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EDINBURGH—Scotland’s future in the U.K. is set to loom over British and European politics for years after pro-independence groups led by Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party expanded their majority in the country’s parliament, setting up a clash with the British government on whether Scots should be allowed a vote on leaving the 300-year-old union.
Ms. Sturgeon’s SNP secured the largest number of seats—nearly half the total—in the country’s multiparty, European-style proportional electoral system after pitching independence as a way to accelerate Scotland’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. A referendum could also chart a path for Scotland back into the European Union after Britain left the trade bloc at the start of the year, supporters said.
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IPC APEX EXPO® 2013 provided the information, exchange and connections that helped 4,568 attendees from 42 countries prepare for the future. 425 exhibitors encompassing 130,340 sq. ft. of show floor space welcomed a busy three days of qualified leads, business development and sales.
From insights into revolutionary advancements that the electronics manufacturing industry will help drive to solutions to today’s manufacturing challenges, IPC APEX EXPO® 2013 provided the information, exchange and connections that helped 4,568 attendees from 42 countries prepare for the future. 425 exhibitors encompassing 130,340 sq. ft. of show floor space welcomed a busy three days of qualified leads, business development and sales. IPC APEX EXPO attracted 8,598 total visitors including attendees and exhibitor personnel.
Preliminary postshow survey feedback from attendees is very positive. More than 90 percent of respondents said the show met or exceeded their top objectives. “Attending IPC APEX was a great experience; it helped me strengthen relationships with current suppliers and exposed me to new products, new processes and new suppliers that will be helpful in the future,” said David Mitchell, engineering prototype lab manager, Lockheed Martin.
In addition, more than 75 percent of respondents have indicated that attending the show influences their buying decisions throughout the year - an important factor for many of the show’s exhibitors, like Tim Hoffman, president of Hepco. “It was the best show I’ve worked in more than 10 years. There were a very good number of new, potential customers and we were able to get valuable time with our existing customer base to further cement relationships.”
Like Hepco and other IPC APEX EXPO exhibitors, PACE also experienced a good show, “From our perspective, this year’s APEX was a smashing success and easily our most productive show in YEARS,” shared Chris Barrett, Pace director of training. “Looking forward to the next one now!”
IPC APEX EXPO is the largest event in North America focused on the printed board and electronics manufacturing industries.
In 2014, IPC APEX EXPO moves to the Mandalay Bay Resort & Convention Center in Las Vegas, March 25–27. Industry researchers, engineers and academics are invited to submit an abstract for consideration in next year’s technical conference or professional development courses in the online call for participation at www.IPCAPEXEXPO.org/cfp.
IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,300 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2.17 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; Bangkok, Thailand; and Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing, China.

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Nokia has officially launched the C5, the first handset in its new C-Series range of entry level smartphones.
While the existence of a new Nokia product line has been rumoured for some time, the C5 first came to light in a series of leaked spy shots last month. It's since become clear that the C-Series is all about value for money, and the C5 kicks things off with an honest feature set and a price tag of just 135 (120) before local taxes and subsidies.
For that you get a traditional candybar device running the Symbian S60 3rd Edition operating system and featuring a 2.2in non-touch TFT screen and 3.2 megapixel camera.
Nokia describes the C5 as "a smartphone optimised for social networking and sharing", and while it certainly stretches the definition of smartphone, it does hit the social networking and sharing mark thanks to a raft of built-in communication and messaging tools.
Ovi Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail via Nokia Messaging are all built in, while not only do you get direct Facebook and MySpace access, but the C5's phone book integrates with Facebook so you can see your contacts' latest status updates alongside their contact details.
Thanks to its on-board GPS and the recent update to Nokia's Ovi Maps suite, the C5 offers free turn-by-turn navigation out of the box, while on the audio front its features include a stereo FM radio, 3.5mm audio jack and a stereo speaker. A 2GB microSD card is included in the box, with support for cards of up to 16GB.
Like many of Nokia's lower-end devices battery life features high among its plus points, with up to 12 hours of talk time and 26 days on standby possible between charges.
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The Nokia C5 will be available in two colours white and what Nokia calls "warm grey" and will go on sale worldwide in the second quarter of 2010.
Italian mobile phone site Cellular Mania, meanwhile, has published what it claims is a leaked Nokia document detailing plans for its in-house Series 40 operating system. According to the document, Nokia plans to add touchscreen support, an improved web experience and support for full QWERTY keyboards to its entry level OS, though no time frame is mentioned.


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Conference reviews tourism cooperation in north-western provinces
Tuesday, 2017-01-10 04:49:40
NDO – A conference, reviewing the tourism development cooperation programme in 2016 by eight north-western provinces, was held in Phu Tho province, on January 9.
At the conference, participants noted that the affiliation showed good results in terms of policies, the expansion of products, and the promotion and development of human resources for the tourism sector.
However, they held that over the coming time, the localities should organise more regular exchanges to boost tourism towards utilising their similarities and promote each locality’s unique.
They sought measures to further diversify tourism products and develop products of strength for each locality, while stressing the need for higher quality human resources for the sector as more than 60 employees in the regional tourism are untrained.
Over the last year, eight north-western provinces enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 11.8 percent in the number of visitors thanks to their close cooperation in tourism promotion.
The localities, comprising Phu Tho, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Hoa Binh, welcomed nearly 18 million visitors, including 1.2 million foreigners.
In 2017, the eight localities will work closely to implement the National Tourism Year Tay Bac-Lao Cai 2017, while holding a Tay Bac (north-western) tourism fair and join international events. They will also focus on building a waterway tour on the Da River.
On the occasion, the culture departments, tourism promotion centres and travel associations of the eight localities signed a cooperation programme for 2017.


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GetGo Ramps Ups Electric Vehicle Charging Initiative
PITTSBURGH — GetGo Cafe and Market unveiled its electric vehicle (EV) charging station strategy which will include a mix of Tesla and proprietary stations.
The retailer kicked off the initiative with opening of its first Tesla Supercharger Station at a GetGo in Washington, Pa. In addition to working with Tesla on additional Supercharger Stations in the near future, GetGo will roll out its own proprietary, universal charging stations over the next 12 months.
The combined efforts will enable GetGo to provide all guests with charging station access, regardless of the type of EV driven.
"At GetGo, we are in the mobility business. It's exciting to begin to build the next generation of energy services for our customers," said GetGo President Polly Flinn. "We are thrilled to get started by partnering with a global leader like Tesla and are looking forward to opening our own GetGo universal chargers at several sites in the next six to 12 months."
GetGo is a leader in delivering high-quality fuels, both traditional gasoline and an array of alternative fueling options. The retailer offers Compressed Natural Gas fuel at various locations across Pennsylvania and Ohio, and plans to make EV charging stations accessible in all markets across its five-state footprint by 2025.
Pittsburgh-based GetGo operates 263 locations throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.


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Tesla projected to have its best quarter ever, recalls Model S chargers
Tesla Motors said it sold almost 6,900 cars in the fourth quarter of 2013, its biggest quarter ever and 20 percent higher than its guidance. Tesla stock shot up by nearly 16 percent on the news to $161.27.
Of course, we won't get an actual look at Tesla's financials until its Q4 earnings report, which is due in February.
Tesla probably wanted to let the good news leak early because it wasn't all good news from the Palo Alto electric car maker today. It also announced a voluntary recall on 29,000 of its home charging adaptors over the concerns that they might cause a fire.
The recall affects the NEMA 14-50 home adapter, which allows 240-volt recharging of the Model S. Tesla found that problems with electrical resistance could lead to overheating that could melt the cord or adaptor, or even start a fire in extreme cases.
The company was quick to point out this wasn't a recall in the traditional sense, and it was able to fix the issue for most of the chargers with an over-the-air software update. Customers who were out of its coverage area can bring the adaptor into a service station and have it replaced.
Jon Xavier is the technology reporter at the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
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The news cycle stops for no one and nothing. Not even over Saint Patrick’s Day weekend while you were stuffing yourself full of cabbage and beer.
But fret not — it’s our job to keep you up to date. Here’s everything you need to know about what went down in LA tech this weekend. Let’s get caught up.
Snap rumored to release a new mobile game feature
Late last week The Cheddar reported that Snap would be releasing a new mobile game feature — and the rest of the internet chatted about it the whole weekend long. The game will be released at Snap’s partner summit in LA on April 4, according to Cheddar’s reporting. The company, which has rebranded as a camera company rather than a social media outlet, has been widely expected to rollout this kind of feature for a while now. The company launched Snappables — an AR game played through Snapchat filters — last year, and has forged ties with major gaming studios, including Prettygreat and Tencent, the Chinese tech conglomerate that also owns League of Legends and Riot Games.
An invitation to Snap’s April event reportedly includes the slogan: “Less talk. More play.”
Mark Cuban invests in the future of the tech workforce
Cluster, a marketplace that matches engineers with jobs in the aerospace, aviation, defense and automotive industries, raised a star-studded seed round late last week. News of the $1.9 million round swirled this weekend, with investors like Mark Cuban (who co-led the round), Dan Rosensweig of Chegg, and Mark Pincus of Zynga in the mix.
Serial entrepreneur Kim Taylor founded Cluster as a recruitment platform, but sees the company expending into skills training and workforce development in the future. The nature of work is changing, and Taylor wants Cluster to play a major role in that transition. According to early signs from investors, they might just do it.
Tesla Model Y pre-orders open following grand unveiling
Tesla unveiled the new Model Y at Tesla’s design studio in LA last Thursday night. Notably absent at the event was any mention of when the cars would go on sale — a departure from previous events when Musk’s announcement that the cars were on pre-order led to a deluge of deposits from excited consumers.
As it turns out, Tesla’s Model Y is already up for pre-order despite the fact that production isn’t slated until late next year. The mid-sized crossover SUV can be pre-ordered with a $2,500 deposit.


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The first AVnu-certified audio-video bridging (AVB) audio endpoint reference platform has been announced by XMOS and the AVnu Alliance. The XMOS software-defined solution has passed all testing for certification and will now bear the AVnu-certified logo.
The newly certified XMOS AVB hardware and software reference platform is described as an affordable, scalable and production-ready solution that allows customers to quickly and easily build a wide range of AVB-enabled audio products, from single speakers and microphones to complex multichannel mixing desks and multi-port conferencing systems.
“AVnu certification reinforces XMOS’ leading position in the audio market, adding AVB standards-based networked audio connectivity to our already established USB Audio 2.0 solutions,” said Paul Neil, vice president product management, at XMOS.
“Thanks to XMOS and all of our members pursuing AVnu certification, we are able to offer choice, flexibility and reliability to end users looking for plug-and-play products,” said AVnu Alliance president Rick Kreifeldt.


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Tesla stocks fell 8 percent when the market opened today following the company’s earnings call May 2. Elon Musk says Tesla will be a year late on its promise to deliver 5,000 Model 3 cars per week. Right now Tesla has more than 450,000 customers still waiting for their Model 3s.
Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
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- Publish Date
- Thursday, 31 October 2019, 12:54PM
Time to update your phones because Apple has finally released some of the most wanted emojis to-date, including the blood emoji!
Apple's new 398 emojis are now available on the iOS 13.2 update - including gender-neutral characters, people with disabilities and a drop of blood to symbolise menstruation.
In response to the release of the new emojis, Plan International UK's chief executive Rose Caldwell said: "We are thrilled to see the arrival of this long-awaited blood-drop emoji, which signals a real breakthrough in the fight against period stigma."
"Girls, women and other menstruators told us this emoji would help them talk more freely about their periods, which is why we campaigned so hard to make it a reality," Caldwell added.
Another update to the emojis includes the icon of two people holding hands. Users are now able to select different gender and skin tones for each person.
The update also expands to being able to choose different hair colour and styles as well as the emojis' profession.
Eight new animals have also been added, including two new dogs, an orang-utan, an otter, sloth, flamingo, skunk and oyster.
This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.


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By Victoria Slind-Flor – Feb 6, 2013
Zimmer Holdings Inc. was told to pay $70 million to Stryker Corp. for infringing patents related to a device that removes damaged tissue and cleans bones during joint-replacement surgery.
Zimmer infringed three Stryker patents, a federal jury in Stryker’s hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, said yesterday. The jurors found that a 25 percent royalty rate should apply to covered sales of infringing Zimmer products.
The jury also found the infringement was willful, meaning the U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker can further increase the award.
Stryker sued Zimmer in December 2010, claiming its patents were infringed by Zimmer’s Pulsavac Plus wound debridement system.
The case is Stryker Corp. v. Zimmer Inc., 1:10-cv-01223, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan.
‘IPhone’ Owner in Brazil ‘Open’ to Selling Rights to Name
The owner of the iPhone trademark in Brazil, IGB Eletronica SA, said it would consider selling the naming rights to Apple Inc.
“We’re open to a dialogue for anything, anytime,” Eugenio Emilio Staub, chairman of IGB, said in an interview in Sao Paulo, adding that the company hasn’t been contacted by Apple. “We’re not radicals.”
IGB’s Gradiente brand filed to register the trademark in 2000 and was awarded the rights in 2008. While Apple has sold its globally known mobile phone in Brazil for several years, Gradiente started selling its iPhone in December.
Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported yesterday that the institute responsible for granting trademarks in Brazil confirmed that the exclusive rights to the name for mobile phones still belong to Gradiente, without saying where it got the information. The decision, originally set to be published yesterday, will be announced on Feb. 13. Staub said he hasn’t been informed of any decisions regarding the trademark.
Marcelo Chimento, the spokesman for the institute known as INPI, confirmed in a telephone interview that a ruling had been made, though he declined to disclose the decision. He said it’s “difficult” to grant approval to Apple’s request to use the trademark.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment.
Google Faces New EU Antitrust Complaint From Technology Group
Google Inc. faces another antitrust complaint from a group of rivals as it seeks to settle the European Commission’s two- year probe into claims its search results discriminate against competitors.
ICOMP, a coalition including Microsoft Corp., said it submitted a new dossier to the European Commission on Jan. 30, alleging that the world’s largest search engine obtained its dominance through unfair agreements with other companies in the Internet and advertising industry.
“By creating an illegal network of exclusive relationships with these important partners, Google achieved its key objective: gaining scale for itself while preventing its rivals from doing the same,” ICOMP said in a statement on its website.
Google last week submitted an offer to regulators to settle the antitrust probe after Joaquin Almunia asked the Mountain View, California-based company to January to address allegations that the company promotes its own specialist search-services, copies rivals’ travel and restaurant reviews, and has agreements with websites and software developers that stifle competition in the advertising industry. He first told Google in May that he wanted to settle the case.
If regulators decide that the company’s concessions could allay antitrust concerns, they can send it to rivals and customers for comments. If this market test is successful, the EU can make the commitments legally binding. Such a settlement would avoid possible fines against Google.
Microsoft is among ICOMP members that already complained to the EU about Google’s behavior. The Brussels-based commission confirmed today it received the ICOMP complaint last week.
“We continue to work co-operatively with the commission,” said Al Verney, a spokesman for Google in Brussels, on the new complaint.
ICOMP members Foundem, Hot-Map.com and Streetmap.co.uk previously asked regulators to investigate whether Google’s search results unfairly shut out rival products.
Kraft Sues Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for Infringement
Kraft Foods Group Inc., producer of Jello, Cheez Whiz and Planters Peanuts, sued a Tennessee restaurant chain for trademark infringement.
The suit is related to a licensing agreement Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. signed with Smithfield Foods Inc.’s John Morrell Food unit in November 2012.
Kraft, based in Northfield, Illinois, objects to the license agreement, saying that the sale of ready-to-eat food products under the restaurant chain’s “Cracker Barrel” mark will encroach on its business and cause customer confusion.
Kraft has used its Cracker Barrel brand for cheese since 1954, and said in its complaint that until now, the restaurant chain has “maintained a distance from Kraft both with respect to goods sold and channels of trade used.”
The company seeks a court declaration that any use by the restaurant chain of the “Cracker Barrel” mark in connection with food products sold through third-party retail food channels would constitute trademark infringement.
Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is “reviewing and evaluating” the court papers and “may comment in the future,” company spokeswoman Jeanne Ludington said in an e-mail yesterday.
Kraft said that over the past six decades, it has sold more than $1 billion worth of cheese products under the Cracker Barrel mark, and that the products are sold in all 50 states.
The company did license its brand to Frito Lay Inc. for cheese-flavored potato chips and pretzels. Kraft claims its “Cracker Barrel” mark is “vital” to the company and that it would suffer irreparable harm if the restaurant chain is able to go ahead with the license arrangement.
Kraft contends that because the restaurant chain has never sold any products under the “Cracker Barrel” brand anywhere other than its combination restaurant/country store properties, it has never established the right to the mark for use in retail sales.
Smithfield and Morrell aren’t parties to the suit.
In addition to a court order barring the use of its “Cracker Barrel” mark for sale of food products, Kraft also asked for awards of litigation costs and attorney fees. Kraft also requested a court order mandating that the restaurant chain conduct national advertising that will prominently disavow a connection with Kraft.
The case is Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., 1:13-cv-00780, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).
Bridgestone Trademark Infringement Win Upheld by Chinese Court
Bridgestone Corp. said in a statement that it has won a trademark suit against a Chinese competitor.
The tire maker said it successfully sued Guangzhou Bolex Tyre Ltd. in the Tianjin Binhai New Area People’s Court in March 2011. Tokyo-based Bridgestone had objected to Bolex’s sale of tires under the “Gemstone” trademark, saying it was too familiar to “Bridgestone.”
Bolex filed an appeal to the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court, which upheld the lower court’s ruling, Bridgestone said.
The Japanese tire company said Bolex was ordered to quit making and selling Gemstone tires and to pay damages to Bridgestone.
Bolex didn’t respond immediately to an e-mailed request for comment.
Tetris Wins Order Barring Competitor Infringing Computer Game
Tetris Holding Co., which holds the rights to the popular computer game Tetris, won a copyright case against a New Jersey- based game company.
The suit was filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, in December 2009 against Xio Interactive Inc. Tetris objected to Xio’s Mino game, which it said was “brazenly” copied by the New Jersey company’s game.
In her Jan. 30 order, U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson barred the production, sale and licensing of Xio’s Mino. She dismissed trade-dress infringement, and unfair competition charges against Xio.
In May 2012 Judge Wolfson found that Xio had infringed the Tetris copyrights. Although Xio had acknowledged copying elements of the Tetris game, the company had argued that the elements it copied were functional and not entitled to protection under U.S. copyright law.
The judge disagreed. In that ruling she said Xio had “infringed a substantial amount of the overall copyrighted work.” Elements that Xio had argued were functional were, instead, “aesthetic choices designers of Tetris made to show or express game play.”
The case is Tetris Holding LLLC v. Xio Interactive Inc., 3:09-cv-06115, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Trenton).
Trade Secrets/Industry Espionage
Sentence in Goodyear Trade-Secret Case Too Lenient, Court Rules
A federal appeals court affirmed the convictions of two men accused of stealing trade secrets from Akron, Ohio’s Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant and said the trial court gave them too lenient a sentence.
Sean Edward Howley and Clark Alan Roberts were convicted of trade secret theft in federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee. They were found to have taken trade secrets related to the production of large steel-reinforced tires used on earthmoving machines.
The two men worked for a company that supplied some parts for Goodyear’s tire-assembly machine, according to court papers. When they came to repair some Goodyear machines in May 2007, they brought an unauthorized camera and took photos of some proprietary technology with the aim of passing them to a Chinese competitor of the tire company.
In December, the two were convicted of trade secret theft and wire fraud, and each was sentenced to four months of home confinement, 150 hours of community service and four years of probation.
Howley and Roberts appealed. Yesterday, the appeals court affirmed the conviction and agreed with government prosecutors that the sentences the two received were “procedurally unreasonable.”
The trial court had found that the government failed to establish any real loss suffered by Goodyear. The appeals court said this finding “seemed at odds with the defendants’ convictions for stealing property that had ‘independent economic value.’”
In returning the case to the trial court for resentencing, the appeals court said that while “an estimate of a substantial loss necessarily will increase” the range of the sentence, it wouldn’t override the court’s duty “to exercise discretion in deciding what sentences to impose on the defendants.”
The lower-court case is U.S.A. v. Roberts, 3:08-cv-00175, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville). The appeal is U.S.A. v. Roberts 11-6194, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
To contact the reporter on this story: Victoria Slind-Flor in Oakland, California, email@example.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Carmakers, suppliers hit by big declines in shareholder value
Any hope that this year's robust first-quarter recovery in shareholder value for Europe's automakers and parts suppliers would be extended evaporated in the second quarter. Automakers saw their average value, as measured by the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Index, fall 12.0 percent. This followed an exceptional 27.3 percent gain in Q1.
Partsmakers experienced a similar decline, relinquishing 7.7 percent of their value in Q2 following a 31.1 percent increase in the preceding three months.
Auto retailers, however, fared slightly better, extending their Q1 gain of 35.3 percent by a further 3.7 percent in Q2.
Over the same period, stock markets demonstrated a far less volatile trend. The main U.S. and European markets achieved good growth in the six months to the end of Q1 this year. In Q2, however, the Dow Jones rose by 2.8 percent, Standard & Poor's by 2.5 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 by just 1.0 percent. Against this, over the same period Germany's DAX fell by 7.6 percent, the Euro STOXX by 6.2 percent and France's CAC by 3.6 percent.
Commenting on the Q2 outcome for the sector, Jason Wakelam, leader of PwC UK's Automotive Transaction Services, said: "Ongoing economic uncertainty continues to impact markets. The worst affected are those auto and partsmakers whose sales are concentrated in the euro zone. Those looking to the emerging economies of China and India have fared better and, perhaps surprisingly, UK retail sales have boosted the performance of the larger UK dealership groups."
VW only automaker to stay in positive territory
With a gain of just 0.9 percent, Volkswagen AG was the only automaker not to experience a decline in shareholder value in Q2. Despite the continuing difficult sales situation for automakers throughout western Europe, VW has continued to extend recent gains. Unit sales of the VW brand held up in its key German market, more than offsetting falls elsewhere in Europe. Sales grew strongly, too, in China, now the brand's largest market, as well as the United States, Russia and South America.
Other European automakers saw declines in the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Index ranging from 9.8 percent for German sports car maker Porsche Automobil Holding SE to 35.8 percent for PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA. The French carmaker remains troubled by its high level of exposure to the struggling euro-zone markets, including France, Spain and Italy, and by market concerns around delays in removing overcapacity because of domestic political considerations.
Significant declines in value were also recorded by Renault and Daimler, which had both been at the top of the list in Q1. Renault relinquished 17.5 percent in shareholder value as its worldwide unit sales dropped 3.3 percent in the first six months of the year. The company hopes to regain market share in France in the second half with the launch of new models such as the fourth-generation Clio but has scrapped its 2012 global sales targets.
Despite beating Q1 profit forecasts, Daimler's value to shareholders fell 18.2 percent in Q2, affected by the outlook in two large export markets, the United States and China. Unlike other luxury marques, such as VW's Audi and BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Smart brands are failing to maintain momentum in the increasingly important Chinese market. Daimler's value was also affected by subsequently denied speculation that Aabar Investments, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, may be considering selling its stake in the German company.
Also in the automaker category, Fiat's shareholder value fell by 10.0 percent and BMW's by 12.5 percent.
Said Jason Wakelam, leader of PwC UK's Automotive Transaction Services: "Q2 has not been kind to the auto makers. The state of the economy in Europe clearly doesn't help. Economic considerations are not helping, but relative performance is also being driven by overcapacity in Europe and m&a rumors."
Miba, Michelin rise during brutal quarter for suppliers
Closely reflecting the fortunes of automakers, the European parts sector experienced a reversal of fortunes in the second quarter compared with the first three months.
Just two partsmakers avoided a decline: Austrian sintered components manufacturer Miba AG, up 3.8 percent, and the world's second-largest tire manufacturer, Michelin, up 0.7 percent.
Elsewhere falls in the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Index, declines ranged from 4.3 percent for Italian filtration and suspension systems specialist Sogefi to 33.8 percent for French exhaust, seating and interiors maker Faurecia. The latter achieved strong revenues in Q1 but remains exposed to the problems being experienced by its main customers in its home market. It was also affected by investor concerns about the levels of interest it has to pay on recent bond issues.
"What happens to the automakers has a knock-on effect on suppliers. However, you can't help but think the magnitude of short-term swings reflect over-reaction to the news," said Jason Wakelam, leader of PwC UK's Automotive Transaction Services.
It is noteworthy that many of those companies losing the most value in percentage terms in Q2 had achieved the greatest gains in Q1, suggesting a rebalancing by investors possibly occurred between the two quarters. Norwegian driver controls and cable specialist Kongsberg Auto, for example, saw a 45.5 percent gain in Q1 followed by a 23.6 percent fall in Q2 in reaction to a decline in Q1 profitability.
It was a similar story for Q1 table-topper Leoni AG, the German-based wiring specialist. It had gained 52.9 percent in Q1 but relinquished 19.3 percent in Q2. Leoni received the PwC 2012 European Automotive Shareholder Value award in June for its performance over the 12 months from April 2011 through March 2012. Over this period its total shareholder return grew 30.9 percent, against the sector average of 4.5 percent.
The winner over 36 months, French front-end maker Plastic Omnium, lost 6.1 percent in Q2 following a gain of 41.4 percent in Q1.
Led by Pendragon, retailers escape the worst
The worst performer in the retail sector in Q3 and Q4 2011, UK dealer giant Pendragon overcame its 2011 rights issue woes to take first place in Q1 this year with a gain of 77.6 percent in shareholder value, as measured by the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Index. It has followed that with another top finish in Q2, gaining 9.1 percent.
Its performance has been buoyed by strong UK new-car sales with a 15.7 percent rise in unit sales through its 300 outlets reported for the first three months of the year.
Lookers, the star performer for its one-year growth of 28.2 percent at the recent PwC European Automotive Shareholder Value awards, took second place for Q2 with a 2.6 percent gain. Last May, the company reported it was continuing to produce strong financial results and expected they would be in line with management expectations or the half year to end of June 2012. New-car retail sales increased by 6 percent over the period January to May this year.
"Despite the grim picture across Europe, UK retail volumes were encouraging," said Jason Wakelam, leader of PwC UK's Automotive Transaction Services. "This has positively impacted shareholder value for the main UK dealerships, although there is a way to go before volumes return to pre-recession levels."
The weakest performance in Q2 came from Sweden's largest dealer group, Bilia AB. It followed a 36.8 percent rise in Q1 with a 22.0 percent fall in Q2. This came after the release of first-quarter results showing a fall in profits due to weak demand for new cars in Scandinavia and lower service revenues resulting from the mild winter.


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Michigan issued stop-use and stop-removal orders on oils from Bullseye Automotive Lubricants of Illinois this week, the states second such mandate in a month.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced in an Oct. 7 press release a ban on products bearing the Bullseye name, asserting that the lubricants made by Bullseye Automotive Lubricants Inc. can damage engines. This comes less than a month after the agencys Sept. 12 orders prohibiting the sale or use of motor oils made, packaged or distributed by City Petroleum, City Star, and/or Star Petroleum.
The most recent order follows a 12-month investigation during which the agency found that the motor oils sold by Bullseye Automotive Lubricants neither contain the amount of product its labels claim nor meet the viscosity its labels advertise. The product samples that the Michigan agency collected and tested over the past year did not meet the labeled Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) viscosity grade specifications they claim to meet, nor any other specifications for a motor oil, according to the statement.
Lube Report was not able to reach Bullseye for comment by deadline. The Michigan agency told Lube Report it had been in contact with the company since the start of the investigation, but declined further comment.
The Bullseye stop-use and stop-removal order also comes on the heels of a lawsuit that the American Petroleum Institute filed against the company for alleged counterfeiting, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising and unfair competition.
In April 2012, the Petroleum Quality Institute of America issued a consumer Dont Buy alert on the company and its Bullseye-branded motor oil after finding it failed to meet the SAE standards and obsolete API specs advertised on its labels. PQIA, based in Metuchen, N.J., tests and reports on the quality of lubricants in the U.S. market.Jennifer Holton, the Michigan departments spokesperson, told Lube Report the agency was not tipped off to the poor quality of Bullseye products by PQIA.
While it’s good to seethe state of Michigan is taking aggressive action to protect its citizens from some really badengine- and transmission-damaging products on the market, PQIAcontinues to ask, what are other states doing to protect their citizens from theslopsold in their states? said a report in the Oct. 7 PQIA newsletter. PQIA has found theBullseye,City Star, and other seriously deficient products sold in many other states, includingIllinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.


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One Year Since Twitter Takeover: 5 Big Changes Elon Musk Introduced After The $44 Billion Deal
Today marks the completion of exactly one year since the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, bought Twitter for $44 billion on October 27, 2022.
Since then, the billionaire has made a lot of changes on the social networking platform, with most of these changes putting Elon Musk on the receiving end of criticism. Call it good or bad, but the changes just keep on coming again and again in the world’s richest person’s quest to make X a super app.
5 Big Changes Twitter Saw In The Last Year
From firing former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to laying off about 80% of the workforce in multiple layoff rounds, Twitter (now X) under Elon Musk is barely left with 1,500 employees at present, vs. around 7,500 that were there when Elon Musk bought the Jack Dorsey-founded company.
2.Saying Goodbye To Bird Logo & Name
In July of this year, Elon Musk made one of the most visible changes to Twitter by replacing its iconic bird logo.
In a tweet, Musk said that “soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” The bird logo has been replaced with the logo X. “X” is a term for what Musk has described as an “everything app” that could combine social media, instant messaging, and payment services, akin to the popular Chinese app WeChat.
Elon Musk went on to explain why he decided to rebrand Twitter to X and noted that it’s more than just a name change. Instead, it represents his plans to create an “everything app.”
“Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing. The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video. In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird.”
3. Shifting Away From Ads
One of the major agendas in Musk’s plan for Twitter (now called X) was to shift away from advertising and towards paid subscriptions. A new analysis from independent researcher Travis Brown estimates that 950,000 to 1.2 million people now pay for X’s $8 monthly premium service. That means X persuaded less than 1% of users to sign up, which translates to revenue of less than $120 million annually from the company’s subscription service, not including app store fees from Apple and Google, as per the Bloomberg report.
This has hardly been a replacement for the ad revenue that Twitter relied on in the pre-Musk era—about $4.5 billion in its last full year as a public company. Collectively, X’s top five advertisers are believed to be spending 67% less on ads than they did before the $44 billion acquisition.
4. Taking Twitter Private
As part of his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, Elon Musk delisted the company’s stock, taking it out of the hands of public shareholders. As per a New York Times report, making Twitter a private company has given Musk some advantages.
For instance, unlike publicly traded companies, privately held firms do not have to make quarterly public disclosures about their performance. They are also subject to less regulatory scrutiny and can be more tightly controlled by the owner. That means Musk can even make a total Twitter makeover—including tweaking the platform’s content rules, its finances, and its priorities—without having to consider the worries of the investing public. Well, perhaps Musk did so in the last year, right?
5. Merging Twitter With X
Another big change by Elon Musk at Twitter came in April this year, when it was announced that it has merged with everything app called 'X', owned by Elon Musk. In a court filing in the US, Twitter quietly disclosed that it no longer exists.
"Twitter Inc. has been merged into X Corp. and no longer exists. X Corp. is a privately held corporation, incorporated in Nevada, and with its principal place of business in San Francisco, California," the filing had mentioned.
For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here


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SEMA 2013: Manny Galvan’s 1,000 horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500 Widebody
If there was a competition to see what Ford Mustang made the most horsepower at SEMA, Manny Galvan’s 2013 Shelby GT500 would easily come in first place by a significant margin. The stock supercharger has been removed from the 5.8L V8, and in its place a Kenne Bell 3.6L liquid-cooled twin-screw good for 906 horsepower and 889 lb-ft torque at the rear wheels. That’s well over 1,000 horsepower at the flywheel.
Galvan’s GT500 has plenty of other cool goodies as well, including a Shelby widebody kit, numerous carbon fiber body components from Seibon and a set of black HRE 590RS wheels to give it a sinister look. A roll cage has been installed in the interior, as well as a full suede headliner, piano black trim pieces and a full JL audio system to go along with the stock Recaro seats.
You can get a closer look at Galvan’s 1000 horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500 Widebody in our photo gallery below.
Photos © 2013 MustangsDaily.com
- Ford Racing officially announces TracKey is 50-state legal, available starting today
- SEMA 2014: Classic Design Concepts 2015 Ford Mustang "Outlaw"
- Ford teases SEMA Mustangs from Nitto Tire and Hollywood Hot Rods
- SEMA 2013: HyperStangs' Hellanor Mustang
- CGS Performance Products teases their 2015 Mustang ahead of SEMA
- 2010 SEMA Ford Mustang Coverage
- SEMA 2011: Lindsey Bradley's 1965 Mustang Fastback "The Silver Fox"
- SEMA 2013: Galpin Auto Sports goes blue with widebody Shelby GT500
- Ring Brothers to debut NASCAR-powered 1965 Mustang at SEMA
- Webasto builds custom Mustang to honor fallen soldiers


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The summer placements for PGP/MBA/PGDM ( 2018-20 ) students have begun on a positive note. Most of the top B-schools finished the entire process in a very short period of time. There has been a huge upswing in the average stipend offered to the students. This year all the top B-schools are seeing a huge increase in the number of top MNCs recruiting students.
FMS Delhi saw huge demand for their students among the recruiters. The average stipend this time was Rs 1,01,400, which is 17 percent more than last year’s. The highest stipend offered was Rs 4 lakh for two months.
XLRI Jamshedpur has completed its Summer Internship process for their PGDBM and PGDHRM batch of 2018-20. The entire batch was placed within 48 hours! The highest stipend offered was Rs 1.65 lakh per month!
In IIM-Lucknow sales and marketing accounted for 28 percent of placements which was followed by consulting at 22 percent and e-commerce accounted for 19 percent of placements. Finance and general management were at 17 and 11 percent, respectively.
IIFT also saw the huge turnout of big MNCs during the summer placement process this year. 90 companies participated in the process. The average stipend offered to their MBA-IB students was whopping 1.48 lacs. Tata Group remained a major recruiter with group companies making 15 offers across functions like sales and marketing, finance, general management, and operations. Sixteen students secured international offers across locations like Thailand, Africa, Singapore, and the Middle East. The highest stipend offered was Rs 1,60,000 per month.
This kind of placement scenario goes on to affirm the huge demand that exists in the corporate world for MBA graduates from premier B-schools.
Note- The summer placement process at some of the premier B-schools like IIM Ahmedabad is yet to begin.


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The Master Brewer site. Recent updates:
We are contributing, alongside several other local Residents’ Associations, to the community-led masterplanning work being undertaken by the Ickenham Neighbourhood Forum as part of the emerging Ickenham Neighbourhood Plan.
Tesco has sold the site – the planning process will restart.
August 26 2014
The LBH Planning Committee met to review the latest application from Tesco and the application was approved. The Association presented a petiton against the application expressing concerns regarding the traffic management and air pollution at Hillingdon Circus.
The Association released the following statement:
It is with mixed emotions that after nearly 20 years of campaigning, including council rejections, a formal appeal process and many iterations of the original plans the Tesco proposal for the old Master Brewer site has been given the green light by LBH planners.
Jill Dalton the chairman of the IRA attended the major planning meeting on Tuesday and on behalf of the residents of Ickenham read out a petition highlighting our ongoing concerns, but the planning committee felt the latest proposal was finally acceptable.
Although we still believe there will be increased traffic associated with the new store the residents of Ickenham can gain comfort from the fact that as a result of their mandate to object to the store; changes have been made to the size and appearance of the store and hotel as a result.
The latest proposal now has a smaller store and hotel, improved site layout for access and parking, some soft landscaping and includes changes to the local highway network and traffic light timings at Hillingdon Circus


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The next evolution in wireless networking holds promises of self-driving cars and movies that download in the blink of an eye. 5G is big at this year's Mobile World Congress, but don't expect it until 2020.
A much-rumored 12.9-inch iPad won't go into production until the fall, sources tell Bloomberg.
They sound alike, but the two mobile payment solutions each offer their own unique advantages.
The most important things to know when shopping for a cell phone.
At a cybersecurity summit at Stanford University, President Barack Obama signs an order calling for standards and processes for government and companies to share information in the fight against hacks and cybercrimes.
At a cybersecurity summit held on the Stanford University campus, President Obama outlines a plan for companies and the US government to share information and fend off cyberattacks.
The health insurer has not yet communicated the necessary information to those whose personal data was compromised by the recent hack, say several US states.
From Seoul city council to the Korean Communication Commission, Uber faces serious legal trouble in South Korea.
What does it take to catch cybercriminals who hack into computers to steal personal and financial information? CNET's Kara Tsuboi takes us inside Microsoft's Cybercrimes Center.
And why you may prefer to stick with one color or the other.


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The British government has finalised £1 billion worth of trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in Britain, ahead of the virtual summit between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part
"Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer,"
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This is a blog post from
India has been ranked 121st among 157 countries in terms of progress in the realm of information and communication technology (ICT) in a newly-released report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which makes an annual assessment based on a wide range of parameters and data.
The ranking has been made on the basis of an ICT Development Index (IDI), a benchmark made up of 11 indicators.
It comes in the wake of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, in a recent report, ranking India 145th among nearly 200 countries in terms of the percentage of individuals using the Internet and 106th in the case of mobile broadband penetration.
Though India's IDI score had gone up from 2.13 in 2011 to 2.21 in 2012 in the report 'Measuring the Information Society 2013' released on October 7, its ranking declined from 120 to 121 during this period.
India's rankings in three sub-indexes which relate to access, skills and use, on which the IDI is based, are also in a similar range. In the skills sub-index, which evaluates ICT capability or skills in terms of indicators that include adult literacy as well as gross secondary and tertiary enrollment, India was ranked 117 in 2012, the same position it had occupied in 2011.
In terms of the use sub-index, which broadly measures the uptake of ICTs and the intensity of usage based on parameters such as Internet users per 100 inhabitants, fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, and wireless-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, India has been ranked 121st, up from 124 in 2011.
And the access sub-index rankings place India in the 122nd position, down from 114 a year ago. This sub-index has to do with ICT readiness in terms of fixed-telephone subscriptions, mobile cellular telephone subscriptions, international Internet bandwidth per Internet user, percentage of households with a computer, and percentage of households with Internet access.
Among countries in the region, the report takes note of the gains Bangladesh has made, up by four places to 135th in the latest IDI, with maximum gains in the access sub-index.
The report includes India among a group of 39 least connected countries (LCCs) with low IDI 2012 values. "In these LCCs, most ICT access and use is limited to basic voice and low-speed data services. While a number of LCCs have reached relatively high levels of mobile-cellular penetration, more advanced ICT services, including broadband Internet access, remain very limited," the report said. Most of the countries in this group are the least developed ones in Africa.
In terms of overall global rankings, the Republic of Korea, with a value of 8.57, leads the world, a track record it has set in recent years. The Nordic countries Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Norway follow with the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Hong Kong (China) also finding a place among the top ten.
A new dimension that the report adds to the discourse on ICT is the increasing importance of 'digital natives' in the scheme of things: youths between 15 and 24, with at least five years' experience using the Internet.
Though India and some other countries like China, US and Brazil are predominant in terms of having large populations of digital natives, other countries like Iceland, New Zealand and Republic of Korea are in the fore when it comes to penetration in terms of the percentage of youth using the Internet. The trend is for high-population countries have high absolute numbers of digital natives, and for high-income countries to have digital natives making up a relatively high percentage of their population.
"Out of a total of 145 million young Internet users in the developed countries, 86.3 per cent are estimated to be digital natives, compared with less than half of the 503 million young Internet users in the developing world. Within the next five years, the digital native population in the developing countries is forecast to more than double," the report said. And that will make a difference to these countries.


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ScanSource, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCSC), a leading global provider of technology products and solutions, announced today that it plans to release second quarter fiscal year 2020 results for the period ended December 31, 2019 on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET. ScanSource management will host an earnings conference call to discuss these results later that day, February 4, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. ET.
The earnings conference call may be accessed via a live Internet webcast in the Investor Relations section of ScanSource, Inc.’s web site, www.scansource.com. A replay of the webcast will be available at www.scansource.com for 60 days.


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British luxury automaker, Bentley, has just released a preview of the car that has been two years in the making: its upcoming SUV. Coinciding with the launch of its affiliated website – NewBentley.com – Bentley continues to tease its first ever Sports Utility Vehicle, which has been designed to take luxury to new heights. You can get a glimpse of the automobile in the video above, and stay tuned over the coming months for no doubt more visuals in the lead-up to the SUV’s release.
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Jennifer Lopez and the cast of Bridesmaids are heading to the Oscars! The Academy just named Lopez as the latest presenter at the 84th Academy Awards, THR reports, while Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey were revealed as presenters last week. We can’t wait to see what they wear onstage! Tune into ABC on Sunday, February 26th at 7 EST to catch the show, and make sure to check back to InStyle.com for all of your pre-show and night-of red carpet updates.
What’s the secret behind Tilda Swinton‘s red-carpet style? She’s comfortable in whatever she wears! “I wouldn’t dream of describing my style,” the actress told InStyle.com at this year’s Golden Globes. “One man’s risk taking is another man’s comfort zone. I mean, nobody can really claim to be a risk taker. You just do what you feel comfortable in.” Swinton also said she draws style inspiration from androgynous icons like “Grace Jones and, of course, David Bowie.” Take a look at some of her avant-garde choices above—from left, Haider Ackermann, Lanvin, Haider Ackermann and Yves Saint Laurent)—and see the rest of this year’s Golden Globes arrivals in the gallery.
— Lindzi Scharf
ASOS just restocked its winter sale! The shopping site revealed a “re-boot” page featuring even more hot items, with discounts up to 70% off. See our 10 top picks from the sale in the gallery, then visit asos.com to browse the newly added boots, jackets, knitwear and dresses. And hurry—there’s only four days left!
We all know that high heels lengthen legs and add polish to casual looks, but women who wear them regularly can cause permanent damage to their muscles and joints, the New York Times reports. Tell us, is the extra boost worth the risk? How often do you wear high heels? Let us know in the poll below!
Plus, see some of our favorite shoe styles!
MORE SHOE NEWS:
• Shopping for Saturated Suedes
• Celebrity Boots We Love
• Sperry Top-Sider Expands
Pantone declared Tangerine Tango the color of 2012, and stars like Jennifer Hudson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rashida Jones, and Alexa Chung have already incorporated the hot hue into their beauty routines. Tangerine is a sunnier, warmer alternative to the traditional red, and even better, it flatters almost every skin tone. Case in point: a punchy citrus pucker looks great on both Hudson and Jones, while Hudgens and Chung both tried a spring-appropriate mandarin polish. Tell us: Will you be wearing orange makeup this year?
Plus, get more celebrity-inspired manicure ideas in the gallery!
Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) looked gorgeous in her Vera Wang wedding gown on last night’s episode of Gossip Girl, but did Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) pull a Pippa and upstage the bride? Maybe, according to the show’s costume designer Eric Daman, who had the royal sister-in-law in mind when he picked out Serena’s Vera Wang maid of honor look. “I turned around and saw this beautiful pink chiffon gown, it was actually a bridal dress. It looked like peonies to me,” Daman told us of how he chose Serena’s style. “In old-world weddings, the bridesmaids would be wearing gowns, while the maid of honor would be wearing something a bit more glamorous. It’s very Kate and Pippa.” Tell us, did you prefer Blair or Serena’s royal wedding style?
Plus, browse our top 15 Gossip Girl fashion moments in the gallery!
The Artist star Berenjice Bejo decided to dye her hair red last week—right in the middle of awards season! Why the dramatic switch at a time when all eyes are on her? “It’s for a movie!” the Oscar-nominated actress told InStyle.com at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. “The movie is called Au Bonheur des Ogres,” she continued (translation: The Scapegoat). “The director [Nicolas Bary] wanted me to have red hair. That was his fantasy and I didn’t want to wear a wig, so I just went for it.” So, how’s life as a redhead? “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s new. It’s different.” Mystery of the new redhead solved!
See more hair makeovers in the gallery!
• 100+ Hairstyle Ideas!
• See the SAG Awards Red Carpet!
— Lindzi Scharf
West Coasters, take note—the law is catching up with Brazilian Blowouts! Last year, the California Attorney General warned against the strand-smoothing treatment after finding 8% of the carcinogen Formaldehyde in its formula—that’s the same amount used in embalming fluid! Now, state officials issued an order to Acai Professional Smoothing Solution manufacturers saying the company must use hazard warning labels on its packaging, WWD reports. With these new developments, we want to know: Would you still take the risk for super-sleek hair? Tell us by voting in the poll below!
Plus, see the hottest hair makeovers!


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By: Rusty Brooks
Trader Joe’s will open a new location in Harlem, it’s 13th in New York City, in 2023, reports the New York Post. The 28,000-square-foot location will be at 121 W 125th St., where a new Target store is also being opened.
The Trader Joe’s lease appears to have been done swiftly. A poll in 2019 conducted by thecuriousuptowner.com found that 91 percent of Harlem residents wanted a Trader Joe’s, NY Post reported.
There have been small pockets of anti-gentrification activists objecting to the development of Harlem, especially on historic 125th Street, however the area has seen a massive Whole Foods and Burlington Coat Factory which opened three years ago at the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard. also known as Lenox Avenue.
The Post explained, The Urban League mini tower between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. boulevards is one of many impressive Harlem projects that braved the pandemic to begin work. They include Extell’s planned office tower at 180 E. 125th St., a nearly finished Marriott Hotel near the Apollo Theater, and a new Studio Museum in Harlem now under construction.
Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trade Joes died last February.
The chain began in 1958 as a Greater Los Angeles area chain of Pronto Market convenience stores. The original Pronto Markets were so similar to 7-Eleven that Joe Coulombe felt the competition with 7-Eleven would be disastrous, the L.A Times chronicled
Coulombe is said to have developed the idea of the Trader Joe’s South Seas motif while on vacation in the Caribbean. He had noticed that Americans were traveling more and returning home with tastes for food and wine they had trouble satisfying in supermarkets of the time.
The first store branded as “Trader Joe’s” opened in 1967. This store, on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena, California, remains in operation to this day. In the first few decades since opening, some of the stores offered fresh meats provided by butchers who leased space in the stores. Trader Joe’s at one time had sandwich shops, freshly cut cheese, and freshly squeezed orange juice all in-store.
BusinessWeek reported that Trader Joe’s quintupled the number of its stores between 1990 and 2001 and multiplied its profits by ten. Supermarket News estimated Trader Joe’s sales for 2015 at $13 billion and placed Trader Joe’s 21st on the list of “SN’s Top 75 Retailers for 2016.
Trader Joe’s founder Joe Coulombe, who envisioned his stores as “for overeducated and underpaid people, for all the classical musicians, museum curators, journalists”.


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Johnson: 'We didn't want our store to be another empty storefront'
WORTHINGTON -- More than a month after the passing of Johnson Jewelry's pillar personality and head jeweler, Jeff Johnson, the downtown storefront's 'open' sign remains flashing, though transitions have occurred behind its doors.
WORTHINGTON - More than a month after the passing of Johnson Jewelry’s pillar personality and head jeweler, Jeff Johnson, the downtown storefront’s ‘open’ sign remains flashing, though transitions have occurred behind its doors.
First and foremost, the store will remain a family business that values integrity, quality customer service and community involvement, said Sharon Johnson, Jeff’s wife, who will work in a minimally visible setting handling more administrative duties. Sharon also works as the Independent School District 518 Community Education director, a position she said she loves and plans to keep.
Manager Angie Schieck will continue to lead the day-to-day operatives and customer experience. Schieck called the regular staff of Mary Schmidt, LeAnn Mulder and Cec Burchill -and part timer Meg Bergstrom and seasonal employees Emma Jirele and Paige Stewart - a good fit for the store.
“We have a great staff that’s willing to work together and learn together,” Schieck said.
Sharon said Johnson Jewelry is fortunate to have a talented staff, which she said is one of the factors that’s allowing the store to continue after Jeff’s recent passing after an extended battle with cancer.
In fact, Sharon recalls, the couple began having the difficult conversation about the store’s future last spring. Should they sell the store or continue, Sharon said the couple contemplated together as Jeff’s health continued to deteriorate.
Those conversations led to today, where Sharon and the Johnson Jewelry team are adapting to operating the store in Jeff’s absence.
“It was very important to both Jeff and I that we remain committed to Worthington,” Sharon said. “We didn’t want our store to be another empty storefront.”
The store will remain a place where area residents may browse what Sharon called a great selection of merchandise for a small-town jewelry store or order custom designs, as well as bring jewelry that needs cleaned or repaired. Schieck has been trained to do more basic repair work, but more reliance will be placed on a Sioux Falls, S.D.-based specialty jewelry store to handle more extensive fixes, Sharon said.
She stressed that Johnson Jewelry’s relationship with this company is not new. In fact, it has sent jewelry for repair for more than 40 years.
“We have a very high level of trust with that company,” she assured.
Sharon said another common question she has received since Jeff’s passing has been whether she and Jeff's sons have any interest in returning to the family business. Sharon said they’ve been in and out of the store a bit doing engraving or sales work, but as a parent, she’s not interested in pressuring them to make that kind of a commitment right now.
As a way to enlighten a curious community about the store’s future and to continue their involvement in community events, the Johnson Jewelry team is planning special events in late October.
Johnson Jewelry will again participate in the annual Sassy Saturday, offering to check the rings of ladies who stop in during the Oct. 20 event, Sharon said.
The store will also host a new event shortly thereafter on Oct. 25. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. women are invited to come in to learn about the store’s changes, meet the staff, socialize, have goodies and make a wish list, another new program that allows people to identify and catalog their favorite jewelry for birthday or holiday gift ideas, Schieck said.
“Hopefully people enjoy it and have fun with it,” she said.


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Money Tip: Mind Your Mother's Day Menus People eat-out the most on this holiday more than any other, and it's estimated that at least $3 billion was spent on a Mother's Day meal last year. On top of the usual dining crowds celebrating Moms, the restaurant industry is hopeful that the rebate checks scheduled to start arriving in bank accounts at the beginning of May will give their businesses an additional boost.
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Earlier this summer, GE launched the first product in its Brillion suite of home energy management solutions, the Nucleus. This is a data storage device that collects household electricity cost and use data and gives it to homeowners via computer and smart phones. Nucleus is expected to be available for consumer purchase in early 2011 for the price of $149-199.
Clarian Power, a start up from Seattle, is on a mission to help homeowners everywhere generate energy from renewable energy. The company developed a proprietary power module that plugs into an existing outlet. In other words, their Sunfish solar product, which is slated for retail availability next year, installs without a dedicated electrical panel and does not require contractors, installers, or additional wires.
Let’s just say you need to know how much power a certain device is using. You can do that with this new product from Belkin. Conserve Insight, available for pre-order on Amazon for $29.99, was designed to help consumers conserve energy. The energy monitor shows you how much a device costs in watts, dollars, and carbon dioxide using preloaded or custom rate information. Belkin also has three other Conserve gadgets available for pre-order should you have the need: Smart AV, Valet, and Socket.


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Ban on Steam Lifted in Malaysia After Removal of a Game That Lets Buddha Fight Jesus
In case you missed it, about 2 days ago the government of Malaysia announced a total ban on Steam after a controversial title was added on 9/4/2017. However, as of today, the ban has been lifted after the marketplace from Valve removed the game. There are still some local internet service providers that are still blocking access to the Steam Store. The title that has caused such an uproar is called Fight of Gods.
The new fighter game is currently considered an Early Access title from the online Digital Marketplace. Developers Digital Crafter created a game in which gods and other well-known figures from various religions battle each other in combat. Some examples include Jesus, Buddha, Odin, and Zeus; with battlegrounds such as the Garden of Eden or Mount Olympus. The roster that is currently accessible did not sit well with the Malaysian government.
The idea of Jesus and Malaysia coming to blows in a religious battle was deemed too much for the countries people to partake in, stating that it may pose a threat to racial unity and harmony. At that time, government officials put a total block on utilizing the Store functionality from Steam. Valve’s marketing VP Doug Lombardi responded to an inquiry from GamesBeat:
Right now, players in Malaysia can access the games they own on Steam. But the Steam Store is being blocked by some local telcos in Malaysia. From reports we are reading, this is due to a single game that conflicts with local laws. We have contacted the developer, removed the game, and are attempting to make contact with the officials in Malaysia to remove the block. We apologize for any inconvenience.
What are your thoughts on the total shut down of the marketplace by a government over a game causing possible religious issues? Do you think Malaysia had a right to do this? Did Steam make the right call by removing the game in the marketplace in Malaysia? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to check out DFTG on Twitter for gaming and entertainment news live 24/7!
Matt Ruppert703 Posts
Navy Veteran with a penchant for the FPS genre, Chewy has all aspects of the gaming community covered. Don't expect to see him on a console any time soon, however - though he has experience in all platforms, the PC Master Race has a firm hold on him.


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Burlington Stores Inc (NYSE:BURL) Insider Fred Hand Sells 21,383 Shares
Burlington Stores Inc (NYSE:BURL) insider Fred Hand sold 21,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $4,830,847.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,991,973.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
BURL traded down $2.48 on Tuesday, hitting $223.07. 1,527,117 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,054,725. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.28. Burlington Stores Inc has a one year low of $136.30 and a one year high of $229.96. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.26.
Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.14. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 145.12% and a net margin of 6.26%. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores Inc will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BURL. Squar Milner Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Burlington Stores by 274.4% during the 3rd quarter. Squar Milner Financial Services LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. KCS Wealth Advisory bought a new stake in Burlington Stores in the third quarter worth $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Burlington Stores in the second quarter worth $41,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Burlington Stores by 187.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Burlington Stores by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter.
About Burlington Stores
Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded apparel products in the United States. The company offers fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, accessories, footwear, menswear, youth apparel, coats, toys, and gifts, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.
Further Reading: Buy Rating
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2015 marks the diamond jubilee of Aston Martin Works, six limited edition sports cars are being produced to celebrate 60 years at Newport Pagnell.
The six bespoke cars, all versions of the current Vanquish GT (coupe or Volante) are being created by the luxury British brand’s Gaydon design team, as part of its ‘Q by Aston Martin’ personalization service. Each of the cars is subtly different, each tailored to reflect one of the six decades.
Limited edition ‘Works’ Vanquish – model details
A number of elements distinguish the Anniversary cars including trim and paint colour treatments. But, perhaps, the most emotive part of each car will be the bespoke rotaries around major centre console controls. Each rotary has been cast from metal that once formed a piston in an Aston Martin engine.
The six pistons have been drawn from the following Newport Pagnell-built sports car engines:
1955-1965: DB 2/4 Mk II saloon
1975-1985: V8 Coupe
1985-1995: V8 Vantage X-pack
1995-2005: V8 Vantage supercharged
2005-2015: Original Vanquish
Other unique features in the Anniversary cars include – Yellow accents on the side strakes and alloy wheels, white/black Duotone seat centre panels, unique sill plaques depicting the era the car relates to and featuring the Works Anniversary logo, colour and trim treatments that include bespoke features such as contrast yellow leather stitching and heavy weave carbon fibre.
The cars retain the standard technical specification of the standard Vanquish GT, with its 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine, eight-speed automatic gearbox, endowing the car with a 0-60mph of 3.6 seconds and the maximum speed of over 200mph.
Prices for the six cars are available on application at Aston Martin Works.
The design process
The process of creating the bespoke Aston Martin Works 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Vanquish models began in July of this year, as the Works team met with designers from Aston Martin’s Gaydon HQ to scope out their plans.
Dr Matthew Bennett, General Manager of VIP and Q by Aston Martin Sales at Gaydon, said: “The colours of these six unique cars have been very carefully chosen to reflect and celebrate the progress of Aston Martin Works over those six decades”.
60 Years fo Aston Martin Works
2015 marks the 60th anniversary of Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. The historic home of the Aston Martin,15,000 cars were hand-built between 1955 and 2007 at the site, before production moved to Gaydon, Warwickshire.
Aston Martin Works is now an approved global heritage service, restoration facility and dealership. Where owners and enthusiasts can view, purchase, service and restore cars from every era of the marque’s 101 years.


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WhatsApp Business, the dedicated platform for business owners, is currently available to Android smartphone users. Since its introduction in January 2018, the app has garnered 3 million active users. WhatsApp Business is reportedly in the works of introducing a product catalogue page, displaying the various offerings from the business. A leaked screenshot of the feature reveals the option to add a Product Title, description, link and SKU.
The leaked screenshot of the product catalogue page was shared by WABetainfo, the website that tracks WhatsApp-related news. While there may not be an option for businesses to directly sell on WhatsApp Business, it will likely show a catalogue of the products on offer. In addition to product catalogue option, there may also be an option for chat filter to locate specific messages from the customer. The new feature will assist Business owners in communicating effectively with their customer base and also save on time.
WhatsApp Business, the dedicated app for small business owners, is currently for free to download. But, the Facebook-owned platform had earlier stated that it planned to charge large businesses for making use of the service. With WhatsApp Business, users can quickly interact with customers by using tools to automate, sort and quickly respond to messages.
WhatsApp Business allows users to create a dedicated Business Profile with information such business address, business description, email address and website. Quick replies allow business owners to save and reuse messages they frequently send for a quick reply. In addition, with automated messages, business users can set an away message/ greeting message for their customer.


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Pride Stores Evolving as Chain Intensifies Foodservice Focus
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Pride Stores is focused on foodservice with the July 12 opening of its new Pride Kitchen.
Located at 757 Riverdale St. in West Springfield, the new store represents the future of the chain, reported The Republican.
"I call it a restaurant within a convenience store," said Pride Stores CEO Robert Bolduc at the store's grand opening event. "You can get anything here that you would get in a restaurant. And it's all fresh, we don't do anything frozen."
Pride currently has 10 locations out of its 35 stores in New England that offer an extensive hot food menu. Five more are scheduled to add it soon.
"And more to come," Bolduc told the news outlet. "As we renovate and upgrade, this is what we'll do to all of them. Any new one we do will be like this."
The newest Pride Kitchen features items like a hamburger deluxe, BLTs and hot breafast sandwiches with a choice of meat. It operates 24 hours a day, but the food counter only operates early in the morning and during the day. The store may expand its hours over time. Dine-in customers can sit at four tables inside the store and one outside.
Prior to renovations, the store was a gas-only store with a kiosk.
Over time, Pride has incrementally added features like delis, expanded coffee offerings and drive-thru windows to its stores. In 2017, it opened a $100,000 bakery to its Springfield, Mass., headquarters that provides fresh-baked goods to Pride stores.
"This is the way the industry is going," Bolduc said, noting that c-stores are beginning to emphasize quality, ready-to-eat food over gasoline.


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Tom Monahan, chairman and CEO of The Corporate Executive Board Company (NYSE: CEB), will discuss emerging trends and market indicators for venture capital investors during a fireside chat session at the spring 2015 edition of the CONNECTpreneur series of events.
CONNECTpreneur’s sponsors expect 300 business leaders such as 175 CEOs and founders, as well as around 60 angel investors and venture capitalists to attend this forum on March 12 at the Tysons Corner Marriott in Tysons Corner, Va.
The panel discussion will be moderated by James Quigley, Canvas’ founder and CEO and also a co-founder of Refraction and feature participants such as:
- Todd Klein, managing director of SWaN & Legend Venture Partners
- Dan Mindus, founder and CEO of NextGen Angels
- Kathryn Stewart, managing director of Cranbrook Capital
- Julia Taxin, vice president of Grotech Ventures
With the discount code “EXECBIZ,” registrants can take 40 percent off their registration fee.
Click here to register for the Spring 2015 CONNECTpreneur event.


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Reports are alive and kicking again surrounding the prospect of a Lexus GS-F high performance sports sedan. The company’s product planning boss has expressed interest in a GS sedan to rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG.
The 2012 Lexus GS sedan in 250, 350 and 450h form (in Australia in April) has been praised by overseas motoring experts as being a proper sports sedan, offering engaging drive dynamics and plenty of in-car technology to heighten the overall driving experience.
Rumours of a performance GS-F version have been circulating for some time, but now Lexus product planning boss Karl Schlicht has said in a recent Autocar report that, “with a GS-F, we would have a solid pyramid structure of performance models”.
Schlicht said that he would love to see a GS-F hit production, however, he says final approval from Toyota executives is yet to be made. He said such a model would need to retain the high level of refinement in tune with the brand, as well as offer driver-focused dynamics.
According to reports the Lexus GS-F would feature a 4.6-litre version of the 4.8-litre V10 seen in the Lexus LFA. Power would be de-tuned to around 336kW though, offering improved day-to-day driveability over the LFA thanks to a focus on low-end torque.
As mentioned, nothing is official just yet, but if it does get approved, we could expect to see it in the showrooms in around two years. Bring on the V10 sedan.


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- 32.6 million players per day;
- 30.6 billion hours spent in the game in 2020;
- 490 thousand people spending money in the game every day.
Roblox developers published a report summarizing financial results for 2020. The company responsible for the game received $923.9 million in revenue (an increase of 82% compared to 2019), but it failed to make a profit and closed the year with a loss of 253.3 million, which was mainly due to strongly increased spending on the expansion of network infrastructure and such sectors as security, marketing and research on new technologies. However, the devs do not have to worry about the lack of funds, as they recently received 520 million dollars from private investors for development.
The report contained a lot of interesting information about the game's popularity. Thanks to it, we learned that at the end of 2020, 32.6 million gamers played Roblox at the same time every day. In 2019, it was "only" 17.6 million. The time that players spend in the title is also steadily increasing - from 9.4 billion hours in 2018 to 30.6 billion last year.
As many as 8 million users are so-called active creators, i.e. people who share original content with the rest of the community. Currently, there are more than 20 million projects prepared by the players available in the game.
Unusual element of Roblox is the fact that fans can earn money on their creations. So far, over 1.3 million of them have earned at least one Robux (in-game virtual currency that can be converted to real money). 1,250 people have earned more than $10,000 this way, and 300 have earned more than $100,000.
Every day in Roblox about 490 thousand players spend money. It's a small percentage of the whole community, but even here we can see a big increase, because two years ago it was only 125 thousand people per day.
- Roblox - official website


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St. Cloud Entrepreneur Creates Fitness Networking Tool
ST. CLOUD -- Fitness coaches looking for new clients, and anyone looking for a helping hand reaching their health and wellness goals, will soon have a new way to find one another.
Hustle is a fitness networking website created by St. Cloud entrepreneur Shelby Chollett. Website users filter their searches based on where they live and what they're looking for in order to be paired with the right trainer or student.
Surprisingly, Chollett isn't a personal trainer — she's actually PhD candidate in education at St. Cloud State University. She's also a weight lifter and Crossfit athlete. The idea for Hustle came about several years ago as a result of Chollett's own search for very specialized personal training.
“A user can go on Hustle and identify and find those specific specialists based on, really, anything. It can be, ‘I want to find someone right here in St. Cloud,’ and you could find and connect with an expert in a specific niche sport or methodology – right in your backyard.”
Hustle isn't strictly a personal training marketplace, Chollett says — it's an online support system. The site will feature discussion groups on topics related to nutrition and exercise, and blogs penned by fitness professionals.
“We want to crowd source all of the knowledge and expertise about health that’s already out there, and we want to make that accessible to everybody.”
Hustle went into beta testing at the beginning of December with a group of coaches and trainers. Chollett says, if all goes as planned, she'll launch Hustle to the public by February. A Hustle mobile app is a long-range goal, Chollett says, and both platforms are accessible to anyone around the globe.
There's no cost to sign up or use the website; Hustle generates a profit by taking a small percentage of each payment exchanged between trainer and customer.
Chollett hopes Hustle demystifies the process of finding personalized support for people at all fitness levels.
"I want everyone to have the opportunity to either take on a new passion, or tap into a new, healthy lifestyle, based on the people they connect with.”
This is part two of a five-part series on local entrepreneurs participating in gBETA Greater Minnesota-St. Cloud’s Pitch Night. Each participating company will give a five-minute pitch in front of an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and community members.
Pitch Night will be held on Thursday, Dec. 19 from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University.
To learn more about gBETA, visit their website.


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By Jeanna Smialek and Joshua Zumbrun, Bloomberg |
June 6, 2013
Payroll gains averaging 80,000 a month will be enough to keep the U.S. jobless rate steady over the next couple of years as aging baby boomers retire and population growth slows, according to research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
How would crude handle an Iranian comeback?
Institutional interest in bitcoin surges as trading products mature
Can today's break be confirmed by volume?
Have retail sales become irrelevant?
Central banks take center stage
Getting into gold with bull spreads
Simplifying fibonacci for traders


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Fairtrade Coffee Explained
Find out more about Fairtrade coffee, organic coffee farming and creating a sustainable future for all
Sustainable growth has become increasingly popular in recent times. Many companies, brands and individuals are becoming more concerned about what modern-day consumerism is doing to our planet.
When thinking about sustainability, most people associate it with recycling and reducing waste. However, sustainability is a broad term that covers many topics, from travel and recycling, right down to the coffee beans sitting in your cupboard!
It doesn’t stop there.
The UN has listed 17 sustainable development goals that must be achieved by 2030, in order to create a more sustainable future for all.
Poverty and hunger are two of the many pressing issues that face our planet and combating these issues is a top priority for sustainable development.
The rest of this article will talk about what fair trade coffee is and how the Fairtrade Foundation can help make the coffee industry more sustainable.
The Fairtrade Foundation explained
Do you recognise this logo?
This is the official Fairtrade logo, which is often found on many local supermarket products such as, coffee, chocolate and fruit.
The Fairtrade Foundation has been running for over 25 years, with the aim to create more sustainable trading standards among farmers and traders throughout developing countries. This is done by offering fair pay and creating decent working conditions for those involved in the Fairtrade system.
Many companies aim to make their brand more ethical and sustainable, however, the Fairtrade Foundation actively make these goals a reality with their certified logo for brands to use.
Companies that are involved in the Fairtrade system are increasing sustainability and transparency within their supply chain. They are promoting decent working environments and better pay for farmers and workers involved in supplying produce.
But how much do you really know about Fairtrade coffee?
Fairtrade in the coffee industry
Coffee plays an important role in today’s economy. Capital.com has mentioned that it is one of the most traded commodities in the world (if you drink it as much as we do, then this might not come as much of a surprise to you).
A vast majority of coffee products are imported from developing countries.
Globalisation has grown, creating more room for international trade. So, it can be difficult to know where coffee beans have come from and what happens along the supply chain before they end up in our mugs!
This is why fair trade and transparency within brands is important.
Fairtrade and organic coffee farming offers many benefits that contribute towards a sustainable coffee industry. According to Owens Coffee, many of the organically sourced coffee produce is often Fairtrade certified as well.
How does Fairtrade help coffee farmers and traders?
Growing coffee through the Fairtrade scheme allows all parties involved to contribute towards a sustainable coffee trading industry.
Fairtrade can offer coffee farmers and workers a better standard of living, by providing them with better income and security.
The Fairtrade Minimum Price means that workers are less vulnerable to being exploited and losing money when stock margins drop.
Where to Buy Fairtrade Coffee:
M&S, CO-OP, SOHO Coffee Co and many other suppliers have supported Fairtrade and sustainable prices.
Visit Fairtrade for a full list of retailers and dining outlets that support fair priced coffee production.


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Consumers will be urged to go to their local independent retailers during the festive season this year, as part of a new campaign from the organiser of the Independent Retailer Month.
The campaign - dubbed Celebrate Independent Christmas - will run for six weeks from November 12, and aims to prompt customers to visit local businesses through a range of activities, including “Christmas shopping crawls”.
The nationwide initiative will aim to highlight the “more unusual gifts, unique outfits, delicious treats or special social occasions” on offer at indies and boutiques.
Clare Rayner, retail expert and founder of consultancy and business support provider, The Retail Champion, said: “The first step in re-engaging disenchanted consumers with the high street is to give them a good reason to visit; the next step is for the businesses trading there to showcase what they’ve been missing out on! Christmas shopping crawls, if well implemented, can deliver exactly that.”
The Christmas campaign follows on from the Independent Retailers’ Month, also organised by Rayner, which saw at least one fashion retailer boost sales.


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The online fashion retailer ASOS has unveiled its plans to hire 1,500 staff, which will cover technology, marketing, content and retail at its London headquarters over the next three years. It will not only expand its workforce, but also take…
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With cases of Covid-19 showing a steady decline in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced that restaurants and eateries can open shops between 5 pm and 8 pm. However, she underlined that all the employees of such restaurants must be vaccinated in order to operate for the three-hour period.
“COVID-19 spread is declining in West Bengal following the imposition of restrictions. Restaurants in the state will be allowed to remain open between 5 pm and 8 pm after all their staff gets vaccinated," she said.
The CM took the decision during a meeting with representatives of various chambers of commerce at the state secretariat. She also said her government is not in favour of keeping businesses shut but the restrictions were the need of the hour to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The she, however, urged the restaurant owners to arrange the vaccines for their workers on their own, as she highlighted that the government cannot vaccinate everyone amid the shortage of doses.
“Assume that the vaccine was given to the relief fund," she said while emphasising her request to business owners for inoculating their employees.
The government is also planning for the reopening of shopping malls from June 16 with 25 percent occupancy. The CM, however, said the mall authorities need to ensure if it will be safe to reopen their facilities by that time.
Other relaxations include the opening of book shops till 3 pm, permission for construction activities, and reopening of IT sectors with 10 percent capacity.
Meanwhile, West Bengal reported 8,811 new Covid-19 cases on June 3, taking its tally to 14,03,535. 108 coronavirus-related casualties pushed the death toll to 15,921. While the active infections are 61,780 and 13,25,834 people have been recovered from the disease so far.
The current lockdown in West Bengal will stay in effect till June 5.


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A new Grand Forks research facility is unearthing an energy future in Minnkota’s energy past.
The Fargo-based Grand Farm initiative is leveraging local and global partners to electrify the future of agriculture.
Auto dealers and co-ops are merging new models, more chargers and incentives to accelerate electric vehicle growth in the north.
A North Dakota farm family has built a packaging company to support the local economy, give back to the community and create a generational legacy.
Minnkota’s member cooperatives are building out a network of electric vehicle fast chargers to help connect the service area.
A 3D printing entrepreneur is finding community support in printing a future for Bemidji businesses.