at home, since these recipes are easily found through newspapers and magazines, she said.
However, the first Italian restaurant in Pyongyang is still popular among North Koreans, she said.
“In this restaurant, customers can watch the cooks, who studied directly in Italy, cooking spaghetti right in front of the customers and the taste is better than in other restaurants,” Ri said.
The cooks have developed their own indigenous versions of pizza, including crown daisy pizza and kimchi pizza, and these are also popular among North Koreans.
The restaurant opened in 2008 under the guidance of late leader Kim Jong Il, the report said. The cooks were sent to Italy and studied Italian food for three months.
North Korea’s state television channel Korean Central TV (KCTV) aired an introduction to the restaurant in 2009, featuring interviews with a server, cook and some customers.
When asked by the interviewer about an article in South Korea that asserted that only the rich in North Korea can enjoy pizza and spaghetti, Ri answered that everyone can enjoy Italian food there and criticized South Korea’s “habit of confrontation” as leading them to criticize all things about its Northern neighbor.
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Featured Image: North Korea Pyongyang pizzeria by Eric Lafforgue on 2009-05-22 07:44:21


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U.S. News & World Report has launched a consumer portal in partnership with agent matching site Agent Ace to help buyers and sellers pinpoint the best real estate agent suited to their needs, Agent Ace announced today. “We already provide tools to help consumers find the right doctors and financial advisers using unbiased information,” said Chad Smolinski, senior vice president of U.S. News, in a statement. “What we find exciting about working with Agent Ace is that, for the first time, we can help consumers find the right real estate agent based on actual data -- in this case the agent’s performance track record.” So far, no services that steer buyers and sellers to agents based on sales data, including Agent Ace, have become major online destinations, limitin...
Jul 7, 2014 by Andrea V. Brambila
May 19, 2014 by Paul Hagey
Mar 20, 2014 by Inman

domain: news


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Today a new report was released on how online lenders are helping small businesses which in turn is creating economic activity across the US. The report titled “The Economic Benefits of Online Lending to Small Businesses and the U.S. Economy” was put together by NDP Analytics and was sponsored by the Electronic Transactions Association, the Innovative Lending Platform Association (ILPA) and the Small Business Finance Association (SBFA).
Most of us are aware of the importance of small businesses in the US economy. Small businesses employ over half of private-sector workers in the US, so access to capital for small businesses is critical to their success. Fortunately, online lenders such as the ones mentioned in the report have focused on serving the needs of businesses and activity has picked up over the last few years. Both awareness of these alternative options and the amount lent on these platforms is increasing. Originations at five leading online small business lenders increased by 50% in three years, from $2.6 billion in 2015 to $3.9 billion in 2017.
Nearly $10 billion of funding was provided to 180,000 small businesses from 2015 to 2017 according to data which included leading platforms OnDeck, Kabbage and Lendio. This activity has generated $37.7 billion in gross output, created 358,911 jobs and $12.6 billion in wages.
Another highlight of the study was reporting on where these small businesses are operating. Almost one third of small business borrowers are in lower-income communities and about 24% of this borrower demographic are micro businesses with less than $100,000 in annual sales.
What makes small business lending unique is the amount of capital needed can vary widely and one of the reasons online small business lenders have been successful is because they have been able to efficiently underwrite smaller dollar loans. According to the study:
About 42 percent of small businesses borrowed between $10,000 and $50,000 from five online small business lenders with the average amount being $55,498.
One of the most interesting data points from the research was that on average, for every $1 lent to small businesses, sales for these small business borrowers increased by $2.31, creating $3.79 in gross output in local communities across the country.
As Nam Pham, Ph.D., report author and Managing Partner at NDP said in the press release:
The economic benefits of online lending are far reaching and extend beyond the funding used by small businesses to maintain or expand their operations. As these businesses succeed, so do the communities around them. Small businesses are increasingly turning to online lenders to help cover inventory, payroll for employees, and other expenses at critical junctures in their growth. The loan impacts not just the borrower, but those who work and engage with that business.
The small business lending market looks vastly different than it did 10 years ago. Not only are there more lending choices for small business owners than ever before but these choices are quicker and more convenient than in the past. The platforms included in this study and other innovative online small business lenders have been the driving force behind this shift. It’s a great to see a report put together which highlights just how impactful access to capital can be and it is a sign of great things to come as this market continues to grow.


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Home Depot posted first-quarter results on Tuesday, outperforming analysts, but missed out on top of what the company called "a slow start to the spring season".
Home Depot shares fell more than 2 percent in pre-IPO trading.
So the company has compared to what Wall Street expected:
- Profit: $ 2.08 per share, compared to $ 2.05 per share from Thomson Reuters
- $ 24.95 billion compared to $ 25 million $ 1
- same-store sales growth 4.2 percent vs. 5.4 percent from Thomson Reuters
In the quarter ended April 29, Home Depot said that net income was $ 2.01 billion or $ 1.67 per share to $ 2.40 billion or $ 2.08 per share increased. Analysts have expected the company to earn $ 2.05 per share.
While revenue increased 4.4 percent year-over-year to $ 24.95 billion, it was below the $ 25.15 billion surveyed by Thomson Reuters. meanwhile, 4.2 percent grew, far less than 5.4 percent expected.
Analysts from Jefferies last week lowered their estimates for the first quarter for Home Depot, citing the bad spring weather. Jefferies assumes buyers will relocate their projects into the summer and not give up entirely.
In a broader sense, Home Depot benefits from a strong real estate market and a favorable economic tailwind. The home improvement stores were among the strongest selling retail segments and were partially supported by the recovery required last year following a severe storm.
In a broader sense, Home Depot has expanded its e-commerce strategy, outperforming its rival Lowe in that capacity.
Home Depot said on Tuesday that it supports its earlier forecasts for 2018. It said it expects sales to increase by about 6.5 percent and that same store sales will grow by about 5 percent.
It is said that new rules on revenue recognition will not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures. However, it will change what the revenue recognition for its private label credit cards and gift cards looks like.


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Over the last decade, there are few companies Apple has been worried about. One is HP, which had the only product that had a chance of beating the early iPod, and the other was Palm, which had the best chance of beating the iPhone. HP was tricked into giving up its potential iPod killer, and Palm’s execution was a train wreck. Now the two companies have agreed to merge with a common goal, HP won’t be tricked again, and Palm has the resources of a massive multinational to play with. Life will get a lot more interesting for both Apple and HP as the combined resources come into play around this time next year. However, I do expect, we’ll see a near-term solution (likely Palm designed) by year end.
Let’s talk about the potential of this deal, remembering all the while that both firms have had huge opportunities in the past and failed to execute on them.
HP’s Apple Scare
I captured this story years ago from HP after the HP-branded iPod deal fell apart. Apparently, Steve Jobs, who ironically seems to have excessive access to competitor’s secrets, learned of a coming HP MP3 player and it was good enough that it scared him. He picked up the phone and called HP’s then CEO and offered her a deal that he has never personally offered to any other company since taking Apple over: The chance to sell an iPod clone branded by HP. She jumped at the deal after Apple promised her team they could link it in with their Media Center products and have special colors (the one they initially showcased was HP Blue).
After the deal was cut, Apple underpriced the HP products, didn’t allow HP to bring out colors (arguing that colors like those currently used in the iPod Nano line were inappropriate for an iPod) and blocked all efforts to fully integrate the iPod into HP’s media center. The provision that locked HP out of the MP3 player market, however, held firm. By the time HP was free to bring out their own product, Apple owned the market. It was a brilliant strategy on Apple’s part, but HP was mad, and Carly Fiorina was likely fired because of poor deals like this.
Palm introduced the Palm Pre at CES and stole the show, much as the iPhone had done several years earlier. Jon Rubinstein had standing ovations, and the iPhone user beside me at the launch event was quite literally falling out of his seat, he was so excited about the product. In many ways it was a better iPhone alternative than the Motorola Droid, but Palm didn’t position it that way. After a series of clearly open challenges to Apple, Palm launched the Pre with what was arguably the worst seeding and advertising program I had ever seen for a product, in addition to going exclusive with Sprint – a cellular service provider that was losing customers left and right.
HP + Palm
Todd Bradley, the executive in line to run HP (and who currently runs HP’s PC division), used to run Palm and knows that company well. He brought a number of ex-Palm and ex-Apple employees into HP. The result is that HP has consistently improved both the look and experiences associated with its products and the marketing that surrounds them, but remained ineffective with its phones.
Palm lacked the resources to make another run at Apple, even though it corrected most of the initial problems with the Palm Pre rollout.
Both companies have a deep desire to beat Apple, because Apple has consistently made fools of both firms. This creates a common goal that should keep the resulting combined company focused. And HP doesn’t require the massive gross margins that Apple needs to survive given the firm and potential pricing advantage as well. If HP can engage Apple in a price war the same way it did with Dell, Apple would be at a severe disadvantage. But first they need a truly competitive product.
WebOS and Palm’s Patent Portfolio are the Keys
With the Apple-HTC litigation, combined with the recent news that HTC had to license Microsoft’s mobile technology for its Android products it has became clear that to compete with Apple, Android isn’t a good choice. Microsoft’s delays with Windows Phone 7 and their unwillingness to license that product for an iPad-like tablet knocked them out as well, leaving only the WebOS and large Palm patent portfolio as the best path to create an iPhone or iPad line that could take the fight to Apple.
This is effectively a declaration that HP and Palm are going after Apple, and they are both pissed and focused.
It’s All about Execution Now, and Execution is Tough
The two companies have to be brought together, and solutions driven into the market quickly to take full advantage of the combined resources. HP messed up the Voodoo acquisition, suggesting there is some risk that this might not go well, and Apple isn’t going to let HP come at them unchallenged. It will likely pull out all the stops in defense. In effect, both HP and Palm will have to admit their past mistakes, learn from them, and execute sharply to get this done. That’s not trivial, but HP has tablet and smartphone display technology in-house that I spoke of previously, an eBook reader, and a set of media management tools that are potentially unmatched in the market out of their lab. Along with the Palm IP, these tools could give them an incredible advantage, if they can execute. That “if” has proven to be a formidable barrier for anyone, including HP and Palm, when it comes to competing with Apple. We’ll see if they make it this time.
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November 1, 20222022年 11月 01日
“As the global demand for proteins grows and more consumers seek to reduce their consumption of animal origin products, many in the food sector are looking into opportunities to expand the sources of proteins that can be both environmentally sustainable and nutritionally sound. Cell-based food, also often called cultured/cultivated meat, is considered an option.”
This call for presenters by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is pretty self-explanatory: the world is hungry for protein—but is it possible to meet this demand in a way that is both safe for humans, sustainable for the environment—and why not, harmless to animals? CellX CEO and co-founder Ziliang Yang and co-founder and Tech Lead, Dr. Ning Xiang flew to Tel Aviv in September to answer this question.
The pair were the only Chinese company representatives at the roundtable organized by the FAO and the Israeli Ministry of Health, titled “Cell Food and the Future of Food Security and Food Safety.” They joined an audience of government officials, academics, enterprises and industry organizations who came to discuss opportunities for cultivated meat in a world that is set to see a 73% increase in global animal meat consumption by 2050.
The presence of CellX at the event came as no surprise to those with experience in the global alternative protein sector. CellX was recently selected by Fortune Magazine for their Impact Fortune Award as one of the most impactful startups in China. In the first stages of CellX’s foundation, Lever provided initial funding and early support, which led to CellX becoming the fastest-growing cultivated meat company in China. In May, the Chinese cultivated meat company raised $10.6 million in a Series A round becoming the highest-funded cultured meat company in China. Taking the stage in Tel Aviv, Cell X’s team presented the challenges and opportunities of cultivated meat in China, drawing from their experience launching the first cultivated meat company in the country.
Representatives from the Israeli Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization emphasized the strategic importance of cultivated meat to combat climate change and ensure food security. By calling on governments, organizations, and companies worldwide to discuss and develop global industry standards and regulatory frameworks, attendees were optimistic that together they could help cultivated meat products reach the market more quickly and effectively.
While cultivated meat might still be considered a novelty in the protein world, its benefits for food security, climate change, and farm animals are tangible: Lever is committed to supporting forward-thinking entrepreneurs in Asia to accelerate the transition to more humane and sustainable protein sources.
“We are pleased to be invited to participate in this conference to share CellX’s progress and reflections in China and to work with our global peers to advance the cause of cultivated meat.”
-Ziliang Yang, Co-Founder and CEO, CellX
This work happened because of the support of people like you. Please consider donating today to build a more humane and sustainable protein supply in Asia.


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March 6, Zurich, Switzerland – The addictive virtual reality cardio workout platform that solves the issues of gym member attraction and retention by making fitness fun, is exhibiting at this year’s FIBO in Cologne, Germany, 4 – 7 April 2019, at Exhibition Centre Cologne, booth 6/A21.
Visitors get the perfect opportunity to see and get a feel of HOLOFIT, its current selection of 36 virtual reality workout environments, and the gamification system that makes fitness fun and addictive.
This innovative approach to cardio workouts enables gym owners to attract new customer segments and retain existing members out of whom 70% become and stay regulars after the initial six-month period.
HOLOFIT opens up new revenue streams with different monetization options which will all be exhibited at FIBO Global Fitness.
In addition, Holodia has special surprises prepared, and the world premiere of their new content!
Visitors will have the chance to meet Holodia’s top executives – CEO, Shahin Lauritzen, CTO, Olivier Zitvogel and COO, Bojana Knezevic.
“My team is on a mission to help take the fitness industry innovation boom to the next level, ensuring cardio workouts never become boring again. We work exclusively in the fitness space helping the global fitness industry solve what I believe are some of its biggest problems – member attraction and retention,” said Shahin Lauritzen, CEO of Holodia.
To set up a meeting with Holodia’s CEO, Shahin Lauritzen, please contact lauritzen(at)holodia.com
For media inquiries, please contact Pavle Lazarevic pavle(at)holodia.com
For additional information, visit https://www.holodia.com/
Holodia is a Swiss company that creates a lifelike experience in an immersive, highly visual, non intrusive 3D environment. Holodia’s product HOLOFIT is unique software as a service that enables a fully immersive VR environment, and can be used on all major cardio fitness equipment brands.
Having the end user in mind, Holodia designed and created HOLOFIT to make fitness fun. Today, 70% of all HOLOFIT users become and stay regulars after the initial 6 months period. HOLOFIT makes cardio fitness workouts exciting, competitive, and social, and helps end users maintain their fitness goals.


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I needed a break from the Iowa Caucuses, the current episode of "The Worst Wing," and other election news, so I'm sharing the latest tale of the Retail Apocalypse, Macy's announcing the closing of more stores.* I begin with CBS This Morning's Retail giant Macy's announces massive cuts.
The largest department store chain in America is closing 125 stores and cutting 2,000 jobs. Macy’s is making the cuts in an effort to end a yearslong slump, though it’s unclear how many total jobs will be affected once retail workers factor into the final count. Jill Schlesinger breaks down the implications of the retail giant’s massive move.That's the human dimension. CNBC provides more numbers and details in Macy's to close 125 stores and cut 2,000 corporate jobs.
Macy's announced that it will close 125 of its department stores over the next 3 years. CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports.One of the closures was of Macy's second headquarters in Cincinnati, the focus of WCPO's Macy's to close corporate headquarters in Cincinnati in massive restructuring.
Macy's Inc. will close its corporate headquarters in downtown Cincinnati as part of a massive restructuring that includes the elimination of 2,000 corporate jobs and the closure of 125 stores in the next three years.When I told my wife about this story, she worried that it would take longer for our orders to get here from another location besides Columbus. I hope the warehouse there stays open.
That's the bad news. The good news is that no Michigan locations are closing, as the Detroit Free Press reported.
Michigan has 14 Macy's stores with locations in cities including Troy, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, Novi, Sterling Heights and Traverse City, according to its website.Whew.
Asked about closures in the Mitten, officials "do not have any store closures to announce at this time," Andrea Schwartz, senior director of media relations for the company, said in an email Tuesday.
*I know I promised to write about the Oscars, but I'm just not feeling it. Instead, I decided to follow up on a shinier object. Maybe tomorrow. Definitely later next week. Stay tuned.


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Nonprofit organization Vegan-Friendly UK recently launched the Vegan-Friendly certification symbol to help vegan-friendly businesses promote their vegan options. The heart-shaped symbol identifies restaurants that qualify as vegan-friendly if their menus boost a wide variety of vegan dishes. Originally founded in Israel, the organization expanded to the United Kingdom in an effort to increase the presence of vegan options and make veganism more accessible by encouraging businesses to add vegan options.
“We will improve the visibility and exposure of restaurants which serve a minimum of 25-percent vegan options by labeling them both digitally and physically,” Ofek Ron, Vegan-Friendly General Manager, said. “We will also provide restaurants with free hands-on training and guidance on how to switch ingredients in their dishes to improve their vegan offering. In our Israeli venture, with our assistance, the restaurants we work with have been able to sell approximately 20 percent more vegan dishes than before. This meant that these restaurants were, in turn, selling less meat dishes and more vegan dishes.”
The Vegan-Friendly certification will initially launch with an online presence and once restaurants begin to open following the COVID-19 lockdown, Londoners will start noticing heart-shaped stickers at the entrance of their favorite vegan-friendly restaurants.


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Uber Eats prepares for transition to e-bikes, EVs
Uber Eats has committed to eliminate carbon emissions on all its food deliveries globally by 2040, by supporting its couriers and delivery drivers to transition to e-bikes, e-scooters or electric vehicles (EVs).
This, as globally, countries race to establish zero-emission vehicle policies and incentives to increase rollout, generate interest and make EVs more affordable for the general public.
According to the United Nations, more than 70 countries, including the biggest polluters – China, the US and European Union – have set a net-zero target, covering about 76% of global emissions.
Furthermore, over 3 000 businesses and financial institutions worldwide are working with the Science-Based Targets Initiative to reduce their emissions in line with climate science.
In a blog post, Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber SVP of delivery, notes the e-hailing company aims to be the first global delivery tech platform to support the transition to more sustainable packaging − not only for Uber Eats merchants, but for the broader restaurant delivery ecosystem.
“In Europe and around the world, we’ll invest in partnerships and incentives to help couriers transition to e-bikes, EVs and other emission-free modes,” says Gore-Coty.
Uber is currently engaging with governments across Africa, urging the creation of a favourable regulatory environment to help accelerate the rollout of EVs on the continent.
According to Gore-Coty, Uber has more than 890 000 merchants in over 30 countries, alongside millions of couriers and drivers.
Uber says to address single-use plastic waste and its effects on the environment, it aims to help restaurants transition to more sustainable packaging in every city where it does business by 2030, through a combination of discounts, incentives and advocacy.
As the motorbike delivery economy grows, boosted by the growth of e-commerce, more online retailers are opting to adopt green scooters or EVs for their last mile delivery.
Last June, Woolworths became the first South African retailer to embark on an extensive rollout of electric panel vans to deliver customers’ online purchases in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban.
Faithful to Nature, an online local retailer of natural and sustainable products, is also testing a carbon-neutral delivery service, introducing EV cargo vans to its express delivery service in Cape Town.
Bolt South Africa previously told ITWeb it is looking at using electric scooters and EVs in the local market.
In July 2020, Bolt received official approval from the UK's Department for Transport to trial e-scooters in cities across the country.


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Apple shares have taken a hit after its earnings declines for a third consecutive quarter, despite recording a 26 per cent increase in iPhone sales compared to the same period last year.
The tech giant is reporting revenue of US$37.5 billion for the its fiscal fourth-quarter, with net income down to US$7.51 billion from US$8.22 billion the year before.
Apple said it sold 33.8 million iPhones during the quarter, 14.1 million iPads and 4.6 million Mac computers.
In a press conference last night Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer (CEO), said: “We’re pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34m iPhones.”
There had been fears that Apple’s lower-cost smartphone, the iPhone 5c, had struggled to impress consumers and figures show in the United States, where the 5c has performed best, it only accounted for 33 per cent of joint sales of the 5c and its higher-end sister product, the 5s.
Cook however said market watchers and analysts should not view the 5c as Apple’s “budget” or entry-level smartphone.
He said: “Generally we see the 4S as our entry level iPhone offer.”
Apple shares initially fell more than 3 per cent in after-hours trading yesterday.


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Plus, the business imperative behind inclusion and diversity Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
Plus, who is your ideal keynote speaker? Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.
For service businesses everywhere, the noise of the telephone is often the sweet sound of sales. But maybe your phone isn’t ringing much anymore. The internet has made it easier than ever for customers to get in touch with businesses without picking up the phone. That’s great for introverts, but […]
Google announced a bunch of new Google Assistant features yesterday. One big one, I think, is Google “Assistant can now help you complete your purchase in only a few steps powered by Duplex on the web.”
Google’s Martin Splitt said something we all know to be true for a while now, he said on Twitter that the “cached view is a basically unmaintained legacy feature.” I asked Martin if he is cool with me sharing this and he said “yea sure, I think we’ve said that […]
Google Search can now not only show product results with images, and not only the ratings, pricing and if the product in stock but now Google is also showing if there is a nearby store that is open with that product. Here is a screenshot of this from Brian Freiesleben […]
Yesterday Google tweaked the design for when it shows knowledge panel information in the search results. On desktop search, it is showing these search result filter buttons that swap in the filtered results at the top, as opposed to anchoring you down to the specific section in the search result […]
After several months of teasing and testing and rolling out betas, the new Insights page is now available to all Google Ads advertisers no matter where on the planet they live. Google said that starting on April 14th, yesterday, “the Insights page is available to all advertisers globally.”


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The latest edition of Apple’s iOS operating system, unveiled at WWDC this week, will provide a way for apps relevant to a user’s location to be promoted on their iPhone home screen, MacRumours reports. Using Location Services, apps like the Apple Store and Starbucks are appearing when users are near one of their stores. Other users say they have seen apps they haven’t yet installed appear. Swiping on these take users to the location’s App Store page.
- Rambus explores five key reasons retailers should have a mobile wallet
- TSB to roll out iris scanning tech
- Wells Fargo wants its ‘Control Tower’ to manage your digital financial life
- Mastercard expands QR payments choice
- Amazon Pay Places lets you pay for real-world shopping using your Amazon info


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Vivo's relatively new sub-brand iQOO has created a name for itself with its affordable high-end offerings. The recently launched iQOO 7 series set a benchmark for smartphones in the sub 30K/40k segment. Hot on its tail, the brand is preparing to launch its next smartphone called the iQOO Z3 in India.
iQOO has frequently been teasing the smartphone on its social media handles. In addition to that, the smartphone has been showcased ahead of the launch. Through which we know that the iQOO Z3 will follow the same design language as the China variant.
Amazon has also created a micro-site for the launch of the smartphone. The page mentions that the iQOO Z3 will feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 768G chipset, 8GB of RAM, 55W fast charging and a 64-megapixel primary camera.
Now that the launch of the iQOO Z3 is around the corner, we decided to stack everything known about the smartphone so far.
iQOO Z3 specs and features
--The iQOO Z3 is a mid-range smartphone that will compete with the likes of the Xiaomi Mi 10i, the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE and more. iQOO has already launched the smartphone in China hence, we are aware of the details of this smartphone.
--The brand has been continuously teasing the key specs of the smartphone. In addition to that, Amazon has created a landing page for the launch of the iQOO Z3. The page reveals that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 768G SoC will power the smartphone. Interestingly this will be India's first device to be powered by this 7nm chipset. This will be coupled with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and we still aren't aware if iQOO Z3 will be made available in other RAM options.
--Apart from this, the smartphone will be powered by a 64-megapixel primary GW3 sensor. This camera setup will be capable of capturing 4K 60fps videos. Not to miss, it will also get a dedicated "super night mode".
--It's also worth noting that the iQOO Z3 will get support for 55W fast charging. With this speed, the device can be charged to 50 per cent in just 19 mins.
--India Today Tech, in an interview with Gagan Arora, got a glimpse of the smartphone. Arora also talked about the top five features of the iQOO Z3 and revealed the iQOO Z3 for our viewers. He mentioned that the smartphone would come in two colour options. Gagan also confirmed that it has 3GB of extended virtual RAM. Moreover, the device will ship with Funtouch OS as seen on Vivo smartphones.
--The smartphone appears to feature a design similar to one launched in China. It featured triple rear cameras and a glossy finish on the rear. The device was showcased in a black colour option, but we are guessing iQOO will launch a few colour options.
--As far as the specs of the iQOO Z3 (China variant) are concerned, the smartphone features a 6.58-inch IPS LCD panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz. Further, it is powered by a Snapdragon 768G SoC, this is an octa-core chipset based on a 7nm manufacturing process and coupled with Adreno 620 GPU. The chipset is coupled with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of onboard storage.
--In the camera department, the iQOO Z3 features triple rear cameras consisting of a 64-megapixel primary shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter and a 2-megapixel macro lens. Whereas on the front, it gets a 16-megapixel snapper for selfies.
--In terms of connectivity, the device brings support for 5G, Bluetooth 5.1, 3.5mm audio jack and GPS. It is powered by a 4400mAh battery with support for 55W fast charging. Finally, the iQOO Z3 ships with Android 11 with Origin OS on top.
iQOO Z3 India launch
iQOO Z3 has been confirmed to arrive on June 8 in India. The brand has begun teasing the key specs of this smartphone. In that succession, we will see more updates from the brand in the coming days.
iQOO Z3 India price
iQOO aims to mark the mid-range market with its upcoming smartphone, the iQOO Z3. The base variant of this smartphone with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage goes for CNY 1699 (Rs 19,400 roughly). Gagan Arora confirmed to India Today Tech that the iQOO Z3 would be priced under Rs 25000 in India.


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IDG News Service - Nvidia is developing new CPU cores based on the Arm architecture for PCs and servers that will be able to run Microsoft's upcoming Windows OS, the company said on Wednesday.
The series of CPU cores, which is code-named Denver, will be based on a future Arm architecture and give Nvidia a presence in new markets, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said during a press conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The announcement of new CPU cores came on the same day that Microsoft announced it is developing a future version of its Windows OS for the Arm architecture. The new Denver chips will support the upcoming Arm-based Windows OS, said Ken Brown, an Nvidia spokesman.
Microsoft's Windows OS, which is used on most of the world's PCs, currently works only on x86 chipsets from companies such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. An Arm version of Windows could provide users an option to buy Arm-based systems as an alternative to x86 products.
For many years, users had no choice on operating systems and chip architectures, said Bill Dally, Nvidia's chief scientist, in an e-mail message.
"Microsoft's announcement that it is bringing Windows to ultra-low power processors like Arm-based CPUs provides the final ingredient needed to enable Arm-based PCs based on Denver," Dally wrote.
"Denver frees PCs, workstations and servers from the hegemony and inefficiency of the x86 architecture," Dally said.
The downside is that software written for x86 chips will need to be tweaked before it can run on Arm systems.
Nvidia, primarily known as a graphics card company, has hinted in the past that it was developing a CPU for PCs, but it currently offers only the Tegra 2 chip for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
The Denver CPUs will be based on future Arm processor designs, and Nvidia has licensed the Cortex-A15 processor and its successor design from Arm, Brown said. He didn't specific dates for when the CPUs will be in PCs, but he said they most likely would initially go into servers.
The chips will probably combine Nvidia's graphics processor cores with Arm's CPU cores, much like the Tegra chips. The integration of CPU and GPU technology in a single, power-efficient chip will help the company better serve the PC gamer market, Brown said. Another target market for these chips is cloud computing, Nvidia officials said.
During his speech, Huang was critical of the x86 architecture, which has dominated the PC market for decades. The growth of tablets and smartphones has created a "new PC industry," Huang said, which has led to an increased focus on Arm.
Arm is poised to become the new standard microprocessor architecture, and in a few years there will be more Arm processors than the number of x86 processors that "ever shipped," Huang said.
He provided the example of Apple, which introduced the iPad and iPhone and has revolutionized the way PC makers build and distribute devices, Huang said. Like Apple, a lot more companies are focusing on tablets and other mobile devices.
"The world has changed," Huang said. "The companies in the past that were leaders are readjusting their strategies."
A lot of software developers are also moving to the Arm architecture as they program for mobile devices, Huang said. With Denver, Huang hopes to attract mobile developers to write for PCs and servers.
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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has revealed that, Ghana is the most ideal country in West Africa to establish an assembly base, and noted that all the economic indices which had gone haywire prior to his assumption of office are now pointing in the right direction.
According to President Akuffo-Addo, Ghana is the second largest economy in West Africa making it porous and a well-position for investors to sow their seeds for a deserved income. Nana Akuffo-Addo stated that, Ghana is looking upon itself as the gateway to Africa, and to a market of some 350million people, which is scheduled to go up to 500million.
This comes at the back after French multinational automobile manufacturer, Renault, is considering the establishment of an automobile assembly plant in Ghana , following in the footsteps of Volkswagen, Nissan and Sinotruck who will, this year, establish assembly plants in Ghana.
Vice President and Chairman of the Africa-Middle-East-India(AMI) Region at Renault, Fabrice Cambolive, made this known on Monday, 28th January, 2019, when he paid courtesy call on the President of the Republic, Nana Akuffo-Addo, at the seat of nation’s presidency, Jubilee House.
Already, Global car manufacturing giants, Volkswagen, Sinotruk, and Nissan are expected to establish their assembly plants in Ghana this Year.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Cambolive stated that, they’ll be delighted to import their products into the country, should their policy collide with the policies of the country, adding that, they’ve noticed a lot of values in the country, hoping that, it will be able to concretize it in a really hard long-term project.
Renault is a French company is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured trucks, tractors, tanks, buses,/coaches and autorail vehicles.
According to the Organisation Internationale des Contructeurs d’Automobile, in 2016 Renault was the ninth biggest automaker in the world by production of volume. By 2017, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliace had become the world biggest seller of light vehicles, bumping Vilkswagen AG of the top spot.
Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, the Renault group is made up of the namesake Renault marque and subsidiaries, Alphine, Automobile Dacia from Romania, Renault Samsung Motors from South Korea, and the AvtoVAZ from Russia.
Renault has a 43.4% controlling stake in Nissan of Japan, and a 1.55% stake in Daimler AG of Germany(since 2012, Renault manufactures engines for Dailmer’s Mercedes A-Class and B-Class cars)
Renault also owns subsidiaries RCI Banque( automotive financing), Renault Retail Group (automotive distribution) and Motrio(automotive parts). Renault has various joint ventures, including Oyak-Renault(Turkey), Renault Pars(Iran). The French government owns 15% share of Renault.
“I Haven’t Regretted Investing In Music. – NAM 1
CEO of Zylofon Music Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM 1 has emphasised that he has no regrets venturing into the music industry.
He stated that as a business person he made a business decision not to benefit right away but to help grow it for generational value.
NAM 1 was answering questions from media men & women at a press conference to address the well-publicized issues surrounding his institutions.
After its founding, Zylofon Music signed top music artistes Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, Becca, Highlife act Kumi Guitar, rapper Kumi Guitar and gospel musician Joyce Blessing.
Caroline Esinam Adzogble Appointed Ambassador Of GOA Institute Of Management To Africa.
Study abroad programs have long been focused in Europe & the USA, leaving out great opportunities on other continents, especially Asia and more precisely the country of India. In a move to change this narrative; The GOA institute of management have appointed Caroline Esinam Adzogble as African ambassador; a role that will see her champion study opportunities at the GOA institué of management, to students all across Africa.
Caroline Esinam Adzogble; a seasoned Educational consultant and a champion for better educational opportunities across Africa, adds this to her many achievements in the sector of education across the continent.
The role she says will come with scholarship opportunities for potential post graduate students across Africa; A chance to further your education in a university that gives you first hand opportunities to work and study at the same time.
After 5 years of running educational consultancy services under her firm ‘IAES’ in Ghana, Caroline makes this new move under the International University Services; an educational firm based in Europe.
The GOA institute of management; is a top ranking postgraduate university in the GOA province of India. Interested students can email [email protected] or visit the IUS website www.theiuservices.com for more information about it’s partnerships with global universities.
Mike Tyson’s 420-Acre Weed Ranch Rakes In $500K A Month.
Mike Tyson is building a cannabis empire and soaking up ever blissful moment of it, literally. The weedtrepreneur recently revealed on his star-studded podcast that he and his crew basically smoke 10 tons of weed every single month at his marijuana resort, Tyson Ranch.
ICYMI: 52-year-old Mike Tyson is living a retired man’s dream! After putting up his boxing gloves, Mike made a swift career change, buying 420-acres of land in California City to run a company called The Ranch Companies, which specializes in all things weed.
According to GQ, Tyson and his company are working on breaking ground on Tyson Ranch. The ranch will serve as a luxury weed resort and “there are plans for a luxury hotel and retail stores and facilities for glamping, an amphitheater for concerts, and Tyson University, where experts will teach cannabis-cultivation techniques to future farmers.
"The proposed plans for Tyson Ranch, Mike Tyson's luxury weed resort.
On his most recent episode of his podcast, Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson, Mike and his co-host, Eben Britton, sat down with Jim Jones to talk about both Mike and Jim’s booming weed businesses. When Mike asked his co-host how much weed he thinks they smoke at their ranch, Eben said, “We smoke 10 tons of weed at the ranch every month,” in which Mike responded, “That’s like $40K.” We were just as surprised as Jim Jones to hear that lofty number!
The former rapper also revealed in the video that he once spent $7 million on a diamond chain! If you were wondering how much dough Mike is raking in from his weed business, he's approximately selling $500,000 worth of cannabis products every month. So it makes sense that they can smoke that much weed and lofty jewelry.
The former fighter went on to dish about his budding weed resort, saying, “We gon’ make this like an oasis in the desert, man.” While you wait in anticipation for Mike Tyson to break ground on his stoner paradise, check out his website here!
“Menzgold To Possibly Rebound Soon. – Nana Appiah Mensah
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah popularly known as NAM 1 has stated that, he will dissertate on the recent developments and state of affairs of the gold dealership entity and his subsidiary companies to the Ghanaian traditional mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet) media regarded collectively.
With the location yet to be made known to public, the event is scheduled for Monday, 19th August, 2019 and and has the objective of providing final practical resolutions to all pending teasing, indistinct matters that impeded and retarded the progress of the firm, assuring that, the action of solving the contentious Menzgold fracas will result to a highly possible rebound soon of the gold dealership firm.
He made this statement, Wednesday, 14th August, 2019 via his twitter handle.
Nana Appiah Mensah, was sued for defrauding by false pretences, money laundering, abetment and carrying on deposit-taking business without licence contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions Act. He was accused for illegally obtaining an estimated GHS1.68 billion from his customers.
According to the charge sheet, the money was from 16,000 people who invested a total of GHc1,680,920,000 in the company. The sheet indicated that Mr Appiah Mensah’s two companies — Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold Ghana Limited; represented by him, have also been charged with defrauding by false pretence.
He arrived in Ghana on July 11, 2019, where he was picked up by security operatives at the Kotoka International Airport and sent to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for interrogation after spending several months in Dubai in another legal battle.
Nana Appiah Mensah was released from police custody on August 5 after he met the reviewed bail conditions. He secured his freedom on bail after his lawyers managed to meet the bail conditions set by an Accra circuit court. The court had initially set bail at ¢1 billion with five sureties.
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Companies are taking steps to cut costs and improve efficiency after many relied more heavily on price increases in recent quarters to offset inflation and bolster their profits.
Inflation, at 8.3% in April, was at a nearly 40-year high, and companies are being squeezed by bad reputations in global supply chains, higher commodity prices and a tight labor market. chop. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment has worsened in recent months as prices of items ranging from gas to groceries have increased and demand for products with larger fare, including mattresses. and equipment, has reduced.
According to data provider S&P Global Market Intelligence, operating costs at U.S. investment-grade non-financial firms — there are 442 — in the fourth quarter rose 23% from a year earlier, to a total plus $2.75 trillion, according to data provider S&P Global Market Intelligence. These companies, on average, spent 83.5% of their total revenue on operating expenses during the quarter, the most in a year, according to S&P. The increase reflects rising wages, energy, inventory and rent costs.
Companies that have responded to rising costs with higher prices may soon face resistance from inflation-weary consumers. When that happens, companies are often more geared toward improving efficiency or saving costs to maintain their profit margins and meet the guidance they’ve given investors, Michael “You get to that point eventually,” says Heric, a partner at consulting firm Bain & Co..
According to Gartner, 20% of CFOs and their deputies, including the vice president of finance, are planning to cut costs over the next three months through the end of July in response to inflation.,
in May surveyed financial executives at more than 180 companies with annual sales between $500 million and $100 billion. That number could double in the fourth quarter if current levels of inflation continue, Gartner said.
Company advisers say that while companies have taken emergency, cost-cutting measures across the board in the early days of the pandemic, they are taking less drastic measures aimed at reducing costs. provide long-term savings.
Corporate earnings results are starting to show drag on profitability, with Target Corp.
and Walmart Inc.
—The nation’s two largest retailers — both reported lower-than-expected earnings. Earlier this month Target said it would incur higher shipping and fuel costs instead of passing it on to customers. Walmart also said rising costs have hit its fiscal first-quarter profit, and it hopes to ease some of the pressure through negotiations with its suppliers.
Businesses include the Dine Brands Global restaurant chain franchise Inc.
and retailers The Container Store Group Inc.
and 1-800-Flowers.com Inc.
have identified or implemented cost savings and are looking to streamline their operations through changes both large and small. Some are looking to reduce delivery costs or invest in automation. Others are considering more mundane changes, such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs or upgrading the phone system.
“Companies are starting to compile a list of leverages they can pull,” said Alexander Bant, financial research director at Gartner Inc., a consulting firm. While most companies have not yet adopted large-scale cost-cutting plans, many are outlining the potential savings they could reap in areas such as Mr. Bant, said Mr. Bant. marketing, sales and real estate.
Glendale, California-based Dine Brands, which owns the Applebee’s and IHOP brands, has put together a list of 140 ideas to cut costs with the help of specific brand task forces including suppliers, distributors, franchisees and members of its operations team, said Chief Financial Officer Vance Chang. The groups were formed years ago, but their work was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to Dine Brands’ focus on navigating the pandemic.
Among the ideas the company has come up with: testing a robot to serve guests or operate a fryer. Others include asking its employees to order tablets and order energy-efficient light bulbs, Mr. Chang said. Dine Brands operates on a franchise basis, which means that individual restaurant owners make many of their own financial decisions.
Over the past quarter, Dine Brands franchise partners have increased their prices by an average of 5% to 8%. Mr. Chang said the price increase was enough to offset most of the increase in food prices of about 20%. “Pricing doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” he said. The company’s net income for the first quarter fell 3% from a year earlier, to $24.3 million.
Jody Foldesy, managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, says companies have recovered many of the expenses they eliminated in the spring of 2020 as the economy recovered from the turmoil. caused by the pandemic. Companies looking to offset inflation today are largely focused on implementing existing plans to improve efficiency longer-term, or cut discretionary costs like travel, said Foldesy. or software.
1-800-Flowers says it is aiming to cut labor and transportation costs, including investing in automation. According to Bill Shea, the company that sells gifts including chocolate-covered strawberries and flowers, is looking to reduce delivery distances so it can qualify for next-day overland shipping, which is cheaper than shipping. by air the next day, the company’s chief financial officer.
Mr. Shea expects transportation costs to remain high for the foreseeable future. “It was really a big operation to save on labor and freight costs,” said Mr. Shea.
Net sales at 1-800-Flowers fell 1% in the quarter ended March 27, to $469.6 million, Shea said. The company reported a net loss of $23.4 million, compared with a profit of $1.4 million a year earlier. Its average fare is up about 10 percent, said Shea, due to price increases and a shift toward higher-priced goods.
Many companies have annual cost-savings programs, regardless of how the economy is doing. PerkinElmer Inc.,
The company, which makes scientific instruments, has ongoing initiatives to improve productivity and lower costs in areas such as product launches. Chief Financial Officer Jamey Mock said the business is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. has also taken steps to seek new savings, including consolidating its packages, which helps reduce shipping costs, chief financial officer Jamey Mock said.
Meanwhile, Coppell, the Texas-based Container Store, says it’s revamping the way its delivery vans are packaged, freeing up staff, and upgrading the phone system to improve customer service. , according to Jeff Miller, chief financial officer. Net sales at the Container Store fell 3% for the quarter ended April 2, to $305.5 million.
Over the past year, the company has also overhauled its promotional strategy, rewarding customers for buying more instead of applying large-scale discounts. That has resulted in promotions that are below average and above average fares, Mr. He declined to say how much the company raised prices or saved costs.
—Nina Trentmann contributed to this article.
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Copyright © 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-start-to-lean-more-on-cost-savings-amid-persistent-inflation-11653912001?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f Companies Start to Lean More on Cost Savings Amid Persistent Inflation


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Star Trek Online has a serious crush on Discovery right now — and why not, since the show has propeled the franchise back into the mainstream spotlight? While the Battle at the Binary Stars is not a new operation to the game, having arrived last fall, this month marks the first time that it’s been marked as a featured operation for console.
“During this simulation, your ship will take on the appearance of a Federation ship from the Discovery era,” Cryptic said, “although you will retain your powers, bridge officers, and trays — it is only a visual change. What can you learn from one of the most disastrous battles in Federation history, and can your tactics turn the tide of the battle?”
This is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a roundup of other smaller MMO news stories and videos from this past week in this edition of The MOP Up (and if you don’t see a news story that we should have, drop us a tip)!
Several industry analysts gave their predictions for how video games will go in 2019. Some of these predictions that relate to our interests include no market breakthroughs in virtual reality, Overwatch will go free-to-play, the rise of cloud gaming, no great growth of Discord and Epic’s digital storefronts, and the Nintendo Switch will lead the console market.
LOTRO made its Update 23 soundtrack fully available to the public [Thanks Katriana!]:
And speaking of soundtracks, Dual Universe’s composer talked about the making of that game’s score:
Osiris: New Dawn has a new mission UI, and you know you want to check it out:
Learn more about Elsward’s brawler Laby in this new character video:


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is launching a global computer system to standardise its HR function and reduce
grocery giant, which operates 907 stores worldwide, is hoping the system will
also lead to better training, talent spotting, reward and retention.
Richardson, Tesco people insight director, believes the system will simplify
business processes and reporting: "We are becoming a global retailer with
stores around the world but we have no global reporting structure in place. All
of our reporting had to be done in one central place to achieve standardisation
and this created a bottleneck," he said.
group employs over 240,000 staff in stores across the UK, Hungary, Poland,
Czech Republic, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia and it aims to
connect all via a browser-based internet system.
move is designed to improve user interaction and should help improve the
quality of HR information delivered to managers and staff across the group.
move from a mainframe to a pure internet architecture should also substantially
lower system costs. Tesco is implementing the PeopleSoft system this year in
the UK and Thailand and in the other operating countries from 2003.


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Onion prices surged in Pune after crops were damaged due to rainfall in various parts of the country following which consumers are forced to buy onions in less quantity. According to a statement by a trader, the price has increased as supply from farms is affected due to rain.
"Price has increased as supply from farms is affected due to rain. The price of onion that was around Rs 70/kg last week increased to Rs 120/kg today," the trader said.
Another buyer said his weekly budget has been affected due to a surge in onions' price.
"Now we are paying almost Rs 120 to buy one kg of onions. We used to buy two to three kgs of onions per week but now we are only buying a half or one kg of onions due to price surge. It has affected our expenses," said Prashant, a buyer.
"We are unable to buy onions in a large quantity like we used to buy earlier. An average consumer cannot buy such expensive vegetables. These prices have surged after lockdown and these expenses have now become a burden for us," said Sonia Sunil Munde, another buyer.
Another trader said that the buyers are forced to buy onions in less quantity after a sudden price surge.
Hence, the increase in prices has affected both traders and buyers.
(With agency inputs)


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Companies that deal, store and manage consumer data are supposed to keep them safe at all costs and if they fail to do so, then as per Government rules they will be fined heavily. And under the modified Data Protection Bill, the penalties can be as high as ₹200 Cr. So, you can conclude that the Data Protection Bill is being imposed on such companies to ensure that they make efforts to protect the collected consumer data at all costs.
Penalties on Companies Collecting Consumer Data
The severity of these penalties can depend upon the extent of non-compliance of this data-collecting and managing companies. Moreover, the companies who fail to notify the users about their data being breached are to be fined around ₹150 Cr. Entities who are not able to safeguard children’s sensitive info can be fined around ₹100 Cr. It is to be noted that in the previous bill before modification, the companies were only fined to either pay ₹15 Cr or 4 per cent of their annual turnover, whichever authority finds higher.
Earlier, in August of this year, the Government withdrew the Data Protection Bill after putting in efforts and going through a lot of hardships for at least four years. “It said the government would soon finalise a “comprehensive legal framework” for the online ecosystem. The withdrawal came despite Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stating in February 2022 that he hoped to get the Parliament’s nod on the Bill in the monsoon session,” mentioned by Indian Express.
In September, The Indian Express interviewed the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who said, “companies would face punitive actions in the nature of financial penalties in the event of misuse of data and data breaches”
The revised version of this bill is supposed to be introduced soon, with an explanation and summary, as Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022. However, a lot of debate is also expected before this bill is released in the Budget session of Parliament next year.


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Carrefour Spain has announced the launch of Reciclaya, an app that will help customers to adopt recycling best practices.
The app can help inform the customer on the lifecycle of a particular product, by scanning the bar code on their receipt. The app will automatically separate the products into virtual waste bins so that customers can place them into the corresponding bin Carrefour says.
After a pilot experiment with 50 customers, Carrefour is now officially launching the app on a national scale.
The app is based on the European research initiative TagItSmart, which provides a way for FMCG products to become 'smart' via the use of QR codes and IoT tracking technologies, in order to create a more transparent view of the whole value chain from manufacturer to transportation, retail, consumer and recycling.
The move comes as part of Carrefour's commitment to reduce its environmental impact and promote sustainable development as per the retailer's Carrefour 2022 plan. As well as targeting 'digital transformation' and 'food transition', the strategy largely focuses on respect for the environment.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine


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Beef from Burrawang, cider from Darkes Forest and honey from Shellharbour have made the menu at a gourmet dinner to put regionally sourced produce in the limelight.
Hospitality apprentices from TAFE Illawarra will raid the local food bowl for a five-course feast at Wollongong campus on Tuesday.
The event, TAFE Illawarra Gourmet Food and Wine Showcase, is part of the NSW Food and Wine Festival.
Chifley Hotel executive chef Peter Washbourne, who with Lorenzo Pagnan will assist students on the night, said the hospitality industry was increasingly focused on food grown locally and sustainably.
"Food is extremely trendy," Mr Washbourne said.
"Little restaurants in Sydney have beehives on the roofs and gardens out the back.
"It's showcasing to guests where the food actually comes from."
The menu will include duck from Thirlmere, milk from Kiama, mushrooms from Mittagong, olives and oil from Kangaroo Valley, honey from Shellharbour and herbs sourced from TAFE's own Yallah campus.
Guests will be offered canapes on arrival (mushrooms in choux pastry, pate on lavash, crescenza cheese and fresh fig), a second course of tea-smoked duck salad with Jamberoo speciality lettuce, caramelised apples and raspberry vinaigrette; and a honey panacotta for dessert.
Gabrielle Frawley, head teacher of commercial cookery at TAFE Illawarra, said students had been involved in devising the menu and selecting matching wines.
Many of the students' employers and their parents are expected to make up much of the crowd of diners.
The dinner costs $80 for five courses, including wines. Bookings: 4229 0663.


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- September 23, 2021
- Posted by: Mainframe Consulting
- Category: Business
City Pub Group boss has warned that due to a surge in costs to run venues the price of drink and food is going to rise.
Clive Watson who is the executive chairman told the PA news agency that pub regulars will be paying more for their favourite tipple.
Inflationary pressures such as soaring construction costs and higher wages to attract staff means buying a drink at a pub will cost more.
Watson said, “We are seeing cost inflation everywhere and it isn’t stopping.
“This is going to feed through into everyone across the sector, although obviously not just pubs, it is a huge issue right now industry as a whole.
“We are seeing inflation of 4% and more for most things so we will have increase the prices in our pubs, just as everyone else will.
Published at Thu, 23 Sep 2021 13:51:04 +0000


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Mercedes has decided not to replace its BMW M3 chasing CLK63 AMG.
In a move that hints at a consolidation of its broad model line-up, the German car maker says it does not plan producing an AMG version of the soon-to-be-launched E-class Coupe owing to problems with the new car’s positioning.
“We had a good look where it would fit into the line-up and eventually came to the conclusion it would be too close to the CLS63 AMG, both in positioning and price,” a Mercedes insider told Autocar at the New York motor show.
By switching from C-class underpinnings to E-class underpinnings, the E-class coupe has essentially jumped a class – a jump too far for Mercedes’s in-housing tuning offshoot, it would seem.
The decision not to push ahead with an AMG version of the new two door also means there will be no follow-up to the pared out CLK AMG Black Series.
However, Mercedes has confirmed a successor to the CLS63 AMG is in the works. Rumours abound it could be the first car to benefit from AMG’s new twin-turbocharged direct direct injection V8 engine planned to be unveiled next year.


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Social media management services are big business at the moment, with Oracle and Salesforce snapping up a number of properties in the last couple of months. And now, in their wake, Hootsuite, one of the larger independent social media management companies, is expanding internationally. A new headquarters opening today in central London will be Hootsuite’s first office outside of its home base of North America — specifically Vancouver, Canada.
The news comes on the heels of HootSuite reportedly looking to raise $50 million at a $500 million valuation in May 2012, with the company more officially picking up $20 million at a $200 million valuation in April. Taken with Oracle’s acquisitions that included Vitrue for $300 million, and Salesforce’s buys that have included Buddy Media for $800 million, all this points to several players homing in on a business opportunity to meet the enterprise’s need to get a grip on social media.
First off in London, HootSuite will be hiring 24 people — sales and support staff — with plans to double that to about 50 by the end of 2013. The company says that it is currently growing at a rate of about 300 percent annually and is hiring at a rate of about six people per month. It currently has over 150 employees.
HootSuite made its name with software that enterprises use to monitor and engage on big social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But more recently it has been expanding the number of other social networks that it covers in its service. In June it added Instagram, content sharing network SlideShare, document-focused app edocr, and engagement app Zuum to its dashboard.
Because it offers a free version of its product as well as paid, premium versions, HootSuite has picked up a sizeable user base so far — some 3.5 million companies use its products, its CEO Ryan Holmes told me back in May. That includes small businesses of 1-2 people, but also McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Sony Music and more.
Part of its current expansion strategy will be to forge more links with agencies as well as brands, Holmes said today in a statement. This is where London, which is with New York a major center for digital advertising, fits in: “London’s agency culture is what attracted us to this market,” he said. “It has been a big advantage to moving here as it opens up access to a wide variety of people who have experience working in these closely networked business structures.” London is headquarters to 85 of the top 100 interactive agencies in the world.
The release put out today by UK Trade & Investment and the Mayor of London’s office name-drops the Olympics, now starting in less than two weeks, as part of the drive here, too: “During Games-time it is my mission to ensure that visiting business leaders recognise all world class credentials so even more companies decide London is the top choice for their investment,” said Mayor Boris Johnson in a statement. However, for HootSuite that would be more about potentially offering on the ground support to existing customers rather than using it as a vehicle to pick up more clients.
The tech-skills-hub startup General Assembly recently opened its London office — its first outside of the U.S. — as well, and it too had some support from government behind it. That wasn’t in the form of financial support but a strong endorsement that could open doors for GA as it grows its business. It may be a similar case with support for HootSuite, too, which officially has been “supported in their move to London” by the UKTI as well as London & Partners, which is funded by the Mayor’s office.


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Yesterday, Joystiq posted an image of a survey that hinted at a downloadable game rental service, a concept that supports the rumors of a UMDless PSP Go. Rumors that gain more traction with a new article on Develop which states that developers have already been told about the game rental concept — apparently the idea was pitched at GDC two months ago.
The survey proposes a service where you download both new and old games for a monthly fee. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Make it happen, Sony.


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Marketing trends you can’t ignore in 2024
We recently attended a industry webinar on the predicted media and advertising trends for 2024, here are the trends you simply can’t ignore!
Global ad spending is forecasted to increase by 8.2%, reaching £788 billion in 2024
Digital ad spending will finally achieve pre-pandemic levels in 2024, increasing by 20.9% in growth by the end of 2024
The highest ad spending sectors predicted for 2024 are as follows:
Retail – £5.69 billion
Consumer packed goods – £3.80 billion
Computing products and consumer electronics – £3.22 billion
Financial services – £3.00 billion
Automotive – £2.26 billion
Travel – £1.90 billion
Other – £6.6 billion
What marketing channels have the strongest growth predicted for 2024?
In Game +15%
The era of real-time personalisation
49% of consumers felt frustration when they received irrelevant content or offers
75% of consumers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations
Ad spent expected to reach £29 billion in 2024 a YoY growth of 9.2%
Digital out of home = 60.5% growth
Video = 13.3% growth
Display = 10% growth
CTV continues to make waves
This year, almost 75% of the UK population will watch digital video content and is expected to further grow in 2024.
The rise of DOOH
Digital will account for 64.7% of out-of-home spending in 2023 and is expected to surpass the £1 billion mark by 2026
In-game advertising revenue is expected to surpass £600 million in 2024, being the 4th largest revenue generator globally
49% of in-game ads drive on average 49% promoted brand recall
6 out of 10 players are likely to make a purchase after seeing an in-game advert
(Source: Stack Adapt)
If you need help ensuring your 2024 marketing plans get results, get in touch with our team today!
5 Marketing Trends for 2019
We can’t believe it’s 2019 already!
What are some trends we expect to see this year?
1. Authenticity is everything
The world is beginning to sort the fake influencers from credible, authentic sources. Influencers aren’t going anywhere, but brands that continue to do well will be the ones who work with influencers to ensure trustworthy outputs.
2. Voice is growing
There are now over 45,000 skills on Alexa, an indication of how voice is continuing to grow. Brands will move from gimmicks to finding ways of adding real value through voice. By 2020, it’s predicted that every major brand will have a voice strategy in their marketing plans.
3. Are chatbots the answer for customer service?
Chatbots are a form of software that acts as a bridge between customer and customer service agents. They are already used extensively on Facebook for tasks ranging from providing weather reports to automating customer support functions. Their effectiveness in 2019 is likely to improve.
4. Gen Z are growing up
Gen Z (people born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s) are getting older, meaning they are entering the workforce and beginning to possess buying power. This generation is seeking authenticity and socially responsible businesses.
5. Rebuilding trust in social media
While social media platforms continue to grow, consumer confidence is shaky. Users are wary of information they find on social media and younger users are not tolerant of marketing which appears un-authentic.
So, are you ready for 2019?
If you’re ready to get your 2019 marketing plan into action, then give our team a call on 02921 320 200 or email at [email protected].
2018 Marketing Trends
As businesses prepare to enter their biggest quarter of the year, we look at how the big trends are faring so far. Where are brands putting their money? And more importantly, where should they be putting it?
Organic Social Media
The general view on organic social media is that it is on its’ way out. However, research by OneChocolate showed that 59% of marketers have increased their investment in this area over the past 12 months. Notably, a big area for investment is hiring talent in the form of skilled strategists and content creators.
Social vs. traditional media
While social media platforms race to prove to users they can protect their data, there has been a resurgence of trust in newspapers and magazines (MediaCom, 2017). Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter all reported declining user numbers in their half-year results.
Brits’ concern over what’s fact and fiction is heightened. Only 4% of Brits can identify fake news stories correctly.
Podcasts: niche to mainstream
While podcasts have been around for over a decade, 2018 has seen the medium switch from niche to mainstream. 61% of UK adults now regularly listen to at least one podcast, with 21% listening once a week. 68% say that they were more likely to listen to a podcast today than three years ago (Spotify, 2017).
This increased interest in podcasts is potentially lucrative for brands. 70% of listeners have heard podcast advertising, and a huge 76% of those took action afterwards, such as looking for more brand info online, visiting a brandʼs website or sharing brand information online (Acast, 2018).
Brands and broadcast
UK streaming subscriptions recently overtook pay-TV broadcasters for the first time. Ofcom’s latest report shows Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV reached 15.4m subscriptions, whereas pay-TV suppliers such as Sky, BT and Virgin Media logged 15.1m. People are watching less TV – down an average of nine minutes over the past year.
Influencers: is the market saturated?
Influencer marketing has been the hot trend for what feels like forever, but marketers have had to fight to stay ahead of rapidly increasing influencer costs and stricter advertising guidelines.
25% of consumers would consider buying a product endorsed by someone with over 1m followers. Meanwhile, 50% would be “likely” or “very likely” to purchase if promoted by an influencer with a smaller following but considered to be a specialist in that area (Zine, 2018).
Video continues to go from strength to strength as a key marketing tool for brands across all sectors and audiences. Viewers retain 95% of a message when they view a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text format (insivia, 2017). The average user spends 88% more time on a website with video than one without.
Voice technologies are making their way from early adopter territory into the mainstream. 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the last 12 months (BrightLocal, 2018), while one in five EU consumers have shopped using voice or text agents (Mastercard, 2018).
Google data shows mobile searches for “should I” and “do I need” have each grown more than 65%, while those starting with “can I” have grown by more than 85%.
Download the full report here.
More than half of adspend goes digital in 2015!
In 2015 it is predicted that the UK will be ranked the first country in the world to spend more than half of budgets on digital media.
Research conducted by market services company WPP has forecast that for the first time every for every £2 advertising spend; the UK will be spending £1 on digital media! The total ad spend figures for 2015 will hit £15.7bn with online spend growing rapidly to hit the £8bn mark!
It is reported that display advertising is the fastest growing market in internet advertising, which is likely to surge by 20% to reach £2.7bn. Display advertising has performed consistently well in ad spend stakes since 2013 with advertiser demand for this format rising steadily. Paid search advertising is likely to grow to £4.2bn with around 29% of that advertising on mobile devices.
The future is looking extremely bright for digital advertising and with observations that the British have a particularly keen enthusiasm for the digital world; there could be fewer rivalling ways to reach audiences in 2015.
Contact The Media Angel for advice on how to incorporate digital advertising into your media mix and harness its huge potential! Give one of our friendly team a call on 02921 320 200 or email [email protected].


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New owner takes over Healing Palms
Published 9:53 am Monday, May 12, 2014
Healing Palms Spa is now in new hands.
Greg Tennis took over as owner of Healing Palms Spa last month after former owner Naomi Thompson retired.
Tennis is excited for the new challenge and to meet new customers.
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Along with various massages offered at Healing Palms, Tennis specializes in myofascial relief, lymphatic drainage treatments and more. He also does a lot of fibromyalgia work.
He noted the store also has retail items, offering health foods, vitamins, salts and scrubs, and natural teas.
“We take the time and patience to listen to the clients,” Tennis said.
The business offers a variety of other services from foot soaks, to ionic cleanses, to couples massages and many more.
Along with massage, Healing Palms also offers retail of specialty teas and other items.
The business is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Thompson opened the business about eight years ago, and Tennis has been with the company for more than a year.


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For many online shoppers, the e-commerce shopping cart has become a kind of bookmarking tool, rather than an actual indication that they're ready to "proceed to checkout."
An astounding $4 trillion worth of merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts this year.
But these abandoned carts don't all represent lost sales. In fact, new estimates from BI Intelligence find that about 63% of volume in these abandoned shopping carts is potentially recoverable by savvy online retailers.
In order to win back those sales there are a number of routes retailers can take, from making costs more transparent, to promising price-matching, to eliminating the requirement that customers register for a given site.
In the report, BI Intelligence explains why shopping cart abandonment is on the rise, what leads a shopper to abandon an online purchase, and how retailers can begin to win back those sales.
We collected and analyzed data from top e-commerce companies, and spoke with industry experts whose job it is to reduce abandonment rates and boost conversions, to come up with a number of solutions that can help retailers recover lost sales.
Access The Full Report By Signing Up>>
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
- Approximately $4 trillion worth of merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts this year, and about 63% of that is potentially recoverable by savvy online retailers, according to BI Intelligence estimates.
- Shopping cart abandonment is increasing, and will continue to do so as more consumers shift to online and mobile shopping. In 2013, as many as 74% of online shopping carts were abandoned by shoppers, according to data shared with us by e-commerce data company, Barilliance.
- Retailers can reduce the rate of abandonment and increase conversions by streamlining the checkout process and also by retargeting shoppers with emails after they've left a website. Initial retargeted emails, sent three hours after a consumer abandons a cart, average a 40% open rate and a 20% click-through rate, which is high for marketing emails.
- An abandoned shopping cart should be seen as part of the increasingly complex series of steps a consumer might take before finally making a purchase, and a strong indicator of consumer interest in a product or a brand. Technology that helps retailers collect and leverage online shopping cart data is likely to be a worthwhile investment.
In full, the report:
- Explains the complex relationship between consumers and retailers, and outlines reasons why shoppers abandon a purchase.
- Includes interviews with executives from top retailers and marketing agencies who talk about what they are doing to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
- Proposes a list of solutions that are proven to reduce shopping cart abandonment for online retailers.
- Forecasts where this trend is going and how shopping cart abandonment will affect retailers — bricks-and-mortars and e-commerce companies alike — in the future.
To access the full report from BI Intelligence, sign up for a 14-day trial here. Members also gain access to new in-depth reports, hundreds of charts and datasets, as well as daily newsletters on the digital industry.


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IPod's talented new sibling takes stage
From now on, just call the firm 'Apple'
Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, January 9, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer Chief Executive Steve Jobs announced on Tuesday the iPod maker's long-awaited leap into the mobile phone business and renamed the company Apple Inc., reflecting its increased focus on consumer electronics.
The iPhone, which will start at $499 when it is launched in June, is controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. Jobs said it will "reinvent" wireless communications and "leapfrog" past the current generation of smart phones.
"Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything," he said during his keynote address at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo. "It's very fortunate if you can work on just one of these in your career. ... Apple's been very fortunate in that it's introduced a few of these."
He said the company's name change is meant to reflect Apple's transformation from a computer manufacturer to a full-fledged consumer electronics company.
During his speech, Jobs also unveiled a TV set-top box that allows people to send video from their computers and announced that the number of songs sold on its iTunes Music Store has topped 2 billion.
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Apple shares jumped more than 8 percent on the announcements, while the stock of rival smart-phone makers plunged. The run on Apple stock created about $6 billion in shareholder wealth.
While Jobs noted the explosive growth of the cell phone market, it is not clear that a device as alluring as the iPhone poses a threat to mainstream handset makers because of the price, said Avi Greengart, mobile device analyst for the research firm Current Analysis.
"My initial reaction is that this product actually lives up to the extensive hype, and I'm not easily impressed," he said. "But the vast majority of phones sold cost way less than $500." Instead, the rivals most likely to face new competition from Apple's handset are makers of higher-end smart phones such as Palm Inc.
"This goes beyond smart phones and should be given its own category called 'brilliant' phones," he said. "Cell phones are on track to become the largest platform for digital music playback, and Apple needed to make this move to help defend their iPod franchise as well as extend it beyond a dedicated music environment."
Apple commands about 75 percent of the market for downloaded music and portable music players. But it's expected to lose market share on both fronts as rivals introduce their own gadgets and music stores.
Jobs said Apple expects to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, the first full year in which they will be available. That's about 1 percent of the global market for mobile phones; 957 million were sold worldwide in 2006.
Even as Jobs held court onstage, the actual name of the phone was far from settled behind the scenes.
Cisco Systems Inc. has owned the trademark on the name "iPhone" since 2000, when it acquired the company that originally registered the name, InfoGear Technology Corp. Three weeks ago, Cisco's Linksys division put the trademark to use, releasing an Internet-enabled phone called "iPhone" that uses the increasingly popular Voice over Internet Protocol.
Industry observers had predicted that Apple would be forced to choose a less-obvious name for its iPod-cell phone combination.
But Cisco said Tuesday that Apple had repeatedly asked for permission over the past several years to use the iPhone trademark, and that the company had presented Apple lawyers with the final terms of an agreement the night before Macworld.
Cisco declined to elaborate on the deal.
The Apple phones, which will operate exclusively on AT&T Inc.'s Cingular Wireless network, will start shipping in June. A 4-gigabyte model will cost $499, and an 8-gigabyte iPhone will be $599. While wireless carriers typically offer discounts and rebates on new devices when they agree to sign a two-year service contact, Cingular said it was unclear whether that would be the case with the iPhone.
Jobs demonstrated the phone's music capabilities by playing the Beatles' "Lovely Rita, Meter Maid," from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
The audience cheered, spurred by speculation that an announcement was imminent about a deal to sell Beatles songs on iTunes. But there was no such announcement, and Beatles songs still cannot be legally downloaded.
Also Tuesday, Jobs said Apple will begin taking orders immediately for the $299 video box called Apple TV. It will ship next month.
The gadget is designed to bridge computers and television sets so users can more easily watch their downloaded movies on a big screen. A prototype of the gadget was displayed by Jobs in September when Apple announced it would sell TV shows and movies through iTunes.
Apple also announced Tuesday it will sell movies from Paramount, increasing its online selection from about 100 to about 250.
Meanwhile, Apple's milestone of selling more than 2 billion songs on iTunes catapults the company into the top ranks of music sellers worldwide -- more than Amazon.com Inc. and behind only Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co. and Target Corp., Jobs said.
Apple shares jumped $7.10 to close at $92.57 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $50.16 to $93.16.


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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone â€˜Aâ€™ Ikeja, has announced that it intercepted various contraband with a duty paid value (DPV) of N2.55 billion between March 1 to March 19, 2018.
The Controller, FOU, Mohammed Uba Garba who disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday, said it achieved the feat after an intensive onslaught on dare devil smugglers deploying its tactical operational modalities.
The seized items, according to him, included 16 Exotic vehicles mostly 2017 model, 7,201 bags of foreign parboiled rice (12 trailers), 1,172 cartons of frozen poultry products, 1,352 jerrycans of vegetable oil, 72 bales of used clothing, 464 pieces of used tyres, 407 sacks of Pangolin scales, and 629 pieces of textile Ankara Material among others.
â€œRemarkably, among the seizures was the interception of eight trucks laden with 3,351 bags of rice and 669 jerrycans of vegetable oil along Iseyin, Oyo/Osun Axis and also the evacuation of 1,253 bags of rice 50kg each from a warehouse in Ogbomosho based on credible intelligence despite resistance. You will recall that the ban on the importation of foreign rice through the land was to encourage efficiency in local production. Therefore, the need to support the federal government policy on rice, encourage local rice farmers, the millers and patronise our own nutritional rice cannot be over emphasised,â€ he said.
He further added that among the detained vehicles are: two Lexus Jeep (RS350 2016,2017 model); One Rolls Royce; One Lincoln Limousine (2014); three Toyota Camry(2009,2013 and 2017 models); One Toyota Rav 4; One Toyota Avalon (2016); one Toyota Tundra, One Dodge . These 16 exotic Vehicles alone have a duty paid value of (N340.70 million) only.
â€œWhile six vehicles were evacuated based on intelligence along Lekki Epe Expressway, the remaining 10 were intercepted while on information patrol at various locations. The vehicles are still under detention pending the grace period allowed for the owners to bring relevant customs document.
â€œAlso, 407 sacks of Pangolin scales weighing 10,263kg was evacuated from an apartment at 64 Opebi Road, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja Lagos within the weeks under review with a duty paid value of N2.094. In the spirit of inter-agency cooperation the pangolin scales and the suspect will be handed over to Nigeria Environment Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for further investigation in collaboration towards protecting our natural habitat and protecting our endangered species Five (5) suspects have been arrested in connection with these 89 seizures.
â€œLet me still use this opportunity to thank the Comptroller General of Customs Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) and the entire management team of the NCS for appreciating us with a commendation letter and providing necessary logistics that brought about this feat. We are very determined to ensure sustenance of this laudable sterling performance by making sure we give economic saboteurs a run for their money,â€ he added.


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Infant nutrition company Biomilq has raised $3.5 million in funding to continue producing cultured breastmilk that offers supplemental nutrition to mother’s milk.
The funding round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and included investments from Purple Orange Venture, Blue Horizon Ventures and founder of Happy Family Brands and HealthyNest, Shazi Visram.
Biomilq is a women-owned, science-led company growing breastmilk directly from isolated human mammary cells, generated inside a state-of-the-art bioreactor.
Co-founded by Leila Strickland and Michelle Eggar, the duo is on a mission to develop an option that does not force a trade-off between babies’ nutrition, mothers’ wellbeing, and the future of the planet.
“The Biomilq team is thrilled to be supported by such inspirational and mission-aligned investors who understand the real needs of parents and the planet,” said Egger. “While there is no replacement for breastmilk, we believe we can harness the power of science, technology and nature to deliver comprehensive and sustainable infant nutrition.”
This funding will help the company to scale and perfect its production process, expand its team, and work with families, paediatricians, the breastfeeding and lactation community, among others, to bring their breastmilk product to the global market.
“We believe parents (adoptive and biological), caregivers and infants deserve more options in early-stage nutrition,” said Strickland. “We’re determined to give them just that and create a better world for future generations.”
Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures said: “There are immense opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock used in the production of foods like dairy, and Biomilq offers a superb dairy alternative for the production of infant nutrition.
“The company has created a first-of-its-kind product that not only offers a better solution for the environment, but will also improve nutrition for infants around the globe,” he concluded.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2020


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Stable schedules again this week as exporter report low supply from farmers in February that could see the season’s production back by 6-8%.
The buyers have responded to this by forward purchasing a large percentage of the crop and this should ensure future stable pricing with only the currency to interfere.
Weaner sales are starting at levels well ahead of last year as the breeders finally achieve sustainable profits from this enterprise with good young stags selling in the south for $4.50/kg lwt and smaller ones for $3.80/kg lwt.
Pre mating well bred hinds were traded for $450/hd with a $50 premium more for strong velvet genetics, and one agent believes IC hinds may reach $600/hd into the winter.
Another week of subdued schedules, but some exporters report that demand and prices are lifting with promising signs for early UK’s Easter sales.
The market is becoming aware that NZ’s production this year could quickly slow in May/June and some increase in interest is expected soon, on the back of this.
Late February processing statistics show the mutton kill is nearly 16% ahead of last year and the lamb kill 1.5% ahead reinforcing the idea that soon stock will run out and some chains have closed in response to this.
The dry autumn has affected many eastern areas of NZ and combined with poor pricing has encouraged early processing, although average per head weight (17.95kg 20-Feb) are still similar to last year despite the challenging climate.
Farm returns for lamb are 14% below and mutton 40% behind (in the south) the five year average, reports one processor which illustrates the problems with the sheep sector.
Prime and store lamb eased at southern saleyards last week, and it now takes a huge lamb to make a $100 at these venues.
Most ewes appear to be in good condition as they go to the ram, as years of vigorous culling has lowered the stocking rate and improved the quality of the breeding flock.
Next month is the deadline for OIO approval for the Shanghai Mayling deal, and if it goes ahead the new company could be operational by May and ready to start on achieving all the advantages the proposers sold to NZ shareholders, in what today is a much weaker market for sheep meats than a year ago.
The double island sale saw prices lift for finer crossbred and ease for coarser wool indicators, but coarser lambs wool is now fallen back to levels of last year, as supply has surpassed demand.
Meat exporters report they are now receiving more shorn lambs and wool returns have dropped for this shorter fibre.
Landcare Research has announced it hopes to release a new rabbit control virus in the autumn of next year after Australian trials showed it could achieve a 25-30% kill to ever growing numbers.
Scientists say it will not be as effective as the earlier strain but will take out much of the population now immune to the original release, and in association with traditional methods of control will help keep rabbit numbers in check.
The cow kill period is about to start, and with this increased supply US importers have brought prices down and with it cow schedules eased back.
Big numbers are again being sold through the saleyards and this week at Temuka values dropped significantly for all weight ranges.
Prime schedules are steady but prime cuts have lifted slightly after a period of increased interest from China and Korea, and saleyard prime steer prices are falling but are still 30c/kg lwt ahead of similar sales a year ago.
Canterbury weaner beef sales start this week as breeders will be keen to unload after the dry conditions have reduced feed supplies in the hill country, although recent rains should be ideal to rebuild feed covers before winter.
North Island weaner beef sales continue their spectacular run with the Te Kuiti sale similar to early prices and sure to please breeders who sold.
New entrants buying beef weaner calves may find they will need good cashflow as in many North Island sales animals sold for $900-$1000/head and some will need nearly two years before they can sell them prime.
Processors do report however they believe beef has sound medium term prospects, and point to Australia predicting 15% less animals for sale next year due to years of drought in the northern states, helpful for NZ producers.
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