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You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Food and Beverages’ category.
I maintain that the underlying impetus driving the coup in Cairo relates principally to the price of food and specifically to that of wheat (Egypt is the world’s biggest importer); while certainly the littany of grievances in Egypt touched upon poverty, unemployment, cronyism, corruption and an overall lack of legitimate political opposition, as The Economist noted back in 2005 “Egyptians have tended to shrug off electoral shenanigans and police hooliganism as part of their lot. [Decades] of one-party rule, mostly under martial law, have left the country socially atomised and sceptical of even the possibility of effecting change.” Wheat price volatility, by contrast, is a fairly new but increasingly sinister phenomenon (the rolling standard deviation of percentage changes in the price over twelve months has trended up from about 5% during the 1980s and 1990s to about 15% today; see chart left), especially for a government whose fiscal deficit as a % of GDP has consistently widened over the past few years in an effort to subsidize costs and thus somewhat neutralize per capita inflationary effects on the average citizen who devotes roughly forty percent of his income to food (bottom right).
With shrinking world food supplies in the near-term, increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and the expected secular rise in Asian food (and specifically meat) consumption one may question to what degree this dynamic is priced into budget projections (i.e. for Arab policy makers set on further subsidies), the yields demanded by creditors or even sovereign default protection. Barclays wrote today for instance that Egypt credit spreads “rallied following the announcement of President Mubarak stepping down, with 5y CDS tightening to about 320, a level not seen since the beginning of the protests on 25 January. Investor perceptions of a potentially improved longer-term outlook for Egypt (in terms of social stability) in a post-Mubarak era may continue to support momentum for Egyptian spreads to tighten at this stage.” The contention here, however, is that social stability and fiscal/food policy is hopelessly intertwined, in Egypt and elsewhere. Yet even putting aside the vexing conundrum of who or what exactly will now follow in Mubarak’s footsteps, the interim period is not likely to be kind for fiscal prudence (increased spending is correlated with social unrest) and thus inflation, which at 10.8% y/y already trumped consensus. Barclays, for one, advises clients to “scale back into short credit positions” on any further spread tightening.
Per the FT’s recent insert on world food, “the prevalence of hunger in developing countries has fallen but is stuck at 16 percent, and there will not be enough time or money, according to many experts, to hit the 10 percent target by 2015.” Solutions are as varied as they are complex, though for certain there is room for “improving agriculatural yields, especially in Africa, where the sector has lacked investment. Only 4 percent of sub-Saharhan African cropland was irrigated in 2002, up from 2 percent in 1962, compared with almost 40 percent in South Asia.” Analysts note that every step of the production process must be targeted–from farming techniques themselves that educate about pesticide use, cutting waste, and improving quality through using best practices such as better seeds, soil testing, and planting and harvesting techniques, to increasing access to customers not only be removing costly intermediaries, but also by improving substandard roads and communication networks that, coupled with increasingly volatile commodity market prices (due in part to climate change as well as protectionism abroad), is particularly devestating to the vert supply chains most abundant in poorer countries that tend also to be more reliant on vulnerable smallholders. To that end, better access to credit and more transparent and credible land rights are crucial to production as well, experts note.
Finally, an underlying issue may not just be sufficient production of quality food, but also sufficient variance in terms of quality of nutrition. Per the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), for instance, ” at a global level, the world already has enough food . . . but if diets are not sufficiently varied, they may lack vitamin A, iron, zinc and iodine, causing infants and young children irreparable harm.” Couple the need for properly diversified nutrition (which in turn is linked not only to fortification of staple foods, but also to sanitation and, most importantly, antenatal care and education of, and perhaps direct transfer-payments to mothers) with Nicholas Kristof’s latest piece in The New York Times on just how crucial the role of the uterine environment is to a given individual and thus, society’s welfare in the aggregate, and it is to easy to argue that the quality and supply of the global food chain is the single most important issue facing developing (and developed?) countries today in terms of their long-term evolution.
That said, I continue to maintain that an even more basic issue–the supply and suitability of water–is even more crucial, in that it lays the groundwork essential to efficiently meeting demand. Admittedly, the topic of usable water goes hand in hand with ‘best practice’ farming techniques and more pointedly, irrigation (agriculture accounts for roughly 70 percent of water consumption). For example the FT cites Daniel Wild, an equity analyst with Sustainable Asset Management in Switzerland, who points out that “with conventional food irrigation, the efficiency level is often well below 50 percent, and important nutrients or corp protection agents are [thus] washed away in the process.” This and other measures, such as horizontal ploughing and preventing farmers from tapping underground sources without limit (if usable water is a scarce commodity, isn’t there a moral hazard to not effectively pricing and treasting it as such?) may in turn boost crop yields by up to 150 percent or more. The FT points out that several emerging market companies–most notably Jain Irrigation Systems in India amd Israel’s Netafim–are experiencing rapid growth in micro irrigation systems (MISs), which include drip systems, sprinklers, valves, water filters and plant tissue products and help to enhance the productivity of seeds and fertilizer while conserving water. Additionally, said firms are exploring solar water pumps, a sort of leapfrog technology in a sense that could be used by farmers even in power-deficit states (of which they are plenty in frontier regions). Ultimately, “[Jain] plans to enhance its distribution by adding new dealers and distributors to penetrate [frontier markets] in Africa and the Middle East,” per Anil Jain, its managing director. Analysts and investors alike, including asset managers and private equity funds, would be wise to keep a watchful eye on this growing sub-sector of agribusiness.
It’s one thing to hear a money manager, whose fund’s thesis rests on African growth, tout the continent’s impending demographic dividend and accelerating consumption habits; it’s quite another when the world’s biggest retailer takes a punt and sinks its own teeth into the game. Last week’s Economist noted, for instance, that Wal-Mart’s recent $4.1bn acquisition of South African-based Massmart (the top wholesaler and low-cost distributor of basic foods and consumer goods, as well as the leading retailer of general merchanise, liquor and home improvement equipment and supplies with 288 stores in 14 countries spread across sub-Saharan Africa) is proof that “Africa is near the top of the agenda for the world’s leading businesses . . . as [its] middle class and urban working class expand rapidly, food consumption is expected to grow strongly, along with sales of other consumer products.” That said, as the article points out by referencing the firm’s travails in Germany, the rewards from such global expansions are never for certain, and hence why the $4bn expenditure should perhaps be thought of more as a cheap call option on the region rather than a definitive, global macro paradigm shift in consumption habits.
Mumias Sugar Co., Kenya’s biggest sugar producer and the stock of which has risen 99 percent this year (almost triple the 35 percent advance in the country’s benchmark stock index) is in the midst of diversifying its revenue sources by reducing its reliance on its core business of sugar production as final selling prices of the commodity will be negatively impacted beginning this December by the expiry of regional trade concessions that will give way to a flood of duty free, imported stocks that sell at a discount due to their lower production costs. In addition to increasing the amount of branded sugar to 70 percent from 30 percent, the company will launch a 120 million litre per year ethanol manufacturing plant in December 2011 (in late August it secured debt-financing amounting to $20 million (Sh1.6 billion) from a consortium of banks led by Ecobank Kenya to fund the plant), produce bottled drinking water from co-generation, a process whereby plants generate electricity from industrial waste or by-products such as gases, and refine its own sugar. The newfound stable electricity supply from the co-generation project would already boost output of its sweetener by 15 percent this year, management touted back in April.
London-based Silk Invest, which recently won the Africa investor Agribusiness Investment Initiative of the Year in Durban for its African Food Fund, underscores in its latest blog post exactly what it envisions to be the driving catalysts behind the private equity vehicle it launched earlier this year.
First, the food industry is a principal pillar underpinning African consumption, and it should only continue to grow both in size and scope as output grows to service increasing demand. “There will be 500 million new consumers in Africa in the next 15 years and…even today, already 50-60% of disposable household income in many African countries is spent on food,” the group notes. Moreover, as incomes and tastes rise, one can expect a convergence between Sub-Saharhan countries and the rest of the continent in terms of food sales channels and specifically the supermarket penetration rate (see graph, right). That in turn is likely to fuel the continuing acceleration of branded and packaged products. “Moving to packaged sugar, milk or flour is a big driver of growth. In most African countries, food is still pre-dominantly sold through non-branded items,” chief executive Zin Bekkali told Reuters in April.
Second, many African food companies cannot obtain financing in spite of high ROE which theoretically would indicate efficiency, creating a bevy of opportunities for investors. Per Silk, “the smaller, privately owned food companies are equally benefitting from strong demand dynamics but are faced with challenges of obtaining the capital needed to effect the capital expenditure required to grow in line with demand. The banks are not lending the capital needed to grow, probably because they are also mostly focused on capturing the growth of the consumer by targeting more retail customers, at the expense of not fully developing their corporate banking activities.”
Saudi-based Savola’s “expansion drive” was temporarily halted after the Middle East’s largest sugar refiner announced that it would not bid for the six sugar beet processing mills being sold by the Turkish government, as previously expected. In October the firm said that, along with farmers’ union Turkey Tarim Kredi and the Nesma Holding Company, it would set up a joint venture in order to increase production at the plants from 300K to 500k tons/year, while “orient[ing] some of the output to foreign markets,” per one Savola executive. Yet there are other options [for expansion] on the table, reiterated its chief executive, Sami Baroum, including “options in Sudan and Egypt.” And according to at least one analyst at Shuaa Capital in October, “expanding outside of the Gulf Arab region is part of Savola’s stated expansion strategy in the food sector, where its sugar business is a major component alongside edible oil.”
The missed opportunity should be an opportune time to beginning ramping into shares of Savola for our mock frontier fund. The firm is an attractive long-term investment on multiple fronts: one, its highly diversified business operations involve the firm not only in the production of edible oil and sugar, but also in retail and real estate. Savola Foods, however, can be considered part of the bedrock of its identity: in addition to being the world’s largest manufacturer of branded cooking oil, its total sugar refining capacity of 2 million tons/year is nearly double that of its closest regional competitor, UAE-based al-Khaleej Sugar Co. That said, at the end of 2008 the company’s retail segment (highlighted by Panda, the largest retail food chain in the Middle East) was the major revenue generator, accounting for 43.8% of the total company’s revenue followed by edible oil and sugar segments with a share of 32.6% and 17.6% respectively. The company is also targeting expansion for this latter segment; per a report issued in mid-October by Global Investment House, a Kuwaiti investment firm, “expansion in the company’s retail segment is based on two types of strategies: (i) acquisition of other retail chains (e.g. Giant and Geant stores); and (ii) adding new hyper and super-Panda stores. This is expected to increase company’s overall retail stores to 110-116 in 2012, out of which 15-20 will be hypermarkets and remainder will be supermarkets.”
EFG-Hermes, a Cairo-based investment bank, noted to investors last week that it expects the Egyptian pound to fall to LE 5.70 by the end of 2009 and LE 5.90 by the end of June 2010 relative to the U.S. dollar. The pound has strengthened by 2.2% against the dollar since March, hurting exports and in-turn stalling GDP growth–which is set to fall to 3.1% in 2009-2010 from 4.1% in the year prior, the firm posited. “With credit growth slow and low loan-to-deposit ratios, exchange rates are a more effective channel than bank lending for supporting growth, by improving export competitiveness. The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) has been stable since June, but we think that the [Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)] will encourage some trade-weighted EGP depreciation before the end of 2009,” speculated EFG economist Simon Kitchen to investors. Yet while Kitchen’s theory makes sound economic sense, it may not pass muster with authorities. One risk of currency devaluation is that by increasing the price of imports and stimulating greater demand for domestic products, devaluation can lead to inflation, which in turn might require the CBE to raise interest rates–a prospect most central banks will balk at until a bona fide global recovery is indeed upon us. Moreover, inflationary pressures could wreak havoc with habitually volatile food prices that will already be tied to increased and impending consumption and preparations for post-Ramadan festivities.
Abu Dhabi-based Agthia Group, a holding company with three subsidiaries operating in the distribution and bottling of mineral water; the production of flour, animal feed and frozen and canned vegetables and the distribution of baby food, tea, juices and jam, reported strong growth (group sales up 18.7%; gross profit margin up 11.4%; and net profits doubled) for the first six months of 2009. Per its Chairman, Rashid Mubarak Al Hajeri, the results are a “testament to the defensive nature of the food and beverage sector. The growth registered this quarter builds upon the strong first quarter performance and sets a positive scene for the rest of the year. Agthia’s performance for the first half of 2009 demonstrates the strength of the company’s core businesses and the effective implementation of management’s strategic and financial initiatives.” According to analysts, the increase in revenue was predominantly driven by sales volumes, with flour and feed up 7.6% (16.6% volume growth), and water and beverages up 42.8% compared to same period last year.


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|First Annual Turkish Food and Children`s Fest was held in Memphis|
Raindrop Turkish House in Memphis organized its First Annual Turkish Food and Children's Fest on April 21st, 2012. People from different areas of Memphis had a chance to experience Turkish culture in their own city. There were several stands including one that served Turkish Cuisine as well as Turkish tea and coffee. Guests were invited to experience cultural music, dance, and art. At the art stand, they had a chance to watch live demonstrations of Ebru (Turkish Water Marbling), Henna tattoo, and face painting.
(April 23, 2012, Memphis, TN)
At the Turkish cuisine stand, twenty-seven types of food and dessert were served. At the coffee and tea stand, visitors tasted Turkish coffee and were instructed in its preparation. They did not only experience Turkish coffee and tea but also learned the importance and meaning of coffee and tea in Turkish culture. Students from a public school demonstrated a Turkish regional dance. The event was a success and many Memphians were able to experience Turkish culture right here in Memphis.

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New research suggests that by staying on hormone therapy longer, women could better their chances against breast cancer coming back.
A leading breast cancer expert seems to walk back claims that women who dye their hair could be more likely to develop breast cancer.
A weight loss supplement known as A1 Slim is recalled after 3 illegal drugs are found in it.
Health officials in Wyoming recently alerted healthcare workers across the state of a spike in gonorrhea cases, the Wyoming Department of Health said in a recent press release. The largest increase in […]
This morning’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the US Centers for Disease Control casts a light upon a little-known practice among some “natural” childbirth advocates – the consumption of the placenta […]
Do you use La Tía Mána skin creams? You’re risking mercury poisoning, say CDPH officials.
Did Elise Nguyen really suffer chemical burns from mixing aromatherapy and tanning? She claims so.
Organic Herbal Supply has announced a recall of a dozen supplements that were found to contain an ingredient that is most definitely not organic–and which certainly doesn’t deserve to be called herbal.
A new study suggests that eating at night could up your chances of breast cancer.
The company behind diet pill Xanthium & Siler Combo (Bi Yan Pian) Dietary Supplement has announced a recall of because it contains and potentially deadly ephedra.


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Samsung Electronics’ operating profits halved in the second quarter on weak chip prices and poor mobile sales, but it is expected to face even more challenges in the second half of the year due to increased uncertainties over trade disputes and the nearing trial to determine the fate of its de facto leader.
The South Korean IT giant’s sales slid 4 percent to 56.1 trillion won ($47.4 billion), but its operating profits plunged 55.6 percent on-year to 6.59 trillion won over lower memory chip prices and slowing sales of mobile phones.
Samsung Electronics’ headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul (Yonhap)
The second-quarter earnings report is slightly higher than market expectations of 6 trillion won, but Samsung is likely to be caught in a fog of uncertainties in the second half due to external and internal risks.
Intensifying volatility in the memory chip market fueled by Japan’s trade restrictions on key materials for semiconductor fabrication and the possibility of Tokyo keeping its hostile stance indefinitely is the biggest threat facing Samsung.
During a conference call, officials said the company is facing the burden of the new approvals process due to Japan’s export curbs, but what concerns Samsung more is Japan’s expected decision to exclude South Korea from the whitelist of trusted export countries Friday. That could lead to Japan toughening export restrictions on more materials and equipment crucial for chip fabrications.
Samsung relies on Japanese companies for about 80-90 percent of its equipment for chip production. If the import of equipment is delayed, Samsung may have to put the brakes on operations of its new production lines planned in Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province as well as Xian, China.
With the world’s largest memory chip producer facing unprecedented crisis, its global competitors, namely TSMC and Intel, are reportedly planning massive investment to break Samsung’s dominance in the market. Samsung provides more than 40 percent of memory chips in the world.
Despite concerns, Samsung said it is not considering reducing wafer input, and that it would “flexibly” manage memory chip production accordingly to demand changes.
On concerns of possible delays in its new production line, the company said it expects to start operating tis EUV chip production line in Hwaseong in first half of 2020.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is facing a final ruling from the Supreme Court on charges of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Sun-sil in exchange for clearing hurdles over his succession. The court is expected to deliver the final verdict on Lee in the third week of August. Lee has already served one year in prison.
Along with the Moon Jae-in government’s continued work on chaebol reform, the prosecution is adding more pressure on Samsung BioLogics on suspicions of accounting fraud in connection to Lee’s succession scenario. The prosecution is likely to resume its investigation on Samsung’s biosimilar production unit after forming a new team on August as well.
Faced with a series of negativities, Samsung is likely to report 226 trillion won of revenue with around 26 trillion won in operating profits this year. The operating profits estimate is less than half of last year, when the tech giant reaped record-high profits, according to local brokerage houses.
By Cho Chung-un (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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Melanie Perkins, an Australian- Filipino, is the Co-founder & CEO of multi-billion dollar graphic design company Canva. She is one of the worlds youngest female tech CEO’s and made history recently as Australia’s richest woman under 40, at the age of just 34.
Melanie and her husband founded the company ten years ago from their living room in Perth- their mission was to “ empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere”. Melanie was inspired when facing difficulty and frustration teaching clunky graphic design software to students at a University in Perth. It now has 40 million active users who are able to use the platform to easily design beautiful graphics, posters, social media posts and videos.
The platform is free to use but also offers paid subscriptions with enhanced features and functionality. The company is valued at over $40 billion and the couple is worth $12 billion. Despite their vast success and wealth the couple has remained humble and place a huge emphasis on fundraising efforts.
Melanie has expressed how being referred to as a billionaire makes her uncomfortable and the couple has pledged to donate 30% of their Canva equity. The 'vast majority of their interests in the firm are going to their Canva Foundation charity which announced a program with non-profit GiveDirectly that will distribute $10 million to those in poverty in Southern Africa.
The company is moving in the ‘right direction’ with more plans to grow with Perkins expressing her desire for Canva to become one of the worlds most valuable companies. With their current success this desire is within reach, as well as being used by students, bloggers and marketers, the platform is becoming increasingly popular with multi-billion-dollar companies including Skyscanner and PayPal.
Perkins said “As Canva’s value grows, so too does our ability to have a positive impact on the world. And as we have a positive impact on the world, we believe that Canva will grow too by being able to attract and motivate the best team and our community who care about having a positive impact on the world too.”
There is no stopping this power couple and the continued growth and success of one of this decade's most popular platforms.
Make sure you are following us to find out about more inspiring women in tech and to keep up to date with MCS


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The hundreds of attendees at the 2011 Lectora User Conference hailed Elliott Masie’s keynote presentation as one of their favorites from the jam-packed event
Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) November 11, 2011
Lectora® e-Learning software releases a free e-Learning podcast featuring renowned futurist, analyst and researcher in the e-Learning industry, Elliott Masie. This podcast includes Masie’s live streaming keynote presentation from the 2011 Lectora User Conference.
“The hundreds of attendees at the 2011 Lectora User Conference hailed Elliott Masie’s keynote presentation as one of their favorites from the jam-packed event,” said Peter Bray, Chief Marketing Officer at Trivantis Corporation. “Due to the popularity of this session, we wanted to make it easily accessible by anyone and everyone – free of charge.”
Masie’s cutting-edge ideas perfectly complemented the panels and discussions highlighting the future of e-Learning at the 2011 Lectora User Conference and provided the perfect way to kick off surprise, game-changing product announcements for e-Learning at the event including the release of Snap! by Lectora rapid e-Learning software.
Continuing on the same momentum from this year’s event, the 2012 Lectora User Conference, which was just announced last week, aims to excite and entertain attendees with expert keynote speakers, surprises and announcements for the e-Learning industry. The 2012 Lectora User Conference will take place in Chicago, IL on May 22-24 at the world-class Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.
In its eighth year, the Lectora User Conference hosts e-Learning professionals from around the world to share trends, best practices and e-Learning innovations. The conference also provides Lectora training, valuable breakout sessions and unique networking opportunities with other e-Learning professionals to share best practices and expertise.
To view Elliott Masie’s keynote presentation streamed live from the 2011 Lectora User Conference, visit: e-Learning Podcasts.
For more information about the 2012 Lectora User Conference and to stay up-to-date on the latest news and announcements, please visit http://www.Trivantis.com.
About Lectora and Trivantis Corporation
As the flagship product for Trivantis, Lectora® is the world’s leading e-Learning software used by most Global 2000 companies in over 70 countries and is offered in six languages. The Lectora line of e-Learning products includes Lectora Inspire, Lectora Online, Lectora Publisher and Lectora Integrator. Trivantis also produces Flypaper™, the leading Flash content creation platform that empowers users to create, edit, share, track and reuse high-impact Flash and video content. Snap! by Lectora® is the easy-to-use PowerPoint plug-in rapid e-Learning software that converts PowerPoint to Flash. Its sister product, Snap! EmpowerTM Flash interactions builder, enables anyone to create Flash content without having to know Flash programming. To round out the Trivantis family of products, CourseMill is the powerful and affordable learning management system (LMS). Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Trivantis Corporation also has offices in Boca Raton, Phoenix, Paris, and London. Trivantis, Lectora, Flypaper, CourseMill, Snap! by Lectora and Snap! Empower are trademarks of Trivantis Corporation.
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Earlier this year, Mediaweek reported that the co-founder and CEO of nextmedia, David Gardiner, was stepping aside to be executive chairman of the thriving publishing house.
Taking over as head of day-to-day operations was Hamish Bayliss, who just this month started in his new role as managing director.
Gardiner co-founded nextmedia with commercial director Bruce Duncan and the backing of Wolseley Private Equity. The founders subsequently sold to German publisher Forum Media Group, but they both remain part of the business.
Bayliss has been with the publisher for more than 10 years and was formerly national advertising manager for Inside Sport at the title’s previous owner Horwitz Publishing.
Early in 2008, Duncan and Gardiner bought Horwitz, and Bayliss’s role developed from there into the head of sports sales. “I was then looking after Inside Sport plus Golf Australia, Inside Cricket, Tracks, Australian Mountain Bike and Four Four Two,” Bayliss told Mediaweek.
“The company later acquired Chevron Publishing and its titles Australian Muscle Car, Bathurst magazine and Old Bike were added to the sports division.”
Bayliss was later appointed group advertising director across the nextmedia consumer portfolio. He also added the title of associate publisher of the sports division.
From July 1 this year he became the group’s managing director.
After working on a pure print publishing model, Bayliss has experienced the dramatic changes in the sector, as magazines became multiplatform content offerings. “We have evolved significantly in the last decade,” Bayliss agreed. “When I arrived in publishing it was all about print and selling pages in a magazine. Now it is also selling advertising opportunities online, social posts and native content. The offer is now multiple touchpoints for clients. Readers are demanding that as well. They don’t want to be just consuming a magazine – they also want an EDM weekly, interaction on social and brand extensions, which might be a consumer event.
“The beauty about this business is that it has evolved so much in the past decade to adapt to the market. One of the great things that Bruce and David did was when they acquired Haymarket, with CRN and iTnews it gave nextmedia exposure to the B2B sector. We have been able to adopt some of those business initiatives for our consumer titles.”
That means for example things like events for brands Prevention and Gardening Australia. “We also involve our clients in those events too, which has become very important for the brands.”
The women’s lifestyle division at nextmedia is one of the key drivers for the group, explained Bayliss. “We signed a licence with the ABC for Gardening Australia close to three years ago and that has been a great relationship.”
Bayliss and co-founder Bruce Duncan told Mediaweek that nextmedia is now able to call itself Australia’s #1 in IT news with CRN/iTnews brands and is also the #1 kids publisher after picking up Total Girl and K-Zone from Pacific a couple of years ago to add to the children’s portfolio.
nextmedia looks like it had a “shopping spree” over the years, acquiring titles from both major publishers and small single-title operators. “We have worked out we have done over 30 brand acquisitions,” said Duncan of the journey over the decade to build the group’s portfolio. “We have acquired titles from what was then ACP Publishing, Pacific, News Corp Australia in addition to many independent publishers.
“We also have great licensing arrangements with companies like Haymarket, Future, Dennis Publishing, Healthy Food Guide in New Zealand and Rodale, which became Hearst for Prevention. They are all consumer-based titles in other markets that we are able to get good content from.”
As the key to the success of the nextmedia business model, Duncan said: “We have been able to produce quality content with a cost base relative to the revenue streams that are declining. It means you carefully structure what you are doing relative to those revenue streams.”
Bayliss: “We have proven we can do it by working smarter. Staff are key and we are lucky to have terrific staff who are happy to have diverse multiplatform roles rather than being pigeonholed into one thing.”
While circulations of print titles are down generally, the specialist titles hold their numbers relative to the general market. Retail print prices across the portfolio generally range from $7 through to $10 and retail sales account for close to 70% of total print circulations.
nextmedia runs its own subscription business – mymagazines.com.au
Many of the nextmedia brands have long histories, none perhaps more remarkable than Tracks, “the surfing bible”, which turns 50 in 2019. “That is a huge milestone for us,” said Bayliss.
Duncan: “Look at the evolution of that brand. It started as a newspaper, then became a magazine, then a periodical and a website with a newsletter and an event. It’s been a fascinating journey.”
TV Soap has been publishing since 1984 with a couple of stops along the way and the title is still being published fortnightly.
Inside Sport is 25 years old, Golf Australia is in its 30s.
As to future market rationalisation, Bayliss said: “I think we will see that in the next three years… and I think we need to. That could also offer nextmedia further opportunities. One of our strategies is to continue to acquire more brands and more businesses.
“There has been rationalisation at each stage of the supply chain – both in printing and distribution. There is no reason why there should not be more consolidation at publisher level.
“The magazine market is about being flexible and grabbing opportunities. Publishing is also about risk. You have to be prepared to take some risk – if you are risk averse you don’t survive in publishing.”
Top photo: Hamish Bayliss


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Saint-Gobain plans to build a stone wool factory with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes in the Novosibirsk Region. The project investments will account for more than RUB 4 bn, Rafael Zohrabyan, Director for Government Relation, said during the project presentation at the Novosibirsk Region Investment Board.
Japanese company Daikin Industries, which operates in the market of air conditioning systems, has invested in the world's largest manufacturer of graphene nanotubes - the Russian company OCSiAl. This is reported by Rusnano, which investment portfolio includes OCSiAl. The amount of investment is not mentioned in the report, however it is said that the company was valued at USD 2 billion.
Nestle Purina PetCare (part of the Nestle S.A. Group) is going to create 250 jobs at the new pet food production plant. In September 2020, the company announced plans to build a pet food plant near Novosibirsk.
In the Novosibirsk region, the PepsiCo company has built a warehouse of raw materials as part of a project to build a plant for the production of salty snacks in Novosibirsk. Investments in the warehouse complex totaled USD 30 million.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Novosibirsk Region Government, PepsiCo and the Agency for Investment Development of the Novosibirsk Region. The partnership’s top priority is creation of conditions for the closed-loop economy and development of a waste disposal and recycling infrastructure in the region.
The Novosibirsk-based Coca-Cola factory HBC Russia increased its output by 16.9% to 242 m liters of beverages for the full year 2020, the company reports. Last year saw the manufacturing of more than 2.3 bn liters of beverages across all ten factories of the company.


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Apple iPhone 11 release
The new Apple iPhone 11 could arrive in a matter of months with it expected to feature some impressive new upgrades.
All signs point to the new device from the US technology firm getting a triple rear camera which will help boost the photography credentials of this popular phone.
Although not confirmed, it seems this new rear snapper will get improved zoom and the ability to shoot photos with a wide-angle lens.
This update will clearly be a very popular addition but there is another design change which could also pop a huge smile on the faces of loyal Apple fans.
A new rumour, published online, suggests that Apple could bring back the famous rainbow logo on some of its new devices - including the iPhone.
Posted by MacRumours, the claim comes from a tipster who has a good track record of getting Apple updates correct.
It’s not clear which devices may see the return of this design but it's been suggested that some variants of the iPhone, iPad and Mac could all get this colourful refresh.
MacRumors is making it clear that there’s nothing substantial to back up these rumours but Apple has been embracing its colourful design in recent months.
This has included a stage that was created by Jonny Ive for a private concert for employees at Apple's HQ in Cupertino which featured a rainbow effect on its cover.
“There is the resonance with the rainbow logo that's been part of our identity for many years,” the British designer said.
We’ll have to wait and see if this colourful design makes a return to Apple products but it could prove hugely popular with fans who have been following the brand since its conception in 1976.
Although this new logo and triple rear camera could offer something new, most reports suggest the next iPhone will look very similar to the current range.
In fact, from the front, it’s unlikely that iPhone users won't notice any major changes at all with Apple thought to be sticking with its all-screen look and notch at the top of the display.
We’ll find out more soon with Apple expected to reveal all in September at its yearly keynote in Cupertino.


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- Green Growth
- Your Consultant
The platform’s insights have helped 7-Eleven Vietnam, operated by local partner Seven Systems Vietnam, reduce write-off expenses by approximately 25 per cent by identifying inefficiencies and optimising processes throughout the fast-growing retailer’s operations.
Since opening its first stores in 2017, 7-Eleven Vietnam has grown at a rapid pace, adding an average of more than two locations each month. With multiple discrete point-of-sale (POS), logistics, and other systems already in play, 7-Eleven Vietnam recognised that it needed a single, centralised view of all its data to grow efficiently in the longer term. The retailer’s IT team also sought a faster, more intuitive way of understanding trends within its data that could empower real-time decision-making in the high-velocity business.
|Tu Vu, CEO, Seven Systems Vietnam|
“Domo has enabled us to integrate all our POS and logistics data and visualise it within a single, always-accessible dashboard, allowing us to identify obscure yet costly inefficiencies within hours instead of weeks,” said Tu Vu, CEO, Seven Systems Vietnam. “Not only has the platform proven simple to implement and incredibly easy to access from any device, it’s also helped us understand real-time supply and demand trends across our ever-changing operations with far more clarity and reliability than ever before.”
7-Eleven Vietnam has so far used Domo to improve shipment accuracy, reduce overstocking and wastage, and improve upselling in its stores nationwide, allowing it to improve its stores’ customer experience even as it eliminates inefficient processes and their costs across its supply chain. The retailer already plans to expand the coverage and accessibility of Domo’s platform to more areas of its business, including financial and sales performance data across its individual stores.
Vu added, “Domo’s truly holistic view of data enables us to better understand not only our internal operations, but also our customers’ behaviours and preferences, giving us constant opportunities to raise the quality, relevance, and value of what we offer. We believe this data has already given us a much-needed competitive edge to maintain rapid growth and gain greater market share as we extend Domo to other parts of 7-Eleven’s technology ecosystem in the future.”
With a library of more than 1,000 powerful, first-class data connectors, Domo easily pulls together data from multiple sources, providing a single platform where 7-Eleven Vietnam can view, analyse, and optimise the business, from anywhere, anytime, and on any device. Domo’s platform also leverages machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics, to power more advanced insights, recommendations, and alerts for business decisionmakers across the enterprise.
7-Eleven is an international chain of convenience stores numbering over 70,000 stores in 19 countries. Seven System Vietnam JSC, the Master Franchisee of the 7-Eleven system in Vietnam, opened the first 7-Eleven store in the country’s economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City in 2017. The 7-Eleven stores in Vietnam offer customers over 2,000 high-quality products, proprietary drinks, and fresh daily-made, ready-to-eat foods tailored to local taste preferences. Seven System Vietnam continues to expand and build upon the success of this iconic brand with plans to open 1,000 stores over the next 10 years.
Domo’s mission is to be the operating system for business, digitally connecting all your people, your data and your systems, empowering them to collaborate better, make better decisions, and be more efficient, right from their phones. Domo works with many of the world’s leading and most progressive brands across multiple industries, including retail, media, and entertainment, manufacturing, finance, and more.
|7-Eleven sees success in Vietnam after failure in Indonesia?
After 7-Eleven’s initial success in the Vietnamese market, people are still questioning its long-term achievements as competition among different brands of convenience stores in Vietnam ...
|7-Eleven opens first store in Vietnam
The world’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven launched its first store in Ho Chi Minh City today.
|7-Eleven to opens first store in Vietnam
Japanese retail giant Seven & I Holdings Co., Inc. announced on its website that its first Vietnamese store will be officially launched on June 15, ...


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Published on : Saturday, January 18, 2020
The number of travelers booking visits to Australia has declined 10-20 per cent following the bushfires and the slump will cost Australian economy an estimated 4.5 billion Australian dollars (USD 3 billion) this year, said the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC).
Australia is expected to lose billions of dollars in tourism revenue with international visitors canceling trips in droves due to bushfires raging across the country.
“International visitors are cancelling because of fears around air quality, safety and the impact fires have had on our tourism offering as well as a lack of certainty on how long it will take for us to recover,” said ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley.
ATEC said that the disaster have impacted from the US, UK and Europe in the hardest way, coinciding with the December-February period, which traditionally witnesses 50 per cent of the annual tourist bookings from those markets. Shelley said that the industry and government need to send out an urgent message that many key tourism destinations are largely unaffected by the wildfires.
“There is no doubt our industry will take a hit,” Shelley said. “The sooner we can communicate a strong, positive message, the better,” he added.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that details of a tourism boost would be unveiled next week. Tourism Australia was forced to suspend an optimistic advertising campaign launched in the middle of the crisis featuring pop star Kylie Minogue.


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Heather Mills has made her first UK charity appearance since her split from Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney.
The former model, 38, posed in London’s Finsbury Circus with shoes donated and signed by celebrities, which will be auctioned on eBay for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG).
The charity hopes to raise more than £10,000 by selling 60 pairs of shoes on the internet auction site.
The mum-of-one, who lost a leg in a car smash in 1993, smiled briefly for surrounding photographers before speeding off in a chauffeur-driven car.
Shoes up for sale include Pamela Anderson’s stilettos, Jimmy Choos from Zoe Ball, Brian May’s clogs and peep-toes donated by Martine McCutcheon.
Other names who have donated footwear include David Bowie, Paula Radcliffe, Susan Sarandon and Ricky Gervais.
Mark Knight, a spokesman for the charity, told the Daily Express: “At this time of year people are looking for Christmas present ideas, and what could be better than a pair of celebrity shoes?”


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American Home Products Corp., close to being jilted for the third time in three years, is reviving plans to sell its agricultural-chemicals unit, people familiar with the situation said.
The American Cyanamid unit, which makes insecticides, weedkillers and fertilizers, could fetch $1.5 billion to $2 billion, analysts said. Madison, N.J.-based American Home paid about $9.7 billion for American Cyanamid in 1994. The purchase included some drugs and a stake in Immunex Corp.
The fifth-largest U.S. drugmaker had planned to sell Cyanamid so it could focus on its more profitable drug business. The company changed course in November, when it began talks on a $56 billion merger with Warner-Lambert Co., which said Thursday it will consider Pfizer Inc.'s $79 billion offer.
Motorola profit triples
Motorola Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of cellular phones, said fourth-quarter profit more than tripled on sales of digital mobile phones and a turnaround in its semiconductor business.
Profit from operations surged to $514 million, or 82 cents a share, from net income of $159 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 1.9 percent to $8.45 billion from $8.34 billion.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola is benefiting from worldwide demand for cell phones and a restructuring of its sprawling chip business during the past two years.
Office Depot promotes exec
Delray Beach-based Office Depot Inc., the world's largest seller of office products, has promoted Rolf Van Kaldekerken to executive vice president, Europe, for Office Depot and Viking Office Products. Van Kaldekerken, a five year veteran of Viking Office Products, was most recently in charge of the Viking's operations in Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. Van Kaldekerken replaces Doug Ramsdale, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Santos starts Internet fund
Santos Asset Management, a unit of Banco Santos, said it started an Internet fund for Brazilian investors, to tap growing demand for soaring Internet-related stocks in Brazil.
Santos is the second firm to offer a fund that will invest in stocks with Internet operations, including banks, retailers and phone companies. The firm has no estimates on how much it could raise with the fund, although Oryx Asset Management raised nearly $554,000 with its new Internet fund this month. Investidor Profissional Administracao de Recursos SA has created another private equity fund for investors who want to invest between $26,800 reais and $53,700 reais in Internet start-up companies.
Travel agents boycott airline
Travel agents from 13 English-speaking countries in the Caribbean announced Sunday that they will stop selling American Airlines tickets because of a dispute over commissions.
The Caribbean Travel Agents Association is angry at the airline's decision to cut their commissions to 6 percent from 9 percent, according to the group's president, Wayne Rodriguez. Members decided to launch the boycott during a meeting in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on Saturday night.
Barnett rejoining law firm
Ana T. Barnett, former chief of the civil division and chief of the asset forfeiture division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, will be rejoining the Miami office of Sterns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson in the litigation department, effective Jan. 24. Stearns Weaver Miller has offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Barnett's legal career spans nearly two dozen years in government and private practice.
Home Depot faces bias suit
Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement retailer, is being sued by a former employee who alleges he was demoted because of his age.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, says William Russaw took a leave of absence for an unspecified amount of time under the Family Medical Leave Act. When he returned to work in March 1998, Russaw, who was 45 years old at the time, was demoted, the lawsuit says.
Home Depot officials declined to comment.
Markets closed for holiday
U.S. stock and bond markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Markets will reopen today.


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Sainsbury’s sales surged up in the first quarter of its year as it revamped its convenience food ranges and held down prices on staples such as strawberries and potatoes.
Like-for-like sales excluding fuel at stores open more than a year surged 2.3 per cent in the 16 weeks to July 1, well ahead of the 0.3 per cent it recorded in the previous quarter, the Telegraph reports.
Sainsbury’s, which was helped by the later timing of Easter this year, credited its progress to 430 new and improved products it launched during the quarter, including more than 250 new summer lines.
Total sales climbed 2.7 per cent, with grocery sales up 3 per cent, as it opened one new supermarket and 10 more convenience stores.
The sales growth came despite inflation running at around 3 per cent, eating into consumer spending. Recent data from Kantar Worldpanel suggested this would add around £133 to shoppers’ annual food bills. At the same time, Kantar reported that British grocers had enjoyed their best quarter in five years thanks to rising prices.
Mike Coupe, chief executive, said the market was “competitive” and that Sainsbury’s continued to “manage cost price pressures closely”. The supermarket cited Jersey Royal potatoes and strawberries as examples of items where it had kept a lid on price rises.
“We have delivered a strong performance, driven by our differentiated strategy, offering customers quality, value and choice across food, general merchandise, clothing and financial services,” Mr Coupe added.
“Grocery sales are up 3 per cent and transactions up 2 per cent, with like-for-like transaction growth in all channels.
“Our produce category, where we know quality matters most to customers, performed particularly well, outperforming the market with volume growth of over 1 per cent.”
The company – which acquired Argos last year – also outperformed the market in general merchandise, or non-food products. Sales of clothing surged 7 per cent in the quarter.
Sainsbury’s has reportedly tabled a £130m takeover bid for Nisa, the convenience store chain and supplier. It did not make mention of Nisa in its trading update.
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The recent heatwave helped to boost sales at Sainsbury’s group, as customers turned to the Argos website to buy electric fans and paddling pools to keep cool in the hot weather. Sales also rose at the supermarket checkouts, though with the cost of food imports rising because of weaker sterling, it remains to be seen how much of this will feed through into profits.”
Sainsbury’s shares rose 1.3 per cent in early trade to 252p.


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Fleet World’s five-minute industry briefing: This week’s top stories
This week’s top fleet industry stories…
- September new car market slides as WLTP bites - The UK new car market fell 20.5% in September to 338,834 units as the move to the new WLTP testing regime brought anticipated falls for private, ... Read More »
- MEPs vote for tougher CO2 and ULEV sales targets - The European Parliament has voted in favour of a 20% targeted reduction in new car and van CO2 emissions between 2021 and 2025, with sub-50g/km vehicles ... Read More »
- Black Horse MD extends role to Lex Autolease - Lloyds Banking Group is bringing its Black Horse and Lex Autolease motoring businesses under a combined leadership structure from November, overseen by Richard Jones in the ... Read More »
- Paris Motor Show 2018 Roundup - Fleet World’s round-up of the most important fleet headlines from the 2018 Paris Motor Show. For more of the latest industry news, click here.
- Fuel duty to be frozen for ninth year running - Fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth year in a row, the Prime Minister will announce in her speech closing the Conservative Party conference. For ... Read More »
- Abolition of Severn Bridge tolls brought forward - Tolls for the Severn Crossings are to be abolished on 17 December, slightly earlier than the original deadline of the end of the year and just ... Read More »
- PCH continues to erode fleet market - New figures show company car drivers are increasingly turning to personal contract hire – bringing added weight to calls for the Government to use the Autumn ... Read More »
- Pricing revealed for bigger, tech-laden BMW 3 Series - BMW’s seventh-generation 3 Series saloon will introduce a new platform along with plug-in hybrids, enhanced driving dynamics and new technologies when it goes on sale next ... Read More »
- Fitness to drive system causes controversy - Drivers are not having their licences taken away despite being medically incapable of driving safely, new research suggests. For more of the latest industry news, click ... Read More »
- BMW i3 drops range extender - The full electric BMW i3 and more sporty i3s are now available with a near 200-mile range, while the company has quietly dropped the petrol range ... Read More »
For more of the latest industry news, click here.


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Epic Games Free Games List 2021 Leak. However, it seems like there are some interesting games arriving in the upcoming days. The epic games 15 days of free games 2021 event is already well underway and it would appear that the rest of the lineup of free games to.
There are 7 more to go, so indeed there is plenty to look forward to. According to a new report, epic games store is giving out 14 different free. Epic games store leak reveals 14 free games coming this month.
The Pacific And Strategic Mind:
Epic games leaked list of free games december 2021 (updated) so far, we’ve received a total of 12 games as part of the campaign. What we know about the epic games store’s plans for free games in 2022 hitman 3’s discount was removed without warning epic games store shares review of 2021 and its plans for 2022 Epic games has been rumored to leak its own free games to build hype, like grand theft auto 5 around this same time last year.
Epic Free Games List 2021.
Here are some common questions associated with the epic games store “free games” weekly event. Complete the checkout process and hit place order. Epic games leaked free games list december 2021 (updated) so far we have received a total of seven games as part of the campaign.
Click On The Blue “Get” Button.
However, it seems like there are some interesting games arriving in the upcoming days. Epic games store free games faq. The epic games 15 days of free games 2021 event is already well underway and it would appear that the rest of the lineup of free games to.
Here Are List Of Games That Are Already Revealed By Epic Games For The 15 Days Of Free Games 2021 Event:
It started with shenmue 3, followed by a few indies. Between their rockville, austin, dallas, and montreal offices they are currently working on extended content for fallout 76, starfield (releasing on november 11, 2022), elder scrolls 5: December 2021 epic games store free games list.
Tomb Raider Rebooted Trilogy By Crystal Dynamics:
Download and install the game from the epic games launcher. Coming to the free game for today, which is december 27, it’s going to be mages of mystralia. Epic games store leak reveals 14 free games coming this month.


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New research from Financial Times Group and Corteva Agriscience shows European consumers and farmers not only want sustainable food, they also support technology like gene editing/CRISPR that will make European food production #sustainable
Fighting Food Insecurity
The Growing Debate is a podcast series that questions beliefs about agriculture. We take listeners directly to farmers, ranchers and experts for insights.
Technology like Granular satellite imagery and drones, gives farmers superhero-worthy command over their fields. At Comic-Con, we teamed up with the fans, renowned comic artist, Dan Panosian, and Leo Camacho to create a superhero farming family.
Helping Women Farmers Boost Food Security


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- The CDC updated guidelines to recommend mask-wearing indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people under certain conditions.
- Some municipalities are bringing back mask mandates while businesses are hesitant to force customers to mask.
- Some retailers are reinstating mask mandates for employees, regardless of vaccination status or locality.
In the most recent guidelines, the CDC is once again recommending everyone wear face coverings indoors, even if they are vaccinated, in certain areas as the contagious Delta various spreads across the US.
"Some vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
Now some retailers are reinstating mask requirements that were lifted earlier this year. Here's the list so far.
Target is requiring face coverings for all workers in certain regions beginning August 3. It will also "strongly recommend" face coverings for customers in areas with high transmission rates.
"Effective Tuesday, based on the CDC's updated guidance, we'll require face coverings for our team members and strongly recommend face coverings for all guests in areas with substantial or high risk of transmission, as defined by the CDC. We'll follow all local mandates, as we have throughout the pandemic, and continue to monitor guidance from the CDC closely," the chain said in a statement.
Target will also continue to enforce social distancing and enhanced cleaning protocols, and offers paid time off and free Lyft rides for workers to get vaccinated.
All Walmart workers, including those who are fully vaccinated, will be required to wear masks in counties with substantial or high rates of COVID-19 transmission.
"We remain focused on guidance issued by health experts, including the CDC, as well as state and local health departments. We will continue to follow the latest CDC guidance, which includes fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission, effective immediately," Walmart said in a statement.
Walmart is also promoting vaccinations for employees. " We are urging you to get vaccinated and want to see many more of you vaccinated," with increased payments to workers who get vaccinated and paid time off.
Publix is requiring all workers to cover their faces. "Effective August 2, Publix is requiring associates, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear face coverings over their noses and mouths while inside any Publix location. We encourage all to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19," the grocery store said in a statement.
Publix also offers walk-in appointments for Moderna Covid-19 vaccines at its pharmacies.
McDonald's says all employees who interact with customers continue to wear face coverings, according to the chain's website.
Customers are now also required to cover their faces in areas with substantial transmission, regardless of vaccination status, Reuters reported.
"The health and safety of restaurant employees and customers is a top priority," McDonald's said.
5. Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle grocery chain will start requiring face coverings for customers and workers, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
"As we witness increases in positive Covid-19 cases across our communities and the country, we are reinstituting the wearing of face masks, cloth face coverings or face shields for Team Members and guests, inclusive of all vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals," Giant Eagle said in a statement shared on Twitter.
6. Home Depot
Home Depot is requiring all workers to wear masks, and asking customers to do the same.
"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our number one concern has been for the health and safety of our customers and associates. As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the U.S., beginning August 2, we'll require all associates, contractors and vendors to wear a mask while indoors at all U.S. Home Depot stores, distribution centers, office locations and customers' homes or businesses, regardless of vaccination status. We'll ask customers to wear masks while in our stores and continue to offer masks to those who don't have one," the home improvement chain said in a statement.
Starbucks is requiring baristas to begin wearing masks again and requesting that customers also cover their faces.
"In alignment with the updated guidance from the CDC, Starbucks strongly recommends customers wear facial coverings while visiting our stores, regardless of vaccination status. Where mandated by local law or regulation, Starbucks will require customers wear masks while in our stores. Additionally, starting August 5 all company-operated store partners are required, regardless of vaccination status, to wear facial coverings while on shift," Starbucks said in a statement.
Dunkin' says that employees were already required to wear masks whether they were vaccinated or not. Now customers will have to follow the same rules.
"From the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our priority has been on the safety of our guests, franchisees, and their restaurant crew. To help bring consistency to Dunkin' locations across the country, we will now require that all guests wear a face covering while inside our restaurants beginning Wednesday, August 5" Dunkin' wrote in update guidelines online.
Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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by Cathy Moore
Awesome Games Done Quick has ended with a record-setting $2.3 million raised for charity. Last week, the annual event known as Awesome Games Done Quick saw speedrunners from around the country all congregate in Rockville, Maryland at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel to set records in the name of supporting a noble cause. In this […]
Capcom has announced the release date for the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt content coming to Monster Hunter: World. The new collaborative content is launching for the game as a free update on February 8th, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A release is planned for PC sometime later. The new collab includes Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist and hero […]
Plus, a ‘secret movie’ also planned
One year in, the Monster Hunting game has plenty of new content coming.
Out of all the engines leveraged for game development in Asia, Cocos is one of the most widely applied. According to market share, it is the second most used throughout the continent. But with the announcement that Cocos-BCX has officially launched its testnet, it’s likely to hit number one soon. The platform has earned a […]
SQUARE ENIX news today includes Final Fantasy 7 Remake rumours, the latest on Kingdom Hearts 3 and a potential Dragon Quest Smash Bros leak.
That’s right, friends. If the gaming grapevine is to be believed, you could soon have the most gravely-voiced of all the Witchers right there on your Nintendo Switch. Is The Witcher 3 being ported to the hybrid handheld? It looks like it might be. So, Switch players, how are you getting on with Super Smash […]


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According to a report by global research firm Euromonitor International, the Indian pet care market is estimated to touch Rs 800 crore by 2015 from Rs 368 crore in 2011.
Remember the leftovers you had packed once you finished your meal in a fancy meal? Well, Rashee Kuchroo, a pet chef and owner of Doggie Dabbas has started sending out doggie bags of home cooked food for dogs. She began her venture with an investment of Rs 3 lakh in 2011 in Mumbai and then brought it to Gurgaon.
Getting people to buy a dabba for their dogs initially was a little tough, but with time, the trend caught on. Food items are specially formulated for canines with low salt and low sugar. Clients are not just working professionals but also vegans who don’t cook non-veg meals. Her menu has two main sections: Droolers and Goumutts. “The former is an everyday meal while the second is bakery items like treats, biscuits, pizzas, cakes, mini donuts and even dim sums,” Rashee says.
Shubha K started a similar venture in Bangalore in 2010. The Pets Dhaba caters to 50 dogs daily, and also arranges food for dog parties. Apart from complete meal with dal, roti, sabzi and sprouts, there are special Sunday treats for her customers such as soups, salads, dog pasta, idli, macaroni etc. “We promise customised packaged nutrition meals,” says Shubha K.
CAKES AND COOKIES
Gurgaon-based Harneet Kaur works as an event manager. When her dog Sam turned 1, she planned a birthday party for him. “I got a cake baked specially for him and had dog bone shaped cookies given out to all guests,” she said.
Bhairavi Mani of Bee The Baker started out with making cakes and cookies for kids and then branched out and started to bake for pets. Her inspiration was a neighbour’s dog. Her products are without sugar, salt, whole wheat or milk, and the idea is becoming popular. Dog owners and friends of dog owners buy these goodies as gifts. “Not many people offer such products. Two dozen banana cookies are for Rs 400 and mini cakes cost between Rs 750 and Rs 1,500,” she said.
Yadika Sharma started The Spoilt Brat Barkery, in Mumbai to cater to the whims, tantrums and fancies of ‘Sir Maximus Shah’, her Australian Cocker Spaniel. “As the word spread about the cookies, muffins and brownies that I baked for Sir Maximus, demands for these delicacies started coming in,” says Sharma. Three years into her successful venture, this summer Sharma will launch a frozen food line with doggie ice-creams, sorbets and pupsicles.
EATING & TRAINING
It hurts to leave your dog locked up when the family goes out for dinner. Not a problem any more. Mamta Sharma, executive director of 32nd Milestone is also the founder of Bow Wow – The Barking Buddies Club, a pet-friendly restaurant. “Most restaurants don’t allow pets and I always felt that there is a need for a place where dogs can meet, interact and learn social skills, apart from their comfort zone. So, I started off with creating a corner for pets, where owners can relax, read books to their pet, host birthday parties or just play around with their dogs,” said Sharma.
POOCH IN POOL & SCHOOL
Some dog lovers in Gurgaon have formed a new club: Dog’s Day Out. A farmhouse in Palam Vihar is booked on the first Sunday of each month and owners come and play with their dogs in the quiet green area and also take them swimming in the dogs-only pool. It began with 12 to 15 dogs; members now number 334 and the owners are looking for a bigger place to hang out with their pets.
Anubhav Saxena, a member of the group, says, “Once the word spread the turnout for these Sundays has doubled. We get to see all breeds of dogs and it is a great sight to see them taking a dip in the swimming pool and playing with each other.”
Amrut S Hiranya, an engineer-turneddog-behaviourist-and-trainer, is busy running his dog school in Banglore where he trains not just the dogs but also their owners. Hiranya returned to India from New Zealand after studying canine behaviour. “I wanted to study dog behaviour and so took up training as my profession,” he said.
Depending on the requirement of the owner and learning ability of the dog, Hiranya offers behaviour consultation, obedience training, dog therapies and owner training. “A dog that is about four years old and who stays with me for a week is charged Rs 5,000 and if the dog stays in the school for a month-long training, the price could escalate to Rs 25,000.”
Shivani Mathur runs an event management company for canines called Party Barky Hai. Launched in May 2011, the company went national within six months. “The demand for owners wanting to do fun activities with their dogs was large and we received queries from multiple cities.” After organising events in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, the event management company is now going to Chandigarh.
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July 17, 2020
The rotation out of growth and into value powered the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a third consecutive week of gains. This week’s strong consumer spending and industrial production figures, along with promising vaccine results, reinforced the market’s bullish thesis. Sentiment remains resilient despite the continued rise in Covid-19 case counts. As of Friday morning, John Hopkins University was reporting 3,592,316 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. Florida, Texas, and California remained hotspots to watch and are part of a larger group of 18 states that a White House task report designated as coronavirus “red zones” that it recommends should roll back their reopenings. Nonetheless, markets dismissed the latest coronavirus news to push the Dow to a 2.30% weekly gain.
Stimulus Burns Hole in Consumers’ Pockets
With stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits in hand, consumers were ready to splurge as more states loosened stay at home restrictions in June. Retail sales for the month rose 7.50% as consumer spending returned to pre-Covid levels. Popular among shoppers were big-ticket items such as motor vehicles, up 8.2%. Home décor for the work from home crowd helped push furniture sales up 32.50%. Clothes jumped off the rack and on to consumers, with sales increasing a whopping 105.10% as shoppers took advantage of the deals offered by struggling retailers. Restaurants and bars also got a bump, up 20%. Overall, it was a strong report, showing consumers are confident in spending. The wild card remains to what degree the rollback in openings dampens consumption at a time when the job market still shows rising claims for first-time unemployment benefits, stimulus checks are drying up, and extended unemployment benefits are set to sunset.
Industrial Production Gathers Steam
Factories, mines, and utilities gathered steam in June, sending industrial production up a seasonally adjusted 5.40%. That builds from May’s 1.40% gain. Capacity utilization, a measure of slack in the economy, rose to 68.6% in June, up from a revised 65.1% in May. The manufacturing sector led the gains in industrial production, up 7.20% in June, driven by automakers restarting production. Factory restarts also helped utilities, whose output rose 4.20%.
Confidence over rising consumer spending and industrial production prompted investors to dump richly priced growth stocks in favor of unloved, economically sensitive value stocks. As has been the case for many weeks now, markets remain highly confident the U.S. economy will continue to gather steam in the weeks ahead despite the surging number of Covid-19 cases nationwide. This positive sentiment was most evident this week in the first crop of Q2 2020 earnings. Value stocks, led by financial giants Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, managed to beat estimates due to record-breaking trading profits which helped offset retail banking weakness. Positive earnings surprises should be a regular event this quarter given that the bar has been set extremely low. FactSet forecasts that earnings will fall -44.60%. If this proves to be true, this would be the biggest decline in earnings since Q4 2009 when earnings fell -70% amidst the financial crisis. The market is going to give a pass for Q2 and Q3 earnings just given the fact that the economy is still spinning back up, but they will be acutely sensitive to management’s guidance particularly now that we are seeing some states pull back on their reopening plans as we begin the third quarter.
The Week Ahead
The housing market has sizzled as urbanites have chosen to pick up and move out of the city in an effort to escape Covid-19. We’ll see if the momentum can continue with the latest reports on new and existing home sales. Earnings season also continues with tech and consumer companies reporting results.
Preserving Your Legacy
Over the past 40 years, our advisors have been helping families, couples, and individuals determine optimal paths for the transfer of assets and family businesses to future generations. Throughout the process of establishing the structural aspects of wealth transfer, we remind our clients that estate planning is about more than distributing wealth — it is also an opportunity to pass on your wisdom and values. Our advisors help clients define and communicate their legacy and express their hopes and wishes for heirs and loved ones.
A personal legacy letter which is sometimes called an ethical will is an opportunity to say all of the things that you would say to your friends and family if you knew you only had one last chance. Below are some ideas to consider should you be interested in preparing a letter or letters for loved ones. Our advisors recommend placing at least one copy with your estate plan. Keep in mind it does not have to be a written letter. A family legacy video is another way to preserve a legacy for generational successors.
Explain your intent. For your beneficiaries, explain how and why decisions were made regarding your estate plan. This can help minimize any potential discord among heirs and ensure beneficiaries are all on the same page, thereby reducing the risk of future conflict.
Share your story and family stories. Think about what you want future generations to know about you and your life. What personal or family stories or family history do you want to leave behind? What would you want people to know about the decisions you made or life lessons learned or significant ancestral history? This is your opportunity to help your children and others benefit from your wisdom and experience. Take time to share beliefs, experiences, life lessons, even regrets, with loved ones.
Communicate your hopes and wishes. A legacy letter is an opportunity to express how a legacy can be carried on, whether that may be guidance for a multigenerational business or charitable account or foundation. It may also be personal wishes for loved ones, such as living well and taking care of each other.
Transmit values. A personal legacy letter is a chance to communicate family values, including those relating to money or philanthropy. What values do you hope loved ones will integrate into their own lives? Write personal notes to loved ones. Even if it is simply to say that you love them or that you are proud of them, personal notes can provide emotional comfort to individuals who are important to you after you are gone, not only your beneficiaries, but to others who may not otherwise have the opportunity to read your personal legacy letter or hear how your life has been impacted by them. This may include close friends, mentors, or teachers. The notes may seem strange to write, but they can be extremely cherished to those who may outlive you.
Distribute meaningful family items. Unlike last wills and testaments, ethical wills or personal legacy letters are not legally binding and do not bequeath assets. However, they can be an opportunity to outline your intent for who gets a particular family heirloom or sentimental item and to write about the history of any special items. Remember to note where they are located along with any specific care instructions.


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Kerala begins distribution of free rations
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 01: The Kerala government on Wednesday began distribution of free ration to the people of the state through the Public Distribution System (PDS) following the lockdown in the wake of COVID-19.
To prevent crowding in front of the shops, the government had devised card number system for distribution of ration so that those ration cards ending with zero and one would be given ration on April 1.
Those cards with numbers ending in two and three would be given the ration n April 2, four and five on April 3, six and seven on April 4 and eight and nine on April 5, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said on Tuesday.
He had also said that only five people would be allowed at a time in a retail ration outlet as per the social distancing norms.
"Each dealer could introduce a token system to avoid crowding of cardholders. Volunteers can help in home- delivery of foodgrains for the elderly and sick who are not able to reach the ration shops," the Chief Minister had said.
Those who don't have a ration card can procure foodgrains after providing their aadhar card and mobile number along with an affidavit.


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Speak about a tricky, cash-grab deal to empty a huge selection of bucks through the bank reports of struggling customers.
Simply pay attention to just just how this 1 goes: a customer goes online to check in to a pay day loan. And maybe even got such that loan on line in past times.
The lending company purchases that customer’s information that is personal through some other information broker вЂ” after which quickly deposits $200 or $300 to the customer’s banking account without having the customer really authorizing that loan, based on federal regulators.
It is not something special. It really is a gotcha. The lender that is online automatically taking out fully $60 or $90 any other week in “interest costs” indefinitely. Customers allegedly destroyed tens of vast amounts in unauthorized charges on unauthorized loans, in accordance with regulators.
It is a warning worth hearing, particularly, on the financial edge if you find yourself. The Federal Trade Commission as well as the customer Financial Protection Bureau took action this thirty days regarding two different online payday financing outfits. And regulators pledge to help keep a watch on other deals that are such.
The customer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit that alleges that the Hydra Group makes use of information it purchased from online lead generators to illegally deposit payday advances вЂ” and withdraw charges вЂ” from checking reports without having a customer’s permission. About $97.3 million in payday advances had been produced from January 2012 through March 2013. About $115.4 million had been obtained from customer bank reports.
The FTC alleges that Timothy Coppinger, Frampton (Ted) Rowland IIIand a group of companies they owned or operated used personal financial information bought from third-party lead generators or data brokers to make unauthorized payday loans and then access customer bank accounts without authorization in another case.
The FTC problem lists names of organizations CWB that is including services Orion Services, Sand aim Capital, Anasazi Group, Mass Street Group among others.
Regulatory actions represent one part of an incident. Phillip Greenfield, the lawyer in Kansas City, Mo., representing Rowland, stated their customer’s entities’ participation had been limited by funding the loans approved by CWB Services and getting the borrower’s payment of the loans. Rowland denies the FTC allegations, noting that the mortgage servicing problems into the full instance focus on parties maybe maybe not connected to Rowland.
Patrick McInerney, the Kansas City lawyer representing Coppinger, stated Coppinger denies the allegations into the FTC’s lawsuit and certainly will reduce the chances of all the claims raised.
A U.S. district court in Missouri has temporarily halted the online payday lending operation at the FTC’s request.
Michigan regulators report that customers dealing with difficulties that are financial have already been targeted, too.
Their state Department of Insurance and Financial solutions stated this has gotten two complaints regarding organizations mentioned in the FTC action.
Catherine Kirby, manager for the working workplace for customer solutions during the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, said customers must be exceptionally careful whenever trying to get that loan on the web.
Some customers don’t understand they are working with a lead generator that might be providing that information to different loan providers.
As soon as the lead generator offers your details up to a loan provider, you do not have the ability to research the financial institution fast sufficient in a few among these cases that are regulatory.
Customers may have difficulty shutting their bank reports to end the charges from being withdrawn, or if they did shut the accounts effectively, quite often their information will be offered to debt that is third-party, the CFPB claimed.
Both regulators talked about non-existent or loan that is false relating to fund costs, re re re payment schedules and final amount of re re re payments.
For instance, the FTC stated, the defendants failed to reveal that customers could be needed to spend indefinite finance fees with no payments decreasing the balance that is principal.
A disclosure package offered a photo to make it seem like a $300 loan would price $390. But extra fine print suggested that brand brand new finance costs would strike with every refinancing of this loan.
In fact, a $300 loan expense a lot more than $1,000 in biweekly debits for many customers.
Explore one way that is incredible grab money right away from a person’s paycheck come payday.


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At LIGHT FARMS in Celina, part of the master plan includes a commitment to healthy living.
by Tricia White | Managing Editor
Beginning March 21st, families in and around Prosper, Frisco and Celina can partake in a new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that will offer local, organic produce delivered each week to Light Farms. The CSA is the pet project of Holistic Nutritionist Leslie Typrin, a Northern California transplant who moved to the Light Farms community in Celina last year. Typrin, a former caterer and environmental scientist, became ensconced in holistic nutrition for personal reasons which included postpartum depression and digestive issues. It was at her son’s preschool that she discovered a local organic CSA program.
“Having realized the difference I personally felt while eating real foods that were not highly processed and had been grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals, I became obsessed with making this a convenience for everyone,” said Typrin. “I believe everyone can benefit from eating food that is grown with sustainable and organic methods and comes directly from the farm. We are blessed here in Texas because there are many small producers and growers of ‘real food’ that make their products available to consumers through farmers markets and food cooperative drop off points. Buying locally grown food means that the food spends less time in transit and doesn’t sit in cold storage or on grocery store shelves. The food retains its nutritional mineral value and content, we produce less of a carbon footprint for delivering it, and we are supporting our local economy,” she says. “It becomes a win for the consumers, a win for the local farms, and a win for the environment.”
Typrin thinks that the biggest stumbling block to eating this way is a lack of time to research and shop for these healthier foods. “It is about ease and convenience of getting the food from the farms to the people who want to eat it and making the process of maintaining a healthy diet simple. We are very lucky at Light Farms to have a development group like Republic Property Group (RPG) that supports and encourages its residents to live a healthy lifestyle.”
Working closely with Republic Property Group’s Travis Selcer and Stephanie Liebbe, Typrin has made her personal mission a reality for those in and around her community. Via Johnson’s Backyard Garden (www.jbgorganic.com), organic, locally grown foods will be delivered right to Light Farms each Saturday from 9 to 12 pm. Residents and anyone in the surrounding communities of Celina, Prosper, and Frisco can sign up to receive from one to four ‘shares’ of the farms organic produce. The shares range in price from $22-$40. In addition to the CSA, Typrin is helping residents launch a Holistic Food Cooperative and other educational opportunities at Light Farms. “We will offer classes and workshops to support a healthy lifestyle and our residents’ overall well-being. It really is an exciting time to be part of the Light Farms community as a resident and also to have this amazing chance to work with RPG on the future direction of health and wellness at Light Farms.”
“Light Farms is a community that celebrates the natural and agricultural history of Celina. It’s all about the people, the neighbors here.”
– Travis Selcer, Republic Property Group
“We are very lucky at Light Farms to have a development group like RPG that supports and encourages its residents to live a healthy lifestyle.”
Farm Stand Kick-Off Celebration at Light Farms
Saturday, March 21st 9-12pm
Swing by the Farm Stand for the CSA Kick-Off! Join Johnson’s Backyard Garden and enjoy family fun while snagging locally grown, organic produce.
Learn about the Lights Farms and other community events at www.goodlifefamilymag.com/events/


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People all over the world are following the fierce political rivalry between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but these 10 video game rivalries are even fiercer.
A report showcasing a video comparison between the PC and Xbox One versions of Forza Horizon 3 suggests that the graphical presentation may be near identical.
To celebrate the release of open world racer Forza Horizon 3, Microsoft reveals a competition to win a one-of-a-kind Xbox One S modelled after the $2 million Lamborghini Centenario.
Major Nelson announces the free Games with Gold lineup for Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners in September, which includes an Assassin’s Creed game, Mirror’s Edge, and more.
PlayGround Games reveals Forza Horizon 3, highlights platform cross-play and four-player co-op mode during a live gameplay demo across the Austrailian Outback.
Despite being met with rave reviews on the Xbox One, ‘Forza Horizon 2’s Xbox 360 counterpart will not be receiving any of the game’s DLC.
‘Forza Horizon 2’ has delivered an over the top, open world hit for the Xbox One.
As ‘Forza Horizon 2’ gears up for a fall release, the first 100 cars that will comprise its roster have been announced.
With ‘Forza Horizon 2’ promised to be a truly next-gen racer, the developers have confirmed that the Xbox 360 version of the game will be a different animal.
Concerned about ‘Forza Horizon 2’ having microtransactions? Playground Games claims the game will be launching without them.
After substantial rumors, Microsoft has confirmed that ‘Forza Horizon 2’ will be arriving on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 later this year.
A pair of concept art images purportedly tied to ‘Forza Horizon 2’ suggest the franchise’s spin-off series might be headed to the bayous of Louisiana with old-timey cars.
The Microsoft leaks continue as news of ‘Forza Horizon 2’ surfaces with talk of dynamic weather, 1080p, and a September release date.
Details found on an artistâ€™s LinkedIn page suggest that Playground Games might be working on a next-generation Forza Horizon sequel.
‘Journey,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘Far Cry 3,’ and ‘Halo 4’ headline the nominees for the 2013 D.I.C.E. Awards. Check out the full list of nominations right here!
Find out if your favorite game won big at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards by checking out our list of all the winners.
‘Assassin’s Creed 3,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ and ‘Halo 4’ lead the charge in the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards nominees, which air December 7th on SpikeTV.


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Google My Business API version 4.1 includes five new features including merchant provided description, offer type posts, and customer provided media. Google also announced that agencies can now sign up for a Google My Business account which features a brand new agency dashboard.
Online stalking has gone programmatic. People search engine Whoozy has a person search API. With it, you can get results for a name from social networks and blogs, in addition to standard search engines.
MySpace, the social network heavyweight looking to get back some of their old momentum is making a big splash with developers this week. On one hand, they announced an innovative, open platform for real-time stream access and more. But will that be overshadowed by a complete lack of care for the community that built applications on top of Imeem, the music service MySpace acquired and quickly shuttered?


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It was clearly evident that Bytedance (TikTok owner) wanted to challenge Tencent who had been comfortably enjoying the top position in the gaming industry. To make this happen, Bytedance acquired a number of gaming studios, one of which was 101 Studios which was a product of the 2019 acquisition of Mokun Technology. And now, according to reports from Bloomberg, Bytedance has disbanded the Shanghai 101 Studios as a result of the expansion setback.
If you are an active internet user who consumes content and plays games, you will know two companies for sure, Bytedance and Tencent Holdings, and also their bitter rivalry. In the past few years, these two Chinese internet companies have been going all out to acquire the first spot, both companies have gone on a bidding rampage to acquire various Gaming Studios to become the best in the industry.
101 Studio disbanded after a crackdown on licensing by Chinese officials
In the battle to acquire the first position, Bytedance had gone all out to acquire a few gaming studios to be able to compete with Tencent on the biggest stage that exists. In March 2019, Bytedance acquired Mokun Technology from its previous owners 37 Interactive Entertainment for $16.4 million. This was one of the large-scale investments Bytedance made.
One of the popular ones among these was Moonton Technology, the creators of the mobile battle royale game Mobile Legends which is globally famous. Bytedance had long-term ambitions to take over the Chinese and SEA market and establish its dominance. Bytedance’s vision to make this happen was by entering the gaming market and disrupting it just like they did with TikTok as they knew that mobile gaming brings in huge chunks of revenue.
But, things didn’t go well for Bytedance as the Chinese officials started to levy heavy restrictions on content and licensing. This has resulted in games not being given licenses to enter the Chinese market. The year-long waits, coupled with the extremely stringent rules have resulted in a sluggish environment where games could not be approved to enter the market, and companies were pushed into an economic crisis.
This historic crackdown by Chinese officials has pushed big tech and internet companies into turmoil. Over the last year, Bytedance has had to shut down most of its online tutoring operations, followed by 101 Studios. The company also disbanded its venture investment team and sold off a stock-trading app. The situation has stunted the growth of the Chinese gaming industry, as the crackdown on licensing still continues. Experts think that this will push China into an era of slower growth and greater caution.
Bytedance to continue competing with Tencent even after the setback
Since the 101 Gaming Studios is disbanded by Bytedance, some workers from the studio will be transferred to Bytedance’s gaming division Nuverse, which focuses on casual games. Despite Nuverse creating several titles in genres like fighting and card games, they haven’t been able to get on the stage to compete with the giants like Tencent. Bytedance’s dream to expand beyond its main short video business has taken a blow with 101 Gaming Studios being disbanded, but that doesn’t mean that the company will stop competing with Tencent.
What are your thoughts as Bytedance owned 101 Studios get disbanded? Let us know in the comments below!


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On Columbus Day— or Indigenous Peoples' Day — the post office and most banks are closed, while the stock market and most retailers are open.
For the first time ever, USPS is temporarily charging more for shipping during the busiest time of the year: The holiday season.
The postmaster general once called the president's leadership style 'self-destructive' and said he'd be fired if he worked for Trump
"I'd be fired," Louis DeJoy said in 2005. "That attitude that you are the most important person is self-destructive," he added, referring to Trump.
The US Postal Service is urging voters to request their November mail-in ballots at least 15 days before the election
USPS cannot guarantee that voters' ballots will arrive by a specific date and is encouraging voters to plan for a 2-week roundtrip for their ballot.
The cash-strapped USPS relies on sales of postage, products, and services to fund operations. This new top and other gifts can help it stay solvent.
As COVID-19 cases surpass 1,200 at the US Postal Service, workers say a lack of supplies and care puts them at risk
"A coworker stated that a supervisor coughed in his direction less than a few feet away as a joke," one USPS employee told Business Insider.
While the US Postal Service fights for its life financially, 2,000 of its workers are in quarantine and dozens have tested positive for the coronavirus
The union on Thursday announced the death of New York City carrier Rakkhon Kim, age 50, "from complications related to COVID-19."
Weeks after FedEx dumped Amazon, the e-commerce behemoth has announced another move to bolster its logistics capabilities.
Trump is threatening to force the US Postal Service to raise prices in his war on Amazon — and it could be a major blow to countless American businesses
Countless American businesses could get caught in the crossfire as President Donald Trump's war on Amazon heats up.
If President Donald Trump successfully hikes up taxes on Amazon, the impact should be somewhat mitigated by several factors, a Morgan Stanley analyst says.
President Donald Trump's claims that Amazon is taking advantage of the US Postal Service could prompt the e-commerce giant to accelerate its own delivery systems.
Ex-postmaster general defies Trump by 'unequivocally' stating that Amazon's contract is profitable for the US Postal Service
The former head of the US Postal Service is taking on President Donald Trump's campaign against the USPS' deal with Amazon.
With cell towers still down, snail mail has become the main form of communication in Puerto Rico — and US Postal Service workers have emerged as heroes
With the Puerto Rico power grid shredded by Hurricane Maria, the U.S. Postal Service has replaced cellphone service at the forefront of island communications.
Disgraced global sports icon Lance Armstrong, who is being sued by the US government in a $100 million fraud case, said he likes his legal team's defense.
Patrick Donahoe, the U.S. Postmaster General, says honesty is essential.