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Losses have widened at The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) as the macro-economic pressures weighed on The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) owner in the first half of 2023.
The Edinburgh-based single-cask and limited-edition whisky curator faced a number of headwinds in the six months to 30 June.
Investments in people, systems and future whisky stocks - adding old and rare spirits to the portfolio - to support future growth were the main driver of further losses.
Adjusted EBITDA increased to £1.8m in the half, compared with a £300k loss in the same period a year ago, while pre-tax losses jumped from £1.1m to £3.5m.
However, the its financial year is weighted more towards the second half, with the company projecting a profit for the full year.
Revenues increased 3% in the half to £10.2m, gathering momentum in the second quarter, while SMWS membership grew 9% year on year to more than 39,000, with double-digit growth in Europe, US and Japan.
ASC also expected a continued strong performance in UK venues, helped by the launch of the refurbished The Vaults in Leith at the end of September coupled with a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest whisky tasting worldwide.
CEO Andrew Dane said: “We are pleased to have achieved year-on-year revenue growth, particularly within the context of challenging macroeconomic headwinds in some of our key markets and cost of living pressures, with an increase of +7% in Q2 (following a relatively flat Q1) and are proud to have also continued to deliver strong member growth, +9% up on prior year, which is a leading indicator of future revenue growth.”
He added: “As we look ahead to trading in the balance of the year, despite the ongoing macroeconomic backdrop, we remain focused on delivering EBITDA at the consensus level, with the continued premiumisation trend, our expanding, loyal and engaged membership base and diversified global business model supporting our growth ambitions.”
The FTSE 100 started the week flat at 7,711.19pts.
Early risers included Glanbia, with shares up 3.8% to €15.68 after it completed a €100m share buyback programme, AG Barr, up 2.5% to 496.4p, Ocado, up 2.2% to 780p, Bakkavor, up 1.5% to 96.6p, and Hilton Food Group, up 1.2% to 779p.
PayPoint and Fever-Tree are among the early fallers, down 2.2% to 542.8p and 0.9% to 1,276p respectively.
This week in the City
The rest of the week is looking busy on the markets, kicking off tomorrow with the latest grocery till roll figures from NIQ.
The much-delayed Naked Wines finals are due out in the morning, with full-year results also from McBride and grocery tech provider Eagle Eye and a Q3 trading update from Ocado.
The latest UK inflation data is out on Wednesday morning, with General Mills is set to report quarterly results and Dunelm and property fund Supermarket Income publishing finals.
On Thursday, catering and food-to-go group SSP will update investors on its fourth quarter and C&C Group puts out a Q2 trading statement and the Bank of England will announce its latest interest rate decision, while, in wider retail, Next releases interims.
The latest consumer confidence survey from GfK and retail sales for August from the ONS will close out the week.


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Read more on this subject: Transportation
News Story Source: https://www.zerohedge.com, by Tyler Durden
The hits just keep on coming for the auto industry. Frozen amidst a global lockdown due to the coronavirus, auto sales and registrations data continues to be atrocious around the world and the industry that was mired in recession even before the pandemic became a problem continues to face odds that look insurmountable.
The latest batch of cheery optimism came out of Europe, where auto registrations plunged 76% in April. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the number of new cars sold fell from 1,143,046 to just 270,682 YOY.
The ACEA said: "The first full month with COVID-19 restrictions in place resulted in the strongest monthly drop in car demand since records began."
The data was driven by each of the 27 EU markets recording double digit declines in April, with Italy and Spain spearheading the misery, posting losses of 97.6% and 96.5% respectively. Sales plunged 61.1% in Germany and France dealt
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Tuesday, 15 Mar 2016
Microsoft has just announced that Xbox One players will soon be able to play online with PC and even PlayStation 4 players via a new feature called Cross-Network Play.
Monday, 14 Mar 2016
AMD has announced XConnect, a driver-level technology that makes it easier to use external GPU docks with ultrabooks, and which could pave the way for a future where such upgrades are commonplace.
Tuesday, 8 Mar 2016
ASUS has released a new GeForce GTX 950 graphics card that doesn’t feature any molex power connectors. More details after the jump!
Friday, 4 Mar 2016
Intel is reportedly working on a reference design for an augmented reality headset, and it will be support its RealSense 3D technology.
Valve has sent a note to developers detailing a new pricing model for Steam bundles. Under the new scheme, gamers can save on the bundled titles that they already own as the price will be subtracted from the total bundle cost.
Wednesday, 2 Mar 2016
According to the latest Jon Peddie Research report, GPU shipments have increased 2.4% from last quarter. Read on for more insights from its findings.
Microsoft has announced plans to create a single, unified ecosystem for both PC and Xbox One games. Moving forward, the company wants to make its Universal Windows Platform the center of its gaming strategy and release games concurrently on both PC and the Xbox.
Despite its expensive price tag, the HTC Vive appears to be a hit with consumers as over 15,000 units were pre-ordered within 10 minutes.
Tuesday, 1 Mar 2016
Check out these three new curved monitors from Samsung that support AMD FreeSync technology over HDMI!
Monday, 29 Feb 2016
ASUS is giving out a free Uplay game key for Far Cry Primal with purchases of select ASUS-branded graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. More details inside!


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Milkybar adds Cookies & Cream sharing bag to the mix
A Nestlé confectionery favourite and the UK’s number one white chocolate brand since 1936, Milkybar has announced a new addition to its range with the launch of Milkybar Cookies & Cream sharing bag, joining the sharing block following a successful launch in September 2020.
The new Milkybar Cookies & Cream sharing bag is available in all major shops across the UK and Ireland in 90g and 73g bags. The bag is full of creamy- tasting, smooth white chocolate bites, with an even creamier filling that instantly melts in the mouth. To top it off, the crunchy cookie piece in each bite gives a tasty twist to the white chocolate everyone knows and loves.
Molly Slater-Davison, assistant brand manager for Milkybar said: “We are so excited to launch the Cookies & Cream sharing bag a couple of months after such a successful launch of the sharing block. It is a fantastic addition to the Milkybar family and gives our loyal fans yet another Milkybar variant to enjoy.”
Milkybar Cookies & Cream sharing bag, also free from artificial flavours, colours and preservatives, is being made at Nestlé’s factory in Fawdon, also home to Matchmakers, Fruit Pastilles, Caramac and Breakaway. The sharing bags are available now in major retailers, bargain and convenience stores. The Milkybar Cookies & Cream sharing bags have an RRP of £1.00.


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This is a no rust all GM original body panel RS SS 350 Camaro with GM smog system still in place from 67 . This car has an amazing body and was painted in the 1990's still looks nice today ...
true California car stored inside since the 90's
Pick of the Day marked the return of the International Race of Champions
The Pick of the Day is a numbers-matching blast from the past
This is the 11th car in a 30-day countdown to Barrett-Jackson’s annual Scottsdale collector car auction
It’s another feather in the cap for Tucker and this crazy Chevy
This is the sixth car in a 10-day countdown to Barrett-Jackson’s annual Northeast auction
There’s a plan underway to build a new batch of Chevrolet Yenko Camaros
RideTech pits its 48-Hour Camaro build against top pros in Texas
Hennessey released a video of the Exorcist Camaro ZL1 and the tuning company showed the hopped-up pony car is good for a 217 mph top speed.


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Photography : Pim Top
November, 2018 – FENDI continues the 10-year anniversary celebration of its iconic Peekaboo bag by tapping global designers who, starting from a white canvas version, designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, have reinterpreted the Peekaboo, transforming it into design masterpieces.
The initiative includes American designer Chris Wolston, Japanese designer Kiichiro Ogawa, Chinese Oscar Wang, and Korean Teo Yang, along with Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis. They have been given carte blanche to customize the iconic handbag, created in 2008 for the Spring/Summer 2009 Collection.
This initiative joins the celebration of FENDI’s 10-year anniversary with Design Miami, through The Shapes of Water, a project by Sabine Marcelis dedicated to rediscover water as a design tool, whose delicate beauty the designer has magnified by realizing ten fountains inspired by ten of the most iconic symbols of the historical roman house, including a piece inspired by the Peekaboo bag, placed in a prominent position inside the space.
The five Designer-customized Peekaboo bags will bow at the FENDI boutique in the Design District on December 5, displayed on special podiums in hues of yellow designed by Sabine Marcelis herself. For the occasion, Silvia Venturini Fendi has also designed a special Peekaboo bag available for sale in limited edition in the Miami store during that week.
Since 2008 FENDI has been supporting limited edition creativity and design through its partnership with Design Miami in Miami, Milan and Basel. The Roman luxury house shares important values with the design world, such as boundless creativity, excellence, quality and a passion for making things by hand. Each collaboration developed since then has represented a wonderful admixture and « contamination » between design and fashion, highlighting their creative, functional, experimentation and research affinities.
This marks the first step of a global program which will be rolled out worldwide throughout 2019.
For the 10th anniversary of the Peekaboo bag, Sabine Marcelis has chosen to freeze the design within a resin block. By only encapsulating the lower volume of the bag, a hint of functionality is preserved within this new sculptural object. The translucent resin colour exaggerates the three-dimensionality of the shape frozen within.


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Polaris was bolstered by big ATV and side-by-side sales in the third-quarter of 2013, which reached $703 million.
Polaris released its third-quarter financials for 2013 and things are looking good. The Minnesota-based company exceeded one billion dollars in sales during the quarter, a mark never before achieved by the brand. Net income from continuing operations for Q3 reached $116.9 million dollars for an improvement of 24% compared to the same period in 2012. Spikes in growth come from a 12% increase in sales in the United States, a 38% boost in international sales, higher selling prices and lower product costs. Gross profit dollars reached $334 million for a 29% increase over the same period in 2012.
The positive showing has prompted Scott Wine, Polaris’ Chairman and CEO to declare in a company press release that “Our sales growth continues to outpace our long-term projections and we now expect to achieve greater than eight billion in sales by 2020.”
Wine continued, “Our record third quarter results reflect both the ongoing demand for our existing products and the potential contained within the initial shipments of our model year 2014 vehicles, the largest new product introduction in the Company’s history. In the third quarter, we launched more new vehicles than in any previous model year, led by the much anticipated debut of Indian Motorcycles along with several innovative variants of Rangers, RZRs and Victory motorcycles. Additionally, to complement and enhance our consumers’ experience with these vehicles our Parts, Garments and Accessories (PG&A) business introduced over 300 new model year 2014 accessories plus an expanded apparel line-up.
“Our success over the past four years derives from our focused strategy – being the Best in Powersports plus, delivering growth through adjacencies, maintaining global market leadership and demonstrating operational excellence and strong financial performance.”
The bulk of that strength comes from the Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) segment which improved by 23%, reaching a total of $702 million dollars. ORV retail sales in North America grew in the low double-digit percentage range, as did dealer inventories. The segment was stronger internationally, marking sales gains at 20% over the same period in 2012.
Snowmobile sales spiked by 25% to a total of $143 million for Q3, with especially strong results coming from Russia and the Scandinavian region.
Polaris’ Motorcycle division, which includes both Victory and Indian, declined by 6% to $49.4 million dollars compared to Q3 of 2012. The company states that “the decrease in the 2013 third quarter sales is due to Victory dealers continuing to calibrate their inventory levels under the new Retail Flow Management order taking process, which closely ties dealer shipments with retail sales.”
In North America, however, motorcycle sales are up with strong gains made by Victory, which notched a 30% increase over Q3 in 2012. The launch of Indian’s new 2014 models also occurred in Q3 and the company is optimistic that reception will be strong in the coming quarters.
In April of 2013 it was announced that Polaris had acquired Aixam Mega, a small vehicle company in France that produces light duty commercial vehicles and enclosed, on-road quadricycles. The quadricycles are particularly unique in that in many countries allow drivers to operate the vehicles without a full automobile driver’s license. Joining the electric vehicle marques GEM and Groupil already under the auspices of Polaris, the company’s Small Vehicle segment as a whole marked a sales increase of 188% for Q3, totaling $31.7 million dollars.
Finally, PG&A (Parts, Garments and Accessories) jumped by 37% to $176 million dollars in sales.
Even higher growth was offset by a rise in costs as operational expenses jumped 31% largely due to higher sales and marketing required by the roll-out of the new Indian motorcycles. A jury verdict made in July of 2013 “arising from a 2008 collision between a boat and a 2001 Polaris Virage personal watercraft,” also recorded a $3.8 million non-recurring loss for Q3 as well. Polaris ended production of marine product in 2004 and was entirely out of the business of 2007.


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BeefJack writes: "Step aside E3 and LA, it's time for GameOn! and London to show what it can do.
Well, it's not time just yet as the event that was scheduled to take place this month has been pushed back to November.
Despite the doom and gloom, for those of you looking to get your GameOn! there is a bright side. If you've already purchased your ticket you can either claim a full refund or claim four complimentary tickets for your friends."


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Nearly 150 years after the Golden Spike in Promontory Summit, Utah, completed this nation’s first transcontinental railroad, America’s freight railroad industry remains an emblem of innovation and a foundation for economic growth.
In fact, a study by Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute found that U.S. freight railroads helped spur nearly $220 billion of economic activity and supported approximately 1.1 million American jobs in 2017. This included $71 billion in wages and close to $26 billion in tax revenue — more than the annual tax receipts of 30 states.
Within the United States, freight rail’s consistent and strategic spending buoys once-stagnant desert towns like Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and quietly and efficiently serves the millions of people in a metropolis like Chicago. Meanwhile, Southern Florida has become a buzzing gateway to the global economy in part because of freight rail’s unique capabilities.
An Infusion of Cash, Jobs in New Mexico
When Union Pacific Railroad decided to build a $400 million terminal in Santa Teresa, freight rail brought its first delivery: Jobs. About 1,600 of them. Today the terminal is complete, and more than 600 newly created permanent jobs remain a windfall for this town of 4,200. Additionally, nearly a dozen new businesses have sprung up near the terminal — from Penny’s Diner serving hungry rail workers, to ERO Resources, which maintains and repairs trucks chassis and containers. State officials estimate that the Santa Teresa rail terminal added more than $470 million to the New Mexico economy during the construction period alone.
“Private rail investment was a critical and vital selling point for many businesses,” says Jon Barela, the former Economic Development Secretary of New Mexico. “It signaled to the world that Santa Teresa was a strategic place to do business with the potential to be a vital part of the border and cross-border trade.”
Santa Teresa’s story is a familiar one, as freight rail investments lift towns and cities from coast to coast. But sometimes the industry’s economic imprint shows up in surprising ways — such as helping the Windy City’s commuters get to work on time.
More than Freight: Chicagoans on the Move
Chicago and freight rail share a long and rich history, but when most Chicago commuters hear “rail,” they probably think of Metra. The city’s prompt and efficient commuter rail system powers 300,000 riders per weekday. Given Chicago’s role as a hub in America’s freight rail network, the cooperation of freight and commuter trains can determine whether hundreds of thousands of people have a good, productive workday.
Every week, Metra makes more than 750 trips across the Chicago Switching District’s 980-mile rail network, the majority of which is owned by freight rail. In addition to Metra’s traffic, the rail network hosts an additional 500 freight trains and dozens of Amtrak trains each day. In the face of so much traffic, freight rail executes a well-choreographed dance and helps facilitate open communications between all the railroads. This comprehensive proactive approach to managing the rail network in Chicago helped Metra achieve a 95% on-time performance for 23 consecutive months.
“The efficiency and effectiveness of freight rail transport in the Chicago region is critical to the economic development of Chicago,” says Jeffrey Sriver, Director of Transportation Planning and Programming for Chicago’s Department of Transportation. “Likewise, the efficient and effective delivery of commuters to and from the city every day is also extremely important for the economic vitality of our city.”
This fine-tuning of the ebb and flow of rail traffic in Chicago is yet another example of railroads’ positive effect on American cities. Not only can rail rev a city’s economic engine with jobs, it can also keep its people and products moving efficiently. These efficiencies save time and money wherever the rails run, whether through our finest cities or into our most productive ports.
Go Rail & Go Global
In southern Florida, PortMiami serves as a vital link between U.S. businesses, consumers and the global economy. Like its sister Port of the Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, PortMiami counts on the productivity gains that arrive by partnering with freight rail. PortMiami has worked with the Florida East Coast Railway to install three 3,000-feet rail tracks directly onto the docks. This investment allows the port to handle 225,000 containers per year, up from the 45,000 container maximum capacity before the tracks were installed. Thanks to the integrated freight rail network, the goods arriving at PortMiami are able to reach nearly 70% of the U.S. population within four days. This swift delivery benefits businesses in the U.S. and abroad.
A global marketplace facilitated by freight rail also serves American consumers.
“The freight railroads’ extensive and improved network enables connectivity between buyers and sellers and facilitates trade both within the U.S. and between the United States and other countries,” says Clifford Winston, a Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. “Without an efficient rail network, U.S. industries would incur higher costs, and those costs would raise the prices of a large share of consumer goods.”
A global marketplace and strong domestic economy are possible, in part, because of decades of private spending by American freight rail. And as Towson University’s recent study shows, the beneficiaries are not merely shippers or businesses or the freight rail industry itself. Every American — whether taxpayer, consumer or business owner — benefits from the incredible economic ripple effect of our freight rail network.


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- DiDi Global Inc DIDI lost 30% of its daily users since its June U.S. initial public offering following China's tech crackdown, Financial Times reports.
- Didi's average daily user count for August fell to 10.9 million from 15.6 million in June. However, the number of ride-hailing companies that completed over 300,000 monthly rides grew to 17 for the first time in July, as per China's transport department.
- China had banned DiDi from signing up new customers while they investigated its data security. The ban is costing DiDi 4 million users per month.
- The regulators also ordered app stores to remove 25 of Didi's other apps, including those that register new drivers. The regulations banned ride-hailers from onboarding drivers or cars unlicensed for ride-hailing.
- In July, just 41% of Didi rides were fully compliant, while Piggy Express stood only 24%, FT reported.
- Didi's shares have plunged over 40% since the IPO while rivals enticed its customers and drivers with promotions. The peers include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's BABA Amap, Meituan MPNGF MPNGY Cao Cao Mobility.
- DiDi is yet to report its Q2 earnings, unlike its peers, which reported weeks ago.
- Didi could hit a rough patch if China seeks to split or abandon its exclusive agreements with drivers.
- Price Action: DIDI shares traded lower by 1.45% at $8.16, and BABA shares traded lower by 1.34% at $155.74 in the premarket session on the last check Thursday.
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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The next generation localized digital media listening tool, Zanroo, is launching in Pakistan in partnership with Bramerz, to unveil a new social listening experience making it easier for brands in the region to gain valuable insights about their services from popular social media platforms. It is the first listening tool of Pakistan for the local market with its special capability to listen and analyze English, Urdu and Minglish at a brilliant speed.
Co-founder and VP of growth of Bramerz gave us quite an insight into what the future looks like for brands with the assistance of this tool, “Our aim is to be the ‘go to’ problem solver by helping brands use technology to obtain the right data to make insight-driven decisions, thus driving actions that create meaningful engagement”.
There is also a personal vision for Zanroo that was shared in a Q & A session at X2 Gulberg yesterday.
“Apart from the professional vision, the personal vision is that so many people commit suicide if not detected, the increasing number of suicides is worrying. Maybe through this we can also detect any kind of bullying and depression by selecting certain words to be detected”.
With the rapid increase in social media usage in the country, consumers are expressing/sharing their opinions (about products) that makes it important for companies to listen. Pakistan has over 60 million online users with a penetration rate of 27% which highlights the fact that he country has a fast-growing online population.


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China has announced stricter regulations governing the issue and use of credit cards as it seeks to rein in consumer risk.
The rules were jointly published by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).
Regulators sought to better manage China’s $1.3 trillion credit card industry, urging lenders to adopt a “prudent” growth strategy, and monitor risks more closely.
“China’s credit card business has been growing rapidly, playing a key role in facilitating payment and consumption,” CBIRC said in a statement on its website accompanying the release of the new rules.
“Recently, however, some banks … are lax in risk management, and have behaved in ways that hurt customers’ interest,” the regulator said.
The CBIRC cited issues such as unclear disclosure of interest and fees, unilaterally promoting low interest rates, charging interest disguised as handling fees, obscuring actual costs and setting unreasonably low instalment payments.
Banks are now barred from using the number of cards issued or market share as main performance metrics, and are required to cap the number of dormant cards at 20% of the total.
Chinese banks have issued a total of 800 million credit cards as of the end of 2021, with outstanding loans totalling 8.62 trillion yuan ($1.29 trillion), according to the PBOC.
The new rules require banks to tighten scrutiny over credit card loans, and strengthen risk management control. Roughly 86 billion yuan of credit card loans, or 1% of total outstanding, are overdue for six months or longer.
Banks must also set up a system to monitor, identify, alert and prevent abuse in the credit card business, according to the rules.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell


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Hyderabad, January 26 - Just when Prabhas-fronted big-ticket period romantic-drama film "Radhe Shyam" was all set to release in theaters on January 14, the third covid-19 wave, once again spoiled the party. This resulted in, the postponement of the release indefinitely.
"Radhe Shyam" has been postponed multiple times due to the obvious reason, the pandemic. While the pandemic is already taking a toll on the makers and fans waiting for this film, the rumors around it also not helping either. It is fact that top streaming platforms are throwing their all to grab the movie for direct streaming release, the makers, however, doing their job was busting those rumours.
Recently, there has been a lot of gossip revolving around the social media that Radhe Shyam will be streamed on Zee5 directly in February. Some reports have also claimed that other OTT platforms offered a whopping sum of Rs. 400 crores for grabbing the direct streaming rights of "Radhe Shyam".
The makers of the film, however, are super confident about their content. Director Radha Krishan Kumar has confirmed that "Radhe Shyam" will be released nowhere except theaters. Composer, Thaman S, who has composed the music of Radhe Shyam, also took to Twitter and confirmed the theatrical release soon.
"Radhe Shyam" is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated Pan-India films. It is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Vamsi, Pramod, and Praseedha under the banners of T-Series, and UV Creations. Pooja Hegde plays the female lead opposite Prabhas alongside other casts including Bhagyashree, Krishnam Raju, Sachin Khedekar, Priyadarshi, Murali Sharma, and others.
Meanwhile, as per the recently confirmed reports, "Radhe Shyam" will release either on Holi or Eid this year.


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Apax Partners yesterday swooped on Incisive Media, backing a £199m management buyout of the publisher of business titles including Legal Week and Investment Week. While the offer has received the backing of the company's independent directors, major shareholders are calling for a better price.
Apax, which had an initial approach in August rebuffed as too low, pitched its offer at 195p per share. That is a mere 13% premium to Wednesday's closing share price and chairman Mike Masters yesterday admitted it could flush out other bidders. "There could be other offers coming in, [but] at least we have a starting price."
The bid, which could make multi-millionaires of Incisive's chief executive and founder, Tim Weller, and his team, has gained the support of the media firm's second largest shareholder, Caledonia Investments, which holds under 10%. But Incisive's largest shareholder, Standard Life Investments - with 12% - yesterday characterised 195p a share as "a low-ball bid".
Standard Life has been a shareholder for years through its UK Opportunities Fund and UK Smaller Companies Unit Trust and seen the Incisive share price rise steadily from a low of 50p in late 2002.
Fund manager Mark Niznik said: "From 50p to 195p is a very good performance but this is a quality company and should demand a higher premium."
Mr Weller, who set up the business 12 years ago, said yesterday he was disappointed to have to take the company private, but an inability to raise cash in the public markets had prevented Incisive from taking part in the industry's consolidation.
"We have made concerted efforts to try to consolidate the market and yet, even with our outperformance, our share price relative to our peer group has been discounted," he said. "Apax [however] has made it clear that they want to invest in the business to get it to the next stage."
The Apax bid is a 23% premium to the average share price over the past three months and 26% up on the average price over the last year. Sources close to the deal suggested that, if the market thought the company was worth more, it should have rated the shares more highly.
But shareholders pointed out that the company's most recent cash call, last summer's placing to fund the £24.3m acquisition of Search Engine Strategies, was over-subscribed.
Mr Masters said the company had wanted to raise in excess of £100m to expand in the business-to-business market, but had no success with institutional investors or banks.


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What makes people buy from a brand they follow on social media?
Seven in 10 U.S. internet users will use social media regularly in 2017, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. However, the ways in which social media users connect with friends, family members – and, of course, brands – vary greatly depending on the user’s age. A recent Sprout Social survey found millennials and Gen Xers are twice as likely as baby boomers to follow a brand on social media. About half of respondents in each group reported doing so, compared with 24.5 percent of baby boomers.Source: eMarketer
View or Download: https://www.emarketer.com/Article/What-Makes-People-Buy-Brand-They-Follow-on-Social-Media/1015330


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Stock market indexes kept moving higher Wednesday, maintaining momentum from Tuesday's healthy bounce. Investors remain concerned about ongoing threats like the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, but they've been willing to see how things play out before jumping to bearish conclusions. As of 2 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -1.19%) was up 171 points to 35,664. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.10%) climbed 27 points to 4,676, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) picked up 80 points to 15,421.
A couple of popular stocks released their latest earnings results, and what they said sheds some light on what's happening with the broader economy. In many ways, investors are in the middle of a tug-of-war between bullish macroeconomic trends and potential unforeseen obstacles to future growth. Below, you'll learn what Paychex (PAYX -1.05%) and CarMax (KMX -3.80%) said about their quarterly performance and what means for the broader market.
Paychex gets paid
Shares of Paychex were up 5% on Wednesday afternoon. The payroll and HR specialist posted solid results in its fiscal second-quarter financial report, which made shareholders more confident about its future.
Paychex's quarterly numbers were strong. Sales rose 13% to $1.11 billion, lifted by a similar rise in service revenue. Adjusted earnings of $0.91 per share were up 25% year over year and topped investor expectations as well. The company pointed to rising employment figures among its clients and solid customer retention figures.
Paychex explained that client needs have evolved and grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies need advice in getting the talent they need, and Paychex can offer help in structuring benefits packages and other incentives to keep current workers on the job while enticing candidates to sign on as new employees. Paychex has seen success from its Flex digital platform, and it anticipates 10% to 11% revenue growth for the entire 2022 fiscal year, with earnings growth of 18% to 20% on an adjusted basis.
Investors liked what they saw from Paychex three months ago, so it was good for the company to keep up its winning streak. If employment trends remain favorable, Paychex could keep gaining ground.
CarMax hits the brakes despite strong business performance
Shares of CarMax fell 7%. The move lower came despite what appeared to be solid third-quarter financial results.
CarMax reported growth in many key metrics. Revenue of $8.5 billion was a new record and was nearly 65% higher than previous-year levels. Earnings per share grew at a slower 15% rate year over year, reflecting the relatively narrow gross margin on sales. Yet retail unit sales were up 17%, and wholesale unit sales jumped 49%. Average selling prices soared more than 30% to $6,600 on the retail side and almost 60% to $3,600 on the wholesale side.
CarMax also stepped up its purchase activity from customers in the quarter, buying more than 383,000 vehicles. That was 91% higher than a year ago, with half of the sales coming from CarMax's instant appraisal online service.
After an initial pop in the stock, CarMax shareholders seemed to conclude that positive conditions in the industry weren't likely to persist in the long haul. That doesn't mean CarMax can't make plenty of money in the short run, but if industry supply and demand reverts to more normal levels, then it could reverse some of the gains the company has seen.


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For the last few years, Thailand has been known for its jet ski scams. Reported about in news media all over the world, but particularly in the UK where many Brits are incensed that they’re being ripped off by Thai jet ski owners, the situation is now so bad that many foreigners now warn everyone — do not rent jet skis in Thailand.
The Thai jet ski scam is actually quite a simple one. A foreigner rents a jet ski in Pattaya or Phuket for an hour or two and goes off to have fun. When he returns the jet ski, the owner tells him it now has damage on it that it didn’t have before he rented it, and will often even produce photographs to prove it. Of course, the photographs have been photoshopped while the poor unsuspecting tourist is off having fun on his jet ski but now the Thai owner wants 40,000 baht ($1,300) to pay for the cost of the damage.
To make it worse, this is often done in an intimidating manner and with a group of Thai men hanging around looking threatening. If you say you’ll go to the police, they’ll often escalate the situation to frighten you even more.
Many foreign tourists that get scammed by jet ski owners in Thailand simply pay up just to avoid being harassed or threatened, as the owner will usually eventually drop the amount wanted until just a few hundred dollars is enough.
That’s why we, along with many other foreigners living in Thailand, now tell everyone we know do not rent jet skis in Thailand. Not unless you enjoy being scammed, that is.
If you want to see the Thai jet ski scam in action, watch this Thailand Undercover video showing it up close and personal.


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The launching ceremony of the official Logo of the Made in Bangladesh exhibition took place on Sunday, 15 December 2019 at 1200 hrs at Oryx Rotana Hotel, Doha. The three-day exhibition namely Made in Bangladesh which is being organised by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Doha and the Bangladesh Forum Qatar (BFQ) under the patronage of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh and the Qatar Chambers, will be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) from 28 to 30 January 2020.
Exhibitors from different potential sectors of Bangladesh will participate in the exhibition and showcase their products & services and build bridges between businessmen, investors and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh and their counterparts in Qatar. Besides, the exhibition will feature a number of events in three days.
The first day of the exhibition will have formal opening ceremony, seminars, cultural show under the theme ‘Rhythm of Bangladesh’, fashion show on Dhakai Jamdani and Katan. The second-day events will include seminars, cultural show under the theme ‘Seasons of Bangladesh’ and the instrumental fusion and tribute to musical legends of Bangladesh. The third and closing day will have seminars, cultural show under the theme ‘The Bengal Beats’, Folk Festival, and formal closing ceremony and gala dinner.
Made in Bangladesh is the first initiative in Qatar to enhance Bangladesh-Qatar bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade and investment leveraging the potentials from enviable socio-economic progress of Bangladesh for last one decade.His Excellency Ashud Ahmed, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Qatar will release official logo of the Made in Bangladesh exhibition.
I Love Qatar is proud to be the 'Official Digital Media Partner' for this exhibition.
Source: Press release
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By Jeevananda S. Kaviratne
The owners of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority-approved tourist hotels and guesthouses operating in Hikkaduwa recently convened a meeting to discuss the issue of sudden increase of the annual liquor licence fee almost by 100 percent to Rs.500,000.
These hoteliers and guesthouse owners had already paid the annual liquor licence fee for the year 2015, an amount of Rs.275,000.
Making the things worse, Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretary had sent a letter dated March 25, 2015 to all the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority-approved hoteliers and guesthouse owners in Hikkaduwa requesting to pay the latest licence fee, giving a deadline of three days.
The said letter sent by the Hikkaduwa Divisional Secretary had reached the hoteliers only on March 31, 2015, the hoteliers complained.
These hoteliers said that it was impossible for them to pay such a large amount of money within a matter of few days.
The tourist hotel and guesthouse owners vehemently opposed the deadline and threatened to close down the liquor bars in their hotels, if reasonable action was not taken immediately by the relevant authorities to repeal the newly imposed unreasonable liquor licence fee.
Hikkaduwa Tourist Hoteliers’ Association Chairman and Colombo Hoteliers’ Association Vice Chairman Siri Gunawardena said that taking a decision of this nature without consulting the hoteliers was both unfair and undemocratic.
He said this latest decision of the Finance Ministry and other relevant authorities would have unhealthy outcomes, affecting every aspect of the tourism industry across the country.
Hikkaduwa Middle-Scale Tourist Hoteliers’ Association Chairman Harischandra de Silva said if immediate action was not taken by the authorities to reduce the annual liquor licence fee back to the previous, which the hoteliers had already paid for the year 2015, the only alternative was to refrain from obtaining a liquor licence and to close down the liquor bars in their hotels.
Just like numerous other unauthorised hoteliers and guesthouses operating in Hikkaduwa offering liquor to foreigners without a licence, he said that there was a very strong tendency even for the authorised hoteliers and guesthouses resorting to illegal selling of liquor without obtaining an annual license fee.
He said liquor was freely available everywhere in Hikkaduwa and these unauthorised liquor outlets had already posed a great threat for the survival of authorised tourist hotels and guesthouses.


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Recently, leaks have already appeared online for a Genshin Impact collaboration with KFC. Genshin Twitter is much on fire for details right now. Well, we are going to inform you some information about what we know so far.
Genshin Impact update version 1.3 has been available for a while. Fans should know that the Lantern Rite event is scheduled to end on February 28th with the Xiao market remaining open until March 7th. But, away from in-game activities, a forthcoming KFC event in China has been leaked. Here you are going to find the leaked release date and skins for the Genshin Impact KFC collaboration.
Aside from the leaked collaboration, there is plenty to enjoy within the game of Genshin Impact such as the newly released Weapon Event Wish to compliment your Liyue characters. This Weapon Event Wish includes the Lithic Blade, Staff of Homa, and Lithic Spear. These are the weapons that you might want to get. While there is the Weapon Event Wish as well as the possible imminent arrival of Hu Tao character to anticipate, in the text below you are going to find the release date and skins for the leaked Genshin Impact KFC collaboration event.
Genshin Impact KFC Event Release Date
Need to know that the release date for the leaked Genshin Impact KFC event is March 8th. Neither the release date or actual event are confirmed by developer of the game, miHoYo. However, the Genshin Impact and KFC collaboration will reportedly occur next month with the skins on offer. The collaboration may seem odd, but the KFC fast food icon has gotten into the bed with the video games industry before.
There is a dating simulator with the Colonel which is available to enjoy. Of course, there is also the KFC console that is hard to believe. This console will not cook your chicken, but it will keep the chicken warm while somehow trying to stop the console’s inside compartments being ruined by grease and crumbs.
Genshin Impact KFC Skins
The Genshin Impact KFC collaboration involves the skins. Featuring Diluc and Noelle characters, the leaked Genshin Impact x KFC collaboration banner will give the skins for buying a Diluc chicken bucket set meal. Again, we say that the collaboration seems odd on paper, but it will not be the strangest thing the Colonel has done within the video games industry. Unfortunately, it seems as though it can be restricted to China only. It means that the skins will not be available elsewhere.
Genshin Impact KFC skins spotted only in China.
Since the game launched back in September last year, this Genshin Impact game has turned into one of the most trending free-to-play titles in the world. The game’s vast open-world map offers many activities, challenges, and quests for the players, allowing them to team up with friends and play together. During the short time since its launch, the game of Genshin Impact has caught the attention of several big companies around the world as sponsors. The newest one, which is yet to be announced officially is a Genshin Impact KFC collaboration which has been spotted recently in China.
Thanks to Zaniet on Twitter and PrimusDep on Reddit, now we have our first look at the skins coming to Genshin Impact, thanks to a yet to be announced collaboration with KFC. As explained by Zaniet, the Genshin Impact KFC crossover is going to offer KFC Diluc Bucket and Wing skin for a limited time. You are able to check out the male and female version of the skin. Based on the banner, the crossover is going to go live on March 8. It means that we are still waiting a few weeks away from the event and maybe the official announcement of the collaboration.
If you are playing the game of Genshin Impact regularly, you have to ensure to follow our guides and tips for the game because the world of Teyvat has a lot to discover. Also, the Genshin Impact universe has yet to be completed by the developers. The game of Genshin Impact is set to get new content every six weeks and is supposed to feature seven major regions. According to the development team, maybe it will take some years to finish the Genshin Impact project.
The reaction of Fans to Diluc and Noelle in the Genshin Impact X KFC China collaboration
We get information that Genshin Impact has partnered with KFC China to bring the exclusive skins for wind gliders and limited edition Diluc-themed chicken buckets in China. KFC’s new promotional banners include Noelle and Diluc in a chef and maid outfit. The banners have already gone viral in the community of Genshin Impact. Even though the collaboration is limited to China, fans all around the world are talking about this collaboration.
The news went viral after images of KFC & Genshin Impact’s collaboration surfaced on the Twitter and Reddit communities. Diluc’s character can be seen in a red and black-themed chef outfit in the banner. Noelle’s character looks like her charming self and is wearing a maid outfit. The players who purchase Genshin Impact’s Diluc themed KFC chicken bucket will be able to get a red and black-themed wind glider in the game.
The reason of choosing KFC
As a brand, KFC has been attempting to appeal to the consumers in the gaming space for a while and also has been getting inventive. Coming up with a dating simulator which allows you to date the Colonel and the KFC Console.
Also, there is the fact that KFC is the largest restaurant chain in China. This restaurant chain was actually one of the very first western restaurants to open in the market in the 1980s, changing the branding and offerings into something that would appeal to Chinese audiences with a western twist. In short, KFC has always been ahead of the curve in the Chinese market, so embracing a big hit game like Genshin Impact is a perfect fit for their brand.


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How Cyberstalkers Could Access Your iPhone Using the Windows Phone Link App
September 19, 2023
Windows Phone Link is a free Microsoft app that lets people view and access phone calls, text messages, and notifications from their smartphones directly on their Windows 10 or 11 PC.
In the past, the app has supported just Android phones, but a recent update from Microsoft allows Windows 11 users to set up Phone Link to work with certain models of iPhones.
Setting up Phone Link requires physical access to the phone and to a Windows computer. The risk here is that a person who’s able to even temporarily grab someone else’s phone could enable Phone Link on their own Windows PC and use the app to spy on the victim’s phone calls and text messages without their knowledge or permission.
Anyone concerned about this potential misuse of the Phone Link app can take these steps to protect themselves.


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Mitchells & Butlers has seen a jump in like-for-like sales of 1.8% for the first half of 2010, boosted by strong food sales.
The company said that like-for-like food sales were up 4.3% over the period, whereas drink sales rose just 0.3%. M&B said that the second quarter was hit by the January VAT increase, bad weather, and lower promotion activity. But like-for-like sales in the most recent nine-week period were up 1.9%.
Revenue was also up by around 1.3% to just over £1b, while pre-tax profit shot up 55.3% to £73m for the period.
The company also managed to reduce its net debt pile to £2.5b after paying down £87m over the past six months. And it signalled that it would deliver cost savings of £25m over the year - £5m more than previously expected.
The strong food sales appear to vindicate a decision by the business to concentrate on the eating-out market, as it looks to expand the food-led brands in its 2,000-strong pub estate.
The company said that it wants to increase the number of its pubs with a strong food brand to 1,900, with active expansion planned for:
Crown Carveries (111 pubs)
Harvester (170 pubs)
Premium Country Dining Group (63 pubs)
Sizzling Pub Co (198 pubs)
Toby Carvery (133 pubs)
Vintage Inns (222 pubs)
It is also planning what it termed ‘selective' expansion at All Bar One, Browns, Metro-Professionals, Miller & Cater, Nicholson's and O'Neill's.
M&B has based its plans on research which shows that food accounts for £42b of the £71b UK market for eating and drinking. The drink market is worth £29b but has not grown since 2004.
By Neil Gerrard
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in partnership with Westfield, kicked off an autumn celebration of food, culture and entertainment at the World Trade Center campus. Aptly named “Oculus Outdoors,” this event series features outdoor movie screenings, retail activations, a bike valet and family-friendly activities.
During weekends in October, visitors can experience Oculus Outdoors on Oculus Plaza, a public plaza underneath the wings of the Oculus on Fulton Street between Church Street and Greenwich Street. On Sunday, October 25, arts and crafts will be provided to families from 1 pm to 4 pm for spacious outdoor fun. The next outdoor movie screening weekend will feature The Goonies on Friday, October 30 and The Nightmare Before Christmas on Saturday, October 31.A full listing of weekend movies and activities and how to reserve a private pod may be found on Eventbrite.
The World Trade Center campus will also welcome the new Oculus Beer Garden in partnership with Westfield and Legends. The secure outdoor space was built with two shipping containers adjacent to the 2 World Trade Center Mural Project. The Oculus Beer Garden will offer expansive views of the campus and include a 5,000 square foot outdoor walk-up area that maintains physical distancing for all guests.
“The men and women of the Port Authority know well that in times of crisis, community is what matters most. So many individuals and families across our region are looking for fun and safe activities to do this fall, and we’re proud to welcome them to the Port Authority’s own backyard,” said Kevin O’Toole, Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Through careful planning, increased safety measures and the cooperation of our partners and vendors, Oculus Outdoors will be a safe destination for all.”
“Come one, come all to the hottest new attraction in lower Manhattan, the Oculus Outdoors fall festival with COVID-19 safety protocols in effect,” said Rick Cotton, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “The Port Authority is pleased to partner with Westfield to bring a safe and exciting array of outdoor activities, crafts and open-air film screenings to the World Trade Center campus.”
Oculus Outdoors is part of the Port Authority’s commitment to safely expand on its dynamic community events programming at the World Trade Center campus. Earlier this year, as part of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s 2020 River to River Festival in partnership with Westfield, Mona Chalabi’s 100 New Yorkers art exhibit launched across 22 digital screens in the Oculus. On display until the end of November, Chalabi used census data to visualize 100 characters based on New York City’s diverse community.
In September, Eataly NYC Downtown opened Il Patio di Eataly on Cortlandt Way, a pedestrian street between 3 World Trade Center and 4 World Trade Center. Following health and safety protocols for guests and employees, the outdoor seating is open daily from 12 pm to 8 pm, with the restaurant offering authentic Italian cuisine.
Oculus Safety Measures During Pandemic
To ensure that all visitors and employees have a safe and enjoyable experience on campus, the Port Authority has implemented stringent safety measures – from mandatory mask wearing to enhanced cleaning and safety procedures:
- When building the Oculus, the site was equipped with a state-of-the-art, multi-layered air filtration system that uses High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that can filter 99.97 percent of all airborne particles.
- World Trade Center staff and contractors thoroughly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces throughout the Oculus on a regular basis using EPA-approved and CDC-endorsed disinfectants.
- Visitors to the transportation hub will notice newly installed floor decals and hear recorded announcements offering reminders to practice physical distancing at staircases, escalators and elevator cabs as part of the safety program.
- 26 touchless hand-sanitizing stations have been installed throughout the Oculus.
For more information on the Oculus Outdoors schedule of events, ticketing, or health and safety practices, visit officialworldtradecenter.com/oculusoutdoors.


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Konami announces that Suikoden VI is currently in development.
The erstwhile illustrious video game company revealed that the sequel to one of the most recognizable and storied franchises in its portfolio is currently being developed. Suikoden VI is “about 10% done”, says Yoshitaka Murayama, newly reinstated as the overall director, designer, and producer of the Suikoden franchise.
Murayama’s role in the announcement is itself a surprise. He was laid off by the gaming giant shortly before Suikoden III was released, and has not been heard from in the same breath as Konami since 2010, when rumors circulated about his return to the company following a blog post in which he referenced getting an offer from “a certain company” and “crossing the Rubicon”. In any case, fans of the series will be glad to have Murayama back onboard the franchise, and if the hints he dropped about the upcoming game are any indication, Suikoden VI is going to bring its A-game. Said Murayama:
“Well, we certainly do not want to retread old storylines, but we do plan to strike a balance between introducing new characters and reintroducing old ones. One way we are going to do that is to make sure that those characters we’ve mentioned in passing, or those who have only been in the background so far, get to take center stage now. For example, I can tell you now that the focus of Suikoden VI will be the conflict between the Circle Rune and the Rune of Change, so players are finally going to meet Hikusaak in person. The Sindarin leader will also be making an appearance, although I can’t disclose that person’s identity. I could say, however, that Jeane’s been around for a long time, hasn’t she?”
Murayama also intimated that the game will be released for both the Xbox One and the Playstation 4, and, in a first for the franchise, will also be released for the PC. He also revealed that they are using Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, which he described as a “boon, especially as we are finally going to be able to reveal the entire world of Suikoden, from Harmonia to Falena, and even, at last, the mysterious Western and Eastern Continents, in all of its many-splendored glory.” Finally, he said that the tentative release date for the game is the last quarter of 2016.
I don’t know about you good people, but I am going to go squee at absolutely everyone now.
Images c/o Konami


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April 20, 2016
Sony DADC NMS (New Media Services) CTO and head of strategy Andy Shenkler keynoted ETC’s Cloud Innovation Conference at NAB 2016 in Las Vegas. Rather than talk pure technology about the cloud, Shenkler preferred a more unique angle: piracy. “The place I want to start is around competition in the OTT space specifically,” he said. “When we talk about OTT, the usual suspects are Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, HBO GO, and so on. But we’re not really looking at the biggest competitor out there: piracy.”
To push his point home, Shenkler noted that the top ten pirated movies have been downloaded 465,409,843 times. “Piracy is seamless and easy,” he said. “Pirates want to steal from us — let’s steal from them. Five minutes after the broadcast is over, they have it everywhere. They do global distribution very effectively.”
He highlighted three popular piracy sites: Couch Potato for movie downloads; Sick Beard for TV and series downloads; and SAB, a download agent that looks for torrents, and showed a workflow found on the Internet that is designed to show people how to configure their home systems to download pirated copies and store them in files.
“These guys have it figured out,” he said, walking the audience through the details of how a user can easily pirate content. “It asks you what quality you want,” he explained. “It’s a customizable experience… I’m sure pirates are also adding 4K and 3D content.”
Why focus on the ecosystem of piracy? “We spend an agonizing amount of time on how to present information — and this is how a huge number of people actually see it,” Shenkler said. “We don’t spend the time learning from piracy; they show there are methods and processes that could be more effective and efficient and that people are willing to live with a little less.”
For a compelling product, said Shenkler, creators need to make sure not to fall into the two camps of either a complete lack of creativity or idea overload. “This isn’t for the faint of heart,” he noted “Netflix isn’t easy to copy. A solution should have everything you really need, not everything you want. Don’t let new technology alone be your point of differentiation.”
“You need a strategy,” he added. “Figuring out the product is one piece of the pie. A massive coordination effort is needed… between tech, ops, finance, and product. Silos cannot operate independently if you want to be successful.”
One serious problem, he explained, is that people “don’t understand the complexity.” That includes DRM across all devices, geo-blocking, CDN, native apps, marketing communications, customer support, credit card processing, QA, application monitoring, OVP, updates, modifications.
“It’s not free — we aren’t pirates,” Shenkler said. “We should go in eyes wide open so we don’t set ourselves up for disappointing results. It’s important to shift our perspective, looking at the full end-to-end. The last thing you want is to look back a year later and realize it’s nowhere close to where you wanted to be.”


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Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti GPU leaks again in new pictures
The actual chip for the upcoming RTX 4060 Ti from Nvidia has been leaked, adding to the pile of various other leaks about the GPU.
MEGAsizeGPU, a Twitter leaker who has already leaked the RTX 4060 Ti box art, has now posted an image of the chip powering the upcoming GPU.
Nvidia’s 40-series graphics cards have been getting intermittent releases since the launch of the 4090, with the new battle for the company to take place at the mid-range builds. AMD and Nvidia are both gearing up for the release of their mid-range hardware and the 4060 Ti is expected to come in at under $500.
From the image, we can now see that the 4060 Ti will feature an “AD106-350” chip, which is a cutdown variation of the full chip. It’ll have 4352 CUDA cores, rather than the full 4608 CUDA cores found in the larger version.
Nvidia 4060 Ti poised for a May launch
The 4060 Ti is currently positioned to launch in May, about a month or so after the launch of the 4070.
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MEGAsizeGPU also leaked the template box art for the graphics card, including all its features. While it’s not especially surprising, with DLSS 3 and ray tracing prominently featured, this is an intriguing card in the pantheon. Typically, the XX60 variant can be found dominating the Steam survey charts, with the last three generations taking the top three spots in March 2023.
While not the flagship for Nvidia, it’s expected that this and the non-Ti variation will be the biggest sellers for Nvidia in the ensuing months as people begin to upgrade from much older cards. While coming up on 10 years old, the GTX 1060 still sees massive use across PC gaming.
Find out more about the 4060 Ti with our dedicated hub. We have also broken down the upcoming 4060 GPU as well.


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COMMENTARY -- Wanted: Catalyst to move shares of a profitable Internet company with dominant position in streaming media. Poised to take advantage of broadband technology. If you find such a catalyst contact RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser immediately.
Glaser and his crew at RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) haven't floated that mock help wanted ad just yet, but don't be surprised if they do sometime. You may even be seeing shares of RealNetworks on a milk carton somewhere (chart).
So what's ailing RealNetworks, which bounced off a 52-week low Monday?
Analysts have a standard reply: Shares need a catalyst. Don't expect the company's third quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday to do the trick either. Wall Street is expecting revenue of about $67 million and a profit of 4 cents a share. "Modest upside" is likely.
It's not hard to find analysts pushing the catalyst theory. Listen to Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Rob Martin. "RealNetworks needs a catalyst event," he said. "Converging file formats, a production deal to take streaming to the next level or even the next 'Survivor.'"
Or listen to Adam Holiber, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "There's no specific event to move the stock," he said.
Turns out RealNetworks fired all of its buzz bullets early in 2000. The company announced deals with America Online, Nokia and Hewlett-Packard, and shares soared to a high in February. This quarter, however, RealNetworks has been walloped. Since Sept. 1, RealNetworks is down about 40 percent. The Nasdaq is off 21 percent in that same time frame.
Without any concrete news, investors reckoned they'd make up something to talk about.
First, there's the misguided worries about slowing online advertising growth hurting RealNetworks. For the third quarter, Bill Lennan, an analyst at W.R. Hambrecht, is predicting $40 million in software revenue, $14 million in services and $13 million in advertising, 60 percent, 21 percent and 19 percent, respectively. RealNetworks was whacked last Friday after Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and DoubleClick (Nasdaq: DCLK) stoked fears about online advertising.
The catch is that only 30 percent of RealNetworks' ad revenue is derived from banners. And that percentage is expected to fall this quarter. Streaming media ads are RealNetworks' game. "Those rates are 10 times that of banners," said Holiber.
Then there were rumors that RealNetworks would talk down expectations for upcoming quarters. Most analysts expect the company to be optimistic about upcoming quarters, but not ebullient.
Using his proprietary research, Lennan said RealNetworks will deliver a good quarter.
"During Friday's large decline in RNWK shares, CFO Paul Bialek returned our calls with usual promptness. While the time it takes a CFO to return phone calls is not a common investor metric, we suggest that such responsiveness is more highly correlated with a company about to report a strong quarter," wrote Lennan in a research note.
Who says those analysts don't dig deep?
Despite the short-term hiccups in RealNetworks' shares, analysts are bullish that the profitable company will make buy-and-hold investors happy.
Holiber said RealNetworks has been hit by shareholder turnover as the "get rich quick" investors bail on the stock. As these momentum-happy investors jump ship, the alleged smart money is hopping in. Shareholder turnover may be the biggest reason for RealNetworks' dip from $35 to the $20s.
"The company is morphing and developing multiple, sustainable revenue streams," said Holiber, who considers the stock a long-term buy. "Everyone wants the big, fast thing, but RealNetworks is a durable Internet leader."
Nevertheless, RealNetworks has to allay investors' worries.
For starters, RealNetworks needs to give guidance on how the company's deals with AOL, HP and Nokia are going to boost sales. Growth will be a big worry on RealNetworks' conference call.
RealNetworks' third quarter is the first without licensing revenue from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which licensed RealNetworks technology for the last three years. Without Microsoft's licensing revenue, RealNetworks' sequential sales growth will be roughly 7 percent. If you back out Microsoft's revenue, sequential growth will be about 12 percent, said Lennan.
Analysts across the board said that the Microsoft revenue slippage "is not news," but investors may be rattled anyway.
The other major topic facing RealNetworks is the same item that's been trailing the company for years -- competition. Some analysts said they expected Microsoft to continue to gain market share in media players and streaming media servers. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is also in the mix and gives away its player. The common fear is that RealNetworks will be Netscaped by Microsoft.
On the portal side, RealNetworks will face competition from Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), which is increasingly going broadband. And speaking of broadband, RealNetworks is also hostage to the rollout schedule of high-speed services.
The concerns surrounding RealNetworks have been there from day one and the company has delivered. Analysts don't expect that to change. "It's easy to lose sight of things without a specific short-term catalyst," said Holiber.TDAIN


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While wine has been on the rise for many decades in Greece, small-scale local beer production has been introduced only in the last two decades. Today, small-scale brewers thrive in many parts of the country. The Acropolis Museum decided to give its visitors the opportunity to enjoy quality beers from small-scale Greek producers at the ground floor café from Monday 8 April to Sunday 14 April. The ground floor café will serve its daily menu as usual.
Address: Dionysiou Areopagitou Street 15, Athens
Tel: 0030 210 9000915


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Platform facilitates social distancing in produce supply chain.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is the kind of “black swan” event that is disrupting countless aspects of business and life around the world, and the produce supply chain is not exempt. The Fusionware team wanted to find a way to limit person-to-person contact to prevent the virus from spreading. That meant changes to how members of the produce supply chain document all production, processing and distribution steps to facilitate full traceability while maintaining COVID-19-compliant touchless solutions.
For years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic signatures have been used to verify interstate commerce, thanks to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. The E-Sign Act provided rules to satisfy regulatory requirements around e-signatures. But in most systems, a physical signature is still required — commonly drawn with the finger or a stylus on a tablet or smartphone.
Fusionware has made it possible to eliminate that kind of physical touch altogether.
A no-touch system to solve the problem for the produce supply chain
“A lot of companies have everything running through a mobile device, and in order for the system to work at a place like a shipping office, every truck driver has to touch the pen or screen to sign for that load. But with COVID-19, we can’t do that,” said Fusionware President and CEO Creg Fielding. “Fusionware was faced with creating a 100% real-time e-signature system that would maintain the necessary health and safety standards but still provided full traceability.”
Fielding’s Fusionware team developed a “no-touch” process every member of the supply chain can use to provide the necessary authorization while still maintaining social distancing. “There are regulations around legal documents that you have to follow in order to meet e-signature guidelines, and our platform is compliant.” Fielding said.
How touchless e-signatures work
Once a user transfers ownership to the next member of the supply chain in the Fusionware dashboard, the system sends a text message to the latter with a mobile web link to a digital signature pad. This enables the user to sign on to their own device, eliminating the need for personal contact.
The COVID-compliant e-signature system is permission based, meaning no data is shared from the Fusionware system unless the individual user allows it. Optimized for mobile, the system enables users to sign remotely from anywhere, making it more convenient for Fusionware customers in streamlining personal touchpoints in the supply chain without physical contact.
Post-COVID-19 system utility
The Fusionware touchless e-signature utility represents a way to stop the personal contact that helps spread the virus. But the tool’s utility stretches well beyond the pandemic and will continue to facilitate a more efficient way to verify the transfer of ownership throughout the produce supply chain moving forward, Fielding said.
“I think the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to think outside the box and develop a better way to handle this step safely and securely,” he said. “A farmer, distributor or processor can send a driver a link where they can sign in a few seconds — versus the previous process in which they had to go into the system, find the order, pull up the order and sign for it. The adoption of this was definitely driven by COVID-19, but at the end of the day, it is a way better process.”
Sustaining quality through the produce supply chain
In the future, the new Fusionware touchless signature utility will help improve produce quality for the consumer. A major variable in sustaining product quality during transit is temperature, and it’s watched closely by all. Down the road, touchless signing and other features of the Fusionware platform can be applied to verify that produce loads have been kept in the right temperature range during transit.
“This e-signature capability will include temperature recorders on loads. We can ultimately use this technology to provide the necessary verification to streamline that step in the supply chain,” Fielding said. “It’s just one of many new value propositions this system is creating for our customers.”
See more about how the Fusionware platform works and request a demo for your operation here.


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NVIDIA stock surged more than 3% during regular trading hours on Monday as analysts assessed the company’s Deep Learning Connect event, which was held last week. One analyst said on Friday that the better-than-expected sales of the Nintendo Switch will boost NVIDIA’s results, while another said on Monday that last week’s event gave them a fuller understanding of the chip maker’s machine learning and customer engagement efforts.
NVIDIA stock breaks out after Mobileye – Intel deal
NVIDIA stock has had a volatile 2017 so far despite being up 222% for the last 12 months, but since Intel’s acquisition of autonomous driving firm Mobileye was announced last week, NVIDIA shares have been climbing. NVIDIA stock has rallied by about 9%, snapping a pair of downward trends.
The chip maker’s deal with Tesla to use its chips in future Autopilot systems has made it a solid player in the autonomous driving space, so investors may be considering the likelihood of NVIDIA becoming an acquisition target next. Some analysts suggested after the Mobileye deal that almost any autonomous driving player could become a target because of how many other autonomous driving firms have been acquired recently.
GrizzlyRock Value Partners was up 34.54% net for 2021. The fund marked 10 years since its inception with a 198% net return, resulting in an annual return of 11.5%. GrizzlyRock enjoyed 14.8% long alpha against the S&P 500 and 26.9% against the Russell 2000. Q4 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more The fund's short Read More
Investopedia‘s Michael Kramer describes the current trend around NVIDIA as “decidedly bullish” but also warns about “danger lurking in the water.” The stock climbed above its 50-day simple moving average, but the website adds that it looks to be following the same pattern it followed on Feb. 23, which was the day it fell from about $110 to a low around $98 per share. That’s also the same day that multiple analysts downgraded the name.
According to Kramer, until NVIDIA stock breaks over $110, it’s not in the clear. He adds that investors who missed the stock at the bottom might want to wait to see what happens next.
NVIDIA stock still a Conviction Buy: Goldman
NVIDIA stock is probably receiving a boost from a positive report from Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari. In a research note dated March 20, Hari reiterated his Conviction List Buy rating and $130 price target on the stock. He attended the chip maker’s Deep Learning Connect event in London last week and Bosch Connected World in Berlin where NVIDIA’s CEO gave a keynote on their efforts in the area of autonomous driving. Machine learning was also a focus of last week’s events.
He believes the chip maker’s off-the-shelf machine learning models and customer support efforts are especially important as it grows its sales and support capabilities and creates “sticky relationships” with customers outside the cloud. He notes that customers that aren’t in the cloud space are more likely to need customer support from the company.
Further, the chip maker continues to follow the strategy it used in Gaming where it has gained 15 points of market share over the last five years. The analyst believes that the company’s plan to boost spending in the high teens over the next several quarters is “reasonable,” and he expects it to produce similar results in the Data Center, Enterprise and Automotive segments.
NVIDIA boosted by Nintendo Switch
NVIDIA chips are also being used in the new Nintendo Switch, which has apparently been selling better than expected. Last week it was reported that Nintendo plans to double the number of Switch gaming devices it will produce, moving to 16 million.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves had been estimating only 8 million to 10 million units. He estimates that the other 6 million to 8 million units could add $300 million to $400 million to the chip maker’s top line. He feels that the Nintendo Switch de-risks NVIDIA stock in the near term because of the apparent success.
Shares of NVIDIA stock rose to as high as $109.32 during regular trading hours on Monday.


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Overview of payment practices
Due to limited cultivable land and therefore little local agricultural production, the city-state of Singapore is almost totally dependent on imports for its food requirements. concerns about disruption to the industry supply chains have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and have
compounded business concerns over maintaining adequate cash flow over the coming months. In light of this, businesses polled in the agri-food industry in Singapore believe that B2B trade credit will be more widespread over the coming months, in particular as a bid to stimulate demand.
Despite collection efforts, DSO higher than in Asia
Agri-food businesses in Singapore (63%) are far more likely than their industry peers in Asia (57%) to request cash payments. Once the terms of the trade deal agreed, more businesses in Singapore (64%) than in Asia (55%) rely on letters of credit initiated from their customers to secure payment. Adjusting payment terms to reflect the credit risk profile of the customer is also more often reported by businesses in Singapore (63%) then by their industry peers in Asia (51%). despite this diversified approach to managing credit risk, 52% of the agri-food industry in Singapore appears to be impacted by late payments, compared to an average of 49% in Asia. However, when it comes to bad debt losses, businesses in Singapore
appear to be better positioned than their Asia-wide peers. On average, the former wrote off 4% of the total value of their B2B receivables as uncollectable. This is lower than the 6% the average for industry in Asia. Although this reflects relatively stronger collection efforts, local industry respondents spent more resources on chasing overdue invoices (52% in Singapore versus 48% in Asia). In addition, more businesses in Singapore (41%) reported an increase in dSO over the past year than their peers in Asia (37%). The Singaporean agri-food industry reported an average dSO of 123 days, compared to a 119-day average for the industry in Asia.
Twice as many agri-food businesses in Singapore worried about supply chain than in Asia
Perhaps reflecting their more vulnerable dependence on food supply chains, twice as many respondents in Singapore than in Asia are worried about future disruptions to the industry supply chain impacting their business operations and ultimately profitability.
That said, businesses are more optimistic than their regional peers about potential improvement to their business performance (sales and profits). 34% of the Singaporean agri-food industry expressed concern about maintaining adequate cash flow levels over the coming months (regional average: 32%). Although the majority of businesses polled in the city-state (53%, compared to 57% in
Asia) believe that the expected improvement will arise from a rebound in the domestic economy, more businesses in Singapore (20%) than in Asia (13%) believe their business performance will improve due to a revamping of export trade flows. The remainder believe business performance will improve due to a combination of increased exports and more favourable economic conditions. Against this backdrop, far more businesses in the Singapore industry (42%) than in Asia (33%) believe that B2B trading on credit will become more widespread to stimulate demand.
There are more late payments in the Singaporean chemicals/pharma industry than on average for the industry in Asia. despite this, local businesses show a strong focus on protecting liquidity levels and containing costs to safeguard business profitability.
This comes as no surprise for a key industry in Singapore, where a relatively strong carry-over of insolvencies from last year to this year was anticipated after the gradual phasing out of insolvency moratorium measures.
More Singapore late payments than chemicals/pharma industry in Asia
59% of the total value of B2B credit sales last year was reported to be overdue (compared to the 54% average for Asia). This pattern repeats for long-term overdue invoices (more than 90 days overdue) where Singapore’s chemicals/pharma industry appears less successful at collection than its peer across Asia. 9% of the total value of B2B receivables was written off last year (regional average: 7%).
To protect their own businesses from
the impact of late payments, 37% of respondents delayed paying suppliers, (significantly more than the regional average of 21%). However, only 12% suspended deliveries until invoice payment, compared to 26% in Asia. 10% of chemicals/pharma businesses in Singapore turned away new customers to avoid financial risk, half of the 20% in Asia that reported doing so.
Maintaining cash flow is significant business concern
27% of respondents in Singapore told us they are concerned about maintaining cash flow in the coming months, (compared to 24% in Asia). 25% are worried about containing credit management costs (regional average: 21%). It is worth mentioning that twice as many respondents in Singapore than in Asia are worried about likely bank lending restrictions that could hamper their financial flexibility and their ability to access cash to weather fluctuations in their business activity.
47% of businesses in the industry anticipate improvement in their business performance over the next
few months (fewer than the regional average of 57%).
Although a significant number of respondents both in Singapore and Asia predict this improvement will come from a rebound of the domestic economy, more businesses in Singapore (25%) than in Asia (15%) believe the expected improvement will stem from export trade flows.
At the same time, far more businesses in the Singapore industry (47%) than in Asia (35%) believe that B2B trading on credit will be more widespread over the coming months, as businesses act to support their customers by allowing them more time to pay.
The pandemic-induced economic crisis has severely hit businesses in the construction industry in Singapore. Restriction of migrant workers, particularly from India, into the city-state has caused severe disruption to the industry. This is mainly due to manpower shortfalls that are currently expected to trigger increases in labour costs, which in
turn will be a factor affecting commercial offers for contracts.
Amid expectations of emergency government measures to address these issues, local businesses have expressed concern over their liquidity levels alongside their ability to contain credit management costs, and how these may impact their profitability and viability going forward.
Half of the total value of B2B invoices is overdue
50% of the total value of B2B invoices is overdue (consistent with Asia) and, on average, it took businesses up to one month longer than the due date to pay. Late payments are the reason why 67% of the industry spent more on collection efforts. A significant number of the businesses we polled told us that they needed to strengthen their internal credit control procedures, and more often retained
and managed customer credit risk internally through self-insurance. Requesting payments in cash, delaying payments to suppliers and to staff were also liquidity protection measures often cited by industry respondents. As a reflection of strong collection efforts, bad debt write offs in the Singapore industry represented only 2% of B2B receivables, consistent with the average for Asia.
Cash flow is primary worry for construction industry
Nearly half (45%) of the businesses polled in the Singapore construction industry expressed concern about maintaining adequate cash flow over the coming months. In addition, a significant number of businesses are worried about containing credit management costs and the impact of these on profitability.
However, the majority of construction businesses anticipate no change in their business performance over the
coming months. Should there be a change, more businesses are of the opinion it will be an improvement (25%) than a worsening (15%). A significant 80% believe any improvement will be due to a rebound of the domestic economy. Within this context, 45% of businesses believe that trade credit will be used more often over the coming months to allow customers more time to pay invoices, rather than as a tool to stimulate demand.


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A growing movement of consumers buys less, but focus on experiences. And, surprisingly, Chinese consumers follow that minimalistic trend, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein in Knowledge CKGSB.
Not only are people buying less stuff overall, but a growing subculture is rebelling against consumption altogether. Minimalist bloggers, tidy-up gurus, and tiny-house designers now claim millions of followers.
Nor is this only a trend in the jaded West. Many Chinese consumers are also getting less interested in buying things, according to Shaun Rein, Managing Director of the China Market Research Group.
“It is not all about consumption and showing off anymore, especially among younger consumers. They are looking more for quality of life, which is pushing spending toward wellness, entertainment and more spiritual endeavors,” he says.
Are consumers just taking a breather, or is something more permanent going on?
Are you looking for more strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau. Do check out this list.


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Posted May 16, 2012By mleyba
Rock the Bells 2012 lineup was announced Wednesday, May 16, 2012. The 2 day show, starting August 18th in California, will include Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Wiz Khalifa, Kid Cudi, Nas, J. Cole and Mac Miller. An east coast show will follow in September.
Reflecting on a Milan Fashion Week that marked the re-emergence of denim and the pre-eminence of the flat Birkensto
Photos from Cherry Creek North's Celebrate Fashion event which included a fashion show featuring Cherry Creek North
Saturday Night Live alumnus Seth Meyers, now host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” headlined a comedy
Riot Fest is taking over Sports Authority Field at Mile High Friday through Sunday, Sept. 19-21, 2014 in Denver, Co
One thousand guests were at Centennial Airport for Flight to Luxury, a multifaceted event that is expected to raise
David Tennant (“Broadchurch,” “Doctor Who”) reprises his role, this time as an American detective summoned


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I mean, people pay for the service of having their money safely delivered from place to place.
Buy bitcoin with Time Stamp Selfie safely, easily and instantly at Paxful.Get started with Bitcoin: find a wallet, buy bitcoin, shop with bitcoin, read bitcoin news, and get involved on the forum.Bitstamp (bitstamp.net) is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, and indeed, one of the first regulated exchanges of the European crypto currency market. They are.You hire a Brinks Armored Truck and armed guards, and they deliver money for you to someone.
Yes, you can send your bitcoins present on bitstamp wallet to any other bitcoin wallet.Ethereum fans got a bit of a boost today from two different companies in the crypto space.Bitcoin has been one of the most popular payment systems of the past year, but thanks to the Stamp Payments Act, they might have met their match.The sliding Bitcoin price has provoked a fair amount of schadenfreude recently.
Suppose that an individual wishes to use Bitcoin to transfer value.
Bitcoin: Questions, Answers, and Analysis of Legal Issues
Bitcoin cross trading from Bitstamp to Bitfinex - exchangesJust because they have non-monetary use as dollar-coins does not mean anything at all when they turn into nothing-coins.
As the dust settles on the recent hard fork, we are now in a position to explain in more detail how we will deal with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin company gets a stamp of approval from NYSE andBloomberg plans to list bitcoin prices on its financial data terminals, a move that could give the volatile digital currency a stamp of respectability and spark.European Bitcoin exchange BitStamp launched a pre-paid debit card that can be loaded with bitcoin on Wednesday.According to the London-based exchange, the.
Start trading Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, Litecoin (LTC) and Ether (ETH).A truck that holds money and one that cannot hold money are two different trucks.So some people, both at libertyhq forums and in a comment to the previous article, came up with a new idea, to show that bitcoin does have intrinsic value.
Bitcoin Regulation "Can Be a Stamp of Approval
To me, bitcoin is a bunch of nothing in the sense that its not money at all.
(3925.70 USD) Bitstamp - buy and sell bitcoin
Bitstamp Confirms Litecoin Integration. More people will be able to buy Litecoin with fiat, without having to go through Bitcoin first.In this aspect, bitcoin more similar to a money teleporter than a money truck.UK-based cryptocurrency firm Blockchain and Luxembourg-based.In other words, imagine if you call up the Brinks truck company and had the following conversation.The commenter also asked me what improvement I would like to see in bitcoin that would patch things up.Proposal for using Bitcoin to implement a postage stamp system for email.
Bitcoin Boom: Poloniex, Bitstamp - Bitcoinist.com
BitStamp Review - Best Coin ExchangeBeginning on August 17, Bitstamp will add markets denominated in US dollars, euros and bitcoin for the ethereum-based digital currency.Bitstamp is a trusted crypto exchange platform that welcomes Bitcoin buyers and sellers.
Bitstamp Bitcoin Exchange and Trezor Bitcoin Wallet Forge New Partnership.When bitcoins become money, things will be priced in bitcoin.If a reliable bank, say the bank of Hong Kong, started issuing its own bitcoins, redeemable in gold if you showed up at the bank and proved ownership, then of course there would be no problem whatever with bitcoins.
Bitstamp to close unverified accounts - Buy bitcoinsP2P means that there is no central authority to issue new money or keep track of.The situation would be similar to a debasing of a gold coin, where instantly people stopped taking at par.Bitstamp exchange and trading platform for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP).
BitStamp Review. around the web about the needed photo of your ID and your face and date-stamp in order to withdraw bitcoins.


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PET CHARITY NEWS
OMEGA ONE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS
Omega One Premium Fish Foods of Painesville, Ohio, is introducing new label designs for all pelleted and flaked foods
this year as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary. The new designs are the result of an extensive research and
development process involving consumer and retailer surveys as well as cross-industry packaging studies. The new
look is fresh, modern, and colorful, and it focuses on Omega One’s most unique selling point: whole, fresh seafood
ingredients, according to company officials.
“We updated our packaging to better reflect the unique product inside, and to make it easier for hobbyists to find
the fish food they need. Plus, it was a great way to refresh and celebrate who we are after 20 years—an innovative
American brand putting family and quality first,” said COO Jim Randall.
Randall also reported that Omega One’s initial market research on the new designs has produced positive results,
predicting a sales lift for retailers. According to the research, 71 percent of consumers surveyed said they would be
more likely to purchase Omega One because of the new designs.
PETCUREAN DONATES FOOD TO HELP PETS
IMPACTED BY CALIFORNIA FIRES
Petcurean Pet Nutrition, a Chilliwack, British Columbia,
Canada-based manufacturer of high-quality, premium pet
food, has donated 3,000 pounds of pet food to Care Animal
Hospital, Tails of Rescue and ResQ Animal Coalition to
support the hundreds of dogs and cats affected by the Carr
Fire, which destroyed more than 229,000 acres and more
than 1,600 structures in Northern California since it ignited
on July 23. The fire burned until Aug. 30.
According to Shasta County sheriff Tom Besenko,
around 38,000 people were placed under evacuation orders
the week the fire broke out. In the haste to get to safety,
many pets were left behind. Knowing that food is scarce
and pets are in need, Petcurean donated the food with help
from one of its California distributors.
“Although the fire in the city of Redding and surround-
ing areas is absolutely devastating, we want worried pet
owners to gain some peace of mind knowing that their be-
loved pets are being cared for during this scary and stressful
time,” said Christine Mallier, public relations and commu-
nity relations manager at Petcurean. “Our hope is that this
small act of giving also provides comfort to the displaced
pets and helps lighten the load for the incredible shelters
that are acting as a safe haven, until these pets are reunited
with their families.”
Petcurean is committed to helping pets and pet owners
who are impacted by natural disasters and supporting the
animal rescue programs that work tirelessly to support an-
imals in need. In 2018, Petcurean made 163 donations, for
a total donation of nearly 32,000 pounds of food to-date.
TO 21 UNIVERSITIES
PetSmart Charities is donating more than half a
million dollars in total
to 21 of North America’s
veterinary colleges and
universities to fund new
grants and student ambassadorships. Through
this investment, PetSmart
Charities hopes to foster
career interest in the field
of shelter medicine and
empower veterinary students to promote and preserve the human-animal bond in local communities.
“Historically, there’s been a bit of a stigma within the veterinary community about working in a shelter
environment or low-cost clinic due to perceptions of poor work-life balance, limited advancement oppor-
tunities and inadequate compensation,” said Dr. Amanda Landis-Hanna, veterinarian and senior manager
of PetSmart Charities’ veterinary outreach program. “These are all misconceptions as these experiences
can be truly rewarding for a veterinarian. Through this investment, we hope to disprove this stigma and
encourage veterinary students to consider jump-starting their career in a shelter or low-cost clinic.”
Each institution will receive funding for up to four scholarships of $1,000 each to be awarded to one or
more veterinary students with an interest in studying the human-animal bond or shelter medicine. Partner
schools will also receive $5,000 earmarked to support a student-led research project, complete with an
additional $1,000 travel grant to present findings at a prominent animal welfare conference.
To help raise on-campus awareness about the scholarships and research grants made possible
by PetSmart Charities, each university can recruit an on-campus student ambassador. The ambassador
will represent PetSmart Charities’ mission on campus by engaging fellow students, faculty and the community in events like adoption fairs and pet food drives. Each
ambassador will receive an honorarium of $750 per semester and
will have access to funds they can use to host events or produce
marketing materials to inform and engage their fellow students
in attending upcoming events or applying for the new funding
opportunities available at their college or university.
Since 2015, PetSmart Charities has granted more than $6 million to leading veterinary colleges and universities to fund programs in the U.S. and Canada that provide students with hands-on experience providing emergency relief or performing vital
procedures such as spay/neuter surgeries in local communities.
PURINA MAKES DONATION TO HELP PEOPLE AND
PETS IMPACTED BY CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
To aid in the relief efforts of the California wildfires, which burned
from July 23-Aug. 30, St. Louis-based Nestlé Purina PetCare donated $25,000 to GreaterGood.org to support the people and pets that
have been impacted. The funds will help support immediate rescue
efforts, purchase much-needed supplies, and fund rebuilding initiatives for individuals and communities affected by the fire, said
In 2017, Purina donated nearly $60,000 and more than 350,000
pounds of pet food and litter to support victims of natural disasters
across the U.S.
The Original No-Choke, No Pull, More Love Dog Harness. Since 2002
Take one for a Test Drive
Email ServiceDog@Walk YourDog WithLove.com
Of The Year
Walk YourDog WithLove.com
JUST GOT EASIER


text:
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text:
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 30, 2013
In 1954, the United Nations declared November 20th, Universal Children’s Day to be a day of play and activity promoting the importance of education and the welfare of children.
Yet, less than 4% of public schools in the U.S. offer art and daily physical education. Founder and Chief Designer of PLAE, Ryan Ringholz says, "We really wanted to do something that could have an immediate and direct impact so we thought a grassroots collaboration with our local communities to support their own PTAs was perfect!" So, in honor of Universal Children’s Day, PLAE will team up with our customers to "PLAE-it-forward".
From October 27th until November 20th, schools can register to receive a unique code. Each time the school’s code is used during checkout at http://www.goplae.com, PLAE will donate 20% of online purchases to that school’s PTA.
On November 20th, PLAE will deliver a check to each school’s PTA.
"They say it takes a village, let’s start with yours!" says Jonathan Spier, PLAE CEO.
PLAE shoes start at $49.95 and is available at http://www.goplae.com and in select retailers across the U.S.
Founded in 2012 by Ryan Ringholz, the design guru behind Puma, Diesel and UGG - PLAE creates footwear for children that is engineered for fit and customized for fun. PLAE fuses design with technology to champion a fun, active and imaginative lifestyle for kids…of all ages. PLAE shoes are eco-friendly, washable and customizable. PLAE’s vision is to leverage design with social platforms to engage a community of collaboration between consumer and company to create evolved products.


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Canberra-based secure cloud provider Vault has collaborated with software intelligence firm Dynatrace to ensure that its customers can use the Dynatrace platform in its cloud.
The author of a detailed analysis on the Federal Government's proposed identity scheme, GovPass — a trial of which is scheduled to begin this month — says he worked closely with the Digital Transformation Agency while preparing it, but ultimately disagreed with the agency on its implications.
ASD-certified Protected cloud provider Vault has been chosen to house all data from Canberra Institute of Technology and cyber-security training firm Fifth Domain's virtual classroom, Penteract.
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