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Posts by Author
Apple has released an additional security measure: two-step verification. Nine months ago Wired journalist Matt Honan had his digital life wiped after intruders exposed one of the core weaknesses of centralizing accounts devices in the cloud: if one door is breached, they’re all breached. The two vulnerabilities that were exploited: human factors, or customer service, Read More
I’ve come to hate my favorite songs, disarm cheap alarm clocks, and despise civil ring tones. That all changed when I discovered the Wake Up app from a most surprising source: Japanese manufacturer, designer, and retailer Uniqlo.
Up to 250,000 Twitter accounts may have been compromised yesterday, so it’s time to your change your password.
Standing as a proof of concept, IllumiRoom is a bit like ambient lighting on crack, for gamers. It’s a really smart projector that turns your external gaming environment into part of the video game’s map.
Accruing big, personal data is pretty hot right now, and easy. The average amount email response time is up to 2.5 days, a 14% increase from last year.
With the help of Boston Dynamics, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has a new robot, BigDog, and it’s pretty terrifying. Maybe because the bot is being lead by a man that resembles Private ‘Joker’ from Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, or maybe because there is just something eerie about marching metal.
Mehdi Mojtabavi is trying to take the pain out of cuddling with the aptly titled Cuddle Mattress.
For the brave souls that thread traffic across New York State on two thin tires, a new Kickstarter-fueled bike lamp, BLAZE, will attempt to protect you. But, does it?
Coming to my point, saving Gmail emails to PDF format is ridiculously simple and a native capability – no need for extensions or lab tinkering. Here is how you do it:


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Nearly one in twelve Minnesotans face food insecurity on a daily basis. According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, more than 500,000 Minnesotans use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP), benefits that can be used to purchase groceries.
But there are restrictions on how SNAP benefits can be used. During the coronavirus epidemic, one restriction has been particularly burdensome: SNAP benefits generally can’t be used to purchase groceries online, even as more people use online grocery shopping to avoid potential coronavirus exposure while stay-at-home orders are in effect.
Rep. Ilhan Omar has a bill to change that. Her SNAP Online Purchasing Flexibility Act would require the Department of Agriculture to pilot an online purchasing program in every state.
Expanding to 50 states
The United States Department of Agriculture already has a small pilot program for online shopping with SNAP benefits in place, mandated by the 2014 Farm Bill. Last year, that pilot launched in New York, followed by Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. Omar’s bill would expand the pilot program to all fifty states.
“We shouldn’t be picking and choosing which families can and cannot get to order food online,” Omar said in a statement. “The Secretary of Agriculture has the authority to determine which states may participate in the program, yet as of now, USDA allows only 8 states to participate, leaving millions of vulnerable individuals behind.”
Omar’s bill has been welcomed by advocacy groups and producers, like Hunger Solutions, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, the Native American Community Development Institute, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“It’s definitely come up that there are households on SNAP but that are facing health concerns and don’t want to be leaving their homes. And so they’re unable to use their SNAP benefits currently. So we would love to see any solution that would allow SNAP households to do grocery delivery and purchase online,” said Leah Gardner, Policy Director at Hunger Solutions Minnesota, a non-profit that provides anti-hunger support programs and advocacy in every county in Minnesota.
“Being able to have food delivered to them, like many of us do, I think would be hugely beneficial. In particular, senior populations that feel they’re at risk, those with underlying health conditions that are particularly vulnerable at this time,” said Gardner. “They’re simply, in some cases, really running low on food. We’ve even had people call our helpline that have gone multiple days without really much of anything.”
“I support Rep. Omar’s bill because with so many people struggling we need to make it as easy as possible for people to be able to get groceries,” said Rhys Williams, Executive Director of The Good Acre, a Falcon Heights nonprofit that provides support for new farmers, culinary training, and a community supported agriculture collective. “It doesn’t make sense to restrict states from participating in this program during a crisis. People using SNAP should be able to purchase food online and it shouldn’t be dependent on your location.”
Omar’s bill currently has 15 cosponsors, all Democrats, including Democrat Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Joe Neguse of Colorado, and Henry Cuellar of Texas. The bill has been introduced in the House but has not received a vote, nor is any vote currently scheduled.

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Author: Joseph Ansanelli
Great interview with the American Marketing Association about how Gladly is solving the 21st century challenges of customer support. Read the article at https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/10-minutes-with-joseph-ansanelli.aspx
Emily asks “So what makes Gladly’s Customer Service tech so special?” Check out the interview on Bloomberg West.
June 21, 2016
Today, we are excited to announce our investment in Gladly, a next generation software provider for the contact center market serving B2C brands. We believe that in the evolution of business application software towards the cloud, the contact center is one of the last remaining markets ripe for innovation and disruption. Gladly was built to […]
June 21, 2016
Gladly is emerging from stealth with $27 million in funding. It’s comforting when a customer service representative remembers your name, at least it is for me. But most call centers organize interactions by “tickets” or “case numbers.” That’s something that two-year-old startup Gladly hopes to change. The San Francisco-based cloud software company emerged from stealth […]
The world has changed. 21st century consumers are always on and communicating via text, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, email, and, yes, even the phone—often at the same time. They’re 18 to 80 years old. And they expect an Amazon Prime or Uber-caliber customer service experience whether they’re making a plane reservation or scheduling a service call. […]


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United Airlines (UAL) on Monday announced a contest offering a full year of free flights, the latest corporate giant to join the White House's national effort to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccination shot.
With governments around the world stepping up their mass vaccination campaigns — and citizens rapidly making up for lost time after more than a year of COVID-related restrictions — United is offering a sweet deal, especially with travel prices soaring.
Between Monday and June 22nd, passengers can upload their vaccination record to the airline's mobile app or website to enter the “Your Shot to Fly” sweepstakes. United plans to give away 30 pairs of tickets throughout the month of June.
Then, on July 1st, five randomly selected MileagePlus members who have entered the contest will be chosen to win the grand prize of free travel for a year for themselves and one other person, including any class of service and any location across the globe.
“We’re proud to do our part to incentivize people to get their shot," United CEO Scott Kirby said in a press release.
"Thanks to the vaccine, more and more destinations are opening up for travel and we know our customers are eager to fly. We’re excited to give people one more reason to get vaccinated so they can reunite with friends and family or take that long-awaited vacation which all could be just one shot away," he added.
United is the latest company to join the battle to nudge citizens into getting their shot in the arm, which include McDonald's, Shake Shack, OkCupid, Uber, Lyft and Krispy Kreme.
Brooke DiPalma is a producer and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at email@example.com. Check out her latest:


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The valued opinion of real estate guru and leading entrepreneur Eitan Eldar on “The Centre for Economic and Business Research” data. Mr. Elder also submits his opinion on the future of the economy in England post Brexit.
The Roaring Twenties
All indications are that Brexit Britain is facing a bright future. Predictions are that for the next ten years it will be the powerhouse in economies and a world leader within this context. The reason given for this is because of the strength of the UK finances, and the manufacturing and services of Brexit Britain are stable and solid. All of these factors are setting the country in a near the top position in the international economic league and it is going to be on par to dwarf the economy of France.
The Prime Minister has every reason to look forward to being the leader of a nation whose economy is being nicknamed as the “Roaring Twenties.” This is solidified with the undertaking of a massive trade deal with America.
“The British economy has continued to be strong in spite of the uncertainty about Brexit, during the past few years, and London is still a global financial center”, Says Eitan Eldar, “I expect post-Brexit British economy will do even better, especially if trade deals are signed with the United States and within Europe”.
The Centre for Economic and Business Research has released its latest revised data. What this indicates is that the French economy was unsuccessful in overtaking the UK economy from 2016 to 2019. This was in spite of the Brexit uncertainties.
Projections are that by 2034 that the British economy will be larger than the French economy by one quarter. Specific details concerning this can be found in the most recent update of CEBRs latest release of the WELT ( The annual World Economic League Table).
The Table Reveals the following standings:
The positive picture for the UK outside of the EU is based on the happenings that are going to take place in the near future.
Prime Minister Johnson will be meeting with President Trump of the US very soon. It is anticipated during this meeting that the two leaders will solidify a very lucrative trade deal. This is expected to be a multi-trillion trade deal with the USA, which should fall into place after the exit of Britain from the EU on January 31, 2020.
It is believed that other trade deals will surface with Australia, Japan, and Norway and perhaps others once Britain has become free from the restrictions of Brussels.
“The new trade deals, planned to happen post-Brexit, are what will help the British economy flourish during the next decade,” says Eitan Eldar. “Once the UK is out of the EU “clutches”, the sky’s the limit.”.
Additional information available in the very credible CEBR shows the “decisive election result.” It also emphasizes the need for the government to “sort out the country’s future trading relationships.” The report also makes note that even though Brexit was in a deadlock, the economy enjoyed growth throughout 2019.


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J.C. Penney Co. Inc. reported web-based sales in November of $39 million in and $206 million year to date, compared to $16 million and $54 million in last year's respective periods. Total company sales in November totaled $2.9 billion; year to date, $25.8 bliion.
Next in E-Commerce SalesJ. Crew's Internet strategy is working
From IR Blogs
Kevon Hills / E-CommerceBack To School offers a testing ground for the holidays
Shoppers heading back to school aren't so unlike shoppers that will be looking for gifts ...


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Editor's Note: These deals have all expired. Check out our current list of best black friday deals.
Apple usually keeps its Black Friday under wraps until right before the offers go live but this year, Boy Genius Report is carrying what it purports to be Apple's Black Friday deals and they're actually pretty juicy.
If the flyer below is actually true, it will mean that for one day only, customers can get 30 percent off iPods (this doesn't apply to the iPod Shuffle or iPhone), up to 25 percent off Macs, and up to 15 percent off all accessories including Apple software and hardware.
BGR goes on to say that while this is a one-day-only thing, select Apple stores will be opening their doors at 6 a.m. on November 27.
Does this mean they will tighten money instead?


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With many smaller hospitality businesses continuing to struggle in challenging operating conditions, owners are looking for new ways to achieve their growth aspirations. As sustainability climbs up the agenda for consumers and policy-makers, hospitality operators are recognising the business benefits of going green.
Our most recent Business Confidence Survey found that 73% of hospitality businesses are falling behind their turnover forecasts for H1 2023. Yet, with 64% aiming to grow their revenues over the next 12 months, new growth opportunities are needed. One such opportunity can be found in a focus on sustainability, which can attract new customers, boost profitability and support global net zero ambitions.
Focus on efficiency
The first step to a greener kitchen is investing in more energy-efficient equipment – and while the initial capex is higher, energy savings pay off in the mid-term. Electrification especially is transforming modern kitchens. Energy Star reports that induction kitchen appliances deliver about 85% of their energy to the food being cooked, compared to 45% for gas appliances, as well as reducing the amount of energy needed for ventilation.
Evolving menu options
Changing demands of today’s hospitality customers are also driving opportunities. A recent study by Foodprint from Nutritics found almost half (45%) of UK consumers feel a venue’s commitment to sustainability is an important part of deciding where to go and spend money. Indeed, sustainable considerations are expected to have profound impact on menu design, especially for younger consumers.
Each year, The Unilever Food Solutions Future Menu Trends Report canvasses the opinion of 250 professional chefs, to determine the trends it feels will shape the food and beverage industry. For 2023, it predicts that vegetables will see a “promotion from side-dish to main event” in response to increasing numbers of vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diners looking for well-crafted plant-based foods.
67% of its operator panel also predict that sourcing local ingredients that help to reduce the carbon footprint of restaurant dishes is a trend that consumers are increasingly looking for. Indeed, the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry report indicating that one third of restaurant customers are more likely to choose establishments that source ingredients grown locally and organically.
Waste not, want not
While reducing single-use plastics and increasing recycling are important in demonstrating greener practices, businesses should look at the impact of cutting food waste. The average hospitality business throws away more than 100kg of food every week, half of which is preventable, reports Sustainability Victoria.
Go for green
Pursuing energy and waste efficiency not only reduces overheads but prepares hospitality businesses for an increasingly sustainably-conscious consumer base. Adapting your business to meet these opportunities will likely require some investment. At Capify we offer a range of business loans and have helped thousands of small businesses meet the opportunities of a changing business landscape.
Check to see if you’re eligible for one of our loans with our online eligibility checker. Or, if you’d prefer to talk to a member of our team, we’d be happy to guide you through the process.
Give us a call today on 0330 822 4906, visit www.capify.co.uk


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Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, has axed 10 positions from its 20-strong board of supermarket directors as part of a drive to improve its supply and distribution network.
The supermarket board members are next in importance to the 14 group directors (including chief executive Sir Terry Leahy) and are in charge of key functions such as distribution, supply and communications.
The cull comes at a critical time for Tesco: the company admits it has suffered from availability problems which independent analysis suggests have only been resolved in recent weeks.
At least two directors have already left the company, including Barry Knichel, the supply chain development manager. A third, Graham Booth, was due to retire but has now left.
David Wild, group supply chain director and one of Tesco's spokesmen on its 'factory gate price' campaign, has been relocated to part of its international business.
Two directors with regional responsibilities, Ann Murray and Liam McElroy, have opted to be made redundant rather than staying on in different posts. Murray was a regional support office director and McElroy a regional distribution director.
A Tesco spokesman confirmed that the company was in talks with at least five other directors who have yet to decide whether they will accept alternative internal postings or take redundancy.
He said: 'The people who have left have left as friends of Tesco and we value the work they did. Nobody has been sacked. We have done some work on our supply chain and distribution functions to combine two functions into one.
'We have not cut the number of distribution centres. We have been focusing on factory gate pricing and how we get products more directly from the manufacturer to the shelf. Previously we had one person looking after supplier-to-distributor and another looking after distributor to the store.
'It is all about being better, simpler and cheaper. We admit we have had some problems on availability last year but we had resolved those by Christmas.'
However, independent data collected and reported in the Grocer, the industry magazine, indicates that the problems have only been resolved in recent weeks.
The regular monitor of how many items were out of stock when mystery shoppers visited suggested that Tesco repeatedly performed poorly against rivals Sainsbury and Asda and even did worse than smaller chains including Morrisons and Waitrose.
The following correction was printed in the Observer's For the Record column, Sunday April 27 2003
The above gave the impression that business development director Graham Booth had left the company before retirement. We have been asked to make it clear that Mr Booth, who has been with the company 35 years, was in fact asked to stay on after his retirement date, on a part-time basis.


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“We do what we call ‘complexity arbitrage’. We try to buy confusion at a discount and sell clarity at a premium.”
Who said it: Dipanjan “DJ” Deb, Francisco Partners Managing Partner
In Context: In an interview with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television’s Money Moves, Dipanjan “DJ” Deb described where the opportunities are to be found in the tech sector for PE investors, highlighting his funds catchy signature idea called ‘complexity arbitrage’, which is about acquiring companies in a complex industry or a difficult to understand niche and then working on the strategy and the story to make it a more valuable venture.
Francisco Partners has had a good run on exits this year with both IPOs and strategic acquisitions of portfolio companies. Buyouts in the tech sector are a fairly recent phenomenon. It is usually the territory for VCs, but the sector has matured and has become the fast middle market. It is now attracting the kind of investors that only invest in established industries with regular revenues and relatively predictable economics and growth prospects.
Unlike consumer Internet valuations in this area of tech are low. According Deb there are about 6000 “orphan” companies in the US market alone. An “orphan” as defined by Deb is a publicly traded company with around a billion in market cap – and only a few stock analysts covering it, or a division of a larger technology company, either privately or public owned, that can be spun off and grown.
Where we found it: Bloomberg


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Welcoming Prestage Foods
To the editor:
When Prestage Foods of Iowa announced plans to build a $240 million state-of-the-art pork processing facility in Iowa, it was the kind of good news agriculture has been longing for. This investment in pork processing reflects the strength of the pork production industry in this state and provides much needed expansion in processing capacity, while providing many on-site, and off-site jobs for north central Iowa.
This investment not only creates another marketing option for pork producers, but the pigs processed in this plant will provide a value-added option for corn and soybean producers. In fact, the pigs processed in this plant will consume about 40 million bushels of corn and 170,000 tons of soybean meal.
Pork production is currently exceeding processing capacity by 7 percent in Iowa. The need for additional capacity is well documented. This proposed plant and the new pork plant in Sioux City will keep more jobs and opportunities in our state. More importantly, this will keep more of the opportunity in Wright County and the surrounding area.
When you take the time to learn about the Prestage Foods of Iowa plans, the processing facility will employ incredible automation, safety standards, environmental safeguards, and require a skilled workforce. The pay will be outstanding, benefits excellent, and future opportunity will abound.
We all know the loss of manufacturing business in the surrounding area has changed the local economy. Wright County has slowly lost population for nearly 100 years. Along comes Prestage Foods of Iowa with a project that will certainly reverse these trends, create growth, and fit in Iowa’s long heritage of producing safe, abundant, affordable food to feed its own citizens and the world’s population.
Thank you to the leaders in Wright County who saw the potential with this Prestage Foods project. Bringing our communities, businesses and the region positive opportunities for the future. Pork producers, grain farmers and related ag businesses all appreciate another source, and choice for our businesses.
Welcome to Wright County, Prestage Foods. We are ready to capture the energy generated by your commitment to safe, responsible pork production and now processing.
CEO, Iowa Pork Producers Association
VP of operations, Iowa Pork Producers Association


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HARLEM, Ga. (WJBF) – A historic pecan plant in Harlem is on the market – and after yet another price reduction, people who live there are ready to see it sold.
Once known as Tracy Luckey Pecan Company, the plant was a staple in Downtown Harlem from 1950 until it closed a few years ago. Now, the empty building is wasting away.
“They did candied pecans that they sold into primarily the ice cream industry. And it’s just been a touchstone and foundation stone of Harlem forever,” said Renee Meyer Dean, a long-time Harlem resident. “Just the main industry right in the middle of town.”
It was bought in 2007 by Chase Pecan, LP, who owns San Saba Pecan. They closed the plant in 2018.
“Once it was bought by a big corporation, it’s a line on a spreadsheet,” Meyer Dean said.
In 2020, the nearly 87,000 square foot building with the almost 4-acre lot was on the market for close to $1.1 million.
Now, it’s priced at $690,000.
“We’ve had a lot of people come look, developers, nosey nellies, you name it. And I just hope this jewel in the middle of our downtown will catch someone’s eye and they can do it justice,” said Roxanne Whitaker, the mayor of Harlem.
People who live and work in downtown Harlem, hope that someone buys it soon and puts something beneficial there.
“Being right here in the middle of town, I would love to see something fun. Something that’s gonna bring either tourism, or retail business, or even residential into town,” Meyer Dean said. “It’s such a vital location right here in the middle of town, that it sitting empty is hurting town.”
Residents we spoke to also hope that whatever goes here, fits with the downtown atmosphere.
Click here for more information about the property and how to purchase it.


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Maserati launched the MC20, the new super sports car with a racing DNA that combines performance, sportiness and luxury in the unique Maserati style.
Need a new search?
If you didn't find what you were looking for, try a new search!
Maserati unveiled Ghibli Hybrid powered by a 2.0 litre four cylinder engine and a 48V mild hybrid system, producing a total of 330 horsepower.
The electric Maserati Alfieri will debut by next year in Geneva, might hit the market by 2021.
Maserati has just confirmed that its first all- electric production car, will be a version of its Alfieri sports car.
In this video the 4 wheel motorcycle is powered by a Maserati V8 producing 470 horsepower.
The impressive Zagato Maserati Mostro designed for the track, will debut at this summer’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa D’Este. Watch the video…
Maserati Alfieri concept, a slick 2+2 that’s “sportier in character than the GranTurismo,” debuted at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Maserati LaMaserati is a hypercar concept created by Mark Hostler a graduate of Staffordshire University transport design. A conceptual flagship for Maserati, to take-over
Maserati Bora concept by Alexander Imnadze, inspired from Italian sportscar legend, designed this impressive supersports car.
Maserati will unveil the production version of its SUV concept (with a new name) at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, according to Automotive News Europea,


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Online classifieds major Quikr is gearing up to take on e-commerce biggies as it plans to launch a service which will let consumers sell their old wares and subsequently buy new products on the site. The Craigslist-like portal, which started off as a listings and used products marketplace, is partnering with a payments firm to build a platform similar to PayPal to facilitate transactions between buyers and small merchants, a senior executive from the company said.
New product commerce is becoming a significant part of Quikr’s revenues on the back of smaller merchants listing their goods (in categories like mobiles phones) on the site. Quikr’s annual gross merchandize value (sales executed through the site) is likely to be in the range of $3 billion and about half of it comes from the sale of new products. The service will directly compete with online retailers, including Snapdeal, Flipkart and Amazon.
Earlier, Quikr’s closest rival OLX had tied up with Flipkart in a one-off campaign, wherein consumers could sell on OLX and then buy new products on the e-tailer’s site.
Besides the new commerce push, Quikr is also strengthening its verticals like home, cars, jobs and real estate at a time when vertical classifieds players have raised millions of dollars and are doubling down on the market. It plans to have separate heads of businesses for each of the verticals going forward. “What we have built till now is a platform and brand that cuts across categories. The time has come to take Quikr deeper in all categories where it is already strong like used goods, cars, real estate, services and jobs. The idea is to help buyers and sellers whichever way the category demands whether its delivery services, verified listings, inspection reports,” said Pranay Chulet, founder & CEO of the six-year-old startup.
The Mumbai-based company which recently moved its headquarters to Bengaluru has launched a slew of new products, including Quikr Nxt, a messaging service between buyer and seller and is facilitating deliveries in select cities between buyers and sellers.
“It is all about your positioning and customer base. The online classifieds players have the mindshare of the customer and a significant customer base. The question is can they convince their customers to buy new products from them and that will require some rebranding and development of other areas like logistics. But since they have one half already in place they need to work on the other to be successful,” said Harish HV, partner at Grant Thornton India.
While online retailers have been the biggest advertisers on mass media in the internet sector, classifieds players have not been far behind in terms of dollars spent on brand building leading to huge cash burn. Between Quikr, OLX and other vertical classifieds players, an estimated Rs 1,000 crore was splurged on advertising in the past six months alone.
The article appeared in the Times Of India. The article can be found here.


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In the first quarter of the current financial year, an increase has been observed in the export of Pakistan’s manufactured leather. The export grew by 10.41 percent more than the exports reported last year in the same period.
Pakistan, recently, in the new governance, has started focusing more on its export as the foreign exchange reserves were running out of dollars. So, the government imposed a restriction on imported goods and pushed the traders to increase the export of the country. This was a huge decision to take as many businesses in the country were based on the imported goods. One of the most prominent ones was the automobile industry.
As much as it has bothered some of us, it is a favor to the Pakistanis in the long-run if they wish their country to survive. Because running out of foreign exchange reserves is a nightmare for any country. For that reason, the government of Pakistan has been trying to improve its trade relations with the neighboring as well as other developed countries.
Improvement In Manufactured Leather Goods Export
So, in the course of July-September 2019, an improvement in the export of the leather goods was observed. There was an increase in the leather goods export worth around $131,407 million in comparison to the $119,018 million export in the corresponding period last year.
The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics tell that the increase in leather garment export is said to be around 11.48%. This means that about 322 TH.DOZ of leather garments worth $75,107 million have been exported during this period. While the export last year in the same period was reported to be 234 TH.DOZ valuing $67,375 million
Moreover, the export of other leather goods has also expanded. There was an export of 1,438 TH.DOZ of leather gloves in the first quarter of the current financial year which valued $53,669 million. However, the export of leather gloves last year in the same period was 1,287 TH.DOZ worth $49,142 million. So the export reported this year is almost 4,527 million more in comparison to last year.
Besides these, other goods have also undergone a positive growth of 5.20% as reported in the records in the current year. $2,631 million worth other manufacture leather goods were exported which is more than the last year in the same period that was $2,501 million.
Apart from leather, 115,o00 metric tonnes of mangoes were exported!
The country had also exported 115,000 metric tonnes of mangoes this year which was a record export volume in the past five years. And still anticipates more. The export was also backed by the high standard and competitive marketing. This achievement was scored despite the financial crisis that the country was undergoing.
If the export of Pakistan keeps improving at this rate every year it will soon be out of the red zone. However, there’s still a lot that needs to be done in the area.
Do you have something to add to the story? Comment below.


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Wildlife filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has appeared in a video campaign for a new plastic recycling technology in the U.K., alongside other naturalists calling for stronger protections for the world’s oceans.
The campaign heralds the start of construction in the U.K. of a groundbreaking recycling facility which the firm behind the technology claims will be the first in the world capable of recycling all types of plastic. The process offers hope that a much larger proportion of the 300 million tons of plastic trash produced annually worldwide could be reused, reducing the quantity of plastics that end up in the ocean.
“What’s so tragic about plastic pollution is that it is so totally unnecessary,” Attenborough says in the video, released by U.K. recycling firm Mura Technology. “The plastic in our oceans should never have found its way there in the first place.”
Attenborough is joined in the video by the prominent marine biologist and campaigner Dr Sylvia Earle, and Jo Ruxton, producer of the 2016 Netflix documentary A Plastic Ocean.
Mura’s recycling process, branded HydroPRS, took 12 years to develop and uses supercritical steam—steam that is superheated under great pressure—to break down plastics back into the oils and chemicals they were made from. Those components can then be used for a range of products, from new plastics to fuels.
Steve Mahon, CEO of Mura Technology, told Forbes.com: “Our process offers a viable recycling route for materials considered ‘unrecyclable’, that would otherwise be destined for landfill, incineration and the environment. HydroPRS can convert all plastic types back into their constituent ingredients, for re-use in the manufacture of new plastic materials.”
Mahon said there is no limit to the number of times plastic can be recycled using the process, and the process is even able to separate organic materials from plastics such as food packaging. Those organic materials are in turn used to fuel the boilers at the heart of the process.
The new plant is being built in Teesside, northeast England, with plans to roll the technology out worldwide. It has received government support, with Rebecca Pow, the U.K. under-secretary of state for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, saying: “The Government is committed to both clamping down on the unacceptable plastic waste that harms our environment and ensuring more materials can be reused instead of being thrown away. By investing in these truly ground-breaking technologies, we will help to drive these efforts even further, and I look forward to seeing them develop and deliver real results.”
New methods to cope with plastic waste are desperately needed, with more than 8 million tons of plastic waste ending up in the ocean every year. As well as destroying critical ocean ecosystems, these plastics break down into microplastics, which can now be found in almost every food system on Earth, including in our drinking water, table salt, and even in the air.
But far from the plastic mountain reducing, the problem is set to get worse, with plastic waste expected to increase six-fold by 2030, eclipsing all current efforts to curb the crisis. The situation is likely to worsen further still with oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Shell investing heavily in new plastic production.
But given their low cost and versatility, plastics are unlikely to be replaced by alternative materials on a large scale in the near term.
“Plastic will remain the preferred solution for many applications due to its utility, light weight and high adaptability, enabling industrial scale, fast moving consumer goods production processes,” Mahon said. For that reason, he explained, recycling plastics more effectively, in larger quantities, is the key to curbing their environmental impact—hence the involvement of David Attenborough.
“Our discussions with Sir David Attenborough focused on the contribution advanced recycling can make to address unrecycled plastics we see in our environment, particularly the oceans,” he said. “Sir David was pleased to support the search for new solutions to the apparently intractable problem of ocean plastics.”
In Europe, efforts are afoot to deal more systematically with the plastic problem: in January, the EU introduced a plastic tax that charges firms €800 ($946) for every ton of non-recycled plastic used. And from 2022, the U.K. government will start charging £200 ($274) per ton for plastic packaging that has less than 30% recycled content.
Such rules, Mahon said, could help to make recycling more cost-competitive.
“We believe we can reach a point where we can compete with virgin materials on cost alone,” he said. “This is really important if we are to make recycled content the preferred choice for the whole industry.”


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Rachel Metz reports in the MIT Technology Review on statements by John Carmack, a co-creator of hugely popular gamers, “Doom” and “Quake”, that gaming will eventually account for less than half of the time people spend using the technology. In his current role as chief technology officer of Facebook’s virtual reality division, “He said gaming will eventually make up a minority of the time that people spend using virtual-reality headsets, although he didn’t specify by when he expected that to happen. ‘Not everything has to be interactive,’ he said. Carmack spoke at an Oculus event in Los Angeles for software developers.
“Oculus is working with entertainment companies to try to ensure there is plenty of content for people to experience on both the Rift and Gear VR. As well as games, for example Microsoft’s Minecraft, movies, and TV shows will be available. On Wednesday, Oculus announced that existing Netflix content can be viewed using the Gear VR. A Netflix app for the device places you on a red couch inside a virtual ski chalet, in front of a giant screen on which ordinary 2-D video appears. Video content from Hulu and Vimeo will become available on Gear VR in the next few months.”


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Those hoping for the release of the next generation iPhone in September will be delighted with the latest news coming from DigiTimes. The site is indicating that Apple has lowered volume shipments of the iPhone 4 for the second quarter. The original target of 20 million units will be lowered to 17.5-18 million units with 1.5-2 million of those units being the CDMA version. The remainder are the 3G models.
The move is thought to be in preparation for the iPhone 4S which is expected to go into production in August for a possible September launch. It is believed that Qualcomm will continue to provide the necessary 3G and CDMA chips, as it has done with previous generations of the iPhone, The smartphone’s rear 8-megapixel camera will be supplied by OmniVision Technologies and Largan Precision. China Mobile is expected to reach a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone 4S in September if the smartphone is launched by then.
While some are disappointed by the notion that the iPhone 4S won’t come with LTE support, there is apparently a good reason for it. Apple was hesitant to provide an LTE-enabled iPhone this year due to concerns over the yield rates of LTE chips from Qualcomm and the lack of LTE adoption in the U.S. market. By 2012, the footprint of LTE networks in the U.S. would justify the investment Apple would need to make to keep the iPhone competitive against other 4G smartphones. Of course, that is assuming that the issues regarding the yield rates of the LTE chips provided by Qualcomm have been rectified.


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North American vehicle production expected to grow modestly
Canadian PlasticsCanadian Plastics
Vehicle production in North America declined slightly in 2005 but is expected to grow modestly from 2005 through 20...
Vehicle production in North America declined slightly in 2005 but is expected to grow modestly from 2005 through 2008, according to a report compiled by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.
Overall, North American assembly is expected to be in excess of 17.7 million units in 2008. The report says it is likely, given recent announcements by General Motors, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler, that all new capacity announcements for North America in the years ahead will come from New North American Manufacturers.
Given these projections, the report concludes that Canadian parts suppliers will not be able to depend on the North American market for new business. In general, the report notes, Canadian parts suppliers must be ready to move where capacity is growing, for example emerging markets in Asia, and look to the growing number of assemblers in the area that are doing more local sourcing.


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Feb 10, 2023
Six of the most successful WOA International Artists Rice, Amartya Paul, Phil Ryder, Mick J Clark, Thomas Michael Link and Accidental Martyr, have come together on an ambitious World Music themed album conceptualized and produced by Multiple Billboard...
Jan 20, 2023
Canadian composer and songwriter Silent Stranger who has had multiple chart topping hits is all set to launch a brand new music video for his single Damsel in Distress, which is directed by MTV EMA Nominated filmmaker and musician Oliver Sean.
Dec 25, 2022
WOA Records' 8th edition of the Christmas Special Album made headlines when it debuted at #1 on the iTunes UK Easy Listening Album Charts at the start of the Christmas Holidays. The chart topping album has now made a re-entry at #1 on Christmas Day.
Dec 09, 2022
The Independent No.1's Christmas Special, Vol.8 has debuted at #1 on the iTunes UK Easy Listening Charts. The Annual Christmas compilation album this year also made it into the Amazon UK hot releases Top 10, alongside last year's Vol.7 edition.
Oct 07, 2022
The Independent No.1's Vol.12 Compilation conceptualised by Billboard Top 10 Artist & Producer Oliver Sean has hit No.1 on the Amazon UK Hot New Releases Charts. This is the 12th year of this compilation consistently hitting the top of the charts
Oct 05, 2022
Mama Taught Me is the new Blues Single by MTV EMA Nominee Oliver Sean who is a multiple chart topping Independent DIY Artist.
Aug 02, 2022
Mama Taught Me, the highly anticipated Blues Rock single by Multiple Billboard Top 10 Artist and MTV EMA Nominee Oliver Sean will be released by WOA Records and Studios on the 4th of October this year.
May 31, 2022
Keeping with tradition, the 11th edition of the Goa Chillout Zone has topped the charts again. Every year this album series hits the top of the charts across iTunes and Amazon Charts. This year's Goa Chillout Zone compilation debuted at #2 on Amazon.
May 10, 2022
The much awaited 11th edition of the iTunes #1 and Amazon #1 compilation series Goa Chillout Zone is now available for pre-add and pre-order across iTunes, Amazon, Apple, Spotify and all major record stores and sites.
Feb 04, 2022
The Goa Chillout Zone compilation series, compiled by MTV EMA Nominated Artist and Producer Oliver Sean has been hitting mainstream album charts, across different countries consistently, including hitting #1 on the iTunes UK Album Charts in the United...


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The month of Ramadan witnesses a great rush of frantic buyers who are buying and storing food items and allied commodities. Unfortunately, Muslims countries, especially Gulf nations, generate huge quantities of food waste which increases manifolds during the month of Ramadan and festivals like Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha whereby the consumption and wastage of food increase at an alarming level. Firstly, the food habits change in the month of Ramadan whereby Sahoor or breakfast/ meal is taken early in the morning. Later after sunset Iftar/ Fatoor (opening of the fast) is taken usually with specially cooked food, … Continue reading →
In recent years, enormous generation of food waste during the holy month of Ramadan has been a matter of big debate in Muslim countries and elsewhere. As per conservative estimates, around one-fifth of the food purchased or prepared during Ramadan finds its way to garbage bins or landfills. This translates into thousands of tons of precious food which could have been used for feeding tens of millions of hungry people in impoverished countries of Asia, Africa and elsewhere. The staggering amount of food waste generation during Ramadan urgently demands a strong strategy for its minimization, sustainable utilization and eco-friendly disposal. Gravity of … Continue reading →
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MILWAUKEE Smithfield Foods Inc. swung to a loss in its fiscal first quarter as high commodity costs hurt the nation's largest pork producer and processor, which owns Circle Four Farms in Utah.
The commodities market is so volatile, its chief executive said, the company doesn't even want to try to predict its future earnings.
Costs for key ingredients like corn and soybean meal were up more than 33 percent in the quarter and the price it took to raise hogs soared 25 percent. The hog production sector lost $38.8 million down from a profit of $93 million a year ago on the higher costs.
Overall, Smithfield said Tuesday, it lost $12.6 million, or 9 cents per share, in the period, down from a profit of $54.6 million, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier. The company said the loss was due in part to a $20.1 million write-down in the value of commodity contracts, which hurt earnings by 15 cents a share.
The commodity markets seem to be improving a bit, said C. Larry Pope, Smithfield's president and chief executive. But he told investors in a conference call that the changing market is "staggering to us on a daily basis." The company declined to predict the rest of its fiscal 2009 year because of it.
Smithfield, like other meat producers and food makers, is hurting from high costs for top ingredients like grain and fuel. Chicken producer Sanderson Farms Inc. said Tuesday it posted a third-quarter loss of $3.6 million, or 18 cents a share, on the higher feed prices. A year earlier, the Laurel, Miss.-based company earned $30.7 million, or $1.51 per share.
Companies are also hurting because an oversupply of meat on the market is keeping prices down. So Smithfield and others are cutting production to boost that back up. They're also raising prices too. Pope said there will be fewer hogs on the markets in 2009 compared to this year. The company also said Tuesday that Butterball LLC, its joint-venture turkey operation, will look at cutbacks as well. Pope declined to give a number other than saying the company was "reacting to the supply issue significantly."


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BMW is working to create augmented reality maintenance tutorials for service technicians. Augmented reality, or AR for short, blends computer graphics into real footage in real time. The tutorials, complete with voice-over narration, would be seen using a pair of AR goggles.
BMW isn’t the only company in the auto industry to make use of augmented reality; Ford of Europe recently used AR in an interactive mobile campaign for the launch of the Ford Ka. GM is also researching ways in which augmented reality technology may be of use to them. As far as car makers are concerned, the future is virtual now.
Imagine this technology going beyond car maintenance, soon we will be living in a world of "Minority Report."


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Ba Ria – Vung Tau – The port complex of Cai Mep – Thi Vai in Ba Ria – Vung Tau continually welcomed international cruise ships with thousands of tourists over the past months, a sign of cruise tourism recovery in this southern province and Vietnam at large.
From November 10 to 26, the Saigontourist travel service company served three cruise trips to Vietnam by cruise line Celebrity Cruises, including two arriving in Ba Ria – Vung Tau. In late August, Spectrum of the Seas carrying almost 4,000 passengers and crewmembers docked at Cai Mep – Thi Vai, marking the third time in 2023 this superyacht had come to the province.
Like in some other localities such as Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, and Thua Thien – Hue provinces, cruise tourism in Ba Ria – Vung Tau often becomes vibrant from October to the end of April.
The provincial Tourism Department said Saigontourist was designated by cruise lines to serve 14 international cruise trips with over 30,000 visitors to Ba Ria – Vung Tau between November 10 this year to April 1, 2024.
Some travel companies said foreign visitors, after arriving at local ports, often take a tour of famous destinations in Vung Tau city such as the statue of Jesus Christ, Niet Ban Tinh Xa Pagoda, Thang Tam Temple, and Bach Dinh (White Palace), or a countryside tour of destinations along National Highway 51 in Phu My commune like Ho Phap Pagoda, Cao Dai Temple, or the suburbs of Ba Ria city, where traditional crafts and customs are still upheld.
Located in the southern key economic region and a gateway to the East Sea for the southeastern region, Ba Ria – Vung Tau is connected with Ho Chi Minh City and other localities by road, air, and waterways.
Aside from a number of historical and cultural relic sites and special festivals, it is also blessed with 306km of coastline, including 156km eligible for serving as bathing beaches. Dinh and Minh Dam mountains, Binh Chau – Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve with rich flora and fauna diversity and hot mineral springs, 16 pristine islands of all sizes, along with the island district of Con Dao – a revolutionary relic site, a nature reserve and also a Ramsar site also form part of Ba Ria – Vung Tau’s tourism potential.
The close proximity with Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City and Long Thanh International Airport, which is under construction in Dong Nai province, and the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port complex’s capability of handling major cruise ships are also advantages for the province to welcome international travellers.
Phan Hoang Vu, Deputy Director General of SP-SSA International Terminal, said cruise tourism is growing well in Ha Long, Hue, Da Nang, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, and Nha Trang. Among them, Ba Ria – Vung Tau with the Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep-water port complex is favourable for large vessels to dock at. The road system linking the complex with national highways and places of interest province-wide is also convenient for tourists to travel.
To facilitate cruise tourism, the Government, ministries, and sectors have issued many policies to create favourable conditions, including reforming administrative procedures at seaports and reducing port fees for the vessels coming to the country on fixed routes or for multiple times.
On August 15, Vietnam officially applied a new visa policy for foreigners, which is said to be a good condition for tourists and cruise lines to arrange trips.
Trinh Hang, Director of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Tourism Department, affirmed that the province holds conditions to develop cruise tourism. It welcomed 126 international cruise ships in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and the number is expected to reach 26 this year.
Cruise tourists often spend much money as well as time to try all services of their destinations, and Ba Ria – Vung Tau is currently a magnet for them, he went on.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau attracted nearly 14 million visitors during the first 11 months of 2023, equivalent to 99.7% of this year’s target and up nearly 22% year on year. Meanwhile, its revenue from tourism approximated 14.6 trillion VND (601.2 million USD), or almost 103% of the year’s revenue target, rising 30%, according to the provincial Tourism Department./.


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A major victory in the battle to fundamentally alter Britain’s perspective on work has been achieved with the signing of 100 UK companies to a permanent four-day workweek for all of their employees with no pay shortage.
The 100 enterprises employ 2,600 people, which represents a very small portion of the working population in the UK, but the 4 Day Week Campaign group is hoping they will be the forerunners of a significant change.
The five-day schedule, according to proponents of the four-day workweek, is a holdover from a previous economic era.
The UK companies propelling the four-day workweek remain certain that this course of plan would encourage businesses to increase production, allowing them to produce the same amount of work in less time.
The policy has also shown to be a successful method of luring and keeping staff for some early adopters.
Some of the biggest UK companies signing up for the four-day working week
Atom Bank and international marketing firm Awin, which each employ roughly 450 people in the UK, are the two biggest companies to sign up.
They have earned the four-day week campaign’s endorsement, proving that they haven’t forced workers into working longer days but have actually cut back on their hours.
The CEO of Awin, Adam Ross, stated that implementing the four-day week was, “one of the most transformative initiatives we’ve seen in the history of the company.
“Over the course of the last year and a half, we have not only seen a tremendous increase in employee wellness and wellbeing but concurrently, our customer service and relations, as well as talent relations and retention also have benefited.”
The UK movement is also organising the largest four-day workweek trial in the world alongside researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Boston College, and thinktank Autonomy, including roughly 70 enterprises and 3,300 employees.
Reveal of the survey
In a survey conducted in September, 88% of those businesses indicated the four-day workweek was suited to their operations at that point in the experiment.
Productivity has either kept the same or increased since the introduction, according to about 95% of the businesses surveyed.
According to the campaign’s director in the UK, Joe Ryle, the four- day work week is gaining ground as businesses prepare for a protracted recession.
“We want to see a four-day week with no loss of pay become the normal way of working in this country by the end of the decade so we are aiming to sign up many more companies over the next few years,” he said.
“With many businesses struggling to afford 10% inflation pay rises, we’re starting to see increasing evidence that a four-day week with no loss of pay is being offered as an alternative solution.”
The majority of businesses that have formally switched to a four-day workweek are in the services industry, such as IT, event, or marketing firms. The campaign did claim that certain employers in the industrial and construction industries had also registered.
According to some historians, the fight over the implementation of the four-day workweek had many similarities with the movement for a two-day weekend in the 19th century.
The legendary soccer player and Brazilian ambassador, Edson Arantes do Nascimento better k…


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SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The e-commerce industry, which has long emphasized “fast delivery,” is now expanding its services, with competition now turning to offering “easy returns”.
South Korea’s major shopping portal 11st said Monday that it has introduced a service to offset return costs caused by customers exchanging products, in which an insurance company pays for shipping when consumers return a product.
When customers wish to return products with return insurance with 11st designated delivery service, they will not have to pay the delivery charge.
However, if a customer returns a free delivery item, the purchaser must pay for the initial shipping costs incurred by the seller.
11st introduced services to flagship product lines such as fashion and accessory goods, which are often difficult to purchase online due to the cost of return shipping resulting from color and size exchanges.
Shipping costs not only contribute to consumer hesitation about making a purchase, but also make them hesitate as they might want to change for another size or color.
However, with the delivery charges covered, one can shop worry-free.
According to a report released last year by market research firm Consumer Insight and Hanyang University’s Retail Research Center, “exchange/return/refund convenience” topped the list with 35.1 percent according to a survey of six aspects of delivery satisfaction.
Rapid/accuracy, with 16.4 percent, was second.
The result can be interpreted that consumers consider being able to return goods more important than the speed at which they are originally delivered.
Coupang Corp., South Korea’s No. 1 e-commerce company, is also offering free delivery and free return services to Rocket Wow members.
In the case of size-sensitive fashion products, the company offers exchanges free of charge for 30 days for rocket delivery products that are purchased directly even if the purchaser is not a member.
Prior to e-commerce channels, the home shopping industry focused on growth based on “free returns” as its sales strategy.
“On the part of consumers, fewer hassles or costs caused by returning products are eliminated, and on the part of sellers, more sales can be expected if more frequent purchases occur,” said a source in the retail industry.
D. M. Park (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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Retail insights firm Springboard has announced an increase in footfall in both shopping centres and retail parks in January, where there was a rise of 0.2% and 1.4% respectively. This contrasts with a drop in high-street footfall of 1.8%.
According to Springboard’s figures, January was the first month since March 2017 to see an increase in footfall at shopping centres.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director, Springboard, said: “Whilst a rise of 0.2% is only a modest increase, it brings some much-needed hope for this destination type that has consistently lost shoppers for over two years.
“It seems this is an early sign that the regeneration schemes long planned by owners to broaden the offer of malls to incorporate a greater experiential element, particularly in the larger malls, are working, and they now better reflect consumers demands.”
She added: “This result reinforces the benefit of a single-ownership structure, and demonstrates the realisation that the old format of 100% retail is no longer relevant.”
The Springboard figures also offer a positive outlook concerning shop vacancies, with the rate of 9.8% in January being the lowest for a year.


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Small-business-employment, the treasury department raised interest rates on its paycheck protection program loans for small businesses and reduced their. Independent contractors and the self employed are not eligible to apply until april 10 under guidance from treasury by then, by some estimates it will take until 2023 or even longer to bring the labor market back to where it was just week ago in. The government launched a small business loan program on friday but delays are expected and owners don't have much time, the stimulus package includes $349 billion for small businesses hurting from the coronavirus pandemic here's how small.
Only some businesses have been able to apply for relief and several banks either not accepting applications or seeing long, small business owners across the country woke up early friday morning desperate to be among the first to apply for a. Companies may borrow up to 2 5 times their payroll or up to $10 million which can be used for payroll and other expenses, small businesses are hurting and that sweeping coronavirus aid package promises to provide $349 billion to guarantee loans to. Under this program small businesses those with fewer than 500 employees can take out loans to pay for workers' salaries, the trump administration's $349 billion small business rescue starts friday surrounded by concerns about its ability to.
The cares act is aimed at stimulating the american economy which has been deeply affected by the covid 19 pandemic the act


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UPA Inc. is looking to open a cannabis delivery service in Maynard, but before the Select Board would be willing to sign a Host Community Agreement, UPA must overcome a few hurdles.
Atty. Nicholas Gomes, representing UPA, told the Select Board at its Aug. 17 meeting that UPA Cannabis wants to open its operation at 2-6 Powder Mill Road.
The business is a social equity firm, which is a program created by the state to give people most impacted by the War on Drugs and marijuana prohibition a pathway into the cannabis industry. In addition, delivery-only licenses are available exclusively to social equity marijuana businesses.
Gomes said the business would start out with about three vehicles, unmarked and unrecognizable. Vehicles are designed to be safe and would be tracked by GPS and equipped with cameras, he said. Marijuana would be transported in locked vaults inside the cars.
Employees would be trained and given body cameras. There would be no more than $10,000 worth of product inside a vehicle at any given time, although Gomes said he expects it would be less than that.
More:Forum on Powder Mill Road in Maynard, Acton, will help plan for the corridor’s future
The building would not be open to the public and there would be full time security during hours of operation. Any marijuana inside the building would be kept securely locked.
The company forecasts annual revenues of $17 million within three years, which would mean Maynard would receive about $1.03 million in tax revenue – 3% local tax option and 3% community impact fee.
Plans for Powder Mill Road
There are three lots on the property and UPA will operate at 2 Powder Mill Road. The remaining property would be developed under a common ownership plan, Gomes said.
“Under that common ownership we are trying to bring positive change for the community,” he said.
More:State urged to form equity fund to address cannabis industry access
UPA Cannabis has already made a pitch to Maynard’s Economic Development Committee, but that committee did not approve of the plan. That particular area has been referred to as the gateway to Maynard and the intent is to create a pedestrian-friendly area that would tie Powder Mill Road to downtown Maynard.
Rosalind Greenstein, chairwoman of the EDC, said they had no problem with the marijuana operation, but with the description of the business as a warehouse.
“A warehouse does not fit with a number of goals that are listed in the master plan for the downtown retail district. The goals are for a downtown retail district that is vibrant and retail oriented,” she said.
More:GreenStar Herbals in Maynard aims to be the Saks Fifth Avenue of dispensaries
Greenstein was concerned the business would not encourage foot traffic and would be better suited to a warehouse location with a parking lot.
The Select Board, while not necessarily opposed to a marijuana delivery business, wanted more information before giving the green light.
Select Board member Justine St. John said she needed more information from UPA, including architectural renderings and plans for community outreach. Of particular concern was Excelsior Comics and Games, at 8 Waltham St., a business that caters to young people, she said.
More:Sugarloaf gets Host Community Agreement to open dispensary in Maynard
Select Board member Armand Diarbekirian said his biggest concern was access to the river.
“Our intent as an overlay district was to make sure we had something in place that would connect the downtown area. I would love to see architectural design of what the building is going to look like. You are going to be one of the first people going in there and I would like to see how that fits into the master plan to open the river to the public,” he said.
Gomes said they would host a virtual public forum within 20 days and hoped to return to the Select Board on Sept. 21.


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The full BBC documentary on working conditions in iPhone factories has been unofficially uploaded to YouTube. It probably won’t be too long before it gets pulled, so if you want to see it, watch it while you can – we’ve embedded the full video below … Read more
In a letter to UK staff, Tim Cook is said to have been “deeply offended” by allegations made in a BBC undercover documentary that Apple had broken promises over the working conditions in Pegatron’s iPhone factories in China, reports the Telegraph.
In an email to around 5,000 staff across the UK, Apple senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams said both himself and the chief executive were “deeply offended by the suggestion that Apple would break a promise to the workers in our supply chain or mislead our customers in any way”.
“Panorama’s report implied that Apple isn’t improving working conditions,” he continued. “Let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth.”
Williams said that Apple had provided both “facts and perspective” on the allegations, but the BBC had chosen not to include these in the program … Read more
As sources of Apple-related news goes, the citation has to rank somewhere in the Digitimes arena, but it was a Taiwanese supply-chain rumor (dart throwing?) that correctly predicted the previous RAM doubling from 1GB in the original iPad Air to 2GB in the iPad Air 2 – albeit a prediction made rather closer to launch … Read more
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is famous for his annual prediction that Apple’s long-rumored television is launching next year, but this year he’s mixing it up a little, predicting instead that it will be launched in two years’ time.
Back in 2011, he predicted at the IGNITION conference that it would launch before the 2012 holiday season. Once it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, he predicted late in 2012 that it would be arriving in time for, yep, you guessed it, the 2013 holiday season. He clung to that one throughout the early part of last year, but has kept quiet on the subject this year – until now … Read more
On the same day that Apple Pay reached a sign-up rate of 90% of US bank cards by transaction volume, Samsung is reportedly planning to launch a rival mobile payment service that would work with 100% of cards and payment terminals on day one.
Re/code suggests that the company is in talks with LoopPay, a startup which describes itself as “the most accepted mobile wallet on the planet.” Instead of using an NFC chip for contactless payment, LoopPay transmits a magnetic signal which simulates the swiping of the magnetic strip on a card. That means it works with all cards and all payment terminals, contactless or not … Read more
Some of the judges in Apple’s appeal of last year’s ebook trial verdict appear sympathetic to the company’s argument that its deals with publishers helped, rather than hindered, competition, reports Reuters.
Circuit Judge Dennis Jacobs asked a Department of Justice lawyer why it was wrong for the publishers to get together to defeat a “monopolist” that was using “predatory pricing.”
“It’s like the mice getting together to put a bell on the cat,” Jacobs said.
The court had earlier heard evidence that at the time Apple entered the ebooks market, Amazon held a 90% market share … Read more
Google has put together its annual inspirational Year in Search video, and shared some of the trending searches across the year – with Apple making the charts for both the right and wrong reasons.
On the plus side, Apple took the #1 slot in consumer electronics searches, with the iPhone 6 ahead of rival smartphones from Samsung, Google, Motorola, LG and Nokia. Apple was also the only company to make three of the top-ten searches, with the Apple Watch at #8 and iPad Air at #10 … Read more
With dozens more banks and retailers signed-up to Apple Pay in recent weeks, the company says the contactless payment system now supports the cards used for around 90% of credit card transactions in the US.
As they’ve done in years’ past, some Apple retail stores this holiday season will repurpose the Genius Bar for additional product space, pick-ups, or other uses as Apple attempts to make the shopping experience for customers as smooth as possible, 9to5Mac has learned.
The repurposing for the holidays will only arrive in some stores depending on needs and traffic, with some stores scheduled to use the Genius Bar area to complete express sales and hold products scheduled for pick-up. Other changes, however, will go beyond the holidays as the stores under new retail chief Angela Ahrendts evolve to better deal with increased foot traffic. Read more
The court ruled that Apple was guilty of anti-competitive practices in two ways. First, the company asked publishers to switch from wholesale pricing – where publishers sold in bulk to retailers, who set their own prices – to an agency model, where publishers set retail prices and retailers took a commission. The court ruled that this reduced price competition … Read more
Production by Samsung of the A9 chip destined for next year’s iPhones and iPads is underway, according to a report in Korea’s Electronic Times.
According to industry insiders on December 11, Samsung Electronics began production of Apple’s A9 in the Austin plant in the US using the 14nm FinFET technology. Samsung has production lines capable of FinFET process production in Austin, US and Giheung, Korea, but began to produce A9 only in Austin as it is in the initial stage.
It had been reported back in July that Samsung had received some orders for the chips, which the company effectively confirmed in October when the president of the company’s chip-making division said that profits would improve once it began supplying its latest-generation chips to Apple …


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Marketers supporting the online ad industry -- including search -- will see an increasing number of IPOs this year, starting with Marin Software, which revealed Wednesday that it had filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This is a signal that management plans to take the company through an IPO, which MediaPost reported in December.
Digital disruption -- the idea that digital changes business economics, not just the way brands market products and services -- weighs heavily on Forrester Research analysts. James McQuivey developed the idea after contemplating how products are being reinvented because of digital, and wrote a book that explores how companies like Borders missed the fundamental notion that digital changes business, and reveals how companies can stay ahead of digital disruption.
I packed up my awesome custom-configured Sony Vaio laptop with turbo boost processor and sent it back to the manufacturer Monday so the company could replace the LCD screen. Rather than purchase another laptop, I bought a Surface Pro Saturday, and decided that for the next two weeks I would work from the tablet.
Online advertising spend should reach $50.8 billion in the United States by 2015 -- up from $36.1 billion this year, according to the ZenithOptimedia New Media Forecasts report. Search will contribute $18.8 billion and social media, $8.4 billion, up from $14.9 billion and $4.6 billion this year.
One in ten relationships end on Valentine's Day, and 85% believe trustworthiness is the most important trait in a mate, according to a survey from Bing and Impulse Research. The search engine shares the numbers in the hope that you will give up searching on Google during the most romantic day of the year. Symbolism. Isn't that what it's all about?
When asked how Yahoo would compete in the tech industry without a mobile strategy, operating system, and Internet browser, incoming Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer told employees the company will partner, according to sources. So on Wednesday, Yahoo announced a non-exclusive display ad agreement with Google amid the deafening reaction to Enhanced Campaigns, Google's AdWords tool that now combines desktop and mobile paid-search ad creation, targeting and reporting.
After hearing Google cofounder Larry Page during the Q4 2012 earnings call talk about how the Nexus smartphone serves up Web sites better than those optimized for mobile devices, it made me wonder whether Google would change the rules for advertising and content to support one structure and reporting system for mobile and desktop. I'm not the only one wondering.
It's not black-and-white, although Latanya Sweeney might make it seem that way. The Harvard professor published a report suggesting Google searches expose racial bias through AdSense. Depending on the perceived race of the names searched for, the ads that serve up suggest "statistically significant discrimination."
Admittedly, I ran a mobile voice search Sunday morning asking Google: "What time does the Super Bowl start?" The question on google.com through its Knowledge Graph technology directs you to an instant answer in the results rather than requiring a series of clicks through embedded links leading deep within a Web site. Ask the same question Monday and get the Ravens and 49ers scores.
Once again football time comes to America. Never mind getting together with friends and family to enjoy the game -- marketers just want to think about data. The great American pastime has turned into a race to discover what brands influence consumers most, and how much money they will scrape from their pockets.


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By Peter Switzer
A big US retailer, which I won’t name, starts business in Australia today but how do I know? I haven’t seen any ads in the newspapers I read, the websites I browse daily or on radio stations I listen to.
So how do I ‘know’ that Amazon will be the biggest shake up that retail in this country has ever seen?
Well, it poses the question that an objective business commentator has to ask: “How dumb is the media?”
Dumb? Why would I be so disrespectful of my colleagues? Well, this US company, arguably run by the smartest retailer/entrepreneur of all time, threatens jobs and kills businesses by selling at below the costs of smaller and bigger operators. And while it creates jobs in fulfillment, as well as provide hip-pocket benefits to consumers, it plays business unfairly.
Imagine the outcry if we allowed cheap Chinese products, like steel, to be sold here in huge volumes. Economists and politicians would call it ‘dumping’ and say it’s unfair to local producers and local employees. We stopped Shell from taking over Woodside, thanks to then-Treasurer Peter Costello, and few of us complained. But we seem to cheer a US ‘robber baron’ coming here and killing businesses, taking away retail jobs and eventually lowering wages.
During the week, Phil Lowe, our RBA Governor (or Dr Phil as I call him) complained about employees not getting good enough pay rises. Well how could JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Myer, Woolworths, Coles, etc. be willing to grant big wage increases with every expert alive telling them that their profits will fall because this ‘great’ US retailer is coming.
We are living the age of retail discounting, with German, Swedish, Japanese and Spanish low cost retailers killing local businesses (note how I didn’t name them). And along with low-employing online rivals, they’ve all redefined retail profits. It’s happening in retail so how can Dr Phil blame retailers for not playing Santa Claus with their employees by giving hefty pay rises?
Let me be honest: I can cope with this change but a lot of Aussies, who’ll buy their next TV online, thanks to this smart US retailer, are contributing to a lower average wage world. The Internet and globalization means local website-builders, bookkeepers, lawyers, banks and even art galleries now compete with foreign, lower-wage populations. And while it hasn’t stopped us from at least creating jobs, many have come out of the fact that the wage bills of local businesses have been contained by this new, competitive world.
By the way, lots of business-to-business operators find it difficult to get price increases nowadays because the competition out there is just so hot. So how can you expect them to grant big pay rises? The workers getting great pay rises are great workers and their employers don’t want to lose them but the average worker is going to find it hard to get big pay hikes, especially if you work in ‘new age’ threatened businesses.
One day, this big US retailer could face the anti-trust legislation seen in the USA, when the likes of J.D.Rockerfeller copped a legal stiff arm after years of dishing out unfair competition. On May 15, 1911, the US Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Standard Oil Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Ohio businessman John D. Rockefeller entered the oil industry in the 1860s and carved up his opposition, becoming a virtual monopoly that disadvantaged so many other American business.
Big players bring competition but they eventually beat up on their rivals. Charles Revson, who founded Revlon, once explained his MO this way: “I don’t meet competition. I crush it!”
We in the media are giving this business killer a free kick. And I have to admit until today, I’ve given this US retailer free publicity — both good and bad — but my colleagues are all singing its praises, predicting how well it will do, while it gives zip to news outlets in the way of good old fashioned ads.
These ads used to be used to pay journalists good pay rates, so there is an irony that we in the media are so addicted to promoting business and wage killers.
Sure, I look like a luddite, so call me a lover of the older world of competition, where businesses at least made profits, created more secure jobs, handed out decent wage rises and paid their fair share of taxes. I accept it and stand guilty as charged.
As Basil Fawlty might say: “I mentioned the US retailer once but I think I got away with it!”
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Monday, April 02, 2012
There is a growing sense of optimism for the upcoming peak season. This could be viewed with skeptical eyes by many freight industry transportation stakeholders, given that a real peak has truly failed to materialize in a meaningful way for at least four years running, if not more.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
The highest logistics and supply chain salaries continue to be earned by those who concentrate on adapting new technological advances and maintain a life-long commitment to learning.
As is tradition, the cover of the April issue of Logistics Management
) is devoted to the findings of our Annual Salary Survey, a research project that not only fuels our best-read editorial feature of the year, but offers us the foundation for the most highly-anticipated webcast that our editorial team produces.
Recently our church choir director retired and a search was immediately undertaken for an interim as well as a full-time replacement. Within a few days, our outgoing director and pastor selected an interim director while a group comprised of choir members and parishioners were sent off to find the full-time replacement—all was well, or so it appeared.
After more than 35 years in the industry, I thought I had seen it all. However, I spent a few days last month with some University of Tennessee (UT) colleagues as well as industry and government leaders discussing the evolution of strategic sourcing and collaborative contracting.
In this first installment of a two-part series, I will look at a variety of risk-focused research efforts. In May, I will offer suggestions for managing supply chain risk—not just responding more effectively but preparing more completely.
With capacity already tightening and increasing federal regulations threatening to exacerbate the driver shortage, dedicated trucking is going to continue to grow at double-digit percentage rates—and help shippers get a good night’s sleep in the process.
Scores of shippers and their freight intermediaries agree that basic brokerage and forwarding services are keeping pace with demands from new and emerging markets.
Implementation complexities have stood in the way of LMS adoption rates; however, our analysts say that more logistics operations will focus attention on workforce management to balance efficiencies now that the business climate is on the upswing.
Proponents have changed the conversation and have started tagging at the item level in what the industry is now calling a “source-to-store” approach.


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Will there be any NYC sample sales left in 2021?
The end of year is a time to look back and celebrate, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case with the end of this year, especially for the NYC retail and fashion industry. At the very least, those of us entrenched in the fashion world could celebrate this year being over, but there is no point even in that when 2021 is looking no more promising.
According to McKinsey Fashion Index, “companies will post approximately a 90% decline in economic profit in 2020”. In the meantime, small business and retail chains are closing their doors in NYC at much higher rates than anywhere else in the US. With both tourists and office workers gone, foot traffic in Manhattan is comparable to that in other cities where rent per square foot is much lower, which makes leaving NYC an easy choice for brands.
While the fashion industry pundits hail this upcoming year as a time for renewal and a time of progress during which “shopping will shift to digital, and consumers will continue to champion fairness and social justice,” the truth is it is a time for consolidation that will eliminate most small players and will concentrate purchasing power into the hands of few large ones like Amazon and Alibaba.
Where does this leave us and our love of sample sales?
Brands are putting focus (again) on the shift to a demand-focused model to survive these uncertain times. I have a suspicion that it is easier said than done, as we were talking about this same idea when I was in business school in the late 90s. Why is this relevant for us? While lovingly called “sample sales,” we all know that most of the merchandise at NYC sample sales come from excess inventory. As we doubt fashion brands will be able to quickly adapt to the new times and the supply-demand model, we think warehouses will continue to be full of unsold inventories in the near future. Especially after a decade of bargain shopping, a pandemic fueled all-time low consumer sentiment and the addition of an anti-consumerism ideology, we doubt that sample sales will go away any time soon.
In fact, our own sample sale whisperer, Ritu Bindra (a miracle woman), has seen an approximate 50% return to date of last year’s sample sale events. She told us that, “sample sales have returned, but mostly with the sale organizers. Most designers and brands are no longer holding sales themselves at their showrooms or stores.” The first to return was 260, followed much later by Soiffer Haskin, Clothingline, and Prive. Some brands such as Diptyque, TOCCA, and Bonpoint have opted this year for online sample sales at 260, which has become increasingly popular with socially distanced “bargain connoisseurs”.
So, will there be any NYC sample sales in 2021? Yes, but there is also the possibility that Miami and LA sample sales will become stronger competitors to the NYC ones as travel will take another 3-4 years to return to the 2019 levels. We think big players (like 260 and Soiffer Haskin) who are backed up by large (non-retail) companies will have a much better chance of surviving, leading to a reduced number of players in the field. We also predict that people will become increasingly used to online sample sales and will start comparing them to websites like RueLaLa and Gilt.
Only time will tell. But we’ve got our fingers crossed and rooting for our beloved sample sales, now and forever. Bring on 2021!
Posted by Mirela Gluck at 07:00 AM
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Audi will start building its new Q1 small SUV in Ingolstadt, Germany from 2016.
The new model is part of Audi’s plan to continue expanding its model range and will be an upmarket competitor to models like the Nissan Juke. The brand is looking to expand its model from the current 49 models to more than 60 by 2020.
Dealers will struggle to house all 60 models in the current size of showrooms so it is possible Audi’s digital screen technology, the type used in Audi City in London, could be used to help dealers cope with capacity issues.
The decision to produce the new model will help to secure utilisation of capacity at Audi’s main plant in Ingolstadt over the long term. Audi currently produces the A3 and A3 Sportback and the A4/A5 family at the Ingolstadt plant.
Peter Mosch, chairman of the Audi General Works Council, said: “This is a clear commitment to Ingolstadt as a production site.
“We will continue to make every effort to develop the plant even further as the leading technological site of the Audi Group.”
The Q family currently comprises the Audi Q3, RS Q3, Q5, SQ5 and Q7. The Q5 is the most popular model in the Q range and Audi has sold 194,930 units of the model this year around the world.
A production total of approximately 230,000 Q5s is planned for 2013, which is more than half of the total Q volume.
The proportion of the company’s total production volume accounted for by SUVs will be about 28% this year, and is planned to rise to more than 35% by 2020.
Audi has produced and delivered more than 1.5 million Q family models since the market launch of the first SUV in 2006.


text: General Motors ( GM) said it has scheduled shutdowns at 13 of its 21 assembly plants in North America, removing 190,000 vehicles from production. In the peak weeks of the shutdown, in the early part of June, about 40% of GM's production capacity will be idled. Shutdowns begin the week of May 11 and continue through the week of July 13. Some plants will be closed for as long as eight weeks. The move will enable GM to reduce inventories to 525,000 vehicles from the current level of 767,000; bring production in line with market demand and accommodate potential outcomes of talks with bankrupt Delphi and its lenders, who recently rejected GM's settlement proposal. "What we're really trying to do is protect ourselves from a disruption that could occur in this period of time, and we also have this inventory to take down, so maybe we can kill two birds with one stone," said Troy Clarke, GM North American president, on a conference call with reporters. "We've been working with Delphi for almost four years," he said. "We have been in very serious negotiations with Delphi and its lenders ... to assure our supply of parts. We made a very serious and fair offer that seemed to be very workable and the offer was rejected." Some of the plants build slow-selling vehicles, including the Cadillac STS sedan and the full size Chevrolet Suburban SUV. GM said it will not shut down plants engaged in products like the Chevrolet Camaro and the Buick LaCrosse. Additionally, Clarke said no shutdown is planned for the Orion Township, Mich., plant where the Chevrolet Malibu is made. "The Malibu is in short supply," he said.


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DuBOIS — Though it’s been a challenging time in the grocery industry, Martin’s Food and Pharmacy Manager Joe Kelly said he’s been very impressed with the team of people who have been working at the DuBois store during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been a little bit stressful trying to implement all the changes that we need to do to try to keep both our team members and our customers safe while still being open and providing what we feel is a very necessary to the community,” said Kelly. “It’s been challenging, but it’s been going very well and our team has been phenomenal as far as being willing to adjust schedules. And we have people that are working in different departments and trying to help out. And it’s been very rewarding seeing the team all come together, and what they were willing to do to try to maintain as much normalcy as possible with all the changes we’ve gone through in the last seven or eight weeks.”
Kelly, of Treasure Lake, DuBois, was hired at Martin’s 10 years ago as an assistant store manager.
“I was promoted to store manager, and then I went out on the road as a district sales manager for the company,” said Kelly. “I just recently came back in November of 2019 as the store manager.”
Although he’s been with Martin’s 10 years, Kelly said the grocery industry has been with him for his entire life because his parents owned a grocery store.
“That’s what brought us to this area in 1984, it was in the Clearfield area,” said Kelly. “I actually graduated from Kiski Area High School down near Vandergrift and took multiple courses through Cornell University over the years. I spent a lot of time doing different things in the grocery business.”
Kelly said he also trained Quarter Horses for multiple years.
“That’s what I thought I was going to be when I grew up was a cowboy, but that didn’t work out. There’s no money in that,” he said.
He went back into the family business and worked for Penn Traffic for a few years.
“I went down south and was a part-owner of a convenience store chain down in South Carolina,” said Kelly. “I moved back to the DuBois area to Treasure Lake in 2001. And owned my own bread business for a while in this area. And then again in 2010, I came to work for Martin’s.”
The grocery business has also fascinated Kelly because he enjoys meeting new people and getting to know people, especially in small areas like DuBois.
“I really like this area because you can get a personal touch with your customers,” said Kelly. “I like the fast pace of it. So it’s always something new. It’s always a different challenge, much like what we’re going through right now. In this business you would never be bored or not have exciting things happening each day.”
For awhile during the pandemic, Kelly recalls having updates three times a day.
“What you might hear at 8 in the morning would change at noon. And then again at 4 or 5,” said Kelly. “And then we’d be implementing things until 8 or 9 that night to make sure that we were ready the next morning to comply with what our company expectations were. Everything that we were doing was trying to maintain business and try to work through the guidelines of the CDC and with Gov. Wolf to try to make sure that we could follow all the proper things for social distancing while staying open.”
Kelly said Martin’s definitely saw not only an increase in business but a change in business, with adding the 6-7 a.m. hour for seniors and vulnerable people.
“That hour is very busy for our store now, where normally our business wouldn’t really pick up until 9 or 10 a.m.,” he said. “Our business definitely changed and moved more towards daylight hours and less in the evening and late evening.”
Martin’s has approximately 150 employes and hired more temporary and also permanent positons as a result of the pandemic. Martin’s also added multiple associates or team members to Martin’s Direct, the curbside pickup. Prior to the pandemic, they were averaging 85-90 orders a week, and then they were up to 350-400 orders a week.
“We have some people that are out on a leave of absence due to family members or different reasons for them to ask for a leave of absence with the company through this. So I’m honoring those requests and then trying to fulfill added positions where we’re obviously staffing the entrance and exit doors and having extra people on the front trying to direct and guide people into the quickest checkout lane,” Kelly said.
One of the most rewarding aspects during this time, said Kelly, is seeing a team of 150 people pull together, and what could get accomplished very quickly with very little direction.
“That was nothing but outstanding,” said Kelly.
The most challenging times involved processing all of the customers with the limited resources as far as registers and making sure they were in and out of the store as fast as possible, said Kelly.
“Because of the social distancing, we were only permitted to open up every other register,” he said. “I think that was the biggest challenge and then just trying to get our supply chain back intact to where we can get all the product that we order.”
Kelly said the community was very supportive of the grocery store workers, who received multiple thank you cards from customers in appreciation of making the store safe and clean.
“Our company did offer all of our hourly associates a $2 an hour raise,” said Kelly. “That was for most of April and was to stay in effect until May 30th as of right now. So that was a wonderful thing our company did, and many companies did. And I know that was very much appreciated and well-received at this store for sure.”
On the positive side of the pandemic, Kelly said it enhanced what he likes most about the grocery business.
“We’re really providing a necessity to all our customers and sometimes ... you just take it for granted and you move on,” said Kelly. “And I do think that people will have a different understanding. And as I said, we’ve had multiple people compliment us on staying open and all our associates coming to work and trying to do the best we can. So it was really nice to see.”


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The LEGO Group has confirmed when those in the UK and Europe will need to order before to have purchases delivered before Halloween.
It’s not unusual for the LEGO Group to confirm the final day for placing orders to have them delivered before Christmas, but this year the date for purchases to be made for delivery before Halloween has been confirmed in the UK and Europe. Make sure your orders are made before October 26, 2022.
Whether that means the LEGO Group is taking the annual season of spooks more seriously in 2022 is unclear, but as far we can tell, this is one of the first occurrences of such confirmation on the official online store.
The notice is visible on the banner at the very top of LEGO.com, rotating with promotions of gifts and free delivery.
Though the LEGO Group’s range of seasonal sets for Christmas is more extensive than Halloween with decorations and the new 10308 Holiday Main Street, there are a few models suitable for Halloween, which we’ve highlighted in a previous report.
However, this notice could also serve as a reminder that those hoping to add the 40562 Mystic Witch GWP and 40513 Halloween VIP Add On Pack to their collection need to do so before October 2022 ends. Reports of the latter being out of stock have surfaced though it is still being advertised on the official online store’s offers page, hinting that it should be added to qualifying orders.


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SPARTANBURG, S.C (WSPA) – SC Works Greater Upstate will be holding two virtual job fairs this week to help fill positions in the Upstate.
SC Works, in partnership with the Spartanburg Chamber Of Commerce, will be listing several positions available to nearly all ages many in the Spartanburg area.
On Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m., a virtual job fair focused specifically on hiring for professional positions in the administrative and technology sectors will be available.
There will be at least 30 potential employers looking to hire and do interviews on the spot.
On Friday, there will be a virtual job fair focused on hiring specifically for retail and food service positions, many in Spartanburg County.
There are several dozen openings in the food service and retail industries, some are even beginning to hire for the holiday rush months from now.
Students in need of positions to go along with their educational work can apply as well.


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Coffee chain Coffee Republic says it will continue to pin its hopes on franchising to save the struggling brand.
The group today reported a fall in like-for-like sales during the six months to 25 September from £8.9m to £7.7m.
Chairman Bobby Hashemi said the 13.7% decline was "expected" following the planned closure of several non-core outlets.
He warned sales will now continue to fall as more of the group's coffee bars come under franchise agreements.
The 46-strong chain also said it had suffered as a result of unseasonably warm autumn weather.
The closure of non-core outlets and tighter control on central costs did stem pre-tax losses from £799,000 to £661,000 over the same period.
Coffee Republic now hopes to continue its focus on expanding its franchised operations, aiming to retain only 10-15 bars as owner-operator outlets.
It admitted a few sites had been earmarked for disposal, but said it hoped to open its first new site in four years in 2006.
The chain's deli model is said to be "performing strongly" with nine sites now converted, four of which are franchises.
by Jessica Gunn
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