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Business News›global consumption
Era of being rewarded for hypergrowth at any costs is coming to an end: Sequoia Capital
Now, with interest rates rising, “money is no longer free”, which can have massive implications for valuations and fundraising, the venture capital firm said.
Invest in these three themes while putting your money overseas: Sadaf Behbahany
Offshore assets under management with Indian mutual funds have grown from Rs 5.5 lakh crores in 2008 to Rs 38.94 lakh crores (the upper limit being $7 billion) in January 2022.
Oil prices ease on concerns over recession, weaker consumption
Oil prices eased in early trade on Tuesday as concerns over a possible recession and weaker consumption outweighed an expectation of tight global supply and a pick-up in fuel demand in China after Beijing's promises of stimulus.
Ties that bind the global economy are unraveling at a frightening pace
Russia’s gross domestic product rose at a slower pace in the first quarter, hindered by the initial impact of sanctions, and its central bank sees the economy shrinking as much as 10% this year.
Where is the stock market headed, will long-term fundamentals of Indian equities remain intact?
Macroeconomic concerns are spooking investors. However, the long-term fundamentals of Indian equities remain intact. Here are the factors impacting the performance of domestic equity markets.
Oil prices recover from early losses as global supply fears lingerBrent crude futures for July were up 97 cents, or 0.9%, at $110.08 a barrel at 0220 GMT, after falling by more than $1 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June rose 42 cents, or 0.4%, to $110.01 a barrel, recovering from an early loss of more than $2. WTI for July was up 56 cents, or 0.5%, at $107.60 a barrel.
UN cuts India growth estimate to 6.4% in 2022UN said the global economy is now projected to grow 3.1% in 2022, down from 4% projected in January, due to broad based deterioration of growth prospects including the US, EU, China and a majority of developing countries.
After the recent rout in global tech megacaps, should you consider buying FAANG stocks?Market experts said that these megacaps have a global reach and if one market is down, another is there to offset the impact and trim the losses. However, currently the entire global space is under pressure and might take some time to settle down.
Why record wheat prices are a global worryLow rainfall or droughts in major producing countries were already causing worries before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February sent markets soaring. Since then, wheat-exporting powerhouse Ukraine has struggled to sell and sow its crops, putting consumers in poor countries at risk of poverty and even famine.
No Netflix-like slowdown in content consumption in India: Saregama MD Vikram Mehra"Regional space has been booming and it remains untapped to its full potential. There’s a substantial investment we are making across all leading Indian languages. We are aggressively acquiring film and non-film music across Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Gujarati. This will be further extended to 3 more languages this year."
Significant turnaround in rural demand and rural consumption in India seen, says JPMorgan’s James Sullivan“In India we have seen a slowdown in economic growth. We have seen rising oil take its toll on current account conversations for the broader macroeconomic outlook for India. At JP Morgan, we are taking a relatively cautious outlook for India as a whole. However, within that, this bottoms-up analysis is absolutely critical. We still see emerging strength as an example of the real consumer.”
India is shining now for global consumer firmsAmerican appliance maker Whirlpool Corp in its earning presentation said the company's focus is on the Americas and India. Chairman Marc Bitzer said it will drive high growth and profitable business in India as penetration rates accelerate the expansion.
Surge in commodity prices may delay India’s hydrogen consumption goals: ICRAThe global drive towards green hydrogen adoption is dependent on decline in electrolysers’ costs by 50% by 2030. However, the recent surge in metal prices may delay the hydrogen consumption goals.
Rising costs hit grocery consumption, staples and F&B worst affectedThe number of goods bought, or volumes, fell 0.8% in the quarter, according to global consumer research firm Kantar Worldpanel (formerly IMRB).
Dalal Street Week Ahead: Nifty50 in a no-trade zone; consumption pack to relatively perform wellFrom a technical perspective, Nifty50 is placed at a very crucial juncture. On one hand, it has failed to keep its head above the 200-DMA which stands at 17,225. On the other side, it has continued to take support on a pattern support trend line and the 50-week MA.
Steel prices will remain elevated over the coming decade: TV NarendranTV Narendran estimated the metal to be priced between $650-750 a tonne on average over the coming decade, compared to around $400 between 2010 and 2020 and $550-600 between 2000 and 2010.
Make your wardrobe sustainable. Cut back on 75% of clothing purchases & try renting outfitsBuying secondhand clothes or using rental services are ways of changing your wardrobe with lower impact.
'India should expand use of electricity from renewable sources'The share of electricity in India's final energy consumption is set to rise from the current 17% to 24% by 2040, according to a key scenario by the International Energy Agency. Kapoor said India should set a more ambitious target.
ITC has biggest weightage in Edelweiss’ consumption portfolio. Here’s why“In Q4, FPIs have increased their stake in ITC from 9.99% by 200 bps further. That clearly shows that ITC is seeing more demand from more well informed investors. This year, ITC has outperformed all kinds of indices. Nifty has given hardly 2.5% return and ITC has given almost 23% return.”
Consumption trends remained subdued amidst weak rural sentiment and inflation, says MaricoThe maker of Saffola and Parachute oil said despite the challenging macro context, its India business stayed relatively firm, riding on focused execution and market share gains and revenue growth in the quarter was in the low single digits, while volumes were marginally positive on an exceptionally high base of 25%.
Consumption vs commodities – where is your bias?This year, the incremental (not total) EBITDA that Vedanta will generate from the change in aluminium prices (assuming spot prices for full-year) will be higher than the total EBITDA of two of the largest consumer-facing businesses (Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints).
Cosmofeed raises $1.5 million in funding led by growx ventures, Waveform Ventures, 9 UnicornsThe funding will allow Cosmofeed to extend its network to a wider audience of relevant end-users and ramp up its team and hire people for product and engineering.
India to see 7.8% GDP growth next fiscal; risks to growth tilted to the downside: CRISILResearch firm CRISIL has reiterated its December 2021 forecast of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7.8% for fiscal year 2022-2023. The ongoing geopolitical turmoil in Europe between Russia & Ukraine has offset any potential upside due to the early end of a mild third wave of Covid-19 infections, it said.
What the Q3 GDP numbers convey: 10 key takeawaysThe major reason behind lowering the projection is due to an upward revision in the GDP print for FY21. The economy contracted by 6.6 per cent in the previous fiscal as compared to the earlier figure of 7.3 per cent.
Direct 'high-in' labels on packaged foods most effective to curb unhealthy consumption: AIIMS studyThe study, to determine what type of labelling system would be most effective for Indian consumers, asked respondents to choose among various front-of-pack designs such as multicoloured traffic lights, star ratings or “high-in” warning labels.
Core portfolio unchanged but now tilted to capex & domestic consumption: Sunil Singhania“Over the last three-four months, the markets were looking at some kind of reason to cool down a bit. Now, the cooling down has got a little bit exaggerated, particularly in the broader markets. In absolute terms, the market momentum to some extent has been broken and it will take some time to return.”
Metaverse to push data usage by 20 times in next 10 years: ReportAccording to the report, while 5G will support the metaverse ecosystem, the emergence of 6G will enhance metaverse use cases.Load More
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Last September, Microsoft made a deal with Nokia to purchase all of its smartphone and devices business for $7.2 billion.
Finally, after 6 months the deal is the closed. So, the leadership team in charge of this division of Nokia along with all of its smartphone business will transfer to Microsoft effective immediately.
End of an Era
As previously reported, Microsoft is not going to use the traditional Nokia name for its smartphones from now on. Instead, the company will conduct business under the legal name Microsoft Mobile Oy. In this regard, the company has already sent out letters to dealers all around Finland. All legal invoices and VAT taxes paid should under the new name according to the letter from Microsoft Mobile.
The closure of the deal also means that Nokia which was once the world’s largest smartphone maker will lose majority of its business. The reduced company is reportedly focusing on developing and licensing its patents to other manufacturers. But exact details about their plans have not been revealed.
The Emergence of Microsoft Mobile
With this deal, Microsoft could speed up the growth of its smartphone sector. According to reports, Microsoft holds less than 3% of the total global smartphone market and this deal could potentially increase its overall holding in the coming years.
Also, the deal will increase the profitability of its mobile division. Given that Nokia was its largest OEM partner, the company earned about $10 per smartphone sale according to earlier terms. However, after the deal, the company no longer have to pay marketing and development charges to Nokia and hence, the profitability per device is expected to increase to about $40 per smartphone. This will definitely help increase the overall financial standing of the company. Also, Microsoft could reduce its prices to drive up the demand, but that’s just a possibility and the company has not yet announced anything related to its future plans with the new acquisition.
Support for Feature phones
Although it was feared that Microsoft would scrap the Asha and Nokia X project, according to Stephen Elop, Microsoft would continue to support these feature phones. This is kind of surprising given that Nokia X runs on a rival platform, i.e. Android. However, one important thing to note here is that the company has just said that they would support these feature phones, but it is still not clear whether they would continue with the development of these non-windows devices.
Nokia-Microsoft deal could turn the tide for the company in the smartphone industry, so it would be interesting to see how the company performs in the next few years.
For comments and suggestions, leave a message in the comments section below. Like and Follow our Facebook page for more stories and to stay up-to-date with the latest happenings.

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Whilst content is king, typography should also now be high up in the monarchy of marcoms as new research reveals the power of the font.
Because according to the study by promotional products retailer 4imprint, the importance of the font businesses choose throughout their marketing channels, from email blasts to display advertising, even your company’s social posts and branding, can play a vital role in their marketing messages.
The findings reveal that typography is as important as the message for almost three quarters of us (70 percent) who insist what typeface is used is as revealing as the content.
In fact, three in ten (31 percent) of those polled said they make a first impression of someone or their business based on something as commonplace as their email font before they’ve even met them in person.
According to the data, businesses who use Arial are the most likely to be serious and professional, for 37 percent of the nation.
Whilst Times New Roman font users are likely to be perceived as ‘traditional’ (14 percent), and those who opt for Century Gothic are more inclined to be academic and bookish (10 percent).
Pacifico users are adventurous and extroverted (20 percent) while Rockwell users are perceived as ambitious (10 percent).
Worryingly nearly two thirds (63 percent) of respondents said that they wouldn’t read any form of marketing literature if it was written using the Comic Sans MS font! To read the full report on why typography matters click here.
It’s clear that the font we use can make a lasting impression. Throughout your marcoms consistency is key and repetition is one way to keep your business front of mind with so much noise to cut through, which is why brand consistency is more important than ever, according to many.
“From the choice of colours and fonts to the logo, imagery, and tone of voice — brands need to build a consistent presence across all channels,” says Techwyse.
Adding, consistent branding is an important aspect of brand building because it fosters recognition and builds trust by offering the same user experience across touchpoints.
What’s more, it’s a brave new world and one where artificial intelligence is playing its part when it comes to cutting edge design and typography, making more of the decisions across marcoms and taking over much of the grunt work.
Imagine a website that builds itself? Well it’s nearly here, known as ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), and fonts also play a large part in that according to the robotic and automation experts: “Where ADI may even be seen as a way for designers to become more efficient. It has been suggested that ADI could assist in the design process by suggesting layout variations and improving the font selection process, while still allowing web designers to take on the more creative aspects of website building.”
Let’s hope the robots take on board these findings too and are as sensitive to typography as it seems the British business world and consumer is.


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A California federal court has held that the purchaser of small-dollar consumer loans is the “true lender” and thus subject to state usury laws, even though a separate tribal entity funded and closed the loans in its own name. See Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. CashCall, Inc*. The court’s holding, which adopts the arguments of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and renders the loans serviced by CashCall unenforceable, challenges the business model that many marketplace lending platforms use to offer alternative, unsecured loans to consumers. Generally speaking, partnerships between marketplace platforms and tribal entities, state-chartered (and federally insured) banks, or national banks are intended to protect the platforms from the substantial licensing and compliance burden of state lending and licensing laws, and also to permit loans that might otherwise exceed the borrower’s home state usury limit. The recent CashCall decision, however, is another reminder that state and federal regulators, as well as plaintiffs’ attorneys, may be able to pierce these partnerships where a court finds that the financial institution funding and closing the loan does not bear substantial risk on those loans.
Last Fall, in its 2015 Rulemaking Agenda, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) signaled its intent to “to develop rules to define larger participants in markets for consumer installment loans.” Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is authorized to issue “larger participant” rules to define entities in a particular market for consumer financial products or services. The issuance of such rules opens the door for supervisory and examination authority over such entities. Fast forward to Spring 2016, when the CFPB announced that it is accepting complaints from consumers regarding alleged problems with online marketplace loans, and it appears that the CFPB has marketplace lenders squarely in its sights.
The tragic terrorist shootings in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015 shed light on serious risks associated with online marketplace lending. The attackers obtained $28,500 from an online marketplace lender under a pretext, but then allegedly used the funds to reimburse their arms dealer. This apparent link between the money lent and the mass murders led public officials to re-examine the risks associated with this new and increasingly popular method of lending.
Online marketplace lending represents a chance for investors to realize greater returns and for borrowers to refinance expensive debt and pay less interest, as technology and peer-to-peer matching/evaluation greatly reduces the overhead of the business model. Given both the widespread interest in and the potential for the misuse of such online lending platforms, federal and state lawmakers and regulators are increasing scrutiny of the industry.


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An American-owned company that processes chicken in China for McDonald’s and KFC is in the hot seat over allegations by a whistleblower who shot an undercover video.
OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, says it’s investigating and will not tolerate the situation exposed in the video, including 12-day-old chicken being cleared for processing into nuggets.
“Company management was appalled by the report and is dealing with the issue directly and quickly,” OSI Group said by way of a press release.
“The company has formed an investigation team, is fully cooperating with inspections being conducted by relevant, supervising government agencies and is also conducting its own internal review,” the company says.
We are “committed to sharing the investigation results with the public and taking all necessary action based on those results,” the company says.
McDonald's and KFC-parent Yum apologized to customers and stopped serving products purchased from the supplier on Monday after Chinese regulators shut down the Shanghai Husi plant following the TV report, according to Reuters news agency.
The plant supplies about 500 of McDonald’s 2,000 outlets in China.
“We are committed to the highest standards of food safety and our customers are always our number one priority,” Becca Hary, director of global media relations for McDonald’s, told Meatingplace Magazine.
“If confirmed, the practices outlined in the (television station) report are completely unacceptable to McDonald’s. We are no longer serving product from the facility.”


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A SPACE for home workers and freelancers who want to get out of the house has opened in central Newcastle.
Jayne Graham, founder of spaceontap.com and Colleagues on Tap co-working events, teamed up with Helen and Mark Reed to open the Office Club Hub at the Reeds’ business centre at Clavering House.
Mrs Reed, who manages the Newcastle Business Village at Clavering House, said: “We know that a lot of businesses just can’t afford to rent an office these days, but most people we’ve spoken to still need to dip in and out of the city centre for meetings, or occasionally want to get a bit of human contact while they work, which is something they miss out on by working from home.
“Although coffee shops are convenient, they aren’t always the ideal place to work or do business, so that’s why we’ve opened the Office Club Hub, where people can hot-desk for an hour or the full day, have a coffee with colleagues or customers, and meet other businesses while they work.”
The Office Club Hub has already hosted four sell-out Colleagues on Tap co-working events.
The events were designed to provide a traditional day-at-the-office experience for people who usually work at home.
Ms Graham said: “When people set up a business, they’re often working on their own, at least in the early stages.
“If their usual workplace is their home, they can become quite isolated and that’s not good for them or their business.
“Sharing an office occasionally in a place like Newcastle Business Village’s Office Club Hub can really make a difference and often people are much more comfortable with the relaxed business networking that happens naturally throughout the working day than at more formal networking events.


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During 2002, 6.6 million used cars were sold in the UK, worth £28.1 billion, a rise of 192,000 units, which equates to a £2.7 billion growth year-on-year.
Much of the growth has been seen in the three to five-year-old sector, a vital market for ex-fleet cars. Volumes in that sector increased by 237,000 units to 1.899 million, accounting for 29% of the marketplace.
Sales of six to eight-year-old cars increased by 31,000 to 1.38 million while sales of cars aged nine years or over jumped 54,000 units to 2.49 million. The only volume sector to fall back was the under two-year-old market, falling 209,000 units to 808,000, giving a market share of 12.3%, the lowest percentage for three years.


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The new Nokia N900 smartphone has passionate fans, as you can see from the comments on our hands-on article from two-weeks ago when it was released. The N900 is a Linux-powered smartphone that's a descendant of Nokia's awkward "Internet tablets," but arrives in a thoroughly pocketable size and shape, with a great Web browser and an open-source community raring to program for it. We got a few minutes with a Nokia rep who did a live demo of the device last night. Watch the video below to see the N900 in action.
This post originally appeared on Gearlog.


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Bentley is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two special edition model. Both the Mulsanne and Continental lines can now be fitted with six new specification packages to mark the event, each named after a famous racer from the automaker's past. Each package one combines select exterior colors with with special interior combinations that pay homage to the gents who took the company's cars to victory in France.
- Volvo shoots for self-drivers by 2021
- Jeep spends $1 billion on factories
- Find Parts & Accessories for your vehicle!
- Obama rolls out new EV plan
- Infiniti dealers ranked best, Tesla worst
- Compare Volvo XC90 and Lincoln MKX


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Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday launched the ‘Ujjwala Sanitary Napkin’ initiative in Odisha.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) will set up manufacturing units of Ujjwala Sanitary Napkins at the Common Service Centres across the state.
As many as 100 local manufacturing units will be set up at Common Service Centres across all 30 districts, covering 93 blocks in Odisha. The cost of setting up these manufacturing units is Rs 2.94 crore.
The move is expected to employ, educate and empower women in the state in addition to improving their access to feminine hygiene products.
Training would be given to women in manufacturing and sale of sanitary napkins. Each facility will have the capacity to produce 1200-2000 pads each day.
The CSCs are also being provided with raw material, enough to make 45,000-50,000 pads. These napkins will be priced at Rs. 40 per pack; each pack containing 8 pads.
Each manufacturing unit will employ 5 to
6 Ujjwala beneficiaries thus providing employment to nearly 600 women across


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Get ready for one final string of awesome announcements.
During their Nintendo Direct presentation last month, Nintendo announced that they would be holding one last, final presentation for Super Smash Bros. in December. Now we know when that will be- it will be broadcast worldwide on December 15.
Nintendo has held an entire series of Direct presentations held solely for Super Smash Bros.- this final one promises to be an eventful one, with Cloud’s inclusion in Smash Bros. being elaborated upon, at the very least, as well as us getting the long overdue announcement of the results of the Smash Ballot.
Notably, this being the final Smash Bros. Direct does not imply the end of post launch support for the game- we can probably expect Nintendo to continue supporting Super Smash Bros. with updates for a while now, especially if they plan on keeping the competitive community alive.
You can tune in on to the broadcast December 15 at 2pm PT/5pm ET/10pm UK. Stay tuned to GamingBolt, too, because we’ll keep you posted.


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Shoppers walk on Qianmen street featuring new year decorations in front of the Zhengyangmen gate in Beijing on Friday. Agence France-Presse
European and Asian stocks unravelled Friday, resuming a midweek slump, with investors spooked by a ratcheting up of trade war clouds after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on all Mexican imports.
European shares extended losses early on Monday from the biggest weekly slump this year as the U.S.-China deadlock quelled hopes that the two largest economies will be able to resolve their trade dispute anytime soon. The STOXX 600 index dropped 0.5 per cent by 0855 GMT to hit 7-month lows.
It was a stark warning about the risks ahead for the global economy, even by the forthright standards of the boss of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
World shares climbed to a six-week high alongside benchmark government bond yields on Friday, as markets cheered signs of progress in US-China trade talks and another powerful slug of stimulus from the European Central Bank.
“62 countries participated today in the Arabian Travel Market, an international mega tourism event since the COVID-19 outbreak. Dubai welcomes the world as global tourism begins to recover, representing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RATKDA) has unveiled a new vision and destination brand on Sunday at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2021.
More than 2,500 online travel agents, tour operators, hotel groups and airlines have signed on as Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATRs) for Expo 2020 Dubai, organisers announced at Arabian Travel Market 2021 (ATM).


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tech2 News StaffApr 03, 2019 21:28:49 IST
Xiaomi's smartphones are known for their hardware and reasonable pricing, however, the company does rely heavily on its internet services for revenue.
Where does most of that revenue come in from? Ads, of course. In fact, as per Xiaomi's financial report from 2018, the company raked in $2.38 billion from its service, a massive chunk of which was from ad revenue.
The biggest complain we've had (and basically everyone who has a Xiaomi smartphone) for quite some time now with MIUI has been its obtrusive ads and the company's finally decided to do something about it.
Xiaomi will make changes to its custom UI to reduce the frequency of these pesky advertisements. The company's CEO Lei Jun via a Weibo post has revealed that the company will cut down on ads in MIUI 11 and will also remove vulgar ads that pop up every now and then.
The CEO noted that he's had a detailed discussion with Xiaomi's team of developers and asked them to have the ad issue addressed. In a separate Weibo post, Xiaomi's Product Director, Wang Teng Thomas reiterated the CEO's commitment towards tackling ads in MIUI.
But that's not all the Xiaomi CEO had to say on his post. Lei Jun also detailed some of the new key features coming to MIUI 11. Users can expect features like call recording on the QQ social media app, local recycle bin for recently deleted photos, magnifying glass, and an ultra-low-power mode.
While we do have to wait to try MIUI 11 out once its out, Xiaomi's move to cut ads on its custom skin will certainly be one that will have thousands of takers.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.


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- Star Wars Battlefront to launch for console, PC on November 17
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt goes goooooooold for console, PC
- Opa-Opa returns! 3D Fantasy Zone II W blasts its way onto eShop
- Halo: Spartan Strike brings back twin-stick action, out for mobile, PC
- New Attack on Titan trailer gives gameplay overview
Fancy A Date?
Daily Archives: October 25, 2012
Bethesda has announced the first of three downloadable add-ons for Arkane Studios’ recently released action title Dishonored. The Dunwall City Trials pack, set to launch in December for 400 MS Point/$4.99, will include 10 challenge maps centered on arena battles, drop assassinations, and time trials. Each challenge will also have its own global leaderboard.
The patch for Silent Hill: Downpour announced last April is now available on Live for 360. Improvements include an increased frame rate, fixed save system, fixed bugs in the Homeless mission, and other “performance enhancements/bug fixes.” It was also noted that a patch for the PlayStation 3 version is still in the works and set to launch “in the coming weeks.”


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Despite rising steel prices last year, Vancouver-based Northwest Pipe Company saw net sales increase nearly 50% in the last quarter of 2021.
By early 2022, steel prices had begun to drop significantly, Scott Montross, chairman and chief executive, said on an investor call in March. In 2021, steel prices nearly doubled as supply was nearly insufficient to meet demand nationwide, Montross said.
Problems also arose due to delivery disruptions, a small market, and production delays related to customer orders that were already in Northwest Pipe’s backlog.
But the company, which specializes in the manufacture of steel and prefabricated pipes for water transport systems, still managed to increase its sales by double digits at the end of the year.
“Based on the current strength of the precast-related market, we enter 2022 with strong momentum and expect precast business to remain strong in the near term,” Montross said in the year-end financials.
Northwest Pipe’s net sales increased 16.6% at the end of 2021 to $333.3 million from $285.9 million in 2020.
Gross margin fell 12.4% in the company’s annual financial results to $44.3 million, equivalent to 13.3% of net sales in 2021, from $50.5 million, or 17.7% of net sales, in 2020.
Net income was $11.5 million at year-end, compared to $19.1 million in 2020.
“This first quarter is one of the most important first quarters we’ve seen in a long time,” Montross said on the March call. “And a lot of these things are relatively short-term.”
Montross said the company expects to see strong revenue numbers if all goes according to the company’s plan.
“We have good momentum behind us right now,” added Montross.
It saw huge sales increases in the fourth quarter, a 47.8% increase to $102.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 from $69.4 million in 2020. Part of those sales included the sales from Northwest Pipe’s acquisition of ParkUSA in October 2021, precast concrete and steel fabrication. based company.
Montross noted that the company has seen steel prices recover due to world events.
“We’ve actually seen steel prices come back up,” Montross said. The effects could come from the conflict in Ukraine, as well as transport and transport costs.
“These are things that we’re going to have to pay close attention to and make sure we pass that through the system,” he said.
Steel delivery times appear stable, Montross said.
“We’re not opposed to high steel prices, we’re just opposed to price volatility that causes us delivery issues and things like that,” Montross said.
Shares of the company, which trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange, closed at $25.29 on Tuesday.


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With the hyper-competitive environment between industrial automation vendors evident, manufacturers are now offering free 100-day shipping with every order.
“We know the market is tight out there,” said one manufacturer’s marketing representative, “and that’s why we have to get creative and offer free shipping to our customers and distributor partners.”
Free 100-day shipping has become the norm with most industrial automation vendors in the last half of 2021, and those not offering it are at a competitive disadvantage.
“The world moves fast, and free 100-day shipping is a necessity.”
Learn more about The Automationer
on our About page.
Photo by Adrian Sulyok on Unsplash


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The new line - Ski Up & Go, which is set to reach UK stores later this month - follows in the footsteps of a Stopgap product Nestlé launched 18 months ago in smaller outlets but discontinued six months later.
Although the Ski Up & Go variants - Mixed Berry and Banana & Honey - sound very similar to the Stopgap trio of Berry Mix, Tropical and Honey & Banana, Nestlé insists that they are very different, with lower fat and higher fruit content.
They come in multi-packs of three 350g bottles (rsp. £2.09) and single bottles (79p) and are targeted at the major multiples as well as independents. Nestlé is backing its updated version with a marketing campaign carrying the Ski brand’s ‘Keep it simple’ theme. Activity is set to include TV advertising featuring the humorous, no-nonsense tones of actress Kathy Burke, who has voiced previous executions for the Ski brand, while print ads will run in consumer titles.
Laura Kingsman, trading manager at MBL, said although the Up & Go products shared similarities with Stopgap, the planned support should ensure success. “Nestlé didn’t put support behind Stopgap and no-one knew what it was. The advertising and sampling this time should make a difference.”
The Ski brand has not fared too well in the past year, with sales falling 15%, says ACNielsen [52 w/e October 1, 2005].
Jo Trimmer, senior brand manager, said Nestlé foresaw an opportunity for breakfast sales. “Mornings are busy for mums - often the family doesn’t have time for a healthy breakfast. Ski Up & Go has been created to complement a hectic lifestyle.”
A recent study by Kellogg’s revealed that a fifth of children and more than half of UK adults regularly skip breakfast.


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Google rolls out another rival to Apple Pay
Apple Pay has a new rival in the mobile payments business.
On Tuesday, Google rolled out Google Pay, which brings together the tech giant's two payment apps — Google Wallet and Android Pay — into one service.
The service will work similarly as Apple Pay, allowing users with a Google account to pay for items in stores with their smartphones, as well as pay online.
The app can house personal credit cards along with gift cards from stores. Users will also be able to send money to each other through the app.
The app is available on Google Play. Google's Wallet app, available for iPhones, has been renamed Google Pay Send, and lets users send and receive money using their phone number.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.


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The household products company Clorox has apologised for a social media misstep after it sparked outrage by tweeting “where’s the bleach” in reference to last week’s introduction of new “emoji” cartoons for iPhones that include several faces of black and brown people.
The maker of Clorox bleach said it was attempting a humorous reference to other emoji symbols for objects like toilets and bathtubs that people use bleach to clean.
But the post hit a nerve when news stories and online discussions were focused on the addition of more racially diverse faces to the symbols people use in emails and text messages.
Clorox, based in Oakland, California, followed up shortly with a post that said: “Wish we could bleach away our last tweet.”
The company also apologised in a formal statement.
“We apologise to the many people who thought our tweet about the new emojis was insensitive,” said Molly Steinkrauss, a spokeswoman for the company.
“It was never our intention to offend. We did not mean for this to be taken as a specific reference to the diversity emojis – but we should have been more aware of the news around this. The tweet was meant to be light-hearted, but it fell flat.”


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A new survey by BOI Payment Acceptance has revealed that 54% of debit and credit card owners use contactless when paying for goods and services.
The survey, conducted by Amárach Research among 1,000 customers on behalf of BOIPA, was designed to establish consumer trends when paying for everyday items.
It found that the top five items Irish shoppers pay for using contactless payments are: food and groceries (75%); fuel (23%); alcohol (21%); clothes and shoes (21%) and newspapers and magazines (17%).
The research also found that the average contactless payment is €11.33, however, 42% of respondents would still like to see the current €30 limit on such payments increased – while 45% couldn’t identify the current limit at all.
It also revealed that the biggest perceived advantage of using contactless payment is that it saves time, with 58% saying it was ‘quick’. Other advantages listed include ‘safety’, ‘lower bank charges’, and ‘the convenience of not having to carry cash or go to an ATM.’
However, even though more and more consumers are using contactless (particularly amongst 25-44 year olds), one in three are still unaware of what the contactless symbol on debit cards represents. In fact, 38% claim not to have contactless payment ability on their cards, and 28% simply never think to use it.
Brian Cleary, General Manager, BOI Payment Acceptance, noted, "Despite almost 40% of those surveyed claiming not to carry a contactless card, in reality approximately 90% of all debit cards in Ireland are now contactless.
"This suggests one of the key steps in growing contactless payments is to raise consumer awareness of the technology and its benefits."
He added that, "Over the next five years we expect to see an accelerated reduction in cash transactions as businesses realise the clear advantages of contactless, namely the ability to process more transactions, benefit from reduced cash handling costs and a lesser exposure to theft and misappropriation of cash."
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan


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Baidu has upgraded its mobile virtual assistant to incorporate voice-enabled local transactions. The virtual assistant, powered by artificial intelligence, is now known as “Duer.” That apparently translates as “Du Secretary.”
One translation of the word “du” I saw was “to study, to learn.” Phonetically, it also sounds like the English word “do,” as in to get things done.
Baidu launched its first virtual assistant in 2012 on the heels of Google Now. Baidu has invested heavily in AI research, which is at the core of the new assistant.
What’s new to the end user is the integration of local commerce and the ability to conduct transactions using Duer, such as food ordering and movie-ticket buying. Baidu will further expand these capabilities to a broad range of local “on-demand” services in the near future.
The new Baidu emphasis on local transactions, rather than knowledge retrieval (e.g., Wikipedia searches), was the original vision behind Siri before Apple bought the company.
The connection between speech-enabled (typically mobile) queries and task completion reflected in the evolution of Baidu’s assistant, Cortana, Siri and (to a lessser degree) Google Now and Amazon’s Alexa is very interesting. And while search technology is typically at the core of these virtual assistants, they also represent a kind of successor to conventional search.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


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Trend Micro news stories - Page 7
Australia a hot target for BEC scams, malicious URLs and malware
More than a quarter of all business email compromise (BEC) scams around the world target Australia, new research says.
EMOTET banking malware returns with a wider scope & vengeance
The EMOTET banking malware has emerged with a wider target scope than ever before, three years after it was originally found.
Trend Micro says C-level executives are not prepared for GDPR
The company refers to a survey they conducted that shows some organisations need to be better prepared for when the scheme is implemented.
Draw your way to $14,000 in the What’s Your Story? poster competition
Techday is proud to be supporting the What’s Your Story? poster competition...
Fileless malware sneaks into Windows machines via USB flash drives
A malicious backdoor called BKDR-ANDROM.ETIN is using fileless malware to infect systems through USB flash drives.
$500,000 zero-day prize pool for Mobile Pwn2Own contest in Japan
Trend Micro has put more than US$500,000 towards a prize pool that aims to find security vulnerabilities at the upcoming Mobile Pwn2Own contest.
Trend Micro announces partnership with VMware Cloud on AWS
Trend Micro has announced its server security product is now available to customers of VMware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Parents, combat cyberbullying with Trend Micro’s Home Network Security
“Parents can now protect their children against dangers such as cyberbullying and online predators..."
Hands-on review: Trend Micro’s Home Network Security simplifies how we get protected from cyber attacks
Protecting your devices from cyber attacks has never been this easy.
Time for kids to go outside and smell the roses: How to limit screen time in a connected world
Children have countless options on how they connect to the internet, so how do parents limit screen-time?
How to make your smart home safe when hackers are looming nearby
The more devices you connect to your network the more you need to protect, your data may be at risk...
GhostClicker adware infiltrated 300 apps on Google Play
A pervasive auto-clicking adware by the name of GhostClicker has infected as many as 340 apps from Google Play.
How your online dating profile can be traced back to your workplace
Online dating apps can go beyond the world of personal matchmaking and be used at weapons for cyber attacks against corporate organisations.
New report details exploits of notorious cyberespionage group with EMEA targets
Known as CopyKittens, the group is politically-motivated and has increasingly been active in pursuing foreign espionage on strategic targets.
New version of SambaCry spotted in the wild: Linux users urged to update OS
Trend Micro researchers have discovered a newer version of the SambaCry malware, named ELF-SHELLBIND.A.
Trend Micro & VMware tie the knot around mobile threat management
Trend Micro has joined VMware’s Mobile Security Alliance this week, as the companies seek to tackle the growing number of mobile security threats.
Trend Micro launches US$100 million venture fund to harness the IoT wave
Trend Micro’s venture will offer companies financial backing, access to its world-class global threat intelligence, and strategic alliances.
War of the words: How cybercriminals are selling fake news through the underground
"Monetary outcomes of fake news come both from advertising and the reaction – like fake news supporting donations to a cause."
Internet of Things
Trend Micro's ten steps for securing our smart cities
Right now there are 250 smart city projects underway in 178 cities worldwide, but how do those projects tackle cybersecurity?
The need for internet security on your mobile
As hackers target mobile devices, it’s imperative to ensure that you are aware of the threats that are out there, and that your phone is protected.
The need for internet security on your devices
At home or at work, on a mobile device or on a network, Trend Micro covers all aspects of cybersecurity.
What makes Locky and Cerber ransomware so good - and what about CradleCore?
Locky, Cerber and... CradleCore? What makes these three ransomware strains so pervasive?
What makes the Cerber ransomware so agile?
The Cerber ransomware has been one of the most nimble, varied and dominant malware strains on the market — almost neck-and-neck with Locky.
INTERPOL & private sector uncover thousands of threats across ASEAN
INTERPOL has found 8800 Command and Control (C2) servers and hundreds of compromised websites, including government portals across Asia.


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The fact that New Yorkers take their pizza seriously is well-known. Pizzeria owners are always striving to create the sauciest, cheesiest, and crunchiest pies to delight their customers. Now, Industry Kitchen, a South Street Seaport restaurant, has upped the ante with “the fance’za” — a pizza so decadent, it will set back the consumer $2,000 USD.
Kids News - Video Gallery Articles
This year, Christmas came early for the lucky residents of the London Zoo. On Thursday, December 15, when Sumatran tiger cubs Achilles and Karis emerged from their dens, they saw what every kid (and adult) dreams about during this time of the year — piles of colorfully wrapped gifts!
Hawaii’s Big Island is known for many things — its rich culture, active volcanoes, black sand beaches, green rainforests, and of course year-round warm, humid, weather. This year, the sunny paradise can add snow to this impressive list. Since early December, almost three feet of snow has blanketed the over 13,000-feet high volcano peaks of the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, and more is expected.
On Monday, December 5, online retailing giant Amazon announced the opening of its first brick and mortar grocery store. Called Amazon Go, the Seattle-based store that is currently being tested by company employees, closely mimics regular convenience stores except for one thing — thanks to Amazon’s proprietary “Just Walk Out” technology, all purchases are handled electronically. This means that there are no cashiers, checkouts, or lines. Shoppers simply grab what they want and leave.
During the past 15 years, Yves “Jetman” Rossy has strapped on his jetpack — carbon fiber wings powered by four small engines — to conduct many heart-stopping stunts. The former Swiss Air Force pilot has soared across the Grand Canyon, circled Japan's Mt. Fuji and even flown alongside the world's largest commercial airplane, the Airbus A380. On November 25, the daredevil upped the ante when he and protégés Vince Reffet and Frédéric ‘Fred’ Fugen, flew in formation with eight Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France, the precision aerobatics demonstration team of the French Air Force.
American rock band OK Go has been entertaining fans with their original music videos since 2006. The inaugural creation for their song "Here It Goes Again" filmed with the group’s four members performing atop fast-moving treadmills became one of the year’s biggest hits and even won a Grammy. The video for “This Too Shall Pass” released in 2010, featured a Rube Goldberg machine. Now, the group has done it again with a video so complex, that it can only be fully appreciated in slow motion!


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Broomfield water and wastewater customers can pay their bills 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the best part is, it’s free.
Visit http://www.broomfield.org/index.aspx?NID=1873. to pay utility bills or view your account. This all new automated service allows payment to be made online or by phone using credit or debit card, or electronic check. Customers can set up a standard, automatic payment day every month, and the new system will remember the information.
Payments can also be made by calling 1.855.442.6900
The City and County of Broomfield has entered into a partnership with Paymentus, an independent company to provide this self-service payment opportunity for utility billing customers.


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Last week, the ACLU of Northern California revealed that Amazon’s Rekognition face surveillance software identified 28 members of Congress as people who have been previously arrested for a crime. The only problem? They were false matches. Unsurprisingly, the 28 members of Congress falsely matched to the mugshot database were disproportionately people of color. While Congress is only 20 percent people of color, they were 40 percent of those falsely matched by Rekognition.
Lawmakers reacted swiftly to the report. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ed Markey (D-MA) fired off a letter to 39 federal law enforcement agencies, among them ICE and the FBI, demanding information about how they use face surveillance technologies. Senator Markey and Representatives Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) also sent a letter to Jeff Bezos himself, asking the billionaire for more details about Rekognition and a list of its government users.
Rekognition’s failure to accurately recognize Congress members comes on the heels of demands from the ACLU, a coalition of 70 civil rights, civil liberties, religious, and community organizations, hundreds of thousands of petition signatories, and Amazon shareholders that Amazon stop selling its face surveillance technology to law enforcement and other government entities. Employees later joined in by publicly asking Bezos to stop selling Rekognition to law enforcement and demanding more transparency about the company’s contracts with police departments and federal agencies like ICE.
Citing concerns that face surveillance technology violates privacy and free speech rights, and will exacerbate racial biases in policing, the ACLU has called for a moratorium on government use.
Despite these demands, the company’s embarrassing public relations disaster last week, and resulting scrutiny from Congress, Amazon has not budged. After the ACLU’s test results went live, Amazon’s head of artificial intelligence Matt Wood blogged about the issue. But instead of admitting error or indicating that the company would stop and reflect on the concerns raised by hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, he quibbled with the ACLU study’s methodology, and didn’t back down from his defense of Amazon’s sales to law enforcement.
But perhaps it isn’t surprising that Amazon took shots at the ACLU’s study instead of addressing community concerns about its sale of face surveillance technology to government actors like police. The company’s core defense of its sales to police has utterly fallen apart.
Back in June, after the coalition letter demanding Amazon stop selling face surveillance to police first went live, Wood wrote a blog post defending the company’s sales to government. His defense rested on the company’s acceptable use policy, which bans the use of Rekognition and other AWS products for illegal activities.
“There has been no reported law enforcement abuse of Amazon Rekognition,” Wood wrote. “We also have an Acceptable Use Policy  that prohibits the use of our services for ‘[a]ny activities that are illegal, that violate the rights of others, or that may be harmful to others.’ This includes violating anybody’s Constitutional rights relating to the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments – essentially any kind of illegal discrimination or violation of due process or privacy right. Customers in violation of our AUP are prevented from using our services.”
That sounds good in theory, but how will Amazon know if its law enforcement customers are using Rekognition to violate people’s rights or break the law? After all, courts have yet to draw clear boundaries outlining the precise protections the Constitution provides in the era of artificial intelligence. And even if we knew what the Supreme Court would say about these matters, companies like Amazon are not well positioned to play cop on the beat when it comes to policing how their customers use their tools.
How, then, might Amazon enforce its acceptable use policy? On July 24, FedScoop published comments from an Amazon vice president, Teresa Carlson, suggesting it doesn’t.
“We are unwaveringly in support of our law enforcement, defense and intelligence community,” Carlson said, defending Amazon’s sale of Rekognition to government agencies. She reportedly told the crowd, gathered at the Aspen Security Forum, that Amazon has not “drawn any red lines” around its sales to government.
“We provide [government agencies] the tools, we don’t provide the solution application that they build,” Carlson said. “And we often don’t know everything they’re actually utilizing the tool for.”
To recap: Amazon executive Matt Wood, the head of artificial intelligence for the company, pushes back against civil libertarian and racial justice concerns about Rekognition by saying Amazon customers must abide by the AWS acceptable use policy, which says customers can’t use Amazon products to break the law. But another Amazon executive, Teresa Carlson, says “we often don’t know everything [government agencies are] actually utilizing the tool for,” meaning it’s not possible, at least right now, for the company to ensure its customers aren’t using its products to violate people’s rights.
The ACLU’s experiment highlights the precariousness of this hands-off approach. As ACLU of Northern California Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney Jacob Snow points out, the misidentifications of the 28 Congress members—again, disproportionately members of color—should not be taken lightly. “An identification — whether accurate or not — could cost people their freedom or even their lives. People of color are already disproportionately harmed by police practices, and it’s easy to see how Rekognition could exacerbate that,” Snow said.
The ACLU, other civil rights organizations, and shareholders have urged Amazon to stop selling Rekognition to government entities. Amazon employees published a letter to Jeff Bezos echoing these demands. And Amazon executive Theresa Carlson said it herself in discussing Rekognition: “[W]e’ve got to make sure as a nation…people should have a voice and tools should always be used ethically.”
Ethical use begins at development and extends through business decisions concerning contracting. It means creating technology that does not produce biased results. It means ensuring that products are not sold to entities which have long histories of racism and abuse. It means acknowledging problems, not side stepping them by offering up vague platitudes or quibbling about confidence rates. If Amazon truly believes its “tools should always be used ethically” the only sensible thing for the company to do is stop selling Rekognition to government entities.
This blog post was co-authored by Iqra Asghar and Kade Crockford.


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Sanofi, a pharmaceutical company in France, has agreed to purchase the right to market Afrezza for $925 million. The drug was recently approved as an inhaled insulin treatment for diabetics that was developed by California based MannKind Corporation.
Sanofi, which is Paris-based, said it was paying MannKind $150 million upfront. Alfred Mann is the entrepreneur physicist who owns MannKind.
Following the first upfront payment, MannKind will receive up to $775 million more if certain regulatory and sales milestones are met.
Shares of MannKind were up 40 cents on Monday to close 5% higher at $8.53.
The collaboration between the two marked a big milestone for MannKind, which has spent over a decade and close to $2 billion in the drug’s development.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this past June approved Afrezza sending MannKind searching for a pharmaceutical company that could market their drug.
Sanofi was its choice. Sanofi is a global pharmaceutical company that has a broad range of products in the healthcare industry, including human vaccines and diabetes drugs.
MannKind will be manufacturing the medication and relying on the global network of Sanofi of marketing and sales professionals for the sales of the drug. Mann said that he expected the demand for the inhaled medication to be quite substantial.
Diabetes affects more than 29 million people across the U.S. according to data from the Center for Disease Control.
Worldwide close to 382 million people suffer from the disease.
CFO Matthew Pfeffer at MannKind said that Sanofi was an ideal partner to have. The company in Paris is leading the world in providing diabetes drugs.
Pierre Chancel, the Sanofi diabetes unit senior vice president said he was not expecting that Afrezza would compete with existing products. Rather, he believes it will be marketed to patients struggling to start using insulin due to not liking to take injections.
Wall Street and industry analysts praised the collaboration between the two companies.


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Hotels near Prince Harry, Meghan's wedding location sold out for thousands of dollars
HotelsCombined.com has revealed that the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 at Windsor Castle has led to full-occupancy of the hotels in the area
Hotels in Windsor near Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle's wedding venue are sold out at more than three times its original cost. HotelsCombined.com has revealed that the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 at Windsor Castle has led to full-occupancy of the hotels in the area.Only a single bed remains in the Windsor castle area at The Manor Hotel, which is currently available for $1,184 per night. Meanwhile, Macdonald Windsor Hotel has had TV crews pay a whopping $17,750 for suites with balconies overlooking the High Street, which will provide the best view of the newlyweds as they take part in a carriage procession down the main road, while Harte & Garter, a four star hotel located directly opposite Windsor Castle had a slightly cheaper, but still very expensive rate of $14,183 for its rooms overlooking the castle. According to HotelsCombined, the average price in Windsor is usually at $185 for Saturdays, but the average price paid for a room has more than triple to an average of $500 to $567. For those fans who are wanting to see the wedding in-person and who haven’t made a booking yet, hotels in regions that offer easy access to Windsor are also enjoying high occupancy, but still have available and more affordable options. Rooms near Heathrow airport, 20 kms away have more than doubled with rooms that are usually $85 selling at $170 per night.
NYTimes reports one Airbnb listing as saying, "If you are coming during the Royal wedding, there will be a complimentary Champagne hamper provided to help kick off the celebrations.”
Another hotel, the Sheraton Grand London, in anticipation for the royal couple's wedding, is offering couples named Meghan and Harry a free wedding.
To be eligible, the hotel is looking for couples called Harry and Meghanu can get in touch at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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ICSC RECon 2018: Rising Optimism Meetings Rising Interest Rates
Retail real estate owners and developers are more optimistic than they were at this time last year, though rising interest rates and uncertainty about government policies remain growing concerns across the industry. That’s what retail real estate owners, developers, and investors told KeyBank at the 2018 International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) RECon, the largest annual gathering of retail real estate professionals. Once again, Key surveyed attendees about their market perceptions and plans for the year ahead.
About the Respondents
The largest group in our sample, 47 percent, described themselves as long-term holders of retail real estate (owners), one-quarter identified as developers, and another 28 percent selected owner-developer. The respondents varied in size, representing a range of gross asset value of their commercial real estate portfolios from less than $100 million (65 percent) to more than $1 billion (11 percent). They are active across retail segments, including strip center, grocery, lifestyle and regional malls.
Greater Optimism in 2018
Sentiment is more positive than it was last year. In fact, the overarching sentiment of the survey is that owners and developers share a positive outlook about the future. One-third of those surveyed said they were “very optimistic” about the retail real estate industry over the next 12 months, and another 45 percent said they were “somewhat optimistic.” In 2017, respondents were more measured in their optimism – with only 6 percent saying “very optimistic,” 56 percent choosing “somewhat optimistic” and 18 percent feeling “neither optimistic nor pessimistic.”
Also encouraging, nearly 60 percent said they expected retail real estate fundamentals – vacancy rates and rental rates – to improve this year, compared to the only 12.5 percent who expected improvement last year.
What’s Worrying the Retail Sector
It appears the sector is worrying less about e-commerce, taking action to adapt to a world where bricks and clicks profitably co-exist. But there are other worries on the minds of owners and developers. In 2017, the overwhelming majority said competition from online sales and e-commerce was the biggest challenge or obstacle facing the industry. In 2018, new issues are emerging. Half of respondents named increasing interest rates as the greatest challenge, 15 percent fear a real estate or financial bubble, and another 15 percent are wary of government policy changes. Competition from e-commerce was still on the list at 17 percent, but results show that the industry is looking at more macroeconomic trends.
Where We Are, Where We’re Going Next
Retail real estate developers and owners are asking the same question as real estate industry investors and owners more broadly: where are we in the cycle, and how should we respond? Currently, retail owners and developers are still actively looking for opportunities, particularly in redevelopment, as well as acquisitions and new development. An overall feeling of optimism pervades the industry, but they’re keeping a watchful eye on interest rates and other moves from the administration.
For more insights and information about this survey, its results, and the possible impacts on your business, contact Norm Nichols at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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NEW YORK — Not long after launching a lingerie collection with Marks & Spencer, which bowed in May, Australian designer Collette Dinnigan is set to introduce another line; this time, she’s targeting the contemporary market. “I’ve always wanted to do a diffusion line,” says Dinnigan, who will celebrate her 20th anniversary this year. “This felt like the right moment to do it.”
This story first appeared in the August 10, 2010 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.
Collette by Collette Dinnigan, the name of the label, which also happens to be that of her Marks & Spencer line, wholesales from $70 to $150; the designer’s main collection runs from $465 to $1,250. But while the designs keep to Dinnigan’s feminine signatures — intricate embroideries and pretty prints — they’re more than just watered-down versions of her core offerings. There’s a very specific premise here. “It’s very much a travel-leisure collection — much more relaxed and bohemian,” explains Dinnigan. “I call it city-to-surf.”
To that end, the 35-piece lineup features plenty of resort-friendly cottons and linens, cut into smocks and swingy dresses and tops. Girlish eyelets trim one cotton frock, while another features a colorful array of paisley prints. “It’s the way I dress, actually,” Dinnigan notes. “When you’re a working mom in the country, you want to wear very loose and easy clothes.”


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Millions of the world's poorest lack power. Microgrids could be a clean-energy solution.
Startup Aquion prepares to ramp up production of products for storing power in remote microgrids.
More in Energy
Polymer glue helps fracture-prone high-capacity batteries last through more charges.
Toyota says it has reduced the cost of fuel cells significantly enough to sell hydrogen cars for under $100,000.
Stanford researchers say new materials could help lower the cost of producing fuel with solar energy.
A material described in Nature could help lead the way to high-efficiency, inexpensive solar cells.
As the solar industry matures, it better start worrying about dust, as SunPower is with its solar panel washer acquisition.
In a smart city, every electric vehicle must have access to a charging station within its driving range. So how should these stations be located? The good news: computer scientists have solved the general version of this problem. The bad news: it's NP-hard.
A startup is trying to demonstrate that carbon dioxide can be used to make clean geothermal power economical and far more widespread.
Musk says battery cell capacity will need to double worldwide for Tesla to produce a mass-market electric car.
By making silicon wafers cheaper, 1366 hopes to ride the next boom in solar power.
A new study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research says geoengineering could decrease rainfall compared to pre-industrial periods.


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PITTSBURGH - Fall is already flying by.
Halloween is just a few weeks away, and before you know it, Thanksgiving will be here.
If you're someone who thinks the holiday is all about family, football and food - you may appreciate this list of local stores that won't be open on Thanksgiving.
- Ace Hardware
- The Container Store
- Crate & Barrel
- Guitar Center
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- Pier 1
- Sam's Club
- Stein Mart
- TJ Maxx
- True Value
Levin Furniture confirmed to Channel 11 that all of its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving.
Delish reports these stores will also be closed :
- Giant Eagle
- Trader Joe's
Some Mattress Firm locations may be closed on Thanksgiving, company officials told Cox Media Group's National Content Desk.
It's best to check with the store in your community to confirm whether it will be open or closed.
- New fast-food restaurant creating lunch hour traffic headaches in Penn Hills
- Jason Momoa films new Netflix thriller in Pittsburgh
- Why you shouldn't rake your leaves this autumn
- VIDEO: Mother left newborn, 9-year-old inside car with keys in ignition on busy road
- DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
© 2019 Cox Media Group.


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A federal judge in California threw out part of a fraud claim by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) that alleged Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) infringed upon the name App Store.
U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, Calif., threw out the claim, ruling that the name has become generic, and that there was no fraud, saying that Amazon had not “made any false statement (express or implied) of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial part of the audience.”
Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., has used its App Store for years to sell applications and products, as has Amazon, of Seattle, which dubs its service “Appstore.” But many other technology companies including Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) have also used the term App Store without being sued.
Qualcomm, of San Diego, though, is a partner of Apple, whereas Amazon, especially with its Kindle Fire tablets, is a competitor to the iPad.
Hamilton scheduled a trial on other claims for August.
Shares of Amazon rose $1.49 to $258.80 in Thursday trading while those of Apple fell $1.82 to $547.21.


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Subscribe To Legend Of Zelda Wii U Not Confirmed For 2016 Yet Updates
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When Nintendo said that the Legend of Zelda for the Wii U was moved out of its holiday 2015 release this year and that it wouldn't be appearing at this year's E3 during the Nintendo press conference, it left a lot of people to assume the game would launch in 2016. However, that may not be entirely accurate.
According to a report by MCV UK, they note that Nintendo's software listing for the Wii U exclusives Legend of Zelda and Devil's Third in their recent financial listings don't indicate an actual 2016 release date for either game. I don't think most people are surprised with Devil's Third but it definitely puts a small cloud of disappointment over the heads of people who have been desperately awaiting new info on the game.
The report doesn't necessarily state that The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U won't be released in 2016 and the financial report doesn't necessarily state that the game won't release in 2016.
For now, Nintendo has been extremely reticent about dropping details on the open-world adventure game. What we do know is that the game sees Link as the main character but we don't really know what the story is.
The gameplay is action-oriented and players are capable of venturing around a massive world, picking up apples, interacting with the game world and fighting off baddies. One of the key aspects of the combat is that players are capable of slowing down time to pick shots during shooting arrows and whatnot.
One of the key elements of the game is that if you can see a location on the screen, you can go there.
It's been mentioned before during the initial delay that the team discovered some new possibilities for The Legend of Zelda and they wanted to explore those options.
The game's graphics and open-world capabilities have set a pretty high bar for what people are expecting from The Legend of Zelda. Due to the delay and Nintendo's recent announcement for the Nintendo NX, this has led a lot of people to start speculating on whether or not the first-party exclusive could turn out to be a cross-generational release for the Wii U and the Nintendo NX.
Of course, there's nothing really to suggest that the game is a cross-generational game given that we know next to nothing about the actual capabilities and details on the Nintendo NX. For all we know the console could be an actual successor to the Wii U and could be a full console, or it could be a micro-console... something that bridges the gap between Wii U games and Nintendo 3DS titles. It could be a tablet device or it could be a Nintendo phone... an nPhone for all we know.
The reality is that all we know for sure is that The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U has been pushed out of 2015 and won't be showing up for this year's highly anticipated E3. Given that Nintendo has labeled the game as TBD – to be determined – could mean many things, such as a 2016 release with no actual date, or it could be a 2017 release. We don't know. Hopefully the delay isn't as bad as it looks and the game is coming sooner than later.


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A shopper loads groceries into her car at a Hannaford grocery store in Auburn in this 2011 photo. Multiple Maine stores, include Hannaford, are recalling tainted meatballs.
By Leslie Bridgers
SCARBOROUGH — Responding to a recall caused by listeria contamination, Hannaford Supermarkets, Cumberland Farms and Sam’s Club stores in Maine removed products made with Buona Vita meatballs from their shelves last week.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the tainted meat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Even customers who knew that New Jersey-based Buona Vita had recalled more than 50 varieties of meatballs, loaves and patties on July 7 probably wouldn’t have connected it to the products they had bought in stores.
Hannaford sells the meatballs in sauce at the deli counter and, at a few stores, in panini sandwiches. Neither of those products carries the Buona Vita label, said Mike Norton, spokesman for the Scarborough-based grocery chain.
Buona Vita meatballs are in a kit with dry rigatoni that Sam’s Club buys from Valley Fine Foods, prepares daily in its stores – including those in Scarborough, Augusta and Bangor – and sells chilled as one of its family-size Home Meal Solutions, said Carrie Foster, spokeswoman for the Walmart-owned national wholesale chain.
Cumberland Farms, which has 46 stores in Maine, sells sandwiches made with Buona Vita meatballs that were not among those recalled. The Massachusetts-based gas station and convenience store chain decided to remove the products from its 600 stores because the meatballs were made in the same facility as the recalled products, said spokesman Derek Beckwith.
Buona Vita recalled about 325,000 pounds of beef, chicken and pork products, made from May 3 to May 9 and sold under several labels, after meat taken from a catering company in Ohio tested positive for listeria in routine testing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said Erica Pitchford, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The sample was traced back to a Buona Vita product, she said.
Listeria is a type of bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.
Hannaford, which had to recall 17,000 pounds of ground beef in December because of a salmonella outbreak, was notified on July 9 by the supplier of its meatballs in sauce that it uses a Buona Vita product that had been recalled, Norton said.
Around 7 p.m. on July 9, Norton said, about 50, 10-pound cases of meatballs were removed from stores in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Norton didn’t know the number of stores. Hannaford has 181.
Norton said the company posted a notice about the recall on its website July 10 and let state and federal agencies involved in the recall know it had removed the product.
Hannaford did not post the information in stores, or send it to its customers directly or to the media, he said.
Foster, the spokeswoman for Sam’s Club, said club members who had bought the product were notified by phone and email, soon after the supplier notified Sam’s Club that it was carrying recalled meatballs.
Sam’s Club stores nationwide, Cumberland Farms stores in 10 states and four Hannaford stores – in Bridgton, Wells, Skowhegan and Hinesburg, Vt.
– were on a list of retailers that the U.S. Department Agriculture had “reason to believe ... received meatballs and various other frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that have been recalled by Buona Vita, Inc.”
The USDA noted that the list, posted on its website and last updated Tuesday, “may not include all retail locations that have received the recalled product or may include retail locations that did not actually receive the recalled product.”
It could not provide a complete list of Buona Vita’s customers on Wednesday, and calls made to Buona Vita were not returned. Norton said Hannaford decided not to issue a press release because the company suspected it would “create confusion.”
He said he thought that government agencies would send out a notice about all of the affected stores soon after the products were recalled.
"In hindsight, we probably should have been more aggressive” about getting the information out sooner," he said.
Norton said notifying government agencies that Hannaford was removing the recalled product from its stores was “an additional step” that was “a little unusual.”


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The deadly coronavirus Delta variant is sweeping across the world, triggering panic throughout global markets, reports China International Import Expo.
Better-than-expected imports and exports
With several cluster of new infections emerging in China last month, the country swiftly heightened prevention levels which immediately drew attention from Western media outlets who promptly questioned China’s strict zero-tolerance epidemic prevention strategy and taking the chance to cast doubt over China’s robust economic recovery.
The truth is that China has not only successfully attracted global capital despite the pandemic, but also has accelerated it efforts to open up and promote the multilateral trade system, through which the nation is cementing its own growth and boosting global recovery at the same time.
Latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed that China’s trade in the first seven months of 2021 came in at 21.34 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion), a 10-year high.
With a series of economic governance tools in place, China recorded better-than-expected imports and exports, becoming the only major economy to achieve growth in goods trade since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Pushing forward market-oriented reforms
Firstly, the continually improving business environment has led to improved confidence amongst foreign trade entities. While the global economy was hit hard by the pandemic, China swiftly resumed production, and has continued to push forward market-oriented reforms and improve public services.
The optimized business environment has stimulated the private sector. The number of foreign trade firms in China increased 6.2 percent to 531,000 in 2020, among which private firms registered a trading value of 14.98 trillion yuan, up 11.1 percent and accounted for 46.6 percent of the nation’s total trade.
Lowering the bar for market access has boosted the development potential of foreign enterprise. Foreign-funded firms recorded a 12.44-trillion-yuan worth of import and exports in 2020, accounting for 38.7 percent of the total figure. In the first seven months of the year, these firms reported a 17.9 percent growth in export.
Export bans becoming common
Moreover, China has been sharing the growing dividend of its unrivalled market and actively boosting import from all over the world. Trade protectionism in the global market has been increasing amid the health crisis, with new hidden barriers emerged in economic and investment sectors as certain countries stretching the national security concept.
For instance, investment scrutiny has been heightened up and export bans have become more common.
Under such circumstances, China’s market size has become a significant advantage, with its “internal circulation” economic growth approach becoming a vital engine for China’s import in its post-epidemic recovery.
Massive export of epidemic prevention materials
In the meantime, China, as a major economy in the world, has taken the initiative to share its purchasing power with other countries in the wake of the epidemic. In 2021, the China International Import Expo will be held on schedule, offering a great platform for global firms to expand business in spite of the pandemic.
In addition, China has been strongly facilitating the world’s fight against the virus through massive export of epidemic prevention materials. It has not only offered emergency humanitarian supplies to African and other developing countries in the first place, but also provided and exported epidemic prevention materials to more than 200 countries and regions.
China’s export of medical devices and supplies grew rapidly by 40 percent in 2020. After its domestically developed vaccines being approved by the WHO, the country has been promoting the vaccines as a global public good, exporting to countries in need at relatively lower prices.
Despite the high demand across the world, China has not engaged in profit seeking when it comes to vaccine export; instead, it launched production cooperation with Egypt and other countries that have production capacities to lower their cost of inoculating vaccines.
Fragile global economic fundamentals
With the highly transmissible Delta variant accelerating its spread globally, the resumption of international market demand has been obstructed and further dampened global recovery. And the fragile global economic fundamentals have placed pressure on China’s trading activities.
MOFCOM has recently unveiled the plan for commerce development in the 14th Five Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025, vowing to focus on promotion of innovative development of foreign trade. It will step up efforts to strengthen foreign trade services to build a new platform for development and growth, as well as to shore up its trading competitiveness.
China’s ability to lead in foreign trade will be further enhanced and play a greater role in promoting the “return of global trading system to multilateral and openness.”
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Source: China International Import Expo


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Published on Nov 30, 2012
President Obama makes the case for extending tax cuts for middle-class families by visiting a business that depends on middle-class consumers during the holiday season, and could be impacted if taxes go up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year. November 30, 2012.


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Baku 2017 has announced that Fresco, the supermarket chain owned by Azeri Retail LLC, will become an Official Supporter of the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games.
As part of this agreement, Fresco will become the Master Licensee and the Official Retail Operator for the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. In partnership with Baku 2017, Fresco will create a range of branded products that will be available through its network of stores, which will include a number of pop-up merchandise stores that will open at sites across Baku in the build-up to the Games. They will also operate a general store located in the Athletes Village for competitors and officials. In return, Fresco will receive exclusive rights to use the Baku 2017 games marks, logos and designations. Fresco will also become the Official Supporter of the Baku 2017 Mascot Programme.
Speaking about the announcement of this official partnership, Mike Loynd, Chief Operating Officer for Baku 2017 said: “A strong merchandise program is a key aspect of any major international sporting event, particularly in building awareness leading up to the Games and engaging the public during the Games. In partnering with Fresco, one of Azerbaijan’s leading retailers, I am confident our merchandise programme will be a tremendous success.”
Dr. Kamran Eyyubov, CEO of Azeri Retail LLC, added: “The Fresco family is honoured to have an opportunity to contribute to the success of the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. With a team of more than 650 professional staff, who on average serve 25,000 customers daily, we are ready to deliver exceptional services at this remarkable international multi-sport event.”
The Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games commercial program will comprise of 8 Official Partners and 10 Official Supporters.
As of today, BP and Microplus signed an agreement to become partners of the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, while Fresco and iTicket.az became the official supporters.


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By preventing almost all zero-click attacks, the next update to iOS 14.5 will protect many users from hacking attempts. Especially since these are particularly dangerous, since they do not require any interaction from the victim to enter the device.
Do you know zero-click attacks ? This method of hacking is one of the most powerful and popular among hackers. And for good reason: this one does not require no victim interaction with malicious code to break into the targeted device. De facto, she is also very difficult to detect, paving the way for discreet data theft. So Apple decided to tackle (no pun intended) the problem.
In addition to the various new features planned, iOS 14.5 is committed to strengthening the security of iPhone and, at the same time, its users. We already know that the next update will hide Google’s IP addresses from Google, in addition to forcing apps to ask for permission before tracking them. This time around, the change is within the operating system code itself and is already visible in the beta. So it is on course to be present in the final version.
Apple wants to prevent zero-click attacks
The change is on ISA pointers, which will now be protected by a technology called Pointer Authentication Codes (PAC). These pointers tell the program which part of the iOS code to use to function properly. After the update they will be encrypted and will ask for authentication before they can be activated. In this way, hackers will no longer be able to inject malicious code into the smartphone.
According to several security researchers, this technology will make zero-click attacks much more difficult. “Now that the pointers are signed, it is more complicated to corrupt them to manipulate objects in the system”, explains Adam Donenfeld, researcher at Zimperium. It was he who discovered this novelty while digging inside the code of iOS 14.5. He also specifies that the objects in question are also widely used in “Sandbox-type leaks”.
Read also – iOS 14: new features, release date, compatible smartphones, all you need to know
IPhones will be very secure
According to Apple, this method will significantly enhance the protection of iPhones. An anonymous employee of the Cupertino company further states that hackers have something to worry about, “Because some techniques are now completely unusable”. However, this technology is not foolproof. To be effective, it must encrypt the right pointers, instead of protecting the device as a whole. What prompts Adam Donenfeld to think that zero-click attacks will not be completely eradicated when updating to iOS 14.
” When we want we can “, he says. “There will always be bugs, whatever they are, in the PAC or elsewhere, allowing a whole different hacking strategy.” However, he assures us that this novelty “Will most certainly have an impact” on iPhone security. Others are more mixed facing the latter. According to Jamie Bishop, one of the developers behind the popular Checkrain jailbreak app, “This protection simply increases the cost of zero-click attacks. A determined hacker with a lot of resources available will always be able to use it “.
The developer admits, however, that this novelty will actually game changer for users that could be targeted by a zero-click attack. For others, the changes will not be drastic, apart from greater peace of mind. New features in iOS 14.5 include support for PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers, as well as unlocking iPhone with Face ID, even when wearing a mask.


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We know, you want to hear more about truly exciting features potentially coming to Apple’s anniversary edition iPhone 8, like 3D scanners, glass-embedded Touch ID sensors, curved screens with little to no bezel or augmented reality capabilities.
But at least for today, abrupt, direct confirmation of wireless charging and “waterproof” functions will have to do. Forget typically trustworthy industry insiders or sometimes reliable analysts.
This is the random word-for-word recent statement of Wistron CEO Robert Hwang: “The assembly process for the previous generations of iPhones has not changed much, though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit.”
Apparently, the Taiwanese ODM’s head honcho was talking the impending flat-screened LCD 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus, not the radically redesigned 8 or X, as that’s the model the company should help manufacture alongside Foxconn.
It’s not the first time we’re hearing rumors of this sort, but of course, now they’re way more than unfounded speculation. It seems pretty much etched in stone all three next-gen iPhones will support wireless charging, presumably via inductive technology, not full-on, cable-free, long-distance energy conduction.
Meanwhile, since the 7 and 7 Plus already resist short-term immersion in shallow bodies of water, we’re almost certain the IP67 rating will be boosted to 68, matching the 1.5 meters and 30 minutes protection of devices like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6. Far from a revolution, that’s another small but meaningful evolution.


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AutoGuide News Blog
The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.
There are two affordable options to get into a car without settling for an econo-box. The first is lease a new car and the second is to buy a used one, but which path is the better choice?


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Bee Cave police sergeant pleads: Hide your things
Perps have found new ways to make big purchases with stolen credit cards
After two cases of identity theft, one case of credit card abuse and three cases of burglary of a motor vehicle in the month of September, the Bee Cave Police Department is encouraging residents to be careful with valuables that they leave in their vehicles.
“What’s happening is we’re having some car burglaries, and (victims are) getting their credit card stolen, and then the perpetrator runs around and uses those credit cards before the person knows,” Detective Sgt. Bill Pitmon said.
The car burglaries happen at all times of the day, Pitmon said, and are quick crimes of opportunity. Offenders will look in the windows of parked cars, see something they want – a purse, a wallet, a GPS device – and smash the window and make off with the victim’s property.
“They can’t do that if you secure or hide your stuff,” Pitmon said. “I don’t know one single car burglar that sees an empty car and says, ‘Oh, I’ll break the window and take my chances.’ It’s typically that someone left their wallet in the center console … complacency is a huge part of it.”
Car burglaries are hard to nab suspects for, due to the rapid nature of the crime, Pitmon said. Pitmon said public parking lots are common targets for burglary, and perpetrators will steal shopping bags full of clothes while the victim is shopping elsewhere. However, nighttime burglaries in residential areas are also fairly common.
Pitmon said he believes that the majority of car burglars are from out of town, and they tend to be males in their 20s to early 30s, adding that teenagers are more likely to steal things from cars if they’ve been left unlocked. Pitmon observed that car burglaries and instances of credit card abuse tend to increase over the summer and during the holidays.
Pitmon said that many car burglars have figured out how to continue making big purchases with their victim’s money even after the victim has discovered the crime and cancelled his or her credit cards.
“They steal your purse to get your credit cards, and they go directly to any store that sells those Visa gift cards, and they use your card to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards,” Pitmon said. “You can cancel your card, but those gift cards can’t be cancelled, so they’re walking away with thousands of dollars.”
With Bee Cave and the surrounding area rapidly growing, Pitmon said an upswing in crime is to be expected. Pitmon encourages residents to keep a close eye on their possessions and to not leave them visible inside their unoccupied vehicles.
“Take valuables wherever you go or secure them in the trunk,” he said. “If crooks find a way to abuse something, they will.”


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The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), together with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), hosted a workshop titled ‘How Halal Will Boost the Internationalization of Your Brand?’ recently, at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai. The workshop highlighted the significance of halal certification for Brazilian companies to penetrate the Arab market. This was organised on the sidelines of the Gulfood, the largest food and beverage exhibition in the world being held from February 20 to 24, 2023, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Both entities brought together over 40 Brazilian food exporting companies in this workshop, which was led by a group of professionally qualified, international Halal certifiers. The primary objective of the workshop was to shed light on the added value that halal certification brings to Brazilian companies, enabling them to penetrate the markets of Islamic countries. It also highlighted the market’s significance in the international business landscape. Furthermore, the workshop also provided an ideal opportunity for companies to learn more about the halal market and its requirements for gaining the certification, through several lectures.
The global market for halal products is expanding due to the growing Muslim population and economies. This, along with the trust in halal-certified products is creating more innovative opportunities in the market. The workshop covered this topic along with how the certification verifies a product is suitable for consumption, and raised awareness about the value this accreditation brings for businesses across various industries.
Furthermore, the ABCC also aimed to detail the operations of the halal system and identified the elements that contribute to the growth of the sector. One of these factors is the growing Muslim populace, which is expected to increase in the coming years in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Another factor is the economic growth of Muslim-majority countries, which is expanding at a faster rate than the global average.
Tamer Mansour, Secretary General and CEO of the ABCC highlighted the importance of expanding the reach of halal in Brazil outside beef and poultry, two products in which Brazil is already the world's top producer and exporter. Paula Soares, Manager of ApexBrasil's Agribusiness spoke at the event’s opening, and Rafael Solimeo, Head of the ABCC International Office in Dubai, gave the closing remarks for the event.
Ashraf El Tanbouly, CEO of the Islamic Chamber of Halal Services (ICHS) stated that there are several possibilities in the halal industry. “The halal industry is a high-potential avenue. Therefore, it is imperative to bring producers and traders together to explore opportunities in the sector and build meaningful relationships as well as strategies that accelerate growth in the industry.
Safi emphasised the significance of the Halal do Brasil initiative, which focuses mainly on assist Brazilian companies to enter the halal market. “We believe that the Halal do Brasil project holds paramount significance since the halal market is expected to expand and continue to thrive. Through this project, we will continue our mission to assisting more Brazilian goods to enter the halal market as well as help companies receive the certification,” he added.
Tarras highlighted the importance of halal goods in both industry and retail. “Through halal, the complete productive chain expands and progresses. Even in nations that are new to the industry, for instance like the United States, the halal business is becoming more significant and witnessing an upward trend,” he added.
Alan Oliveira, Founder of the Pantanal Trading stated that the workshop enabled attendees to understand the significance of the halal market. “In Brazil, we produce products such as cosmetics, coffee, fruits etc. This workshop has enabled us to learn about the halal system and we intend to incorporate those in our processes.”
Participants in the workshop included Ahmad Saifi from CDIAL Halal, Dib Tarras from FAMBRAS Halal, and members of the ABCC halal committee.
The halal committee was established earlier this month as part of the Halal do Brasil project with the goal of increasing the number of Brazilian companies receiving halal certification and thereby boosting the share of the country’s products in this market. The committee also aims to strengthen Brazil’s status as one of largest producer of halal products, as well as spread knowledge about the global halal market. The responsibilities of this committee include managing relationships with international certification agents, providing the ABCC with technical data on halal certification procedures, discussing and exchanging information regarding the challenges, trends, and opportunities in the halal market, ensuring the accuracy of the data, disseminating technical content, and conducting training.
The Halal do Brasil project was launched by the ABCC and Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) to promote Brazilian exports of halal products to the Arab countries. The ApexBrasil works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. The Agency carries out several trade promotion activities, such as trade missions and business roundtables, in addition to providing support for Brazilian companies to participate in major international fairs and arranging visits by foreign buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian production structure. More information: www.apexbrasil.com.br.