Sunday, November 24

Fashion

Bank of England holds interest rate, warns on inflation
15Dec By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion

Bank of England holds interest rate, warns on inflation

The Bank of England on Thursday held its key interest rate and warned it will remain high to tackle inflation, indicating in contrast with the Federal Reserve that cuts were unlikely any time soon. The British central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 6-3 in favour of keeping the rate at 5.25%, the highest level in more than 15 years, it said in a statement. The US central bank had also frozen borrowing costs on Wednesday but signalled that it would start cutting rates next year and sparked a broad markets rally. “Monetary policy would need to be sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long to return inflation to the two percent target sustainably in the medium term,” stated the minutes from this week’s BoE gathering. They added: “The committee continued to ju...
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Zara expands second-hand platform to 14 European countries
6Dec By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion

Zara expands second-hand platform to 14 European countries

Spanish fashion retailer Zara is expanding its service to sell, repair or donate second-hand clothes in several European countries from December 12, the company said yesterday, as the market for used apparel grows. The service called ‘Pre-Owned’ is already available in the United Kingdom and France through Zara’s stores, its website and a mobile app. It will now launch in Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Portugal. The chain’s owner, Inditex, previously said it aims to extend the life of customers’ Zara clothes, and help reduce waste and raw material consumption. Other fast fashion brands, such as Zara’s main competitor H&M HMb.ST, also offer products for resale. — Reuters ...
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Temu, Chinese Fast Fashion Retailer That is Overtaking Shein
14Nov By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion, Finance

Temu, Chinese Fast Fashion Retailer That is Overtaking Shein

Chinese fast fashion giant Temu has emerged as the dominant force in the Japanese and South Korean app markets, surpassing its competitor Shein following a successful expansion into Western markets. Goldman Sachs, in an Oct. 4 report, stated, "Temu has rapidly expanded its footprint beyond the U.S. and into a number of international geographies and we believe it is now available in 40+ countries … where we continue to see opportunities for growth in the quarters ahead." The investment firm estimates that Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, now generates more than $1 billion of monthly transaction value and anticipates continued growth into the second half of 2023. In contrast, media reports suggest that its rival, Shein, was on track to hit $30 billion in transaction value in 2022. ...
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Do you want your clothes to shrink our forests?
5Nov By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion, Opinion

Do you want your clothes to shrink our forests?

Do you know what you’re wearing? I don’t just mean if it’s a shirt or a jumper, or whether it’s designer or fast fashion. I’m talking about the fabric — and its source. Cotton is fairly recognisable, and many know wool comes from sheep. But do you know that linen is made of the blue-flowered flax plant? That cashmere and mohair come from different breeds of goat, while angora comes from a type of rabbit? And polyester and polyamide are made out of oil? Perhaps the least well-known origin story, and one of the most significant for the climate and biodiversity crises, is that fabrics such as viscose, lyocell and modal were once trees. These materials, known collectively as man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCFs), are made of dissolved wood pulp and account for just over 6% of our cl...
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Unfair to use ringgit-US dollar rate as sole gauge of state of economy, says Ahmad Maslan
5Nov By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion

Unfair to use ringgit-US dollar rate as sole gauge of state of economy, says Ahmad Maslan

The ringgit’s value versus the US dollar should not be used as the sole gauge of the state of the economy, according to Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan. It is unfair for analysts to assess the economic situation simply based on this yardstick because there are other criteria that should be considered, he said before proceeding to cite five other indicators. “Firstly, there is our economic growth, which is forecast at 4%-5% next year. The second gauge is the country’s fiscal deficit which is set to fall to 4.3% (next year) from 5% this year. Thirdly, the inflation rate has continued to decline to 1.9% (in September),” he told the media after officiating the Islamic Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA Award) 2023 ceremony organised by the Muslim Insiders Chamb...
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UnionPay Cardholders Can Easily Pay at all QR Merchants in Malaysia Now
31Oct By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Business, Fashion

UnionPay Cardholders Can Easily Pay at all QR Merchants in Malaysia Now

Now, all QR merchants in Malaysia can service consumers with UnionPay, building on the collaboration between UnionPay International (UPI) and Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd, or PayNet, Malaysia's national payments network. This cross-border QR code linkage enables the full acceptance of the UnionPay App (Chinese-mainland, Hong Kong and Macao versions) and Chinese-mainland bank apps connected to the UnionPay App Network Payment Platform at the QR merchants in Malaysia. As the designated operator of DuitNow QR, Malaysia's national QR code standard, PayNet works with all QR merchants in the country totaling over one million, which can service UnionPay cardholders without any adaptation of the systems or the QR code. Besides, newly-enrolled QR merchants in Malaysia will suppor...
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NASA’s new spacesuit will be designed by luxury fashion house Prada
10Oct By Webmaster IKON MalaysiaNo Comments
Fashion, Innovation/ Technology

NASA’s new spacesuit will be designed by luxury fashion house Prada

Credit: Axiom Space According to a statement released by Prada and Axiom Space, the two companies will work together to create NASA's new spacesuits for the Artemis III mission in 2025 so astronauts can fly in style. The Artemis III mission will send a woman to the moon for the first time, making it the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972. "We are thrilled to partner with Prada on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit," Axiom Space's CEO Michael Suffredini said in its press release. Credit: Axiom Space "Prada's technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the...
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