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This Week in Consumer News: 14 Stories You Need to See

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A roundup of the most newsworthy consumer and retail announcements from PR Newswire this week, including an iconic Hello Kitty x Bruno Mars collaboration, Grubhub’s 2024 trends report and last-minute gift ideas.

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help consumer/retail journalists and consumers stay on top of the week’s most newsworthy and popular releases, here’s a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn’t be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

Hello Kitty® and Bruno Mars Reunite in Las Vegas to Celebrate Her 50th Anniversary
In honor of Hello Kitty’s 50th Anniversary and the opening of Bruno Mars’ holiday residency on December 18 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, the duo is coming together to delight fans with merch, themed food and drink specials, and an adorable Hello Kitty meet-and-greet experience this December.Grubhub’s 2024 Delivered Trend Report Reveals Americans Were ‘Doing the Most’ This Year
The report analyzes orders placed throughout the year—from restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and more—delivered to customers at home, work, college campuses, hotel rooms, and beyond. Grubhub’s trends reveal that even when it felt a bit “extra,ˮ no one hesitated to “add to bag.ˮTaco Bell’s Biggest Innovation Experience is Back: Live Más LIVE Set to Unveil 2025 Surprises
The brand’s tech-inspired Live Más LIVE experience is back for an encore performance to unveil 2025’s biggest innovations—on and off the menu. Attendees will get exclusive access to cutting-edge products, groundbreaking partnerships, live entertainment, and the ultimate fan celebration.The Official ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Book’ — Available Exclusively at Target — Sells Nearly 1 Million Copies in First Week The book, along with the “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” — available for the first time on CD and vinyl — launched exclusively in Target stores nationwide on Black Friday, prior to becoming available on Target.com and in the Target app on Saturday, Nov. 30.Eatfigo Unveils Revolutionary “Refrigerator That Cooks” at CES 2025 Attendees are invited to Booth #60652 at CES 2025 to witness firsthand how Eatfigo seamlessly integrates meal preparation into daily routines, ensuring that mouth-watering, nutritious meals are ready the moment you walk through the door.Rent the Runway and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Team Up for Empowering Partnership As part of the holiday campaign, Rent the Runway will feature Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Reece, Charly, Brooklyn, Camille, and Ava wearing a curated collection of festive pieces, available for rent through the service. Offering a deeper look at the women behind the uniforms, RTR will highlight their personal stories of perseverance and resilience – both on and off the field.Wendy’s Offers 12 Days of Sweet & Spicy Holiday BOGO Deals Exclusively In-App Available through Sunday, Dec. 22, in-app deals will include buy-one-get-one FREE offers including the iconic Breakfast Baconator® and Dave’s Single®, in addition to new-to-2024 favorites like Saucy Nuggs and more.PetSmart Launches Streaming Experience for Cats and Dogs to End Holiday Pet Blues
A recent PetSmart survey revealed that 69% of pet parents feel guilty about leaving their pets home alone during the holidays, and nearly half offer entertainment to keep their pets occupied while they are away. The ‘Home for the Pawlidays’ videos help to ease pet and pet parent worry, and end the holiday pet blues.LG Electronics and will.i.am Transforms LG xboom’s Sound & Design Through “xboom by will.i.am”
The 2025 line of “xboom by will.i.am” products, including Bluetooth speakers and wireless earbuds will be unveiled at CES 2025. The xboom Buds will be the first product available in the market.Introducing Ceramic Nonstick Cookware from Rachael Ray®
Because the ceramic nonstick is designed to release foods easily, requiring less butter, margarine, or other saturated-fat-prone cooking oils to keep food from sticking, the new line also promotes heart-healthy cooking.Mr. Bubble Limited-Edition Holiday Gifts & Stocking Stuffers Hit Shelves Exclusively at Target and Walmart
These giftable bubble baths, fizzy tub colors and potions come in unique, festive designs, making gift giving almost as much fun as bath time.CASETiFY Expands Into Travel With Luggage Collection
Crafted for the contemporary globetrotter who values the journey as much as the destination, the new hard-shell luggage is equipped for any environment, featuring innovative technology, customizable elements, and thoughtful design.nutribullet® Launches the New nutribullet® Portable Blender
Designed for active, on-the-go lifestyles, the nutribullet® Portable Blender offers a compact, portable design that merges quality and convenience with great value. Weighing just 1.8 pounds, the blender’s streamlined design touts a sip-and-carry handled lid for mess-free blending and drinking.Sol Soils Unveils Sol Biotics for Happy Plants
Sol Soils proudly announces the launch of its performance chunky mixes designed to elevate indoor plants’ happiness and are more forgiving of less than perfect care. With a commitment to quality, sustainability, and plant health, Sol Soils introduces a range of specially crafted soil blends that cater to the needs of both new plant parents and well-rooted plant enthusiasts.

For more news like this, check out all of the latest retail-related releases from PR Newswire.

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Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News

These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.

Once they’re signed up, reporters, bloggers, and freelancers have access to the following free features:

Customization: Users can create customized newsfeeds that will deliver relevant news right to their inbox. Newsfeed results can be targeted by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more.Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include in a journalist or blogger’s next story.Subject Matter Experts: Journalists will have access to ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in their articles.Related Resources: Our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, features regular media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more.

About PR Newswire

PR Newswire is the industry’s leading press release distribution partner with an unparalleled global reach of more than 440,000 newsrooms, websites, direct feeds, journalists and influencers and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages. From our award-winning Content Services offerings, integrated media newsroom and microsite products, Investor Relations suite of services, paid placement and social sharing tools, PR Newswire has a comprehensive catalog of solutions to solve the modern-day challenges PR and communications teams face. For 70 years, PR Newswire has been the preferred destination for brands to share their most important news stories across the world.

For questions, contact the team at media.relations@cision.com.

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Finloop Becomes Industry Pioneer in HKMA’s EnsembleTX, Exploring Compliant Tokenisation Applications

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HONG KONG, Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Finloop Finance Technology Holding Limited (“Finloop”), an AI-driven global one-stop Web5 (Web2+Web3) wealth technology platform, today announced that it has become an industry pioneer in EnsembleTX, launched by Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), to explore faster, more transparent, and more efficient settlement of real-value tokenised transactions.

HKMA launched the Project Ensemble sandbox in August 2024 to accelerate adoption of tokenisation. In November 2025, it introduced EnsembleTX, marking the commencement of the pilot phase of Project Ensemble. This represented a significant advancement in enabling real-value transactions involving tokenised deposits and digital assets within a controlled pilot environment. In its initial phase, EnsembleTX focuses on empowering market participants to utilise tokenised deposits in tokenised money market fund transactions, and to manage liquidity and treasury needs in real time. Moving forward, EnsembleTX will further support the interbank settlement of tokenised deposit transactions in tokenised Central Bank Money (CeBM) on a 24/7 basis. 

Finloop has built FinRWA Platform (FRP), Asia’s first one-stop RWA (Real-World Asset) technology, issuance, and distribution platform. The platform supports multi-party participation across the full lifecycle of tokenisation, involving issuers, custodians, tokenisation agents, and other institutions. Finloop has achieved several industry breakthroughs in the tokenisation sector, including supporting the distribution of multi-currency tokenised funds and launching Hong Kong’s first technical solution for a unit trust tokenised fund. Finloop has also advanced RWA projects spanning cultural and creative IPs, gold mines, oil and gas fields, and automobiles, leveraging digital assets to empower the real economy. Its subsidiary is also an authorised distributor of the regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP. Through its integration into the EnsembleTX, Finloop will draw on its technology solutions that bridge Web2 and Web3 to support the compliant and efficient issuance and distribution of tokenised assets among institutions.

Cai Hua, Chief Executive Officer of Finloop, said: “Finloop is honored to participate in the HKMA’s EnsembleTX. Hong Kong is at the forefront globally in the regulatory foresight and ecosystem development of digital assets and RWAs. Finloop will fully leverage its core strengths in tokenisation technology and institutional-grade wealth technology, actively follow the guidance of regulators, and work closely with tokenised deposit banks and other industry pioneers. We aim to provide institutional clients with a secure, compliant, transparent, and efficient trading experience for tokenised assets, and jointly expand Hong Kong’s tokenisation ecosystem.”

Looking ahead, Finloop plans to build on its practical experience in EnsembleTX to actively explore a broader range of compliant use cases, including tokenised money market funds, tokenised ETFs, tokenised private funds, tokenised notes, and related treasury management. It will continue to leverage its technological advantages in connecting Web2 and Web3 to drive the efficient issuance, distribution, trading, and settlement of relevant tokenised assets among institutions, further advancing the development of Hong Kong’s tokenisation ecosystem.

About Finloop Finance Technology Holding Limited

Finloop Finance Technology Holding Limited, along with its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “Finloop”), is an AI-driven global one-stop Web5 (Web2+Web3) wealth technology platform located in Hong Kong. Finloop offers comprehensive wealth management products and technology solutions to various financial institutions. Its offerings include cash management, mutual funds, alternatives, structured products, bonds, insurance, and virtual assets. As a fintech leader in Asia during the Web3 wave, Finloop has focused on bridging physical and digital assets, developing a one-stop RWA technology, issuance and distribution platform to pioneer new growth pathways in the wealth management industry. For more information, visit www.finloop.hk and www.finlooprwa.com

Follow Finloop on LinkedIn and X for the latest updates. 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/finloop-becomes-industry-pioneer-in-hkmas-ensembletx-exploring-compliant-tokenisation-applications-302927192.html

SOURCE Finloop Finance Technology Holding Limited

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Xinhua Silk Road: Foreign journalists explore Yuhang’s innovation-driven development

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BEIJING, Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Journalists from South Korean, Turkish, U.S. and Cuban media outlets visited several hi-tech companies and modern agricultural demonstration parks in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, on October 26-28.

Through site visits and hands-on experiences, they gained firsthand insights into Yuhang’s progress in integrating technological and industrial innovation.

They began their tour at Scantech, a leading comprehensive 3D solutions provider, where they explored and experienced 3D visual digitization technologies on October 26.

After trying out a 3D scanner, Isaura Diez, a journalist with Cuba’s Prensa Latina news agency, said this was her first time using a scanner, and was deeply impressed by both the device and the technology behind it. What particularly impressed her were its wide-ranging applications, including in the medical and industrial fields, she added.

On October 27, the group visited RoboCT Technology, a national high-tech enterprise dedicated to the development and application of exoskeleton robotics, to learn about the research, development and practical applications of exoskeleton robots.

At RoboCT, they learned how exoskeletons help patients with lower-limb impairments from spinal cord injuries and strokes stand and walk again, and saw brain-computer interface technology enabling thought-controlled rehabilitation.

After trying on the GoGo-H Pro exoskeleton, a reporter from Turkish newspaper Aydinlik praised the equipment for its incredibly light weight. It felt just like a part of my own body, he said, adding that what impressed him was experiencing firsthand how China’s advanced technologies are being used to improve people’s lives.

At Xynova, a leading supplier of key components in the humanoid robotics sector, Dan Sandoval, a contract photographer of the Associated Press, put on its high-DoF dexterous hand product Flex 2. He said the product could perform all the movements that a human hand can make and he hoped to see it applied in an increasingly wide range of scenarios in the future.

The journalists later visited the Qianxi eco-friendly agricultural demonstration park in Jingshan Town. There, they learned how digital rice seedling cultivation and AI-powered management systems are being applied throughout the entire rice production process.

As Hangzhou’s new urban center, Yuhang is advancing technological and industrial integration, driving momentum in the digital economy, cutting-edge technologies, urban-rural development and rural revitalization. 

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/352790.html

SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road

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Oracle Announces Pricing of $20 Billion of Common Stock and Senior Notes

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AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) today announced the pricing of concurrent underwritten public offerings of 86,206,897 shares of its common stock, par value $0.01 per share, at a public offering price of $116.00 per share (the “common stock offering”) and $2,000,000,000 of its 7.000% notes due 2029, $1,750,000,000 of its 7.450% notes due 2031, $2,250,000,000 of its 7.850% notes due 2033, $2,500,000,000 of its 8.000% notes due 2037 and $1,500,000,000 of its 8.650% notes due 2046 (the “notes offering” and, together with the common stock offering, the “offerings”).

Each of the offerings is expected to close on November 4, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The completion of the common stock offering is not contingent on the completion of the notes offering, and the completion of the notes offering is not contingent on the completion of the common stock offering.

The net proceeds from the common stock offering will be approximately $9.9 billion, after deducting the underwriting discounts and Oracle’s estimated offering expenses. The net proceeds from the notes offering will be approximately $10.0 billion, after deducting the underwriting discounts and Oracle’s estimated offering expenses.

The net proceeds of the offerings, if completed, will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures, repayment of indebtedness, future investments or acquisitions and payment of cash dividends on or repurchases of our common stock.

BofA Securities is acting as sole global coordinator of the offerings. Wells Fargo Securities, Citigroup, BNP PARIBAS, Deutsche Bank Securities, J.P. Morgan, PNC Capital Markets LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, HSBC and SMBC Nikko are acting as joint book-running managers of the offerings. BTIG is a joint book-running manager of the common stock offering. U.S. Bancorp is a joint book-running manager of the notes offering. Lloyds Securities is a joint book-running manager of the notes offering and a co-manager of the common stock offering. Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, MUFG, TD Securities, Santander, BNY Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets and ING are acting as co-managers of the offerings. Standard Chartered Bank is a co-manager of the notes offering.

Registration Statement and Prospectus

Oracle has filed a registration statement on Form S-3 (including a prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the offerings to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents Oracle has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Oracle and the offerings. The offerings may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of the registration statement, preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to each of the offerings can be obtained by visiting the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov or by contacting BofA Securities, Inc., Telephone: 1-800-294-1322.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor does it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration and qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud.

“Safe Harbor” Statement: Statements in this press release relating to the anticipated use of the net proceeds from the offerings; our ability to complete the offerings on the anticipated timeline or at all; and other characterizations of future events and circumstances are “forward-looking statements” and are subject to material risks and uncertainties. All information set forth in this press release is current as of November 2, 2026. Oracle undertakes no duty to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

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SOURCE Oracle

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