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PyeongChang 2018Olympic Games News
Date : 17 Jan 2018
Seoul, Korea, January 17, 2018: South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co., an official partner for the 2018 Winter Olympics, will hand out a special edition of the Galaxy Note 8 smartphone to athletes and officials participating at PyeongChang 2018, Yonhap News reports.
Under the plan, the company will offer 4,000 units of the Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Edition to all athletes and International Olympic Committee officials visiting PyeongChang, located 180 kilometers east of Seoul. The Winter Games are scheduled for February 9-25.
The special edition will not be sold to the public, Samsung said. The Olympic version of the 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 8 will be released in white to represent winter sports, along with the gold Olympic rings engraved on the back.
The Galaxy Note 8 is the latest premium model currently sold by Samsung, boasting the signature S Pen stylus and a dual-lens camera setup. The so-called Infinity Display also gives the device a simple yet striking design.
The device will, moreover, come with a special Olympic-themed wallpaper, along with an application that provides details of the 2018 Winter Games, the company said. The price tag of a 64-gigabyte Galaxy Note 8 stands at 1.09 million won (US$1,023) in South Korea.
Any personal data submitted will not be used for any direct marketing or unsolicited follow-up.


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We’re all back at work after our self-induced food comas of last Thursday and what looks to have been a record-breaking long weekend of conspicuous consumption across the nation.
Black Friday retail sales were down in brick and mortar stores, but made HUGE gains online this year, and Forbes estimates that a record $6.6 BILLION was spent online yesterday in what has become known as “Cyber” Monday.
Americans are finding it more convenient to turn to the internet to make our holiday purchases, and retailers are in a cut-throat competition against each other for our hard-earned dollars at this time of year, as we all try to get the best deals on the hot new toys and gadgets for our loved ones.
I’m not immune—I indulged in a little bit of retail therapy over the weekend myself. I bought some gifts for the folks on my list, and then, because I had “saved” so much money with these online sales, I decided to get myself a little something, too. I spent $35 at a national electronics retailer yesterday for $95 worth of gadgets, and all while still in my pajamas. Free shipping is a powerful drug…
But did you know that it is just as easy to give back to your community as it is to get all of the gifts you need for underneath your Christmas tree? Organizations like the Carlisle Family YMCA have online pages to make donating quick and easy.

domain: news


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Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE) calls on politicians to be stricter towards cheap marketplaces from China, including Temu. The interest group advocates for strengthening customs and suggests a digital platform where every shipment must be registered.
According to HDE, Temu and similar platforms can operate relatively undisturbed, leading to unfair competition. “Neither the European nor the German legislative bodies are in a position to fully enforce their regulations and laws against Chinese companies”, said HDE’s deputy director, Stephan Tromp, to the German Press Agency (dpa).
HDE points out the inadequate product safety of electrical appliances being traded on Temu, that opened an office in Dublin last spring. The trade in counterfeit goods is another major concern for the interest group.
Supply Chain Act
HDE also highlights an uneven playing field in the enforcement of the German Supply Chain Act. This regulation aims to ensure compliance with human rights among suppliers. “The responsible federal authority is not lifting a finger to enforce the requirements for Chinese companies – which also sell to end customers and thus compete directly with German dealers”, Tromp added.
‘The enforcement authority is not lifting a finger’
HDE clarifies that they do not want platforms like Temu to be excluded from the German market. “If everyone has to adhere to the same rules, competition occurs to the benefit of the consumer. Then the better solution wins.”
Customs and a digital platform
HDE calls for strengthening customs, which are responsible for package handling. “Customs are simply overwhelmed by the enormous quantity”, says Tromp. A digital platform where every shipment must be registered could also be a good starting point, according to him. Pre-registration would make it easier to check packages from retailers who do not comply with the rules.
Temu in Europe
Temu, backed by the Chinese tech giant and Pinduoduo owner PDD Holdings, made its entrance into Europe last spring. In many countries, including Germany, it was the most downloaded shopping app last year. Temu, which does not sell products itself, recently announced that it will open its marketplace to sellers from the United States in March. Shortly after, it will also add European sellers. Meanwhile, Temu is working on expanding its European delivery network.


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As the category comes to terms with major tax changes, pre-Christmas deals and lower abvs could be on the cards for port and sherry, finds Nigel Huddleston
Fortified wines were clobbered the most by the August rise in UK duty rates. The overhaul of alcohol tax increased duty by 44%, adding just under £1 to the price of sherry at 15% abv, and £1.30 to port at its higher typical abv of 20%. Coming just ahead of the peak pre-Christmas sales period makes the change especially difficult for producers and retailers, and the recent rollercoaster ride in the UK and global economies has only compounded the problems.
Fortifieds enjoyed a pretty good pandemic sales-wise, as consumers indulged at home in lockdown. But the expectations of continuing good fortune were scuppered by the 2022 economic downturn and the return of the on-trade, leading to some heavy retail promotions as stores sought to offload over-bought stock.
This year’s duty hikes are likely to lead to a similarly discount-heavy landscape in the run-up to Christmas, according to Adrian Bridge, chief executive of Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft producer Fladgate. “You’ll see deals,” he says. “Ahead of the duty increases many of the big supermarkets bought a certain amount of stock in, which is buffering them for a couple of months.
“My expectation would be that they will start their Christmas promotions a little bit earlier. It costs to have stock sitting in a warehouse, so they may start promotions in October and help the end consumer spread the cost of Christmas over a longer period.”
Cambridge Wine Merchants, an independent with an established reputation for its fortified wine range, ran a successful price promotion on port, sherry and Madeira ahead of the duty change. Managing director Hal Wilson says: “That alone will reduce [pre-Christmas] demand. We would normally expect to sell good quantities in the last quarter of the year that in effect we sold in Q2 and Q3.”
Wilson describes the increases as “eye-watering” but says that they have yet to fully sink in with consumers. “Consumers will look to buy something in Q4 at a price they are willing to pay,” he adds. “That may well mean trading down or trying something different that is on promotion. Brand owners will hope that consumers will buy from within their portfolio, which in most cases is pretty large.
“Fino sherry at 15% was hit particularly hard and it is difficult to hide an increase of 98p. That may well affect demand or push people towards the halfbottle format.”
Melissa Draycott, managing director at Tío Pepe supplier González Byass UK, says the government is “unwittingly heavily over-taxing responsible drinking consumers” of sherry and port. She adds: “We predict that there will be an impact, but it’s too early to see any meaningful sales patterns. We haven’t seen tax increases like this before, so there is no data to guide us.”
Draycott says González Byass is “tempted to say that we are confident that the once-a-year sherry shopper will continue to buy into well-known branded sherries – it is traditionally a time when BWS consumers invest in brands”.
To that end, the company is investing in a Christmas campaign for Croft Original on video-on-demand, digital and in print, and Bridge at Fladgate says it, too, is continuing to advertise. But he says that marketing investment in brands becomes harder each year.
“The reality of the highly competitive nature of the UK market is that much of the producer’s margin has been squeezed out,” he adds. “We have nowhere to go. In the early 1990s, Taylor’s LBV was around £10.49. Accounting for inflation, that should be over £21 today. Instead, in Sainsbury’s for example, the price was just £16 a bottle before the August duty increase.
“What’s happened to that £5? It was money that was being used for advertising and promotion and so on, but it isn’t there, primarily because of how competitive the high street is.
“We don’t have a large toolbox we can mitigate this latest increase with. We’ll do what we can, but it’s a tough environment.”
One solution might be to tinker a little with abv levels, though regulatory regimes in the main fortified wines’ home countries mean there are limits to what can be done. Port producer Vallegre, imported by Lanchester Wines, has already taken such steps. Assistant manager Carlos Afonso says: “A few years ago, Vallegre took the strategic decision to lower the alcohol content of our basic ports to 19% abv, which, while higher than still wine, is considerably lower than spirits and therefore attracts less duty.
“Our decision was both future-proofing our business and, most importantly, looking after the health of drinkers without compromising the taste of our product.”
Bridge at Fladgate says it is also exploring the potential for such a move for its ports, which are currently typically at or around 20% abv. “We’re looking at it,” he says. “We’ve actually done tastings at 18% abv and we think the product is really good. “The regulations say that only for standard categories can we go to 18%. For special categories such as LBV or aged tawnies we can’t.
“We’ve done the work; now it’s a question for the regulators. But from our internal tasting panels we’ve determined that at 18% the drink is as fresh, has the same volume in the mouth and delivers the same enjoyment – but it would save about 40p in duty.
“It would make a difference. It has an impact that could be relevant to the price point.”


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After the new 2015 Hyundai Verna Facelift, the Korean auto major’s next launch will be the new i20 based crossover. The car was spied recently in a new colour scheme previously unseen in the hatchback.
The spy pictures, clicked near Chennai by Motor Vikatan, also give a clear view of how the company intends to use the black plastic cladding to make the car look rugged. Hatchback based crossovers are the new ‘in’ thing these days and Hyundai’s foray into the segment is definitely a danger sign for the competition, which includes Fiat Avventura, Etios Cross and Cross Polo.
i20 Cross will come with higher ground clearance, new alloy wheels, silver roof rails and bigger front disc brake calipers. The new brown color appears similar to Avventura’s Bronzo Tan.
A latest report at Overdrive.in, claims that the launch of i20 Cross is scheduled for Monday, 9th of March 2015 which will also mark its global debut. Engine options are expected to be the same 1.2L petrol and 1.4L diesel, however, minor tweaks are definitely expected.
The i20 Cross may not turn out to be a big volume grosser like its hatchback version but will definitely add few thousand units to the tally. After the i20 Cross, Hyundai’s next launch will be the ix25 compact SUV which will be a Duster rival.


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What’s Open, What’s Closed on Martin Luther King Day 2020 in Lexington, KY? What celebrations are happening?
This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, January 20, 2020.
There is no shortage of events happening on MLK Day, or the days leading up to it, in Lexington, KY. We’ve compiled a list of what’s open, what’s closed, and what to do to celebrate.
What’s Open, What’s Closed on MLK Day, 2020, in Lexington?
Most area retailers and groceries in Lexington will operate on a regular schedule on MLK Day, January 20, 2020. All Lexington Krogers will be open on MLK Day, and Kroger Pharmacy will operate on regular hours (each location varies, check with local store). All 24 hour Walmart and Meijer locations will be open.
All U.S. Post Offices will be closed in observance of the holiday on Monday, January 20, 2020. There will be no mail delivery or pickup for the holiday.
Will FedEx, UPS or Amazon deliver on MLK?
Amazon will deliver on Monday, January 20, 2020.
FedEx will deliver and locations will be open on January, 20, 2020, but FedEx Express will operate on modified service. UPS will be available for pickup, drop off and delivery services.
All U.S. banks and most (but not all) local Lexington banks will be closed for the MLK holiday. Please call specific locations for holiday hours.
All Lexington Public Libraries are closed for MLK Day.
No trash collection on Monday, January 20, 2020. The make up date is Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Residents and businesses that normally receive curbside pick-up on Mondays will be serviced on January 22, the Wednesday after the holiday. Those impacted should place their carts out on Tuesday after 4 pm to ensure Wednesday collection. Curbside collection will only be impacted for those normally serviced on Monday.
Note that recycling collection will resume the week of January 20, so blue carts can be placed curbside on your service day. The Lexington Recycle Center only accepts the following items: aluminum and steel cans; glass bottles and jars; plastic bottles and jugs; and dry cardboard. Other materials, like plastic bags and medical waste, can damage equipment and pose a risk to employees.
Businesses with dumpsters (landfill-bound and recycling) normally serviced by the city on Mondays will have their units picked up on Tuesday, January 21. Businesses with dumpsters normally serviced on Tuesdays will have their units picked up on Wednesday, January 22. Thursday and Friday pick-ups will not be impacted.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government offices will be closed on the holiday. The Lexington Recycling Center, the Electronic Recycling Center and the Haley Pike Composting Facility will be closed on Saturday, January 18, as well as on the holiday.
For more information, contact LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255.
MLK Day at a Glance – Monday, January 20, 2020
Head to Alfalfa for brunch before or after the downtown Freedom March on Monday, January 20. Their weekend brunch menu will be available from 8 am until 2 pm.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Freedom March will begin at downtown Lexington Center’s Heritage Hall at 10 am. Participants should line up beginning at 9 am inside the corridor of downtown Lexington Center, Heritage Hall on West Main Street.
After the march, the Commemorative Holiday Program will be held in Heritage Hall featuring guest speaker, Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock at 11 am.
The Plantory presents MLK Jr. Celebration Program on Monday, January 20 from noon until 4 pm. Americorps VISTA members of Plantory will host an event for students (ages 5+) in the community including a full day of activities, conversation, and connection to empower the children in our community while learning about his amazing legacy. Lunch and snack will be provided.
Join the Carnegie Center for a Community Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day from 12:30 pm until 2:30 pm. Enjoy lunch from IP&J Cuban Food and an inspirational speech by Farmer Brown. Every child will take home a free brand new book written by Brown. There will be activities and workshops, including art with Cierra Spaulding, drumming with Joan Brannon, and poetry with JC McPherson. Families will also have the opportunity to engage in a service learning project with On The Move Art Studio. This is a free event and no registration is required; best suited for families with children ages 3-12.
Following the Commemorative Holiday Program, there will be a Kentucky Theater Film Showing of the featured film, Green Book, courtesy of One World Films at 2:30 pm. The showing is free and open to the public.
The Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center is screening ‘A Dream Deferred’ at 6 pm. The Lyric’s executive director, Whit Whitaker, will orate Dr. King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Admission is free and open to the public.
Subscribe to the Ace e-dition for Lexington news, arts, culture, food, and entertainment news delivered to your inbox.
Call today to advertise in Ace, 859.225.4889


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ZoomInfo To Acquire Conversation Intel Platform Chorus.AI For $575M
Founded in 2015, Chorus.ai developed a conversation intelligence platform that transforms conversations into data and insights for high-growth sales teams.
July 18, 2021
Chorus.ai Raises $45M To Provide Data For Sales Teams
Chorus.ai's solution improves both the salesperson’s selling skills, based on insights and data that show what impacts the outcome of sales conversations.
July 29, 2020
Conversation Intelligence Startup Chorus.ai Raises $33M In Series B Funding Round
This funding round brings the total amount raised by the company to date to $55 million, and will be used to accelerate customer acquisition and support product innovation.
December 17, 2018
AI Co. Chorus.ai Raises $16M
February 8, 2017 | Israeli company Chorus.ai completed a $16 million financing round led by the Redpoint Ventures fund. The company uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to analyze sales conversations. Emergence Capital, which has advised the company from the beginning and invested in it previously, also took part in the round. CEO Roy Raanani and president and […]
February 08, 2017


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Disney hasn’t wasted any time making friends in the digital space now that the ink has dried on their acquisition of Maker Studios. Maker Studios has just formed an alliance with Spanish-language MCN MiTú to produce original content in English and Spanish. Because we absolutely editorialize here at NMR, we say this is a brilliant move.
MiTú is an important digital face for the online Latino community with their 55 million subscribers and 400 million monthly views across roughly 1300 channels. And of course Maker brings Disney and their wealth of content to the party.
“Hispanic millennials in the U.S. are avid viewers of online video across all platforms,” said Jason Krebs, Maker’s head of sales, to Variety. “Teaming up with MiTu allows us to meet the demands of so many of our brand partners who want to connect with today’s young generation of Latinos, as well as provide this service to new advertising partners.”
No telling yet if they will jointly release videos or film two versions, but expect good things to come of this partnership for both camps.


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An international gathering of trade unions and campaigns working for workers’ rights in the fast food industry has called for a day of action on Thursday 15 May against McDonalds.
There will be a major London protest at 4pm at the McDonalds on Whitehall (just by Trafalgar Square). For full list of protests in cities and towns see below.
The bakers’ union BFAWU and the Fast Food Rights campaign are calling for people to back the protest and for protests to be organised across Britain on the same day.
In each of the 33 countries taking part in the global day of action, activists will use the same twitter hash-tag (#FASTFOODGLOBAL) to link up their action against multinational corporation McDonalds and to demonstrate solidarity with the thousands of fast food workers across 160 cities in the US who will walk out and join the biggest US fast food strike yet in their movement that has seen strikes spread across the US since November 2012.
Hear from fast food workers worldwide about what it’s like to work for McDonald’s in their home countries, and why they’re taking action May 15… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciczYtVO2-0&feature=youtu.be
Fast food strikes campaign in US responds to McDonalds budgetting advice to their workers … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kltKmJhUgLY&feature=share
Press release from BFAWU about the protests:
The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) is an international federation of Trade Unions uniting people who work in the food service, tourism and other industries. It comprises of 396 affiliated organisations in 126 countries, representing a combined membership of 12 million workers.
On May 7th 2014, the IUF wrote to the McDonald’s Corporation calling for an end to “abusive, precarious employment practices, mobile working hours and zero hours contracts” and to comply fully with the relevant labour laws in every country where they operate. The call was also made to engage with workers’ representatives to improve wages, terms and conditions. As yet, McDonalds have refused to accept this letter.
In light of the growing momentum and strength of feeling among those working in the fast-food industry, a global day of action has been arranged for May 15th 2014.
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) is pleased to be standing alongside other organisations across the globe in action to end exploitation and low pay in the fast food industry. These hugely profitable companies need to understand that they have a social responsibility to the communities they operate in. This means paying a living wage and ending the use of zero hour contracts which offer nothing other than in-work poverty.
On May 15th, we will be organising events in towns and cities up and down the country to make the general public aware of the exploitation taking place on their high streets. We will be demanding better pay, better conditions and dignity in the workplace. It’s a fair aim that has already garnered the support of countless numbers of people of all ages, celebrities, bishops and Members of Parliament.
An event has been planned in Trafalgar Square at 4pm on the day that will include Union officials and MPs as well as workers in the industry.
We are confident that the collective strength of people will turn the tide and secure fair play for all those enduring exploitation and dehumanisation in this multi billion pound industry”
National President, Bakers’, Food & Allied Workers Union
International press release from IUF
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Contacts: Laura Brandon, firstname.lastname@example.org, 202-641-8477
Danny Massey, email@example.com, 646-200-5323
Fast-Food Workers Announce 150-City Strike as Movement Goes Global
Campaign for Higher Pay Spreads to Nearly Three-Dozen Countries on Six Continents
NEW YORK—U.S. fast-food workers said Wednesday that they will walk off their jobs in 150 cities next week, while workers from dozens of countries on six continents announced they were joining the growing movement for higher pay and rights on the job at restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC.
As the US workers strike May 15 for $15 and the right to form a union without retaliation, workers in 33 countries on six continents will hold protests at McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC, outlets, calling for higher pay and an end to abusive employment practices, the workers said Wednesday.
“We’ve gone global!” said Ashley Cathey, a McDonald’s worker from Memphis, Tenn., who makes $7.75 after six years on the job. “It’s amazing that our fight for $15 and a union has inspired workers around the world to come together. Our campaign is growing and gaining momentum, and the highly-profitable fast-food industry needs to know we won’t stop fighting until our voices are heard.
The workers announced the strikes and protests outside a McDonald’s in Manhattan, and then delivered a letter to McDonald’s that called on the fast-food giant to raise wages and respect workers’ rights worldwide.
“On May 15, we will be taking action together around the world to demand that McDonald’s — the second largest private sector employer in the world—respect its employees’ work,” the letter read.
Earlier this week, workers and union leaders from dozens of countries met in New York City for the first-ever global meeting of fast-food workers, organized by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), a federation composed of 396 trade unions in 126 countries representing a combined 12 million workers.
“The Fight for 15 in the US has caught the attention of workers around the world in a global fast-food industry where workers have recently been mobilizing,” said Ron Oswald, general secretary of the IUF. “It has added further inspiration and led them to join together internationally in a fight for higher pay and better rights on the job. This is just the beginning of an unprecedented international fast-food worker movement—and this highly profitable global industry better take note.”
In the US, strikes are expected in cities from Oakland to Raleigh, including the first-ever walkouts in Philadelphia, Sacramento, Miami and Orlando. Around the world, workers are planning major protests in at least 33 cities, spanning six continents. Some examples are:
Morocco: Protests at McDonald’s in Casablanca and Rabat
Malawi: Protests at fast-food restaurants
Japan: 30 protests at McDonald’s in 30 different prefectures
Hong Kong: a protest inside and outside a major McDonald’s
Korea: a protest at a major McDonald’s in Seoul
India: protests at fast-food restaurants in three cities
Philippines: flash mobs inside five McDonald’s
Thailand: protests at McDonald’s and KFC restaurants in Bangkok
Australia and Oceania region
New Zealand: teach-in by workers at McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Auckland
Belgium: Lunchtime protest at a major McDonald’s in Brussels
United Kingdom: Protests at McDonald’s in up to 20 towns and cities
Germany: Protests at Burger King
Ireland: Protests at McDonald’s in Cork, Belfast and Dublin
Italy: A national strike at fast-food restaurants in Venice, Milan and Rome, to be held immediately following the US strikes
Brazil: Protests at McDonald’s in five states
Argentina: Demonstration at McDonald’s in Buenos Aires
El Salvador: Protest at McDonald’s in San Salvador
Panama: Protest at McDonald’s in Panama City
Dominican Republic: Protest at McDonald’s in Santo Domingo
McDonald’s worker Louise Marie Rantzau, who plans to protest in Denmark, said: “In Denmark, McDonald’s pays me $21 an hour and respects our union, so I was surprised when I heard workers in the US had to fight so hard for just $15 and better rights. Fast-food companies need to treat the people who make and serve their food with the same respect everywhere and workers in Denmark are committed to supporting the workers’ cause until that happens.”
McDonald’s worker Frances Cabrera, who plans to protest in Argentina, said: “No matter where they live, fast-food workers want fair pay and rights on the job. In Argentina, we’ve won some rights, but still struggle to get by on low pay. After seeing the courageous actions of American fast-food workers demanding change, we were inspired to join the growing movement.”
Julie Sherry, an organizer with Hungry for Justice, a campaign that started earlier this year to organize fast-food workers, and which plans 20 protests across the UK on May 15 said: “Despite the huge profits made by fast-food corporations, the average fast food worker in the UK struggles to survive on just £5 ($8.50) an hour. McDonald’s, the leading player in the UK industry, boosts its mega-profits by forcing 90 percent of its workforce to live on zero-hours contracts, meaning workers have no guaranteed hours, but can be called in to work at the drop of a hat. In the UK, we are at the beginning of a battle to take on the multinationals dominating the fast-food industry, ensure workers know their rights, and open the door to organizing fast food workers into unions, and it’s fantastic to be part of a global movement.”
A campaign that began in New York City in November 2012, with 200 fast-food workers walking off their jobs demanding $15 and the right to form a union without retaliation, has since spread to some 150 cities in every region of the country, including the South—and now around the world. The growing call by thousands of workers for $15 and a union has been credited with elevating the debate around inequality in the U.S. When Seattle reached a deal last week for a $15 minimum wage, Businessweek said the city was “adopting the rallying cry of fast-food workers.”
As it spreads, the movement is challenging fast-food companies’ outdated notion that their workers are teenagers looking for pocket change. Today’s workers are mothers and fathers struggling to raise children on wages that are too low. And they’re showing the industry that if it doesn’t raise pay, it will continue to be at the center of the national debate on what’s wrong with our economy.
A recent National Employment Law Project report only added fuel to the fire, finding that low-wage job creation was not just part of our early economic recovery but is a trend that has continued four years into the recovery. The report’s author, Michael Evangelist, told the New York Times, “Fast food is driving the bulk of the job growth at the low end…. If this is the reality — if these jobs are here to stay and are going to be making up a considerable part of the economy — the question is, how do we make them better?”
Not only is pay low, but fast-food companies are stealing from workers’ paychecks. Earlier this year, workers filed class-action suits against McDonald’s in three states, alleging widespread and systematic wage theft. A poll conducted by Hart Research found that 89 percent of fast-food workers experience wage theft. McDonald’s is being forced to act. In response to the suits, the company said it was conducting a comprehensive investigation; while in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, McDonald’s said worker protests might force it to raise wages this year. With shareholder meeting season upon us, and a recent report showing the industry has by far the largest disparity between worker and CEO pay, scrutiny on fast-food companies is bound to intensify. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer has already said, “Excessive pay disparities pose a risk to share owner value,” and that conversations around inequality should move into the boardrooms of profitable fast-food companies.
IUF letter to McDonalds to announce global day of action:
IUF letter to McDs — May 7 2014
International media coverage of the announcement of the global day of action:
15 May Global day of action: Fast Food Rights protests across UK
Come along to your nearest event, bring trade union and campaign banners!
(send details of local events to firstname.lastname@example.org ):
London: 4pm at Trafalgar Square/ Whitehall McDonalds. Contact 07795 412 932
Glasgow: 4.30 – 6pm at corner of Argyle Street and Union Street McDonalds. Contact 07727 907 218
Aberdeen: 4pm McDonalds, 117 Union St
Dundee: Contact email@example.com
Newcastle: 4pm at McDonalds in Metro Shopping Centre. Contact 0191 253 5629
Sheffield: 11am at Fargate McDonalds. Contact 07928 766385
Leeds: 6pm at St John’s Centre McDonalds. Contact 07900 324 479
Barnsley: 1pm at Subway. Contact 07594 857 960
Oxford:6pm at city centre McDonalds. Contact 07972 462966
Norwich: 5.30pm at McDonalds. Contact 07530 692 272
Cardiff: 11am Queen Street CF10, then demo at 12 noon at the Aneurin Bevan statue.
Birmingham: details shortly
Hull: details shortly
Wigan:Details shortly. Contact 07868 232 859
Chester: 12 noon at Chester McDonalds (by the Town Hall). Conact firstname.lastname@example.org
Bolton: 4pm at McDonalds on Knowsley Street in town centre. Contact 07964 141 523
Leicester:4.45pm at McDonalds by the Clock Tower, High Street. Contact 07508 808 435
East Midlands:Details shortly
Bristol: 4pm at the McDonald’s at Cabot Circus. Contact 07855 139 940
Sheffield meet Fargate Macdonald’s on Thursday 15th May at 11am for 1 hour
Barnsley meet outside subway at 1pm
Which mcdonalds at the metrocentre? There’s 2 in there
26th February 11am Grimsby Town centre fastfoodrights / £10 per hour demo all welcome


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Ford first showed a GT40 concept in Detroit at the 2002 North American International Auto Show and planned to build...
There is no arguing how technology has impacted how we drive.
Read This Article
In a move that is quickly becoming old hat Fiat announced it's pushing back the arrival of Alfa Romeo stateside.
An email survey conducted by the UK's "Bluebeards Revenge" yesterday revealed that the Ford Mustang is the "world's manliest car," beating out notable icons of testosterone, such as the Range Rover and BMW X5.
What's that expression the kids use these days?


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Two New Studies Highlight Gift Cards Trends Heading into Holidays (Nov. 10, 2015)
Expectations for plastic and e-gift cards are high this holiday season and two new studies—one from Blackhawk Network and one from First Data—shed light on consumer preferences heading into retail’s peak sales season. Consumers will be buying and spending more on gift cards this year, reaching an average of $58.95 spent on physical cards, compared with $57.64 in 2014, and $56.98 spent on e-gift cards, compared with $54.90 last year, according to the First Data survey. E-gifting has hit the mainstream, with 50 percent of consumers reporting they have purchased an e-gift card in the past year, and 64 percent interested in storing gift cards on their mobile devices.
Blackhawk’s survey also testifies to consumers’ embrace of e-gifting, with nearly 60 percent of consumers purchasing an e-gift within the last year. Of those who purchased e-gifts, most shoppers purchased them for a combination of gifting and self-use, with nearly one-fourth (27 percent) of consumers buying e-gifts solely for gift-giving. The data also show that plastic cards remain popular and are more often used for gift-giving—86 percent of respondents have purchased plastic gift cards within the last year—and more than four in 10 (43 percent) consumers surveyed bought plastic gift cards solely for gift-giving, according to Blackhawk Network.
“Gift cards remain incredibly popular and the expansion into digital forms has provided new opportunities for both retailers and consumers,” said Teri Llach, chief marketing officer, Blackhawk Network. “Our research shows that plastic gift cards are used primarily for gifting, while e-gifts are more often used for self-use. Digital gifts, such as e-gifts and e-codes, are helping to drive rewards and incentive programs in an incremental way.”
Blackhawk measured the use of e-gift cards bought at a discount (37 percent) or received through reward or rebate programs (65 percent). More than 85 percent of those respondents kept the e-gift for themselves. The study also indicates that e-gifts are more prevalent among millennials than other generations. According to the survey, millennials purchase more e-gifts than other age groups (76 percent). They also receive more e-gifts as gifts (71 percent). Within this group, 53 percent of plastic gift cards and 31 percent of e-gifts purchased are used for gifting.


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Herman Cain has vaulted into the top tier of GOP presidential candidates with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which would create a new 9 percent federal sales tax. But consumers would have to pay that sales tax on top of existing state and local sales taxes. Here are figures from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation that look at the total sales taxes in every state, adding up the state sales tax, a statewide average of the various local sales-tax rates, and the 9-9-9 federal sales tax.
Nearly 30 years after her passing, Ayn Rand is experiencing a renaissance as the economy sputters and government efforts to spur growth fall short. With over 25 million copies of her books in print, including “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead,” Ms. Rand had a history of engaging groups of dedicated followers on her small government, free market, and individualist philosophy. Now, she's gaining fans among tea party activists and others worried about the spread of government. Here are six things even her fans probably didn’t know about her:
Gap Inc.,the clothing retailer that runs the Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic retail chains, announced Thursday that it would be closing 189 Gap locations across North America by the end of 2013. At the same time, Gap is expanding its footprint overseas, opening a flagship store in Hong Kong and tripling its locations in China from 15 to 45. With Gap gradually taking its business elsewhere, which retailer will step in as the new go-to for the American shopper? Here are a few contenders:
For years, US officials have described Iran as the “most active” state sponsor of terror in the world. Many have been carried out by proxy forces, such as Lebanese Hezbollah, which was created by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 1982, so the exact nature of the role of the Islamic Republic, if any, often remains uncertain. Here’s a list of major terror attacks blamed on Iran in the past four decades.
It was apparently a mistake when they announced six titles this year instead of the usual five nominated for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. But then, said Harold Augebraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, "We decided that it was better to add a sixth one as an exception, because they're all good books." Which of these six finalists do you think will win the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature on Nov. 17? UPDATE: One of the six finalists – "Shine" by Lauren Myracle – was removed from the list of 2011 nominees on Oct. 17.
October 12 marks the birthday of stop-motion animation pioneer Art Clokey. The creator of the iconic jade green clay humanoid, Gumby, and his faithful equine companion, Pokey, Clokey was among the very first animators to combine clay figures with stop motion, which he first did with a short film in 1953. Many animators followed in Gumby's rectangular footsteps, including "California Raisins" creator Will Vinton and "Wallace & Gromit" creator Nick Park. The 1990s saw the rise of computer generated animation, but a handful of film directors still like the unique textures and often eerie movement that stop motion offers, qualities that are on display in films such as "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Chicken Run," "James and the Giant Peach," "Coraline," and "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." But almost all great animators got their start with short films. Here are five of our favorite stop-motion shorts.
Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis has recently published Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, a non-too-flattering book detailing her life with the domestic queen. Stewart is just the latest in a long line of children to publish memoirs about their lives with famous parents – some complimentary, others less so. The veracity of several have been called into question by family members or other doubters.
Sure, access to the Internet costs you something every month. But did you ever stop to think how much money it saves? Online price comparison and access to wholesale markets and group deal sites, like livingsocial.com and Groupon, can save the average consumer $8,000 annually, according to new study from the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), a coalition that lobbies to make high-speed Internet access more affordable and widely available. “Generally Internet shopping can be a big money saver,” agrees Jody Rohlena. senior editor at Shopsmart magazine, but beware of online impulse buying: “It’s important to stick to your budget and try not to go crazy.” Here are nine areas of consumer spending where the Internet can save big bucks, according to the IIA study. Can you guess which spending category is in the top spot?
"Phoenix Jones," Seattle's crime fighter, wore a mask as he entered a Seattle courtroom Thursday where prosecutors said they hadn't yet decided whether to file charges against him in an alleged pepper-spray attack. The superhero's brush with the law brought national attention to a citizen superhero who offered a low level of law enforcement for the city. But Phoenix Jones, who's real name is Benjamin John Francis Fodor, says he will continue fighting crime. Fodor is not alone. There are many other 'average Joes' who transform nightly into costumed vigilantes in the name of keeping villains off the streets for good. Here are five.
On Columbus Day, many Americans observe Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World, which the explorer himself mistakenly thought was India. True, it's not the most exciting holiday on the calendar. It's not even observed in every state, which means Columbus Day comes with a lot of gray area about practical matters, such as who's working and who's not. Here's your practical guide to Columbus Day.
It is not just the baby boomer generation that’s maturing, it’s their cars as well. The average age of a vehicle in the United States is a record 11 years. Moreover, the vast majority of car owners plan to hold onto their cars well past the 150,000-mile mark, according to a recent survey from AutoMD.com, and nearly 80 percent are racking up more miles (up to 50,000 or more) on their current vehicle than their previous one. If you’re driving something built before Facebook or the Y2K millennium bug, here are five tips to keep it humming well beyond the 100,000-mile mark:
The 'super PAC' promises to shake up the 2012 election. This new fundraising heavyweight – which Stephen Colbert famously brought attention to with his own Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow – heralds a new era of 'superspending' in politics. Here are the basics about super PACs and how their emergence may influence elections.
Apple's announcement Wednesday that founder Steve Jobs had died sparked waves of comment across the Internet, as techies and others chose their own ways to note his achievements or mourn his passing. Some recounted their own interactions with Jobs. Others had simple words of gratitude, adding "sent from my iPhone." On Twitter, many people tagged their posts with "#thankyousteve" or "#iSad." Among a multitude of noteworthy tweets, here are five ...
Rin Tin Tin was a magnificent German Shepherd with a great backstory and an unmatched Hollywood career. But more recently he was looking a bit like a fading babyboomer memory. Then, this fall, came the publication of Susan Orlean's book, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. Suddenly, Rin Tin Tin is trending on Twitter – and finding a whole new place in our hearts. I recently asked Orlean six questions about her book and its regal subject. Here are excerpts of our conversation.
The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature – one of the highest awards a writer can receive – will be announced on Thursday. All across the world, literati are preparing for the big event in a decidedly plebeian way. They’re betting on the frontrunners. British bookmaker Ladbrokes has ranked the contenders’ odds, according to bets it is accepting online from “clued up literary fans.” Here’s a somewhat surprising look at the top four contenders.


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Possibly buried under all the bombs Sony dropped during its gamescom press conference is a new trailer for Evolution Studio’s DriveClub.
Shown in the video are not just how points are earned in-game, but the drop-dead car models, too. Here’s the trailer’s official description:
DRIVECLUB is about teamwork; it’s about everyone fighting for one another and earning rewards together – and most importantly it’s about sharing in the excitement of every race.
In a post on the EU PlayStation Blog, it mentions that some familiar Sony employees can be seen racing against each other in the trailer.
In this video we asked our friends across the PlayStation family to get involved, so keep a look out for friendly faces from Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, Guerrilla Games, Santa Monica Studio, XDev, SCEE and of course Shuhei Yoshida. So check it out (again!) and start thinking about who you will play DRIVECLUB with – and share this trailer with them so your club is ready for launch.
Driveclub will be available as a PlayStation 4 exclusive come October 8th, with a free PlayStation Plus demo to boot for members. Those looking for even more in-depth coverage can find a full 40-minute demo playthrough via PlayStation's Twitch


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Prince Albert is believed to be the first city in Saskatchewan to have banned single-use plastic checkout bags.
P.A. city council passed a bylaw unanimously at a meeting on Monday, despite some last-minute concerns raised by the local chamber of commerce.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
There’s to be a six-month adjustment period before the bylaw comes into effect on Aug. 1.
Businesses or restaurants found distributing or selling plastic bags after that could face fines of up to $1,000, although stores will still be able to sell packages of bags for food storage and garbage.
Exemptions are also in place for bags used to carry produce, meat, unpackaged baked goods, flowers, bulk items, live fish and dry cleaning.
Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said he supports the bylaw, which will reduce the amount of waste sent to the city’s landfill. The city estimates at least three million plastic bags have been handed out annually in Prince Albert.


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The $62 billion market for enterprise software applications — including customer relationship management software — is maturing with license revenue projected to grow at a moderate 9 percent for 2002 through 2005, according to a study by Giga Information Group Inc., Cambridge, MA.
The report, “Market Overview: E-Business/Enterprise Software Applications in 2001 to 2005,” states that the growth represents a partial recovery from 2001, when license revenue growth fell to 4 percent from 39 percent growth in 2000.
“The hockey-stick growth patterns for enterprise applications are clearly over,” Giga vice president Andrew Bartels said. “Looking to the future, we expect the enterprise application market to grow slowly in 2002 as companies digest their existing investments.”
E-commerce applications, like commerce servers, and e-market platforms, which saw sky-rocketing demand in 2000, have cooled, Bartels said.
CRM and supply chain management had down years as well in 2001 after strong growth the prior year. On the other hand, efficiency-enhancing applications like human resource management, e-procurement/e-sourcing, financial management, business intelligence and collaborative product development have done well in the past year, as have vertical applications like healthcare systems and retail management.
“Applications that help companies cut costs will continue to do well in the first part of 2002 as they did in 2001, but applications that help grow revenues — such as CRM and commerce servers — will come back into favor as the economic recovery strengthens later in 2002,” Bartels said. “While integrated suites continue to find great appeal, demand for these suites will be greatest among mid-tier companies and for comprehensive solutions tailored to vertical industries.”


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Animal shelters certainly have their work cut out for them. According to the Humane Society of the United States six to eight million animals enter shelters in the U.S. each year with only three to four million adopted. Thousands of animal shelters across the globe share the goal of inspiring people to adopt instead of purchasing a puppy from a breeder or puppy mill.
These seven campaigns, however, stand out as the most creative and genius ways to find happy homes for the thousands of animals in need of one.
Ikea, DDB Singapore, and Home for Hope realized that a house isn’t a home without a furry family member to complete it. Together, these companies teamed up with animal shelters based out of Singapore to promote animal adoptions. Cardboard cut outs of 26 different dogs were created and set up in the showrooms of two different Ikea locations. Customers looking for a new bedroom set, for example, see the perfect pet sitting on the end of the bed and realize thats what their home is actually missing. Each dog cut out has a QR code that, when scanned, brought the potential puppy parent to the dog’s adoption information, making it easy for these adoptable dogs to find homes.
2. Pound Puppy Hikes
Red Mountain Spa has come up with a way to bring people together with adoptable dogs through the Pound Puppy Hike program. An already pet-friendly vacation destination, Red Mountain Spa, teamed up with Ivins City No-Kill Animal Shelter to provide canine companionship for those guests who didn’t bring a pet along for the vacation. Adoptable dogs are provided to join guests on guided hikes of Snow Canyon State Park and, if everything goes well, join them on the journey back to a new forever home.
3. Mall-Based Adoption Centers
In the past few years several mall-based adoption sites have been popping up across the U.S. The Freehold Adoption Center, at the Freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey, is one such example. These adoption centers were started in the hopes of replacing typical pet stores that often sell animals from puppy mills. Having a retail location with thousands of people passing by each day allows for the shelters to not only spread awareness, but to connect adoptable animals with potential new parents.
4. The Shelter Pet Project
The Shelter Pet Project is the collaborative campaign between the Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund and the leading producer of public service advertisements, The Ad Council. The goal of this campaign is to make adopting a pet the first thing people think to do when they decide to bring an animal home. The Shelter Pet Project website allows people to easily search for shelters and adoptable pets in their area while learning about the plight of homeless animals.
5. Pet Photo Booth
A picture is worth a thousand words, and in the case of adoptable dogs at The Humane Society of Utah, the words “adopt me” are coming through load and clear. Photographer Guinnevere Shuster started photographing these dogs in a photo booth style earlier this year, showcasing the playful and happy side every dog should have the chance to express. These photos are shared on the Utah Humane Society’s Facebook along with fun facts and personality traits and have helped many of subjects find their forever home.
6. Cat Town Cafe
Cat Town Cafe is the nation’s first permanent cat cafe. This cafe recently opened in Oakland, California and houses between six and 20 adoptable cats for people to come in and interact with. Customers of the cafe can make a reservation ahead of time for a $10 donation in order to ensure they get the chance to hang out with the adorable adoptables. While at the cafe you can sip on delicious coffee and have a bagel while meeting your potential new pet. Since opening its doors, the Cat Town Cafe has helped over 600 cats find homes.
Tinder isn’t only for single people anymore. A New York based animal shelter and marketing interns at agency BBH recently posted pictures of ten adoptable dogs in the Tinder app and, within the week, had 2,700 matches. Posting adorable dogs to Tinder definitely made a splash in the doggy match-making world and brought a great deal of awareness to Social Tees Animal Rescue.
Lead Image Source: IanPhillips/Flickr
I\’m glad the Humane Society are helping pets it\’s leterally impossible to do everything Patsy Andre remember this!
While the Humane Society focuses on pets, they have abandoned the other half of their mission: the food animal industry. The way we treat animals we are going to eat is shameful.


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WHEN DAVID LUKS WAS DIAGNOSED with testicular cancer in 2006, he didn’t understand how such a thing could happen to someone who ran five miles a day in Central Park.
“I had no perception of what cancer was,” he says.
Luks, born and raised in Brooklyn Heights, a former student of Brooklyn Friends School and Bay Ridge’s Poly Prep, was 31 at the time of the diagnosis. Although he knew little about what he was facing, he learned quickly — that testicular cancer is most often diagnosed in men between the ages of 18 and 40, and that it has a high survival rate if caught early, as his was.
After the removal of a tumor, he didn’t have radiation or chemotherapy, but is still monitored regularly by an oncologist. (The chances of a recurrence are slimmer with chemo, he says, so he must be carefully watched.)
Among the literature he read was a report from Johns Hopkins University about honey — about how it’s an energy-sustaining complex carbohydrate (as opposed to buzz-and-crash inducing fructose) filled with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. This triggered a memory of seeing runners in the park swallow spoonfuls of honey, although he hadn’t previously considered why they were doing so.
“I had an ‘aha’ moment. This is pretty cool. Honey is actually really good for you.”
That’s when Luks began shopping, scrutinizing product labels. He found that many products with honey in the name actually list fructose as the first ingredient and honey as the last. He called the largest supplier of industrial honey in the U.S. and discovered that they cut their product with a large percentage of fiber so it can be powdered.
“Seventy percent honey is not 100 percent. That’s kind of weird,” he thought.
This is when he saw an opportunity for a product made with ‘legitimate’ honey. After experimenting with 40 organic varieties — those protected by a two-mile pesticide-free radius — and eliminating those with odd taste and smell, he found a supply that he calls “one of the more pure honeys in the world” from the interior of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
With it he created Deluxe Honeydrop (David Luks’ nickname is “Deluxe”), a honey and juice-infused beverage that he launched in October at Natural Products Expo East trade show in Boston, the largest natural products trade show on this coast. Of 116 beverages, Deluxe Honeydrop won Best in Show.
Through connections Luks made at the show, the drink was just added to the beverage case at 17 tri-state area Whole Foods supermarkets. Yesterday was his debut, sampling the drink to Whole Foods customers in Tribeca. He is also selling the product to yoga and Pilates studios in Brooklyn, “just me, myself and a van.” He says the buzz has been good. Pun intended.
“Even the bottle is BPA free. [BPA, or bisphenol A, is the controversial ingredient in some hard plastics.] This was important to me as a cancer survivor. I realized it is also important to moms in the community who gravitate toward it.”
One amazing consideration in Luks’ beverage journey is that Deluxe Honeydrop has been only eight months in the making.
“You only live once, so you might as well go for it,” he says. “I wanted to take a swing. It’s a lot of pressure financially, but even with the [financial] environment I wanted to try to do something.”
And although the honey he uses is the most expensive he sampled, a 16-ounce bottle at Whole Foods is just $1.79.
The current Upper East Side resident, whose parents still live in the Heights, hopes to move back to Brooklyn. Visit www.honeydrop.com for more information or to contact Luks.
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LAST WEEK’S OPENING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY’S holiday group art show and sale, Gowanus: A Sense of Place, drew more than 150 art lovers to this new gallery space on Bond Street in Carroll Gardens. The show, which runs until Dec. 22, highlights the work of 15 local artists who paint and photograph the streets of Gowanus and the neighborhoods around it.
Conservancy chairman ANDY SIMONS said that the show is a benefit to aid the not-for-profit Conservancy’s programs. “It will also show the value and uniqueness of the cityscape of these old neighborhoods, and help to generate interest in preservation and environmental quality.”
The venue is a new space at 298 Bond St., between Union and Sackett streets, one block from the Gowanus Canal, the geographic center of the show. The works on the walls reflect the streets and bridges and buildings for several miles around, in the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, and of course Gowanus itself.
One of the painters represented in the show, NICHOLAS EVANS-CATO, suggested that Gowanus may be one of the most painted districts anywhere in the world, comparable to Venice in the 19th century. “In fact,” he added, “this collective activity has created a veritable ‘Gowanus School.’” His father, EDDIE EARL CATO, came to live and paint there in the 1960s, when he was no longer able to afford Manhattan, and Evans-Cato has done the same.
Local businesswoman LINDA LAVIOLETTE, who contributed the use of the site, said “This is a great opportunity to support local artists, who have lived and worked in these neighborhoods since the 1960s, and who continue to contribute so much to the character of the area.”
Numerous oil paintings, watercolors, photographs and other media are on sale, with an emphasis on smaller works, and nearly all priced between $150 and $1,000.
The show and sale will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., on Thursdays 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The show closes Dec. 22 with a “Final Sale Day” from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Further information is available by calling LAUREN COLLINS at the Conservancy office, (718) 858-0557, or visit www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org.


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Despite a plague of issues during the live Pokemon GO Fest event, players will soon get a chance at a rare monster. Lucky Fest attendees will all get the legendary Lugia in their accounts, and players worldwide will start seeing Lugia in raid battles Niantic announced.
However that’s not all; Niantic has stated other goodies will go into effect along with legendaries:
Thanks to the Trainers around the world who banded together to catch millions of Pokémon during the Challenge Windows, the following rewards will last until Monday, July 24, at 5:00 P.M. PDT:
Increased Pokémon encounters
Reduced hatching distance
Reduced buddy distance
Niantic have been tracking individual team’s contributions to the overall “Mystery Challenge” that’s been running during yesterdays big event. Team Mystic won the whole thing, and so the second legendary monster will be Articuno.
Articuno should be available now in Raids. No surprise that Mystic won, though: they are the biggest team, after all. The reamining legendary birds; Zapdos and Moltres will follow “soon.”
Lugia should also be active, it will be a Flying / Psychic type, so get your counters ready! The raid battle, is likely going to be tough. Still, this is great news as many fans were worried that the rocky Fest launch meant that players wouldn’t be able to unlock legendaries at all.
For those of you preparing, as predicted, Golem and Tyranitar are particularly well-suited for a match-up against Lugia. If you don’t have those, do note that Lugia takes extra damage from electric, dark, ice, ghost, and rock-type moves.
Good luck, trainers.


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GENIUS engineer Allen Millyard wowed the crowds when he fired THAT Honda Six up at Stafford in the GP Paddock last April. It really was unforgettable.
Allen has just confirmed that he’ll be back this April, unveiling his latest project on the Carole Nash stand in the Main Hall, where it will be on display all weekend.
Allen’s aim with the project has been to produce a Velocette prototype that could have been a factory exhibit at the 1938 Earls Court motorcycle show.
Based on a 1949 Velocette Mac 350, Allen’s Velocette 698cc V Twin has been made entirely by himself at home using and adapting as many original parts as possible – with exception of the new crank pin which was made by Alpha Bearings. The tank is still in the paint shop but will be finished soon!
Allen will be writing about the full construction in his monthly column in, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Magazine starting from April. Find this issue for sale on the main subscription stand in front of the private entry display in the main hall!
Tickets for the show are on sale now, until 11pm on Monday, April 22. Pay just £12 when you buy in advance, click here.


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Wall Brothers Orchards has been in the fruit growing business for more than 50 years, growing apples, peaches, and cherries in Payson, Utah. The highest quality fruit is selected to sell to distributors and consumers in Orchard Brothers Farmer’s Market.
Every growing season a portion of Wall Brothers crop is marked as lower tier due to cosmetic imperfections and other conditions. Creating other products from their fruit gives them the opportunity to keep more of the profits from the fruit they grow.
Business owner Chris Wall said, “We used to ship our lower-tiered fruit to Washington state to turn into juice and a variety of other products. However, it was costing our business a lot of money to ship out of state. We decided to find ways to keep our products local and avoid shipping costs, gaining a better share of our profits.”
Wall Brothers began drying some of their fruit several years ago and more recently decided to freeze dry the lower tier goods. However, they needed additional funds to market their new line. Freeze drying their fruit made sense because it extends the shelf-life, retains flavor, color, shape, and nutritional value. Doing so locally also eliminates shipping costs to send fruit out of state or lost profits wasting it.
In Fall 2020, Wall Brothers Orchards received a Value-Added Producer Grant for $250,000 from USDA Rural Development to use in combination with their own funds. The grant has made it possible to establish freeze-dried fruit products and market them with the existing fruit operation.
Today, Wall Brother’s Orchards sells its freeze-dried fruit throughout the year to the public at the Wall Brothers Farmer’s Market in Spanish Fork and Orem, Utah.


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Google has officially launched the Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel Slate tablet, and Google Home Hub at the “Made By Google” 2018 event in New York. We were knowing almost everything about this year’s MadeByGoogle Android Mobile phones. Google Pixel 3/3 XL mobile phones got leaked by the different sources not only the […]
The post Google Pixel 3-3 XL Officially Launched With Ugly Notch, Brilliant Camera & Software appeared first on techinfoBiT.
This post first appeared on Latest Tech Updates, Tech Reviews & How-to Guide |, please read the originial post: here


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The Botswana government is set to receive a US$ 1.5 Billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to Bloomberg this money will be used to fill part of the budget deficit for the year 2009/2010, said an e-mail statement from the Tunisia based bank .
The U.S $ 1.5 billion loan is the biggest loan to be given by the bank. It is also Botswana’s first loan from the bank since it was established 17 years ago, said Donald Kaberuka the president of the African Development Bank.He also noted that “the case of Botswana illustrates the impact that the financial crisis is having on even the best managed economies in Africa”.Botswana’s economy is expected to slow down to about 2.6 percent this year from 3.9% in 2008.
Botswana is a role model for other African countries due to its proper economic management and good governance. The global economic downturn has adversely affected this nation which is the worlds largest diamond producer.The effect was due to the falling prices of diamonds and other commodities. The current budget deficit is about 13.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Botswana’s diamond production fell 3.6% to 32.6 million carats in 2008.
Botswana is home to about 1.9 million people, that rely on diamonds (directly or indirectly) for most of their income.
Over 50% of the government revenue of Botswana comes from the Debswana Diamond Co. which is also half owned by the government. The remaining 50% is owned by the De Beers Group. The Debswana mines were shut for about 2 months this year due to the fall in diamond prices triggered by the global economic downturn.


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22 Security reasons for Apple users why you should update IOS 15
22 Security reasons for Apple users why you should update IOS 15 on your iPhone and iPad. Apple recently released its IOS 15 and urges its users to update for various security reasons. Apple mentioned its need of doing so on its official page. This is done to safeguard the rights of consumers from various cybersecurity issues.
The update is available for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation)
What’s new there in Apple IOS 15 patch than IOS 14 in security
There are certain updates that are available only in IOS 15. Out of 22 Security reasons for Apple users why you should update IOS 15 few updates are already in IOS 14 but not all of them. Recently Google and Microsoft also released its update because of some arbitrary compliances. The updates are to keep your data safe and secure from getting misused. The major concern is with technology is data privacy and security. The update is mainly focused to follow CVE-ID for reference.
Here is you can read about the issue that is covered in this update by Apple.
Is it necessary to update IOS 15 for Security?
I think this will be a smart idea to do so. There is already various security concern news coming every day and we can’t skip them. This update will help Apple users to be secured in many ways. You will notice changes after you update your device. This update will help you to Secure yourself from various attacks. Once you get a victim of these attacks there is less you can do about it.
If you are thinking about the update is new and has not been tested yet, you can wait for some days and then update it. Your prime focus must be data privacy and security. There are tons of information we keep on our devices and that information might be critical and important. To save it from bad intentions people it is important you consider security concerns seriously.
Updates are not always good however, Apple never disappoints its users and that’s its brand value. Keep yourself secured and updated. Please share your view on this also let me know about these updates.
Battleground Mobile India PUBG 1.6 update
Kota Factory Season 2 releasing on 24 September
Team UllU Home Page Click Here


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By Richard Hook2018-05-31T12:03:00
Chicken wing franchise Wingstop has secured a letting at 138 Shaftesbury Avenue for its first UK restaurant.
Wingstop has more than 1,000 restaurants internationally, including 25 owned by US rap star Rick Ross. This 25-year letting is the start of what Wingstop has said will be a rapid UK expansion programme.
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November 5, 2013 |
He helped get rap on MTV, hip-hop fashions into Macy's and multiracial stand-up comedy into a series on HBO. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons has spent decades pushing the marginalized into the mainstream, and Saturday he'll be honored in a ceremony at USC by the Muslim Public Affairs Council for his support of Muslim artists (Mos Def, Dave Chappelle among them). The recent L.A. transplant spoke with Pop & Hiss about comedy, Kanye and yoga. What's happening with your YouTube channel, All Def Digital?
October 23, 2013 |
Crowdfunding has raised money to build libraries, make movies and send children on school trips. Soon it may let small investors buy stakes in fledgling companies. Federal regulators proposed rules Wednesday that would allow individuals to invest in start-ups over the Internet. The goal is to make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise money and create jobs, while giving small investors an early shot at latching onto the next Apple Inc. or Google Inc. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to propose the regulations, which are required as part of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which was passed by Congress last year.
October 19, 2013 |
WASHINGTON - When the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors told the Benedictine monks of St. Joseph Abbey in southern Louisiana they could not sell their handcrafted caskets to the public, the normally peaceful order took the fight to court. Hurricane Katrina had wiped out the order's traditional income from selling timber, so the brothers decided to market the simple cypress boxes they had long built to bury monks who died. They were priced at $1,500 or $2,000, far less than a funeral home would charge.
October 4, 2013 |
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law legislation that was heavily lobbied by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and aimed at boosting sales of high-tech goods and services. Four measures, part of a package of 18 business-friendly bills approved Friday, seek to ease the regulatory burden on developers of smartphone-based payment systems; reverse a retroactive tax hike on investors in small start-up companies, and create a "Made in California" program to help market innovative, locally manufactured consumer products.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 11, 2013 |
With one stroke, entrepreneur Robert R. Taylor made a fortune, changed the way America washed up and doomed the bathroom soap dish to virtual obsolescence. It was Taylor who turned hand soap from a slippery lump to a dab from a pump. Taylor, who created Softsoap, the first mass-marketed liquid soap pumped from a plastic bottle, died of cancer Aug. 29 in Newport Beach, family members said. He was 77. Softsoap was one of his many successful ventures, which included Obsession, a fragrance he developed with Calvin Klein and promoted in steamy ads that stimulated both sales and controversy.
August 16, 2013 |
With 20 minutes to go before making their high-stakes start-up pitches, the wannabe entrepreneurs were understandably nervous. In one corner of the room, Marc Pakravan and Robert Davis, who came up with the idea for an online shopping site for men's ties, were struggling to put on their own neckties. A few feet away, Jessica Chan-Ugalde looked exasperated as she chastised her partner for not knowing what a hashtag was. Meanwhile Neil Serebryany, whose start-up idea Transformo offers language translation through a headset device, was utterly unfazed as he surveyed the last-minute frenzy.
August 9, 2013 |
SAN FRANCISCO - The sound system was on the fritz in Russian technology billionaire Yuri Milner's $100-million, 30,000-square-foot mansion in Silicon Valley. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres had been served. The guests had taken their seats in Milner's home theater. And Ashton Kutcher was ready to screen "Jobs," the new film in which he plays the late chief executive and co-founder of Apple. The audience was a who's who of the technology industry, including venture capitalists John Doerr and Vinod Khosla.
August 2, 2013 |
The gig: Phil Libin, 41, is chief executive of Evernote, which makes apps that let people store notes and other content that is important to them and make those items available across many devices. The original Evernote app launched in 2008 and the Redwood City, Calif., company now has 66 million users. Along the way, it has raised more than $200 million in venture capital, and with its most recent round of funding in 2012 it has been valued at $1 billion. Serial entrepreneur: Prior to joining Evernote, Libin founded and served as president of CoreStreet, which provides credential and identity management technologies to governments and large corporations.
July 28, 2013 |
Diego Porqueras' Deezmaker store in Pasadena is a geeky version of Santa's workshop, brimming with action figures, chess pieces and jewelry. But instead of relying on elves, Porqueras has built his own one-man factory using 3-D printers capable of churning out plastic objects within a few hours. He sells the printers, which go for as little as $650, at the shop, which opened in September in a strip mall. The 37-year-old entrepreneur is part of an emerging industry for affordable 3-D printers.
July 21, 2013 |
The gig: A couple of weeks into his first semester at Stanford University in 1999, Blaine Vess co-founded Oppapers.com, a website to search for essays, reports and term papers. He's now the chief executive of StudyMode, a West Hollywood network of educational websites. StudyMode offers three core services: a website with online flashcards, a test preparation website and a subscription website with essays and reports to assist with research and writing. "We're trying to help college and high school students succeed," Vess said.


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Tokyo, June 15, 2023 – Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced that it will launch R-Toon, a new digital comic book distribution service, in fall 2023 or later.
- Rakuten Group, Inc.
Rakuten to Launch R-Toon, a New Digital Comic Distribution Service Coming as Soon as This Fall
R-Toon is a new Rakuten service that enables users to read original, vertically scrolling digital comic titles. The service will allow users to read one chapter a day free of charge. Users will also be able purchase comics on a per-chapter basis.
Rakuten has partnered with Shonengahosha Co., Ltd., Straight Edge Inc. and Nitroplus Co., Ltd. to start jointly producing original digital comics. The companies are currently developing new titles which will be released on R-Toon.
In addition, Rakuten will launch a new comic label with Shonengahosha to create new content tailored to meet the international demand for Japanese cultural content, and to advance into markets outside Japan. Building on its partnership with Toon Cracker Co., Ltd. announced in June 2022, Rakuten will also work alongside Straight Edge and Nitroplus to deliver high-quality, rich content for release exclusively on R-Toon.
Rakuten will also utilize Rakuten Content Central, its comprehensive intellectual property content production label, as a platform to roll out related content and merchandising for the jointly produced titles across various media, both locally and abroad. The company also plans to promote collaborations with services within the Rakuten Ecosystem, leveraging the strength of its portfolio of more than 70 services and more than 100 million members in Japan.
Masahiro Ohno, Director at Shonengashosha, commented, “Our company has been a manga publisher for 78 years and throughout our history we have always worked closely with creators. We want to leverage our strengths to provide titles aligned with the market Rakuten envisions. Rakuten’s global competitiveness is one of Japan’s assets. This represents an opportunity for us to compete in the rapidly growing markets of Asia, Europe and North America. I hope this collaboration with Rakuten will allow us to further grow the potential of comics.”
Kazuma Miki, Representative Director at Straight Edge, commented, “As a regular user of Rakuten TV and Rakuten Kobo, I am constantly inspired by the strength of Rakuten’s user-first mindset and the convenience of their services. I am keenly aware that this strength is founded entirely on a love of content and I am delighted Straight Edge has been given the opportunity to create titles with Rakuten. Japan’s market for vertically scrolling digital comics is yet to produce a major hit penned domestically. We will strive to make the first such hit an R-Toon title.”
Michio Takahashi, Vice President of Rakuten’s Entertainment Contents Business, commented, “Manga, one of Japan’s most universally acclaimed categories of traditional entertainment, has a sense of narrative and characterization that is winning fans worldwide. Vertically scrolling digital comics represent an opportunity to cultivate a new market of readers and simultaneously produce creators of new manga content. In the future, Rakuten will work continue working alongside those creating content worldwide to empower the new era of comic culture.”
Going forward, Rakuten will continue to collaborate with creators and partner companies to deliver a wide variety of entertainment experiences.
About partner companies
Since its time as Meimeisha, founded immediately following World War II, Shonengahosha Co., Ltd. has continued to deliver manga masterpieces to the world. The company currently publishes an array of unique manga collections and focuses on developing mixed media portfolios such as anime and live-action films while expanding to overseas markets.
Straight Edge Inc. is a planning company focusing on creative talent management and title production. Representative titles produced by the company include Sword Art Online, The Irregular at Magic High School and the Ameku Takao series. In recent years Straight Edge has also focused on webtoon scenarios by fiction writers.
Nitroplus Co., Ltd. is a content creation company active in a diverse range of genres, including gaming, anime, novels and illustration. The company boasts a large number of affiliated creators, including Gen Urobuchi, who wrote the scripts for the Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass anime series and authored multiple Fate/Zero novels.
Toon Cracker Co., Ltd. is a production, localization and consulting venture company that creates digital content. This includes vertically scrolling full-color digital comics tailored for viewing on smartphones.


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Michael Markesbery, Co-founder and CEO of OROS, discusses his company's plan to disrupt the outerwear market through its use of aerogel technology, typically used by NASA for its spacesuits. Markesbery talks how OROS separates itself from high-end competitors like Canada Goose.
OROS jackets use what the company calls SolarCore technology. That's made of the same aerogel used in spacesuits for warmth. Markesberry says that what separates the jackets from Canada Goose and other goose down coats is their thinness.


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Bandai Namco has confirmed fan-favorite character Siegfried is joining Soulcalibur VI's growing roster of fighters.
Announced via a new gameplay trailer, Siegfried and his giant sword are coming back for the upcoming sixth entry in the fighting game franchise. This time around, however, he seems to be sporting slightly longer hair and a scarf to boot.
Check out the trailer below to see Siegfried in action with his iconic armor and sword.
The warrior has appeared in every single Soulcalibur entry so far and will once again go up against his corrupted counterpart Nightmare, who's also confirmed for the new game.
Soulcalibur VI has now revealed a total of ten characters from its roster. Alongside Siegfried, The Witcher 3's Geralt is joining the fight as well as Ivy, Zasalamel, Mitsurugi, Sophitia, Kilik, Nightmare, Xianghua, and newcomer, Grøh.
The fighting game will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later this year.


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TD Bank Group Newsroom
TD Recognized by Global Finance as Most Innovative Digital Bank
TORONTO, October 1, 2019 – TD Bank Group (TD) was named Most Innovative Digital Bank as Global Finance recognizes the world’s best consumer digital banks in North America in 2019.
TD was also the winner in the following categories:
- Best Online Deposit, Credit and Investment Product Offerings
- Best Bill Payment & Presentment
- Best Integrated Consumer Bank Site
"We’re thrilled to be recognized for our leadership in digital banking in North America," says Rizwan Khalfan, Chief Digital and Payments Officer at TD. “Our approach to empowering and serving our customers is backed by innovative thinking. At TD, we’re deeply committed to the constant evolution of our digital offerings to anticipate and exceed our customers' needs.”
In today’s digital age, TD is focused on re-imagining the banking experience and driving engagement across digital and physical platforms. From the launch of TD Clari ("Clari"), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot integrated into the bank's leading mobile app that empowers customers with in-the-moment personalized insights, to its digital mortgage application, which makes the process of applying for a mortgage more convenient, the bank has continued to ensure it is attuned to the digital needs of its customers for the future.
The Global Finance award winners are evaluated by a world-class panel of judges at Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the awards are a trusted standard of excellence among the world’s financial community. TD’s success in 2019 showcases its ongoing commitment to creating innovative solutions and lifestyle-focused digital services that make it easier for customers to live their lives.
TD Mobile App Wins in Customer Experience
With over 13 million active digital customers,TD is a trusted leader and advisor in navigating the future of digital banking.
The TD mobile app has consistently held the number one position in the finance category on both the Google and Apple App stores (Canada) and TD ranks #1 in customer engagement among top retail banking apps in Canada according to Silicon Valley-based app analytics and market data firm, App Annie, with the largest average smartphone monthly active user base (MAU), the highest average sessions per user and the highest time spent per session for Android phones in the past 12 months.
About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the fifth largest bank in North America by branches and serves over 26 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 13 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$1.4 trillion in assets on July 31, 2019. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.
About Global Finance
Global Finance, founded in 1987, has a magazine circulation of 50,000 and readers in 189 countries. Global Finance’s audience includes senior corporate and financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. Its website — GFMag.com — offers analysis and articles that are the legacy of 32 years of experience in international financial markets. Global Finance is headquartered in New York, with offices around the world. Global Finance regularly selects the top performers among banks and other providers of financial services. These awards have become a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community.
 Last twelve months for the period ending June 2019; sessions per user and time spent on Android phones.
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We take a look at the deals on offer from both providers to see what's on offer, and explain more about what you can expect.
With an increase in providers offering 5G in 2021, there are more deals coming onto the market and we have searched the market for the best deals currently available.
Despite the year we have had, Black Friday is still shaping up to be the big sales event it promises to be and Sim-only deals are starting to pop up in the run-up to the big day.
New analysis by Citizens Advice shows that over seven in ten mobile customers with a Sim-only plan are overpaying for data they do not use, affecting 12 million customers in the UK.
This Black Friday and Cyber Monday is shaping up to be the most competitive in years as many mobile providers slash their prices on their Sim-only mobile plans, which is great news if you're looking for a cheap deal. This round-up will show you the best deals you can pick up for your mobile.


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2008 Audi A4 Special Edition makes Chicago debut
With Audi soon to release an all-new version of its popular A4, the German premium automaker is sprucing up some of its remaining 2008 A4s with a Special Edition Package, as debuted at the 2008 Chicago auto show today. The package is available on all 2008 A4 sedan and Avant models equipped with the 2.0-liter TSFI engine.
For the 2008 model year, Audi already made the S line sport bumpers, grille, and rear trunklid spoiler standard A4 equipment, but the Special Edition package takes things a step further by adding a new 17-inch, nine-spoke wheel, standard leather-trimmed heated front seats, and metallic paint.
One year of SIRIUS Satellite Radio service is also included as standard with the Special Edition. Audi claims the package offers a value of $405 in standard equipment for front-drive models, and a $1,155 value for all-wheel-drive models.
Full S-line and Titanium trim packages are still available for order on the Special Edition A4, as are all individual sport and luxury options. The 2008 Audi A4 Special Edition will be available in showrooms in mid-March.
By Rory Jurnecka


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Beginning in April, global category presidents Vindi Banga (overseeing food) and Ralph Kugler (overseeing home and personal care) will lead organizations responsible for developing the marketing, product mixes and broad strategic direction for the company's roughly 400 brands.
Regional presidents, including John Rice, who was CEO of Unilever Bestfoods in the U.S. and now becomes president for the Americas, with an empire extending from Canada to Argentina, will head an organization responsible for sales, trade marketing, some multi-brand marketing programs and media buying.
The global business presidents will have authority to choose/reassign creative agencies. But media buying (and purchasing elements of the creative relationships) would rest with the regional presidents' organizations. So while brand managers and directors in the global category businesses will sign off on the plans that actually allocate Unilever's roughly $600 million U.S. budget, the regional organization headed by Mr. Rice will actually have the power to set the budget and buy the media. A global team of top executives headed by Mr. Cescau in London will hash out the priorities that shape the budget. That divides the power many ways and leaves unclear who ultimately will have the upper hand.
On the surface, Unilever's new system resembles in some ways the one rival Procter & Gamble Co. adopted nearly six years ago (see story at right). Under that system, managers of global business units are responsible for brand management and product development, and managers of regional market development organizations are responsible for sales, trade marketing, media and multi-brand marketing.
But even without details fully revealed or decided, Unilever's system differs from P&G's in one key respect: Profit-and-loss responsibilities lie with the regional presidents rather than the global category organizations that control marketing, product mixes and strategy. At P&G, global category bosses have primary P&L responsibility.
That raises one big implication and another big question, said a person close to Unilever and its strategy. The implication, he said, is that Unilever's global marketing chiefs, such as Simon Clift of Unilever HPC, and global brand directors for such big brands as Dove and Axe, after gaining P&L responsibility less than two years ago, now will lose it.
The question, he said, is whether regional presidents who bear P&L responsibility, such as Mr. Rice, will automatically accept and execute the marketing, product and strategic plans handed to them by category executives. The clout of global directors had rankled some marketers in the regions, the person close to Unilever said. The new system appears to limit that clout and shift Unilever's focus beyond big brands.
"The devil is in the details," said a veteran executive of P&G's restructuring. "You are essentially moving decision rights around, and that is very difficult, since new kings are crowned and others dethroned."
Some U.S. analysts and retail buyers have criticized Unilever for letting its focus on global brands like Dove sap resources from once-strong local brands like Vaseline. And even before the new structure kicks in, Unilever already appears to be modifying its course. For example, it's rolling out a restage of Vaseline Intensive Care even as it prepares to launch Dove body lotion in the U.S., retail buyers said.
It took more than five years, but Procter & Gamble's marketing model is attracting envy.
The company's successes under the new system have competitors taking notice and mulling how their own organizations might replicate parts of the model. "It was a new-to-the-world structure," said an executive of a package-goods player that competes against both P&G and Unilever, "and now it appears to be working."
The structure cordons off troubled brands, keeping them from sapping resources. P&G Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley has credited the structure with reviving such brands as Crest that were low priorities for regional bosses but became focus areas for their global managers.
Getting to the point of admiration didn't come easy for P&G. Durk Jager, who as CEO presided over development and implementation of the new world order, found himself out of a job after two quarterly earnings misses. One aggravating factor was the relocation of hundreds of managers from Brussels, Belgium, to Geneva, for tax purposes. Mr. Lafley became CEO amid the ensuing disarray, but he didn't have to take responsibility for causing it.


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Hershey’s Kisses are officially getting back to tip-top shape but chocolate lovers will have to wait a bit.
After more than a month of customer complaints rolling in of Kisses missing their tips during the peak holiday season, the food giant announced it has identified the issue and new, fully-formed ones will be "coming out soon."
“After we heard from Hershey’s Kisses fans during the Holiday Season, our operations team looked closely at our complete Kisses manufacturing process and made adjustments to the process for shaping the tips,” Jeff Beckman, a Hershey’s spokesperson told FOX Business.
Without elaborating, Beckman said the production adjustment has improved the overall consistency of the Kisses’ appearance and the improved ones are “now flowing out of" [its] Hershey-based plant and customers can expect “to see them in the market later this year.”
The missing “tips” drama started in early December last year, after several holiday bakers complained about the broken off peaks on social media.
At the time of the complaints, Hershey told The New York Times that there were many variables causing the production mishap and due to the volume of candy the company manufactures, there will be still be a period where customers may still find missing "tips."
Still, Hershey's said it "appreciates and values" the feedback from its customers and it ensured its customers that its committed to making its iconic sweet look great.


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EASY SOLUTIONS EXPANDS TO ASIA PACIFIC
The Company Expands Reach of Omni-Channel Anti-Fraud Platform, Total Fraud Protection with New Office in Tokyo
Tokyo, JAPAN – October 15, 2014 – Easy Solutions, the Total Fraud Protection® company, today announced that it has opened a new office in the Asia Pacific region, located in Tokyo, Japan. Masafumi Hatakeyama, a security veteran who has held leadership positions with Symantec, VeriSign and Hitachi Consulting has been brought on to spearhead Easy Solutions’ presence in the country. This milestone marks the first step towards making Total Fraud Protection available to all financial institutions and enterprises in Asia Pacific.
In a recent report, the analyst firm Markets & Markets found that the fraud prevention and detection market in APAC market is expected to grow at a rate of 25 percent, year over year from 2014 to 2018. As one of the fastest growing regions in the world, the demand for integrated, end-to-end anti-fraud solutions are at an all-time high.
“Our research team has seen an increasing amount of activity in the APAC region, and particularly in Japan, where financial institutions are becoming major targets for criminal organizations,” said Ricardo Villadiego, CEO for Easy Solutions. “The APAC region represents an important front in the war against online fraud, and we will continue to invest in the area. Opening this office in Tokyo represents an important step in supporting our global expansion plans, and we are thrilled that Mr. Hatakeyama will be leading our efforts in the country.”
Hatakeyama brings a decade of security and technology leadership experience to Easy Solutions. For the past three years, Hatakeyama served in a variety of management positions for Symantec and VeriSign, two of the world’s leading security software companies. Hatakeyama worked for Hitachi Consulting, as a consultant for the financial services sector, specializing in system development and IT governance. Hatakeyama earned his B.S in Physics from Nagoya University and his MBA from Globis.
“Up until recently, language barriers protected APAC countries such as Japan, China and Korea from many of the well-publicized targeted attacks that have plagued U.S. and European companies, but that is no longer the case,” said Masafumi Hatakeyama, Business Development Manager for Easy Solutions. “Recently in Japan, we have been experiencing a proliferation of attacks, such as the Snifula banking trojan, which specifically targeted Japanese financial institutions. In addition, we are seeing a variety of highly sophisticated phishing attacks and Man-In-The-Browser drive-by downloads aimed at banks. I’m excited to join Easy Solutions at this critical time, and help the company expand its presence in this growing market.”
ABOUT EASY SOLUTIONS
Easy Solutions is a security vendor focused on the comprehensive detection and prevention of electronic fraud across all devices, channels and clouds. Our products range from fraud intelligence and secure browsing to multi-factor authentication and transaction anomaly detection, offering a one-stop shop for end-to-end fraud protection. The online activities of over 60 million customers at 220 leading financial services companies, security firms, retailers, airlines and other entities in the US and abroad are protected by Easy Solutions Total Fraud Protection® platform.
Headqarters: 1401 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway, Sunrise, FL 33323, U.S.A. Tel. 1 (866) 524 4782
Japan: East Tower 4thFloor, Otemachi First Square, 1-5-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004 Japan. Tel. +81-(0)3-5219-1463
ZAG Communications for Easy Solutions


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The unmanned Messenger probe has completed its Mercury mission, going out with a bang.
What does it look like to own 250,000 Lego bricks? Take a tour of a US architect's basement complete with custom-built shelves and IKEA bins to hold and display his massive Lego collection.
"Frame rate is more important than resolution," says Square Enix's Hajime Tabata.
Data from the Very Large Telescope in Chile suggests that it would be more appropriate to call the Eagle Nebula's famous gas formation the "Pillars of Destruction."
The Elder Scrolls Online is making the jump to next-generation consoles -- and it's going to be free to play as well.
Scrolls that were damaged, but not destroyed, in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius may now be read for the first time in nearly two millennia.
Technically Incorrect: A new ad lauding Samsung's design credentials bears a stunning resemblance to every video lauding Apple's design credentials.
Technically Incorrect: YouTube is ablaze with millions laughing at a piece of Indian footage that shows a man giving the finger to a monkey and then...
Night Terrors maps the layout of your home, then becomes an augmented reality game in which horrors attack.
This mock trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" gives "Star Wars" fans exactly what they want. More Jar Jar Binks, okee-day?


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March 30, 2010 at 11:14 am #2726
Tesoro to Name New Chief Executive (COP SrVP)
HOUSTON March 30, 2010 WSJ Independent refiner Tesoro Corp. will soon name a senior vice president of ConocoPhillips Corp. as its new chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter.
The announcement that Senior Vice President, Commercial Greg Goff will take the helm of San Antonio, Texas-based Tesoro is expected this week, those people said.
Mr. Goff declined to comment through his receptionist and she referred all calls to Conoco’s public-relations department. Calls and emails to the representatives in the department weren’t immediately returned.
Mr. Goff is the latest of several executives to leave the Houston-based Conoco, which is undergoing a major restructuring, including the sale of $10 billion in assets. Like other refiners, Tesoro has been struggling with its profit margins because of the relatively high cost of oil and low demand for fuel.
In November, Tesoro’s chief executive Bruce Smith disclosed that he would retire once a successor for his company was found. Another of the company’s executives, William Finnerty, the vice president of strategy and corporate development, plans to leave March 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange made last week.
Mr. Goff joined Conoco in 1981 and has worked in refining and marketing and exploration-and-production at the company. In 2002, he became the president of Conoco’s Europe and Asian-Pacific refining and marketing activities, according to the company’s Web site. Two years later, he was named president of the company’s U.S. lower 48 and Latin America exploration and production business. In 2006, Mr. Goff became president, specialty businesses and business development.
Isabel Ordonez in Houston contributed to this article.
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