text:
WENATCHEE, Wash. — A larger Washington apple crop has been forecast just as exports to India and China become more troublesome.
The 2019 crop was forecast at 137.3 million, 40-pound boxes by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association in the Aug. 1 assessment that was released on Wednesday.
That’s up 18% from the 116.7-million-box 2018 crop that has 10.5 million boxes left to sell through early fall.
The record crop was 143.6 million boxes in 2014. The 2016 and 2017 crops were both above 130 million boxes.
Annual farmgate value is about $2.4 billion, making it the state’s top agricultural commodity. Washington produces about 65% of the nation’s fresh apples and dominates in apple exports.
“This will be a particularly challenging year for growers, packers and marketers,” said Desmond O’Rourke, a retired Washington State University agricultural economist and world apple analyst.
A positive note for Washington marketers is the Aug. 8 World Apple and Pear Association forecast that Europe’s apple production will be down 20% this fall due to weather. Its pear crop will be down 14%.
High tariffs, fewer exports and a large, low-priced table grape crop last fall made it difficult to sell the 2018 Washington apple crop at a profit even though it was small, O’Rourke said, adding that the larger 2019 crop will be “a much tougher sell without cutting prices.”
He estimates the average price of all varieties, season-to-date, for the 2018 crop at $26 per box with Honeycrisp at $23.25. Breakeven prices are edging upward toward $20.
“Growers with substantial volumes of Honeycrisp probably made a profit. Those without Honeycrisp probably lost money,” O’Rourke said.
Small-volume proprietary varieties also generally do well.
A year ago, Red Delicious was forecast to fall from the volume leader to second place behind Gala. Reds have held the top spot for 83 years.
However, the latest report shows Reds still ahead of Gala for the 2018 season while again forecast below for 2019.
Of the 10.5 million boxes of 2018 crop left in storage, 4.3 million is Red Delicious heavily dependent on export markets, which makes solving trade issues with India and congressional ratification of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement more urgent, O’Rourke said.
India increased its tariff on foreign apples and other goods from 50% to 70% on June 15. The volume of Washington apples going to India has been down 66% but the previous season was abnormally high in anticipation of higher tariffs. Even with the decrease, India remained Washington’s No. 3 apple export market behind Mexico and Canada. India is usually a 5 million-box market worth roughly $100 million.
China, the No. 6 market, is down because of 50% tariffs and now potentially could close if private importers adhere to a government ban on imports from the U.S.
Washington apple exports to China reached 1.7 million, 40-pound boxes in 2017, valued at $18.3 million. Now it’s about 1 million boxes.
While the industry has survived the loss of the $12 million annual Russian market since 2014, the loss of China would be survivable but have a significant impact to growers, packing houses and sales desks that have worked hard to develop that market, said Mark Powers, president of Northwest Horticultural Council in Yakima.
The Russian ban included European apples, which then began competing with the U.S. for sales in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Both markets had been the lone domain of U.S. apples, Powers said.
Tim Evans, sales manager of Chelan Fresh Marketing, said 2019 apples should be more attractive to export markets because they appear to be one to two sizes smaller than last season.
Fire blight, severe on apple and pear trees a year ago, is much less prevalent this year because of better weather conditions during bloom, said Louis Nottingham, a scientist at WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee.
Harvest began in late July with Ginger Gold and Rave apples. Gala harvest is now starting. Harvest will end in early November with Cripps Pink, Granny Smith and Fuji.


text:
March 1, 2008
It seems that the reason for the decline in clicks is down to improvements made by Google to increase the click quality (such as only making text clickable instead of the entire ad unit).
One has to wonder whether a letter from Google has triggered this deeper analysis of the issue…
Anyway, with the recent news that click fraud is rising rapidly it’s timely for Google to remind us of these improvements. It will be telling to see the Click Forensics data for the 1st quarter 2008.
January 26, 2008
Google has announced the launch of demographic targeting for Adwords. This will enable you to show your paid search adverts to more targeted customers and thus drive better qualified traffic to your site. Very useful!
This involves site owners sending Google anonymised user data so that Google can then track these people and serve targeted ads. Surely this has to raise questions for data protection? That said, it is immensely useful to any retailer with data on their visitors!
December 3, 2007
We all know how notoriously difficult paid search is to get right in a highly competitive marketplace. Take car rental, loads of players, very high bid prices and some really proficient PPC campaigns. Need a what to stand out from the crowd? Take the lead from Sixt of Germany then, they’ve done something very clever with ascii art to make their adverts stand out from the crowd.
This is genius, and they experienced a 40% plus increase in clicks on the campaign! Something that could be applied to many industries!
This campaign has just won an award, more details here.
October 31, 2007
Tripadvisor have released their figures from a survey called their Traveller Trends Survey. Out of the survey comes some predicitions for 2008 trends that we should all expect to see.
One of the aspects of this (the link above has much more detail) is the TripAdvisor TravelCast. It’s a barometer of what’s hot in travel destinations. TripAdvisor engineers have developed a proprietary algorithm that looks at several criteria, including changes in search activity and postings throughout the TripAdvisor site. The TravelCast then predicts the rising stars in travel.
The destinations that are showing as increasing in popularity and expected to be the biggest next year are:
TripAdvisor TravelCast Top Ten World Destinations for 2008
1. Jerba, Tunisia
2. Makandi Bay, Egypt
3. Phangnga, Thailand
4. Kovalam, India
5. Sabaudia, Italy
6. Asilah, Morocco
7. Ko Phangan, Thailand
8. La Plagne, France
9. Yangshuo, China
10. Kotor, Montenegro
TripAdvisor TravelCast Top Ten U.S. Destinations for 2008
1. Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
2. Kitty Hawk (Outer Banks), North Carolina
3. Seward, Alaska
4. Kailua, Hawaii
5. Blue Ridge, Georgia
6. Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
7. San Marcos, Texas
8. Paso Robles, California
9. Rockport, Texas
10. Copper Mountain, Colorado
Now, this is great insight for online (and offline) travel providers who bid on keywords on search engines. If you are active in pay per click and these destinations match some of your offerings then you should seriously consider looking at the data (clickthroughs, bid positions, bid amounts etc) to see if you can do anything else to get more clicks on these terms. If they are going to be so hot next year it may be worth diverting some of your paid search budget into these destinations over those that don’t perform for you currently. Insight like this is highly valuable, especially when it comes from such a big community as TripAdvisor.
September 13, 2007
Google (GOOG) are getting quite subtle in announcing new products developments these days. They’ve added a new FAQ to the Adwords Help Center which discusses search adverts appearing on mobile devices. I’m surprised this didn’t get shouted about on the Adwords blog…
They’re going to be running ads for free on mobile until 19th November, so your ads could be on the small screen right now. Of course you do have to have a mobile viewable landing page linked to from the ad for it to work (which is something I’m glad Google have done so they aren’t displaying pointless ads).
You’ll be able to opt out at that date.
August 20, 2007
Really good insight as ever from usability expert Jakob Nielsen here. In this article he discusses whats known as banner blindness, the fact that users are often oblivious to the presence of banner adverts on the web. The study he’s undertaken involved eyetracking and the results are pretty conclusive.
The findings show that designing banner ads which supposedly stand out as they are different colours and using borders is actually a false economy and you are better off integrating your advertising into a websites content. Users tend to avoid focusing on objects that look very different from the site design, often hardly glancing at them and rarely clicking. Google are an example of someone who’s got this just right in their implementation of Adwords. As everyone knows, one of the main reasons Adwords works so well is that users rarely identify them as any different to a natural search result.
It’s something I’ve always suspected as users always respond better to cohesive designs where all the elements of a website hang together and complement each other. We recently redesigned our homepage and one of the elements was a promo banner displaying a ‘book online and save’ message. In the new design this is just a textual message on the screen as opposed to a bordered banner, and traffic to that page has doubled since the design changed!
August 19, 2007
Now American Airlines has sued Google for allowing other advertisers to use it’s trademarks as keywords in pay per click advertising. The airline accuses Google of selling the right to use American Airlines’ trademarks and service marks or “words, phrases, or terms confusingly similar to those marks” to competitors who then direct searchers to their own web sites.
This isn’t the first time Google has faced such a lawsuit. Geico sued Google for the same reasons some time ago and lost, and apparently other cases are on the backburner.
This confuses me a little… We use Google extensively for PPC advertising and our highest converting keywords are our brand terms (as you’d expect). Every so often we find a rogue affiliate or competitor bidding on our brand name and we always report this to Google and they remove the offending adverts for us. To enable this kind of response we had to register our brand terms with Google. They don’t really police it actively but they do take down offending ads when asked.
So if the above is possible, why don’t American Airlines just ask for them to be taken down? I’m guessing that they expect Google to do this automatically and to not even allow the ads to appear in the first place. To enable that would be a hugely complex and time consuming development for Google and a fundamental change to the Adwords system. I’m guessing Google would rather not have to do that. But if American Airlines lose (like Geico) then surely Google should not be taking down our competitors ads (as it’s not been deemed illegal)?
Who knows! What I do know is that brand keyword advertising is very lucrative, it returns excellent ROI and is any search marketers meat and drink. Any threat to the way brand term advertising works could have a massive impact on Googles Adwords revenue. If lawsuits like this keep cropping up it is possible Google could ban advertising on trademarked terms for all to stem the tide of subpoenas, that would make PPC a much less attractive proposition!
August 1, 2007
Gigaom mentions an experiment by Google into behavioural targeting for it’s Adwords product. It’s an attempt to increase the relevance and offer a more tactical solution to existing customers.
I’m looking forwards to seeing the next installment as this would be a hugely powerful tool for us. We’re big users of Adwords and anything we can do to increase relevance for our customers will be massively helpful in increasing our ROI.

domain: news


text:
Microsoft just released the first major update for the Xbox One last week, but if you’d like to get your hands on the next update before anyone else, check your Xbox Live messages. Microsoft announced today on the Xbox Wire that select Xbox Live members will be invited to test the update before it rolls out to the public, giving Microsoft a chance to gather feedback and correct any mistakes.
If you are chosen to participate, you will receive a token on Xbox Live that you can register to receive the update next week. Participants will be given access to a private forum where they will be able to share their experiences with the update, give feedback and decide whether to opt out of future update previews or stick with the program.
The March update is going to focus on multiplayer improvements, specifically the party and chat systems that have many Xbox One owners scratching their heads. If you aren’t invited to try the update early, don’t fret — Microsoft wants to push the update out before the release of Titanfall on March 11th, so either way you won’t be waiting long.


text:
Tax reform is long overdue, and the new law taking effect next month is doubtless a positive development. It will simplify our Byzantine tax code, redeploying many bright minds currently busy finding new ways for us to dodge taxes into more productive areas, such as helping U.S. industry compete in world markets. More important, it will restore the tax system to its original purpose--raising revenue for the government, not furthering social and economic causes championed by Congress.
The existing tax system promotes low-income housing, consumer borrowing and office construction; a lower tax rate on capital gains induces investors to hold assets for six months or longer. By eliminating most tax shelters and ending preferential tax treatment of most investments, the law will let the free market direct spending and investment decisions. Since market forces allocate resources more efficiently than Washington, the U.S. economy as a whole will gain.
But these are long-run benefits, and even when they are realized, they may be difficult to measure. In the short term, tax reform will have a palpably negative impact on economic growth. In fact, its implementation early next year may well push the already-slackening economy into a recession.
In the past two years, since the current slow-growth period began in mid-1984, consumer spending contributed more than 100% of the increase in the nation's gross national product, as the rest of the economy shrank. In the process, consumers have run up tremendous debts, and their debt burden now equals almost 20% of disposable personal income. Sooner or later they will have to pause, and the new tax law, by eliminating interest payment deductibility on consumer loans, may provide an impetus to do so early next year.
Slowdown in Consumer Borrowing
True, consumers have not shown much sensitivity to interest rates. But they have been sharing the burden of very high interest rates with Uncle Sam, so that those in the 50% tax bracket paid only half the interest on their loans because interest payments were fully tax-deductible. Next year this no longer will be true--interest deductibility on personal loans will be phased out starting in 1987--and consumers may not only stop borrowing, but will probably start saving to pay down their credit card balances and other debts.
Another provision of the new bill ends sales tax deductibility. Manufacturers and retailers, including auto companies and dealers, have been alerting consumers to this in TV ads and urging them to load up on big-ticket items before year-end. This may trigger a shopping spree in December, but those sales will be borrowed from next year: no one would buy an extra car or refrigerator just to get a sales tax write-off. Consequently, we may see a sharp decline in spending on consumer durables in early 1987.
In the short run, then, the new tax law will probably hobble the consumer, the only driving force in the economy, but it won't encourage other sectors to pick up the slack. On the contrary: In the private sector, the uncertainty and confusion that a tax law change of such magnitude is likely to create will probably result in lower levels of spending and investment, at least initially. And when the smoke clears, we may find investment in plant and equipment drastically curtailed. The rapid growth in this area earlier in the expansion was spurred, in large measure, by generous depreciation allowances, investment tax credits and other tax incentives introduced in 1981. The bloom had been off this rose even before the new tax law abolished those incentives; now, capital spending will surely be driven into the mud.
Further, the real sleeper in the new law is the impetus it will give to firms' cost-control efforts. It will lower the top corporate tax rate from the current 46% to 34% in 1988--which means that after-tax costs of every tax-deductible business expenditure will rise 26% for a firm in the highest tax bracket. This coming on top of several existing reasons to control costs--including, among others, import competition, inability to raise prices in an era of low inflation, still-high inflation-adjusted interest rates and the lasting effects of the severe recession of the early 1980s--means that businesses will continue to be extremely tight-fisted not only in their investment outlays, but also in worker compensation and elsewhere.
Tax Law's Bad Timing
In the past, lower tax revenues and increased government spending during recessions provided fiscal stimulus that mitigated business weakness. That approach will not be available next year because of the unfortunate timing of the new tax law. To make the law revenue-neutral, Congress found it necessary to raise government receipts by $10 billion in fiscal 1987. This will be reversed in fiscal 1988, but in the meantime, additional taxation will depress the economy.


text:
Web guru Tim Bray takes Google Android job
Tim Bray--co-inventor of XML, notable tech blogger, and until recently a Sun Microsystems employee--has joined Google's Android team in part to show the world what he thinks is wrong with Apple's iPhone.
The move puts a personal face on the cultural, technical, and business issues central to Silicon Valley companies. In a blog post titled "Now A No-Evil Zone," Bray said Monday he's in philosophical alignment with Google in general and in opposition to Apple's iPhone specifically.
"The reason I'm here is mostly Android. Which seems to me about as unambiguously a good thing as the tangled wrinkly human texture of the Net can sustain just now," Bray said.


text:
There’s a lot happening in the crypto-verse lately. The Cardano [ADA] community, however, has been eagerly awaiting the launch of the Vasil hard fork. Amidst this, several have been suggesting that the asset was aggressively priced and a few others pointed out that it was a ghost chain. The network attained the ghost chain tag as it wasn’t being accepted as widely as its counterparts. However, things seemed to be changing for the network as an array of platforms started pouring in support for Cardano.
More recently, Valour, a prominent technology company announced that it signed a deal with two major German banks. Through this, the firm intends to provide crypto products for German retail investors. Comdirect and its subsidiary Onvista were the banks involved.
It should be noted that Cardano wasn’t the only asset that would debut as exchange-traded products [ETP] on the firm. Valour has decided to include Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], Polkadot [DOT], Solana [SOL], Avalanche [AVAX], Cosmos [ATOM] as well as Enjin Coin [ENJ] ETPs as well.
The platform claims to offer low-fee ETPs. In addition to this, the flagship products from Valour, Bitcoin Zero, and Ethereum Zero, are the first fully-hedged, fee-free passive investment products employing Bitcoin and Ethereum. Elaborating on the same Marco Infuso, Chief Sales Officer of Valour said,
“By integrating Valour’s low to zero-fee ETPs, Comdirect and Onvista will be able to provide their customers access to safe and regulated exposure to the crypto ecosystem.”
Did the Vasil hard fork tick off this adoption streak?
The Vasil hard fork was expected to take place back in July itself. However, the network announced a delay and affirmed that the hard fork would take place over the next couple of weeks. Despite this delay, an array of platforms seem to be extending support for the digital asset.
Over the last couple of months, the interest in Cardano has witnessed a significant spike. Recent data even showed that there was a 40 percent surge in ADA holdings in 2022.
The hard fork is expected to spruce up the entire network. With this, there will be an increase in the output of the Cardano blockchain. In addition to this, smart contracts and decentralized applications [dApps] are also expected to garner an upgrade.
This seems to be luring in an array of platforms into adding ADA into their system. While Cardano preps for the hard fork, ADA was trading for $0.542 with a dainty 1.63 percent daily drop.


text:
Alan Guebert: English for the eater
Ranchers have a well-earned reputation for speaking plain English plainly.
As such, cowboys instantly translate phrases like “government revenue enhancements” and “now pursuing other career opportunities” into “tax increases” and “got fired” without one twitch of their upper lip or one hitch in their giddyup.
So what do these straight talkers call “lean finely-textured beef,” the pieces of beef that, according to meatpacker mouthpiece J. Patrick Boyle, are so tiny they “are nearly impossible to separate using a knife” and must be heated slowly to separate the “fat from tissue,” then spun in a centrifuge before being sprayed with ammonia gas to kill any pathogens and flash frozen into, well…Well, cowboys and their customers wouldn’t call it what two former U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists, Gerald Zirnstein and Carl Custer, called it on ABC News March 7. They called it “pink slime.”
Nor would cowboys call it something that “kind of looks like play dough,” a suggestion from Kit Foshee, who ABC News identifies as “a corporate quality assurance manager at Beef Products Inc., the company that makes pink slime.”
Foshee, who knows both English and his company’s product well, adds that the “play dough” is “pink and frozen; it’s not what the typical person would consider meat.”
That’s if the “typical person” knew that pink slime – or lean finely-textured beef – even existed or that an estimated 70 percent of the ground beef sold in supermarkets today contains it.
In fact, it’s a fair bet that few cowboys know what it is or that it’s been around for 20 years.
The irony to this slimy mess is that a cowboy – or at least one of Big Beef’s Big Bosses – Jo Ann Smith, a past president of the National Cattlemen’s Association (NCA), the forerunner of today’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and a former USDA food safety czar under the first President Bush, gave the process the government go-ahead to become what it is today: another reason for consumers to walk past the meat counter.
According to a Dec. 10, 1991 Kansas City Star story, Smith, while head of USDA meat inspection, had to choose between labeling this new technology “something like ‘beef trimmings'” – the meatpackers’ preferred phrase – or “what the underlings at USDA wanted it (called) …’partially defatted beef.'”
Smith’s NCA pals liked “beef trimmings” because the more appealing phrase could “enhance the value of the beef carcass as much as $7 a head.”
Smith followed the money; she approved the “trimming” option and the trimming of dollars from unsuspecting consumers began shortly thereafter.
Kansas rancher and meat seller Mike Callicrate remembers the shift. In the mid-1990s he attended a conference where the-then boss of IBP, one of the nation’s largest beef packers (now part of Tyson Foods) “proudly proclaimed that this ‘wonderful new process’ could find 11 percent lean in pure white fat.”
It turned out to be nearly as profitable for Smith after she left USDA in 1993. According to ABC, Smith served as a director of BPI, the biggest processor of partially defatted beef, where “she made at least $1.2 million over 17 years.”
What’s yet to be determined is how much market damage has been done to cattlemen by the controversial process that benefits packers far more than cowboys and consumers.
Maybe this is why Big ag is so anxious for you to spend your checkoff and organizations’ dollars to make US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance ag’s central spokesman: they want you to foot the bill to clean up the messes they make.
Oh, what do cowboys call, as the editor of Drover’s Journal described it March 9, “(H)amburger and other food products treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill pathogens like salmonella and E. coli”?
We used to call it dog food,” says rancher Callicrate
© 2012 ag comm
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: Moderator Trusted User
Fall is here and the weather reminds us of the changing of the seasons. This is the time of year when many producers are hauling hay home for the winter as well as pricing and…


text:
Auto lovers wanted
BEDFORD — The NH Sportsplex will soon be transformed into an automotive paradise as the first-ever New Hampshire Auto Show drives into Bedford.
Open to the public Friday, Oct. 18-Sunday, Oct. 20, the auto show brings area residents a huge selection of new 2014-model cars, trucks and powersports, the latest technological advancements and family fun. The show offers something for everyone, from an up-close look at sports cars, luxury models and fuel-efficient alternative fuel vehicles to on-site test drives, powersports products and even a special appearance by Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.
Occupying both buildings at the NH Sportsplex, the New Hampshire Auto Show provides attendees the convenience of viewing more than 150 new models from more than 20 manufacturers all in one location. Since it is a non-selling show, attendees are invited to sit in the driver’s seats, inspect engines and compare legroom on a host of new vehicles without the pressure to buy.
“We are very excited to work with Motor Trend Auto Shows to bring area residents and car shoppers all that is fun on four or two wheels,” said Pete McNamara, president of the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association. “The auto show is already drawing enthusiasm from the automotive industry and dealers across New Hampshire, and we can’t wait to officially open the doors to the public where they can survey all the new models in one trip.”
Showgoers will also have the chance to explore all of the new technology currently being offered on automobiles. Significant upgrades in safety, entertainment and convenience features have made new models more sophisticated than ever. From 360-degree cameras, crash avoidance systems and inflatable seat belts to massive multimedia screens, integrated smartphone Apps and even the ability to open the rear hatch by just waving your foot, the auto show is the perfect place to get the scoop on the latest technology, making commutes safer and more enjoyable.
Taking the auto show experience one step further, attendees will not only be able to check out the cars and technology inside the show, but can test drive a selection of cars, trucks and SUVs at the NH Union Leader Test Drive Row. A vehicle expert will accompany drivers on a predetermined route around the Sportsplex to highlight the model’s key features and performance characteristics under real driving conditions. Models from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Volvo will be among the vehicles available for test drives.
Power, performance, parts and accessories will highlight the displays inside the Binnie Media Powersports Pavilion. This destination within the auto show brings together a mix of exciting vehicles, including the latest motorcycles, ATVs, utility vehicles, snowmobiles and plenty of local vendors. New models from Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Victory, Kymco, Polaris, Royal Enfield and more will be on display.
Auto shows can be fun for the entire family. For both the young and the young-at-heart, Sunday, Oct. 20 is Xfinity Family Day, when all children 12 and under are admitted to the show free when accompanied by a paying adult. On this special day, fun-filled activities are planned including face painters, balloon artists, a rock climbing wall and more. Also making a special appearance on this day, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants will greet fans and pose for photos from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Show hours are Friday, from noon to 9 p.m., Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the event is $5 for attendees age seven and older. Active Duty military men and women (w/ DOD ID), as well as children age six and younger, are admitted FREE. Skip ticket lines and proceed directly to the entrance by purchasing auto show tickets in advance at www.NHAutoShow.com. Attendees will receive a free one-year subscription to Motor Trend magazine with each online ticket order or box office admission. Additional information, directions and show highlights are also available online at www.NHAutoShow.com.


text:
About a week ago, word began to leak around that a new video game would be announced in an upcoming issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan, with a Tales blog naming it as “Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011”. This week, the game was officially unveiled in Jump:
Indeed titled Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 (at least temporarily), the new game is due out sometime later this year in the fall for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 from Namco-Bandai, and will be another 3D action/fighting game. No developer is currently listed, and details are rather sparse. As per the norm for Japanese announcements, the initial showcase says absolutely nothing of any real interest of substance:
Drawing extreme DB action with super visuals!!
So INTENSE, you’ll be amazed! It’s the advent of a new style, with thoroughly recreated DB battle scenes on a gorgeous screen!!
You’ll feel like you’re really there, as never before!!
The facial expressions are super realistic, and the field goes flying!! The intense production really heats up the game!!
The battle begins on PS3 and Xbox 360!
(under the title information)
The project to take DB games to the extreme is set in motion!! The warriors’ battles enter a new dimension!!
(over bottom picture)
ACTION! DRAMA! SCALE! All these together create a super-class [of game]!!
[WHAT IS Dragon Ball Game Project AGE 2011?!]
It’s the project to create a new DB game, the likes of which no one has ever seen. By pursuing the most accurate recreation of the characters ever, we aim to make it the most lifelike!! Super anticipation!!
It appears to be an entirely new game (rather than a home port of, say, Zenkai Battle Royale currently in Japanese arcades). To be honest, however, any of this verbiage could have been pulled from any game announcement ever for the franchise. We will simply have to wait and see if any of this talk about realism and character expressions chalks up to anything.


text:
Nokia Siemens to sell optical networks unit
December 3, 2012 9:00 PM EST
Mobile telecoms equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said on Monday it is to sell its optical fiber networks unit to Marlin Equity Partners.
NSN didn't give any financial details for the sale but said it would be completed in the first quarter of next year.
Nokia Siemens Networks, which competes with Ericsson, Huawei and Alcatel Lucent, is undertaking a cost-cutting plan, which includes laying off a quarter of its staff and selling product lines to focus on mobile broadband.
The joint venture between Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG has been a drain on profits for owners Nokia and Siemens but it reported record profits in the third quarter, helped by sales of equipment for fourth-generation high-speed LTE networks in Japan and Korea.
The restructuring is expected to result in 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) of cost savings by the end of next year. ($1=0.7689 euros)
(Reporting by Harro ten Wold; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Join the Conversation
- Black Friday And Cyber Monday Sale 2014: AT&T's Cricket Wireless Offers Discounts On Lumia 1320, Galaxy S5, S4 And HTC Desire 510
- ISIS Kidnaps Iraqi Defence Minister’s Family, Executes Female Parliament Candidates
- '$2,000 For Sex'—Pleads Unlucky-in-Love Guy On OKCupid
- Target’s ‘Surprise Doorbusters’ Black Friday 2014 Deals On TV Sets, Entertainment Centres, DVD Players And More
- Google Joins Forces with GoPro Inc with New Google Maps Focusing on Destination
- Lumia Update Will Come Soon Confirms Microsoft
- T-Mobile’s Black Friday 2014 Deals On Apple iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy Note 4/Edge, Nexus 6, HTC One M8, LG G3, iPad Air 2 And Mini 3


text:
Amazon is without doubt one of the biggest names in retail business. Nonetheless, it didn’t manage to succeed in the eCommerce platform business. Therefore, it has been announced that Amazon’s Webstore will be closed starting July 2016. This means that its users will be searching for a new platform that can host their stores.Read more
Making a choice between two advanced e-Commerce solutions might be even more difficult than choosing those among a hundred of other ones. And yet the decision has to be done – the decision that will inevitably impact the way you’re running your business, operating the store, and making sales.


text:
Can the name of a deity be trademarked?
The letter @YourBoswell received from Redbubble stated that the site “detected potential similarity between (John’s) removed work and one or more words, phrases, or images in the rights holder’s removal guidance.”
Disney Enterprises is listed as the rights holder.
@YourBoswell shared the Redbubble letter online, and it quickly circulated widely and just as quickly elicited angry responses denouncing the entertainment giant. One Twitter user wrote, “Disney thinks they can copyright someone’s culture now. 21st century colonialism right there.”
Marvel’s Loki wins heathens’ hearts even while losing the Norse immortal’s complexity
Not long afterward, Rebecca Tarn, also known as TikTok user @LessonsfromLoki, launched a Change.org petition titled “Stop Disney Trademarking The Names of Norse Gods.”
Supporting the petition was Twitter User @LordAmalthean, who also reported that he was given “copyright strikes” on Redbubble because he looks too much like Loki. “I’m not wearing a licensed costume. It’s my FACE,” he tweeted.
The takedown letters came directly from Redbubble, not Disney, according to a spokesperson for the online site. The spokesperson told Religion News Service, “Redbubble’s proactive screening measures take into consideration available information from rights holders on how to detect unauthorized content in designs uploaded to our marketplace.”
But Redbubble’s circumspection is likely due to Disney’s trademark of “Loki” as well as other Norse deities represented in the Marvel Universe. The first trademark was in 2011, when the original Thor movie was released, and another was in 2013. More recently, Disney trademarked “Marvel Loki.”
These trademarks specifically apply to Disney’s business and commercial works, not the Norse gods in general: Disney can claim only its own interpretation of any god.
“(Disney) could not just trademark the word Loki or any Norse god because they are in the public domain,” said Jeremy A. Briggs, an intellectual property attorney in Marietta, Ga. “(Disney) is trademarking the name in association with the character that they made up.”
It is the adaptation that Disney most likely wants to protect, says Briggs. “Disney is not trying to trademark a god.”
Loki and the Norse gods are not the only deities whose names appear in trademarks. Jesus, Ganesha, Buddha and even God are found in dozens or more trademarks. These names are all in the public domain as Loki is, but the registered trademarks are limited to the companies’ distinct use and were proved to be identifiable with a product or service.
But Briggs described Redbubble as being “hypersensitive” in its decision to take down the content. The company does not want to be “enjoined in a lawsuit,” Briggs suggests.
Redbubble appears not to be alone in this concern. In 2015, eBay denied the Australian artist Markos Gage use of the name Hermes, who is the ancient Greek god of communication, because of possible trademark issues: Hermès is a deep-pocketed French producer of luxury goods. More recently, Etsy has reportedly taken down Loki-related products.
Companies do have a “legal obligation” to protect their trademarks or risk seeing the value of their work diluted, Briggs explained. Disney historically takes this obligation seriously.
But Redbubble’s spokesperson said there is always room for an artist to appeal.
“Sometimes, despite our efforts to avoid it, designs that should not have been removed mistakenly get flagged during the screening process. We always encourage our artist community to send us counter-notices when they think we’ve gotten something wrong, so we can promptly fix it.”
The Loki shirt design that launched the backlash has since been “reinstated.”
— Religion News Service


text:
Intel is awaiting the arrival of Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich mobile operating system before the first smartphone running the new mobile OS and Intel’s Atom x86 architecture gets released sometime in the first half of 2012. The company, which had previously banked on its MeeGo OS with Nokia, has shifted focus in recent months to concentrate on Android.
Android, which was initially released for the ARM architecture, is seeing favor by Google. Though Google is working with a variety of chip-makers and hardware partners for the ecosystem, it has chosen Texas Instruments to provide the processing power and Samsung to make the Nexus Prime, which is expected to be released by the end of this year with Ice Cream Sandwich on-board.
In the meantime, Intel and a third chip platform, called MIPS, are both working with Google to ensure that Android 4.0 runs on their chipsets. According to Intel, Ice Cream Sandwich ‘includes OS optimization for x86,’ meaning that Android 4.0 can run on devices with Intel’s Atom processors.
MIPS, the third platform, believes that it can get up and running to support Android 4.0 and be production-ready within 90 days of Google making the source code available for the platform.
Intel recently this past summer demonstrated a Honeycomb port on its Atom processor at the IDF 2011 conference.
Via: Computer World
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


text:
This first post of mine was posted 2 years, 4 months, and 16 days ago. It was a simpler time in BuzzFeed. As of today, it has 6,280 total views. Back then, that was pretty good for a post on BuzzFeed.
Be advised, a lot of these come with some pretty intense ethnic, racial, gender, etc. stereotypes, which are less than awesome.
Here are the original six vintage commercials:
In the spirit of BuzzFeed, here are a few more pretty awesome vintage beer commercials
Wasn’t life simpler before professional sports and girls were used to sell suds?
11. National Beer
12. Carling Black Label
Nice drunk driving joke!
- The Dutch Safety Board has released a final report of its investigation into why Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 broke up over Ukraine in 2014. ›
- Iran's parliament approved a deal on its nuclear program, which was agreed in July following lengthy talks between six world powers. ›
- SAB Miller has accepted "in principle" a takeover offer from Anheuser-Busch InBev, which would create the world's largest beer company. ›


text:
A female customer blinded in one eye at a popular bar in Melbourne’s CBD has been awarded $1 million in compensation by a County Court jury.
The case highlights the need for businesses to be aware of the potential for personal injury claims, and to ensure they provide a safe environment for customers and staff.
Louise Herrod, 24, was dancing at The Carlton Hotel in Bourke Street, in September 2010, when a stick from an artificial pot-plant pierced one eye, leaving her blinded in that eye, Fairfax reported.
Nowicki Carbone lawyers acting on behalf of Herrod reportedly claimed the incident could have been avoided. They argued the floor was crowded and she was forced against the pot-plants where the incident occurred. The lawyers argued the sharp stick should have been removed by the venue’s owners.
Get daily business news.
The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up.
The case between Herrod and Pandez Holdings, owner of The Carlton Hotel, was heard in Melbourne earlier this month in front of a civil jury of six, with the payout confirmed on Friday by County Court judge Philip Misso.
A spokesperson for Judge Misso confirmed the jury delivered its verdict answering three questions.
“Firstly, that there was negligence on the part of the defendant. Secondly, that the plaintiff should be awarded damages in the amount of $1,100,000. Thirdly, that there was contributory negligence amounting to 10% on the part of the plaintiff,” the spokesperson said.
A personal injury payout of $1 million could cause financial strife to a small or medium business, so it is wise to be aware of responsibilities when it comes to providing a safe environment.
Bars, restaurants, retail stores and other service areas are particularly susceptible to this issue, as there are often lots of people moving in and out of the premises.
Ryan Carlisle Thomas Lawyers associate Karen Hartley told SmartCompany this morning that while not involved or aware of the intricacies of this case, she believes the compensation awarded was “fair and reasonable”.
She says personal injury cases highlight that business owners are responsible to ensure their customers and clients “are not exposed to unreasonable risk of injury”.
“In this case, it was a crowded dance floor, which could pose a high level of risk,” she explains.
Hartley says it is important to remember that the definition of personal injury is not only physical, but relates to the emotional trauma a person can suffer as a result. The cause and nature of physical injury could have “psychological flow on effects”, she says, that “deserve compensation”.
Hartley confirms that the key for businesses is to have solid checks and procedures in place for safety, ensuring that the premises is “fit for purpose”.
Nowicki Carbone lawyers declined to comment on the verdict at this stage, and a spokesperson for The Carlton Hotel also said the business would not comment on the case.


text:
Heineken has reported single digit volume decreases in both its beer and cider volumes in the UK for the first half of 2011.
The international brewer reported an overall low single digit decline in beer volume across its brands in the UK and a high single-digit decline in cider volumes following the delisting of Strongbow Black on social responsibility grounds, increased competition and a tough comparable last year with the football World Cup.
However, its core premium brand Heineken is performing well with a 15% volume uplift on last year. Earnings Before Interest and Tax grew in the UK market driven by the benefit of cost savings from current and prior year operational efficiencies.
"I am pleased with our continued positive progress in the UK, despite a challenging economic and consumer environment, particularly the performance of our premium brands, and especially the 15% year on year growth in Heineken sales volumes," said Heineken UK managing director Stefan Orlowski.
"Our key brands are benefiting from increased investment, providing a solid platform for us to work with our trade customers in both the beer and cider categories.
"The successful launches of Foster's Gold and Bulmers.Nº17, should put us in a position to maintain this positive momentum into the second half of the year, although we expect to remain in a trading environment of low consumer confidence and elevated inflation for the foreseeable future.
Orlowski said that Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company (S&NPC) had successfully exited "a number of unprofitable contracts and simplified the business structure" to focus on a high quality estate of around 1,300 pubs.
In Western Europe group beer volumes grew 1% over the first half, benefiting from good weather and higher volumes in the off-trade led by growth in France, Italy and Ireland but partly off-set by lower volumes in the UK and Netherlands.
The Heineken brand grew 5.3% in Western Europe driven by strong performance in France, UK and Portugal.
It expects volume development in parts of Europe and the USA to remain "challenging" given the current uncertainty, high unemployment and ongoing weak consumer confidence.
On a global basis, organic net income for 2011 is expected to be "broadly in line" with last year's €1.45bn. Group beer volume rose 4.2% with revenue up 3.3% on an organic basis driven by a positive volume effect of 2.2% and sales mix of 1.1%.
EBIT grew 3.9% due to a number of cost savings, higher profit from joint ventures which was partly off-set by higher marketing investment and increased input costs.
Net profit was €694m — up 5.7% on an organic basis — with reported net profit down 14% reflecting an "exceptional gain" last year. It will pay an interim dividend of €0.30 per share, an increase of 15% —an increase of 15% on last year.
Jean-François van Boxmeer, chairman of the executive board and CEO, said: "This is a solid performance for the first half of the year, with higher organic group beer volume across all regions. Our focus on transforming our geographic footprint, aligned with increased marketing investment has enabled us to deliver robust top-line growth and gains in market share."
He added: "We will continue our relentless focus on tight cost management, realisation of planned synergies from earlier acquisitions and strong cash flow generation to support near-term performance.
"Whilst mindful of the continuing volatility and increased uncertainties in the global economy, I remain confident that these efforts combined with our strengthened global platform and higher marketing investments, position the company well to deliver sustainable growth over the long-term."


text:
Amazon launches Prime in Australia
Amazon has launched its subscription service Prime on the company’s Australian website, offering users free delivery and subscription access to ebooks, videos and games.
The service will include free ‘expedited delivery’ to addresses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and other major regional centres, although Australian customers signing up to Prime will have to wait two days for delivery compared to the same-day or next-day delivery offered to Prime subscribers in other countries.
Products bought from the US on the Amazon Australia website will include free international delivery for Prime customers on orders totalling more than $49.
The current cost of the subscription is about half the price of the cost in the US. The service also includes access to the Prime Reading subscription service, online video streaming platform Prime Video, online gaming service Prime Twitch, and access to a loyalty program that markets shopping deals to users on ‘Prime Day’.
The launch comes after the announcement that Amazon’s international websites will no longer deliver to Australian addresses from 1 July, following changes in GST laws requiring online retailers to collect 10% GST on all overseas purchases.
As a result, Amazon has established a ‘global store’ option on its Australian site, which offers more than four million products that were previously only accessible from Amazon.com. Sales of these products will collect and remit the required 10% GST, however, the Australian Financial Review reports that the global store offers only a fraction of the 480 million products currently available on Amazon.com.
The multinational is growing its network of fulfilment centres in Australia, which includes a facility in Dandenong South, Victoria, that opened in December last year and a 43,000 square metre facility in Moorebank, NSW, due to open in the second half of 2018.
As previously reported, Amazon launched its local website last year. Australia is the 17th country where Amazon has launched its Prime service.
Category: Local news


text:
HOUSTON - A travel group says retail gasoline prices have jumped 6 cents this week across Texas.
AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump has risen to $3.29 per gallon. The nationwide average price for gasoline also went up 6 cents this week, to reach $3.44 per gallon.
The association says the most expensive gasoline in Texas is in Fort Worth, at an average $3.39 per gallon. Corpus Christi has the cheapest gasoline this week, at $3.16 per gallon.
AAA Texas says current average prices statewide are still 30 cents lower than a year ago. The also association says retail gasoline prices have gone up the past few weeks due to better than expected global economic news
To comment, the following rules must be followed:
Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content, but the station is under no legal obligation to do so.
If you believe a comment violates the above rules, please use the Flagging Tool to alert a Moderator.
Flagging does not guarantee removal.
Multiple violations may result in account suspension.
Decisions to suspend or unsuspend accounts are made by Station Moderators.
Questions may be sent to firstname.lastname@example.org. Please provide detailed information.
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


text:
Mobile purchasing has become the bread and butter of the shopping world
M-commerce sales predicted to make up more than half of all e-commerce sales by 2021 and revenue from those payments expected to exceed $420 billion by that same time (Statista). As such, more and more retailers are refining their checkout experiences to include mobile POS purchasing and one-click payments via mobile apps and the mobile versions of their websites. Unfortunately, a survey by Stratix shows that many retailers are still struggling to implement these types of mobile solutions into their business plans due to security issues.
The questionnaire uncovered the five biggest challenges that retail companies are facing when it comes to bringing mobile POS services to their stores. Though it didn’t top the list, (that honor goes to lack of proper apps in place), managing and monitoring mobile security was one of the main problems cited — with 45% of retailers reporting it is a major challenge.
Security also seems to be a roadblock when it comes to mobile apps and mobile versions of websites. Fluent’s 2017 Devices and Demographics report shows that enhanced security was listed as one of the top four factors that would make consumers more likely to shop via their mobile phones. That’s because many consumers don’t trust that their data is safe via mobile channels. Stronger security was especially important to respondents over the age of 45, with most listing improved mobile transaction security being even more important than easier site navigation, increased speed and one-click purchasing.
The security fears that businesses and customers experience when it comes to the mobile transaction world are understandable. After all, fraudsters follow the money, and with m-commerce exploding, criminals are no doubt sniffing out any vulnerabilities that they can potentially exploit. Take mobile apps, for example. A recent Business Insider study showed that retailer mobile apps accounted for 44% of all e-commerce transactions in the last quarter of 2017 — the biggest share of all channels (33% came from desktop purchases and 23% came from mobile versions of websites). With roughly only 46% of businesses using fraud management solutions across all transaction channels, there’s a strong possibility that many of those mobile app purchases seen in the latter part of 2017 were insufficiently protected.
Stats like these lead experts to believe that mobile transactions are likely to be a major fraud target in 2018 and beyond: The same way fraudsters migrated to card-not-present transactions, they’ll migrate to mobile and one-click transactions, as well. In preparation for this challenge, online businesses should consider what type of protection is best for their mobile channels.
While the instinct of many companies may be to implement the same fraud prevention methods they use for the desktop version of their websites, it may be better to think about fraud prevention solutions specifically designed for the mobile channel. After all, whether they’re using the mobile version of a website to make a purchase or using a company’s native mobile app, customers who engage in mobile transactions expect the utmost ease and convenience. In a world where customer friction levels have the power to make or break a business, the customer journey must be thought of every step of the way — which is why mobile fraud prevention methods optimized for the customer experience on that specific channel are key.
RISK IDENT’s DEVICE INTELLIGENCE SDK powered by sophisticated science and cutting-edge technology, easily pairs with our device fingerprinting solution DEVICE IDENT and allows businesses to offer friction-free mobile checkout and one-click checkout without increasing customer risk. A quick SDK installation is all that is needed for complete protection against fraud across all mobile payment platforms, including e-wallets, native apps, and one-click checkout. Together with DEVICE IDENT, our DEVICE INTELLIGENCE solution can detect tampered devices, the presence of a stolen identity and even the increasingly ubiquitous account takeover fraud. This allows companies to instantly and confidently acceptance mobile transactions of any kind.
To learn more about how RISK IDENT can protect mobile purchases for your business, please feel free to contact us at email@example.com.


text:
Tamagotchi is Back – and in Colour!
After 23 years and the death of millions of 90’s kids neglected virtual pets, Tamagotchi is back and in colour!
In 1996, the Japanese toymaker Bandai revolutionised the world of virtual reality when every child was given the responsibility of looking after a Tamagotchi pet.
Fast forward to 2019, and Bandai have brought the infamous toy back! Renamed the Tamagotchi On, the 21stcentury has certainly had a hand in the remodel showcasing the new glittery plastic casing.
The eggshell cover is available in four new and magical colours: Fairy Pink, Fairy Blue, Magic Green and Magic Purple.
While many of the original features have remained the same such as the iconic three buttons, next generation upgrades have transformed the toy for even more entertainment.
Now players can hatch, care and BREED their Tamagotchi and with this you can now connect to other devices and therefore have playdates!
What’s more, you can now marry your virtual pets and have babies!
In addition, you can send your virtual pet to Tamagotchi hotel – so never again will your pet be neglected.
There is also an app to go with the device in order to connect to the rest of the world! (But with added online safety features so that kids can only connect to people they know)
The new and improved Japanese toy will first be released in the US on the 28thJuly and will be priced at $59.99.


text:
The Hearing Industries Association (HIA) has announced its endorsement of the five recommendations in the paper, “Regulatory Recommendations for OTC Hearing Aids: Safety & Effectiveness,” and applauds the rigorous efforts by the consensus paper’s Working Group to develop the unified recommendations.
A consensus paper developed by the American Academy of Audiology (AAA), Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and International Hearing Society (IHS) was released earlier today in response to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Congressional mandate to create new regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing devices. According to HIA, the paper seeks to find a careful balance between issues of consumer access and affordability while ensuring safety and effectiveness in all hearing aid devices.
As detailed in an article in The Hearing Review, the five recommendations set forth in the consensus paper address:
- The product requirements appropriate for OTC hearing devices targeting mild-to-moderate hearing impairment;
- Outside-of-the-box labeling appropriate for medical devices sold over-the-counter;
- Comprehensive inside-the-box labeling;
- Naming the products Self-Fit Over-the-Counter Hearing Devices, adopting risk classifications consistent with air conduction hearing aids, and limiting 510(k) exemptions; and
- Establishing strong consumer protection laws.
HIA says the above recommendations align with HIA’s mission of innovation, public safety and education. Specifically, the recommendations promote innovations in hearing health care and technology while maintaining high standards for patient safety and product effectiveness, says the organization which is the major US trade association for hearing aid and device manufacturers. Since the passage of the OTC Hearing Aid Act of 2017, HIA and its members have closely monitored activity on OTC solutions to ensure the safety and effectiveness of all products, including those in this new category the FDA must define by August 2020.
“Providing guidance to help people with a hearing loss make the best hearing health decision in this emerging environment is critically important,” said HIA President Kate Carr. “Many people do not recognize or act on their hearing loss until it negatively impacts their personal or professional lives. We endorse the recommendations set forth by this group of esteemed hearing care professionals and hope that the new category to be defined by the FDA will promote more accessible hearing health for all.”


text:
Why tech IPOs still pick NYC over HK
Updated: 2015-03-03 12:08
By Niu Yue in Cambridge, Massachusetts(China Daily USA)
Chinese technology companies will continue to prefer New York to Hong Kong as the venue for initial public offerings, and one of the key reasons is that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange does not recognize different stock-voting structures, which are used by many technology companies to keep their unique cultures, according to lawyers involved in Alibaba's historic IPO.
"When you have a very innovative company with great ideas, they start to raise funds," said Leiming Chen, partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, an international law firm based in New York that has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. "Their share holdings will be diluted to a very minority percentage. How are you going to deal with control, culture, innovative mindset that has been driving the company [to be] so successful?"
Leiming Chen, Partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
"[That] the founder and management have the control of the enterprise is very important," Chen said at the Asia Business Conference of Harvard University on March 1.
To maintain the company's original vision and value, and make sure long-term goals will not be overrun by short-term financial benefits sought by some investors, tech companies often use voting structures other than the traditional "one share, one vote" system.
Many technology companies, including Google and Facebook, use a dual-class share system, in which some shareholders, often founders, can have more voting rights with fewer shares.
That system is not permitted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which requires all shares to have equal voting rights. Stock exchanges on the Chinese mainland do not accept that voting system, either. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange accept different share structures, as long as the companies disclose them.
"When a company is looking to decide whether to list in Hong Kong or the US, it looks at its peer companies and looking to see what structure they have," said Sarah Payne, partner of Sullivan & Cromwell, also a New York firm, which was an adviser to Alibaba's IPO.
"You are not able to get a similar structure which does preserve your fundamental core values if you are listing in Hong Kong," she said. "When we are looking at which companies are listing here, it tends to be more on the tech side."
The issue was brought to public attention when Alibaba Group Holding Ltd decided not to have its IPO in Hong Kong at a time when it was trying to reach a global market. Alibaba has a partnership structure that gives equal voting rights to all shareholders but nomination rights to some 20 partners.
The Hong Kong exchange was reported to have considered changing its regulations to accept more shareholding systems, but did not.
Moreover, New York markets give tech companies better valuations due to a higher concentration of expertise, said William Hay, general counsel of Baring Private Equity Asia. "It is a de-institutional market," he said. "It is really a global market, and Hong Kong is becoming a global market, but still more of the trade is very local."
The reason why Hong Kong denies different voting structures may be that most Hong Kong-listed companies are family businesses, and the Hong Kong stock exchange is worried that family members will take other investors' money without any trouble, said Hay.
"There is different history and different traditions," he said.
During Chen's keynote speech at the conference, he also offered his opinion on the potential class-action lawsuits by five US law firms, alleging Alibaba made inadequate disclosure or false statements about counterfeit products sold on its online platforms.
"Clearly, you all know, in the United States there is a litigation culture; people litigate over anything," Chen said.
"Whenever there is a stock volatility associated with the news coming out from the company, the first thing they call their lawyers to do is to go to the IPO prospectus and SEC filings."
Lu Huiquan in New York contributed to this story.
- Caveman saves money for family
- China's interest rate adjustments beteen 2008 and 2015
- Buddhist monks break bricks in kung fu
- Beijing steps up security for two sessions
- Han-style Chinese beauties at Cambridge
- Prince William visits Forbidden City
- Aerial views of plum blossoms as beautiful as oil paintings
- Visitors enjoy cherry blossom in a park in SW China's Yunnan
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions
Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China
Patent applications lead the world
BC lures Chinese tourists
Festival Special: Apps that make holiday shopping easier
Alibaba places China smartphone business bet with $590m Meizu deal
Today's Top News
China passes US at movie box office
Air pollution tops public concerns for two sessions
Wanda's Wang tops China's rich list
US businesses to lower 2015 reinvestments in China
Hilary Clinton may have broken federal laws - reports
US policy focused on Asia: official
China more proactive at UN
Cooperation potential called 'limitless'
Geared to go
The place to be


text:
Fashion group Boohoo has moved to tie executive bonus payouts to demonstrable improvements in working conditions and other ESG commitments throughout its supply chain..
The company this week followed advice from members of its Environmental Audit Committee that the £150m bonus pot, implemented last year and contingent upon business performance, should also be linked to sustainability initiatives and broader supply chain improvements.
The financial incentive plan was implemented by the company last year, with senior leadership, including co-founders Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani, set to receive major pay days if the business increases its valuation by around two thirds by 2023. Boohoo floated in 2014 and was valued at around £4.5bn in June 2020, when the incentive scheme was implemented.
The UK-based online fashion retailer owns and operates brands including its menswear offshoot BoohooMan, Karen Millen, PrettyLittleThing and former Arcadia Group brands such as Burton and Oasis. Last summer it was beset by allegations of poor working conditions in factories in UK cities and underpayment of staff. Workers were reportedly expected to work long shifts for below minimum wage, the ensuing furore of which wiped around £1bn from its share price.
In response to the reports, Boohoo submitted to an on-going audit and subsequently cut ties with more than 400 suppliers to date. But earlier this year, further pressure from workers’ rights campaigners sparked a fresh inquiry into ‘slave labour’ allegations which may result in an import ban in the United States.
“Doing more for our suppliers”
Earlier this month Boohoo published its first sustainability report, called Up.Front Fashion Ready for the Future, in which it pledged to “doing more for our suppliers” as a key objective, focussing on transparency and greater oversight throughout the value chain.
Its action plan centres around three key areas of improvement:
- Clothes made smarter: Making our clothes in a smarter way - with better materials, more sustainable design and less waste and packaging.
- Suppliers on better terms: Doing more for our suppliers - transparent supply chains, improved standards and management and a long-term commitment to those that work in fashion.
- Our business taking action: Running our business responsibly - strong governence, a great place to work, tackling climate change, responsible marketing and a role in communities we can all be proud of.
“It’s vital we can trust that suppliers are respecting our ethical, environmental and product quality standards. In particular, we want them to treat workers well and pay them fairly,” the report says. “And to build stakeholder confidence and brand loyalty, we need to communicate our progress clearly and openly. That’s why transparency runs through all our Up.Front goals.”
The retailer has also committed to publishing a list of its suppliers, making public its purchasing practices, and increasing oversight in supplier management and accountability.


text:
Telkom, a South African telecommunication company, has announced that it is launching a value-added service (VAS) portal called Telkom Plus. The new offering is a Telkom-user only subscription platform that aims to aggregate wireless application service provider and content service providers.
“Telkom Plus is a one-stop-shop for subscribers to discover the range of digital services available on the Internet,” says Gugu Mthembu, executive brand and product segment at Telkom. “[It is] designed to engage users and generate interest around VAS subscription services.”
“This platform allows a niche group of content services providers — like apps, games and music streaming platform developers — to put their products on the portal for a broader reach and service to the people,” adds Mthembu.
Telkom Plus features various improved additions, including device detection. According to Telkom, the platform is rendered according to the capabilities of a user’s device. This ensures a consistent and improved user experience, even on legacy devices. Additionally, it features enrichment content such as games, sports, videos, lifestyle and social content.
“We had a look at what is already in the market and did our intensive research on the need for this platform, and the decision was taken to give customers an improved user experience. Our platform embodies our ethos and value proposition of always giving more for less,” says Mthembu.
Telkom Plus is the default homepage for all customers who create a new data session on the mobile network and is zero-rated for data usage to further stimulate traffic. “In essence, this is a portal that is automatically triggered by the network when certain events occur that would normally result in a customer landing on a ‘dead end’ webpage — such as when a customer runs out of credit or depletes their data allocation,” Mthembu says.
“Instead of ending the data session, the customer is presented with an engaging content portal with functionality the customer can access right away — improving the user experience and providing the operator with a powerful, high-traffic digital sales channel,” concludes Mthembu.
Telkom Plus launched on Monday, 9 December. Customers will be able to access the portal on a browser, USSD (*180*401#) and the Telkom App.
source : https://bit.ly/2LRjIN6


text:
Anyone entering Shanghai’s Xintiandi district in late September 2004 knew a major show was in town. The bars and restaurants were packed, luxury brand promotions were ubiquitous – and corporate credit cards were working overtime.
China’s first Formula One Grand Prix was a huge commercial success, drawing sponsors, VIPs and their guests from across the globe to spend, entertain and network. One executive from a high-profile retail company told me he had “an unlimited budget” for carousing clients during the three-day weekend.
This scenario will be replicated on November 28, 2008, when 90,000 people take to Singapore’s streets for F1’s first night race. This new addition to the F1 calendar illustrates Asia-Pacific’s growing importance for sporting franchises.
In 2008, five (Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Japan) of the 18 F1 races will be held in the region – and the added economic benefits are already being calculated. It is estimated the race will generate US$66 million in incremental receipts, and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry has announced a rate levy of 30 percent for 11 hotels located near to the track.
Major sporting and cultural events target local consumers as well as an international television audience. They also attract sponsors and brand partners eager to diversify their reach. As part of the experience, corporate hospitality is increasingly turning its attention east – primarily to China, but also to other thriving Asia-Pacific economies – as more trans-global professional events are held in the region.
While Formula One and European PGA golf are relatively established in Asia, the ATP and WTA tennis associations have announced new top-tier tournaments in Shanghai and Beijing from 2009. Europe’s best football teams – this year including Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich – now regularly tour Asia during the off-season. All these events create momentum for Asia’s emerging corporate hospitality sector.
Another driver is aggressive investment in event infrastructure, exemplified by the new Cotai Strip in Macau – which will feature several new hotels, plus Macau Studio City, a Cirque de Soleil theatre, Playboy mansion, and numerous casinos, theatres and entertainment venues. Leading the way is the 3,000-room Venetian Macau resort, which will bring NBA basketball and a Roger Federer versus Pete Sampras tennis match to its 15,000-seat Venetian Arena later this year. The Arena forms part of the Venetian’s declared aim to “reposition Macau as North Asia’s top destination for leisure and corporate travellers”.
Regional events also enable executives to combine sport and business. This summer, the 2007 Asian Cup football tournament was jointly held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It offered a varied suite of corporate hospitality packages, ranging from a 10-person corporate box dining deal, priced US$2,000 for a first round match, to US$50,000 for a 16-person corporate hospitality box throughout the tournament, including the finals in Jakarta. Last December, the 15th Asian Games in Doha offered packages at its Sponsors Hospitality Village with the tag line “Five Stars: and we’re not talking about the athletes”. A ten-table lunch for the opening ceremony cost US$3,090.
Corporate entertaining can be an effective way of creating and cementing business relationships, and is a key tool for maximising a sponsorship investment. Face-to-face entertainment becomes increasingly important as the cost of acquiring new customers rises, and can help develop and maintain customer and employee relationships – and enhance brand value.
“There are some great examples of corporate hospitality, such as the Rugby 7s in Hong Kong, and various golf events in Hong Kong and Singapore, where corporations tie in the experience of being at a world-class event with a form of active participation, like golf clinics or opportunities to meet the star players,” says Marcus Luer CEO of Total Sports?Asia, a specialist sports marketing company with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai, Beijing and Dubai.
“Formula 1 also has a very strong corporate hospitality culture. Team sponsors normally tie in appearances of the drivers, pit walks and other perks to bring the client as close as possible to the product,” says Luer. “I’m sure we will see a new dimension of this for the Singapore Grand Prix next year. Singapore clearly has all the makings to be a second Monte Carlo in the F1 corporate hospitality world.”
On the downside, if corporate sponsorship and hospitality is not meticulously planned and executed, it can damage a corporate reputation, both with clients and rights holders.
Even so, some eventualities are beyond a company’s control. Sporting history is littered with sullied corporate reputations – just ask the plethora of companies seeking to disassociate themselves from the scandal-plagued Tour de France.
There are two common pitfalls of bad corporate hospitality, says Kim Skildum-Reid, a Tempe, New South Wales-based sponsorship expert, author, and the creative brain behind industry site www.powersponsorship.com. These are: not differentiating a hospitality offering from that of competitors; and assuming that one hospitality offering is going to work for all key clients.
“Differentiation can be about elevating the experience to the level of ‘money can’t buy’ – such as a chance to meet your hero, drive an IndyCar, get a guided tour inside a pyramid, or spend the day ‘in training’ with Olympians,” says Skildum-Reid. “It’s about getting away from beers in the skybox or tuxedos and Champagne in an arts centre reception area, and creating an experience that shows that people are understood and valued, and giving them something to remember.”
Related to this is the mistaken assumption that one kind of hospitality will work for all clients. “For instance, there are a lot of high-up decision-makers who have put off having kids. Now they’ve got big jobs and kids in primary school. They don’t want to frock up on a Wednesday night for the opera. They want to go home from their stressful job and spend time with their families. Hospitality opportunities that work for them might be about providing a Saturday morning behind-the-scenes tour at the opera with their kids.”
Getting corporate hospitality right needs careful planning. “There are learning curves in any organisation when managing a corporate hospitality programme,” says Louise Ardagh, CEO China for Frontiers Group. “Some of these issues might concern who to invite, and with whom to invite them; how to ensure VVIPs are exclusively invited – and not invited by others around town.”
Frontiers has worked on corporate programmes for events in China – including Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, Beijing Music Festival, Phantom of the Opera, F1 Grand Prix, and this October’s Royal Salute Gold Cup polo event at Nine Dragons Hill resort near Ningbo. Hospitality buyers, Ardagh says, should focus clearly on the value a particular event will bring to the company’s overall objectives.
“You need to ask yourself many questions. Does this event provide the right experience for building the right relationships? How can you make the most of the evening with a potential key client?” Ardagh adds, “The difference between how you respond to these questions may mean the difference between taking a guest to a Formula One race, or to a classical music recital.”
Buyers must also consider hospitality from a client’s perspective. Standards of service, attention to detail, ease of management and clarity of instructions need to be ensured so that clients, and quite possibly the customers of those clients, have a memorable and easy experience, where all of their needs are met and where the objective of enhanced business relationships is satisfied”.
And don’t be afraid to experiment. “Create family-oriented experiences, like Dad’s Day at a football match, where your best customers can bring their kids to the skybox, meet some legends, get team jerseys with their names on them, and generally have a family day. It works well,” says Skildum-Reid. “Even better is to get the sales guys to bring their kids, too. This shows that you understand what’s important to them.”
As demand for corporate hospitality rises in Asia, service improvements are also required. “In general, corporate hospitality is only effectively used in a few Asian markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea,” says Luer of Total Sports Asia. “In many other Asian countries, I see a lack of appreciation by the ‘customer’. For example, companies have tried to lavish hospitality at golf or yachting events in Malaysia and no-one showed up.” There clearly is either a lack of culture on the customer end, or the corporate world has not communicated well with their target audience on the benefits of this experience, Luer adds. “I think people would rather go and play the sport instead of watching it from a corporate marquee.”
The importance of effectively communicating the benefits cannot be overstated, agrees Ardagh of Frontiers Group. High-end hospitality should be valued in terms of the level of people and the level of exclusivity you are catering to.?“When a company sponsors an event, they are given rights which truly should be ‘money can’t buy’ opportunities. For example, concert and entertainment sponsorships can provide exclusive opportunities for sponsors to?perhaps tour backstage, meet the artist or be hosted in an exclusive experience,” Ardagh says. “When hospitality is used well, those invited to participate in the experience should be those who will value or feel the importance of an invitation like this.”
Beijing Olympics 2008
Less than one year away, the 2008 Beijing Olympics is slated to be the biggest corporate hospitality showpiece in history. Michael Payne, former commercial director of the International Olympic Committee, explains:“The Beijing Olympics will have an impact far beyond marketing. There has never been a sporting event that has made a bigger impact on the host country than the Beijing Games.”
Those words have hospitality companies salivating – and next August corporate guests in Beijing will find a completely rebuilt city to entertain them. Beijing has spent around US$36 billion, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report, to lay on the biggest Games ever. As global companies seek access to China’s vast television viewing population, the Beijing Games will have 55 official sponsors and suppliers, compared to 38 for the 2004 Athens Games – and each one will be exploiting their investments to the fullest, with significant corporate hospitality and consumer awareness programmes.
“If a sponsorship is leveraged effectively, your ‘money-can’t-buy’ tickets to the Games and the hospitality can be incredibly powerful,” says Louise Ardagh, CEO China of Frontiers.?“This is even more so when the experience of being at China’s first ever Olympic Games is the outcome of being invited.”
A lot of sponsors are “being incredibly strategic” about the global and local partners that they can host in Beijing, Ardagh adds. “Traditionally, as a sponsor, you are inviting many people in ‘waves’ of four days for the duration of the Games, as well as showcasing all of your amazing achievements as a sponsor in specially created pavilions.”
The payback of good corporate hospitality can be huge; General Electric – which has unveiled China’s first rainwater recycling system at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest National Stadium – hopes to generate at least US$500 million in sales from around 335 projects associated with its official 2008 Olympic Games partner status.
UK-based Sportsworld is the official corporate hospitality partner for 18 National Olympic Committees. Its corporate hospitality programmes are fully hosted four- or five-night tours, including A-category tickets for up to six Olympic events, airport transfers, meals, sightseeing trips in Beijing and to the Great Wall, and opening and closing ceremony parties. The programmes start from US$5,493 per person, but irrespective of the price, Sportsworld says it has received “an unprecedented level of interest from companies who are keen to show their presence in China, or those looking to provide access to the world’s greatest sporting event for their top employees”.


text:
Average used van values grew by over 10% in 2010, an indication that stability is returning to the market following the economic downturn.
According to Manheim Remarketing’s latest analysis, wholesale used values increased by £373 to £4067 compared with 2009, while average age fell by six months to 50 months and mileage decreased by 6299 to 70,556 miles.
Manheim says average values peaked at £4416 in April and remained relatively steady from July until the year-end. Excluding market or model mix distortions, Manheim also said sub-three-tonne large vans recorded the biggest rise in average value last year – up 17.7% (£642) to £4274. This was due in part to a four-month fall in average age to 50 months coupled with a substantial decrease in mileage of 12,548 miles to 83,994.
All market segments posted year-on-year price increases in 2010 except small panel vans, which fell 2.6% (£106) to £3895.
Overall, average values in December 2010 were 2.7% (£108) ahead of the previous month.
Large panel vans under three tonnes were up 1.3% to £4274, Tippers rose by a sharp 7.3% (£438) to £6415 and boxes and Lutons edged up 1.4% to £6811. Segments falling in value included car-derived vans, down 8% to £2252.
Manheim’s commercial vehicle boss James Davis says there is potential for a good year in 2011 due to the rise in van de-fleet volumes caused by consolidation in daily rental and other industry sectors. He adds: “The majority of the vans we are seeing coming to auction are the popular brands. Well specified bread-and-butter ex-fleet and rental vehicles in the £3500 to £5000 price range. These always attract buyers as there is a ready retail market for them.”
With most buyers investing their own cash, Davis says pre-selling looks like a better option than stocking for vendors.
“If the economy maintains its gradual recovery and new vehicle registrations continue to struggle, the used van market will thrive,” he says.
Davis says some increase in supply would result in shallower value rises than last year, but concludes: “The outlook is positive for a stable 2011.”
Manheim’s major auction rival, BCA, says the van sector endured a difficult end to 2010. Duncan Ward, head of commercial vehicles at the company, explains: “Market conditions were tough at the end of the year with a combination of poor stock mix and inclement weather resulting in some price pressure across the board.”
However, Ward agrees prospects are looking brighter for the new year.
“Buyers have been very active in the early days of the year. January generally brings an uplift in activity and this is typically sustained until the Easter period, which usually represents a watershed in demand.”
Ward anticipates a surge in volumes coming to auction in the early spring, which could once more put values under pressure.
According to BCA, average values climbed by just £37 to £4067 in December from November’s low point for the year. Changing model mix accounted for the slight rise, with lower value part-exchange numbers down and nearly new volumes up. Values actually fell in all three main sub-sectors, fleet/lease, part-exchange and nearly new.
The average value for the year overall at BCA was £4303 with a high of £4633 reached in April.
Fleet values fell 2.9% month-on-month in December to £4465, with the CAP comparison dropping a point to 96.1%. It was the lowest monthly average value recorded in the fleet/lease sector at BCA in 2010. The figure was 2.5% down year-on-year but 48% ahead of the low point two years ago.
BCA says business failures in the sector meant many vans came to market in December ahead of their planned de-fleet date, in poor condition and of similar make, model and specification.
Part-exchange values remained flat in December at £2329 compared with November, but CAP value fell by more than a percentage point to 95.4%. Year-on-year values dropped 8.2% as tough retail conditions saw volumes decline.
Nearly new volumes climbed in December in percentage terms but BCA said stock remained scarce. Model mix changes saw values plummet from £12,293 to £9809 month-on-month, while CAP comparison improved by half a point to 98.7%.
Ward described the economy as “fragile” and warned the VAT rise and increasing fuel costs may hamper demand in the coming months.


text:
Sony and Capcom said earlier this year that a downloadable version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd was in the works. This week, we'll finally get to play it.
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd'd downloadable version will be available on July 28, Capcom announced today. The game will be priced ¥4,800. You'll need 1,095 megabytes of space on your Memory Stock.
The retail version of MHP3rd has already topped the 4.5 million mark in sales. However, at the very least, the availability of a downloadable version should benefit PSP go owners and those who want the convenience of not having to carry around a UMD.


text:
Given the demands of pandemic social distancing, The New Yorker is offering a new feature for its free crossword: Partner Mode.
Now, users can share solving crosswords — in the same room or different countries. Select the “Partner Mode” button or person with a plus sign in mobile, then share the link by text or email.
As soon as the intended receiver opens the link, their cursor appears in green alongside yours, and you can puzzle together — in real time or at your own pace.
Partner Mode is now available for both The New Yorker’s Weekday and Weekend crosswords. The magazine has created Crossword F.A.Q. for potential queries.
Even the experts are involved with virtual puzzle solving.
The magazine reports that when the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut, was canceled in March, hundreds of participants created the “Crossword Tournament From Your Couch,” live-tweeting commentary and results.
Separately, last month, the magazine named Ben French vice president, consumer product. He is charged with executing the magazine’s digital-growth strategy.
In February, Condé Nast, parent company of The New Yorker, announced it was launching “Home/Made x Condé Nast,” packaging its home-related video series across its brands as an opportunity for advertisers to reach millennial "home-doers."


text:
It will elevate the accommodation scene of Richmond, offering exceptional facilities.
TFE Hotels has announced General Manager appointments at two of its newest hotel addresses in Melbourne.
Now in its fifth year as Official Partner of the Australian Open, Accor is using one of the world’s greatest sporting events to launch a new campaign around its innovative lifestyle loyalty program, ALL – Accor Live Limitless.
new-build Holiday Inn will open in the trendy inner-Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 2023, following the signing of a long-term management agreement between IHG® and a joint venture between Pelligra Group, PrimeLand Group and Diamond Hospitality Singapore.
The glamorous makeover of the ground floor of Amora Hotel Riverwalk Melbourne, on Bridge Road, Richmond, is almost complete with a complete reconfiguration of the space to include brand new public, dining and function spaces.


text:
Tag Results for smartphones (1 - 10) of 39
AT&T Launches First Windows Phone for GoPhone, The Nokia Lumia 520, on July 26
Beginning July 26, AT&T will offer customers even more choice with the launch of the Nokia Lumia 520, the first Windows Phone in the AT&T GoPhone portfolio. The 4G-capable Nokia Lumia 520 will be available for $99.99....
AT&T and LG Unveil Powerful, Full HD Optimus G Pro
AT&T and LG Electronics USA announced today the LG Optimus G Pro, available exclusively from AT&T, for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement beginning May 10.
AT&T to Launch BlackBerry Z10 March 22 for $199.99, Pre-sales Begin March 12
Wireless customers looking for a smartphone that helps them balance the important aspects of their lives will soon have a new option.
Break the Mold: The New HTC One from AT&T Brings Your Mobile World to Life
Today, AT&T announced its plans to carry HTC’s global flagship smartphone, the new HTC One®.
AT&T Plans to Launch Blackberry Z10 and Blackberry Q10 Smartphones Powered by Blackberry 10, for Consumer and Business Customers
AT&T today announced plans to offer the new BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones powered by BlackBerry 10.
AT&T to Launch Samsung Rugby III Dec. 14
Beginning Dec. 14, AT&T customers looking for a tough phone that stands up to the elements will have one more choice with the Samsung Rugby® III for $99.99 with a two-year agreement.
AT&T Unwraps Black Friday, Cyber Monday Deals and More
AT&T today announced its value-packed lineup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that will help shoppers keep more jingle in their pockets when purchasing some of this season’s hottest wireless devices....
HTC One X+ and HTC One VX Arrive at AT&T Nov. 16; Pre-orders for One X+ Begin Nov. 13
Customers looking for a smartphone that combines outstanding design, authentic sound, an amazing camera, HD entertainment, and the power of a quad-core processor will surely add the HTC One™ X+ to the top of their wish list.
AT&T Expands Facetime Over Cellular Availability
AT&T today announced it will enable FaceTime over Cellular at no extra charge for iOS 6 customers with an LTE device on any tiered data plan.
Windows Phone 8 Smartphones Arrive at AT&T Nov. 9; Pre-orders Begin Nov. 7
AT&T announced today the availability of three new smartphones in its growing Windows® Phone 8 portfolio.


text:
Spinning screens co-ordinate with video displays
The Swiss engineering consultancy FiveCo has developed a system that can move and rotate computer monitors and TV screens in a co-ordinated manner with images being displayed on them, opening up new opportunities for advertising and other public displays.
The FiveCo SMT (screen motion technology) system can move the screens with three degrees of freedom – two linear axes, as well as one rotational axis. An electronic controller synchronises the system’s three motors with custom video images appearing on the screens to create eye-catching effects.
The system can consist of two moving screens or one static screen combined with a moving display. It was developed for a Swiss company, Dietlin, which specialises in novel technologies for promotional and advertising applications.
The watch-maker Tag Heuer watch recently used the technology on its stand at the BaselWorld 2013 exhibition.


text:
The UK’s fifth-largest coffee brand will switch its fleet of nearly 100 vehicles to electric over the next five years.
Cafe2U has a growing network of mobile coffee vans, serving thousands of customers in “non-traditional” locations such as office parks and community events. The company’s first electric vehicles will hit the road as part of its annual Green Coffee Fortnight.
Founded in Garforth, near Leeds in 2004, Cafe2U is making the switch as part of its goal of becoming the UK’s first carbon neutral coffee company.
A spokesperson said: “To coincide with the unveiling of its first electric van and reduce its carbon footprint, the company is also launching a compostable paper cup and minimizing its paper consumption, with the company’s head office in digitizing all of its upcoming files with a deadline of 2022 to be completely paperless.
Cafe2U has launched several other sustainability initiatives in recent years, with the company launching a coffee grounds waste recycling program and replacing its plastic straws with paper alternatives in 2018.
This is in addition to the replacement of diesel generators in its vans with emission-free lithium-ion batteries in 2019.
Martyn Ward, Managing Director of Cafe2U, said: “Reducing our carbon footprint is absolutely vital for us and our customers, so we’re always looking for new ways to become even more sustainable.
“We are excited to lead the way in the mobile coffee market with our new zero emission coffee vans which are a world first.
“In addition to being better for the environment, electric vehicles will allow our franchisees to access indoor events and emission-free zones, further amplifying our message in favor of sustainable development.
Mr. Ward added, “Being the first in the world is a testament to the progressive nature of our brand and the hard work that our head office and franchisees do every day. “


text:
Spotted!: Toast Box's "Kopi On Wheels" Drives In to Heartland Areas
Credit: Toast Box Singapore (left); Therese Tan's Facebook (right)
A new food truck has sprouted in the 'hood, and it's not another ice cream seller. If you've spotted it, count yourself lucky. Toast Box Singapore has recently revealed pictures of the #TBKOPIVAN truck in action, and so far it has made a few stops in places like Braddell and Choa Chu Kang.
The live station took its first drive out on 30 May at Braddell View. #TBKOPIVAN offers iconic local delights such as kopi and tea, curry chicken mee and traditional toasts, but you won't be able to find certain items like soft-boiled eggs. Check out the menu here:
Credit: Therese Tan's Facebook
Customers will need to scan the QR code on-site to make their orders.
This mobile service is perfect at this time, as more people are choosing to stay home. As of now, the van has only gone to private residential areas such as condominiums, but we seriously hope this will become a familiar sight in HDB estates as well.


text:
Since President Trump took office, controversy over some of his policies has triggered noisy protests and rallies in front of hotels emblazoned with the Trump name.
It is uncertain if the rallies and protests have hurt business at Trump hotels but online travel sites that book Trump hotels have come under increasing fire from critics of the president.
Trump Hotels includes eight properties in the U.S. and five international locations that are either managed or branded by the New York company, founded by Donald J. Trump.
Online travel booking sites such as Hotwire and Priceline are under attack on social media from Trump critics who say they fear those sites may book them into a Trump hotel without their knowledge.
Travelers who use Hotwire.com and "Express Deals" on Priceline.com can request a room in a specific city but aren't told the hotel name until after they pay. Hotels, car rental companies and airlines can use such "blind" booking sites to unload vacant rooms, empty airline seats and unused cars without lowering their prices on traditional sales channels.
But since Trump was elected, a growing chorus of Trump critics has complained that Hotwire and Priceline have booked them into Trump hotels. They are asking the websites to either eliminate Trump hotels from the sites or give travelers the option to block Trump hotels from their lodging search.
"WARNING: Do not use @hotwire! Their "hot rates" include #Trump hotels & they will not cancel. Learn from my mistake. #NeverTrump," Dave Vanness, a data scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, posted on Twitter recently.
Bernard Harcourt, a law professor at Columbia University, has called for a boycott of Hotwire on Twitter, saying he searched for a room in Chicago on Hotwire to attend a protest of Trump's travel ban and got booked into the Trump International Hotel & Tower.
Hotwire declined to say if bookings on the site have dropped since Trump was elected, but company spokeswoman Geena Marcelia said, "we are aware that certain travelers have shared concerns around booking a Trump Hotel property."
"Our customers' satisfaction is very important to us," she said. "To that end, we are currently taking these comments into careful consideration."
Priceline declined to discuss the controversy.
Trump Hotels doesn't report its financial data to the public but a spokeswoman said the company has enjoyed a 10% increase in reservations in 2016 over the previous year.
"Our business is incredibly strong," Trump Hotels spokeswoman Christine Lin said. "We are exceeding targets across a variety of metrics, including overall bookings, website visits and revenue."
Still, the kind of controversy that has erupted since Trump took office Jan. 20 can't be good for a hotel brand, said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality.
"Look at it from a corporation's standpoint," he said. "If you are booking a meeting, you are going to look for a hotel that is going to help you, not hurt you. A corporation may have Muslim people they want to attend the meeting."
To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.


text:
Some reports (1, 2) talk about new AMD architecture coming at 2016 and more specifically at 2H of 2016. Also, reports say that Samsung might be the manufacturer of AMD next generation Zen CPUs, or at least some of them (above and 1, 2) and they talk about 14nm too. This is not really confirmed, it seems.
At least I can’t get much out of these reports / rumors, and moreover, it’s not really a surprise that AMD working hard on this new architecture that will be a game changer. However, the news is the date and the 14/16nm manufacturer process.
Until Zen, some new 20nm chips towards the end of this year and the dawn of the next year (which is 2015!). More info about these soon here is a shorty.
What about Intel in the meanwhile? Well, the mini-Haswell-with-amped-GPU Broadwell architecture should come soon and not long after that, the new and expected Intel Skylake acrhitecture should come at the second half of 2015 (here and here). That’s a bit confusing for the buyers probably. Maybe we’ll see Intel release dates changed, but for now we have nothing to do but sit and wait for Broadwell and more info about Skylake.
And yes, this is a Zen circle stuff that might be representing AMD closing circle with Intel, finally catching them?