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Belvin’s liquor licence quashed
A grocery store has had its liquor licence revoked after residents complained that the sale of alcohol had prompted antisocial behaviour, traffic disruption and increased littering.
The owner of Belvin's Variety was also chastised by the Liquor Licensing Authority for illegally selling miniature bottles of spirits to customers at both its Glebe Road and Happy Valley stores.
George Swan's application to renew The Glebe Road store's licence was refused, while an application to renew the liquor licence for the Happy Valley Road store was allowed, but with a string of conditions attached.
LLA chairman Juan Wolffe emphasised in his ruling that grocery stores were not permitted to sell miniatures.
Referring to The Glebe Road premises, Mr Wolffe added: “This [selling miniatures] is of immense concern to the LLA because when the LLA carried out a site visit on October 2015 it brought to Mr Swan's attention that, as The Glebe Road store is a grocery store, he should not be selling miniatures.
“Mr Swan's reasoning for selling miniatures, which is just as egregious as the act itself, is that he attended other grocery stores and saw that they were selling miniatures and so he decided to continue to do so.
“Not only is this reprehensible conduct by Mr Swan a blatant disregard for the directions of the LLA, but it is a contravention of the Act, which clearly states that a grocery store should not sell miniatures.”
The Glebe Road store was first granted a liquor licence in November 2015 despite objections from local MP Walter Roban, churches and residents who claimed it would have a negative impact on the community as well as traffic flow.
At the beginning of this year one resident, who lived directly across from the store, catalogued a list of adverse affects from granting the store a liquor licence.
Mr Wolffe said: “He complained of trash in his yard, beer bottles in his trash can, people parking in front of his driveway, increased traffic flow, fights and acts of violence outside the doorway including the brandishing of knife and machete, drunk people sitting on walls outside his home, noise and profane language.
“He claimed The Glebe Road Belvins was essentially a liquor store masquerading as a grocery store.”
At a hearing before the LLA last month, Mr Swan said he had banned numerous people from the store and placed three cameras outside.
Mr Wolffe concluded the initial fears about the granting of the licence had been brought to realisation.
He added: “We are satisfied that the objections raised show that as a direct result of intoxicating liquor being sold from the Glebe Road store that there has been undue noise, disruption to traffic flow, the accumulation of trash and disturbances attributable to alcohol use.
“We seriously question whether the Glebe Road store is operating primarily as a grocery store.
“The fact that Mr Swan would state that it would not be financially viable for him to not sell single bottles of intoxicating alcohol is indicative of the conclusion that the selling of intoxicating liquor is crucial to the viability of the store. This should not be the case for grocery stores.”
Meanwhile, despite objections from some local residents the LLA decided to renew the Happy Valley Road store's licence on condition no intoxicating liquor was sold before midday and no single beers or miniatures were sold.
Some residents had complained of antisocial behaviour around the shop and large numbers congregating nearby “displaying intimidating behaviour, urinating in public and using profane language”.
A statement from one concerned neighbour revealed a man had a knife pulled on him and that “this type of violent activity has made residents afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation.”
Mr Swan maintained that he had tried to address the problems and had spent $20,000 on interior cameras.
“We have a great deal of sympathy for the plight of the [local residents] and we are satisfied in large part their objections are sustainable,” Mr Wolffe said.
“We are also satisfied that the unruly conduct of those who congregate near the store is attributable to the misuse of alcohol which is purchased by them from the Happy Valley store.
“However, we are reluctant to place all the blame at the feet of Mr Swan or the store employees. From what we understand, the property on which these persons congregate is Government property and despite pleas from Mr Swan and the residents, Government officials have for some reason been unable or reluctant to deal with the problem.
“Therefore this may be a problem which is beyond the control of Mr Swan.
“However, we are of the view that Mr Swan can and should go further in attempting to address the problem.
“He must actively place restrictions as to the sale of intoxicating alcohol at the Happy Valley store, even if it may negatively affect his financial bottom line.”


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US: Topkey, a financial operating system for short-term rental property managers, has announced that it has raised $5.2 million in seed round funding.
The seed round was led by venture capital firm Felicis, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator and other investors including Liquid 2 Ventures, Assurant Ventures and Derive Ventures.
It takes the startup’s total funding to date to just short of $7 million, having been founded less than three years ago.
After initially starting out as a marketplace to connect owners and property managers, Topkey pivoted its model in mid-2021 to become a financial operation system. The platform is currently in a beta phase, offering everything from billings and payments to expense management with an aim to simplify the process for property managers when it comes to paying for goods and services and making the overall workflow less fragmented in terms of payments, banking, business intelligence and invoicing.
Topkey co-founder and CEO, Jonathan Sukhia, told Axios: “It’s a very messy process and errors are rife. Property managers run at 10 to 15 per cent margin. They’re small businesses, often fast growing so there’s a lot of opportunity, but it’s not a business where they can afford to flush away thousands a month.”
Topkey promises to:
- Automatically categorise expenses by property to save “thousands of dollars” on bookkeeping
- Issue cards, set custom limits, tag receipts effortlessly, and earn 1.5 per cent cashback
- Stop manual data entry and seamlessly import transactions details to an accounting software
Moving forward, Topkey is seeking to integrate with more property management systems in the vacation rental space, as well as to potentially expand further into other hospitality verticals.

domain: news


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Sheffield-based online travel agent alpharooms.com is celebrating the 2012 leap year by fundraising for local charity St Luke’s Hospice with a themed quiz this month. The holiday booking company, which has previously raised thousands of pounds for severalUK charities, will be donating an impressive £500 for every 5,000 entries received for the leap year themed quiz.
The action packed quiz will be promoted to over 34,000 Facebook fans from the 22nd – 28th February, and will test the nation’s leap year knowledge. The competition will not only raise national awareness for St Luke’s Hospice, but the best and brightest entrants will be in with a chance of winning a sun filled holiday for two to the glorious island of Ibiza.
The fundraising total and lucky holiday winner will be announced on the 29th February 2012.
Daniel Morley, Marketing Director for alpharooms.com spoke of the company’s delight at raising money for St Luke’s Hospice: “As a Sheffield-based company, we are proud to support local charities such as St Luke’s Hospice. We’ve donated over £3000 to St Luke’s Hospice in the past year, as well as over £1700 to charities such as Macmillan and Children in Need, and we are keen to continue this support by donating £500 per 5,000 entries to our exciting quiz. This is a great opportunity to get both local and online communities involved in fundraising for this very worthwhile charity”.
Fran Morley, Community Fundraising Manager said “We are extremely grateful to alpharooms for all of their fundraising activities over the last year. This year alone we need to raise more than 4 million to carry on doing what we do. We hope the quiz is a real success and receives lots of entries. Thank you once again alpharooms for your commitment to raising money for us!”
Sheffieldbased online travel business alpharooms.com, founded by Executive Chairman Jason Fry in 1998, provide accommodation for over one million passengers each year. They are ATOL and ABTA bonded, and have a £100m annual turnover.
About St Luke’s Hospice
St Luke’s Hospice care for people aged 18 and above throughoutSheffieldwho have incurable illnesses. Their aim is always to control their symptoms, alleviate pain, and give them the best possible quality of life – all free of charge.
For any further details or interviews, please contact Sarah M on 0871 911 0030


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If you are excited about the upcoming Passport smartphone from BlackBerry that features a real keyboard, then you may also be excited to know that it will also support 4K video recording.
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
The new BlackBerry 10 OS represents a new start for RIM - and for its users, as they're told by CEO Thorsten Heins that their current-generation BlackBerry 7 handsets cannot be upgraded to BB10.
RIM's latest series of handsets could be confirmed tomorrow at an exclusive event scheduled by the company, with handsets running BlackBerry OS7 tipped to make an appearance.


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If you want to know what's happening in the U.S. drugs market, look at Medco Health Solutions. The largest pharmacy benefits manager in the country offers a window into sales growth, product breakdown, and market share. And this quarter, the news was good for Medco itself, but not so hot for branded pharma.
The PBM's Q3 earnings grew by 13 percent to $335.6 million. So far, so good. Revenues grew by 18 percent to $14.8 billion; even better. What's more, the number of prescriptions rose by 14 percent to 220.2 million. What's not to like?
Well, a big chunk of Medco's revenue growth came from new clients added to the sales numbers. "With the economy continuing to struggle, more and more prospective customers are looking to a Medco for its strategies to drive down health-care costs," Arthur Henderson, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., told Bloomberg. And when more PBM customers "drive down healthcare costs," they're also driving down pharma revenues by paying lower prices.
Not to mention the fact that 68 percent of Medco's Q3 scrips were for generic drugs. We don't have to tell you that new generic scrips often equal lost branded scrips. So while Medco makes more money on generics, feeding that 13 percent growth in profits, branded drugmakers certainly don't.
- check out Medco's earnings report
- read the story from Bloomberg


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Think about it: When was the last time New Yorkers saw the price of a common city service go down?
This is just what is happening to cab fares. And it’s all thanks to Uber, the innovative app that allows customers to hail a cab from their smart phones.
This week, Uber announced it was dropping fares by 20 percent for UberX cars, its bargain service. Uber says this makes an UberX ride “cheaper than a New York City taxi.”
The company also released a graphic showing what this means for three different routes in New York: For example, an UberX ride from Williamsburg to the East Village will now be $15, against what Uber says is $16 for a traditional taxi.
Skeptics will note the sale is temporary. But Uber says the more people use Uber, the more likely these prices will remain in effect. The sale seems to be an effort to introduce more passengers to the service.
But the deal Uber reached this week with state authorities for a cap on its “surge pricing” model — in which prices go up during times of high demand — suggests the fare cuts may also be a response to customers who’ve felt gouged.
Our view is that we’d do better to let Uber set its own prices, and let riders decide if they’ll pay them. Because in a real market, businesses can’t just charge what they please. They’re limited both by what customers are willing to pay, as well as by what competitors might charge to undercut them.
There’s a lesson here for Citi Bike. The best way to ensure New Yorkers benefit from a new alternative to other forms of transportation is to let Citi Bike set its own prices — and sink or swim with the results.


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On the market there are now two sets of virtual reality: the first is based on the use of computer and the other to operate the smartphone needs. ASUS is working on a model ZenFlip – own goggles, which may occur in the near future.
ASUS recently announced ZenFone smartphone AR, which has the capability associated with enhanced and virtual reality. According to the new, leaked documents, the company is preparing a fully autonomous and independent set of VR marked as AiO (of course, stands for All-in-One, or all in one). AiO is a term that is commonly used to describe the desktop and solutions are in one, compact and robust design. Computer AiO hold together all the components needed to operate – AiO can be called kits, such as the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. Simply plug in and go.raises immediately the question of whether "AiO" is a term that will be associated in any way with the new goggles Asus , or rather the thing prepared strictly in marketing. It seems to me that it's more about the latter. VR goggles from Asus are planned for the second quarter of this year, but have not met any, additional date, which would reveal when exactly we can expect them. Specifications also remains a mystery, but through leaks we know it probably within the next few weeks. Taiwanese brand is another manufacturer who wants to snatch a piece of the new pie, which is becoming increasingly popular – this refers to the world of virtual reality. Is it they succeed? This is not yet known.


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Samsung might have a big change planned for the company’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10.
The Korean tech giant is planning to ditch physical buttons in the Galaxy Note 10, according to a report from ETNews that was earlier cited by SamMobile. That would mean that everything from the handset’s power and volume buttons to the Bixby button will require a touch gesture to activate. The buttons that had been on the side of the Galaxy Notes of old would be gone, creating a more streamlined profile.
Read full post here:


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Montgomery, Alabama – The next mayor of Montgomery will grapple with a disturbing trend sales tax revenues in the Capital City are down 11.3 percent for January.
This as neighboring Prattville reports a 70 percent increase in sales tax revenue collections.
Montgomery's sales tax revenue is down about $4 million from this time last year. Interim Mayor Charles Jingright has placed the city under a two percent budget cut for all departments that could free up about $3 million.
Meanwhile, Prattville's mayor says that city's sales tax figures may be off because tornado damage impacted Prattville's ability to process data last year which caused collections to appear extremely low for 2008.


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Over the past year, Google has implemented a new event-aware search map interface that gives you a simple overview of the many ways you can spend your free time locally. Google announced today that it adds some features to search that make it even easier to find events, and include more information such as time, location, and ticketing, as well as a whole new detection mechanism to find events you might like. 19659002] Events have been a concern in several Google products for some time, including Google Search and Google Maps. In fact, many small improvements to how Google deals with events have slowly found their way into products. But these new improvements in Search will probably be much more obvious in an average person's life.
Based on the information in the advertisement, searches that trigger the new event interface show information such as time, location, and ticketing providers in a convenient and easy-to-analyze format. Links to other tickets for events, save them on your personal list or share them with your friends are also included. A completely new event detection recommendation system is also included in the new For You tab, which contains a personalized list of things that Google would like to check out, probably based on information or settings associated with your account.  Search UI for events (left), "More events" screen (right).
As far as I can tell, last year there were at least three slightly different versions of this interface. Initially, recording the "More events" arrow merely resulted in a list with a single tab with a timeline overview, as shown in the GIF in our original report. In the meantime, Google rolled out a two-tab interface, but tapping a card still took you to the page of the event and not to another page in the search with additional information. (Note: this second interface currently has all my devices.) Due to the announcement, a third interface with the new event detection tab and a second screen will soon end up in the event selection process.
The new feature has not landed on my devices yet – Google says in the announcement that it should arrive in the next few days – so I can not tell you what it looks like or how it behaves personally. A help article on the Google website has recently been updated with the simple instructions for using the new features if you want a preventive overview.
The website developers should also take note that Google has provided instructions on their events may be inserted via the search in this new format, using a set of technical guidelines for structured data, to ensure that information for inclusion the event are analyzed correctly.


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Apple fans have started seriously speculating that the new iPhone will cost a lot – possibly at $1500 at the most expensive.
Right now, the starter iPhone 7 costs $649, so these claims are well within reason.
These speculations come from a variety of places, most notably writer John Gruber, who correctly predicted that the original gold version of the Apple Watch would cost around $10,000. According to Gruber, Apple will release a more expensive model of the iPhone to drive demand down. This in turn will make it easier for the company to experiment with new features without risking widespread failure.
Here are some features we’ll likely see in the new iPhone:
- Battery saving LCD Screen
- Full phone face screen
- Virtual home button built into the screen
- Faster performance chips
- Updated 3D sensitive camera
- Wireless charging
If Apple releases an expensive premium iPhone 8, it will likely put out to other lesser versions (with fewer upgrades) as well. All models, however, are likely to have LCD screens, since this is the next step in smartphone upgrades.
So is it worth the wait?
According to Trusted Review, holding out to upgrade when the new iPhone is announced in September is only worth it if your phone is rather old.
If you’re using the iPhone 6S (or something older) then you’ll definitely want to wait for the iPhone 8. Apple’s next handset will usher in a major redesign, and so if you’re coming to the end of a two-year contract, it’s absolutely worth waiting until September to see what’s in store.
If you have the iPhone 7, you probably won’t need to upgrade. Unless you’re a die-hard Apple fan who needs to be at the bleeding edge of Cupertino tech, it probably isn’t going to be worth the leap. Even considering the fact that the iPhone 8 will certainly offer big changes, the iPhone 7 is still a capable handset by modern standards. We’d recommended hanging around for whatever 2018 brings.
Text image via Business Week.


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March 22, 2013
The Silk Road online marketplace, which lists more than 10,000 items, 7,000 of which are drugs
Mark Johnson* rifles through his mail as he gets home from work. Among the usual bills is a small padded envelope. Though it doesn't have his name on, it's the package he's most interested in: inside lie two grams of, he hopes, relatively pure MDMA.
Johnson has no idea who has sent him the envelope: he has never met his dealer, and never will. The delivery was facilitated through a website called Silk Road, an underground eBay-like site which has become the core marketplace for buying and selling drugs online – and despite law enforcement authorities across the world being fully aware of its operation they have, so far, been powerless to stop it.
The site has been shrouded in secrecy even since it was founded in February 2011, but research due to be formally published later this year tracked its growth during six months of last year. Over those months, sales on the site doubled, hitting $1.7m a month.
Johnson, a TV executive, is one of those contributing to those monthly takings. Describing himself as "not excited or impressed by drugs per se", but "interested" in them, he explains how he came to the Silk Road.
"I heard about it at a party, from the type of guy you only ever meet at parties," he said. "I missed the last train. I might as well go hard. His brown envelope proved to be a veritable party bag, reminiscent of Hunter S Thompson. Where had he found all this? The Silk Road."
Link to video: Bitcoin: the fastest growing currency in the world
Johnson said his view was that Silk Road was a site for connoisseurs: an easy way to track down better quality – not cheap – drugs. The site "isn't easy to use", but doesn't require particular expertise: "If you can set up a direct debit and follow a recipe for risotto then you'll work it out."
Once you're in, it works much like eBay: sellers' reputations are verified through feedback, building trust. Money is typically held in an escrow (a trusted middleman) until delivery, with missing packages qualifying for partial refunds.
In all, he concludes, the quality is more consistent, the sale is safer, and the experience better than trying to find a street dealer. Johnson even claims the site helps combat addiction.
"There are some highly addictive and dangerous substances available on Silk Road, so instant access wouldn't be advisable," he concludes. "You must undertake the purchase soberly, with plenty of occasions to confirm your intentions."
Silk Road today lists more than 10,000 items, 7,000 of which are drugs, with erotica, books and fake IDs among the rest. Notably missing are weapons of any sort (a sister site selling weapons shut due to lack of demand last year) and child pornography, both of which are banned.
Dr Nicolas Christin, who researched the site, believes Silk Road is far bigger today than it was in July 2012 when his fieldwork ended. "It's not a matter of the police locking a few guys up to end this," he said. "It is very distributed: we are looking at more than 600 sellers each month."
How has a marketplace with millions of pounds of revenue survived the long arm of the law? The answer, according to its users, lies in the way it is structured.
Silk Road is no secret to law enforcement, who know where to find it online – indeed, shortly after the site's existence was first reported in 2011 , the senior US senator Chuck Schumer vowed to shut it down .
"It's a certifiable one-stop shop for illegal drugs that represents the most brazen attempt to peddle drugs online that we have ever seen," he said.
The site continued uninterrupted, thanks to two technological innovations that make it all but impregnable.
The first is that Silk Road runs as a "hidden service" on a popular internet anonymising tool known as Tor . This makes identifying the physical location of the computers operating the marketplace – or anyone visiting it – all but impossible.
The legitimate uses of Tor make disrupting the service morally difficult: it is a staple of activists avoiding internet censorship or government crackdowns the world over , including in China, Iran and Syria. Indeed, a large proportion of Tor's funding comes – albeit indirectly – from the US state department's internet freedom budget.
In his paper, Christin raised the possibility that authorities might instead try to disrupt Silk Road's other protection: its use of the anonymous, stateless, encrypted online currency known as Bitcoin . But that's a task that's only getting harder.
Bitcoins are a currency controlled by no government, no company, and no group, but rather by maths: a series of complex cryptographic calculations rule how many Bitcoins are in existence and how many are traded.
Silk Road is probably the biggest use of the currency, followed by an unregulated online gambling site known as Satoshidice .
But more mainstream services are adopting the currency: the blogging platform Wordpress accepts Bitcoins, as does the social news site Reddit. WikiLeaks opened up to Bitcoin when the mainstream banking system blockaded the site.
At the currency's birth, Bitcoins were almost worthless – five cents each. Today, a single Bitcoin trades at $70 (£46) – and the total value of all the world's Bitcoins has topped $800m (£500m). On the face of it, this makes Bitcoin the fastest-growing currency in the world.
Mihai Alisie, editor of Bitcoin Magazine, and Amir Taaki, a Bitcoin developer and activist, in a squat in London. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Despite the present value of what they have created, several of the key players in the currency's community can be found occupying a "political squat" in central London, mere minutes away from the financiers they intend to disrupt.
Walking through a corridor of conference rooms rearranged into makeshift lounges, Amir Taaki – a Bitcoin developer and activist, and convenor of Bitcoin conferences – rejects concerns that Bitcoins' biggest use is unethical.
"People want drugs. The drugs war is probably a failed war," he says. "I want to get rid of cartels. The way to do that is for people to buy their drugs straight from the producer. That's what's cool about things like Silk Road – you can bypass gangs."
Taaki claims freedom to purchase is freedom of speech – and illustrates his argument by raising a service which allows Bitcoins to exist purely as a passphrase in a user's head , 'spent' by typing (or saying) the key phrase.
"Can you imagine if we had restrictions of speech, or the surveillance state, 400 years ago? We wouldn't have had the Reformation, or the Enlightenment, or the scientific revolution. Those would have been stopped – and we're having other kinds of revolutions now."
For many of those involved, Bitcoins are far more than a handy way to buy drugs. Instead, they are a challenge to the orthodoxies of mainstream finance: "extortionate" fees to transfer money, real-time customer tracking of every credit card foundation, even government oversight of banks.
Bitcoins' value might be a bubble caused by people trying to cash in on soaring value, or a result of panicked savers in Cyprus and Spain looking for somewhere to move their money, or the result of people looking to buy drugs. To Mihai Alisie, editor of Bitcoin magazine, it hardly matters.
"At this point there's no penalty for politicians saying 'yeah, let's ban Bitcoin, you can buy drugs online, so let's ban it'. But if politicians would ban Bitcoin for that, it is like burning an entire village to roast a pig. It's like shutting down the internet because someone's posting pornography," he says.
"Bitcoin is definitely more than a get-rich scheme. I think it's the next big technology that will revolutionise our society. It's as big as the internet – or maybe bigger."
Interviews concluded, Taaki and Alisie climb to the roof of the office block that is their current home. Taaki walks to the edge, looks over to the clustered skyscrapers that make up the City of London, and raises his middle finger.
Miles across London, Mark Johnson slips his MDMA into his back pocket, getting ready to sample his latest delivery over the weekend.
*Names have been changed.


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Next Microsoft Web browser ready for testing
Test version is open for critique
- By Chris Paoli
- Oct 29, 2010
Microsoft wants developers to take a preview version of its next Internet browser for a spin and report back to them with additional features needed for the final release. The company released the version, IE 9 Platform Preview 6, on Oct. 28.
"Platform Preview 6 is an important milestone on the way to the Release Candidate. The IE9 platform is nearly complete. We appreciate your help delivering a richer and faster Web that takes advantage of the new web standards the IE9 Release Candidate will support. We continue to welcome your feedback via Connect," said Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president of Internet Explorer, in an MSDN blog entry.
According to Microsoft, this is the final phase before a release candidate of the browser is available for testing. Unlike the beta version, which was released on Sept. 15, the IE9 Platform Preview 6 is not a full-functioning Web browser and is designed for compatibility testing.
The latest build took into account feedback from developers and has added support for CSS3's 2D transforms.
During the opening keynote of the two-day Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft execs cited that IE 9's beta had been downloaded over 10 million times. There is still no word when the final release will be available.
To download the latest IE 9 Platform Preview, click here.
Chris Paoli is the associate Web editor for 1105 Enterprise Computing Group's Web sites, including Redmondmag.com, RCPmag.com, ADTmag.com and VirtualizationReview.com.


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Is Airbnb a Steal Now?
Photo from Pexels
Originally Posted On: https://summamoney.com/investing/the-ivy/is-airbnb-a-steal/
Many companies struggled through the pandemic, especially those in the travel industry. In 2020, travel restrictions were strict, and while many limitations remained intact throughout 2021, Airbnb proved they could weather the storm. Airbnb has a unique advantage compared to large hotel groups and the increases in vacation rentals available on its online marketplace prove the point.
Airbnb can meet demand whenever, wherever — such as quaint little towns — which is why nights booked in non-urban locations increased 45% year over year in the fourth quarter.
The pandemic drove specific trends that fueled greater growth heading into the fourth quarter, including longer stays and increased domestic travel. Nearly half of the nights booked in the fourth quarter were for a week or longer, and 20% were for a month or longer. Overall, the average trip length increased by 15%. These variables resulted in another record quarter, with 2021 being the company’s best year in history, despite the global pandemic.
So, what about revenue? Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) recently posted its third-quarter earnings, which has many investors wondering, is now the time to buy ABNB shares? After all, total revenue increased 78% year over year and 38% over the 2019 fourth quarter, resulting in a record $55 million.
The Future Looks Bright for Airbnb
In 2021, Airbnb remained committed to innovation, designing over 150 upgrades to its platform — many of which are exclusive to Airbnb. The company’s Hosts community is larger than ever, yielding six million active listings at the end of 2022. Also, many guests are no longer just traveling on Airbnb; they’re living on Airbnb. By the end of Q4, over 90% of active listings accepted stays of 28 days or longer.
So, investors are thinking, if Airbnb is performing this well during a global pandemic with travel restrictions in place, what’s next? When travel is completely open, how will that influence the company’s already impressive figures?
Airbnb is exceptional at providing customers with top class experiences. The company has demonstrated that it can pivot quickly. Its business model – making accommodation available without owning it – allows it the flexibility to thrive in downturns and scale up to meet demand during economic upswings.
For 2022, Airbnb management has listed three areas of focus:
- Enable people to live anywhere using Airbnb
- Attract and unlock the next generation of enthusiastic hosts
- Position Airbnb as the ultimate host
What About the Risks?
Some investors are still wary of Airbnb, especially growth investors. Yes, the company is thriving, and there’s plenty to be excited about. However, ABNB share price sits somewhat unchanged near the same price level at which it came public on December 20, 2020.
Airbnb’s market capitalization sits under $100 billion at the time of writing. It is currently valued at roughly 18 times this year’s expected sales. There are hefty expectations with a valuation like that, and the risk of volatility increases.
Although Airbnb is certainly a strong brand, there are some concerns surrounding regulatory movement in the European Union and how that will affect vacation rental companies. There is also plenty of room for disruptive new competitors in the years ahead, possibly limiting the company’s growth trajectory.
All that said, based on Airbnb’s performance and earnings, the company has plenty of room to grow into its valuation.
It’s Been a Bumpy Road – What’s Next?
Since Airbnb’s IPO at the end of 2020, ABNB stock has been on a volatile journey. Skeptics argue that the price rose too quickly. But if you look to the fundamentals, they have been impressive. The company has continued to adapt and innovate within a category of travel it essentially created.
The company’s own commentary highlights how disruptive the times we live in are, and further confirms how impressive it is for a travel company to thrive during lockdowns: “We are amidst the biggest change to travel since the advent of commercial flying.”
There are plenty of reasons to consider buying Airbnb stock. The company is now active in over 190 countries and showcases an impressive growth rate, supporting its position as a company that’s changing the way people find rent accommodations around the globe.
To summarize, Airbnb has shown significant financial growth and profitability, continues to innovate, and meets the needs of travelers through growth and flexibility. There is no doubt that Airbnb is a fantastic business and an exciting one at that. However, it’s important to remain mindful of ABNB’s valuation. This stock isn’t cheap, and there are potentially regulatory risks on the horizon, so depending on your risk tolerance, it may be best to watch this stock for now.
If you’re ready to take the plunge, it may be best to use dollar-cost averaging to help reduce the risks involved, especially since investors can expect more volatility ahead.


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The race for the metaverse is getting intense. Facebook started it all when it brought the metaverse into the forefront for the first time, and now, companies such as Nike, Bumble, Disney, and others are throwing their hats in the ring. This time, the list includes legacy retail giant Walmart.
That’s right, Walmart is gearing up to enter the race and claim its own corner of the metaverse.
According to several trademark applications filed by the company (via CNBC), Walmart is looking to sell virtual goods, including electronics, toys, appliances, sporting equipment, apparel, home decor, and more. If that is not all, it is also looking to establish its own NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Metaverse has been the keyword that has been going around ever since Facebook unveiled its intentions to create it (it even rebranded itself). It is Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the future of the internet, combining AR and VR technology to create a single, universal, 3-D virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual and augmented reality headsets. Unsurprisingly, the reveal of the metaverse turned many heads last year, and now more and more companies are entering the race.
You may remember that Nike was gearing up for the metaverse as it filed several new trademarks last year to make and sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel. It also created Nikeland, an online world created with the backdrop of its very own world headquarters and inside Roblox’s 3D space. Walmart is not the last company to enter the race, and it is unlikely that it will be the last.
There are skeptics of the metaverse, of course, but it could be an $8 trillion opportunity (according to analysts at Morgan Stanley). The boom in e-commerce brings hope that Walmart would be successful in carving its niche in the metaverse. The retail giant clocked $11.1 billion in sales in its third-quarter in 2021.
It seems that Walmart had filed for several trademarks on December 30 for its plans to start selling virtual products, offer customers its very own cryptocurrency, and buy and sell non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, the company filed seven separate applications on that day.
Another application detailed possible “physical fitness training services” and “classes in the field of health and nutrition” that could probably take place in AR and VR environments. The company said that it was continuously exploring how emerging technologies may shape future shopping experiences.


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Sales of new, single-family homes saw a monthly rise in April, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today. New-home sales increased an estimated 7.3 percent last month from March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 323,000. That's 29.2 percent above the rate in February, when such sales hit an all-time low. Nevertheless, sales fell an estimated 23.1 percent last month compared to April 2010. The South saw the bulk of sales (52 percent), followed by the West (26 percent), the Midwest (13.3 percent), and the Northeast (8.7 percent). The median sales price of new homes rose 4.6 percent year-over-year in April, to $217,900. Unsold inventory of new homes stood at seasonally adjusted estimate of 175,000 at the end of last month -- a 6.5-month supply at the current sales pace. Contact Inman News: Email Letter to the Editor ...
by Bernice Ross | Aug 7
by Bernice Ross | Aug 14
by Gill South | Today 9:30 A.M.


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ELMO Rent starts cooperating with Telia in bringing 5G technology to a remote-controlled car
The remote-controlled ELMO car connected to the Telia 5G router can be seen at the Digital Hub conference on November 10 in the Creative Hub premises. The event will attract leading figures of companies creating the future of the IT field, and Telia Company CEO Allison Kirkby will also attend the event.
ELMO Rent has been cooperating with Telia since 2013, when a solution was developed to open the vehicle doors with the help of an SMS sent by the customer. Keeping up with the times has brought ELMO's data communication to 4G by now, with the help of which ELMO's remote-controlled car is also moving successfully today. The next logical step for the company is to test 5G technology with Telia and integrate it with an innovative remote control system.
According to Telia 5G program manager Margus Krupp, the cooperation with ELMO Rent is one of the first real examples of what exciting opportunities 5G can offer. "We are very pleased to be able to use 5G to promote innovation in Estonia and do it together with a local partner. Hopefully, as a result of this cooperation, we will soon see remote-controlled vehicles in our traffic picture," added Krupp.
The main issue for ELMO Rent at the conference is minimizing the latency between the car and the remote control using the Telia 5G network. So far, the data transfer delay when using the 4G network has been low enough to ensure safe remote control of the car. Using the 5G network the communication connection delay should be even shorter, which will improve the driver's response time.
The idea of remote control as a service is to deliver a car to a customer remotely to his/her door. The customer can then use the car as a regular rental car and end the rental session anywhere. The operator then remotely takes the car to the next customer. Ultimately, it allows you to serve a larger customer base with a smaller fleet, and to minimize the time it takes to deliver a vehicle to the customer's door.
The service of bringing the vehicle to the customer is in fact a solution that already works in the company today, when usually the operator takes the vehicle (driving the car himself) to the customer. According to ELMO Rent founder Enn Laansoo, Jr., coming out with the car's remote control service is a logical and convenient step for both the customer and ELMO. "As the concept of bringing the car to the door has been very well received, switching from the operator sitting in a car to a remote control system will be a commercially smooth step. The ELMO team is excited about the positive impact of 5G on the car remote control.
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
Founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board
ELMO Rent AS


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September is a vintage month for members of the Simicich family of Mattituck, L.I. They harvested their pinot noir last week and have just sent their winery label to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for approval. Soon, they will bottle their very first wines, '88 chardonnay and '88 riesling.
In early December, when both varietals are released to Long Island restaurants and liquor stores, Mattituck Hills Winery, the island's 13th winery, will be in business in earnest. And that month, the family will start converting a barn in Mattituck, in Suffolk County on the North Shore, into a new winery, which it hopes to open in late spring.
The winery, painted mauve, will be easy to spot, said John Simicich, the wine maker. Other New York wineries have easily spotted the quality of Simicich fruit in the years since the family, doing business as Mattituck Vineyards, first planted premium-wine grapes in 1982.
''We didn't have a problem marketing grapes,'' said Mr. Simicich (pronounced SYM-ih-sitch). ''People came to us.''
The customers, he said, have included Glenora Wine Cellars and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, in the Finger Lakes region upstate; West Park Wine Cellars, in the Hudson River region, and Bridgehampton Winery and Le Reve, on Long Island.Continue reading the main story
Observing the heavy demand for their cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay and riesling grapes, Mr. Simicich and his wife, Catherine, decided to make their own wine and sell it under their own label. Mattituck Hills was established in 1987. That year, in a barn behind their house, they made cabernet and merlot wine, which is still maturing in oak barrels. In 1988, in addition to the riesling and regular chardonnay (made in stainless-steel tanks to preserve the fruitiness), they made a more complex barrel-fermented reserve chardonnay and a cabernet.
If nature cooperates, they will reserve 20 percent of their '89 grape harvest for their use and will sell the rest. ''The money we make from grape sales will subsidize the new winery,'' Mr. Simicich said. By the time it is completed, he said, the investment in the business is expected to reach $1.5 million.
This year he projects a boutique-size output: 800 cases of cabernet, 600 of merlot, 125 of a blush wine made from pinot noir as well as 500 of barrel-fermented and 400 of tank-fermented chardonnay.
Forty acres are under vines, five of them in merlot planted last year. Mr. Simicich is negotiating a 20-year lease on 20 more acres in order to cultivate more cabernet and merlot and to add a small quantity of cabernet franc.
A superintendent for an industrial insulation company, Mr. Simicich turns to wine ''on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and nights,'' he said. Mrs. Simicich, who is the president of the Long Island Grape Growers Association, will handle the winery's marketing and promotion. Their son, Richard, manages the vineyard full time. Their daughters Joanne and Stephanie put in long hours of vineyard time, and another daughter, Christine Zaweski, will be the winery's saleswoman.Continue reading the main story


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Looks like this couple is going strong!
Only a great boyfriend would escort his girlfriend to a fashion blog launch party!
Joe Jonas and Blanda Eggenschwiler were seen leaving the Carmen Steffens store for the Cara Santana Fashion Blog Launch party sponsored by CIROC in Hollywood!
The adorably cute couple kept their bodies close, but their hands closer as they left the party on Tuesday night!
Blanda tweeted her support for her friend, she said:


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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WFFT) -- Black Friday is approaching as COVID-19 cases soar.
While some customers plan to get in line Friday morning and stock up on Christmas gifts, others plan to get the best deals on their computers at home.
Walmart customer Christopher Weiss says he'll be at the store at 7am when he we gets off work, bringing his wife and kids alongside him.
"It's always been a family tradition to us and we always have a blast doing it," said Weiss.
The COVID-19 virus is expected to impact Black Friday, being one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Stores like Best Buy and Walmart began their online deals a week early to halt crowds, hopefully halting the spread of the coronavirus.
Best Buy shopper Cristian Badillo says it's important for stores to increase their online sales to provide holiday deals for customers during the pandemic.
“It’s going to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Badillo. "I lost a family member to the virus.”
Badillo's two uncles also contracted the virus.
He says shopping online is nothing new to him, and opted for Best Buy's curbside option to pick up a TV on Wednesday.
“If it was up to me, I’d just close the stores,” said Badillo. “But I know that’s not possible because of the economy.”
Weiss’ mother-in-law, Michelle Anderson, says shopping is part of the holiday spirit, and plans to be in line with Weiss and her daughter.
“I enjoy going shopping on Black Friday,” said Anderson. “It’s a tradition after you eat Thanksgiving dinner. Everybody gets prepared to shop.”
She says stores will still make money even if their most popular items are sold online or their Friday hours are minimized.


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Record Store Day 2023 in Orlando
Music enthusiasts and vinyl collectors flocked to Remix Record shop on April 23, 2023, for Record Store Day. The annual event, celebrated on the third Saturday in April, brings together music lovers, musicians, and independent record stores across the world to celebrate the culture of music and the importance of supporting local businesses.
Remix Record shop, located in Orlando, is one of the many independent record stores that participated in Record Store Day. The shop's owner, John Smith, was thrilled with the turnout and the enthusiasm shown by customers. Smith said, "We had a great day today. The turnout was amazing, and we sold a lot of records."
Record Store Day was established in 2007 as a way to promote independent record stores and the unique culture they offer. The event has since grown in popularity, with thousands of participating stores across the world.
At Remix Record shop, customers lined up outside , waiting for the chance to get their hands on some vinyl. The atmosphere in the store was electric, with customers eagerly flipping through records and discussing their favorite music with fellow enthusiasts.
The importance of supporting independent record stores cannot be overstated. In recent years, the music industry has seen a resurgence in vinyl sales, with many music fans opting for the physical format over digital downloads. This trend has been especially beneficial for independent record stores, which often specialize in vinyl and offer a more personalized shopping experience than larger chain stores.
Record Store Day provides a platform for independent record stores to showcase their unique offerings and connect with their local communities. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of supporting local businesses, which are often the heart of a community. By shopping at independent record stores, customers can help keep the music culture alive and support the small businesses that make their communities special.
Record Store Day 2023 was a huge success, thanks in no small part to the efforts of independent record stores like Remix Record shop in Orlando. With vinyl sales continuing to grow, it's clear that the culture of music and the importance of supporting local businesses will remain strong for years to come.
Checkout Remix Record Shop
[image courtesy of Remix Record Shop on Facebook]


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- A $2 trillion spending bill to rescue the economy and the healthcare industry from the coronavirus pandemic passed the US Senate last night. It's now headed to the House.
- A provision in the bill would let people use health savings accounts and flexible spending account to pay for menstrual products, something that currently isn't allowed.
- You can put money from your paycheck into those accounts without paying taxes on it, effectively making it cheaper to buy menstrual products.
- The provision extends to pads, tampons, cups, sponges, and liners.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Shoppers are about to get a break on purchasing period products under a provision tucked into the $2 trillion coronavirus aid package making its way through Congress.
The change in law would allow people to pay for pads, tampons, cups, sponges, and liners with flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts, which use pre-tax dollars taken from workers' paychecks. Under current law, these accounts can be used for purchases from contact solution to sunscreen and aspirin, but not to pay for menstrual products.
That would change under the coronavirus rescue package going before the House Friday and expected to get President Donald Trump's signature this weekend. The bill would re-classify period products as "medical expenses," allowing shoppers to buy them with their FSAs or HSA debit cards at the store.
Though most of the coronavirus legislation, known as the CARES Act, is aimed at alleviating climbing unemployment and rescuing an overwhelmed healthcare system, the bill's fast-track created a lobbying spree that allowed for the inclusion of other priorities lawmakers have been working on. The provision was already in the Senate draft as early as Sunday.
This isn't the first time the issue has come up in Congress. The House had passed a similar measure in 2018, but that bill was never taken up in the Senate.
Proponents of making the change have referred to the law and other restrictions on accessing menstrual products as the "tampon tax." Gutting it as been part of a broader push for policy changes to improve access to the products, whether that means requiring them to be stocked in schools or exempting menstrual products from state sales taxes.


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Ontario-Based Quinoa Grower Says Provincial Harvest 5x What It Was Two Years Ago
August 10, 2016 6:01am
The amount of quinoa grown in the province is on the rise.
Jamie Draves, the President and CEO of Katan Kitchens, has more than 500 acres of the crop planted by 36 farmers across Canada.
Most of that is in Ontario.
For years, most of the nation’s quinoa came from South America.
However, with the inconsistencies in the crop produced there, the demand for home-grown quinoa has greatly increased.
The amount harvested in Ontario in 2016 is projected to be about five times more than it was just two years ago.
Draves says that the number of acres grown could triple again next year.


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Electric-car maker Tesla has invested 1.5 billion in cryptocurrency and the price of Bitcoin jumped above $ 48,000 on Tuesday after news that it could accept the products as future payments.
After reaching a record near 44,000 on Monday, the price of Bitcoin BTCUSD,
Hit સિ 45,000, 46 46,000 and 47 47,000 later that evening, according to Synedesk. Prices hit a high of 48,226 at the beginning of Tuesday and then pulled back to $ 46,450, according to Coindesk.
The new update for Bitcoin is the Tesla TSL. ,.
Regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. It reveals that Tesla acquired 1.5 billion bitcoins in January and plans to accept them “as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable law and initially on a limited basis, whether we can liquidate after receipt or not.” ”
Read: Musk’s Tesla says it has invested 1.5 1.5 billion in Bitcoin, sending the cryptocurrency to record levels close to 44,000.
It’s just like Musk has recently been endorsing cryptocurrency on his Twitter account.
For Bitcoin loyalists, this was a big step taken by a large company to allow them to invest and make payments in digital currency. But on the other hand, some analysts questioned Tesla’s move, citing the volatility of the cryptocurrency, as well as the share prices of electric car makers.
Even if the price of Bitcoin has increased fivefold in the past year, it could break down, Ipek Ozkardekaya, a senior analyst at Swissquot, told consumers in a note. “High volatility in the value of Bitcoin will therefore inevitably lead to a certain volatility in Tesla’s revenue, and lower the company’s performance forecast.”
Bitcoin’s year-to-date gain is over 60% in 2021. That’s the opposite of a 4% increase in the S&P 500 SPX,
And a gain of 8.5% for the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,
When Gold GC100,
Around 3% and crude oil prices are below CL..1.
Is above 20%.
Read: Should I buy Dojecoin? Why cryptocurrency prices are rising – but risky


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Drinking At Sporting Events
There's something about watching a live sporting event that gets the blood flowing. You may want to drink a few beers with friends at the stadium despite the ridiculous prices. I spent 5 dollars on a Hot Dog at a Yankee game, knowing I was paying an outrageous price. How many fans do drop down the cash to drink?
According to a new study from BusinessWeek.com, blood alcohol levels were taken of 382 adults following 13 baseball games and three football games, 8 percent of fans were found to be above the legal intoxication limit. Only 8 percent? Shocking right? Well alcohol experts aren’t dumb; they believe the number of drunk fans is probably higher than 8 percent.
Other findings from the survey include:
- Fans who tailgated before the game were 14 times more likely to leave the game drunk.
- Fans under the age of 35 were nine times more likely to be drunk.
Do you drop the coin to drink at a game? What’s the highest price you have paid to drink at a game?


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Adding to its cyber basket of popular websites like htnext.com and hindustantimes.com, print major Hindustan Times today introduced the e-paper, ‘hindustantimes.com/epaper’ – a virtual clone of the print edition. The new portal is the first pay site from the HT stable.
Sanjay Trehan, Chief of Internet, HT Media, spoke to exchange4media on the various aspects that attributed to the launch of the e-paper. “The new portal very uniquely combines the look and feel of the print with the interactivity of the web. We are also offering the Delhi supplement, HT City in a digital version on the portal,” he said. The new portal primarily targets the NRI community that wants to receive the newspaper in its purest form on the web.
The portal charges $ 3 for a monthly subscription, while for a six-month period, the charge has been fixed at $ 15 and $ 25 would be the annual subscription rate. There is also an early-bird offer which is valid for sixty days wherein the user gets an annual subscription for $20. Elaborating the decision to launch a pay site, Trehan said, “Our research on the web suggested that there is a market for premium content and people are willing to pay provided they get the value. What we have offered here is an e-paper that is the complete Hindustan Times in its original format. We have made sure that we would come up with the best-in-class features, which would enhance the interactivity of the product. For instance, you can search via articles (key words), ads and photographs, you can zoom in and zoom out on a story or a picture for better readability, which is an interactive feature of the offering,” he continued, “Another amazing feature of the site is that you can actually listen to the story. Just select the article in the audio section and that’s it. You are hearing the story. Besides this, the usual features like e-mailing it to a friend or print an article are also there”.
However, the Delhi-headquartered publishing major has planned aggressive print and online campaign to support the launch of the e-paper. The campaign is scheduled to hit the media in three weeks. “It is a soft launch for the first fortnight. An exhaustive campaign by O&M will hit the print and the web, but electronic media is not a part of our initial strategy, though we will certainly use it in the near future,” said Trehan.
The e-paper is planned on the lines of the success story of the online edition of The News York Times. Studies show that the print circulation of NYT increased after the paper experimented introducing the web edition for those who did not have access to the daily. “We expect it to be a favourable and positive response as we are exposing to newer audiences. It is like a marketing extension,” explained Trehan.


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Toyo Tire & Rubber plans to sell of its diversified non-automotive businesses to focus exclusively on its mainstay tyre business, according to reports in Japan.
Operations up for sale include the industrial materials plant in Hyogo Prefecture and a urethane plane in Kanagawa Prefecture, which makes shock-absorbing materials for the construction industry.
Included in the disposal will be manufacturing operations for various products including rubber hosing and waterproofing materials. These generate around JPY30bn (US$263m) in annual revenue – equivalent to 10% of group sales.
The decision to sell off its non-core operations came as the group booked an extraordinary loss of JPY110bn after it came to light that fake data had been used for its seismic shock absorbers, according to local reports.
The tyre business generates around 80% of group sales with other automotive products, such as anti-vibration products and seat cushions, accounting for a further 10%.
Proceeds from the disposal will go towards expanding the company export-oriented tyre plant in Malaysia and to strengthen R&D, including setting up a design centre in the US by 2018.


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This year Team Brightec was delighted to exhibit the latest models of BlueSeal air curtains at Froid News’ SELFI exhibition in Paris with our latest generation models. On display were the BlueSeal Original model featuring BlueControl and BlueSeal Compact.
SELFI (Salon Exclusif Logistique Froid Innovation) is a two day exhibition that brings together companies from across the cold chain sector and logistics at the Rungis International Market. The market serves as the epicentre of food distribution in Paris and is the second largest wholesale food market in the world, a fitting location for some of the biggest names in temperature-controlled transport and logistics to come together in celebration of a rapidly innovating sector.
Attending the conference were Business Development Manager Tom Opdam, Marketing Manager for France Fanny Droal and UK Marketing Manager Joe Beech.
Visitors to the show were able to see a demonstration of BlueSeal Original featuring BlueControl and discuss how their fleets could benefit from an enhanced cold chain and the energy saving benefits of air curtains in their vehicles.
Parked outside the show, visitors were able to get up close and personal with the Volta Zero all electric truck with a refrigerated Petit Forestier box built by LeCapitaine, one of the notable vehicles that is changing the face of urban distribution in the move to electric. We were proud to see this feature one of our own BlueSeal Original units above the rear doors which has been hugely beneficial to saving vital onboard energy in electric vehicles.


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October 31, 2022
By Anjali Kochhar
A new study has shown that users that have 5G data services have been spending more time in the metaverse and extended reality apps, and believe these will migrate to headsets in the next two years.
Ericsson, the Swedish telecom hardware and services company, issued a study that deals with the effects powerful data transmission tech — like 5G — have on the adoption of the metaverse and extended reality tech.
The study, which includes Ericsson’s tracking data since 2019, surveyed 49,000 consumers in 37 countries and is said to be representative of the opinions of 1.7 billion users worldwide.
Data from the study further revealed that users of 5G are more interested in immersive technologies than their 4G counterparts. 5G users are already spending one more hour per week on metaverse-related platforms and services as compared to 4G users.
Also according to the report, 5G tech is expected to reach 510 million consumers this year, so this metaverse adoption is also expected to grow accordingly.
At a global level, six out of ten 5G adopters believe that this technology is “essential” for the metaverse to reach its full realization. Carriers can benefit from the bundling of their own metaverse applications with 5G plans, according to the study.
However, users of 5G data believe one thing according to the study: The metaverse will surely migrate to other, more immersive platforms in the future. The survey found that half of the 5G customers that are already using metaverse and extended reality apps believe these services will migrate to XR (extended reality) headsets in the next two years.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.


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63 per cent of parents are planning to buy their toys online this Christmas, according to a survey carried out by ToyNews.
We found that parents look set to spend more on toys this Christmas than last year, with an average spend of £170 per child.
This is up on last year’s average of £148, but it’s worth noting that this survey featured fewer parents and the higher average has been pushed by older children desiring tablets and electronic toys.
“The children are older now so are wanting more electronic products than traditional toys really,” The Kathryn Wheel’s Kate Crane told ToyNews.
Susan K Mann added: “Christmas is more expensive this year as electronic toys are expensive, although there are some good deals if you shop around.”
As this year’s higher average suggests, 57 per cent of parents told ToyNews they are spending more on toys this year than last year.
Laura Robinson said: “It’s more this year because we have a little more money to spend, and the boys are older and more aware of what they want.”
31 per cent will be spending the same as last Christmas, while only ten per cent will be spending less.
“I spent more last year and I went overboard, and he didn’t really know what to play with as he was completely overwhelmed,” said Netmums user Jenny W.
Online was voted the main way parents are buying toys this Christmas, with many listing ease, price and avoiding the retail rush as key reasons as to why they have turned away from the High Street.
“I have done all my toy shopping online,” said Mumsnet user Misfitless.
“I know I should be boycotting Amazon but it’s so much cheaper.
ToyNews spoke to more than 20 parents from Mumsnet, Dadsnet, Net Mums and Facebook.


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Italian consortium and Moroccan region sign cooperation agreement
Morocco-Italy, Business, 1/24/2000
An Italian consortium, mustering some 200 small and medium-sized enterprises, signed on Sunday a cooperation agreement with the Moroccan region of Chaouia-Ouardigha, near Casablanca.
The agreement seeks to develop partnership in industry, agriculture, tourism and culture between "Consorzio Italia Mediterraneo" and the region.
On Thursday, the consortium announced that it opened in Morocco its first representation abroad.
Some twenty members of the consortium have started exploring business opportunities in Morocco where over 100 Italian enterprises are already operating.
Moroccan and Italian businessmen to upgrade partnership in leather industry
Moroccan - Italian leather industry partnership
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If you’re looking for a new car to replace the old banger you’ve had for too many years, there is good news! It may interest you that the production of new cars has gone up a gear – meaning more choice for your money!
Compared to July of 2016, the number of cars in the UK built in the same period of this year, accelerated by almost 8% – according to recent figures in the motor industry.
In total, just over 136,000 vehicles were made within British factories – up 7.8% on last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said:
“Many carmakers increase production in July ahead of new models going on sale in September and summer shutdowns.”
However, the number of vehicles in production in the first seven months of the year fell by 1.6% to around the one million mark – most vehicles produced by British brands are then exported throughout Europe and beyond.
Chief executive for SMMT, Mike Hawes, said: “As the timing and length of these manufacturing pauses can shift each year, market performance comparisons for July and August should always be treated with caution.
“But as long as the economic conditions at home and abroad stay broadly stable, we expect new car production to remain in line with expectations for the rest of 2017.”
The UK market rose by 17.7% to almost 30,000 in July, reversing seven consecutive months of decline. In addition, the vehicle production total for domestic sales is down 6.5% to 212,700 compared with the first seven months in 2016.
The slowdown comes as the number of new cars registered in the UK fell almost 10% in July – the fourth month of declines. About 162,000 vehicles were sold last month.
“The Government must act quickly to provide concrete plans regarding Brexit,” Mr Hawes said earlier this month.
It was the first time that the SMMT had blamed uncertainty over Brexit for the decline in consumer confidence.
If you’re in the process of buying a new car, Five Star Auto Salvage can make the whole process of selling or scrapping your current car an easy one.
We buy cars of any type and any age. Have no MOT? Not a problem. Lengthy lists of repair problems? We’ll happily take it. Any vehicle from 1940 – 2017, whether it is roadworthy or not, we want it!
At Five Star Auto Salvage we also provide a motor salvage service based in Ipswich, Suffolk. With over 60 years experience in offering a full car recycling and used parts service, we can offer you a five star service at a five star price. Get a quotation from us today – call us on 01473 657 077!


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High street retailers must continue to roll out innovative formats if they are to stay one step ahead of their on-line rivals, according to a series of stark warnings in Mintel’s latest research report, written by Clive Vaughan.
The study investigating the European on-line retail market also claims that the days of the ‘big book’ mail order catalogue may be numbered.
Entitled E-Commerce in the UK, the report covers 19 European countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Greece and Portugal. It claims that the top five Internet retail markets are the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Last year, Internet sales in the UK stood at €9.79bn (£6.69bn), some €80m (£54.6m) ahead of Germany’s €9.71bn (£6.63bn), making it Europe’s biggest on-line market. France followed in third position with sales of €6.50bn (£4.44bn), Italy came in at €2.05bn (£1.4bn) and Spain peaked at €1.56bn (£1.07bn).
In 2005, on-line sales of the top three markets – UK, Germany and France – made up 65 per cent of the €40.2bn (£27.47bn) European e-commerce market. Mintel estimates that this market is expected to grow by a further 186 per cent between 2005 and 2010. In general, e-commerce is set to increase its share of total European retail sales from 2 per cent to almost 5 per cent over this same five-year period, with sales forecast to reach €115bn (£78.58bn).
Vaughan believes that Internet retailing has ‘finally come of age’ as broadband is taken up across Europe. He speculates that the bricks-and-mortar retail outlets will have to ‘try harder’, reassessing merchandising systems and elements of customer service to create a more compelling proposition.
This view is shared by Neil Mason, senior retail analyst at Mintel. ‘Physical shops will not sit and watch their trade drain away. They will respond by making the physical shopping experience more enjoyable and rewarding, with much better interaction from informed and trained staff,’ he says. Vaughan goes on to argue that the weaker companies may suffer at the hands of the on-line retailers, citing Littlewoods as an example of a brand that failed to adapt and lost its way. Vaughan also speculates that ‘inevitably the big book will quietly disappear’ because of rising publishing costs. However, he does stress the ‘wow factor’ associated with retail outlets, explaining that ‘good in-store design can have an edge over the Internet’.
Recent changes on the high street reflect this boom in on-line retail. In April, Dixons announced that it was to abandon its outlets for an on-line proposition. Sister company DSG International Currys moved into the retail space operating under a revised Currys.digital marque.
Household was appointed early last year to help create the in-store graphics and point-of-site insignia to develop the tone and personality of the retail concept.
The project is very much still work in progress, with many of the designs yet to be applied to retail outlets. The shops are being designed to feature more play areas for interaction and eventually customers will be able to purchase Currys’ white goods items through on-line links (DW 13 April 2005).
Household insights director Michelle Du-Prât believes that retail outlets and on-line are still capable of sitting comfortably alongside each other. ‘Often there is a panic that one channel will replace another, but as consumers we need different things and each has a different attached value,’ she says.
Mintel’s June 2006 Internet Quarterly report:
• 65 per cent, almost two in three adults, now have access to the Internet
• When buying on-line, 50 per cent of Internet users have bought from the site they are browsing
Top five European on-line retail markets:
• UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain
• UK market estimated to grow 102 per cent to reach €19.8bn (£13.53bn) by 2010


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Build-A-Bear introduces new Mario stuffed toys
December 10, 2018
Mario, Yoshi and more of their friends are coming back to Build-A-Bear. The new plushies come along with new clothes and accessories.
They join the last year introductions of the characters into the lineup. Now we have new costumes and even more cool plush.
Thank you for your visit. If you want to learn more check it out StuffedParty.


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The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap), was held to help exporters take advantage of the EV-FTA when it takes effect in 2019.
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice chairwoman and general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), said the EV-FTA would increase exports because of lower tariffs and contribute to eliminating other trade barriers.
However, Vietnamese leather and footwear manufacturers and exporters will confront challenges as well. To meet EU requirements, Vietnamese businesses will have to improve technologies and manufacturing processes to ensure high quality.
Because most leather and footwear manufacturers in the country are foreign-invested, locally-owned enterprises will have to enhance competitiveness to increase market share.
Vuong Duc Anh, deputy head of the origin of goods division under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Export-Import Department, said that exporters should comply with EV-FTA’s rules of origin in order to make the most of EV-FTA.
“Exporters will not be able to enjoy tariff cuts to zero percent unless they meet EV-FTA’s rules of origin,” Anh said.
Professor Sanggeeta Khorana, an expert from EU-Mutrap, said Vietnamese businesses subjected to EU barriers and anti-dumping measures should be able to prove that they do not receive subsidies.
An anti-dumping investigation can be initiated whenever the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission decides that information is sufficient to launch an official investigation.
Vietnam earned US$13.1 billion from leather and footwear exports in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 11.4% over the same period last year.
Last year Vietnam ranked as the third-largest footwear manufacturer in the world, after China and India, according to Lefaso.
The EV-FTA will come into force in 2019, connecting Vietnam - one of ASEAN’s most dynamic manufacturing hubs with the EU – one of the world biggest markets with GDP of over US$18 trillion, accounting for 22% of the world’s total GDP and a population of over 500 million.
Once the EV-FTA agreement goes into effect, the EU will eliminate import duties on 85.6% of its tariffs lines on Vietnamese products. After seven years, 99% of EU tariffs will be removed for Vietnamese products.
Vietnamese textiles, footwear and seafood products (except for canned tuna and fish balls) will incur no import duties within seven years after the agreement takes effect.
As of the end of last year, Vietnam’s leather and footwear exports to the EU reached nearly US$5 billion, making the EU the second-largest leather and footwear importer of Vietnam after the US.
This comes two years after Vietnam enjoyed the EU’s generalised system of preferences (GSP) with tariffs reduced from 13-14% to 3-4%.
In recent years, Vietnam has become one of the most active players in negotiating and implementing free trade agreements.
The EU is Vietnam’s second-biggest export market, while Vietnam is the EU’s 11th biggest source of imports.
About 900 European enterprises have invested in Vietnam, which has the largest European business community in Southeast Asia.


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Just getting started
“This is just our growth vehicle right now and why I chose it over my other eight [concepts],” he says. “It's really difficult to be a multi-brand operator. A lot of people are doing it right now, but it's very challenging.”
Two years ago, Plew brought on Marcie Rude as chief development officer to research potential markets and see where the brand could scale. Rude, who previously helped grow P.F. Chang’s from 30 to 150 restaurants, helped define the expansion strategy.
“We’re trying to double the size of the company over the next five years,” Plew says.
That may seem ambitious, but Plew says it’s a sustainable rate of growth—around 28 percent, year over year—compared to some other brands that toss 50 percent targets out there.
Without private-equity firms controlling where they invest and grow, Plew and his partner are mindful of how fast the company is changing.
“We always do it with our capital and we have the means to grow,” he says. “We also have the means to slow down when things aren't good. I think that that's important because once you get into some other situations, they finance you just to grow. They don't finance you to sit on your hands. And so if we see headwinds, we would slow that growth down to navigate it and protect what we've got.”
Once the company finds the right market, picking the right real estate can make or break the location, Plew says.
Due to the size of the restaurant—between indoor, outdoor, and patio seating the average size is about 7,000 square feet—most stores are built from the ground up. Plew is exploring non-traditional spaces as well. The new Dallas restaurant in Grandscape is one example of an ideal development, he says.
And Plew isn’t stuck on opening the restaurant in the heart of new markets. On a recent trip to Atlanta, he explored areas north of the city that would allow Thirsty Lion to cater to suburban crowds, like Alpharetta, instead of just the people who live downtown.
“With Thirsty Lion, I'm bringing urban cool and quality to the masses in the suburbs,” he says.
Plew sees a lot of growth potential in the Southeast, too. Along with Rude, they’ve developed a hub and spoke system. If Thirsty Lion opens in Atlanta that will be a hub, and locations in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and South Carolina can act as the spokes creating different regions. Plew says, over the next five years, five hubs will open up across the country.
“We're just trying to be a holistic about how we expand,” he says. “With the workforce that's out there we’re trying to pick emerging markets that are up and coming and have really great food, great craft cocktails, and great craft beer, because that's what our brand's about.”
Food (and beer) that fits
During growth, Plew doesn’t want the restaurant to lose its independent feel. Even though the company is transitioning into a national brand, he wants each location to have its own identity. To accomplish this, each restaurant is designed slightly differently and brings in regional flavors on its menu.
The team researches local and regional beers, which primarily make up the 100 options on tap in each location. Local distilleries are also tapped so local spirits can be used in craft cocktails, adding to the uniqueness of each location.
“My underlying decision-making strategy when it comes to food, beverage, and real estate comes down to one word—quality,” Plew says. “If it’s quality then it makes the cut. If it’s not quality then it’s out the window, and I really believe that’s a sustainable model.”
With several menu changes throughout the year, the brand is able to capitalize on fresh and seasonal products.
The globally inspired menu features Asian, Mexican, Mediterranean, and American cuisine. While American dishes make up about 50 percent of the menu, the diversity of the remaining 50 percent allows guests to try something they normally wouldn’t have.
“If somebody wants to order Korean fried chicken and the other person wants an amazing lamb burger and another person wants the spicy fried chicken sandwich that's more Southern,” Plew says. “[The menu] is eclectic and all of our restaurants are group driven.”
Regional specialties are also developed for new markets. In the Texas locations, guests can order queso. A modern take on pimento cheese is in the works for the Southeastern locations.
Plew has found that the company doesn’t cater to just one type of customer or daypart. From large groups coming in for business lunches to a group of girlfriends catching up with cocktails, the company is busy throughout the day, seven days a week. Brunch is also a focal point for the brand to capture that 25- to 40-year-old age group.
There are different flex spaces in each location that are not exclusively private dining, but can host different events. This is another revenue stream that the company is experimenting with and exploring.
Plew made it clear that Thirsty Lion is not a sports bar, but that doesn’t mean sports are shunned at the restaurant. Computers control lighting and audio throughout the space. If a big game is playing in a specific market, the staff can turn half of the restaurant into a viewing area and seat guests who prefer to not watch the game in a different area.
“We're very mindful of how we program all of our restaurants with the lighting and audio levels,” Plew says. “It's not cheap to do, but it's something I just believe in.”
As the brand grows throughout the country, Plew’s mission remains the same—bringing a true gastropub with high-quality menu and drink offerings to areas without it feeling like a chain or forcing it into a market.
“My mission is to continue to be very selective on high-quality real estate locations and be patient so that you're not forcing growth,” he says.


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Intel Unveils New Chips for Datacenter, PC and Smartphone
Intel laid out its vision, as well as some new product milestones, during a keynote speech at its Developer Forum in San Francisco on Tuesday morning.
Brian Krzanich, Intel's new CEO, covered a broad range of the company's activities, from building chips for datacenters, PCs, smartphones, personal wearable devices and "the Internet of things" world of connected devices. Intel's goals are large, but not modest. "Our plan is to lead in every segment of computing," Krzanich said.
Intel is "in the process of rearchitecting the datacenter," Krzanich said, from big data to software and software-defined systems. In that vein, he announced a new Intel Xeon E5 chip for the datacenter. This 22-nm Version 2 chip, code-named "Ivy Bridge-EP," improves performance by about 50 percent over the previous generation chip, Intel claims. The product family can extend to 12 cores max.
Amazon Web Services plans to use the latest Xeon processor in its datacenters sometime later this year and will participate in an Intel branding campaign when marketing its datacenter services, Intel announced. Intel also started up a Network Builders program that's centered on partner use of the Xeon chip's reference architecture.
PC and Tablet Chips
Next, Krzanich focused on Intel's PC and tablet efforts. While Intel had announced its fourth-generation Haswell chip earlier this year, Krzanich showed a new laptop powered by a 4.5-Watt Haswell chip. He said that this new chip provides an extended battery life in a thin, fanless device. "They are here; they are coming to market," he added, but didn't say when new products using this Haswell chip might arrive.
Krzanich held up "the first" laptop powered by a 14-nm Broadwell chip. He said that "14 nm is here and working and we will be shipping by the end of this year." The Broadwell chip features a 30 percent power improvement, he said. Krzanich added that "we will have the same performance improvements that you see on Haswell, and you'll see it in products next year."
Intel is focused on supporting so-called "two-in-one" devices, which are laptop-like PCs that convert into tablets. "By the end of this year, we will have over 60 of these systems in the market at a price point of under $400," Krzanich said.
With regard to tablets, Krzanich said that Intel can provide the same form factor to an OEM and they can choose between, Windows, Android, Core and Atom. He said that there would be "price points below $100 this holiday" season for these tablets.
Krzanich showed what he said was the "world's first 22-nm phone." Intel's chip supports a 50 percent performance gain with a longer battery life, he claimed. Intel is also moving into improving LTE wireless support.
"We've also got LTE," he said. "This phone is working on LTE right now. We are shipping data LTE this year with voice 3G. By the end of this year, we will ship data LTE with voice LTE in phones."
Intel is also working on "LTE Advanced" support, with data access rates of 35 Mbps to 75 Mbps. Intel plans to increase that LTE support to "up to 150 Mbps and above," Krzanich said.
Intel is currently shipping its XMM 7160 modem with LTE roaming support. Its next-generation XMM 7260 modem will have the LTE Advanced support. The XMM 7260 modem is still under development, but it's expected to ship in 2014.
The Internet of Things
Intel thinks of the Internet of things and wearable computing devices as similar approaches. These kinds of devices need to work under very low power conditions and have small form factors. In addition, security becomes more important with such chips, Krzanich said.
In that regard, he announced Intel's new Quark family of system on chips (SoC), which he described as "Intel's smallest SoC ever." He said that the Quark SoC is one-fifth the size of Intel's Atom chip and uses one tenth of its power. "It's designed for the Internet of things," Krzanich said.
Intel has already built the Quark reference designs that are ready for the developer community. Krzanich said that companies can add their own intellectual property into the silicon. "The idea is to come up with devices that partners could use to develop their own products in an open ecosystem," he explained.
Krzanich concluded his talk by saying that "the landscape of computing has never been bigger" for Intel and its partners.
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.


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For now, investors are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Disney is an impressive business, with broad diversification, expected to grow consistently over the medium-term by somewhere around 10%-15%, and right now selling at a bargain price.
This is a strong investment opportunity. Here’s why:
Investors Are In Panic Mode
Warren Buffett reminds us that "people get smarter but they don’t get wiser. You can teach all you want to them… but when they’re scared, they’re scared." Indeed, right now investors are first selling, then asking questions.
At the forefront of investors mind are attempts to figure out just how big coronavirus’ implications will have on the economy, plus a lot of fear over just how cheap companies are likely to get. In other words, there’s a certain amount of logical economical reaction, plus a lot of fear.
Further compounding troubles for Disney’s shareholders, are investors' attempts to quantify Disneyland closures in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. And furthermore, whether Disneyland will have to close Parks at other locations too.
Disney For The Long-Term
Disney’s balance sheet carries a net debt position of $38 billion. However, when Disney is not aggressively investing into its direct-to-consumer business, it has generated close to $8 billion of free cash flows (not earnings, but clean free cash flow). Hence, its balance sheet is strong and affords Disney plenty of flexibility.
Having said that, close to half of Disney’s operating income is generated from its Parks, Experiences and Products segment. Consequently, considering the Parks closed so far and the potential closure of others will have a substantial effect on Disney’s near-term overall profitability.
However, readers should remember Disney is more than just its Parks.
A Very Promising Direct-to-Consumer Operation
A substantial amount of Disney’s operating profits is derived from its its Media Networks segment -- close to 40% of its total operating income. Indeed, the argument could be made that as people embrace "social distancing" on the back of this outbreak, households may increase their viewership of Disney, ESP, and ABC. This once again reinforces just how well positioned Disney finds itself.
However, the crown jewel from Disney has to be its investment into growing its Disney Plus operations. Although only launched in November 2019, Disney+’s most recently reported figures were 28.6 million domestic paid subscribers. In other words, there is very strong consumer appetite for Disney+.
Valuation - Large Margin of Safety
2020 is not going to a highly profitable year for Disney.
Firstly, Parks closures will weigh on its results. Secondly and more importantly, Disney is aggressively investing huge sums into its direct-to-consumer platform.
Having said that, both these effects are temporary in nature and Disney's spending should revert to normality over the coming twelve to eighteen months.
Realistically, in a normalized environment, Disney’s top line is likely to continue growing at approximately 10%-15%. Given that in a normal year Disney’s cash flows from operations reach close to $14 billion and are expected to grow, investors should minimally be willing to put a 20x multiple to its trailing normalized cash flows, valuing its market cap much closer to $280 billion.
The Bottom Line
Disney is very well diversified, growing its operations at a steady clip while generating strong cash flows.
For now, this investment is trading very cheaply, but when investors’ calm returns, investors will rapidly reprice this investment higher.


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India’s leading car manufacturer, Tata Motors is all set to launch the all-new Bolt hatchback and Zest compact sedan in the Indian car market. The company is going through a rough phase in the Indian car market. In a bid to improve its market share, Tata Motors is planning to launch a series of new products in the country including a hatchback, compact sedan, compact SUV and others.
Read More- Everything you wanted to know about Tata Zest compact sedan
With the growing demand for compact sedan cars, Tata Motors will launch the Zest sedan in the country. This model is undoubtedly the company’s most appealing and more modern looking car. Based on the thoroughly modified X1 platform, the Zest compact sedan will be offered in both petrol and diesel guise. Moreover, it will be the country’s first ever diesel car to get the automated manual transmission gearbox. We all know that AMT gearbox costs less than the conventional automatic gearbox. So, the Zest AMT is expected to be the country’s most affordable automatic car.
Tata Zest will be offered in both petrol and diesel guise, and it is expected to go on sale in the first week of July, 2014. While the petrol version will get the 1.2-litre Revotron petrol engine, the oil burner is propelled by the 1.3-litre Quadrajet engine. Both the engines will be paired to a five-speed manual gearbox while the oil burner is coupled to an automated manual transmission gearbox.
Tata Motors will also add this AMT gearbox in other cars such as Nano, Bolt and few more. This AMT gearbox offers hassle free driving as it does not require a clutch pedal. The driver can alter the gears either fully automatically or sequentially. Moreover, the company also has high hopes with its new turbo-petrol Revotron engine. The new engine will also get three driving modes- Sports, Comfort and Cruise for performance or fuel efficiency, which can be selected via a button.
The Tata Zest compact sedan will also get several advanced features including EPAS with active return function and speed sensitive power steering developed by ZF. The other features include Harman infotainment system with MapmyIndia navigation, 5-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, smart voice recognition, advanced smartphone integration and others.


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The chief executives of Tesco and Sainsbury's are to be questioned by the Home Secretary about under-age drinks sales after police sting operations found they were regularly selling alcohol to children.
All of Britain's six big supermarket chains have been warned by the Government they need to take action to stop their stores routinely flouting the law or risk losing their licences. They will meet ministers in the next two weeks.
The crackdown comes as ministers defend their liberalisation of the drinks laws despite criticism from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, the press, doctors, judges and police.
Yesterday, as the Tories sought to delay the 2003 Licensing Act in the Commons, ministers announced a "Christmas Crackdown" on pubs and clubs that promote drunkenness.
One of several posters warning drinkers of £80 on-the-spot fines for disorder depicts a man urinating cash down a drain.
Trading standards officers, who are to step up spot checks of supermarkets, have been shocked by the scale of alcohol sales to children uncovered in the summer.
In undercover operations between July and August, police found that 48 per cent of 141 supermarkets were selling alcohol to under-18s.
The big stores fared worse than smaller off-licences, of whom 27 per cent of 373 were breaking the law. In the same tests at 124 pubs and clubs with records for trouble, sales to minors were just above the supermarket level at 52 per cent.
Concern about the level of sales to children comes as the drinks industry prepares for the introduction next week of the new licensing laws, which will allow 24-hour drinking for the first time.
Doctors have warned that extending drinks hours will speed up the rise, which has happened since the 1970s, of young people suffering alcohol-related liver failure. The Department of Health revealed last April that 3,300 children aged between 11 and 15 were admitted to English hospitals each year after binge drinking.
Under the new law, which comes into force next Thursday, supermarkets are expected to increase substantially the hours in which they sell alcohol.
The 2003 Licensing Act raises from £1,000 to £5,000 the fines for selling alcohol to under-18s.
But just months before the introduction of the new legislation, police discovered widespread flouting of the laws at 909 outlets in 25 parts of England and Wales, including in London, Cardiff, and Manchester.
The chief executives of the big supermarkets chains - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, the Co-op and United Co-op - and representatives of the drinks industry were called to the Home Office on 26 October to account for their performance.
They met five ministers - Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, the Home Office ministers Hazel Blears and Paul Goggins and James Purnell, from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
The supermarkets were told to improve their record. One attendee said that the ministers had made "ominous noises" about what would happen if they did not resolve the problem. The stores will be summoned back to the Home Office within a fortnight to explain what progress they have made a month from the first meeting.
As part of its "Christmas Crackdown" yesterday, the Home Office announced that spot checks for under-age sales on pubs, bars, clubs and supermarkets would be stepped up in the weeks before Christmas.
Ron Gainsford, the chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute, said: "We are constantly staggered by the volume of illegal alcohol sales to under-18s."Reuse content


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Editorial - Enough retail, already
The proposal for yet another retail shopping center in Washington County, this one using the Wesel Boulevard model, has got us wondering: How much retail does Washington County need? And more important, are the benefits the area will derive worth the inevitable problems with traffic and stormwater runoff?
The new development would be built on 85 acres south of Valley Mall, not far from Hickory Elementary School. To get the project off the ground, a 34-acre parcel of that tract needs to be rezoned from Residential Multi-Family to Business General.
If the development takes place, it will put more traffic onto Virginia Avenue, a two-lane road that isn't adequate to handle its present load. Residents of the area also claim that the existing sewer system is inadequate to handle residential flow, let alone the added load from a shopping center. They also fear that runoff from large parking lots would worsen flooding problems in the neighborhood.