A Japanese minimarket in Greenpoint is opening three new stores
Starting this week, you'll find three additional shops on site. A French/Japanese inspired cafe-slash-bar is also scheduled to debut in June.
Currently at 50 Norman, you'll find Cibone, a Japanese home design store selling ceramics, kitchenware, zen meditation items and art pieces; Dashi Okume, where you can custom order your own blends of dashi packs; and House Brooklyn, a Japanese-French restaurant with a nine-course omakase tasting menu.
The new stores include Balmuda, a Japanese home appliance store; Kama-Asa, a kitchenware purveyor from Tokyo's kitchen-street Kappabashi that will sell a range of Amane knives; and Cibone O'Te, an artisanal design retailer focusing on homeware and furnishings.
The cozy café-resto-bar opening in June is Cafe O'te, which mixes the ambiance of a French wine bar with Japanese flavors.
a new food market curated by Muji that opened in Chelsea Market earlier this year to the new Bandai Namco store in Industry City and the resurgence of Japan-inspired claw machine arcades, we are squarely in the midst of a full-blown Japanese cultural renaissance in the city.
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Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Dollar reaches one-month high versus euro on trade deal optimism, Fed in view
NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a one-month high versus the euro on Tuesday in the wake of a string of trade agreements between the United States and its major trade partners, while markets await interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. U.S. President Donald Trump struck his biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday, which imposes a 15% import tariff on most EU goods and includes $600 billion of EU investments into the United States. It tops a $550 billion deal signed with Japan last week that includes a 15% reciprocal tariff. U.S. and Chinese officials finished two days of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday. While there were no signs of breakthroughs, both sides agreed to extend a 90-day tariff truce struck in mid-May, China's top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, said. The euro was down 0.39% against the dollar at $1.154775, hitting its lowest level since June 23. The single currency had dropped 1.29% in the previous session, its steepest one-day decline since mid-May. The euro is poised to record its first monthly loss against the dollar this year. "After falling sharply in the first half of the year, the dollar began July with a bounce, and I think it's mostly short covering. And the issue is whether this is a trend change or an overdue technical correction," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.30% to 98.91, hitting its highest level since June 23. The index is set to record its first month of gains this year. "The market had a sigh of relief that the tariffs, at the least the plan announced with Japan and the EU and the likely 90-day extension with China, helped remove downside tail risk," Chandler said. Several EU leaders have criticized the trade agreement reached with the United States. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country would suffer significant damage due to the agreed tariffs. France's prime minister on Monday called the agreement a "dark day" for Europe. Markets anticipate that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. U.S. Treasuries slipped on Tuesday, with the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes falling 8.6 basis points to 4.334%. "Ahead of (Wednesday's) Fed decision, we might get some consolidation. People are concerned about a possible dissent from at least one of the governors, maybe it's Waller or Bowman," Chandler added. Christopher Waller earlier this month said he believed the U.S. central bank should cut rates at its July meeting. Michelle Bowman, who is now the central bank's top bank overseer, in June said she was open to cutting rates at this month's meeting. The Bank of Japan also is likely to hold off raising interest rates on Thursday after the Japanese trade agreement with the United States last week. The dollar was down 0.05% to 148.465 against the Japanese yen . Against the Swiss franc , the dollar strengthened 0.28% to 0.806 franc. "We expect the next leg of the Dollar weaker move to come from monetary policy rather than trade uncertainty," Goldman Sachs analysts led by Isabella Rosenberg wrote in an investor note. "The latest trade deal announcements and limited evidence of tariff passthrough to prices have lowered inflation uncertainty and put downward pressure on implied vol."
TTG
38 minutes ago
- TTG
'It took me seconds to say yes!': Lynsey Jones on her 'shock' redundancy and new start with Ambassador
Lynsey Jones was devastated after being made redundant by Balkan Holidays in April. Not knowing what her professional future looked like meant anxiety started to creep in – and to compound matters, she had just discovered she was pregnant. Jones talks TTG's Harry Kemble through how she got back on track. Lynsey Jones was so admired and respected by agents at Balkan Holidays that she was affectionally known as 'Lynsey Balkan'. Yet, it wasn't just agents who were fond of her. The specialist handed her several promotions during her six-year stint. Jones started as a regional sales manager in 2019 before being promoted to national sales manager in 2022 and then head of sales and brand in November last year. However, in April, Balkan suddenly closed its UK business after nearly 60 years, cancelled all forward bookings and made around 20 UK-based staff redundant – including Jones, who at this point had started telling colleagues she was pregnant. 'I loved it at Balkan but they decided ultimately it was not financially viable to keep operating here,' says Jones. 'While it was a shock to be made redundant, it wasn't a surprise.' 'This is a great move for me' As Jones came to terms with losing her beloved job, she was determined not to let the inevitable stress affect her unborn baby boy due to arrive in October. Fortunately, Jones' army of industry friends rallied around her at one of the lowest ebbs. Ambassador Cruise Line's interim head of trade, Karen Cameron, got in touch to offer her a lifeline. The pair had got to know one another at Scottish Passenger Agents' Association events over the years. "I was made redundant on the Thursday, spoke to Karen on the Friday and then signed my contract on the Tuesday,' recalls Jones. 'I thought about Ambassador's offer for about two seconds!' Jones reveals she was contacted by other travel companies about working for them but only ever gave Ambassador's offer of a four-month contract serious thought despite not having any significant cruise sector experience on her extensive CV, which features spells with the likes of Skiworld, Neilson, Tui and, of course, Balkan. "I was approached by other companies as well but – no pun intended – Ambassador has made a lot of waves recently,' she says with a smile, when asked why she decided to join the cruise sector. "After being made redundant by Balkan Holidays, I just felt cruise was the right step for me. All the feedback from agents I've spoken to before was always cruise, cruise, cruise. I feel Ambassador is a great move for me.' Jones adds: 'I thought cruise – generally speaking – was a lot harder for agents to sell. It felt like I used very complicated systems to sell cruise holidays when I was at Tui.' Prior to joining Tui, Jones spent 12 years managing ski resort hotels in the Alps, meaning she is nearly fluent in French. So, have her linguistic skills helped Ambassador following its merger with French cruise operator Compagnie Francaise de Croisieres (CFC) in January? Jones claims colleagues only discovered her secret talent in July – almost halfway through her short-term contract, which ends just before her due date and the start of Ambassador's debut Caribbean programme. 'I did speak French in a meeting in London with two French colleagues the other day,' she explains. 'To be fair, I've not really needed to [use it] – but never say never.' 'Ambassador investing a lot of money' Jones says she's 'loving' her time at Ambassador. 'I feel so lucky Ambassador took away much of the stress by employing me quickly," she continues. "It sounds cheesy, but Ambassador saw something in me. It's great to feel at home straight away. I've honestly never been part of such a big team. "The other day, we worked out the team had 235 years' travel industry experience with the likes of [national account manager] Louise Tansey, [business development executive] Debbie Ballantyne and Karen.' Her new colleagues are constantly checking in with heavily pregnant Jones to make sure she is comfortable. 'Last week, we were in London, and we had a team meal out – they were asking if I wanted help with the stairs, if I was tired, if I wanted to go home. They're constantly checking in on me." On the day Jones speaks to TTG about her new job, she is visiting a Hays Travel branch in Rochdale with plans to meet agents in Bury and Halifax soon after. 'There's a lot of positivity around the [Ambassador] brand from all the agents that I'm visiting,' Jones notes. 'I think the agents see how much effort comes from the trade team. Clearly, we're investing a lot of money into the brand.' Following Ambassador's merger with CFC, a 10-departure Caribbean programme was announced – part of the line's first-ever fly cruise programme. To help promote the programme and support agents selling it, Ambassador hired 19 reps from sales agency 3For in addition to its own 16-strong in-house trade sales team. Jones says: 'I think Ambassador has done a great job. We're turning the high street purple. And we're offering a completely different Caribbean product to other cruise lines.' Jones reveals she's using her contacts to good effect and is currently working with Virgin Atlantic – one of Ambassador's airline partners for the programme – and Visit Barbados ahead of the October launch. In addition, she has distributed research questionnaires to agents to understand what tools they need to sell Ambassador's new Caribbean sailings. 'Agents have been asking for more posters and training so we're doing a myth-busting session to educate the trade about our new products,' Jones reveals. The burning question on my lips though is what does Jones plan to do when she resumes her successful travel career after maternity leave? After all, Jones has now had time to consider her next move. Plus, being unattached professionally speaking means she won't be tempted to check her work emails during the long-night feeds in the months ahead. 'Hopefully I can come back to Ambassador after nine months,' she says. 'It has all worked out in the end.' Previous Article First look at NCL's upgraded 270-acre private island featuring new waterpark with 19 slides Next Article Titan Travel hires Virgin Voyages' Andrea Jones as trade team expansion continues
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Don't put tariffs on champagne, France begs Trump
France's champagne and cognac makers are scrambling to secure an exemption from Donald Trump's tariffs on EU imports to head off a crushing hit to sales. French EU diplomats hope to carve out €9bn (£7.8bn) of European wine and spirits exports from the broad 15pc tariff agreed on Sunday between the US president and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. The trade deal only specifies an exemption for the aviation industry, but Eric Lombard, the French finance minister, said that 'this should also be the case for spirits'. 'This agreement is not complete. There is a base rate of 15pc, and exemptions, which are not yet fully detailed. Work continues, with France remaining vigilant to protect our industries as much as possible,' he said. White House officials have reportedly downplayed the prospect of any further exemptions as the two sides look to thrash out the deal's details by this Friday, when the US will start levying tariffs. But Brussels negotiators and industry representatives are still hopeful the two sides can nail down a 'zero-for-zero' tariff on spirits, which would also buoy America's $1.2bn (£900m) of liquor exports to Europe. France's political elite have been highly critical of the trade deal, which was negotiated at the EU level rather than by each eurozone country. Francois Bayrou, the French prime minister, said it was a 'dark day' for the Continent. Since then, France's wine industry has been ramping up the pressure on the EU to help carve out an exemption. On Monday, Gabriel Picard, head of the French wine and spirits exporters' federation FEVS, said: 'Disaster has been avoided, but the coming days will be crucial for the sector. The agreement ... should confirm the restoration of bilateral trade free of duties for spirits, which we are eager to see confirmed.' Laurent Saint-Martin, the French trade minister who was highly critical of the EU's handling of trade negotiations, also said that he expected to see spirits get an exemption. Brussels may have an effective ally in Bernard Arnault, the French billionaire boss of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which owns cognac and champagne maker Moet Hennessy. Mr Arnault attended Mr Trump's presidential inauguration in January and visited the White House in May. He has also pledged to open a new Luis Vuitton workshop in Texas. Trade deal hangover Champagne and cognac are helped by their special status as protected geographical brands, meaning there is no option to shift production to the US – one of the aims of Mr Trump's trade war. If champagne producers win an exemption, they will have protected their access to a market that accounts for 18pc of their worldwide exports. Cognac makers send 43pc of their exports to the US, and have only just seen off a threatened 35pc tariff on their sales into China, an even larger overseas market. The wine industry faces a tougher fight. European wine exports to the US dwarf what the Continent buys from California, creating a trade deficit that rankles with Mr Trump. In March, he threatened a 200pc tariff on European wine. 'When it comes to wines, everything is not yet settled. That is why we are encouraging the European Commission and France to fully commit to this final stretch, to obtain the reduction in customs duties on wines, a proposal supported by both American and European stakeholders,' Mr Picard said. The European industry has been telling the US that a tariff would hurt American businesses. 'It is estimated that for every $1 generated by European wine exports to the US, American distribution and hospitality sectors earn $4.50,' said Ignacio Sanchez Recarte, head of the EU wine industry body CEEV. 'The €4.88bn EU wine exported to the US in 2024 would have generated roughly $22bn revenue for US companies.' The Europeans aren't the only producers trying to bend Mr Trump's ear. John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, used his meeting with Mr Trump in Scotland on Tuesday to urge an exemption for Scotch whisky from the 10pc tariff in the UK-US deal. He said the tariff was costing the Scottish industry £4m a week. 'I believe there is now a window of opportunity to make the case for whisky. And at the invitation of the president, I intend to make further representation to him on this matter,' Mr Swinney said after the meeting. His argument was that since there was no American substitute for Scotch whisky, it didn't make sense to tax it.
