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NEW YORK: Toy maker Hasbro and the V.F. Corp., which owns clothing brands including Wrangler and the North Face, were among the biggest gainers Monday in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index after reporting earnings that beat analysts’ expectations.
The S&P 500 closed up a fraction of a point at 1,744.66, an all-time high, its third consecutive record close. Stocks climbed last week after Washington reached a deal to end a 16-day government shutdown and avert a default on the nation’s debt.
The index is up 22 percent so far this year, putting it on track for its best year since 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 7.45 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,392.20. The Nasdaq composite rose 5.77 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,920.05.
Netflix jumped in after-hours trading after the company said its net income quadrupled to $32 million, or 52 cents a share. That beat analyst expectations for 48 cents a share.


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Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill are both participating in California’s vaccination incentive program on Tuesday, June 15 with giveaways.
Participating Taco Bell locations in California will be giving away a free Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco to customers who have received their coronavirus vaccine.
No purchase is necessary, but diners will need to show their COVID-19 vaccination card, according to a news release from the fast company. The offer is good for one free taco ordered in-store or in a drive-thru while supplies last.
Chipotle, meanwhile, s offering one free topping or an equivalent side serving of Queso Blanco with the purchase of an entrée on Tuesday at participating California locations.
Diners won’t have to show their vaccination cards, the company said.
Get the full story: Read more.

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Amazon has quietly been inviting drivers for its new “on-demand” delivery service to handle its standard packages, in an effort to speed up delivery times. The move is the latest sign that Amazon wants to control more of its own deliveries. Media reports have said that the company intends to lease its own fleet of jets, and CEO Jeff Bezos eventually wants to use drones to get packages to customers. Amazon outlined details of its latest plan over the last few weeks in an email to contract drivers who deliver parcels for the program Amazon Flex, which launched last year to handle speedy deliveries of common household goods to customers with the app Prime Now.
If this plan works, industry analysts said that it could help Amazon contain its shipping costs, which expanded more than 18 percent to $11.5 billion last year. It could also create a logistics network to compete with UPS, FedEx and the various local carriers who currently deliver Amazon packages. Yesterday an Amazon spokeswoman confirmed that Flex drivers in Texas are already delivering packages. They didn’t go into details about their plans, but said that they’ll be exploring new ideas for sped up delivery.
In a recent earnings call, an Amazon executive said that the company wasn’t trying to replace partner carriers, but rather find ways to handle more of its own deliveries at peak times. Amazon Flex works a lot like Uber. Drivers use the app to sign up for shifts to pick up packages at warehouses and deliver them to customers’ doors. It’s now available in 14 different cities, and Flex drivers can make between $18 and $25 an hour. Such a model could be particularly cost-effective in out-of-the-way areas where smaller couriers who charge an average 35 percent of the total shipping cost deliver packages to Amazon customers.
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Traveling to New Zealand will become easier for Chinese tourists as the visa procedures will be simplified. It was announced during Prime Minister John Key’s visit to China.
Chinese visa applicants can pay their fees with UnionPay credit and debit cards. New Zealand will also provide Chinese services on its government services website.
China is New Zealand’s second largest tourist origin country. Chinese tourists last year spent around $1.1 billion there.
John Key is on a six day visit to China. Top of the agenda is upgrading the existing bilateral Free Trade Agreement.
The two sides on Monday signed agreements in agriculture, science and technology, quality inspection, and education.
CCTV America’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke to Ankur Patel about the significance of China-New Zealand trade ties. He is the co-founder and chief investment officer of r-squared macro, an investment management company.


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Bean Auto participates in the Mud Factor 5K Obstacle Run
On October 26, our Bean Auto team participated in the Mud Factor 5K Obstacle Run. It was a test of physical strength and endurance for our team. Thanks to the wonderful partnership that Bean Auto has with Sapoznik Insurance, Bean Auto employees were able to sign up for the race. Employees enjoyed themselves as they climbed, ran, and crawled through a series of obstacle courses. With the help of Sapoznik, Bean Auto has been able to improve the health and productivity of employees. Sapoznik has offered products and services that have helped create a better, healthier organization. Every month they help Bean Auto organize events for their employees that promote health, fitness and job satisfaction.


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In the four weeks to 1 January 2005, like-for-like sales at Woolworths were flat against last year, while like-for-like sales at Woolworths Big W declined by 8.0%.
Trevor Bish-Jones, Woolworth’s chief executive said: ‘Although we are disappointed with the sales performance in our retail business, we have made good progress on improving the gross margin and remain confident about the potential of Woolworths and our entertainment businesses.’
House of Fraser also reported a like-for-like performance down 1.3%, compared with the equivalent period last year.
Both retailers predict, however, that pre-tax profits will be in line with last year.
John Coleman, HoF’s chief executive said: ‘We believe that we have delivered a creditable performance in a difficult and challenging retail environment. Tight control of stocks and lower levels of discounting, combined with greater flexibility in our cost base, have offset the financial impact of the lower than anticipated revenues.’
Does Darwin's theory apply to taxation? Colin ponders...
The EC has been instructed to draft a European Union (EU) directive authorising an EU financial transaction tax, which would apply to ten of the EU’s 28 member states
Accountancy watchdog the FRC has dropped its investigation into the former chief financial officer of Tesco, nearly two years after the supermarket was engulfed in an accounting scandal
Colin imagines how Apple's logo might change in the wake of the EC's ruling over its Irish tax arrangements


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Amazon workers at the Milton Keynes fulfillment centre have helped ensure millions of children from all over ther UK start the day with a healthy breakfast.
The workers have packed up and delivered breakfast packages directly to children from struggling families all over the nation.
Magic Breakfast today revealed they have delivered more than four million free, healthy breakfasts to children nationally since their home delivery initiative started in May 2020.
Amazon is continuing to deliver meals to children at home through the summer holidays, with 35,000 children from 671 Magic Breakfast partner schools able to access a healthy breakfast.
The Food Foundation in March 2021 reported 20% of children aged 8-17 (over 1.5 million children) self-reported some form of food insecurity (mild, moderate or severe) during the Christmas 2020/21 holiday period.
With the closure of schools across the country last year, Amazon, a long-standing supporter of Magic Breakfast since 2016, stepped in to help more children at risk of hunger during the pandemic.
Research for Magic Breakfast by YouGov in 2020 highlighted the extent of the challenges faced around child nutrition and the detrimental impact of hunger on children’s learning during the pandemic:
57% of surveyed teachers noticed disadvantaged pupils falling behind academically after the summer holidays
More than half of all teachers surveyed by YouGov reported concerns about an anticipated rise in hunger among children returning to school
74% reported that school breakfasts would help children catch up on learning
The impact of the pandemic on schoolchildren in the UK has been profound. Without going to school, children could not enjoy the healthy breakfast they would normally receive from Magic Breakfast to give them the fuel they need to concentrate and learn.
With Amazon’s expertise and logistics support, Magic Breakfast adapted its model so children from partner schools could continue to access their Magic Breakfast through the Amazon Logistics network.
Shafiya Shah, corporate partnerships manager for Magic Breakfast said the charity had to move quickly to help those in need:
“The last year has been a period of rapid accelerated growth in the demand and scale of our services. Since 2020, we have doubled the number of schools and tripled the number of children we work with. With Amazon home deliveries, we have now delivered more than four million meals to vulnerable children. This is a remarkable milestone, which would have been impossible without support from Amazon.”
A dedicated team in Amazon’s Milton Keynes Fulfilment Centre packs up the parcels of breakfast food – sourced from generous partners and suppliers of the charity – before sending them out for delivery to children’s homes.
Victor Pulido, general manger of Amazon Milton Keynes Fulfilment Centre, said: “At Amazon, we’re incredibly proud to continue supporting Magic Breakfast by delivering healthy breakfasts to children across the country through this difficult time.
"Together, we’ve delivered more than four million breakfasts, and we’re delighted to continue our partnership into the summer holidays and help provide much needed support to more children at risk of hunger.”
One headteacher of a school supported by Magic Breakfast spoke of the impact these meals had created for their pupils:
“Even with free meal vouchers, breakfast was still a big issue for many of our pupils. We were over the moon when Magic Breakfast allowed us to get healthy breakfasts out to the families in their homes via home deliveries or take-home packs.
"By September last year, more than 100 of our families were getting home breakfast provision. This made a huge impact on their lives – a fantastic contribution in trying circumstances. I want to say a huge thank you for the support. Children in my school are more settled, focused, happy, and ready to learn.”


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talabat announced its commitment to double down on its cloud strategy with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to continue innovating and responding to increased consumer demand. The migration of Talabat’s core mobile application, core backend, and all of its consumer and merchant-based technologies to the world’s leading cloud supports Talabat’s focus on bringing new solutions to better serve customers, drivers, and its network of over 13,000 restaurants.
Leveraging AWS, Talabat’s technology team modernized its applications by adopting a microservices architecture and moved the application development process to Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), allowing it to become more agile with the ability to focus on developing new services quickly and at scale. As a result, Talabat has been able to double its weekly project deployments.
Today, Talabat uses Amazon EKS to manage more than 600 containers in production, across its entire application ecosystem, including the payment gateway, restaurant platform, driver app, and the customer-facing app. This has reduced deployment time for new services such as Talabat mart from fifteen days to just two. To meet the surge in demand for its services, Talabat relies on another AWS managed service, Amazon Aurora, to auto-scale and process millions of transactions per day while maintaining application high availability and reliability.
Tomaso Rodriguez, CEO of Talabat, said, “The past period has been an exceptional one as we saw consumers increasingly turn to eCommerce services. For Talabat, moving to AWS helped us respond efficiently and reliably to this change in demand. We undertook the migration in a very short period, with no downtime or interruption to the user experience. With innovation today at the core of Talabat, relying on AWS enables us to focus on building new services with incredible speed and to better serve customers, drivers, and our network of restaurants.”
Vinod Krishnan, Head of Middle East, AWS, said, “Today more than ever, companies of all sizes are having to quickly respond and adapt to an ever-evolving environment, and cloud technology is empowering them to do so. By migrating to AWS, Talabat is now innovating at incredible speed and responding to customer and merchant needs, all while maintaining app reliability as it copes with exponential growth.”


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Germany Investigating Facebook Tagging Feature
BERLIN — A German regulator said Wednesday that he had asked Facebook to disable its new photo-tagging software, saying he was concerned that its facial recognition feature amounted to the unauthorized collection of data on individuals.
Johannes Caspar, the data protection supervisor in Hamburg, who has been aggressive in investigating the online practices of companies like Google and Apple, warned that the feature could violate European privacy laws.
The software, called “suggested automatic tagging,” lets Facebook users assign digital name tags to people in their photographs. Photos that are uploaded later are scanned for physical features and can be tagged and stored.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Mr. Caspar said he had asked Facebook to disable the feature in Germany and respond in two weeks to his concerns. Under German law, the regulator could fine Facebook, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., up to 300,000 euros ($429,000).
Mr. Caspar also confirmed that the European Commission’s data privacy advisory panel would determine whether tagging itself violated a user’s privacy. Mr. Caspar said he was coordinating his investigation with Jacob Kohnstamm, the chairman of the panel and the Dutch data protection authority.
Through a spokesman, Facebook rejected the regulator’s claim, saying the tagging feature, which gives the person in the photograph the final right to accept, reject or remove a tag, conforms with the European privacy law.
“We will consider the points the Hamburg Data Protection Authority have made about the photo tag suggest feature but firmly reject any claim that we are not meeting our obligations under European Union data protection law,” said a Facebook spokesman in Berlin.
The dispute is the latest between leading American technology companies and European privacy regulators, especially in Germany, over the privacy ramifications raised by social networking, online mapping and location services tied to mobile advertising.
Last year, Google apologized to privacy officials around the world, and paid some fines, after it was revealed that Google’s roving Street View mapping vehicles were also collecting private data from unencrypted Wi-Fi routers.
Google attributed the systematic, unauthorized collection of individual data to a programmer’s error.
Apple, the maker of the iPhone, came under scrutiny in April in Germany after a computer expert revealed that the iPhone was compiling logs of user locations. The inquiry, which was led by privacy officials in Bavaria, was closed in June after Apple agreed to redesign the feature to address German privacy concerns, said Thomas Kranig, the head of the Bavarian data protection agency.
Mr. Kranig, in an interview, said Apple had attributed the unauthorized data collection to a programmer’s error and had redesigned iPhone software to give Germans the option to allow collection of location data.
In July 2010, Mr. Caspar started an investigation into Facebook over its Friends Finder feature, which allows Facebook to copy names and details from a user’s e-mail address book to find friends who are also on Facebook. Mr. Caspar said Facebook, besides finding friends, was also identifying non-Facebook users culled from the lists with solicitations to join its network.
That inquiry was closed, Mr. Caspar said, after Facebook agreed to change the Friends Finder application to let anyone contacted through the function decide in advance whether their data could be used by Facebook.
Despite its run-ins with privacy officials, Facebook has grown in Germany, where it has more than 20 million users who log in at least once a month.
Mr. Caspar said Tuesday that Facebook had built an archive of more than 75 billion photos, and 450 million people have been tagged worldwide.
The Facebook representative in Berlin said Facebook did not permanently store data on individual faces, but could not say how long Facebook kept the data.


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At the National Manufacturing Week conference and expo in Chicago, enterprise software companies introduced new manufacturing products, services and architectures.
PeopleSoft Inc. on Monday outlined its vision for the demand-driven enterprise, which includes methodology and new software products designed to help manufacturers better utilize their capacity.
At the same time SAP AG announced new offerings for its two small and midsized business suites, mySAP All-in-One, and BusinessOne. Both offerings are designed to be implemented quickly and inexpensively.
To hone its demand flow approach, PeopleSoft is implementing JCIT Internationals Demand Flow Technology into its supply chain management software. The two companies will also provide consulting and education to help companies move toward being more demand-driven, officials said.
PeopleSoft also announced today new demand-driven components within its EnterpriseOne Supplier Relationship Management suite that help manufacturers synchronize requirements with suppliers.
Supplier Self Service is portal-based software that helps companies develop a more-efficient inbound supply chain. Features include the means to share supplier schedules and link multiple suppliers in the supply chain. A Buyer Workspace portal provides a single view of tasks to help users prioritize projects and manage suppliers.
In addition, an Order Promising to Configured tool, available in May, will let users look back in the supply chain and use that information to configure orders on the fly, officials said. An Advanced Forecasting Modeling module, part of PeopleSofts demand management software, will let users bring in outside factors like weather, promotions or the consumer price index for use in long range planning.
Ted Weinrich, MIS director at Larson Manufacturing Co. in Brookings, S.D., is looking to move his organization to a more demand-driven model.
“Were still very much a make-to-stock company,” said Weinrich, “Our goal is to work up and down the supply chain to get more efficiencies. Were working with vendor managed inventory and [trying to figure out] how do we keep high fill rates and services levels – how do we do that with less inventory?”
Weinrich, who runs a PeopleSoft shop, said he will look to his technology vendor help him deliver a demand-driven model.
“If you go to other folks, sometimes you deal so much in theory,” said Weinrich. “I can find a lot of theory. I want someone who can get down in the trenches with us and make it work. Thats where the technology vendor is the best choice, if they can handle it.”
Also in May, PeopleSoft will offer full support for RFID (radio frequency identification) technology that will allow manufacturers to label outbound products with electronic product code. The company expects to provide inbound RFID capabilities by the end of the year.
Separately SAPs FastTrack, a mySAP All-in-One package that can be implemented in 16 weeks, has modules for managing specific business processes within finance, engineering, quality, and sales and service within small- and mid-sized companies.
SAP also announced a partnership with SoftBrands Inc., which makes manufacturing-management systems, to integrate its Fourth Shift Manufacturing Edition product with its BusinessOne software geared for small and mid-sized companies.
The combination of both products is aimed at enhancing BusinessOnes capability with batch, make-to-order, discrete and mixed-mode manufacturing processes. SAP is also adding SoftBrands Lean Enterprise Automation module for those companies on the road to implementing lean manufacturing principals.


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Did you ditch your old MacBook and pick up a shiny new Surface instead? You're not alone, and Microsoft is naturally delighted at how many have made the switch.
So says Microsoft's Brian Hall, who took to the Windows Blog today to share the sales news of the Surface line:
Apple's most recent hardware announcements have disappointed many, and Microsoft looks to have benefitted from that. Aside from the 'magical' touch bar on the most expensive MacBook Pro, Apple hasn't really offered any new innovation to entice the creatives and the 'pro' customers. Surface Book on the other hand is a 2-in-1, has a pen, and also now has fairly capable graphics.
It's not just the MacBook, either. The Surface Studio is the most innovative, exciting all-in-one PC in years. While Apple sits on the iMac, adding a 5K display and calling it a day.
Competition is good, but Microsoft isn't just for the accountants anymore. The Surface brand is exciting and innovative, something which used to be almost solely attached to that little Apple logo. How times have changed.
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Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine


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Update on 4/2/10 — Paul and Storm say the event was a “huge success.” Storm successfully ate the entire 12-serving cake, and the duo raised more than $2,750 for the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
Want to see a geek have his cake and eat it, too?
The stunt was originally meant to mark Storm and bandmate Paul reaching 10,000 Twitter followers. Now it has been transformed into a fundraiser.
The “Fudgiethon” is being held at online retailer Think Geek’s headquarters in Fairfax. Those who donate will also be enrolled in a chance to win a $100 Think Geek gift certificate.
It may be April Fool’s Day, but this is no joke! Wired has more details.


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Tesla CEO Elon Musk showed a bit of attitude on a conference call, and his shares fell by 5 per cent as a result. Oops.
What it means: Most private companies are valued in shares, where people invest in a portion of your firm and get a proportional share of the profits if you do well. But shareholders can be fickle, and they clearly didn't think much of Musk calling an analyst a 'boring bonehead' in a conference call, saying the 'dry' questions were 'killing' him.
Given how much attention Tesla gets for technology, approach to productivity, (Musk recently said automation was overrated after all and he'd brought more good old-fashioned humans back into his factory), and ambition to make 5,000 Model 3s per week at $35k each, shares will probably bounce back up in no time.
But it does show how much the success of a business depends on shareholders trusting the strategy (and the CEO) – Musk is open about the fact that the company isn't even profitable yet, though he thinks it's 'high time' it gets there soon.


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Consumers in Singapore are adopting a slightly sunnier attitude to their jobs and financial prospects, a new study has found.
They are saving and investing more money even as the economic environment remains overcast.
Nielsen said on Wednesday that its third-quarter Consumer Confidence Index shows a reading of 98 for Singapore.
While that is an improvement from 95, where the gauge has stagnated in the past three quarters, it still reflects a generally sombre mood.
Consumer confidence levels above a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism, while levels below 100 reflect pessimism.
The Nielsen report showed that Singaporeans are more confident of their job prospects.
Of the 502 consumers polled, 61 per cent said this time around they believe their job prospects in the next 12 months will be either good or excellent, up from 52 per cent in the last quarter who thought so.
The results also showed an improved outlook on personal finances, with 54 per cent of Singaporeans polled saying that the state of their personal finances in the coming 12 months will likely be good or excellent, up from 50 per cent in the second quarter.
The very slight increase in confidence levels could be because of recent local and global economic forecasts and events, which have presented a mixed picture to consumers, said Mr Luca Griseri, Nielsen Singapore and Malaysia's head of financial services.
"On the one hand, the global economic outlook remains uncertain, with the ongoing rebalancing of the Chinese economy and the impact of the recent United States government shutdown," he said.
"On the other hand, the domestic outlook is much more positive, with a number of better-than-expected indicators having been announced for Singapore."
Along with their sunnier outlook, Singaporeans indicated they are planning to spend more too - 25 per cent said they plan to buy new technology products, up from 20 per cent in the last quarter.
But people here are also planning to save more, with 64 per cent of respondents saying they are putting spare cash into savings, up from 60 per cent last quarter. And 30 per cent said they were planning to invest in stocks and mutual funds, up from 24 per cent.
The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions measures consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.


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WELCOME TO The THE INTERNET OF THINGS REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
Zyter | October 26, 2021
today announced they are implementing a state-of-the-art, next-generation smart warehouse for OneScreen located in San Diego which will be equipped with products from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. The smart warehouse design for OneScreen plans to include an LTE-private network, implementation of a digital twin, robust warehouse management system, autonomous mobile robots (AMR), AR/VR technologies, IoT sensors and more. The modern smart warehouse will increase warehouse operational efficienci...
LEXI | September 09, 2022
LEXI, the company behind the industry’s most comprehensive IoT platform that’s transforming how both enterprises and consumers manage and automate their Smart Spaces, today announced the launch of their investment campaign on leading investment platform Republic. Founded by alumni from AngelList, Republic is the largest online platform for private investing. Republic was home to the first $5M Reg CF raise and has recently hosted its 13th $5M Reg CF raise. The IoT campaign is now open...
Swift | May 05, 2022
Swift Navigation, a San Francisco-based tech firm redefining GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and precise positioning technology for autonomous vehicles, automotive, mobile and mass-market applications, today announced that it has joined the STMicroelectronics Partner Program. Enabling the ST Teseo family of GNSS receivers and ASM330LHH to leverage Swift’s precise positioning technology platform—consisting of the Starling® positioning engine paired with Swift’s Sky...
KORE , Everynet | August 31, 2021
KORE, a global leader in Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and worldwide IoT Connectivity-as-a-Service (IoT CaaS), today announced that it is expanding its international partnership with Everynet, the world's largest network operator for national LoRaWAN® networks, into the U.S. at a time when the need to capture and transport small packets of data is growing and use cases for Massive IoT are accelerating.
According to Transforma Insights, by 2025, 358 million Massive IoT...
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Chennai: Citing the raging Russia-Ukraine war, a group of edible oil importing companies have moved the Madras high court, seeking to stall blacklisting of their firms for their inability to supply the contracted quantity of palmolein to Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation at the agreed rate.
While the companies invoked the concept of force majeure (act of god) to default supply and escape penal action by the government, the latter argued that the war was confined only to the interior parts of Ukrain. Vacation judge Justice GR Swaminathan
has reserved his orders.
For instance, M/s Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, Royapuram, Chennai said it had been supplying edible oils to TNCSC
for the past 15 years and that by a January 6, 2022 tender it had agreed to supply 400 lakh fortified RVD Palmolein 1-litre oil pouches to TNCSC for ₹120.2 per of 910 gram pouch.
It received an additional order of 22.5 lakh pouches from the TNCSC. However, the international palmolein prices increased to ₹135 from ₹130.2 per pouch, and then further spiked to ₹165 on March 2.
The company said that due to the war in Ukraine
, import of sunflower oils had been completely stopped.
The petition sought interim stay on all further proceedings pursuant to the confirmation order dated March 2 for supply of 22.5 lakh pouches of palmolein at the rate of ₹120.2 net per pouch.


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Christie’s released its annual sales report today, tallying a $6.27 billion global total for 2012 (including buyer’s premium). That’s up 10 percent over the previous year and, according to Reuters, a more than $1 billion lead over rival auction house Sotheby’s. But with market analysts increasingly bemoaning the collapse of the middle market, Christie’s made a point of emphasizing the success of its more populist platforms.
Its South Kensington outpost, for instance, where buyers can frequently find works for less than £1,000, had a record year, according to the report. It increased bidder registration by 10 percent and had an overall sales increase of 20 percent. Plus, the house’s online auctions, which attracts buyers from the lower echelons of the market, grew by 11 percent.
“Our third straight year of record results is a sign that more people in more places in the world are captivated by art and are seeking to acquire it, and Christie’s has aligned istelf with collectors and their needs,” said CEO Steven P. Murphy in a press release. “More importantly, this trend is apparent at every level of the art market, from under £1,000 to over £50 million, as technological advancements highlight the appeal and the ease of engaging with Christie’s and the works of art we handle.”
The market for works at “accessible prices” continues to represent the bulk of its sales, Christie’s says, but still, in 2012, it managed to auction no less than 49 works each priced at more than $10 million.
— Rachel Corbett


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OLD LYME, Conn. -- Joan Ryan readily admits that the Lyme Tree store, which opened in 1986, came very late to the national Woman's Exchange movement.
With roots stretching to 1832 and a legacy of helping women, the Woman's Exchange for more than a century provided women in America with a place to sell their handmade goods, sometimes secretly, and an income that often put food on their families' tables.
While the national movement started to wane in the mid-20th century and has seen dozens of stores across the country close, the Lyme Tree has survived.
From its bowls made of recycled scrap wood to knitted children's sweaters, the small consignment shop that Ryan helps run appears to have found its niche in the local market, said Margo Pope, president of the Federation of Woman's Exchanges.
"People still want handcrafted, handmade products," Pope said.
The Lyme Tree grosses about $70,000 annually and gives any profits to local charities. It has donated $16,000 since its inception.
Just as important, its directors say, the store has provided a place for local women to financially support their creative endeavors and has helped some of the more needy among them supplement their family incomes.
Lyme Tree's success has bucked the trend of poor sales, declining volunteer numbers, and shuttered stores that has plagued the Woman's Exchange movement.
The movement started in Philadelphia when a group of society women wanted a way for the less fortunate among their set, such as widows, to earn a living. It was socially unacceptable for women to work outside the home, especially society women, so many of the consignors to the first exchange store participated secretly.
More stores followed in other major cities, and after the Civil War, when many women were left widowed, the movement took off.
At one point in the 19th century, more than 100 exchange stores operated across the country under the umbrella of the Federation of Woman's Exchanges. Some were so popular they held luncheons so women could gather and socialize during their shopping excursions.
In more recent decades, exchange stores have declined, the victims of the explosion of designer clothing and goods, as well as the spread of department stores.
There are currently just 19 exchange stores across the country and after this summer there will be 18. In August, Pope said, an exchange store in Gloucester, Mass., will close because of rising rents and a lack of volunteers.
Lyme Tree was started by a group of local women who were looking for opportunities to volunteer and who had visited a Woman's Exchange store in New York City. It is only one of three exchange stores left in Connecticut.


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GANDHINAGAR, INDIA — Tokyo-based Japan Steel Works Ltd. is considering setting up an injection press manufacturing plant in India, a senior JSW executive said at Plastindia.
Kazuo Kitamura, managing executive officer of JSW's machinery business division, told Plastics News that the company would like to be in the market in the next few years.
“We would likely take between three to five years in entering India, and might be before that if the scenario develops positively,” he said. “Currently the Indian market is controlled largely by hydraulic and hybrid press makers. Our expertise is in the electric injection molding press manufacturing.”
The company has some preliminary investment targets, he said: “We might invest around $5 million in the India plant with initial plant capacity of about 50 presses per month.”
Almost 50 percent of the company's global production is consumed by the automobile sector, and JSW said it sees potential in the Indian auto market.
He suggested the company was still studying whether to enter with a joint venture partner or on its own, and he said the company is strongly considering the state of Gujarat for any operation as it houses a sizable part of India's plastics industry.
Plastindia was held from Feb. 5-10 in Gandhinagar.


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8 inch Visio tablet shows up on Walmart roadmap
Visio has a new 8”Android tablet planned for this quarter that was showed off during a Rose Bowl commercial just before this year’s CES. Since then, the tablet has found its place in a Walmart inventory list, and now Engadget reveals an internal schedule that says the tablet might arrive on June 26th.
The Visio tablet is supposed to have a VIA 1GHz processor. The Android version is not known yet, and looking at its suggested price bracket of about $349, it may not be the latest Honeycomb 3.1 or for that matter the upcoming 3.4 Icecream Sandwich.
Although the tablet will be competing against giants like Samsung, Blackberry and HP – it has its own set of unique features to interest you. There is enhanced audio planned through the SRS speakers, and the VIA Plus ecosystem will incorporate the VIA TV app for live streaming as well as provide support for a seamless integration with an upcoming Visio phone.


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Tonight (Thursday) is your opportunity to weigh in on a proposal to build a new restaurant and retail store near Scott Boulevard and Vawter School road in Columbia.
The Planning and Zoning commission has scheduled a 7 o’clock hearing at city hall.
HTG Development wants to build a new 6,000 square foot commercial building at that location, with four tenant spaces. They would include a retail store, restaurant/drive through, office and personal services.
939 the Eagle News asked city development services manager Pat Zenner if he knows what restaurant is being planned. Zenner says no, noting that it’s a shell building at this time.


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- TheStreet's Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link bought Whole Foods Market (WFM) for their Action Alerts PLUS portfolio on April 8 but sold it on April 29 ahead of the company's quarterly earnings because they did not like what they were hearing and the way the stock was reacting.
Cramer says Whole Foods did not go up during its recent run, so Cramer and Link knew something was wrong. He points out management said on the earnings conference call it needs to reinvent the company, but investors do not seem to want to stick with the stock through such a period.
Link adds this latest report was the sixth disappointing one in the last seven quarters and notes confidence in Whole Foods' guidance has been shaken. She argues the guidance is actually "quite aggressive" given the company's need to be more price competitive.
Cramer says he is not ready to write off the company yet, but he notes that earnings cuts lead to multiple cuts and this stock has just begun a multiple shrinkage.


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Over 90 officers and staff raided Lawrence House in Manchester this morning after intelligence-led research highlighted that the premises was housing illegal immigrants who were being used to manufacture counterfeit footwear and sports clothing.
As the building was around 700sqft in size, a large number of staff were assembled and deployed, which were made up of partners from Immigration Enforcement, Border Force, Police Officers from Op Challenger, City of Manchester Police, City of London Police, Manchester City Council, the Drone Unit, North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and other private industry partners.
The British Red Cross were on hand at a rest centre to provide emotional support, clothing, and refreshments to potential victims evacuated as a result of the operation.
No victims of modern slavery were found on-site, however a large amount of counterfeit goods were discovered, that on first-look is being estimated to have a street value of millions of pounds.
DI Jamie Pearson said: “Although we didn’t find any victims of modern slavery today, we have seized a huge amount of counterfeit goods that have been made illegally.
“This warrant is the first to be conducted through a new multi-agency approach called Op Magpie, which aims to highlight the human cost of counterfeiting by tackling intellectual property crime, counterfeiting and the associated crime and anti-social behaviour in the areas of Cheetham Hill and Strangeways.
“We will continue to lead a focused approach to tackling modern slavery in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways in order to prosecute any offenders.”
Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “The fake goods industry is an insidious one and I hope the message taken away from Operation Magpie is that this is not a victimless crime.
“A person may think when they buy a pair of fake trainers or knock off designer clothes they are striking a blow against multi-million pound brands. In fact, what they are doing is putting money into the hands of some of the most deplorable criminals in our society.
“This industry is a conduit for modern slavery, human trafficking, drug dealing and a host of other illegal enterprises. We are fully committed alongside Greater Manchester Police in shutting down these criminals for good.”


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Over three quarters of Chile’s population access the internet on a regular basis and over half of the country’s households have internet connections. Despite this, Chile’s PR industry has been slow in adopting digital media. However, with a rapid smart phone uptake, brands are beginning to realise the importance of having an effective digital media strategy.
Weber Shandwick affiliate agency, Extend Comunicaciones, executive vice president Marilu Velasco explains: ‘People in Chile are well connected. In light of this, most companies are considering social media in their marketing and PR campaigns as they start to realise that all their campaigns should have a social media component.’
Lansons Communications affiliate agency, Feedback Communications, strategic planning director, Renato Munoz Osses agrees: ‘Social networks have gained new significance among PR firms. Recently, a major power plant was shut down due to the strong opposition to the project using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to amplify their voices.’
Chile also has a democratised broadcast media and buoyant print industry, digital is not the only way for PR professionals in Chile.
The state owned television network, Television Nacional de Chile (TVN), is self-financed by commercial advertising revenue streams, so not under government control – making for a relatively democratised media.
There are also a great number of privately owned television stations, including; TV, Canal 13, Chilevision and Mega.
Chile also hosts around 250 radio stations.
Press, El Mercurio, La Tercera and Diario Financiero are the key print titles on the market.
Traditional print media is still buoyant as digital is slower to catch on in terms of news.
Ketchum affiliate, ASK Comunicaciones, executive director, Andres Saiz Kafack believes that this is due to the key news websites being linked directly with the print publications.
He explains: ‘They only replicate the main stories of the printed version and focus on giving headlines throughout the day.’
Social media is also slow to take off despite over three quarters of the population using the internet, although it has become more relevant recently.
Facebook is the main social networking platform, with Fotolog and Twitter trailing behind.
However, according to CR Comunicaciones CEO, Claudio Ramirez, there is a ‘booming growth’ in the use of Twitter, ‘especially by teenagers and young people'.
Telecommunications companies play a vital role in the market in Chile. Telefonica, Nokia and Entel are all key players in this sector.
Global brand Coca-Cola is one of the country’s leading consumer firms and Banco Chile and Banco Santander are market leaders in the Chilean financial sector.
One of the key problems faced by big brands in Chile is approach to CSR, according to Kafack.
He says: ‘At the current time, big brands have CSR programmes in place but they are too basic and therefore have little impact on customers’ perceptions of the companies.’
Velasco adds: ‘The industry needs to continue to "professionalise" and remain focused on ethical business practices.’
Osses believes that growth problems stem from integration issues around the communications mix.
He says: ‘One of the challenges for PR professionals in Chile comes in finding the right communications mix, whilst addressing the digital platforms required for each of the brands an agency is working with.’
Chile offers an even mix between global agencies and local-based ones, according to Kafack.
At the end of 2009, PODER magazine carried out a study to rank the most influential PR firms in Chile. The survey found Hill & Knowlton to be of the most influential global agencies, alongside Burson-Marsteller, with Tironi y Asociados, Immaginaccion, Extend and Feedback Counicaciones leading the way locally.
Elections held in Chile this year produced a new leader and switched the country from a centre left coalition to a centre right government after twenty years.
This has not only led the news agenda but has also had a dramatic effect on the perception of public affairs and its value.
Currently there is a push towards greater transparency in lobbying, initiated by the new government. The lobby is unregulated but there are expectations that this will change come 2011.
Ramirez says: ‘Nowadays, the lobby in Chile is not regulated and, in fact, the government expects a Lobby Law for 2011, as a result of the Transparency agenda being executed by President Sebastián Piñera's administration.’
Osses adds: ‘A lobbying law is currently being debated in Chile, focusing on providing its practice with greater transparency: a necessary step.’


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Holiday shoppers looking to grab some items from Apple can enjoy free shipping on all online orders until December 22.
To ring in the holidays, Apple is offering the free shipping on any product ordered through its online Apple store or through its Apple Store iOS app. Apple normally provides free shipping only on online orders of more than $50. So the new promotion gives shoppers incentive to buy less pricey stocking stuffers or to pick up multiple items throughout the holiday season.
Last-minute shoppers who need their items delivered quickly can also opt for two-day shipping for $10 or one-day delivery for $16.
Apple is even serving up a holiday gift guide on its Web site to steer potential buyers to a variety of items and accessories. In addition, the company is offering gift wrapping and engraving on certain products such as iPads and iPods.
Apple also served up someby offering Macs, iPads, iPods, and other items at discount prices. That strategy apparently paid off since the company reportedly took in that it typically brings in on a Friday.


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In 2005 many analysts saw News Corps’ $580 million buyout of social network MySpace as a huge success when the company more than doubled their monthly traffic numberx from 20 million to 70 million users during the first year of acquisition and now just six years later the company has announced the sale of the one-time media darling for $35 million.
The social network was picked up on Wednesday by Specific Media with Specific CEO Tim Vanderhook noting:
“Myspace is a recognized leader that has pioneered the social media space. The company has transformed the ways in which audiences discover, consume and engage with content online.”
After being purchased by News Corp. the site underwent a major site redesign as they continued to bleed up to 1 million users per month from the company’s highest levels witnessed in December 2008. While new features were added to the network and more emphasis was placed on artists and musicians the company failed to gain the mass appeal they once held.
For their part Specific Media, a digital media company has promised to continue in Myspace’s current direction.
“There are many synergies between our companies as we are both focused on enhancing digital media experiences by fueling connections with relevance and interest. We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation.”
With the sale announced it is likely that most if not all of Myspace’s 400 employees will be fired, although Specific Media has not stated what their intentions for the company’s staff is at this time (News Corp emailed employees to let them know that their futures were uncertain and likely void of a job), what is known is that company CEO Mike Jones will be resigning from his position.
Market research firm eMarketer has estimated that the website will bring in $183 million in worldwide ad revenues in 2011, down from the company’s height advertising peak of $605 million annually.
It will be interesting to see how a company that specializes in online media can sculpt the company into something more than it has become. I personally always thought that it was silly for News Corp to jump head first into a market they had almost zero exposure in before the acquisition.
Are you willing to give Myspace another try now that the company is being run by an internet firm? If they don’t attempt to start competing with Facebook again they may still have a chance to become a premium entertainment hub as recently planned.


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7-Eleven invites Apopka residents to sip, snack and see what the new 7-Eleven® store at 2229 E Semoran Boulevard has to offer. A grand-opening celebration is planned for Wednesday, February 26, the day the store officially opens to the public. The fun and festivities will begin at 11 a.m. with fresh food sampling, free medium coffee, small Slurpees®, and Big Gulp® drinks, free ring donut, and $1 pizza slices. Radio station Power 95.3 will be on site from 1 – 3 p.m.
Neighborhood 7-Eleven stores are typically franchised by local entrepreneurs, who are members of the community in which they operate their stores. The February 26 open house gives Harjinder Singh an opportunity to meet and greet his new neighbors and customers. As part of the celebration, Singh’s will present a $711 Project A-Game® donation to Clay Springs Elementary School. Project A-Game is 7-Eleven stores’ youth outreach program promoting academics and athletics in local communities. There will also be a television raffle with the proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.
Visitors will be invited to sign up for 7Rewards®, the 7-Eleven loyalty platform where customers can earn and redeem points on various in-store products upon checkout. For every six 7-Eleven beverages purchased – hot or cold, from small to large – served in a 7-Eleven cup, 7Rewards members earn a seventh free cup. To participate, customers must download and register in the 7-Eleven mobile app, available in the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
The store is home to 7-Eleven’s new beverage experience which allows customers to customize their daily morning coffee, or mid-afternoon fix, just the way they want it at a fraction of coffee house prices. No matter what’s in the cup, it’s priced by size, so customers can select 7-Eleven drip coffee, or they can choose from espresso-based options including lattes, cappuccinos, americanos (with extra shots of espresso) as well as iced options including iced coffee, cold brew and nitro cold brew topped off with a variety of milk, creamers, sweeteners and toppings.
When franchising with 7‑Eleven, business men and women become part of a brand that’s recognized around the world and consistently ranked as a top franchisor. With a business model built for success, entrepreneurs will not only be a part of a global brand but be equipped to run a successful business. To learn more, visit http://franchise.7-eleven.com/franchise/home.
WHAT: A weekday event with free food, fun, and festivities to celebrate the grand opening of the newest 7-Eleven store in Apopka
WHERE: 2229 E Semoran Boulevard Apopka, FL 32703
WHEN: Wednesday, February 26, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHO: 7-Eleven Franchisee Harjinder Singh


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If you've been following Google's Android 5.1 rollout, it's no secret that the release to GPE devices is well underway. So far we've seen the stock Android variants of the Moto G, LG G Pad 8.3, and HTC One M8 get the update, and now it's time for Sony's massive Z Ultra GPE to have its turn in the sun. Read More
For the last couple of months, we've seen a lot of big things happening for Drive, Maps, Search, and even the News & Weather app. It's been fairly quiet for the suite of Google Play content apps – but don't be fooled, big changes are coming. A recent Update Wednesday release of Play Movies didn't present any noteworthy or visibly obvious changes; but a look inside revealed a couple of hints about upcoming changes. Read More
Advertising is a necessary evil. If you look around this very page, you'll see ads that keep Android Police afloat. (Unless you're blocking them, in which case you owe me a beer for every paragraph you read.) Google knows its way around ads - that's how an incredibly expensive, bandwidth-intensive video service like YouTube makes money. But if you could skip the annoying commercials before your videos, even the 5 second blips that require an extra click, would you? Read More
Twitter has been giving Android users the cold shoulder repeatedly over the last few weeks: first with the new Periscope app, then with improved Vine video quality, and finally with the new embedded retweet format. All three came to iOS first and are only "coming soon" to Android. Developer Jacob Klinker ain't havin' none of that: the new retweet format is now active in the popular Talon for Twitter client, well before the feature has been rolled out to the official Twitter app. Read More
The Dell Venue 8 7000 is a sleek piece of tech, despite the large chin. At 6mm, it's as thin as tablets get. Now Dell is following up with the bigger Dell Venue 10 7000, a device that maintains the awkward name and a few other peculiar quirks. Read More
Amazon's Prime Music service is demonstrably behind competitors like Spotify and Google Play Music. Maybe that's why it's thrown in with Amazon Prime (which most people get for the shipping discounts) as a freebie. But never let it be said that Amazon rests on its laurels when it comes to new features: the latest update to Prime Music adds streaming music stations, like... well, like just about every other music service at this point. Read More
Google Calendar is meant to be precisely that, a calendar. The app serves as the default way you keep up with events and appointments on a stock Android device. As a result, some users were a little miffed when the big 5.0 redesign stripped the app of its ability to display a month's worth of events on a phone's screen at once.
With 5.2, that changes.
5.1 could show a single day, three days, or a week. Read More
Apple has spared no opportunity to advertise how customizable its debut smartwatch is, thanks to the promised number of bands wearers will be able to swap in and out. Unsurprisingly Google wants to take some of the wind out of those sails. The company has taken this moment to highlight a set of straps available for various Android Wear devices from the likes of Clockwork Synergy, E3 Supply Co., and Worn & Wound. Read More
I hope you weren't too attached to that shiny new HTC One M9, at least in its capacity as the company's top-of-the-line smartphone. Just a few weeks after revealing the new M9 at Mobile World Congress, HTC has taken the wraps off of the previously-leaked One M9+. This larger and more technically advanced phone one-ups its little brother with a bigger, sharper screen, a built-in fingerprint scanner, and the return of HTC's Duo camera design. Read More


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Ultracap distribution sorted for Skeleton
Skeleton Technologies and Sumitomo Corporation Europe sign an agreement to distribute graphene-based ultracapacitors for the hybrid and electric vehicle industry.
Skeleton Technologies signed a distribution agreement with Sumitomo Corporation Europe with the aim to target the automotive industry. Skeleton’s graphene-based ultracapacitors are said double the battery lifetime when combined with Li-ion batteries. In this set-up, they also help downsizing the cell receiving the peak power from ultracapacitors and the long-term energy from the batteries.
Sumitomo has called this a “hybrid approach” that holds much promise for the automotive industry for electrification.
Skeleton hopes to tap into Sumitomo’s contacts through the new partnership. In terms of production the company from Estonia just recently borrowed 15m from the European investment bank (EIB) to fund further research as well as an electrode mass-production facility in the German town of Dresden in Saxonia.


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Today marks iconic supermodel Linda Evangelista’s 49th birthday—but from the looks of her flawless face, you’d never guess the fashion fixture was a day over 30. Born in Ontario, Canada, Evangelista was first discovered at the 1978 Miss Teen Niagara pageant. Soon afterwards, she got a career-making short haircut from industry favorite Julien d’Ys, became fashion photographer Steven Meisel’s muse and went on to cover more than 600 magazines (!).
One of the original crew of ’90s supermodels—a group that also included Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford—Evangelista appeared in major campaigns for the likes of Revlon, Dolce & Gabbana, L’Oréal Paris and Yves Saint Laurent. It was jobs like these, of course, that prompted her to utter the famous line, "We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day."
In honor of Evangelista’s big day, we’ve put together five supermodel-worthy head-to-toe outfits—all priced at a grand total of, you guessed it, $10,000. They’d certainly lure us out of bed—but would they do the same for the famous supe? You be the judge!


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In a sun-filled room ofGivaudan SA’s Innovation Center, a four-story brick building in the gentle hills east of Zurich, dozens of white containers are stacked in neat rows. While they have labels such as “bacon,” “fried fat,” and “pork lard,” what’s inside is made of extracts of foods such as herbs, garlic, and onion, or enzymes and amino acids from cooking—and not a molecule of animal protein.
The flavorings are aimed at the growing business of meat alternatives from newcomers such asBeyond Meat andImpossible Foods and at industry stalwarts likeNestlé,Perdue,Smithfield, andTyson. Increasing sales of those products is a huge opportunity for the likes of Givaudan, which can help turn insipid, mealy concoctions into something consumers crave. The Swiss company and rival producers of flavors and fragrances for innumerable consumer products—from liquor to lotion to laundry detergent—are carving out a niche in making vegan foods more appealing and nutritious. “Everyone wants in, whether it’s some defense or a desire to disrupt,” says Louie D’Amico, president of Givaudan’s flavor division. “We help companies make their products taste better.”
Analysts predictmeat alternatives could make up some 10% of the global meat market in the next decade, and Givaudan, founded in 1895 as a fragrance maker, aims to profit from that growth. The company has a pool of more than 3,000 ingredients it uses to create hundreds of thousands of flavorings such as elderflower, leek, or grape-jasmine. While it’s the biggest player, Givaudan faces increasing competition from the likes of Switzerland’sFirmenich, Germany’sSymrise, and New York-basedInternational Flavors & Fragrances, which have been beefing up their research capabilities and buying smaller players to better understand various proteins and how to make them tastier and healthier. Crop processing giantArcher-Daniels-Midland Co. joined the fight in 2014 when itacquired Germany’sWild Flavors, and it now helps produce the soy-basedRebel Whopper for Burger King in Brazil.
Startups arejumping in as well, with venture capital funding for companies making newfangled food ingredients up sixfold in the past three years, to more than $700 million in 2019, according to researcher PitchBook.Thai Union Group has invested inFlying Spark, an Israeli company that makes protein from fruit fly larvae. In April, San Francisco’s Prefix Capital invested inManus Bio, which uses fermentation to create sweeteners and other natural ingredients. And Boston-basedMotif FoodWorks Inc. has raised more than $115 million to create alternative proteins and ingredients. Such companies can help make “plant-based or blended products with better taste, texture, and nutrition,” says Rosie Wardle, investment associate atCPT Capital, a London venture capital fund that’s backed Motif and more than 30 other alternative protein companies.
With some 15,000 employees worldwide, a $500 million-plus annual research budget, and manufacturing facilities in more than 30 countries, Givaudan remains the giant in the field. The company last year opened its Innovation Center, where chemists work on seasonings, scents, and additives. The building is surprisingly odor-free for a place where flavors and aromas are developed. In one room, washing machines churn laundry to test fragrances for detergents. In another, perfume ideas are concocted in domed glass containers and test tubes, with their chemical formulas scribbled across sliding glass windows. In a third, flavors for candies and drinks are sorted in see-through packets or glass bottles, with labels such as pear-vanilla and cola-mandarin. In a test kitchen on the ground floor, chefs cook up samples for visitors and customers—effectively every big foodmaker you’ve ever heard of, though neither Givaudan nor most clients are willing to disclose the relationships. For lunch on a sunny Friday, they’re serving mushroom and quinoa balls with a distinct smoky taste, a soy-based tuna replacement, and a vegan lamb shawarma.
A key initiative is helping make plant-based meats more palatable, especially in terms of texture. While Givaudan scientists have a suite of flavors that generally work—getting rid of bitter aftertastes common to plant protein, adding grill notes, or boosting umami—the biggest goals are nutrition and approximating the mouthfeel of meat: “How are things released, what do color and texture have to do with it, and how do you mirror that?” D’Amico says.
To boost its understanding of the field, Givaudan has teamed up withPlant Meat Matters, a group of food industry giants led by scholars at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands that studies the appearance, taste, and texture of plant proteins. With students at the University of California at Berkeley, Givaudan is seeking better ways to produce plant-based products. The company has tie-ups with dozens of startups to help them develop tastier foods while bolstering its own expertise in the field. In November it joined with Israeli startupInnovopro to study chickpeas as a base for products such as vegan mayonnaise, puddings, and ice creams. Since May it’s been working with a California company calledTerviva to create meat alternatives extracted from pongamia, a tree native to Southeast Asia. And in June it said it’s helping Israel’sRedefine Meat—whichuses 3D printers to lay down ersatz meat mixture—to create a product it says will be indistinguishable from a cut of beef carved from a steer.
Givaudan in October introduced a technology it says can replicate the juiciness of meat. Vegan patties tend to dry out in the pan because vegetable oils burn off faster than those in animal protein, but the Givaudan offering encapsulates plant fat in a matrix of starch so it acts like cells in meat. The company says the product provides the mouthfeel of meat while cutting fat content by 75% and reducing calories by 30%. That’s important because there’s growing concern about thenutritional value of meat alternatives. While consumers initially assumed meatless foods were inherently healthier, they’re now balking at the fat and sodium content, which is often higher than the levels in meat. “People look at that now and say, ‘Wow, that’s a problem,’ ” D’Amico says. “There’s still a way to go with flavor and taste, and the next challenge is helping with the nutritional profile.”
Read next:The U.S. Maker of Fake Mayo Pitches China on Fake Eggs
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Incumbent financial services firms have a lot of brand value, but unfortunately for them, so do others. And their brand values are getting higher. However, this year, the majority of the sector saw rises in brand value. Furthermore, the big card firms saw double digit rises. Patrick Brusnahan reports
Brands rise and fall. Since Interbrand began publishing its ranking of the most valuable brands, a lot has changed. In its 20th year, only 31 brands, such as Disney, Nike and Gucci, remain in the ranking. 137 brands, like Nokia and MTV, have entered and left. Coca-Cola and Microsoft are the only two to have retained top ten spots since then.
In 2001, the cumulative brand value in the top 100 brands was $988bn. In 2019, it stands at 2.1trn.
Twelve brands from the financial sector made the Interbrand’s top 100 this year, all of which have been there before.
“The finance sector has a reputation for being traditional; a long way from the global ambitions of Silicon Valley and big tech’s move-fast-and-break-things attitude,” the report said.
“But as technology’s influence sets and resets customer expectations, the financial services sector becomes ever more vulnerable to the looming threat of disruption.”
The highest ranked was American Express which landed in 23rd place with a brand value of $21.6bn. It was followed by JP Morgan in 25th place ($19bn) and Citi in 41st position ($12.7bn).
Visa is in 55th place with a brand value of $10.8bn and Mastercard is just behind in 62nd position and a brand value of $9.4bn. However, Mastercard had the highest level of growth over the year, increasing its brand value by 25%.
American Express and Visa also witnessed double digit rises over the last twelve months, 13% and 19% respectively.
The other financial brands in the ranking are Allianz, AXA, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Santander, Morgan Stanley, and PayPal. All of these witnessed rises in their brand values apart from Goldman Sachs (a 4% decrease) and Morgan Stanley, which fell 7% in its brand value.
On Mastercard, the report stated: “Its ascent has been fuelled in part by its transition from finance provider to technology firm, which should give many of the other brands in this arena pause for thought.
“But don’t be fooled by that one shining star—Mastercard has very much bucked the wider sector trend, which is one of stagnation. Because, while financial services is broadly represented in our ranking, none of those brands made the top 20.
“One final note on Mastercard’s ascent. It appears to reflect a wider trend in the arena of money, which is that the real gains are being made by businesses that harness the disruptive forces of technology.”
Financial brands need to be aware of shifts in the market. While there was growth this year, and Mastercard has the highest of all brands, there are many other sectors growing.
Amazon was the 3rd most valuable brand and, even from such a high value, managed to grow another 24% to hit $125.3bn in value. Another technology outfit, Microsoft, grew 17%. Uber made its first appearance in the top 100 in 87th place with a value of $5.7bn.
There needs to be shifts in financial services’ thinking before these “exciting” digital outfits start to see their promise transform into brand value. Otherwise, it may not be very long until the incumbent financial brands are nowhere to be seen.


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Family shopping trips could be banned under strict new measures, it has been reported.
Supermarkets may soon be forced to introduce a 'shop alone' policy to reduce the number of people in shops at any one time.
Some of the UK's biggest supermarkets are already encouraging people to not shop together, but ministers may bring in the tougher rules.
A senior Government source told the Sun: “We‘re looking at ways to make supermarkets as safe as possible for both shoppers and the people who work there.
“It’s clear that some customers see the visit as a bit of an outing. The whole family goes together and they end up talking to friends who they bump into while there.
“Often, there’s no reason why one household member can’t do the shopping.
“Unlike other shops, supermarkets are allowed to stay open because they provide food. People should only visit them to buy what they need – essentials. And they should not be going in groups.”
Under the stricter measures, supermarkets could also be made to introduce more sanitising stations.
However, some ministers are concerned that more rules could heap further pressure on supermarket bosses.
Stores such as Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's have already said they will be banning anyone not wearing face masks from entering stores, unless exempt.
Find the nearest vaccination centre in your area by entering your post code below:
The Government could also increase the fines for rule flouters.
Under the current rules, the fine stands at £200 for the first offence, lowered to £100 if paid within the first 14 days.
For second offenders, the fine is doubled to £400. The maximum is £6,400.


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SINGAPORE - The website operator of online travel company Expedia Singapore - BEX Travel Asia - has ceased its false claims on the validity period of its "Daily Deals" promotions and affirmed that it will not engage in further unfair practices from Thursday (Nov 12).
The announcement follows an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) in April last year.
The commission found that there were at least 55 "Daily Deals" offers on the website, which claimed to expire at 11.59pm each day but the prices remained the same after midnight.
These misleading promotions included hotel deals and holiday package deals which were offered on the Expedia Singapore website and e-mailed to customers on BEX's mailing list.
"Such false claims in relation to promotional prices mislead consumers into believing that there is a price benefit which is only available for a limited period, thus creating unwarranted pressure or a sense of urgency for consumers to make an immediate purchase," said CCCS.
The false promotional claims by BEX had been around since 2016 and were taken down in October last year while investigations were ongoing.
The consumer watchdog, which issued a warning to BEX, added that misleading consumers in such a manner constitutes an unfair practice in breach of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTA).
BEX has undertaken that it will from Thursday ensure that promotions on the Expedia Singapore website will not be communicated to consumers as being available for a limited time period even though the promotion is expected to remain available afterwards.
BEX also affirmed that it will not communicate promotions as being valid for a specific time period where the promotion may cease before the time period expires.
In addition, it will comply with the CPFTA and take prompt steps to cease any unfair practices in breach of the Act.
CCCS said it is closely monitoring other businesses that engage in similar unfair practices.
The commission also urged all businesses to review their business practices to comply with the CPFTA.
On Nov 1, the CCCS' guidelines on price transparency came into effect.
They provide more clarity on what constitutes an infringement of consumer protection laws, and set out the factors and circumstances that the commission may consider in assessing if advertised prices and related practices are potentially misleading.
Under the Act, the CCCS is empowered to investigate errant businesses and file an injunction application against them.
If they do not cease the unfair practice, the businesses can be charged with contempt of court, which carries a fine of up to $10,000, up to a year's imprisonment, or both.


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Rising Gas Prices Have Alberta Drivers Rethinking the Summer Road TripMay 22nd, 2019
Planning on taking a road trip this summer? According to a new study conducted by Ipsos, some Canadians are rethinking their travel plans due to rising gas prices. In fact, 47% of Canadians say high fuel costs are making it less likely that they will take a summer road trip this year and 62% say these escalating costs will also affect their general household budgets.
Luckily, Canadians aren’t giving up their vacations altogether. Instead, many are adapting their lifestyles in more long-term ways, like switching to electric vehicles and hybrids. According to the same study, almost 40% of Canadians are considering more fuel-efficient electrified vehicles to avoid spending more money at the pumps.
Vice President of Toyota Canada Stephen Beatty thinks there has never been a better time to try out an electrified option like a plug-in or a fuel cell option.
“Looking ahead, we’re not surprised that 52% of Canadians are likely to purchase an electrified vehicle in the next five years. As a leader in this space, Toyota is thrilled to see their value being recognized – not just for their impact on the environment, but for the potential impact on their wallets too,” says Beatty.
Toyota Offers an Electric Car for Every Alberta Driver
With more Alberta drivers looking for ways to lower their fuel budget, Toyota has seen sales of electric vehicles soar. In fact, 6.7% of their total sales in April were made up of electrified vehicles.
The Toyota RAV4 hybrid is responsible for a large portion of that increase with more than 2,112 units sold, making it the best-ever month for Toyota electrified vehicle sales, ever!
|Vehicle||Type||Category||Combined Fuel Consumption|
|2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid||Hybrid Electric||Compact SUV||6.0L / 100 km*|
|2020 Toyota Prius Prime||Plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid||Sedan||4.3L/100km*|
|2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid||Hybrid Electric||Compact Sedan||(Anticipated) Less than 5.0L/100km*|
|2019 Toyota Mirai||Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric (currently Quebec only)||Sedan||(Estimated) 500 km driving range*|
Decrease Your Fuel Consumption & Save Money
While electric vehicles will definitely help lower your bill at the pumps this summer, Natural Resource Canada also recommends following these tips:
- Avoid idling
- Be consciences of your air conditioning usage
- Use the navigation to avoid accidents and construction
- Use cruise control when able
- Remove roof or bicycle racks and avoid any excess weight
- Avoid roads with frequent stops and try to stick to highways
- Use a fuel consumption display and learn how to track it
By making a few small changes in your driving habits and planning ahead, you can cut costs this and still head to your favourite vacation spots this year.
Alberta Electric Car Rebates
Thanks to the 2019 federal budget, electrified cars might save you even more money than just at the pumps. Starting May 1, anyone who purchases or leases an eligible zero-emission vehicle will qualify for a new incentive program designed to incentivize drivers to switch to an electric car.
The rebates will take up to $5,000 off the cost of electric vehicles, and $2,500 off plug-in hybrids. To learn more, click here.


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Sabeer bhatia the man behind hotmail
Sabeer bhatia is the founder of hotmail is a successful indian who gave the world a precious piece of software read about founder of hotmail or you can say founder of email in world. Sabeer bhatia latest breaking has roped in it wizard and co-founder of hotmail, sabeer bhatia choices made by millennials and the reasons behind it. Outlookcom is a web-based suite of webmail, contacts, tasks, and calendaring services from microsoftone of the world's first webmail services, it was founded in 1996 as hotmail (stylized. The indian internet prodigy, sabeer bhatia, founder of hotmail for the man behind this company was sabeer bhatia, the multi-millionaire founder of hotmail. What competencies are needed to be creative sabeer bhatia sabeer bhatia: ‘the man behind hotmail’ (sabeer [email protected] / sabeer bhatia: india’s computer whiz) in this era of. (video) sabeer bhatia – the successful indian multi-millionaire behind hotmailcom more than 500 million people worldwide have a hotmail account for their email service.
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Having staged its successful first ever dedicated European Tyre Dealer Partners Evening during Autopromotec 2015 Show, leading International Contract Tyre Manufacturer – Enjoy Tyre, returned to the same Osteria Della Pieve restaurant for to express the firm’s appreciation for the support of their constantly growing team of tyre dealers in UK/Europe. The evening was also special celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Rotalla and the 5th Anniversary of Routeway distribution in Europe.
Goodyear Dunlop picked up the award for Best Stand – Equipment Supplier at the annual National Association of Police Fleet Managers Conference (NAPFM) earlier this month. Delegates attending the show at Telford’s International Centre voted the Goodyear Dunlop stand the best for its aesthetics, as well as for the products and services provided throughout the year.
Maxxis, has announced the appointment of experience tyre industry marketeer, Nikki McCluney. As a HiQ Goodyear Dunlop alumni – and with over twenty years’ senior level marketing experience spanning retail, fast fit, fuel and light commercial vehicle, McCluney is tasked with raising awareness of the quality, performance and value offering of Maxxis products across passenger car, bicycle, motorcycle and specialist tyre markets. McCluney is also tasked with cultivating the existing UK dealer network and promoting the impressive profit margin opportunities available, and lifetime warranty offered on a majority of car tyres. Developing relations with existing and prospective overseas distribution partners in order to grow market share across Europe is also on the agenda.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has moved to a new headquarters near Solihull. The 26,498-square foot ‘GDHQ’ office is located in the Birmingham Business Park and houses the tyre maker’s sales and marketing teams for its five brands – Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda, Sava and HiQ – as well as a research and development centre for the Dunlop motorsport business.
George Rietbergen (who was formerly Goodyear Dunlop’s UK and Ireland managing director before becoming the firm’s group’s vice president Commercial EMEA and then managing director, DACH) has been nominated to the board of Nokian Tyres.
Fulda has launched the Ecotonn 2 HL high load trailer tyre to meet the demands of truck operators to increase payloads. Nearly 80 per cent of European countries now permit maximum permitted vehicle weights in excess of 40 tonnes, and operators naturally want to optimise the capacity of their vehicles. The Goodyear Dunlop brand has therefore introduced the new 385/65R22.5, allowing 10-tonne axle weights so that trailers can carry greater payloads.
Goodyear Dunlop brand Fulda will continue to be available to commercial fleets exclusively at Central Tyre in the UK, after extending its exclusive supply agreement to a second year. Central said this is an important part of the wider strategic partnership between Goodyear Dunlop and the ETEL group, which spans several UK market sectors.
Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK Ltd is continuing its partnership with the UK Police Force that sees the tyre manufacturer supply, service and maintain the government-operated fleet. The news means the firm has been supplying tyres to the police for 15 consecutive years. The latest deal adds a further four years to the total.
The Tyre Industry Awards have been presented for 2016 during the sold-out NTDA Annual Dinner, this year hosted by the Vox Conference Centre on the site of Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre. In addition to the various gongs, the NTDA presented Sir Tom Farmer with the National Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Tyre Industry, sponsored by Hankook UK, while Brian Funnell and Lennie Wells were also made NTDA Honorary Life Members. Presented by television personality Suzi Perry, the winners were decided by a panel of leading industry judges, and the results live-tweeted by Tyrepress via its Twitter feed.
Dunlop Tyres has helped to design and deliver an in-depth training course in conjunction with National Tyres and Autocare Centres (NTA). Aimed at NTA’s assistant branch managers, the course is the first of its kind, focusing solely on developing assistant branch managers in NTA’s centres nationwide. There has not previously been a training course which offers such in-depth and wide-ranging training for the assistant branch managers.
Truckforce, Goodyear Dunlop’s dedicated truck tyre mobile service and breakdown division, has replaced the first Mercedes-Benz Sprinters it bought five years ago with 57 new models. The operator began using Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2011. It has since invested in a further 60 Sprinters and, with the arrivals of its latest, now runs a fleet of 165.
Mark Thys, the managing director of Goodyear Dunlop Tires France since October 2014 and member of Alliapur’s board of directors, has been named as the recycling body’s new president. He officially started his two-year presidency of Aliapur at the body’s board meeting held on 11 May 2016 taking over from Serge Bonnel, the managing director of Continental France.
Over 1000 Police fleet managers engaged with Goodyear Dunlop at the annual National Association of Police Fleet Managers Conference (NAPFM) earlier this month. The NAPFM conference is now in its 43rd year and is one of the largest emergency service fleet events in Europe.
Goodyear’s all-season Vector 4Seasons Generation-2 tyre has been awarded the test win in German automotive magazine Gute Fahrt. Receiving high wet and dry grip marks, the tyre was the only tested model to claim the magazine’s “Sehr Gut-“ (Very Good-) ranking. As of April 2016, the tyre’s fitment portfolio has been extended to SUV sizes, as the manufacturer seeks to harness demand for all-season products in the quickest growing market segment.
Goodyear Dunlop has launched its new range of Dunlop brand on road commercial vehicle tyres. The truck tyres have been designed to provide increased mobility: mileage has been increased by ”up to 10 per cent”; winter performance has been enhanced, with the steer and drive fitments receiving Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification; and fuel efficiency has also been improved, according to Laurent Colantonio, Goodyear Dunlop director of commercial tyre technology in Europe, Middle East and Africa.


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LA’s Top Celebrity Destination and Annual Family Tradition Is Back with New Interactive Features such as AR Scavenger Hunt & Digital Carnival Games, Unparalleled New Lantern Art Installations & Much More
Tickets on Sale August 14; 20% Off Until September 1
LOS ANGELES (August 8, 2023) – LA’s leading immersive event, Nights Of The Jack, the ultimate Halloween experience for the whole family, is back this year for the 6th year and again promises to be bigger and brighter than ever. Welcoming over 100,000 people every year, greater LA area residents and celebrity fans alike are expected to return to King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas for the annual event, that includes thousands of hand-carved pumpkins, immersive scenes and walking trail, premium food, beverages and cocktails and much more. Tickets go on sale on August 14, 2023 at 6:00am PT at NightsOfTheJack.com, with a 20% off discount until September 1, 2023. Nights Of The Jack officially kicks off on Opening Night on Friday, September 29, 2023.
Thirty miles northwest of Hollywood, tucked in the Santa Monica Mountains, there’s a strange and shadowy wonderland that everyone’s been whispering about. Guests are encouraged to follow the mile-long, immersive walking trail, glimmering at every turn with blazing gourds around every corner. This season, Nights of the Jack has created a lot of new attractions, including adding advanced technology throughout the experience with a first-time AR scavenger hunt to earn prizes, AR selfie moments and digital carnival games for prizes. They have also added entirely new scenes, like Día De Los Muertos and The Enchanted Forest, unparalleled lantern art activations and tons of new photo moments.
Nights Of The Jack is Halloween fun for everyone. Adults, families and children alike are welcome and won’t want to miss this hair-raising feast for the senses. Spooky but never scary, kids will love the enchanted renditions of their favorite characters in pumpkin-form and have fun amongst the big multi-sensory scenes. Adults will appreciate the artistry and craftmanship of the elaborate sets and be able to enjoy alcohol from two full bars. Everyone can enjoy picking out Halloween gifts and light-up items from the souvenir shop.
Nights Of The Jack offers a premium food and beverage experience, including some of LA’s best food trucks. The Spookeasy is a high-end full bar and will have ample Halloween treats for adults, including top shelf spirits, cocktails, craft beer and wine. There will also be sweet treats, coffee, hot cider and cocoa nightly, with special additional dessert trucks on Wednesdays.
"We are thrilled to be celebrating another Nights Of The Jack this year in Calabasas," in a joint statement said by Nights of the Jack co-founders, Ben Biscotti and Tony Schubert. "We can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of the exciting new features this year, including interactive technology elements like digital carnival games, AR scavenger hunt and AR backgrounds to take your selfies to the next level. We look forward to entertaining everyone again for a bigger and brighter season!”
Nights Of The Jack is also available for private events and corporate sponsorships and features a private 100-person VIP bar that can be closed off for private parties.
Guests can also celebrate a little bit of Calabasas’ history from this very location that inspired the event. According to legend dating back to 1824, a rancher from Oxnard spilled a wagonload of pumpkins in Calabasas while on the way to Los Angeles and later, hundreds of pumpkins sprouted alongside the road.
For high-res logos, broll and photos of past celebrities, guests and atmosphere, please visit here.
About Nights Of The Jack
Nights Of The Jack is a Halloween jack-o'-lantern event tailored for all ages. The immersive experience
showcases thousands of hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins, situated throughout the stunning property at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, CA. The team behind this Halloween happening is a partnership comprised of production and hospitality industry veterans Ben Biscotti, Co-Founder & President of 1iota Productions and Award-winning event producer & designer Tony Schubert of Event Eleven.
To learn more and join the conversation, use the hashtag #NightsOfTheJack and follow Nights of the Jack on social media:


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Biometrics by Fingerprints in world’s first Visa-certified contactless biometric payment card from Thales
As announced by Fingerprints’ partner Thales in a tweet its contactless biometric payment card is certified by Visa after meeting the highest level of security and performance required. The card from Thales, with Biometrics by Fingerprints, is the first in the world to be certified by all major EMV®* payment brands.
This marks an important milestone as this card is now ready for commercial launch by banks, to remove the payment cap and bring consumers the trust and experience needed for contactless payments.
For more information about Fingerprints’ Payment solutions please visit: https://www.fingerprints.com/solutions/payments/
*EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC.
Fingerprint Cards AB (Fingerprints) – the world’s leading biometrics company, with its roots in Sweden.
We believe in a secure and seamless universe, where you are the key to everything. Our solutions are found in hundreds of millions of devices and applications, and are used billions of times every day, providing safe and convenient identification and authentication with a human touch. For more information visit our website, read our blog, and follow us on Twitter.


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<Galaxy Book 12.0, Source: news.samsung.com>
Samsung Electronics launched its Windows tablet ‘Galaxy Book 12.0’ in Japan. It has a 12-inch OLED display with an aspect ratio of 3: 2 and a resolution of 2,160 × 1,440. The size is 291.3 × 199.8 × 7.4 mm (WLH), the weight is 754 g, and the official price is 139,800 yen.
Galaxy Book 12.0 was released to the public at MWC 2017, the world’s largest mobile telecommunication exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain on February 26, and was pre-booked in Korea in April. At MWC 2017, a Samsung Electronics official said, “Galaxy book is expected to be able to target both tablet PC and notebook market at the same time, and burn-in phenomenon, which is a weak point of AMOLED panel, has been improved enough to be used for notebook applications.”
OLED, which was mainly applied only to mobile devices and TVs, has recently been applied to tablets and notebooks, widening its application range. In early 2017, Alienware launched the ’13 R3 2017 ‘with 13.3-inch OLED, and Lenovo also released the X1 Yoga 2017, which is powered by a 14-inch OLED in July 2017.
As OLEDs are applied to various applications and become the mainstream of display industry, it will be interesting to see if they can exert their influence in the tablet and notebook market as well.


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Goldman Sachs boosted its 12-months price target for Amazon’s (AMZN) stock to $2,000, up from $1,825, after the e-commerce giant reported blow-out first-quarter earnings results.
“We are in the sweet spot between Amazon investment cycles where new fulfillment/data centers are driving accelerating revenue growth while incremental capacity utilization is driving margin expansion,” Goldman analysts wrote. “Higher level, we still remain in the early stages of the shift of compute to the cloud and the transition of traditional retail online and, in our opinion, the market is underestimating the long-term financial benefit of both to Amazon.”
On Thursday, Amazon reported significantly stronger-than-expected results, posting earnings per share of $3.27 on revenue of $51 billion. Analysts had been expecting $1.27 per share on revenue of $49.96 billion. The results were driven by strong gains from Amazon’s cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Amazon, which recently revealed that it had more than 100 million paying Prime subscribers, also announced plans to increase its membership from by $20 to $119, up from $99 per year.
Amazon’s stock was last trading 4% higher on Friday. The tech giant’s shares hit an all-time high of $1,638.10 during intra-day trading. Since January, the shares are up more than 34%.
A $2,000 share price would give Amazon a market cap of $969.94 billion, putting it in contention to hit the elusive $1 trillion market cap. Amazon’s present market cap is $765.36 billion, behind Apple’s (AAPL) $821.53 billion market cap and ahead of Alphabet’s (GOOGL) $715.61 billion.
Morgan Stanley has a $1,700 price target on Amazon. But their bull case scenario places a $2,600 price target.
“Adjusting our model, we raise ‘18/’19 CSOI by 16%/9% and our sum of the parts based PT to $1,700 (from $1,550). Our Bull Case, which uses a five-part sum of the parts looking at AMZN’s 1P,3P, AWS, Subscriptions and Advertising/Other business, goes to $2,600 (from $2,200) with 71% upside, largely driven by outperformance from AWS but also in part by advertising and subscription,” the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, other analyst groups boosted their price targets, with Credit Suisse raising its target to $1,950 from $1,800 and UBS increasing its target to $1,830 from $1,760.
Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.