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LONDON (ICIS)--Uralkali’s net profit for 2013 fell by 58% year on year to $666m, as market oversupply and weak demand during the year drove the Russia-based fertilizer producer to move to prioritise volume over pricing, it said late Thursday.
The company, whose breakaway from potash cartel Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) in July last year has sent potash prices spiralling, said full-year net revenues had fallen 20% compared to 2012, to $2.67bn.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 31% over the same period, to $1.63bn, the company added.
Uralkali said financial results had been impacted by subdued demand and oversupply from the start of 2013, leading to low capacity utilisation across the industry and price falls as competition intensified.
CEO Dmitry Osipov said the company’s market share in the first half of the year had been impacted by its strategy of pursuing price over volumes, and conditions had improved during the second half of the year, after it had shifted to volume-based marketing.
“Uralkali’s adherence to a rigid price-over-volume strategy in [the first half of] 2013 resulted in a significant decrease in the company’s market share, as other producers sought to gain market share through aggressive pricing. This had a negative impact on both the company’s operational and financial results,” Osipov said.
“We saw some improvement in the company’s results [following the strategy shift] and the market situation in [the second half of] 2013 and expect to build on this momentum in 2014,” he added.
Net profit had been impacted by lower potash prices, losses from revaluation, management fees and one-off expenses. Increased capacity utilisation from August 2013 and cost optimisation allowed the company to keep production costs at around $58/tonne, Uralkali added.
Potash output rose 10% compared to 2012 following the capacity ramp up in the closing months of the year. Work is continuing on the development of the Ust-Yayvnisky potash mine, which is due online in 2020 to offset declining productivity at the Berezniki-2 mine, Uralkali added.
The company estimated potash demand in 2013 at 53m-54m tonnes, a 5-7% increase on the previous year on the back of a slower-than-expected recovery, and that demand will reach 56-58m tonnes this year, driven by demand from key markets and emerging regions.
“Brazil, China, Southeast Asia, and India will be a major factor. After delaying [second-half] 2013 contract deliveries, China has now settled contracts with major potash suppliers for the first half of 2014. Previously cautious buyers have started re-entering the market, providing a firmer base for spot pricing. The start of [second-quarter] 2014 saw the contract with India concluded,” the company noted.
“We remain confident in the strong potash market fundamentals. As the global economy recovers, potash consumption should reach a more balanced level ensuring higher yields for agricultural producers,” added Osipov.


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Google’s investments in mobile advertising and dark clouds over Europe contributed to weak quarterly sales and earnings. Share prices fell 10 percent on the news that Google’s fourth quarter sales of US$8.13 billion fell short of analyst estimates of $8.41 billion. Profit before certain costs was $9.50 per share, which was a dollar shy of the $10.50 estimate on the street.
This was the first bad news that CEO Larry Page has had to deliver since taking the Google reins last April. The dip is due in part to mobile clicks being cheaper than PC clicks. As Google pushes deeper into the mobile market, there’s a price to pay.
Add to this the cost of driving mobile at the same time the company is making a play for the social scene with Google+, and you get costs that chip away profits.
Google did not respond to our request to comment for this story.
Uncertainties Dominate Report
Europe is raining on Google’s parade in the same way the uncertain continent is holding down overall U.S. share prices. While the sun may be breaking through the clouds in North America’s economy, Europe is plenty gloomy.
“Google cited foreign currency fluctuations and issues related to tweaks in its search algorithms,” Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told the E-Commerce Times. “Translated, that probably refers to continuing economic uncertainties in Europe, and site owners and advertisers being upset over the ranking changes resulting from the tweaked algorithms, including those related to the company’s burgeoning mobile ad business.”
Larry Page’s first quarterly bomb as CEO is a disappointment, but not a life-changing event, he said. “I don’t think it’s time to get out the torches and pitchforks quite yet. The past year has been hard on any number of companies, including many of Google’s competitors. If Google’s board of directors wanted a magician, they should have hired Penn and Teller.”
Mobile and Social
The investment side of the business got a tad expensive during the quarter. The costs showed up in the mobile and social sides of the business.
“Google is making two huge bets — one in mobile with Android and one in the social space with Google+,” Azita Arvani, principal of the Arvani Group, told the E-Commerce Times. “Both of these require huge investments.”
The returns on these investments will be longer term — and also challenging, given the tough competition, she observed.
“If Facebook does an IPO, Google+ will be under bigger pressure,” said Arvani. “With the Motorola Mobility purchase to mitigate Android patent issues, there is another investment which will not be directly contributing to the revenues.”
On the bright side, Arvani pointed to Android. “The uptake of Android by device vendors and by consumers is very impressive — but that has not translated into big mobile ad dollars yet.”
Iffy Future for Google+
While the future for Google+ is uncertain, there are signs that it may have some life going forward. The ad dollars may not be there yet, but expansion is.
“That Google+ is growing rapidly is certainly a positive point, especially given the number of folks who claimed it would be crushed by Facebook,” said King. “But until Google can demonstrate how it’s materially contributing to the company’s bottom line, Google+ is just another product the company is giving away for free.”
Even while Google+ is growing, it hasn’t made an appreciable dent in Facebook. Until Google+ can shake Facebook the way Android shook Apple, it may not be impressive to investors.
“Google+ certainly didn’t replace Facebook or make a major change in how people work, which makes it not a success,” Steven Savage, technology project manager and Geek 2.0 blogger told the E-Commerce Times.
“On the other hand, it’s a slick piece of technology that works well and gives Google an expanded platform,” he acknowledged. “We’ll be able to call it a success or a failure a few years into the future, but not now.”

domain: news


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It has been reported that banking giant HSBC disclosed on Monday a security incident that impacted an undisclosed number of the institution’s customers.
“HSBC became aware of online accounts being accessed by unauthorized users between October 4, 2018 and October 14, 2018,” the bank wrote in a data breach notification letter submitted to Californian authorities. The bank said it suspended access to online accounts for all impacted customers and initiated procedures for changing passwords for online banking accounts. It also said it added “an extra layer of security” to HSBC accounts, but didn’t go into details.
Commenting on this, Corin Imai, senior security adviser at DomainTools said:
“This is simply the latest in a long line of breaches indicating that we as an industry have room for improvement in how we handle and protect sensitive data. Financial institutions have been making large strides in protecting customer data since it is among the most valuable data to steal, and potentially the most damaging type of PII to be exposed. It appears that HSBC is taking the proper steps in notification and handling of impacted customers.”


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29 Oct Kohl’s Outlines New Strategic Vision With Heightened Focus On Active And Casual Lifestyle
Kohl’s shared the company’s new strategic framework with the investment community, including new initiatives to position the company for long-term success. As part of its strategy, Kohl’s has set a new vision: to be the most trusted retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle.
The strategy, informed by customer insights, is designed to drive top-line growth and expand operating margin, supported by capital management and organizational culture to create long-term shareholder value.
“Kohl’s is uniquely positioned to be the retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle for the entire family with our accessible and aspirational brand portfolio, seamless omnichannel experience, and industry-leading loyalty program. We are leaning into categories where we have demonstrated momentum and will drive more growth opportunities into the future. The recent environment has accelerated our path forward and presented a unique opportunity to capture market share from retail industry disruption,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief executive officer. “We have shown our ability to navigate through the COVID-19 crisis by focusing on customer and associate safety, operational efficiency and ensuring our financial resiliency. We are well-positioned to both continue to manage our business through the pandemic and to take full advantage of a brighter future ahead.”
Kohl’s will focus on three key areas to drive top-line growth:
- Be the destination for active, casual and beauty for the entire family. This includes expanding in Active and Outdoor categories, reigniting growth in the Women’s category, building a sizable Beauty business and driving category productivity and inventory turn. The company also seeks to capture market share from retail industry disruption.
- Lead with loyalty and value through its rewards program including Kohl’s Cash, Kohl’s Rewards and Kohl’s Charge Card. This includes driving productivity through engagement with customers and delivering personalized experiences.
- Offer a differentiated omnichannel experience that is easy and inviting, no matter how customers want to shop. This includes leveraging Kohl’s store base in an evolving landscape, modernizing the store experience, digital growth, and further enhancing omnichannel capabilities.
The company is also focused on increasing profitability with the goal of expanding its operating margin to 7 percent to 8 percent.
- Efforts include an end-to-end supply chain transformation, sourcing optimization and SG&A expense efficiency across store labor, marketing and technology.
- Leveraging its core operations, which resulted in more than $250 million in cost savings from 2017 through 2019 and, in 2020, savings of more than $100 million on an annualized basis.
Kohl’s said it’s committed to balance sheet management with a long-term objective of sustaining its investment-grade rating, a status it has held for more than two decades. The company is also committed to a long-term capital return program following a long history of returning significant capital to shareholders.
The company’s strategic efforts are supported by its organizational focus. “Kohl’s will continue to foster a workplace culture of agility, accountability and experimentation, while also further amplifying its efforts on diversity and inclusion, and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) stewardship”.
The full Investor Deck presentation is available here.


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Bolton, ON — Titanium Transportation Group announced that it has secured a strategic office location in Charlotte, NC where it will commence the company’s U.S. brokerage services business. Titanium says it expects to secure additional key locations throughout the U.S. to further expand this initiative over time, and that this new initiative will be led by a team with substantial expertise in the U.S. brokerage and logistics industry.
“Today’s announcement is a product of our commitment to organic growth and efforts to invest in and develop opportunities across the Company in Canada and the U.S.,” said Ted Daniel, president and CEO, Titanium Transportation Group. “Over the past several years we have made purposeful investments in infrastructure, technology and staff to build a scalable business that supports opportunities such as this one with minimal added overhead.”
The Charlotte office is expected to be the first of several select strategic locations that Titanium plans to establish over the coming years to better serve the robust U.S. market. To support these operations, Titanium has established a separate U.S. subsidiary — Titanium American Logistics, Inc. The company has also recruited operations personnel with considerable expertise in the U.S. brokerage services and logistics industry.
“Brokerage Services is an attractive and asset light business in which we have demonstrated great success in supporting our clients on both sides of the border for nearly two decades. Our current business includes roughly two thirds of our freight volumes originating with US based clients, so this is a natural progression and expansion for the Company,” said Daniel. “We expect the operations to contribute positively to our organic earnings growth over the near-term and continue to build with the addition of future offices.”


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“The mysterious smartphones are likely to be entry-level/ affordable offerings from OPPO”
Two unannounced OPPO smartphones recently paid a visit to the Chinese certification site – TENAA. The handsets in the making are expected to be the company’s new affordable Android smartphones. While their actual names are not known yet, the listing reveals that the devices will bear model numbers OPPO PBM30 and OPPO PBT30. Moreover, the phones are said to flaunt beefy batteries and a tall displays.
Talking about their specifications, the OPPO PBM30 and OPPO PBT30 will reportedly share the same hardware. The TENAA listing says that the phones will feature a 6.2-inch HD+ (1,520 x 720p) display and a 1.8GHz octa-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage. The storage should be further expandable using a microSD card. Moving on, a 4,100mAh battery is tipped to fuel the handsets that will come pre-loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo with Color OS on top.
In the camera department, the unknown OPPO phones are reported to boast dual 13MP + 2MP sensors on the rear. The renders of the phones suggest that the cameras will be horizontally-aligned at the top right corner of the back panel with LED flash placed beside. It seems like the phones will not sport a fingerprint sensor whatsoever, but we expect face unlock to be there. Lastly, both the smartphones are expected to be available in Black and Red colour options, and TENAA listing reveals that the devices measure 156.1 x 75.7 x 8.2 mm and weighs 170g.
There’re no details of the price and availability of the smartphones yet. Interestingly, the specs of the OPPO PBM30 and PBT30 matches to that of Realme C1 (review) smartphone, save for the front camera (which is not known) and battery. The latter has been priced in India at Rs 7,999.


text: Up-cycling, reuse and repair on a large scale can be part of an industrial strategy. The UK does not manufacturer as much as it used to but could become the repair and up-cycling “capital” of Europe. We need to get inspire by UK companies such [Lunaz] in Silverstone, which David Beckham has actually invested in. Up-cycling and reuse and repair is in its infancy now with repair cafes popping up all over the UK - these tend to be local community based operations but the principle could be massively up-scaled. This would also generate employment. There is already a shortage of mechanics in the UK that know how repair EVs - not just cars, but buses too. e-bikes and e-scooters also need repairing and people with the right electrical skills are short on the ground.


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Usually, the Olympics each year are remembered by the countries that win the highest amounts of gold, silver, and bronze medals. However, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are going to be remembered for a completely different reason: going green.
The organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have thought of a bold idea in order to cut down the carbon footprint of one of the world’s largest biennial productions. Instead of awarding medals made out of the traditional gold, silver, and bronze, they will create medals out of recycled mobile phones to give out instead. While commenting on the concept, the Tokyo 2020 sports director Koji Murofushi said, “There’s a limit on the resources of our earth, so recycling these things will make us think about the environment.”
Although Japan is not the first country to think of this idea, as thirty percent of the silver and bronze medals given at the Rio 2016 Olympics were made of recyclables. However, Japan will be recreating this idea on a much larger scale.
The organizers of the Olympics have put their plan into action by asking the Japanese public to donate any and all unwanted mobile phones or electronic items in hopes of collecting eight tonnes of metal, which should be enough to create at least 5,000 Olympic prizes. Citizens will be able to place their unwanted devices in local offices and telecoms stores in various locations across the country beginning in April.
— Tokyo 2020 (@Tokyo2020) February 1, 2017
Former American Olympian Ashton Eaton has already spoken out in support of the idea: “The best part is that each citizen has a chance to contribute to the story, to raise awareness about a sustainable future and to make a unique contribution… And, most excitingly, they have a chance to be part of the Olympic journey.”


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Services & Apps
The report further said telcos in 2017 will design digital transformational programmes to enhance customer experience through more digital interaction points.
With 8.5 million daily transactions on its platform, Paytm today exuded confidence that the digital payment company will soon overtake the cumulative transaction volume for cards in the country.
Transactions worth Rs 361 crore have so far been made using the newly-launched BHIM application for mobile phones, Lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh also said the BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app has brought various banks under one umbrella, making it convenient for the users.
“Farmers who have problems typing or explaining their requirement in text can record their voice and send it as a query. Just like WhatsApp,” said Suraj Dixit, Founder, Nubesol Technologies.
Mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm says that it will reach 1 crore offline sellers with its QR code offering for payments.
HDFC Bank customers can avail of BBPS after logging onto the Net Banking page. Going forward, the Bank plans to make this service available for non-customers as well.
Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said over 1.7 lakh PoS machines have already been installed at public distribution system (PDS) shops and more will be done in next few months.
A U.S. judge has ordered Google to comply with search warrants seeking customer emails stored outside the United States, diverging from a federal appeals court that reached the opposite conclusion in a similar case involving Microsoft Corp.
With Samsung Pay's advent into the country, the domestic e-payment platforms will face a tough competition.
With the IPO app launch on Apple Watch, HDFC ERGO’s policyholders can easily access details and other information related to their policies at a tap on the smartwatch
From March 1, people will no longer be able to log in to version 7.16 of Skype for Windows desktop and older versions, and version 7.18 of Skype for Mac.
Earlier, the Karnataka govt. had welcomed Apple's proposal to begin initial manufacturing operations in Bengaluru.
Snapdeal’s affiliate network comprises coupons, deal and cashback channels as well as blogs that bring in potential customers to website and mobile app.
"BHIM is a minimum white-label application, beyond which banks can offer additional stacks of experiences unique to our customers or perhaps sometimes we could also develop our own co-branded payment application," said Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, chief information officer, SBI.
Digitisation, the most common word in circulation these days after demonetisation, is what Arun Jaitley is betting on to drive the triad of transparency, tax compliance and ease of doing business.
That would be in addition to another 1 million regular payment terminals, or point-of-sale devices, banks have to introduce by March.
The development marks a striking evolution for a four-year-old messaging platform that started out as a tool used by a handful of entrepreneurs
The workspace offers the ability for teams to customise the experience to meet their specific needs.
Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said that IPPB plans to have 650 branches across the country by September 2017.
"India is one of the top priorities in the region. We have increased our investments in India by over 30 per cent in the last two years and we are going to increase it even more," Sam Ahmed, Mastercard's senior vice-president of marketing for Asia Pacific said.


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shroud is worried about CSGO as more players switch to Valorant
Mar 22, 2021
Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has once again weighed in on the CSGO versus Valorant debate, and this time he seems concerned about his former “main game”.
When Riot’s tactical shooter was released in 2020, players were quick to compare it to CSGO, one of the most venerated tactical shooters ever made. FPS fans have pitted Valorant against CSGO, but both games have succeeded with their own player bases. shroud was one of the first famous names to claim that Valorant will overtake Valve’s shooter in popularity. The former competitive player still holds that same stance today, but Valorant’s growth has him eve more worried about the game he spent so many years playing.
In a recent stream, shroud acknowledged the impact of Valorant’s rapid success. The Twitch streamer thinks that Valorant’s growth puts CSGO’s future in jeopardy.
“I worry for CS, if they don’t do something new and nice. I won’t be surprised if [Valve] lets it die, but I doubt it. CSGO is their baby,” shroud said.
The conversation started when shroud came across Keith “NAF” Markovic’s Valorant teaser that various other CSGO pros have been using to troll fans. The rifler posted a Reyna GIF on Twitter, similar to what Kenny “kennyS” Schrub and Tarik “tarik” Celik had earlier teased on their own handles. The tweet caught shroud’s attention, who said they may be trolling right now, but the Valorant switch is imminent for many CSGO pro players.
shroud isn’t entirely in the wrong. kennyS and NBK have stated that a Valorant switch isn’t yet in the cards as of now, but they didn’t rule out the possibility for the future. NBK even mentioned that he might consider Riot’s shooter later down the line. While these players aren’t instantly jumping on the Valorant bandwagon, it’s likely that another CSGO player exodus will soon follow if Valve continues to neglect the title compared to Riot’s constant updates to Valorant.
Is CSGO dying in 2021?
In 2020, CSGO hit the 1 million mark, proving that new FPS games have failed to sway its dedicated player base. In 2021, the game continues to show new players logging into their steam accounts to enjoy a classic tactical experience, with another increase of players registered in February showing a successful future ahead of CSGO. Contrary to the rumours, Valve’s shooter is doing just fine.
All maps are now available in CS2, what does it mean?
Poor Inferno players.
Aug 19, 2023


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- Says importing of medicine to SL is now done on availability of foreign currency and not on needs of the country or patients
- “It is inevitable that there will be shortages of more and more medicines as the foreign exchange crisis deepens”- SLCPI statement
- Urges authorities to give pharma importers them priority to establish LCs
- Points out medicine is the only commodity now under price controls
- Calls for removal of such controls given the appreciation of the USD, supply side constraints, and increased freight charges etc.
- “As difficult as it may sound, the authorities will have to choose between having medicines at a cost and not having medicines at all.”
Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) today said the importing of medicines to Sri Lanka is now done on the availability of foreign currency and not on the needs of the country or its patients.
Issuing a statement to media, SLCPI said banks, both state and private sector, allow the pharmaceutical importers to open LC’s only when they have sufficient dollars to safely guarantee payment for the imports.
“Although medicines are given certain priority, there are other items such as essential food items, petroleum products, fertilizer etc., that have to be given priority as well by the government,” the statement said.
“In this situation, it is inevitable that there will be shortages of more and more medicines as the foreign exchange crisis deepens,” it added.
SLCPI affirmed it will do its utmost to keep the supplies of medicines available uninterrupted, since it fully realizes the implications of failing to do so.
“In this regard, we earnestly hope that the authorities concerned will give us priority in establishing LC’s on time,” the statement noted.
SLCPI also urged the public not to stockpile excessive amounts of medicines, as most households don't have the required conditions to store medicines for a long period of time, and such stockpiling by the affluent could deprive others from getting the required medicines.
Meanwhile, on the pricing, SLCPI pointed out that pharmaceuticals are the only commodity in the market that is under price control in Sri Lanka.
“This is making it nearly impossible for the companies to keep selling the medicines at the same price when the US dollar continues to appreciate over time.
On top of this, the global supply chain disruptions, increase in raw material costs and freight make it impossible to supply quality medicine as anyone would understand,” the statement noted.
SLCPI also expressed its apprehension towards any move towards a floating exchange rate, as suggested by some quarters, calling it will be catastrophic.
“It will be also catastrophic in the event if the dollar is allowed to float, which will mean that all medicines will have to be sold at a loss and as such, the entire industry will collapse in the face of such a threat where the importation would obviously stop as the cost of importation will be higher than the approved prices.”
“There is no solution to this dilemma than removing the price control of medicines and implement a fair and equitable pricing mechanism which will link the price of medicines to the dollar, inflation and direct costs such as raw material, fuel and freight charges, which will make the importing and marketing of medicines viable.
As difficult as it may sound, the authorities will have to choose between having medicines at a cost and not having medicines at all,” the statement added.
SLCPI said it has already sought the intervention of the courts to bring about a transparent pricing mechanism for pharmaceuticals and medical devices that is fair to all.
“Such a mechanism may be the only salvation for the industry and the patients of the country and it is in the best interest of all concerned if the process is expedited by the authorities concerned by the government,” the statement noted.
SLCPI is the apex pharmaceutical body in the country representing the industry that import more than 80% of the country’s medicine requirement.


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Chin-chin in China
South Africa’s winemakers are eyeing a new market
“I’M big in China,” says Hein Koegelenberg, a wine magnate with a rugby player’s build and a broad grin. He heads two well-known South African estates, La Motte and Leopard’s Leap. Along with his lesser-known Chinese joint venture, Perfect Wines of South Africa, he accounted for a good half of South Africa’s total wine exports to China in 2013, or 3m of 5.8m bottles. Overall, South Africa’s wine sales to China grew by 63% in 2014. Whereas the South Africans are still small fry compared with French winemakers or even with Australians, they are determined to find a way into the hearts of Chinese drinkers, spurred on by fluctuating sales in their traditional markets in Europe.
Mr Koegelenberg, for example, took the advice of his Chinese partner, who told him to make the labels look French. So in 2011 “L’Huguenot” was born, a South African brand for China only. The name is a tribute to the early French Protestant immigrants to South Africa, with traditional-looking labels featuring a vineyard sketch. But look closer and you see a Cape Dutch farmhouse, set in South Africa’s distinctive landscape. The grape varieties are typically South African (a Chenin Blanc; a Shiraz-Pinotage blend) and chosen to complement the seafood of southern China and the spicy food of the centre-west.
Pieter Terblanche, the marketing manager at Swartland Winery, has a different approach. “Critter brands,” he says, meaning you should find any excuse to put an animal on the label. “They quite like the lions.” Swartland Winery, bought last year by William Wu, a Chinese immigrant to South Africa, is newer to the Chinese market. “He’s seen growth in Asia and wants to secure the supply chain,” says Mr Terblanche. The winery made its first shipment to China last year, ahead of January sales for the Chinese New Year holiday.
Mr Koegelenberg has had to keep up with China’s changing tastes: for example, sales of expensive wines for “gifting” to business partners have fallen off under the edicts of President Xi Jinping. There has been a learning curve for all involved. Every year Mr Koegelenberg brings 250 sales representatives from across China to the Cape winelands for a week. They learn about South Africa and how to taste wine, and visit the vineyards to see the picking, sorting and pressing of grapes. Mareli Roux, a public-relations manager, tells how the programme had to be adjusted. “They take a million pictures. We added time into the schedule for pictures.”
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Chin-chin in China"
From the May 9th 2015 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contentsExplore the edition
Jihadists are wreaking havoc. More army infighting will not help
A Potemkin tour of eastern Congo fails to conceal the scale of bloodshed
Arabic is being swamped by English


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Tesco is mulling the sale of its Giraffe restaurant chain in a move to cut its losses and distance itself from its former management’s wrong-footed strategy.
The supermarket bought the family-friendly restaurant chain in an ill-fated acquisition three years ago under the direction of former chief executive, Phil Clarke, who saw Giraffe as an opportunity to lure more customers into its larger stores.
However, losses have continued to grow at the restaurant chain since the takeover and it last year posted a £4.1m loss last year on the back of new openings and a write-down on the value of some existing restaurants.
Tesco paid £50m for Giraffe, which now has 60 sites across the UK, but any sale proceeds from a deal would be insignificant in the context of Tesco’s multi-billion balance sheet. A Tesco spokesman declined to comment.
Dave Lewis , chief executive, said last year that there would be no more big overseas disposals following its £4.2bn sale of its South Korean Homeplus business.
However, it is thought that he is trimming the group’s interests in interests outside its grocery business as he focuses on Tesco’s turnaround.
Private equity firms, which have an already proven appetite for restaurant takeovers, are understood to have been quietly sounded out about their interest, according to Sky News.
There have been a raft of private equity takeovers of UK casual dining restaurant chains over the past 18 months including Côte, Prezzo, Ed’s Diner, Las Iguanas, La Tasca and Yo! Sushi.
Under Mr Clarke’s leadership Tesco also bought Harris & Hoole, an upmarket coffee chain, and BlinkBox, the video streaming business that it has subsequently sold and shut.
In February Tesco took full control of the loss-making Harris & Hoole coffee shop chain, ending speculation that it would also cut its ties from the business.
Harris & Hoole has 43 outlets, including 29 in Tesco stores, but losses ballooned to £25.6m in the year ending to March 2015.


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WASHINGTON (July 12) — The Chinese manufacturer of 450,000 tires subject to recall in the U.S. said it met with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration staff July 11, and declares its tires met or exceeded U.S. standards.
Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. said it will give NHTSA any information it needs to independently confirm the safety and reliability of the tires. After that review, if a recall is appropriate, the company said it will take all necessary action to ensure a recall is completed successfully and expeditiously.
The tire maker's action and statement comes a few days before New Jersey importer Foreign Tire Sales Inc. begins a recall campaign. On July 16 the firm will begin running ads in "USA Today," and send out press releases and videos to all national markets, as well as letters to individual consumers, notifying the public of the recall.
The Union, N.J.-based importer reported to NHTSA in June potential defects in the light truck tires. The company said the tires were made without or with insufficient gum strips between the belts to prevent belt.
In a Chinese-language letter on its Web site, Hangzhou Zhongce said it is in a business dispute with FTS, and after the importer sued the Chinese company, it contacted NHTSA about alleged quality defects in the tires.
"So we believe this is merely a commercial overhype initiated by FTS for the lawsuit purpose. Meanwhile, we will keep the right to claim compensation for the loss that FTS has brought to us," the company said.
Hangzhou Zhongce said it did not find the defect claimed by FTS. "We are certain about the reliability and quality of our products," the firm said.


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The 17th annual Chicago Toy and Game Fair will see the launch of the world’s largest kid-powered rocket and top toys and games revealed to 30,000 attendees.
Taking place from Saturday 23rd November to 24th November 2019 at Navy Pier, Chicago, CHITAG Fair will host 30,000 attendees for a playful weekend unveiling the top toys and games for the festive season. The fair will be open from 10am-6pm on Saturday 23rd and 10am-5pm on Sunday 24th November. Families with special needs are able to attend both days early for the Sensory Power Hour.
The CHITAG Fair is North America’s largest toy and game fair open to the public and will feature more than 125 interactive exhibits, immersive events and activities for all ages, created by leading toy and game brands from around the world.
“CHITAG Fair is Chicago’s original play experience,” said CEO and founder Mary Couzin. “This year, we’re taking the experience to new heights, launching the World’s Largest Kid-Powered Rocket, along with sneak peeks of some of the hottest holiday toys.”
Key sponsors for this year’s fair include Goliath, Mattel, PlayMonster, Hasbro, Spin Master, The Michael Kohner Corporation, Oxford Games, Exploding Kittens, Rummikub, American Specialty Toy Association, Toy Association, Longshore, Big G Creative and ThinkFun.
The 30,000 visitors will have plenty to see and do including:
• The launch of the World’s Largest Kid-Powered Rocket (Kite and Rocket Research)
• First look at the new Super Things line of collectible toys from Goliath, with free blind bag samples on offer
• Decorating Fuzzikins to take home (PlayMonster)
• The Gator Golf Putting Station (Goliath)
• The Young Inventor Challenge on Saturday 23rd November
• Sven’s Frozen Adventure for the Frozen II Scavenger Hunt (Jakks Pacific)
• The first public showcasing of the new D-O being introduced in Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker (Hasbro)
Tickets are available now and can be purchased here. For more details on special events, speakers, exhibitors and more, visit www.chitag.com.


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A window cleaner unknowingly had a £1 coin in his pocket - worth a jaw-dropping £3,000.
Coin mad Richard Bird, from Hull, discovered the new £1 coin last month which had 2016 on one side, and 2017 in micro-inscriptions around the edge of the reverse.
According to the Hull Daily Mail, Mr Bird reckoned the coin may be valuable because of the error - and the Royal Mint have now confirmed as much.
Valuers have estimated the rare coin could fetch Mr Bird an eye-watering £3,000.
Not a bad sum for your spare change, eh?
The collector said he now plans to sell the coin on, rather than add it to his collection which he claims is worth around £15,000.
He said: “It’s been confirmed that it is what I thought it was.
"The people from the Royal Mint have seen it and saw it as a genuine and are now investigating how it got into circulation.
“A couple of others have claimed to have similar coins, but according to Change checker no-one else has proved it yet.
“After it was verified I was then able to get it valued, and I was told it could be worth about £3,000.
“I’ve got a collection which I think is worth about £15,000.
"I’d love to do it professionally, but I think it’s a nice side project to do alongside the window cleaning.
“I just check all my coins I circulate and spotted the mistake.
“Surely it can’t be the only one like it.
"They’ve made the fault so there must be more like it, but people just have to spot it.
“But there definitely won’t be a large amount.
"There are so many collectors that others would have been confirmed by now otherwise.
“I think I will sell it.
"I mainly got into collecting so I could get commemorative stuff that my daughter would be able to keep.
"Last year I bought some Beatrix Potter collection coins for around £60 each.
"The Peter Rabbit one is already selling for £550.
“They are good long term investments, but I think I will probably just cash in on this at some point.
"I will probably auction it off with a £3,000 reserve.”
In a letter, the Assistant Curator at the Royal Mint said: “The Royal Mint produces around five billion coins each year and we have strict quality controls in place.
“Our robust quality checks were successful in highlighting a fault in a small batch of coins.
"These coins were removed before they entered circulation and, therefore, we are investigating how this coin got into the public domain.
“We are committed to producing a consistently high standard of coins and thank you for bringing this our attention.”


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The proverbial window for IPOs may be closing, but it's still open at least a crack. On Thursday, Chinese messaging service Weibo and Sabre Holdings, the parent of Travelocity, made their public debuts. At 91 so far, according to Renaissance Capital, the volume of IPOs in 2014 is more than double the pace of 2013 -- the biggest year for IPOs since 2000.
But as with a number of recent deals, including investment bank Moelis, Weibo and Sabre each sold fewer shares than expected, priced offerings below the expected range and struggled on their first day. (Shares of both Weibo and Sabre were up modestly in recent trading.)
it's hardly the stuff bubbles are made of, as I discuss in the accompanying video with Ben Horowitz, cofounder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that has founded more than 2300 companies and has over $4 billion under management.
"It's hard to see us in the bubble like we had in equities if we're not even back to [the year] 2000 in terms of the Nasdaq," Horowitz says, noting the index remains about 20% below its all-time peak. "Are there companies ahead of their valuations and performance? No question. But it was very different then, when we were in a bubble."
More important than the Nasdaq's level, Horowitz says, is the quality of the companies going public today -- at least compared with the IPOs of the dot.com era.
"In the old days, companies went public at a much younger stage," recalls the former CEO of Loudcloud, which went public in 2001. "Look at the financials [of today's IPOs]. They at least have big time revenue if not big time profits. The big difference is the businesses are working."
Horowitz, who declined to discuss the IPO prospects of his firm's specific portfolio companies, which include Box and Airbnb, says today's startups are more successful in part because:
The Internet did change everything: "Investors tend to get overexcited but it's not a situation where people go 'the Internet is going to be huge' and it's way too early, which is what happened last time," he says, noting the size of the online audience has grown 50 times since 1999.
The cost of doing business is down: "The cost structure [today] is more than 100 times cheaper so businesses and business ideas and concepts that didn't work before are working in a very real way."
Finally, the IPO market has been subdued in recent years "so a pickup is interesting but much more a reflection of how many high quality companies there are and have been created in last five years," he says.


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Buyers of new street and dual purpose motorcycles are more satisfied with the initial price of a motorcycle today than they were five years ago, according to the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates’ Motorcycle Competitive Information Study.
The enhanced appreciation for the sticker price not only extends to all brand categories, from domestic to European to metric, but to all major model segments.
The reasoning for the improved perception of the price is harder to single out for dealers, who weigh the more savvy buyer to the worsening economy and its effect on supply and demand as possible explanations.
Consumers in the J.D. Power and Associates’ study were asked to rate the “initial price of a motorcycle” between 1 and 10, with 10 being “outstanding” and 1 being “unacceptable.”
Overall, the percentage of consumers who gave the cost rating the three highest scores — a 10, 9 or 8 — amounted to 54 percent. That percentage has risen slightly since last year, roughly three percentage points, but noticeably during the past five years. In 2004, consumers gave top scores only 42 percent of the time.
All three brand categories have seen noticeable gains, with metric brands gaining the most increase. Sixty three percent of consumers gave metric brands the top scores, a nearly 14-percentage point gain over five years ago.
Domestic brands, including Harley-Davidson, have seen the next highest increase, at 12 percentage points. Buyers in the 2008 survey give top cost rating marks to domestic brands 47 percent of the time.
European brands also receive top marks 47 percent of the time, a 9-percentage point increase over five years ago.
Bob De Haven, owner of Patriot Harley-Davidson in Fairfax, Va., believes the survey’s results make a lot of sense. De Haven says the quality of Harley-Davidson motorcycles has risen and the price largely has fallen in those five years.
“If you think about five years ago, Harleys were selling generally above MSRP,” he said. “A lot of dealers were scalping people and today Harleys are selling at or below MSRP so people should be happy with that.”
Jay Dabney, dealer principal of Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson in Riverside, Calif., sees the increased customer satisfaction over the price of new bikes as a byproduct of the weakened U.S. economy.
“We’re just all competing for a constrained amount of demand,” Dabney said, noting that leads to dealers lowering prices to MSRP or even below MSRP.
Glenn Hansen, American Suzuki Motor Corp.’s communications director for its motorcycle and ATV division, noted the survey’s findings are in line with what Suzuki has seen with its own surveys. Suzuki surveys new unit consumers one month after their purchase and asks how satisfied they were with the purchase price and overall deal.
Hansen said the same trend has emerged with Suzuki’s survey, showing “people are more satisfied that they got a good deal, but far smaller increase in that satisfaction level” than the J.D. Power findings.
What is driving the more satisfied rating on the metric side is a debatable issue for dealers.
Robert Hintz, general manager of The Engelhart Center in Madison, Wis., saw a number of first-time buyers this year that were spurred to look at alternative transportation due to the higher gas prices this summer.
“We had a lot of customers come in and say, ‘Wow, is that all a motorcycle costs?’” he said. “That average person on the street, all he hears is the Harley-Davidson pricing because that’s the one drum that gets beat everyday. Their buddy has a Harley and he spent $25,000. So when they come in and see this Japanese bike that is sitting here on the floor and it’s under $7,000, they go, ‘Is that it?’”
Greg Kirn, finance manager of Action Power Sports in Waukesha, Wis., wonders if the increased satisfaction isn’t a byproduct of a more knowledgeable customer. “The metric buyer seems to be pretty Internet savvy as far as comparing prices and doing their shopping” before purchasing, he said.
Cost of ownership
Just like the initial price of a motorcycle, new bike buyers also were more satisfied with the cost of ownership compared to five years ago. Overall, 58.6 percent of new buyers gave a 10, 9 or 8 score — the three highest scores on the 1-10 ranking system — to the cost of ownership. That is a 21-percentage point increase over five years ago.
Again, the increase was spread throughout the different brand categories as well as bike model segments. The touring segment saw the biggest increase, with 57 percent of buyers giving the top three marks to the cost of ownership rating compared to just 32 percent five years ago.
Cost Rating of the Initial Price of the Motorcycle
The dual sport rider was the most likely new bike buyer to give their cost rating a “10.” The below percentages represent all brands.
10 Outstanding: 16.8%
5 Average: 19.4%
1 Unacceptable: 0.7%
Price Paid For New Motorcycle
The below percentages represent all brands.
$5,000 and below: 7.1%
More than $20,000: 18.1%
Cost Rating of the Overall Cost of Ownership
Cruiser riders gave the cost of ownership a score of “10” almost 20 percent of the time, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to five years ago. Below shows results from all brands.
10 Outstanding: 17.9%
5 Average: 15.9%
1 Unacceptable: 0.4%
— Neil Pascale
For further information on the survey, contact Tim Fox, research manager at J.D. Power and Associates, at 248/312-4373 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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The WiFi Alliance unveiled a new WiFi standard that is aimed at connecting smart homes called ‘WiFi Halow’.
With industry momentum mounting around a low power Wi-Fi® solution, Wi-Fi Alliance® has introduced Wi-Fi HaLow™ as the designation for products incorporating IEEE 802.11ah technology. Wi-Fi HaLow operates in frequency bands below one gigahertz, offering longer range, lower power connectivity to Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products. Wi-Fi HaLow will enable a variety of new power-efficient use cases in the Smart Home, connected car, and digital healthcare, as well as industrial, retail, agriculture, and Smart City environments.
Wi-Fi HaLow extends Wi-Fi into the 900 MHz band, enabling the low power connectivity necessary for applications including sensor and wearables. Wi-Fi HaLow’s range is nearly twice that of today’s Wi-Fi, and will not only be capable of transmitting signals further, but also providing a more robust connection in challenging environments where the ability to more easily penetrate walls or other barriers is an important consideration. Wi-Fi HaLow will broadly adopt Wi-Fi protocols and deliver many of the benefits that consumers have come to expect from Wi-Fi today, including multi-vendor interoperability, strong government-grade security, and easy setup.
– See more at: http://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-halow#sthash.EgZDxny3.dpuf


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Eco friendly hotels are growing in popularity among travelers who prefer these hotels over the non-ecofriendly ones. A recent survey conducted by TripAdvisor shows that nearly two-thirds of travelers, 62 percent, often or always consider the environment when choosing hotels, transportation and meals.
Seeing the steep demand, TripAdvisor had launched TripAdvisor Green Leaders, a rating service which rates various hotels in USA ranging from Bronze to Platinum based on their environmental friendly practices. Over 1000 hotels have partaken in this initiative and have received over 100 million reviews so far.
TripAdvisor also added a new category to their site alongside the famous categories like business, family and more. The new category is a green button which showcases all the green hotels and their green practices. Other OTAs such as Travelocity and Hotels.com have also introduced the green button.
Even business travelers are choosing green hotels over other lodgings. In a survey conducted by Timetric, it was found that 47 percent of business travelers prioritize ‘green hotels’ when staying out of town for work.
Canadian Travel Intentions Survey also found that 42 percent of surveyed business travelers reveal that practices like recycling and energy efficiency matter to them when choosing where to stay. The same percentage of all travelers said they would pay $1 or more to offset their carbon footprint during a stay at a property.
Travelocity also reveals that travelers rate green hotels higher compared to non-ecofriendly hotels. Based on their rating system of 1- 5 points, with five being the best, 94 percent of green hotels received a rating of 3 or more points while 82 percent of non-green hotels received at least 3 stars.
Going by all the above findings, it is clear that there is a significant demand for environmental friendly hotels. The demand is more so in USA where residents practice methods of decreasing waste and supporting nature. States like Florida and California have made provisions of making their employees stay in green hotels during business travel. (Source: hmghotelsblog)
Benefits for the hoteliers
Since hotels consume a significant amount of resources that can have adverse effects on environment, going green is the only way for both hotels and guests to experience the following benefits.
Stay ahead of competition: Your hotel can gain competitive advantage over others as today’s guests respect the idea of conserving the environment.
Decreased costs: Hotels can considerably lower their operating costs by implementing environment friendly practices.
Provide a healthier environment: Due to the significant reduction of energy and water waste, you can provide your guests a healthier living and a healthier workplace for your employees.
Marketing opportunities: Hotels can market their property in a unique way highlighting the environmental friendly practices.
Enhanced guest experience: Hotels can provide their guests with natural and green amenities (toiletries, in-room services) to create a lasting impression.
The hospitality industry is practicing eco-friendly practices to save money and resources. Begin environment friendly practices by saving water, energy and train your staff to implement and execute the green programs. (Also read: Simple tips on going eco-friendly)


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Creative Director Roberto Verona has been asked to join some of our colleagues from creative studios in Madrid at Mr Marcel School to talk about UX design in the Mr.M Pills series.
'How to get to the next level' will be an intimate chat between those practising these design principles every day, and will discuss how the industry is changing.
Expect practical advice on how to prepare for the future, and some stories from those building brands for the best.
Looking forward to sharing the stage (or screen) with those from such interesting companies.
This event will be in Spanish.


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For more than two years, over a hundred people at Microsoft have worked tirelessly to improve the video game controller. Today, in a seven minute long YouTube video, Microsoft has stated that they have made “over 40 improvements” to the Xbox One controller. Zulfi Alam, general manager of Xbox accessories group, had this to say,
“We wanted to make sure that it is incredibly comfortable controller. We had hundreds of models, hundreds of user-research studies, and hundreds of gaming to make sure people feel comfortable with it. The changes that we came up with — some are small and some are large.”
Alam also talked to Microsoft’s Major Nelson about every design decision in the new controller. One major change is that the controller has the capability to work as either wired or wireless. And on top of that the battery pack (which still uses AA batteries) is now integrated with the controller itself.
Now there’s no protruding piece of plastic on the back of the controllers. Alam said,
“Rechargeable batteries have—this is physics—X number of cycles. After those cycles, the controller has to be replaced. So we decided that we wanted to give our customers an option. If they wanted to have a rechargeable controller we give them a battery pack they can integrate inside.”
Gamers’ complaints were also taken into account. Dead zones on the thumbsticks have been reduced and holes for the controller’s screws have been covered up – an issue for long-session gamers. The D-pad has also seen improvement, after concerns about its inaccuracies. The new design is a clean “plus-sign” that’s raised further off the surface.
Alam’s team also tested for gamer rage. The controller was rigorously tested to make sure that if the controller is dropped, or thrown, it won’t shatter and break.
Alam and his team worked hard to make sure every detail was taken into account. For a more detailed look at the improvements, be sure to watch the video above. And feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think of the changes.


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Website users can log onto www.acticoa.com and discover the beneficial impact cocoa can have on heart health, brain function, the immune system and antioxidant levels.
Recently chocolate manufacturers have been vociferous in pushing the health aspects of cocoa to combat consumer concerns, with confectioners such as Nestlé and Mars pouring investment into nutrition research.
Cocoa contains high levels of polyphenols and flavanols - antioxidants which can work to protect the body from cell damage - research into their effects suggests they can halt the development of cancer cells, lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
As these benefits become more widely known, consumers are catching on and driving up sales of dark chocolate which, according to analysts Leatherhead International, now make up 19 per cent of global chocolate sales.
Last year, Barry Callebaut developed a new process under the trademark Acticoa which aims to preserve more of the healthy polyphenols that are often lost during cocoa bean processing.
Acticoa covers several processing stages, from harvesting through the processing of cocoa beans to the finished product, chocolate. The greatest loss in terms of natural polyphenols takes place during the fermentation of cocoa beans.
According to Barry Callebaut, Acticoa methods reduce the loss of polyphenols from 70 per cent in standard industry to 20 per cent.
The new website amasses together information gleaned from several scientific sources and is aimed at the cocoa processor's customers and consumers.
Barry Callebaut's chief innovation officer Hans Vriens said: "Acticoa is one outcome of our efforts to respond to the consumer demand for healthy and functional foods.
"Our research has been very fruitful and has led to some remarkable discoveries which we're keen to share with our customers, consumers and the public at large."


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Harley Davidson is set to launch electric bike Del Mar
Green Curved Line
Harley Davidson recently announced that it will launch a new electric bike under the LiveWire brand.
The new electric bike will be in the mid-weight segment. It will focus on providing an electric bike experience.
It will be built on the company's proprietary modular, scalable and modular 'Arrow' platform. This platform will be positioned as a cheese-friendly addition to the mid-weight segment.
Harley will make additional bikes that are based on the same platform as the LiveWire S2 (System 2 models).
LiveWire S3 models will be lighter and LiveWire S4 heavyweight models. The premium model, the H-D LiveWire One, will remain the brand's flagship model (despite its high price).
Although the Del Mar S2 bike falls in the middleweight category, the same platform can be used to make lighter EVs.
We look forward to introducing our first product under LiveWire's Arrow architecture during the second quarter.


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A newlywed couple stranded on Mount Everest today issued a desperate plea for helicopters to airlift them to safety as the death toll from the Nepal earthquake hit 3,288.
Londoners are set to endure colder temperatures and rain this week as the warm April weather takes a turn for the worse.
City Spy: Flashback fashion goes up for grabs, Tesco tipster spot on with Moyes and Kate Swann and her old mentor reunited
Published: 23 April 2014
Updated: 23:02, 23 April 2014
For those keeping a keen eye on Sky Sports News or even Winterflood market-maker and golf tipster Warren Todd for their sports news and predictions — up steps a new pretender.
Tesco stores director Mark Winter proved on the money in predicting David Moyes’ sacking as Manchester United manager and the appointment of Ryan Giggs, pictured below, as his short-term replacement before US stock markets opened. Winter made the call on Twitter, citing sources close to the Old Trafford club long before Moyes’ departure was confirmed.
He also claims Dutch national team manager Louis Van Gaal will be made Moyes’ permanent successor in the next two weeks with £150 million to spend next season. We’ll keep an eye on his tip. Meanwhile, some in the City might be keen for an early nudge on how long Winter’s own boss, Philip Clarke, might have left at Tesco.
Flashback fashion goes up for grabs
A blast from the past will hit Stratford tomorrow when one of the best fashion wardrobes of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s goes on sale. More than 1500 designer pieces from the wardrobe of Hannelore Smart, widow of circus king Billy Smart Jr, will be put up for sale by former UK Vogue.com editor Abi Chisman.
In its ’50s and ’60s heyday, Billy Smart’s circus was a top attraction with the big top holding 5500 people. Smart Jr, known as a man about town and often pictured with glamorous women including Jayne Mansfield and Diana Dors, married Pan Am air stewardess Hannelore in 1973.
Now her designer pieces, which include Louis Vuitton, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier are up for grabs. Chisman’s Designer Jumble pop-up business will sell the collection in a private sale at its store at Westfield Stratford, with prices between £20 to £500, while 50 auction lots, being sold by Gavel & Grand, are expected to fetch thousands of pounds
The event is being held on Fashion Revolution Day and some of the proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s Society.
The best-known pieces include Miyake’s Plastic Body, as modelled by Grace Jones, and an 1992 Ralph Lauren teddy jumper that Kanye West sported.
Kate Swann and her old mentor reunited
A belated welcome to the board of airport and railway station caterer SSP for the low-key but evidently in-demand John Barton.
On top of chairing easyJet, retailer Next and insurance underwriter Catlin, Barton becomes remuneration committee chairman for SSP, the Upper Crust, Starbucks and Caffè Ritazza concession operator tipped to put its shares on the menu with a £2 billion float later this year.
Barton will find his surroundings as familiar as a hungry rail traveller surveying Upper Crust’s selection of overpriced baguettes. The chartered accountant was a non-executive director at WH Smith for much of the decade that Kate Swann was the boss — and reputedly something of a mentor to her. Seven months after the cost-cutting queen took over as chief executive of SSP, they have been reunited. Spy is sure a boardroom veteran like Barton won’t let Swann enjoy extra helpings in her pay package without good reason.
Singaporeans up for a spot of Doga
Puppy-eyed fund managers at Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC have upped their stake in Pets At Home to more than 5%, spending north of £50 million in the process. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, given pet-mad wealthy Singaporeans spend fortunes on luxury food, cruises and even dog yoga — or Doga — for their four-legged friends. Let’s hope the shares aren’t, er, a dog too.
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As exciting a product as GT3 racing is – especially in the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint and SprintX formats – the cars themselves have become complicated. And while GT3 was envisioned as customer – not factory – racing, those who buy and race the cars have learned that doing so without some support from the factory is a challenging task. Tim Pappas and his Black Swan Racing team have been on both sides, and he prefers racing with a support infrastructure in place.
Pappas was the pioneer in Mercedes AMG GT3 racing in the U.S., bringing the SLS GT3 to the U.S. to race in PWC. It was the company’s approach to its first GT3 program that drew Pappas to race the car.
“In 2011, I was contacted by my teammate, Jeroen Bleekemolen, who alerted me that there were three SLSs entered in the 24 Hours of Dubai and was I interested in joining one of the cars,” Pappas explained. “The cars were run by Black Flacon, but were still technically under the guise of a factory program – it was after Dubai that the first customer cars were delivered, so the 24 Hours of Dubai 2011 was the last proof-of-concept and development of the cars. The car was fantastic, but unfortunately one of my teammates had a pretty big shunt early in the race and the car ended up spending two hours in the garage. But one of our sister cars finished third in the race.”
Excerpted from RACER.com. Read the full article at:


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|By Business Wire||
|May 15, 2014 12:01 PM EDT||
Zuora, the subscription billing, commerce and finance leader, today announced the return of Subscribed in San Francisco, the only conference uniquely designed to help leaders in finance, IT, marketing, operations and sales embrace subscription models to transform and modernize their businesses. Now in its third year, Subscribed brings together more than 1,000 leaders from across the globe to discuss everything from the best ways to launch and grow a subscription business to practical tips for enterprises as they move toward subscription-based offerings and look for new ways to build trust and deepen relationships with customers.
This year’s theme is The Disruption of Everything and will showcase the dramatic shift in the way both consumers and companies want to do business. Today, people prefer to subscribe to a service rather simply buy a product. It's happening everywhere and this shift is being felt across all industries and market segments, impacting everything from music to transportation to hospitality to healthcare to education and beyond.
This is the only event on the planet where attendees will walk away with innovative pricing strategies, the secrets of customer acquisition and retention, a new set of financial metrics to run a business, and tools to automate subscription operations.
Notable speakers include:
- David Wadhwani, senior vice-president and general manager with Adobe, who will be on hand to share lessons learned from the company’s recent shift toward a subscription-based business model.
- Mike Kail, CIO of Netflix, who will discuss the strategies, challenges and pay-offs of embracing an all-cloud strategy to accelerate innovation within a fast-growing entertainment industry disrupter.
- JB Wood, CEO of Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA), will talk about the changing relationship between vendors and customers and tips for thriving in this new world.
- Alan Parsons of The Alan Parsons Project talking about the democratization and disruption of the music industry.
André Pimentel, VP Operations with Demandforce, an Intuit Company said about the event, “We run our business on Zuora. It's critical we have our entire team attend this event."
For the first-time ever, Subscribed 2014 will feature a track for Enterprises which are looking to make the move to subscriptions. Accenture, Deloitte and PWC are just some of the names who will discuss issues and practical advice for Enterprises as they transform their business through subscriptions. For more details on this track, please see: http://www.subscribed.com/enterprise-track-sf/
Sessions will cover: innovative pricing strategies, the secrets of customer acquisition and retention, implementing a new set of financial metrics to run your business, and tools to automate your subscription operations.
Subscribed 2014 will take place June 2-4, 2014 at The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, CA.
Other featured speakers include:
- Tien Tzuo, CEO & Founder, Zuora
- Andy McAfee, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management
- Elias Dayah, Senior Director of Business Operations, Motorola
Commentary from past attendees:
“Energy was amazing!!! Most events are boring, this was well worth it
and content was spot on. I just wish I could attend all the sessions.“
- Merav Munz, Director of BroadCasting and Publishing, Rogers *
“I never thought that the export business could monetize via a
subscription service. That’s amazing and we could literally subscribe to
-Attendee, Borderfree breakout session *
“My business is exploding aka double digits in the past two years due to
- Keith Fox, President, Cloudware Connections *
“Wow, very impressive and I know I made the right choice by coming to
- Winston Morton, Vice President, Technology Link Bermuda *
“In five to ten years, every company will be a subscription company, part of a $500 billion market opportunity. Subscribed has become a can’t-miss event that brings together people of all walks of life to share best practices and practical tips about the unique issues and challenges of the Subscription Economy,” said Tien Tzuo, CEO & Founder, Zuora.
Subscribed San Francisco is part of Zuora’s global conference series for companies that have joined the massive shift to the Subscription Economy. Subscribed Europe will take place September 24, 2014 in London UK.
- For more information on the agenda, and to register to attend: http://www.subscribed.com/
- Get conference updates, session information, an interactive venue map and social games with the Subscribed app: https://guidebook.com/app/Zuora/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Zuora / #Subscribed14
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zuora
About Zuora, Inc.
Zuora is the global leader in subscription commerce and billing, helping companies in every industry transition to the Subscription Economy. Enterprise leaders and high-growth companies alike use Zuora's multi-tenant cloud platform to launch, scale, and monetize their subscription services. Zuora's applications work where traditional ERP applications fail: Subscription pricing, quoting, orders, billing, payments, and renewals. Built from the ground up by SaaS industry veterans from salesforce.com, PayPal, and Netsuite, Zuora services innovative customers like Informatica, Tata Communications, Box, Xplornet, Ustream and Reed Business Information. To learn more about Zuora, please visit zuora.com.
The essence of data analysis involves setting up data pipelines that consist of several operations that are chained together – starting from data collection, data quality checks, data integration, data analysis and data visualization (including the setting up of interaction paths in that visualization). In our opinion, the challenges stem from the technology diversity at each stage of the data pipeline as well as the lack of process around the analysis.
May. 30, 2016 03:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,528
A strange thing is happening along the way to the Internet of Things, namely far too many devices to work with and manage. It has become clear that we'll need much higher efficiency user experiences that can allow us to more easily and scalably work with the thousands of devices that will soon be in each of our lives. Enter the conversational interface revolution, combining bots we can literally talk with, gesture to, and even direct with our thoughts, with embedded artificial intelligence, wh...
May. 30, 2016 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,080
Designing IoT applications is complex, but deploying them in a scalable fashion is even more complex. A scalable, API first IaaS cloud is a good start, but in order to understand the various components specific to deploying IoT applications, one needs to understand the architecture of these applications and figure out how to scale these components independently. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nara Rajagopalan is CEO of Accelerite, will discuss the fundamental architecture of IoT applications, ...
May. 30, 2016 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,383
SYS-CON Events announced today that Tintri Inc., a leading producer of VM-aware storage (VAS) for virtualization and cloud environments, will exhibit at the 18th International CloudExpo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, and the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
May. 30, 2016 02:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,517
SYS-CON Events announced today that MangoApps will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. MangoApps provides modern company intranets and team collaboration software, allowing workers to stay connected and productive from anywhere in the world and from any device. For more information, please visit https://www.mangoapps.com/.
May. 30, 2016 02:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,055
SYS-CON Events announced today that Alert Logic, Inc., the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for the cloud, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Alert Logic, Inc., provides Security-as-a-Service for on-premises, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, delivering deep security insight and continuous protection for customers at a lower cost than traditional security solutions. Ful...
May. 30, 2016 02:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,988
In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Bruce Swann, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Adobe, will discuss how the Adobe Marketing Cloud can help marketers embrace opportunities for personalized, relevant and real-time customer engagement across offline (direct mail, point of sale, call center) and digital (email, website, SMS, mobile apps, social networks, connected objects). Bruce Swann has more than 15 years of experience working with digital marketing disciplines like web analytics, social med...
May. 30, 2016 02:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,469
SYS-CON Events announced today Object Management Group® has been named “Media Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7–9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
May. 30, 2016 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,684
SYS-CON Events announced today that EastBanc Technologies will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. EastBanc Technologies has been working at the frontier of technology since 1999. Today, the firm provides full-lifecycle software development delivering flexible technology solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing systems – whether on premise or cloud. EastBanc Technologies partners with p...
May. 29, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,409
SYS-CON Events announced today that ContentMX, the marketing technology and services company with a singular mission to increase engagement and drive more conversations for enterprise, channel and SMB technology marketers, has been named “Sponsor & Exhibitor Lounge Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York. “CloudExpo is a great opportunity to start a conversation with new prospects, but what happens after the...
May. 29, 2016 04:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,333
WebRTC is bringing significant change to the communications landscape that will bridge the worlds of web and telephony, making the Internet the new standard for communications. Cloud9 took the road less traveled and used WebRTC to create a downloadable enterprise-grade communications platform that is changing the communication dynamic in the financial sector. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Leo Papadopoulos, CTO of Cloud9, will discuss the importance of WebRTC and how it enables companies to fo...
May. 29, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,610
The IoT is changing the way enterprises conduct business. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Eric Hoffman, Vice President at EastBanc Technologies, discuss how businesses can gain an edge over competitors by empowering consumers to take control through IoT. We'll cite examples such as a Washington, D.C.-based sports club that leveraged IoT and the cloud to develop a comprehensive booking system. He'll also highlight how IoT can revitalize and restore outdated business models, making them profitable...
May. 29, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,004
The IoTs will challenge the status quo of how IT and development organizations operate. Or will it? Certainly the fog layer of IoT requires special insights about data ontology, security and transactional integrity. But the developmental challenges are the same: People, Process and Platform. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Craig Sproule, CEO of Metavine, will demonstrate how to move beyond today's coding paradigm and share the must-have mindsets for removing complexity from the development proc...
May. 29, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,993
Customer experience has become a competitive differentiator for companies, and it’s imperative that brands seamlessly connect the customer journey across all platforms. With the continued explosion of IoT, join us for a look at how to build a winning digital foundation in the connected era – today and in the future. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Nguyen, Group Product Marketing Manager at Adobe, will discuss how to successfully leverage mobile, rapidly deploy content, capture real-time d...
May. 29, 2016 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,702
What a difference a year makes. Organizations aren’t just talking about IoT possibilities, it is now baked into their core business strategy. With IoT, billions of devices generating data from different companies on different networks around the globe need to interact. From efficiency to better customer insights to completely new business models, IoT will turn traditional business models upside down. In the new customer-centric age, the key to success is delivering critical services and apps wit...
May. 29, 2016 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,308
Join us at Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo 2016 – June 7-9 at the Javits Center in New York City and November 1-3 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA – and deliver your unique message in a way that is striking and unforgettable by taking advantage of SYS-CON's unmatched high-impact, result-driven event / media packages.
May. 29, 2016 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,560
In his keynote at 18th Cloud Expo, Andrew Keys, Co-Founder of ConsenSys Enterprise, will provide an overview of the evolution of the Internet and the Database and the future of their combination – the Blockchain. Andrew Keys is Co-Founder of ConsenSys Enterprise. He comes to ConsenSys Enterprise with capital markets, technology and entrepreneurial experience. Previously, he worked for UBS investment bank in equities analysis. Later, he was responsible for the creation and distribution of life ...
May. 29, 2016 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,044
SYS-CON Events announced today that BMC Software has been named "Siver Sponsor" of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2015 at the Javits Center in New York, New York. BMC is a global leader in innovative software solutions that help businesses transform into digital enterprises for the ultimate competitive advantage. BMC Digital Enterprise Management is a set of innovative IT solutions designed to make digital business fast, seamless, and optimized from mainframe to mo...
May. 29, 2016 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 2,327
SYS-CON Events announced today that MobiDev will exhibit at SYS-CON's 18th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. MobiDev is a software company that develops and delivers turn-key mobile apps, websites, web services, and complex software systems for startups and enterprises. Since 2009 it has grown from a small group of passionate engineers and business managers to a full-scale mobile software company with over 200 develope...
May. 29, 2016 08:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,781
SoftLayer operates a global cloud infrastructure platform built for Internet scale. With a global footprint of data centers and network points of presence, SoftLayer provides infrastructure as a service to leading-edge customers ranging from Web startups to global enterprises. SoftLayer's modular architecture, full-featured API, and sophisticated automation provide unparalleled performance and control. Its flexible unified platform seamlessly spans physical and virtual devices linked via a world...
May. 29, 2016 07:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,326


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From yoga studios to prosecco bars, how department stores are fighting back against the internet shopping boom
- Debenhams will overhaul its shops with beauty treatments and prosecco bars
- It follows House of Fraser and John Lewis with the radical overhaul
- Retailers now want friends and families to view shopping as a day out
Department stores are waging a war against online retailers in a battle which will transform the face of the British High Street.
Yesterday, Debenhams announced plans to overhaul its shops with beauty treatments, restaurants and prosecco bars, to encourage shoppers to spend more time there.
It follows House of Fraser and John Lewis which are trying to lure shoppers into stores with yoga studios, spas and champagne bars.
Trendsetter: Yesterday, Debenhams announced plans to overhaul its shops with beauty treatments, restaurants and prosecco bars, to encourage shoppers to spend more time there
The radical overhauls come as department stores look anxiously at America where more than 3,500 stores are expected to close in the next couple of months.
Sears, Macy’s and JC Penney are among those to suffer, reeling from a punishing slump in the industry which has left many traditional US shopping malls deserted.
In the UK, department stores are fighting to prevent a similar fate by investing millions of pounds in upgrading shops – and in some cases closing underperforming stores.
Endless opportunities: Retailers now want friends and families to view shopping as a day out
They want friends and families to view shopping as a day out. Richard Hyman, an independent retail analyst, said: ‘These shops have to follow their customers. Just sitting there and being the department stores of three or four decades ago isn’t going to get them anywhere.’
M&S closes six stores
Marks & Spencer is to close six shops in a shake-up which will affect 380 jobs.
The move is part of an overhaul which will eventually see 30 UK stores disappear and 45 turned into food shops.
Stores to go include those at Monks Cross, Portsmouth, Slough, Warrington, Wokingham and Worksop.
However M&S is also opening more outlets, creating 1,400 jobs in 36 stores over the next six months.
M&S said that the 380 staff would be offered jobs in nearby branches.
John Lewis has said it wants to ‘reinvent’ the department store by stocking more of its own brands and offering services such as bikini waxes.
It has also introduced opticians, travel agents, spas and extra restaurants.
Like its rivals, the 153-year-old retailer is halting new store openings.
New boss Paula Nickolds has called the current climate a ‘turbulent and challenging’ time for the industry.
‘Our brand is our secret weapon,’ she said. ‘We need to offer customers things you can only get from John Lewis.’
That strategy has seen the retailer introduce its own luxury womenswear brand.
House of Fraser is stripping back the number of clothing brands it sells and focusing on a new core shopper known as ‘Jo’.
The chain has discovered its core customer earned two or three times the national average, had children, and had a degree.
Targeting this affluent shopper, it will introduce yoga studios, wellbeing centres and restaurants.
It has already introduced champagne bars in stores including Manchester and Belfast.
All these measures are aimed at encouraging shoppers to visit instead of using online giants such as Amazon and Asos.
And being ‘different’ is also seen as a key factor.
Debenhams wants to make its beauty floor ‘social-media friendly’, with shoppers encouraged to take and share pictures of themselves on Instagram.
Sergio Bucher, chief executive, said: ‘Our goal is not to stuff our floors with a lot of products, but rather to use part of the space as a traffic-driving element to get customers to come back more frequently. Customers who eat with us or use services visit our stores three times more often than those that don’t.’
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Buyout firm Pacific Equity Partners has another corporate carve-out in its stable.
PEP has seen off rival bidders to win the auction for towing and trailering products company Horizon Global’s Asia Pacific unit, agreeing to pay $340 million or close to 10-times earnings.
The business is expected to be the first acquisition in PEP’s new $2.5 billion-odd buyout fund, which is yet to close, and comes only weeks after it narrowly missed out on the Campbell Soup Co international portfolio.
It is understood PEP’s team was led by Andrew Charlier, Tony Duthie and Evan Hattersley.
Street Talk first reported that PEP, advised by law firm Allens and PwC Australia, had submitted a binding offer for the division.
Jefferies Australia ran the auction for Horizon Global.
Horizon Global chief executive Carl Bizon said the sale proceeds would allow the company to meet a $US100 million prepayment obligation and that he expected the business to become "a valued part of PEP’s portfolio.”
PEP is expected to pay for the acquisition out of Fund VI, having recently stocked its acquisition warchest to the tune of $2.5 billion.
“APAC is led by an outstanding management team and has a track record of developing innovative products and solutions for its customers," Charlier said.
"We are excited to support management by investing in product development, geographical expansion, and the potential acquisition of additional brands."
Underbidders for the division included DexKo Global, a company backed by NewYork-based KPS Capital Partners, and ASX-listed AMA Group.


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One woman who was caught out by the scam
A mobile phone insurance scam affecting hundreds of people across the UK is being probed by Trading Standards.
The fraudsters target people with new phones and make them believe they are getting a call from the shop or the mobile phone network.
But after the consumer gives their payment details they end up with poor quality phone insurance or none at all.
Trading Standards is investigating 10 companies in Swansea and urging people not to give details to cold callers.
Those involved in the scam are thought to be buying phones and calling numbers similar to their own number until they find someone with a new phone.
One victim, Rebekah Swift, told BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme she was caught out when she bought an iPhone for her son's 17th birthday.
She said: "I took him to the Carphone Warehouse and bought him an iPhone and paid for some insurance.
"We came home and a few hours later his new phone rang and it was from some people who led him to believe they were from Carphone Warehouse.
"He came into the kitchen and he said they were offering a cheaper insurance deal and we thought that was great. I let him give my debit card details over the phone and thought nothing more of it.
"Then he received a text some while later from Carphone Warehouse warning him of an insurance scam going on and by that stage the money had already gone out of my account, and we'd been scammed."
Trading Standards says there has been a problem for the past 18 months, and that many of the companies are based in Swansea.


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Rexel, the largest electrical distributor in the world, has agreed to buy Capitol Light and Supply Co., (doing business as CLS and Capitol Light) Hartford, Conn., one of New England’s largest independent electrical distributors.
In one week, the two largest independent electrical distributors in Connecticut were sold with a combined total of about $400 million in annual sales. Electrical Wholesalers Inc., Hartford, Conn., was sold to U.S. Electrical Services, Chester Springs, Pa., a n
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Following the news that E3 2022 has been canceled, Microsoft has confirmed that it is airing its own Xbox and Bethesda games showcase on Sunday, June 12. This live-streamed event “will feature amazing titles coming from Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda,” and “partners around the world.”
Taking place during a typical E3 timeslot, the Xbox and Bethesda games showcase will stream live around the world on Sunday, June 12 at 10 AM PT. According to the official Xbox website, the showcase “will include everything you need to know about the diverse lineup of games coming soon to the Xbox ecosystem.” Fingers crossed we get a full reveal of Bethesda and MachineGames’ Indiana Jones title.
Expect to see plenty of updates regarding upcoming Game Pass titles for both PC and Xbox during the livestream. The Xbox games showcase will be available to watch on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and even on TikTok, apparently. You’ll be able to watch the stream “in over 30 languages,” too, if you don’t want to stick with subtitles.
With plenty unknown about upcoming Xbox games, there is a lot to get excited about with this Xbox and Bethesda games showcase. The aforementioned Indiana Jones game should hopefully get a mention, but we’ll also be looking for updates on Starfield, The Elder Scrolls 6, and more. A surprise announcement or two would go down well, of course.


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Brighton & Hove Albion are pleased to announce that local fresh food wholesaler Sun Harvest have renewed their sponsorship with the club for the new season.
Albion’s Head of Commercial Russell Wood said, “Sun Harvest have been a fantastic local business to work alongside for some time now, and on behalf of everyone at the club we would like to thank them for renewing their lounge sponsorship.
“It is obviously tough times for everyone, so to see Sun Harvest commit to not only their continued sponsorship and support of the club, but the local area as well, their actions have to be commended.”
East Stand lounge sponsors and Brighton-based business Sun Harvest made over 5000 essential home deliveries during lockdown – and due to the positive response from the Sussex community they are pleased to announce that they will be continuing to offer home deliveries within Sussex.
Wood added, “As a Brighton-based company, it fills us with great pride to know that they are going to continue to go above and beyond to help people living in Brighton and across Sussex.”
Sun Harvest also supply local restaurants, hotels, cafes and takeaways, and they have successfully adapted their business during this challenging period to help support the local community.
They will be running their home delivery service alongside their usual catering business and will continue to offer a variety of essentials food supplies including fresh fruit and vegetables, various dairy products, pasta, sauces and many other store cupboard provisions.
Any fans or local businesses wishing to order from their home delivery service for Sussex can visit the Sun Harvest website.


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There's no way to prepare children for a global pandemic because most adults have never been through one themselves. With Halloween right around the corner and millions of kids clinging to the notion that huddling up in a mosh-pit packed with tiny ghouls and goblins is the only way to get their hands on free candy, a lot of parents are looking for creative ways to make it happen, including one family in Pennsylvania.
Meet Vince Mak, the engineer and witty creator of the Candypult: a fun and safe way to "throw candy at kids" who are looking to cash in on Halloween this year.
"With everything going on, everyone just needs to feel happy and find something to laugh at," he told FOX43 News, so he and his son Connor designed a custom slingshot that would safely launch candy to trick-or-treaters from their front porch.
While Mak suspects his family will need to purchase extra candy this year, he can hardly wait to break out his trusty Candypult on Halloween night. If you live in the area — Springettsbury Township from 6 pm to 8 pm — be sure to visit Cayuga Lane to see what all the hype is about, but hey, keep your distance, so you don't end up like poor little Ralphie. #kidding #alsonotkidding #staysafe
In all seriousness, Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, and I wouldn't wish social distancing, during the best night of the year, on any kid. So have fun, and keep your kids safe with masks that cover all the right parts. I'm looking at YOU, Lady Gaga fans. 🎃👻
Got a funny story you'd like to share anonymously? Submit to THE VAULT.


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Spanish carmaker SEAT has delivered this week two all-electric vehicles to Madrid City Hall, marking another step for the carmaker’s plan to add zero-emissions cars to its model range. SEAT and Volkswagen Group’s Vice President for Governmental and Institutional Relations, Ramon Paredes, delivered two Altea XL Electric Ecomotive (e-Altea XL) cars to Madrid mayoress Ana Botella.
Madrid City Hall will include the two e-Altea XL to its fleet for the next five months, during which period SEAT will obtain information and make assessments prior to full production of the units. SEAT’s development of environment-friendly vehicles will be concentrating on two types of technology: plug-in hybrid with the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive and all-electric e-Altea XL.
The e-Altea XL would be the first all-electric vehicle to be built in Spain. Paredes remarked that SEAT is proud to be collaborating again with the city of Madrid in projects which primary intention of improving “citizens’ quality of life” while increasing the competitiveness of the Spanish economy.
Because of the Technical Centre for R&D, SEAT is the only carmaker that could design, develop and manufacture an electric vehicle in Spain. Botella thanked SEAT for choosing Madrid as a testing ground. She said that SEAT has been a factor to the modernization of transport in Spain, adding that she hopes that electric vehicles would also occupy “an important place on the roads.”


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HTC has announced that a software update for the HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD is currently being rolled out to phones in the UK. No, the phones are not being updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but they are getting a new version of HTC Sense. The software update will bring Sense 3.0 to the two Android devices which will allow users to enjoy the new 3D carosel, enhanced unlock screen, new widgets and settings controls directly from the notification bar — features which were first introduced with the HTC Sensation.
The HTC Desire HD and HTC Incredible S just learned some great new tricks. Share what's on your mind and take that great shot even faster with Sense 3.0's lock screen shortcuts. Rolling out to handsets across the UK starting today. HTC
For now, only unlocked HTC phones in the UK will be receiving the update, but we suspect HTC is working to push out HTC Sense 3.0 to carrier branded phones in the rest of Europe and their U.S. cousins (AT&T’s HTC Inspire 4G and the Verizon DORID Incredible2) as well.
How many of you enjoy would gladly trade your HTC Sense 2.x experience for Sense 3.0?
UPDATE: We’re hearing that this is the same update that hit the HTC Desire S a little over a month ago which also updates the phone to Android 2.3.5. This means we should see this update hit other HTC phones within the next month or two.


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- RESEARCH & AWARDS
- CATEGORY REVIEWS
Today, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) welcomes Douglas E. Baker as its vice president of private brands.
Wegmans is offering lower prices on store brand baking products this holiday season.
Judges have been announced for the Vertex Awards.
Online NY-based grocer FreshDirect is launching two new private label brands.
Bell-Carter Foods, Inc. (Bell-Carter), a leader in the specialty condiment business and the nation’s largest table olive producer, today announced new hires and growth of its executive team.
Wegmans is promoting healthy eating via its new bean products with a press release today that touts the Mediterranean diet as a healthy, affordable way to eat.
private label manufacturer Rockline Industries will open a state-of-the-art Innovation and Technical Center adjacent to its corporate headquarters in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Private label cheese ditributer Masters Gallery Foods, Inc. has announced that Sandy Toney was selected as the new Assistant Chief Judge for the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.
In conjunction with its expansion of the Pet Care Pavilion for 2013, PLMA announced that a special pet care seminar for exhibitors and retail buyers will be held on Sunday afternoon, November 17.