text:
In the case pitting retailers against designers, the Supreme Court ruled for the designers today (June 27). In a five-to-four decision, the justices chose to overturn an old anti-trust law that allowed the retailers to set minimum prices on the goods they sell. The question now: Will this drive prices up in smaller stores and put an end to deep discounts online? Or, will it mean that luxury brands will become more available because they won't fear dilution of identity through pricing? The Supremes say the courts will have to look at it on a case-by-case basis.
Here's a poll from earlier this month, when Cat first posted about the case.


text:
Across Southeast Asia, the convenience store, or mini-mart market, has been the fastest-growing segment of the retail sector. But, in Cambodia, the rise of such stores has been slower to materialise.
For the latest Cambodian Business news, visit Khmer Times Business
In Vietnam’s Ho Chi Min City, ubiquitous Circle K and Family Mart shops dot the landscape and can be found on many streets. In Thailand, the market is dominated by 7-Eleven, which operates more than 10,000 stores across the country.
Nestled between these countries and the rival retailers that control the region sits Cambodia, a largely untapped market and the most unsaturated convenience store market in Southeast Asia. But that is all about to change, analysts and operators say. As shopper demographics shift and per-capita income increases, a major expansion by the large retail chains is expected.
Circle K entered Cambodia last year and today has 24 stores. TH CVS Co Ltd, part of the Cambodia’s TH Group, owns the Circle K franchise in Cambodia. It expects that number to increase to 40 by the end of the year and its 10-year-plan calls for 300 stores in Cambodia, a number similar to Vietnam where there are roughly 350 Circle K stores, according to Steven Yos, executive director of TH CVS.
Other major regional players such as 7-Eleven and Family Mart do not exist in Cambodia, but that could change soon. Thailand-based CP All Plc, which operates 7-Eleven stores in that country, has locked up the licence for operating in Cambodia. So far, CP ALL has not announced any specific plans for Cambodia. “I think they are studying the market,” says Aurelien Cadot, general manager of Arthemis Co Ltd, the parent company of Kiwimart Cambodia. CP ALL reported total revenues of 528 billion baht ($16.9 billion) last year. What’s driving expansion is a new and growing middle class that has disposable income for the first time in 50 years. And Circle K and 7-Eleven are not the only players. Kiwimart has 22 stores. Other retailers include Aeon MaxValu Express with nine stores, Smile Mart and Lucky Express.
“In the past 18 months, the number of supermarkets, minimarts and convenience stores has exploded,” Cadot says. Cambodia is at the beginning of what is called a “modern retail” market.
There is a slow but steady switch from traditional markets to modern markets.
What is likely to be witnessed in Cambodia follows a trend in Asia retail markets, which has gradually shifted from traditional to modern trade.
Several factors are driving this: a positive economic outlook, a significant increase in GDP per capita, deregulated markets encouraging more foreign investment and rapidly changing shopper habits.
Asia’s leading convenience retailers are predicted to grow 6.6 percent a year to 2022 by $5.1 trillion, according to the latest forecast from international research organisation IGD. Based on a survey of the top 10 Asian convenience retailers, the research predicts convenience will be the fastest-growing bricks and mortar channel in Asia over the next five years, resulting from both retailers expanding their networks and people changing their habits.
Cadot calls Circle K’s Cambodia plans, “ambitious”.Yos says he wouldn’t describe the growth as aggressive. He says it is strategic and based on what the market can bear. “We would love to expand locally,” he says.
Some see Cambodia as ripe for this type of investment. Nick Miles, head of Asia Pacific at IGD Asia says a combination of low GDP per capita, a small population and a relatively small grocery market has made it tough for international retailers to expand into Cambodia.
Ease of doing business
“However, as we have seen in other markets, the growth of the middle class, improving infrastructure and ease of doing business means that we forecast the Cambodian grocery market to be worth $9.3 billion by 2023, which is a growth rate of 7.5 percent. Similar to other markets, Cambodia is nearing the tipping point with retailers increasingly showing intent to expand and enter the market,” he adds.
Marketing firm MangoTango Asia chief executive officer says customers today are happy to spend, and mini-marts are a great place for that. “So what’s behind all this expansion is getting a foothold in the market before others get here. It’s a deep-pockets strategy to keep out competitors and gain a first-mover advantage.”
Per-capita income growing
Miles agrees, saying that first-time mover advantage into an emerging market is often important. But, building a robust supply chain, finding the right local partners and adapting stores to suit local shopping needs is also vital.
“The most successful strategy we see from retailers entering new markets is through partnering with a local business. Very few go it alone and succeed. Often, once a network of modern trade is established, and GDP per capita increases further we then tend to witness the growth of retail both geographically, as well as into other formats, such as convenience, where consumers are willing to pay more,” he adds.
The majority of retail purchases in Cambodia are currently made in small, family-owned shops that still make up most sales in the country, but this number is forecast to decline in the next 10 to 15 years, according to the Cambodia Constructors Association. Economic growth is expanding around 7 percent per year while per capita income is approaching the $1,500 level.
Benefiting from that growth and rapid urbanisation, the number of convenience stores in the country will soon rise, according to online publication Construction & Property.
Growth has been recorded in the convenience store and supermarket categories. It is the trend that modern retail sales account for a bigger proportion of total sales, from traditional venues such as small-scale grocery stores and wet markets.
Higher quality goods
Analysts say customers today are willing to pay a 10 to 20 percent premium at these smaller convenience shops for clean stores with higher-quality goods. Many of the mini-marts such as Super Duper also boast a product lineup on par with a supermarket, with fresh and processed foods available.
Miles says typically in markets such as Cambodia, where modern trade is in its infancy, once GDP per capita reaches a certain threshold it would see an influx of retailer investment, normally focused on hypermarket and supermarket development in major metropolitan areas.
“Retailers such as Dairy Farm, Aeon, Circle K and CP Group, through its wholesale banner Makro, have already entered the market and, in the future, we would expect retailers in neighbouring countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, to view Cambodia as a complementary growth opportunity to their existing operations.
“With so much change affecting the grocery market globally, through the growth of e-commerce and technology innovation, it is hard to say whether Cambodia will follow a similar pathway to other markets. Online and convenience are the two fastest growth channels for grocery retail across Asia, with hypermarket growth a challenge.
Rents getting higher
Therefore, Cambodia might adopt these channels more quickly, leapfrogging traditional stages of evolution we have seen in other markets.
Over the last 12 months, Asia’s grocery landscape has continued to develop rapidly. In 2019, we expect this pace of change to continue.
Retailers will keep refining their operations to meet the growing demand for convenience; partnerships will continue to shape the future of online; health and wellness and social media are set to grow in importance and in-store technology will fundamentally change the way people shop,” Miles says.
Cadot says traditional small family-operated markets, which often sell perishable foods as opposed to the dry foods sold by mini-marts, are still very present and respond to the needs of the lower-income family. But he thinks those numbers will decline as convenience stores expand.
“Rents are becoming higher and higher and they have difficulty attracting the new generation who is looking for a more modern shopping experience,” he says.

domain: news


text:
Nevertheless, an improvement is an improvement, so I'll give GM bonus points for that. Unfortunately, GM lowered its expectations for US auto sales in 2010 to 11 million to 12 million from the 12.5 million forecast in April. It expects global sales to come in between 62 million and 65 million sales. As for the loans that GM is planning to pay back to the US and Canadian governments, it will use other money it received from the government to pay back the borrowing. Just like a ponzi scheme, but it only requires one eager participant.
Monday, November 16, 2009
GM posted a $1.15 billion loss for the shortened third quarter and confirmed plans to accelerate repayments to the US and Canadian governments. The good news is that this loss was better than the $2.5 billion it punted last year. Furthermore, the automaker actually had positive cash flow to the tune of $3.3 billion instead of burning through $6.9 billion, like it did in last year's third quarter. But still, the automaker supposedly shed its burdensome cost structure in bankruptcy, emerged from Chapter 11, benefited from the government's massive cash-for-clunkers subsidy and it still lost money? Sorry, but color me not wildly impressed by this quarter's earnings report.


text:
Read Time4 Second
Japan is set to unveil a $200 billion economic stimulus package to cushion the impact of inflation and a weak yen
The plans include helping households with energy bills, which have surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and encouraging wage growthhttps://t.co/a2Sdd37waQ pic.twitter.com/txUAQ4pCpZ
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 28, 2022
You must log in to post a comment.


text:
A Panasonic Android phone could be on the way to blow all other camera phones out of the water in 2012. That’s according to a posting on PR Week to announce that the company is looking for an agency to help it launch handsets in Europe.
Panasonic Android phones are already on sale in Japan, the top end of which boast Lumix camera features such as a 10.1-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix sensor and proper optical zoom, which pretty much dwarfs anything found on current UK Android phones.
There’s no word yet from Panasonic in terms of handset specs. We’ve asked for feedback and will come back with any update, although it’s been reported that a standard ‘no comment’ response has already bounced back elsewhere. What would you want to see from a Panasonic Android phone? Let us know in the comments section below.
Via PR Week


text:
Sales of electric BMWs and Mercedes increased significantly in the first quarter of 2022, with EV results for the BMW Group “more than double” that of Q1 last year, while Mercedes tripled its electrified sales across the same timeframe.
A total of 35,289 all-electric BMWs and MINIs were delivered across January and March this year, a 149.2 per cent improvement compared with Q1 in 2021 in what was easily the most improved BMW segment year-on-year. By comparison, the next highest was Rolls-Royce (owned by BMW), which recorded a 7.7 per cent improvement.
In total, 596,907 BMW Group vehicles were sold during the first quarter of 2022, of which 5.9 per cent were all-electric vehicles (admittedly 1,624 of that figure were Rolls-Royces and 47,403 were BMW Motorrad motorcycles). BMW has now set its sights on more than doubling its BEV sales in 2022 compared with last year, and, with the anticipated arrival of the fully-electric Neue Klasse from 2025 onwards, the Group aims to have two million EVs on the roads by mid-decade.
“Our clear focus is on ramping up electromobility,” BMW’s Pieter Nota explains. “In the first quarter, we stepped up the rapid pace of growth from 2021 even further and are fully on track to meet our ambitious growth targets for fully-electric vehicles in 2022.”
Fifteen fully-electric BMW Group vehicles are expected to be in production in 2022, including the iX SUV and i4 sedan – sales of which are set to begin soon – and the all-electric MINI Cooper SE.
And BMW’s German rivals, Mercedes-Benz, are also winning the EV war. Despite semi-conductor shortages, upwards of 67,800 Mercedes xEV models – plug-in hybrids and BEVs – were sold between January and March, at least 21,900 of which were battery-electric vehicles. In total, sales in the EQ range, of which the EQA crossover, EQS sedan and the EQC luxury SUV led the charge, were up an impressive 210 per cent, more than triple the number of Mercedes BEV sales in Q last year. Sales of 45,900 PHEVs also represents an 8 per cent increase on Q1 2021.
In total, the Mercedes xEV range represented 15 per cent of the premium brand’s sales across the first three months of 2022. In Europe, the ratio is even higher, with xEVs accounting for 33 per cent of new Mercedes’ sales across the continent.
“In a challenging first quarter, we were able to more than triple our battery electric vehicle sales and posted a stellar result with our top-end vehicle segment,” Mercedes’ Britta Seeger explains. “Ongoing strong demand for our electrified vehicles in all segments and markets proves that customers desire our EVs und plug-in hybrids. And with the launch of our new EQS SUV, we further accelerate our transformation.”
Interestingly, while Mercedes’ recorded a stronger increase in sales across Q1 this year – 210 per cent vs ‘only’ 149.2 per cent for BMW – the BMW Group nevertheless recorded higher unit sales in the same period, delivering more than 35K BEVs to Mercedes’ nearly-22K.
Both brands were quick to mention that Covid restrictions and “highly volatile” “geopolitical uncertainties” were contributing factors.


text:
JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) – Senior economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto sees that Indonesian economy will contracts 0.49 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic. In his presentation in one virtual seminar on Wednesday (08/12), he estimated that the Indonesian economy -1 percent in the third quarter (3Q) and in the 4Q of 2020 grow positive 1.38 percent compared to previous year.
To help the the economic growth in the second half, he said, the government aimed to boost the ministries and institutions spending in the 3Q of 2020. In addition, President Joko Widodo’ administration plans to increasing capital and goods spending also provide stimulants and subsidies to corporations and workers.
“The government must protect the health and livelihoods of the population. The health sector will be the main concern in 2020 – 2021, and this can be seen from its activities and budget. Then, in 2022 and 2023 there will be health and economic recovery,” he told members of Indonesian Employers Association.
In the 2Q of this year, Indonesia’ economic growth experienced a contraction of 5.32 from a year ago or down from 2.97 percent in the 1Q of 2020. In terms of expenditure, growth in household consumption contracted by 5.51 percent in annual basis (YoY) and government consumption by -6.9 percent (YoY).
From a sectoral sides, transportation and warehousing were the sectors with the deepest contraction of 30.84 percent followed by accommodation also food and beverage dropped by -22.02 percent. However, the agricultural sector was still able to grow positively by 2.19 percent and the information and communication sector which had high growth at 10.88 percent.
“For sectors that are deeply affected, the government will push with policies and stimulants. There will be a scheme for hotels and restaurants, because most of the spending is from domestic,” he added.
Earlier, finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati sees, the downward trend in the global economy is transmitting rapidly to the national economy, causing disruption on the demand and supply sides. Currently, the government uses the 2020 State Budget as the main instrument to tackle the impact of the epidemic and for the National Economic Recovery Program.
The minister rated the deepest impact of the virus happened in May and will improve in 3Q and 4Q into the positive zone. By the end of this year, she estimated the economic growth will ended in the range -0.4 percent to 2.7 percent of GDP. in 2019, the Southeast largest economy rose 5.0 percent of the GDP.
“With the dynamics that occurred in Indonesia in the second quarter our economy will be quite depressed and there will be a correction and we can minimize it in the following quarters,” said Indrawati on July 9.
Finance ministry reported in the first semester (1H) of 2020 the realization of budget deficit at 1.57 percent of GDP in line with the decline in state revenues due to the economic slowdown. While, the government spending still grow positively in order to support the handling of the impact of COVID-19.
She said, the economic growth in the second semester is expected to improve and macroeconomic stability is maintained. To that, the economic growth is projected to be able to grow positively with the support of the NRP program. The stimulus program also its expecting to encourage the consumption in this semester, including investment.
As reported, various international institutions provide various projections on Indonesia’ economic growth, which shows the high uncertainty, especially in 2020. The International Monetary Fund predicts the Indonesian economy at -0.3 percent and the World Bank mentions zero growth. The OECD also projects the Indonesian economy to be at – 3,9 to -2.8, while ADB projected -1 percent.
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: email@example.com


text:
The '20s came roaring back at Cameo's “Dames, Dolls & Flappers” fashion show luncheon recently at the Long Beach Convention Center.
More than 700 guests attended the 26th annual event, which featured 350 silent-auction items, lunch, entertainment and a live auction hosted by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and Randy Gordon, president of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
After the live auction, guests enjoyed a fashion show featuring couture by Lourdes Chavez, whose signature collection ranges from sophisticated daytime fashions to Oscar-worthy gowns; Sue Wong, a top international fashion designer who recently featured her collection at Fashion Week; and the Custom Knits Collection by Elisabeth Saba, who for nearly 30 years has been a top designer of fitted, classic knits for women.
Cameo, the professional auxiliary of the Assistance League of Long Beach, mentors academically talented students from Long Beach high schools and Long Beach City College.
Members mentor 30-35 students each year to higher levels of achievement by providing encouragement and support for each student's personal and academic development.
The fashion show is the major fundraiser for the auxiliary's philanthropy program, which includes mentoring activities.
- 7-year-old girl loses some teeth, part of jaw bone, after dental infection outbreak
- Reality is hitting Angels' Jered Weaver during what could be his final week in majors
- Irvine schools get surprise $20 million gift for arts, music, science
- Anaheim man who tried to join ISIS gets 30 years in prison
- California police officers required to lock up guns after bill signed into law


text:
FMC to become regionally balanced agchem business
The planned acquisition of a significant part of the former DuPont’s (now part of DowDuPont) crop protection business will see FMC emerge as a purely agrochemical operation with sales divided evenly between the main geographical regions.
The planned acquisition of a significant part of the former DuPont’s (now part of DowDuPont) crop protection business will see FMC emerge as a purely agrochemical operation with sales divided evenly between the main geographical regions. “The widely held notion that FMC is a Brazilian ag business may finally be put to rest,” the company’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, Paul Graves, told analysts at the Credit Suisse Basic Materials Conference this week.
FMC agreed to acquire a range of cereal herbicides and the insecticides, chlorantraniliprole (trade-marked as Rynaxypyr), cyantraniliprole (trade-marked as Cyazypyr) and indoxacarb, from DuPont in April, along with most of its global research and development operation. The transaction is expected to be completed on November 1st. Nearly all regulatory approvals for the deal, along with the sale of FMC’s health and nutrition business to DuPont, have been received. The European Commission has provisionally approved the transaction on condition that FMC divest certain product lines. FMC has begun that process and expects to complete it by the end of this year.
The DuPont business is expected to boost FMC’s forecast agrochemical sales for 2017 of some $2,350 million to around $3,800 million. That would represent over 90% of FMC’s total revenues, with the remainder made up of its lithium business. The company plans to create two separate publicly listed agrochemical and lithium businesses in the second half of 2018. “Both ag solutions and lithium are leading positions in technology driven end markets with attractive long-term demand trends,” Mr Graves said. “Both businesses are well positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities well into the future.”
The DuPont acquisition will greatly increase the scale of FMC’s operations in Asia, more than doubling revenues in India and China, Mr Graves pointed out. It will lead to a more balanced business, with about a quarter of sales taking place in each of the four major sales regions. Latin America will account for 28% of the business, with Asia Pacific and Europe/Africa/Middle East each accounting for 25% and North America 22%.
About $1,000 million of increased sales from the acquired business will come from chlorantraniliprole and cyantraniliprole. The active ingredients are patent protected until 2022 and 2024, respectively. Insecticides will make up more than half (51%) of FMC’s sales but the portfolio will be more diversified than before, Mr Graves noted. Herbicides will account for 37% of sales, with a better balance between pre- and post-emergence treatments. Fungicides will make up 8% of sales and other products 4%. The R&D pipeline being acquired from DuPont is skewed towards herbicides and fungicides, which will help to bring greater balance to FMC’s revenues over time, Mr Graves pointed out.
The transaction will bolster FMC’s product offerings in “attractive” crops such as cereals, rice and vegetables, while enhancing its position in soybeans. The company points to a tripling of sales on rice and vegetables, a more than doubling of sales on cereals, while sales on soybeans, tree fruits and vegetables are set to grow by at least 50%. Soybeans will account for some 20% of business, followed by cereals (14%), rice (12%), vegetables (11%), trees, fruits and vines (8%), cotton (7%), sugar cane (7%) and maize (6%). Peas and beans, potatoes and oilseed rape are each put at 2% with other crops making up 9%.
The crop profile will still be heavily weighted towards niche crops, Mr Graves stressed. “We expect to see further growth in these crops as we pursue label expansions, launch new formulations and pre-mixes and as our pipeline of new active ingredients comes to market.”
FMC expects the acquired DuPont business to deliver some $475 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2018. Underlying growth from the existing and acquired business is expected to add between $55 million and $130 million to that figure after allowing for the impact of the required product divestitures.


text:
Jobseeker's Sim deal with UNLIMITED data, calls and texts for £10/mth is back
Jobseekers claiming certain work-related benefits can once more get unlimited mobile data, minutes and texts for £10 a month.
12 April 2021
EE rolls out 5G to 35 more UK towns and cities - how to check if there's coverage in your area
EE mobile customers with 5G contracts and compatible handsets can now access the faster service in 160 towns and cities across the UK. It comes as the mobile network has added 35 more locations to its 5G network, including the likes of Brighton in East Sussex and York in Yorkshire.
8 April 2021
Mobile firms to be banned from selling 'locked' phones
Mobile companies will be banned from selling 'locked' phones which only work with their network, under new rules coming into force at the end of next year
27 October 2020
Phone and broadband firms told to treat vulnerable customers fairly under new regulator guidance
Phone, broadband and pay-TV firms must give extra support to vulnerable customers – which could include payment holidays and tariff advice – under new guidance from communications watchdog Ofcom
23 July 2020
BT to raise broadband, landline and mobile prices for millions next month
Some BT customers will see the cost of their broadband, mobile and landline monthly plans go up by 1.3% in March even if they're still within their minimum contract term, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal
13 February 2020
EE to increase pay-monthly mobile prices by 2.2%
EE customers on monthly mobile contracts will be hit by a 2.2% price rise next month, MoneySavingExpert can reveal
5 February 2020
WhatsApp to stop working on older phones from next year – here's how to check if you're affected
The messaging service will stop supporting Windows phones and older Androids and iPhones over the next few months
12 December 2019
Apple launches iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max – how to find the cheapest deals
Tech giant Apple has unveiled its range of new iPhones - the iPhone 11, the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. It's also cut the price of its current models including the iPhone XR and iPhone 8.
19 September 2019
Giffgaff fined after overcharging millions of customers
The mobile firm has been fined £1.4 million after an error meant about 2.6 million customers were overcharged by almost £2.9 million
30 July 2019
EE to hike cost of out-of-bundle calls and texts
Pay-monthly EE customers will have to pay more for calls and texts not included in their plans from August, as the mobile giant has announced it's hiking out-of-bundle prices
25 June 2019
14 April 2021
18 motoring MoneySavers
Incl new best time to buy car insurance
Cheapest loans at 2.8% disappearing
If you need to borrow, now's the time
Required to WFH, even for a day?
Claim TWO years' tax relief (worth up to £280)
REVEALED - SEISS grant 4
Applications start 22 Apr
Shift debt to 18mths 0% NO FEE
Plus get £20 Amazon vch
Top deals for takeaway/delivery
Eg, 20% off McDonald's
Married woman over 67?
You may be due £82k in state pension
Read the full email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!
16 April 2021Barclaycard has slashed many customers' credit card spending limits out of the blue this week, with one MoneySaver reporting a £12,000 cut even though she's had no change in her personal circumstances and has been a customer for over 30 years.
16 April 2021The coronavirus outbreak is causing major travel disruption around the globe
15 April 2021Burton and Dorothy Perkins shoppers have been left struggling to return clothes because they are unable to generate return labels online and the retailers no longer provide paper versions.
15 April 2021The House of Lords has voted in favour of an amendment to the Financial Services Bill, which could see interest rates capped for certain mortgage prisoners.
14 April 2021Barclays is to close its Pingit payments app on 30 June, and related services including Pingit savings 'jars' and Pingit's wearable tech which allows you to make contactless payments will also be scrapped. If you use Pingit and are affected, we've full info below on exactly what's changing and what you need to do.
Martin Lewis: Payment holidays coming to an end – but should you take one? Mortgages, credit cards, loans, payday loans, car finance and more23 March 2021Within the last week, we've seen the extension of coronavirus credit card, personal loan and overdraft help to 31 October 2020, with mortgage payment holidays already extended. The regulator's other help schemes are also likely to be extended too, including car finance and payday loans, yet should you do it?
Clever ways to calculate your finances


text:
The rapid expansion of National DCP, the $2bn supply chain management company serving the franchisees of US chain Dunkin' Donuts, has been brought about by the use of modern cloud platforms, according to its chief information officer Darrell Riekena.
NDCP embraced the Verizon cloud platform as part of Project Freshstart earlier this year, and Riekena told V3 that the evolution of his firm would not be possible without the use of cloud technology.
"Cloud has reached a point where it's more accessible. We are a $2bn company in the US but if we tried to do all this on our own it would be hugely expensive to have data centres and the hardware and to manage it all ourselves," he said during a roundtable event attended by V3.
"I can't imagine trying to do as much transformation and supporting the growth of our company if we were running our own data centres. I can't imagine how we would plan for that, and the economic model would be so difficult for us."
Riekena explained that cloud platforms help companies to manage the sheer amount of data in an organisation and cope with the rapid change caused by technology.
"We rely on partners to stay ahead. We would be left behind if we didn't. I don't know how independent companies can develop applications and stay current on all the infrastructure changes and the pace in how that's moving," he said.
NDCP chose to outsource its data storage to the Verizon cloud service rather than running its own data centres. The company now uses the Verizon cloud to manage distribution, supply chains, the sourcing of goods and the running of its back-end office systems.
This includes Dunkin' Donuts' tools that are used for everything from mobile ordering in outlets to the computer systems connecting the delivery drivers across the chain.
"You choose to select software like SAP as that's one you don't have to build from the ground up and it has the knowledge and ideas brought together from many companies into one solution. So then it's about how you apply your business and maximise the capabilities," he explained.
"You have to have an understanding of your business and where you're headed and not just be technology centric. For me it's the blend of business knowledge and the latest in technology skills."
Cloud security concerns
Security concerns have affected every industry that relies on the internet, and Riekena claimed that partnering with firms like Verizon can offer a degree of security.
"In the age of data security nobody wants to go it alone. You would be foolish to try to do it yourself. So you have to rely on other partners that have the experience and the expertise. I think that balances the need for control which changes to a trusted partnership," he said.
"The security component of our choice of Verizon for our cloud was one of the major factors. The firm is known for its forensics and security and has involvement with learning from breaches, so we wanted to take advantage of that as well."
Ryan Shuttleworth, chief technology officer for Verizon's cloud business, added that the threats facing business change constantly and that cloud platforms can provide greater security.
"Cloud is generally seen to be more secure because you are in the collective. You are not going it alone. But the nature of what's out there as a threat continues to change. There are all sorts of horror stories out there at the moment and the state of play is always changing," he said.
"Some of our customers really value our new rapid retainer, which is an insurance policy from our security experts. If there is ever a breach or problem they will be on the phone to us straight away and we will have guys on site nearly immediately to assess the risk and manage the incident."
Shuttleworth and Riekena agreed that cloud technology will evolve over the next year and see greater adoption by businesses of all sizes.
"From a cloud provider's perspective I think the future of cloud is fascinating," said Shuttleworth.
"Cloud has taught us how to build highly resilient digital applications, whereas previously that was only accessible to guys with really big wallets. It has democratised distribution and delivery around these applications."
Cotton seedling freezes to death as Chang'e-4 shuts down for the Moon's 14-day lunar night
Fortnite easily out-earns PUBG, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018
Meteor showers as a service will be visible for about 100 kilometres in all directions
Saturn's rings only formed in the past 100 million years, suggests analysis of Cassini space probe data
New findings contradict conventional belief that Saturn's rings were formed along with the planet about 4.5 billion years ago


text:
Google Brings Play Store To Chrome OS
Come June and consumers utilizing the Chrome Operating System of technology giant Google will have access to all the applications of Android’s Play Store.
As per reports Google plans to bring all its 1.5 million Play store applications to Chrome OS, strengthening the tie up between the two Operating Systems. Google also claims that there will be almost zero effort required from the developers to tailor the Android applications for Chrome OS.
The OS will also boast of Android’s native features, including sharing and intent systems on cross platforms. The company has said that it aims to fetch the users with a seamless hands-on experience.
Google’s ‘M53 Dev’ version of touch screen Chromebooks will be the first to feature the PlayStore applications and support for keyboard enabled devices will come thereafter.
An extensive roll out of the feature however is only expected to take place by the end of the ongoing year. The company is also warranting enough control of the feature for administrators of Chrome OS to prevent users from downloading applications which may hamper the productivity of a business or distract students in a school.
Businesses which are cautious of the new upgrade will still have the option of continuing with the old version of OS, while IT administrators will have the option of restricting the download of irrelevant applications.
With this the new edition of Chrome OS will now sport two PlayStores including Google Play and the existing Chrome Web Store. Google also confirms that the Chrome store will continue to include Chrome extensions and themes.


text:
Concerns Linger over Google-DoubleClick
A €2 billion takeover by US-based search engine giant Google, of online advertising firm Double Click, is likely to be approved unconditionally by European antitrust regulators, according to three people close to the case.
Normally in such cases, the European Commission sends the given firms a list of formal objections with at least eight weeks' notice before a deadline in order to give the companies enough time to respond.
Business newswires are reporting that because the commission has not yet done so, and thus far in its history has never blocked a merger without first having submitted a statement of objections, the commission will likely approve the Google-Double Click deal without caveats.
A Double Click spokesperson would not comment on the news, saying the news was "still all speculation and rumour".
The deal would combine Google's dominance in search-related advertising (the ads that appear at the side of a Google search results page) with the display advertising services (the colourful ads at the sides or top of webpages) of DoubleClick, a field in which it too is dominant.
Google controls 70% of the global search market, while Double Click has cornered 80% of the online display advertising market.
The search engine giant stores massive amounts of data tracking people's search histories. The merger would enable the company to combine this data with Double Click's vast storehouse of data on people's websurfing activities.
However, the takeover of Double Click has raised substantial opposition amongst digital privacy advocates and experts on the internet.
Data privacy concerns
The European Consumers' Association, BEUC, warned the commission of data privacy worries in a letter sent last December.
"Google/Double Click will be a data collection colossus that combines information about consumers that Google collects through its search engine with the tracking data that Double Click collects about users as they surf the web.
"Post-merger, Google will have the ability and incentive to engage in significantly more intrusive user tracking and profiling than exists today," says the letter.
At a round-table discussion on the merger in Brussels on Wednesday (5 March) organised by the conservative think-tank, the Centre for the New Europe, Marco Peirani, a director of Altroconsumo, the Italian consumers' group, said: "a Google Double Click merger would be detrimental for consumer interests in Europe.
"The legal framework for consumer privacy and protection is not strong enough when faced with the massive aggregation of private information the Google Double Click merger will deliver."
Wayne Arnold of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and a founder of boutique digital ad agency Profero said during the round-table discussion: "Google is increasingly becoming the dominant player in the digital advertising space in Europe. If the Double Click acquisition goes through, this will provide Google with unrivalled access to consumer data and a foothold in the display media space -- an area in which until now they have been relatively weak."
The next big thing in online advertising is behavioural targeting, said Mr Arnold. This is a technique whereby advertisers increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by using data collected from someone's web-browsing behaviour – that is to say, what sites they have been to and what things they have searched for.
The advertiser then uses this information to deliver adverts tailored to the perceived interests of the websurfer. The The Double Click deal will make Google "suddenly the dominant player in behavourial targeting," said Mr Arnold.
Behavioural targeting has increasingly come under attack from data privacy advocates, and last November, the practice came under scrutiny by the Article 29 Working Party, the EU's data protection group.
The Article 29 Working Party's move was prompted by the furor over social networking site Facebook's use of the technology. Thousands of the website's users signed a petition organised by left-of-centre US campaign group MoveOn.org to demand the company use an 'opt-in' box that could be checked before Facebook could use its behavioural targeting software, called Beacon, which not only served up user-targeted adverts but also told all a user's other contacts on Facebook what the user had purchased.
The petition was ultimately successful, with Facebook backing down and 23-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologising to users. Market analysts at the time said the incident had significantly harmed the company's relationship with a number advertisers.
Similar concerns about the Google takeover of Double Click were raised in the US ahead of the US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) approval of the deal.
Frank Watson, of the blog Search Engine Watch, noted: "[Google] have search analytics, content publishing resources both with AdSense and the newly added YouTube, and now an ad serving platform with video and rich media expertise -- but also tracking abilities for the source of the page views, and more importantly the ability to monitor behaviour across all sources of traffic."
His comments were repeated in a submission to the FTC by the Centre for Digital Democracy, an digital civil liberties advocacy organisation.
"Double Click and Google now has access to the bulk of the world's online behaviour," they quoted him as saying.
The takeover won approval from the FTC in December.


text:
BERLIN— Beiersdorf AG met all of its financial targets for 2012, said company chief executive officer Stefan F. Heidenreich during the firm’s annual general meeting in Hamburg Thursday. He added that the maker of Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie was only at the start of a longer journey to compete against global consumer giants.
As reported, Beiersdorf registered a 9.9 percent uptick in 2012 after-tax profits excluding special factors to 477 million euros, or $613.23 million at average exchange. Group sales in the period rose 7.2 percent to 6.04 billion euros, or $7.77 billion, a record for Beiersdorf. Its consumer division revenues rose 7.5 percent to 5.05 billion euros, or $6.49 billion, while on a like-for-like basis, the branch’s sales increased 4.9 percent.
In his speech to the assembled group, Heidenreich was upbeat but cautious about the past fiscal year, saying: "Despite our positive overall performance, our feet are still on the ground. We have seen the first fruits of our labors, but we still have a lot to do before we reach our goal."
He also praised some of the company's recent innovations, such as Nivea Deodorant Invisible for Black & White, Eucerin Even Brighter skin cream and La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift. This year will hold even more innovative new products, Heidenreich assured.
Additionally, he noted that the company has strengthened its regional research centers, including enlarging the Beiersdorf lab in Wuhan, China, last year, and adding a development center this year to a new production facility in Silao, Mexico.
"Regionalizing our research-and-development work will make us even better placed to optimally satisfy market-specific customer needs in the future," said Heidenreich, who named Brazil, Russia and China as the company's main focus markets moving forward. Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Africa, Asia and Australia region now account for almost half of Beiersdorf's consumer sales.
Company shares performed well over 2012 and closed the year at 61.88 euros, or $81.24 at current exchange, up more than 40 percent against 2011.
Heidenreich reiterated that group sales and Beiersdorf's consumer division’s revenues should grow faster than the market this year. The branch’s EBIT margin is expected to be higher than 2012's 12 percent.
“My personal philosophy to beauty is paying attention to oneself. I love to be outdoors, lots of fresh air, trying to take care of yourself as best you can. I always notice that comes through,” says Felicity Jones, the global face of @shiseido-owned @cledepeaubeauteus, which launches today. Head to WWD.com to read more about the actress’ love for beauty and how she prepared for her new role in “The Basis of Sex,” playing the young Ruth Bader Ginsburg. #wwdbeauty (📷: @dandoperalski)
For men’s fall 2018, @giuseppezanotti drew on elements from streetwear, sport, biker, combat and rock ‘n’ roll. Pictured here are a pair of shoes from the collection, featuring zippers, rhinestones, and silver hardware. Head to WWD.com to see a roundup of the accessories from Milan’s men’s fall 2018 shows. #wwdfashion (📷: Andrea Delb)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of @ralphlauren’s snowboarding collection, the brand is mining its archives. The iconic brand is reintroducing vintage styles and dropping new designs for a color capsule that will be available in Ralph Lauren stores and @openingceremony on January 25. The capsule will consist of 10 pieces, including the Snow Beach Pullover, pictured here, which is a collector’s item that rapper Raekwon wore in Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It Be All So Simple” video. #wwdfashion (📷: Tom Gould)
For @rochasofficial’s pre-fall 2018 collection, creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua channeled the sophisticated and intriguing Catherine Denevue in the film “Belle de Jour.” Polished collarless coats, midi skirts, suits and ’60s graphic motifs were all featured in the collection, adding a sense of discreet luxury. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion
“We tried to produce clothing of that couture quality, but the most daunting part was that we only had a matter of days [to do it],” said costume designer Lou Eyrich, who recreated Gianni Versace’s iconic looks for @americancrimestoryfx. Eyrich searched online retailers and vintage shops for original pieces from the design house and for @penelopecruzoficial, who plays Donatella Versace. Head to WWD.com to read how she created the Versace world. #wwdfashion
Only three months after her stellar debut catwalk season, @kaiagerber has inked her first big design collaboration –– with @karllagerfeld. The collection blends Lagerfeld’s Parisian chic aesthetic and the model’s signature West Coast casual style via RTW, accessories, footwear and more. The #KarlLagerfeldxKaia collection will launch in September with a series of events. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews


text:
Like a lot of state economies, the 2008 recession hit Arizona pretty hard. Since then, Arizona has made a strong comeback, and there is considerable business growth that creates a promising environment for more businesses in various industries to turn their heads toward the state.
Arizona has a competitive tax environment, a supportive regulatory environment where business do not have to contend with new “red tape” and Arizona is a “right to work” state with a favorable legal climate after passing civil justice legislation, Arizona Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications Garrick Taylor told Arizona Business Daily.
Arizona welcomes any industry, but they are experiencing plenty of attention from the tech industry, with major investments from Apple, Go Daddy, GM and Intel, just to name a few.
Arizona also trades broadly in exports and imports and has stepped up to get a “piece of the global trade pie,” Taylor said.
A good example of Arizona’s importance in imports involves the southern Arizona border town of Nogales. This area imports massive amounts of produce from Mexico, which gives Arizona a “strong position in produce imports,” Taylor said.
In regards to exports, Arizona has a “tax environment more favorable to industries to create products to be sold beyond Arizona borders,” Taylor said. Intel is a good example of an industry that is benefiting from these tax provisions, which are more welcoming to exporters.
Arizona is also growing its brand on a global stage. Taylor said that there is a trade office in Mexico City, as well as trade missions in Israel and France, all of which help Arizona’s job creation.
Where Arizona faces roadblocks is in regards to federal regulations. The “continuous overreach from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with new clean air and ozone standards, as well as the Clean Water Act., create serious barriers for many companies within Arizona borders.” Taylor said. “These regulations create more expense to power businesses, which trickles down into other areas of the business as well, like an increase in the cost of goods produced.” Taylor stresses that there needs to be more reasonable compromises that will not hinder business growth.
Despite certain governmental roadblocks, Arizona’s regulation and tax climate creates a welcoming environment for different industries and the outlook is optimistic.


text:
Empowering Women For Success
April 17, 2015
Today’s show is all about empowering women; from learning the truth about GMOs, becoming a successful e-commerce entrepreneur, firearm safety to hi-tech tablets for kids.
U.S. Cellular’s CruiseConnect vehicle connectivity device is keeping families and businesses safe while they're on the go.
Jody Gastfriend, Vice President of Senior Care Services at Care.com, talks about helping families make informed decisions about finding quality care for loved ones.
The experts at Wella Professionals are here to provide our viewers with the perfect hair colors and styles to complement their unique looks.


text:
Pennsylvania and Florida voters must be pretty excited that the political ad onslaught is almost over. But they’ve got one more day of presidential ads in the battleground states. Today, Philly.com visitors know it. So do MiamiHerald.com readers. There are expandable Barack Obama billboard ads on the homepages of those sites today, and probably other key swing state newspaper sites, too.
The ad units are very similar to ones the Obama camp ran on Texas and Ohio news sites before those states’ important primary elections in February. Those primary ads, however, featured an in-banner video, but today’s get-out-the-vote ads do not.
Speed can make more of a difference to the success of your online business than anything else, yet very few people talk about it.
Automation is the number one area for email innovation and focus in 2016 according to this year’s Email Marketing Industry Census. However, ... read more
Marketers' spending on social media has tripled in the past seven years but falls way short of where marketers expected it to be when they peered into their crystal balls in 2009.
Advertisers have been flocking to Snapchat, which now has more daily users than Twitter and is increasingly seen as perhaps the biggest threat to Facebook's dominance in social.


text:
In our latest round-up, we look at Stella McCartney prevailing in a trademark dispute, Lego being named the United Kingdom’s favourite brand, the Mexican Industrial Property Office announcing a new electronic notification service, and much more.
A number of US law firm practitioners have contacted WTR in recent days to highlight the apparent existence of, in the words of one attorney, “a ‘specialised’ group of examiners assigned to handle cannabidiol and cannabis-related trademark filings”.
In our latest round-up, we look at luxury brands focused on Chinese e-commerce platforms, IP Australia opening a public consultation on fees, Red Points receiving funding injection, and much more.
A new study has identified the most well-known geographical indication (GI) products in the United Kingdom, with GI association experts concurrently warning of the risks that Brexit poses.
In our latest edition, we look at energy drink giant Monster issuing a statement as the VPX spat escalates, a Harry Potter trademark being rejected by the USPTO, a victory for Swatch, and much more.
A trademark for the term TRUMP TV, owned by “infamous trademark troll” Michael Gleissner, has been rejected. As part of the case, the comptroller general of the UK registry decried Gleissner’s “gaming” of the trademark system.
In our latest round-up, we look at consumers being frustrated by “disjointed” brand experiences, an Oregon-based clothing retailer in a trademark fight against Under Armour, brands in an age of political division, and much more.
In our latest news digest, we look at Disney powering up its brand with its 21st Century Fox acquisition, Chinese supermarkets removing fake Starbucks items from shelves, a football club losing a trademark fight, and much more.
Nigeria’s IP office is releasing its first-ever compendium of oppositions rulings, which one local practitioner tells WTR will ensure local and international brand owners have sufficient precedent for trademark-related actions.
In our latest edition, we look at a call for post-Brexit partnerships to combat fakes, looking ahead to the WIPO elections, the IP Office of the Philippines seeking to regulate Facebook sellers, and much more.
INTA has come out in support of the USPTO’s proposed change to representation rules, as another US registered attorney warns over “many examples of identity theft in China” targeting practitioners.
In our latest edition, we look at India taking a step towards aligning itself with the global trademark system, Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd prevailing in an infringement case, and much more.
UK prime minister Theresa May suffered a second catastrophic defeat in as many months as the House of Commons rejected her Brexit deal last night. We take a look at what this latest development means for trademark owners.
In our latest round-up, we look at the New Zealand IP office issuing a stark warning against misleading mislead invoices, $1.1 million worth of counterfeits stopped on Canada-US border, and much more.
In our latest round-up, we look at Dubai cracking down on social media accounts selling counterfeits, Pakistan drastically increasing its IP fees, an Indian court dismissing passing-off suits from Crocs, and much more.


text:
Microsoft has again given a signal regarding the release and update of Windows 11 will be carried out on October 20, 2021.
The software giant continues to give signs on its launch date, for example at last week’s event showed disguised messages.
“It’s great to be 11, can’t wait for October,” said the Microsoft team as reported by The Verge, Tuesday (29/6/2021).
Microsoft has actually announced a bit of an official leak that Windows 11 will appear in the holiday season but did not clearly indicate the date and time. One of the Microsoft team Stevie Bathiche also gave a strong signal that Windows 11 will be launched in October 2021.
Another sign that has been given to Windows fans is the appearance of the date October 20, 2021, on the taskbar in the photo illustration of the Windows 11 display and the time is 11.11 AM.
Despite signs from Microsoft, the Walmart franchise is also promising an operating system update to laptop buyers in October 2021 once the update is complete.
Currently, Microsoft is still in the clarification stage to determine which laptop or computer specifications can receive the Windows 11 update.
Last week, they had released the minimum specifications for updating to the Windows 11 operating system, which can only be done starting from the 8th generation to the latest devices.


text:
The USA consumes 400 million gallons of gasoline every day. This with the burgeoning demand from developing nations such as China for gas, has pushed gas prices to record highs, and having an all-pervasive and on-balance a damaging effect on the US economy.
Gas prices in the USA/Canada often vary significantly between gas stations and supermarket gas pumps. In many areas, gas prices can vary by 20-30 cents per gallon or maybe at times even more within a small area. This makes that most motorists in the USA/Canada are shopping around to find the best deals on gas, but are still paying a lot more for it.
High gas prices make people stop and think about their commute. This will affect the US economy by reducing value of properties in outer commuting zones around the cities, and depress rural property values.
Analysts were predicting a gallon of regular to climb as high as $4.50 a gallon in California by Easter 2011. But these same analysts are saying that if you think gasoline is expensive now, just wait until next year! A combination of growing global-demand and rising U.S. fuel exports could send gasoline prices to further record highs in 2012, analysts say.
The effects of such big cost hikes will reduce available spending money for all those on average wages and below who need to travel significant distances in their cars, and this will further depress the US economy when this cash gets diverted away from a myriad of local spending decisions affecting local businesses from restaurants to children’s shoe shops.
Cars now are more fuel-efficient than they were in the 90s, so car owners can reduce your spending on gas by choosing fuel efficient vehicles. This is making US car manufacturers and car importers develop and extend their low fuel vehicle ranges. But, US car manufacturers have been slower than others, such as the Japanese marques, to develop some of the most innovatory fuel efficient vehicles such as the hybrid engine vehicles. This will tend to raise car imports to the detriment of the US economy until the US manufacturers catch-up.
It is not all bad news though. Companies that own oilfield reserves will be seeing the value of their resources growing, and businesses that are connected with the renewable energy market are growing rapidly right across the range of renewable energy sources from wind, to thermal energy, and of course that most popular of renewable sources which is solar. Renewable energy companies are growing fast and employing increased numbers of staff.
Leave a Reply


text:
YouTube’s annual Brandcast marketing event this year will have an entirely different look and feel — it’s happening only online, as big in-person events have been nixed during COVID-19.
And the video giant has approached the quarantine as an opportunity to do something different and reach an even bigger audience of marketers and agencies. YouTube’s Brandcast Delivered will provide personalized marketing pitches highlighting content on the platform in five different categories: learning and education, comedy and entertainment, lifestyle and fashion, food and recipes, and sports.
YouTube’s Brandcast Delivered will take place on Thursday, June 25, at 12:10 p.m. ET, as part of the IAB’s 2020 NewFronts series.
The pitches will feature presentations from YouTube execs, including CEO Susan Wojcicki, but the session won’t be live — and each individual video pitch is expected to be shorter than the hour-plus Brandcast events in years past.
“We’ve always said ‘primetime is personal,'” said Adam Stewart, VP of ad sales at Google and YouTube. “Now people will get a Brandcast that’s catered to them.”
YouTube expects the Brandcast Delivered sessions to be viewed on TVs — and the presentation will focus on the rise of YouTube video viewing on television screens. As of October 2019, YouTube represented about one-fourth of all over-the-top watchtime on TV, per ComScore. And stay-at-home directives accelerated that behavior, with overall watchtime in the U.S. up 80% year over year in March 2020, YouTube says. In addition, overall watchtime of YouTube livestreams jumped 250% globally in March.
With ad spending overall expected to decline with the COVID-19 crisis, YouTube wants to tout its place in the video-advertising ecosystem to Madison Avenue types. While YouTube revenue for the first quarter of 2020 was up 33% to $4 billion, parent company Alphabet said YouTube’s ad revenue growth decelerated at the tail end of March.
“We are at a moment where marketers are rethinking their strategies,” Stewart said. Advertisers who have worked at the “top of the funnel” are spending more on performance marketing, he said, and “as people look for flexibility I think marketers are going to continue to lean into us.”
Invitees to Brandcast Delivered will soon be sent an email with a series of questions that will let YouTube create NewFront programming customized for each individual. On June 25, attendees will be sent a personalized link to an on-demand video presentation based on the content genre they’re most interested in.
After the show, playlists with the content will be housed on the Brandcast site, so advertisers can explore additional interests or check out what they missed. The videos also be available on the youtube.com/forbrands site.
Stewart said he’s disappointed about the cancellation of the in-person Brandcast event, which drew over 2,500 to Radio City Music Hall in New York in 2019 and featured appearances by Alicia Keys, Tiffany Haddish, Dua Lipa, Daddy Yankee, Grace VanderWaal and Lele Pons. “We have always loved and valued the presentation we’ve done,” he said.
But with the first ever all-digital Brandcast, Stewart predicts there will be more attendees (virtually) than ever “because we’re not bound by space.”


text:
Marijuana is finding its way into more than just brownies these days. Fueled by the wave of states that have approved legalized marijuana, new industries and products have emerged that cater to pot consumers.
New methods of processing marijuana have yielded highly potent forms of marijuana called Butane Hash Oil (BHO) or Honey Oil, with THC levels up to 80%, that can be easily added to an array of candies, cookies, sodas, and snack foods. Marijuana edibles allow for easy and secret consumption of the drug making it possible for users to become quite intoxicated. By comparison, the THC potency of dried marijuana, potency has risen from 4% in 1995 to 20% in 2015 according to a study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Using these potent extracts, a wide variety of everyday foods and products are already available including snacks, sweets, candies, breakfast foods, pizza, ice cream, and beverages such as sodas and craft beers. This makes it easy for people to consume pot, anywhere and at any time. Food items are available at marijuana dispensaries and pot shops in those states that allow them. These products have already found their way into workplaces across the country.
To address the issue of marijuana in the workplace, employers should always strive to make employee safety a top priority because every employee has the right to expect to be safe in the workplace. This can be accomplished by ensuring that safety is made a specific responsibility of all workers, which includes adhering to the company drug-free workplace policy.


text:
Porto, Portugal, 9 April – Porseg, the Portuguese market leader in manufacturing specialist doors, plans to build a factory in Angola this year, the company’s financial director, Nuno Espergueiro said in Porto Wednesday.
The new factory would be an investment of US$5 million, to be carried out in partnership with the Pinto Basto group, which is a specialised transport management and shipping agent.
Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Espergueiro said that, “the contraction seen in the Portuguese construction sector has led Porseg to reformulate its investment plan for 2009,” having delayed the project to expand its factory in Arcozelo, Vila Nova de Gaia, opting instead to “carry out small refurbishments and improvements.”
Espergueiro also said that “the new factory is currently at the stage of selecting a contractor,” and work is expected to begin in the second half of 2010. As well as the factory, the Angolan project also includes building housing for workers.
The project was launched in Angola in 2006 when the company was set up, but will be “speeded up” in order to meet the demand of the Angolan construction sector and reducing the strain on the Portuguese factory, leaving room to move into new markets.
Angola is Porseg’s only foreign market for specialist doors (security, fire doors and acoustic doors), with exports to the country accounting for 7 percent of turnover in 2008.
Porseg’s turnover in 2008 was 9.9 million euros, a rise of 2.3 percent against 2007. In the same period, the company’s pre-tax net profit was of over 963,000 euros, which was a year on year rise of 8.3 percent. (macauhub)


text:
The Isle of Man-based online gambling software and games provider Microgaming has won exclusive rights to the Tarzan name for online slot games, following the signing of a licensing agreement with Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., brokered by Creative Licensing Corporation.
Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs with his novel Tarzan of the Apes, published in 1912, Tarzan has been entertaining the planet for over a century. The jungle hero is the most filmed character in motion picture history, and has been portrayed by 29 different actors since 1918. Tarzan has also been the subject of multiple television series, two Broadway stage productions, comic strips and more.
Augmenting Microgaming’s diverse portfolio of branded content, the Tarzan online slot will launch to operators later in the year on desktop and mobile, the company revealed in a statement Monday. Tarzan will take centre stage, hosting the game, with Jane, Archimedes and a number of his jungle friends featured on the reels. The game will also contain a raft of thrilling features and distinctive sounds, including Tarzan’s famous ydelling call.
Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming said: “Tarzan is recognised the world over, so we’re excited to be launching a slot hosted by this timeless character. Our highly talented games team relish working with a new brand, to build a game that celebrates and embraces it. Having seen the game in prototype, I can honestly say the online slot will not disappoint Tarzan fans; operators and their players can look forward to the game’s release this winter.”
James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., adds: “We could not be more pleased to license Tarzan and his friends to such a quality company as Microgaming. Their extensive experience in developing online slot games assures us they will build a game that will attract many fans and players to the game from around the globe.”


text:
Amazon briefly exceeded $1 trillion in value Tuesday amid growing criticism from President TrumpDonald TrumpNorth Korea conducts potential 6th missile test in a month Kemp leading Perdue in Georgia gubernatorial primary: poll US ranked 27th least corrupt country in the world MORE, becoming the second U.S. corporation to reach that threshold.
The online retail giant eclipsed the $1 trillion mark Tuesday morning when the price of one of its 487,741,189 shares rose to $2,050.27, according to CNBC. The stock value later slipped but has gained 1.17 percent as of 12:30 p.m.
Apple was the first U.S. corporation to exceed $1 trillion in value when it crossed the threshold on Aug. 2. The combined value of both companies is equal to roughly 10 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.
Amazon has expanded into web hosting services, advertising, consumer technology, entertainment and e-books since launching as an online bookstore in July 1995.
While Amazon’s plans to build another headquarters have attracted offers of lucrative tax breaks and benefits from dozens of state and city leaders, the company has been fiercely attacked by Trump over its size and influence. The president told Fox News last week that Amazon and fellow tech giants Google and Facebook could be in a “very antitrust situation,” but declined to say whether they should be dismantled.
Trump has been critical of several Silicon Valley titans over what he considers rampant anti-conservative bias, but has been particularly hostile toward Amazon. The president frequently attacks Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, and links the online retailer to the newspaper’s White House coverage. The Post has said that Bezos plays no role in its editorial decisions.
"The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago," Trump tweeted in July, seeming to refer to South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which determined that states may tax purchases made from out-of-state sellers. "Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their 'delivery boy' for a BIG percentage of their packages."
Trump has frequently criticized Amazon’s agreement with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to ship packages at reduced rates, blaming it for the fiscal woes at USPS. An upcoming Treasury Department report on revamping the debt-riddled USPS is expected to add further tension to that fight.
Business groups have urged the Treasury Department to preserve Amazon’s agreement with the USPS, which they say helps the Postal Service’s finances and prevents the tech giant from striking a deal with private competitors.
Liberal politicians and activists, including Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersOn The Money — No SALT, and maybe no deal Menendez goes after Sanders over SALT comments It's time for the Senate to vote: Americans have a right to know where their senators stand MORE (I-Vt.), have also raised concerns about Amazon's impact on the larger economy and the ways it treats its workers.


text:
Digital Down Low: October 21
Facebook Adds New Buttons For Local Discovery
- According to Marketing Land, Facebook wants to be the mobile solution for local businesses. It also sees itself increasingly as a local commerce platform for consumers. The company’s recent introductions of Marketplace and its Events app are indications of a full court press into local. Facebook is adding more tools for consumers and business owners such as, booking and ordering for Pages, social recommendations and local event discovery. The most significant of these new tools is online food ordering and the ability to buy tickets and book appointments on Pages through “call to action” buttons.
- This new functionality is accomplished through an ecosystem of third-party partnerships, which Facebook will continue to grow. Launch partnerships include Booker, BookingBug, Front Desk, HomeAdvisor, MyTime, Pingup, Schedulicity, Setster and Simplybook.me. Users will be able to buy event tickets through EventBrite and Ticketmaster, as well as movie tickets through Fandango. Facebook users will also be able to request a quote from businesses using Porch or TalkLocal.
- Users will be able to include recommended business Pages in their comments, which will then be plotted on a map. This becomes another discovery tool for local business owners, albeit one they don’t control. Right now, there’s no public way to access social recommendations (e.g., via search). Only people in your network can see or provide recommendations. But this helps pave the way for a more public tool to discover recommended local businesses on Facebook. Taken together, these announcements make Facebook more useful and utilitarian for local discovery and commerce. It also makes Facebook much more of a “one-stop shop” marketing platform for local business owners.
Meet The Gaming Company Wants Kids To Take A Slice Of Pizza Topped With Entrepreneurship
- According to Tech Crunch, educational game-maker Osmo is tackling a subject that’s close to CEO Pramod Sharma’s heart — entrepreneurship. Co-founded by Sharma and Jérôme Scholler (both former Googlers), Osmo makes iPad games that combine touchscreen gameplay with real-world objects and physical activities in front of the screen. Past games have covered topics like coding, drawing and math.
- Sharma compared the new game, Pizza Co., to the lemonade stand that many kids have operated in the past. The goal is to give players a fun way to understand what goes into running a business, and also help them practice skills like arithmetic and pattern recognition. So if the lemonade stand is the model, why go with pizza? Sharma’s answer is simple: “Kids love pizza.” The game’s physical components include a pizza pan and different toppings. Kids play by assembling pizzas based on customer’s orders. The game also comes with play money, so kids can make change for customers after they’ve eaten. All of this physical activity is captured with Osmo’s reflective camera.
- Sharma noted that in schools, many classes already include store and cash register exercises, but he said Pizza Co. is offers a much broader experience, so that kids can start thinking about things like customer satisfaction and using revenue to grow their business. As the player’s pizza parlor becomes more successful, they can start spending their profits on upgrades like nicer decorations or a faster-working pizza oven. They can also become mini pizza tycoons, buying up other pizza parlors. The main game is designed for kids 7-12, and there’s a “junior” setting for 5- and 6-year-olds.
Discover How Uber Transformed Itself Into A Robotics Company
- According to Mashable, if you still had doubts that Uber sees driverless cars as the future of its business, the company’s CEO just cleared things up. Speaking Wednesday at Vanity Fair‘s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, Travis Kalanick said that Uber, which recently began testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, is on the path to becoming a robotics company. The statement came in response to a question about where Uber’s top executive sees the company in next five to seven years. Kalanick, who has previously described Uber as a “logistics company,” said the company was increasingly moving toward becoming a robotics company.
- Kalanick also confirmed that the company is currently testing a few of its self-driving cars in the streets of San Francisco, though they are focused on mapping, rather than picking up passengers as those in Pittsburgh do. “As we move towards the future, autonomy is a pretty critical thing for us — it’s existential,” he said, though he was quick to point out that the technology wouldn’t be ready to replace human drivers entirely for quite awhile.
- The CEO also dropped a few new statistics: the ride-hailing app now counts more than 40 million monthly active users around the world. Furthermore, Uber drivers made between $1.5 billion and $2 billion last month, with the average rider spending about $50 a month in the app. He also addressed a potential IPO, though, as with previous times when the subject has come up, he reiterated that onlookers shouldn’t be expecting one anytime soon.


text:
By Lisa Henthorn, V.P., Marketing Communications
According to reports from International Data Corporation (IDC), public cloud spending will reach $127.5 billion by 2018, a tremendous 125 percent increase from $56.6 billion in 2014, with $82.7 billion spent on SaaS alone. Cloud-based software directly addresses multiple business needs such as increased agility via outsourced hardware and software, likely serving as the catalyst for such rapid growth.
The cloud offers a more secure, affordable and lower risk option for businesses, requiring a lower initial investment and typically much lower overall costs than on-premise solutions, providing immediate up-front savings.
In ultra-competitive industries like transportation and logistics, cloud growth offers new and enhanced efficiencies for a workforce and customer base split between mobile and non-mobile users. These businesses demand functionality that can be difficult to offer with traditional in-house solutions including:
- Real-time communication and visibility over all operations
- Streamlined information flow
- Flexibility for decision-makers to quickly check statuses and implement solutions during unforeseen
- Superior planning and forecasting abilities to help businesses capture and automatically generate accurate end-to-end performance reports for more accurate budget forecasts and ultimately cost reductions
- Reduced training time and workloads that improve teams’ efficiency, eliminating daily manual operational tasks like registering information and building reports
Businesses, especially in the transportation and logistics industry, have an incredible opportunity to grow via the cloud by taking advantage of its enhanced efficiency, agility and cost-savings. As executives continuously explore how to expand and nurture their business, cloud-based solutions look to be a logical starting point for long-term success.


text:
Muntajat to market Total’s PE, PS in Middle East
Under the agreement, Muntajat will reportedly market 9 different grades of PE and 12 grades of PS that Total produces. The company will conduct this marketing activity in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. The agreement will be valid as of January 1, 2017.
Muntajat will also be the market agent for PE in Egypt, the release said.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- Egypt’s PVC markets extend drops into January
- SE Asian PP, PE markets look for direction amid tepid demand, rising freights
- European PS, ABS markets open 2022 on firm footing
- Asia PET prices extend gains into January
- China’s PVC exports hit records in 2021; challenge global suppliers
- Stats: Turkey’s PP, PE imports on track for record-setting year
- What to watch in 2022 in polymer markets?
- Turkey’s PE markets retain downtrend as 2021 ends
- Asian PP, PE markets to start 2022 on a bearish note
- PET bottle prices rise 40% in 2021 across Asia


text:
Google tackles programmatic talent deficit by partnering with Singapore government
Google and the Economic Development Board (EDB), part of the Singapore government, announced the launch of an education programme to help people become experts in programmatic and marketing technology.
Google and EDB launch Digitize
Digitize was launched today in Singapore but Google said the format would be taken out to other markets at a later date. Google said it was the first time it’s created a programme like this anywhere in the world and came up with the idea to help plug a skills gap in the country.
The course will take place over the next year, and will provide training and on the job experience at agency and client partners in officed in Singapore and Sydney, including Dentsu Aegis Network, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis, Hotels.com and Amobee. The talent partner and programme manager of Digitize is Xpand.
Joanna Flint, country director at Google, Singapore, commented: “We see a huge demand in the industry for qualified digital marketing talent and our goal is to help young Singaporeans gain the right skills and experience to ensure they have the best opportunity to excel in one of the fastest growing industries. Changes in consumer behavior online and the exponential growth of digital require advertisers to invest in new media buying platforms and Digitize aims to grow the pool of homegrown talent in digital to meet this need. Digitize is a great example of Singaporean innovation — and we’re already looking to export the programme worldwide.”
Singapore is the business hub for a lot of Southeast Asian business, as well as being the headquarters for a lot of APAC and global brands. The government, via the EDB, is pushing digital advertising and services such as data science as a core skill in the country.
Ms. Thien Kwee Eng, assistant managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board, said: “Facing a future where business operations and decisions are increasingly data-driven, it is important for Singaporeans to have the necessary digital skills to contribute to the new economy. DIGITIZE is a step in the right direction to provide Singaporeans with the necessary experience to develop digital skills for the marketing industry.”
She added, “Google’s decision to establish the programme in Singapore, showcases their commitment to Singapore. Furthermore it enhances Singapore’s position as Asia’s digital capital and marketing hub.”


text:
Here are some interesting excerpts from industry publications on this day 22-APR-2015.
“To ensure optimal user experiences and productivity, IT needs real-time visibility into how mobile devices, apps and networks are functioning. If a mobile app is misconfigured or out of compliance, automated systems should alert admins about it right away. For troubleshooting, IT needs tools that let them quickly find and fix root causes of any performance slowdowns so they can eradicate them for good.” – CIO
“You are doing over the top (OTT) already if you stream content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Fire TV Stick, Slingbox, ellentube, the recently launched HBO Now and, of course, YouTube. These are just a few examples. OTT content is anything that reaches you, the TV consumer, without being mediated by an operator—a broadcast or cable network provider. Most new TVs today are ‘smart,’ Internet-enabled with apps from Netflix, Hulu and several others bundled in. PlayStation, Wii U and most Blu-ray players also can facilitate OTT.” – eWEEK
“The number of multiscreen devices used within each household worldwide has reached the highest point yet, averaging two devices, such as a smartphone or tablet, per three-person home. And they’re present in 28 percent of households across the globe, according to a new study released by Conviva.” – FierceOnlineVideo
“Simon Trudelle: Indeed, we’re planning a strong presence showcasing our portfolio of solutions for the connected TV space – that includes our OpenTV 5 HTML5 connectware solution, our MediaLive suite of multiscreen products and our anyCAST content protection. All have a very strong focus on connected entertainment and how it’s driving innovation in the pay-TV space. I would say the biggest change or movement we’ve seen since last year is the increasing “cloudification” or “virtualization” of pay-TV.’” – IP&TV News


text:
Had been you unable to attend Rework 2022? Try all of the summit intervals in our on-demand library now! Watch right here.
In keeping with new Gartner analysis, two sorts of rising artificial intelligence (AI) — emotion and generative AI — are every reaching the peak of the digital selling hype cycle. That is due to AI’s enlargement into specializing in, measurement, identification determination and even producing inventive content material materials.
“I feel one of many key items is that the choices for entrepreneurs have been accelerating,” Mike Froggatt, senior director analyst throughout the Gartner promoting observe, suggested VentureBeat. “When you consider the fragmentation of digital media, ten years in the past, there was show, search, video, wealthy media, however now, there’s podcasts, over-the-top platforms, blockchain and NFTs. AI helps entrepreneurs goal, measure and determine shoppers, even producing the content material that may seem in these channels, creating all new artifacts to present entrepreneurs a voice in these channels.”
Conventional methods for specializing in prospects are depreciating, well-known the Gartner report, Hype Cycle for Digital Promoting 2022, evolving from an assumed quid skilled quo to an particular consent-driven media and selling monetary system.
Whereas Google continues to delay the date it ought to stop supporting third-party cookies — which digital advertisers have historically relied on for advert monitoring — digital entrepreneurs would possibly wish to be taught to adapt as purchaser info turns into additional scarce and specializing in problem will enhance.
Emotion AI: Alternatives and privateness challenges
In keeping with an analysis by Gartner analyst Andrew Frank, emotion AI utilized sciences “use AI methods to investigate the emotional state of a person…[and] can provoke responses by performing particular, customized actions to suit the temper of the client.”
Frank says it’s half of a much bigger sample referred to as “affect AI” that “seeks to automate components of digital expertise that information person decisions at scale by studying and making use of methods of behavioral science.”
With public criticism throughout the use, and even potential use, of emotion AI devices, privateness and perception will possible be necessary to emotion AI’s success, acknowledged Froggatt.
“It’s going to need to be clear in the way it’s getting used and we’re going to have to maneuver away from bundling it in forms of monitoring inside apps that acquire issues implicity,” he outlined.
However emotion AI will create fascinating alternate options for producers if tied to perception and particular consent, he added. In keeping with the Gartner report, entry to emotion info “delivers insights into motivational drivers that assist check and refine content material, tailor digital experiences and construct deeper connections between folks and types.”
The Gartner report cautioned that emotion AI would probably take one different decade to develop to be firmly established. For now, organizations should analysis vendor capabilities rigorously, as a result of the emotion AI market is immature and corporations would possibly solely assist restricted use situations and industries.
Generative AI: Quickly to attain mainstream adoption
The Gartner report moreover found that generative AI covers a broad swath of devices that “be taught from current artifacts to generate new, sensible artifacts similar to video, narrative, speech, artificial knowledge and product designs that mirror the traits of the coaching knowledge with out repetition.”
Inside the following two to five years, the report predicts, these choices will attain mainstream adoption.
Components of the metaverse, along with digital folks, will rely upon generative AI. Transformer fashions, like Open AI’s DALL-E 2, can create genuine photos from a textual content material description. Artificial info will also be an occasion of generative AI, serving to to bolster scarce info or mitigate bias.
For promoting professionals, generative AI tackles many factors they face instantly, along with the need for additional content material materials, additional belongings and to interact prospects in wise and customised strategies.
“Think about a model taking a generative AI software and feeding their current inventive and replica property into it and arising with entire new variations of advert, video and e-mail content material,” acknowledged Froggart. “It automates a number of that and permits entrepreneurs to concentrate on the technique round it.”
As well as, generative info belongings can take away the particular person identification wanted for specializing in.
“I feel that it may be super-powerful for advertisers and media,” he added.
Nonetheless, steep challenges spherical attainable legal guidelines and factors equal to deepfakes keep. The Gartner report recommends inspecting and quantifying the advantages and limitations of generative AI, along with weighing technical capabilities with ethical elements.
Gartner evaluation: Way forward for AI in promoting
For now, promoting professionals nonetheless have the outdated devices – like third-party cookies – obtainable to them. However with developments like media fragmentation and deprecation of purchaser info sources not slowing down, they will need the right devices to adapt to new forms of measurement and specializing in.
“I feel that’s the place AI is de facto going to begin displaying its worth,” acknowledged Froggart, together with that whereas he doesn’t assume choices like generative and emotion AI will steer clear of the Gartner Hype Cycle’s “trough of disillusionment” after reaching the peak, “I feel they are going to be discovering their very own route via the hype cycle.”


text:
Rapidly evolving technology advancements have significantly altered the worldwide payment services landscape, leading to the emergence of technology and Money Laundering (ML)/Terrorist Financing (TF) risks that often fall beyond the current scope of regulations. Regulators across globe are in a race to find standardised regulations to handle, record and secure global payments.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recognises the need to have a new regulatory regime that is flexible, caters for regulatory certainty and consumer safeguards, while encouraging innovation and growth of payment services. MAS has therefore combined and enhanced, the Payment Systems (Oversight) Act (PSOA) and the Money-Changing and Remittance Businesses Act (MCRBA) into a new consolidated Payment Services Bill, which is now the Payment Services Act (PSA) after passing into law on 14 January 2019.
PSA Comprises Two Regulatory Regimes:
– Designation regime that enables MAS to regulate systemically important payment systems for financial stability and efficiency reasons
– Licensing regime that focuses on retail payment services provided to customers and merchants.
Under the designation regime, the systems being regulated are similar to the current regulations.
On the licensing regime, the PSA has identified seven activities – account issuance, e-money issuance, domestic money transfer, cross border money transfer, merchant acquisition, purchase and sale of digital payment tokens, and money changing. Due to the differences in the nature of risks, the Bill will differentiate regulatory requirements accordingly, instead of implementing a blanket set of rules. To provide for flexibility and scaling of payment services, the licensee only needs to apply for one licence to conduct any number of these activities. The three licence classes are money-changing license, the standard payment institution, or the major payment institution, depending on the type and size of the operations.
It is worth highlighting that PSA has included the regulation of domestic money transfers, merchant acquisition, and digital payment token services. Operators of these services will also have to adhere to the ML/TF requirements as these services carry with them an inherently high level of risk due to the anonymous and borderless nature of the services provided. This is also in line with protecting the integrity of the financial system in Singapore as a global world-class financial hub.
In all, PSA hopes to balance the need for a flexible regulatory framework while still enabling MAS to effectively execute their roles as regulator and enforcer. The new Bill would also create a more level playing field for all institutions and may give rise to a more unified, low-cost, efficient payments network in Singapore..


text:
Clear all search history
Law & Crime
Disasters & Accidents
War & Conflict
Hospitality & Recreation
Athletes First articles over last 30 days
articles last 30 days
articles per day
Mentioned in this news
Did Arsenal earn a hint of Jose's respect at Wemb...
Roy Keane, who must dream up six scathing one-liners about modern footballers every time he takes his dog for a walk, had tossed a pre-season Molotov at his old Arsenal chums. Petr Cech was actually...
Read more at
Off The Post
+ 126 more articles
Kenyan Athletes Mourn Veteran Athletes Manager Za...
Kenyan athletes and officials are mourning veteran athletes' manager Zane Branson, who died Saturday morning in Iten. Branson, who manages a number of renowned Kenyan athletes passed on following a...
Read more at AllAfrica.com
Rome promises a sustainable Olympics if chosen as...
Rome will host a sustainable Games which makes use of existing venues should the city be successful in its bid to host the 2024 Olympics, officials said Thursday. The announcement came following a...
Read more at
Reuters Sports News
+ -1 more articles
International Olympic Committee
Why Brands Are Doubling Up on a Sports Site That ...
Sports marketing is hotter than ever because it's one of the few types of programming—on TV or online—for which brands think consumers consistently engage with ads. And during the last few years, Flo...
Read more at AdWeek
Trainers tasked with protecting driven athletes
Sharon Winn has spent more than 30 years as an athletic trainer in the Denton school district and has seen the challenges that high school athletes face change dramatically. The most important and...
Read more at
University of North Texas
New 2015/16 City home kit revealed
Inspired by classic Manchester City designs of the past, the club’s new home shirt kit blends timeless colours and detailing with Nike Football performance innovation to unite the club’s past and...
Read more at Manchester City FC
City Football Academy
Latest from Twitter
Interceder is a topic search engine aggregating the latest news on any topic into a single window of information. This page has been automatically generated. To contact Interceder
Your privacy is important. Interceder does not collect and keep any personal information about visitors to the site. Interceder may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements on this website, other websites, and other forms of media about goods and services of interest to you.


text:
Learn more about our impactLearn more about our impact
WWF works to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife, collaborating with partners from local to global levels in nearly 100 countries.
Beijing, China – World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in collaboration with research organization GlobeScan, has conducted the largest elephant ivory consumer survey – 2,000 people in 15 cities – for five consecutive years. This annual survey is the largest assessment of changes in attitudes to ivory consumption, purchasing rates and intention to purchase, as well as awareness of the Chinese ivory ban over time. The study has found that demand for ivory continues at low rate since the ivory ban, though with a slight uptick in 2021.
WWF’s fifth annual survey, Demand under the Ban – China Ivory Consumption Research 2021, found:
A small rebound has been seen in ivory purchase as well as intention to purchase ivory in the future, but these metrics remain lower than 2019 levels, despite the easing of many COVID-19 restrictions in China over the past 12 months. The easing of these restrictions was expected to create an increase in ivory purchase and changes in ivory sales will need to be carefully monitored as the world reopens post-COVID.
The segment size of Diehard Buyers in 2021 remains low after continuous behavior change campaigns by WWF and public awareness efforts by other conservation groups. The survey also assessed the long-tail effects of a targeted social media campaign, starring Chinese cultural celebrity Ma Weidu, launched in 2020. Two-thirds of respondents who planned to buy ivory said they changed their mind after learning about the laws and seeing the Ma Weidu campaign. And Regular Overseas Travelers reached their lowest-ever stated intention to buy ivory after the ban was mentioned. The findings indicate that consistent public awareness efforts around the n ivory ban should be sustained.
“Having five years’ worth of data about ivory buyers in China gives us deep insights into consumer interests and motivations,” said Jan Vertefeuille, senior advisor, advocacy, at WWF. “It’s clear that combining broad public education efforts about the illegality and devastation of the elephant ivory trade with targeted campaigns aimed directly at buyers has a measurable impact on ivory purchasing among even the most determined consumer groups.”


text:
Mumbai, Oct 31: The one-of-its-kind Logistics Data Bank (LDB), a project of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) operational at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has achieved a key milestone with over a million Export-Import containers tracked in real time through the service.
Container Visibility through LDB crossed the one million mark at the country’s biggest container traffic handler in just over three months since was introduced in June this year in three of the port’s terminals as a near real-time tracking service for EXIM containers using RFID technology across the western corridor of India.
LDB users, through the mobile friendly web portal www.ldb.co.inthat acts as a single window interface, can trace the location of RFID tagged containers along a1,500-km stretch from Mumbai to Dadri in Delhi NCR at22 ICDs/ CFSs and seven toll plazas.
The LDB is operated by the DMICDC Logistics Data Services Limited, a joint venture of DMICDC and Japanese IT major NEC Corporation, with 50:50 equity participation. The service has undergone regular upgrades and improvements since its launch, with introduction of SMS alert and Mobile view features.
Recently the LDB added a Google Route Map View which enables users to view the location of the ‘containers in transit’ on Google Maps, through a more user-friendly interface.
“With over one million containers now tagged and de-tagged, the LDB project is well on the way to bringing in radical change in the Indian logistics industry providing transparency and visibility in container transportation that benefits stakeholders across industries,” said Shri Alkesh Sharma, the CEO and Managing Director of DMICDC.
LDB is designed to help reduce shipping lead times, inventory levels and transaction costs, and improve the accuracy of production plans.With the recent ranking of World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2016 in which India has jumped 19 places to the 35th rank, DMICDC’s Logistics Data Bank project is another step in improving the logistics supply chain in the country.
Designed and Developed by MD Niche's own Website Ninjas


text:
Volvo’s big SUV receives a healthy update for 2020 with refreshed exterior styling, more cabin tech, different seating configuration options including a new 6-seat setup, and an advanced kinetic energy recovery braking system.
The Swede will be all-electric soon enough, but until then, Volvo continues to tweak their gas-powered vehicles for better efficiencies as they work towards their ambitious electrification strategy.
Volvo’s new ‘B’-badged series
Powered by advanced diesel and petrol engines and the T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid, the new XC90 for the first time offers customers Volvo’s advanced kinetic energy recovery braking system; paired to this electrified powertrain, expect 15-percent fuel savings and emission reductions on the road. This is all part of Volvo’s new ‘B’-badged cars.
Volvo’s exterior styling is on point — sleek, sporty, and retaining a distinguished look setting it apart in a sea of 7-passenger SUVs beginning to look the same.
2020 XC90 Changes & Updates Inside and Out
For 2020, the XC90 exterior finds new wheels, new exterior colours, a refreshed front grille, and other subtle styling updates.
Inside, aside from new materials including a wool blend, the major change is the ability to order the 2020 XC90 with a range of different seating configurations. This includes the 4-seat Excellence variant, the popular 7-seat setup, and now a new 6-seat configuration.
See the gallery below for all the seating configurations.
Android Auto is also included now, joining Apple CarPlay; and where available, the Spotify music streaming service is integrated in the XC90.
The XC90 goes into production May 2019 and orders are being accepted now. Pricing hasn’t been announced.
Shopping for a new SUV? Read our 2020 SUV Guide here.