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The heir of a proud legacy and pioneering spirit has passed away
It is with profound sadness and immense shock that we confirm the news that Alberto “Pancho” Motta, Jr., Director of Motta Internacional, passed away this morning at his home in Panama.
Many of us in the industry spent the last week with Pancho in Orlando at the Duty Free Show of the Americas. Pancho, who has been president of show organizer the International Association of Airport Duty Free stores for more than a decade, looked well and seemed to be in high spirits.
The funeral will be held in Panama City, Panama on Tuesday April 12, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Cathedral at 11 am.
“We have lost such a great man and friend to many,” commented Rebeca Marmol, echoing the sentiment of the industry. The Marmol family has long been close, personal friends of the Motta family.
“We have lost an exceptional man,” said Jean-Michel Juin, of Nestlé.
“Pancho was a revered and respected figure in both the travel retail industry and the wider Panamanian business community,” commented my colleagues at the MoodieDavitt Report.
Alberto “Pancho” Motta was son of founder Alberto Motta Sr. As the pioneer duty free company in the Americas, Motta Internacional holds a special position in the development of the industry. From its humble beginnings back in 1949 when the original Motta & Motta opened the first duty free store in the hemisphere in Panama, today Motta Internacional and its affiliated companies encompass over 2,000 employees in 16 countries with related businesses and investments in insurance, real estate, banking and Copa Airlines.
In an in-depth interview with TMI last May in Panama, in an office filled with family photos, Pancho said that he saw the company’s success over the past six –plus decades as the result of the way the company approaches the business:
“My first concern is always our employees. If they do well, our business will run well. Then obviously, comes our clients,” he said.
A true gentleman in every sense, Pancho maintained a clear and realistic vision of the industry his company helped create:
“I hope that when people think of Motta Internacional they see it as a well-run company, that it is run honestly, and that it is run so that all three parties can make money: the supplier, us and our clients. If one of the three doesn’t make money, the chain stops.”
Motta Internacional CEO Erasmo Orillac, on behalf of the company and the family, has issued the following statement:
“It is with our deepest sorrow we regret to inform you of the passing of Alberto “Pancho” Motta Jr. Pancho passed away suddenly in Panama City, Panama, today at the age of 69.
We are sad not only for this event, but to the fact that we have lost a great individual who helped forge the Motta Group to achieve new heights and become the success it is today.
Pancho is survived by his wife Loraine and his three children, Alberto “Tito”, Giuliana and Georgette.
The funeral will be held tomorrow, Tuesday April 12th, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Cathedral at 11am.
Pancho will be truly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
The offices of Motta Internacional S.A. will be closed on Tuesday and will reopen on Wednesday to continue to carry on Pancho’s legacy.”
In addition to the Motta Internacional duty free stores, Motta also runs a number of distribution companies in Central and South America, delivering product to its own and non-owned stores. Its Carisam division in Miami distributes to cruise ships. It operates a number of branded boutiques in the domestic markets as well, for brands such as Cartier, Ferragamo, Tiempo (watches), Tory Burch, and Coach, and has a significant electronics business.
Under the Attenza Duty Free brand, Motta operates duty free stores and branded boutiques in Cali and El Dorado Airports in Colombia, at San Salvador Airport in El Salvador, at Managua Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Nicaragua, Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela, Tocumen in Panama, Quito Airport in Ecuador and cruise port stores Puerto Progreso in Mexico’s Yucatan.
TMI and the Pasternak family add our deepest condolences to those in the industry, to his wife Loraine and her children and grandchildren, and to all who knew and loved Pancho. May he Rest in Peace.


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(Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc VRX.TO VRX.N, Canada’s biggest publicly traded drugmaker, raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast for the second time and reported a quarterly profit, boosted by sales from its skin-care acquisitions.
The company has aggressively pursued acquisitions since its 2010 takeover by Biovail Corp, which assumed the Valeant name. Valeant bought contact lens maker Bausch & Lomb Holdings Inc for $8.7 billion in the second quarter.
Valeant has favored businesses where patients often pay out-of-pocket, such as dermatology and opthalmology, cutting its exposure to cost-sensitive insurers.
The company said it now expects a 2013 adjusted profit, which it calls cash earnings, of $6.00-$6.20 per share, up from its prior estimate of $5.55-$5.85. Analysts were expecting, on average, adjusted profit of $5.93, factoring in the accretive acquisition of Bausch & Lomb, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Valeant forecast 2013 total revenue of $5.8 billion to $6.2 billion.
Valeant’s stock rose about 1 percent in early trading to C$100.70 in Toronto and $96.63 in New York, and has almost doubled in value in the last year.
Even as it digests Bausch, Valeant will be active for the rest of 2013 with smaller acquisitions that fit into its existing divisions - the company’s “bread and butter” - said Chief Executive Michael Pearson. Valeant, which has a market cap of about $31.8 billion, is also holding discussions about a possible merger of equals, even though completing such a deal “can’t be predicted,” he said.
The company’s growth strategy to become one of the world’s largest health care companies will not change, Pearson said.
“We think we can be successful by not doing what large pharma companies are doing,” he said. That means targeting specialty segments of the sector - segments he would not identify - in a preference for cash-pay products, and holding spending in check on research and development, Pearson said.
Valeant is well on its way to exceeding its target of wringing $800 million in synergies from the Bausch deal, he said.
Valeant reported net income of $10.9 million, or 3 cents per share, for the quarter ended June, compared with a loss of $21.6 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier. Cash earnings for the quarter amounted to $1.34 per share.
Total revenue rose nearly 34 percent to $1.1 billion in the second quarter, boosted by contributions from skin-care businesses such as Obagi Medical, which Valeant bought in March, and Medicis Pharma, bought last September.
Revenue from Valeant’s developed markets unit, comprising businesses in the United States, Canada and Australia, rose 37 percent to $791.8 million.
Reporting by Krithika Krishnamurthy in Bangalore and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Jim Marshall

domain: news


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USDA issues last batch of aid to farmers impacted by trade war
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Monday that farmers enrolled in a temporary program aimed at helping offset damage they may have incurred from foreign retaliatory tariffs will be receiving their final tranche of federal subsidies.
“While these agreements are welcome news, we must not forget that 2019 was a tough year for farmers as they were the tip of the spear when it came to unfair trade retaliation,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement.
Perdue said that the payments to farmers under the administration’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP) illustrate the president’s commitment to American producers who may have been negatively affected by his trade war with China.
“President Trump has shown time and again that he is fighting for America’s farmers and ranchers and this third tranche of 2019 MFP payments is proof. President Trump is following through on his promise to help and support farmers as he continues to fight for fair market access just like he did with China,” Perdue said.
The administration created MFP in 2018 after Trump imposed tariffs on China, which retaliated by purchasing significantly less American crops. The program was renewed in 2019.
The payments doled out this week come from a $16 billion aid package announced last year, of which $14.5 billion has been used as direct payments to farmers, according to the USDA.
In 2019, the number of farmers filing for bankruptcy hit an eight-year high, according to data released by the federal court system.
The previous MFP payment that farmers received was in November. Trump said at the time that “the smaller farms and farmers will be big beneficiaries.”
A July study by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization, found that more than half of the first two payments went to bigger, wealthier farms.
In the recently signed “Phase One” trade deal with China, Beijing agreed to increase purchases of U.S. goods by $200 billion over the next two years, including $32 billion on U.S. crops.
The deal — which Trump has called the “biggest ever” — is one of the topics he is expected to touch on Tuesday evening during his State of the Union address.
However, the deal notably doesn’t include language that could prevent future trade wars. In an interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Trump could reimpose tariffs in the event that China reneges on its commitments in the deal.
Shortly after the deal with China was reached, Trump signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, which he is also likely to tout during his address Tuesday and could potentially ease financial pressures on American farmers.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Mike Veserat Joins Muskie Expo and FishX
Category: press release
Aug 30th, 2017 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Nov 20th, 2018 at 9:43 PM
With only a few months to go until the 2018 Muskie Expo shows in Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI, Muskie Expo and FishX are proud to announce the addition of Mike Veserat to their team.
Veserat has decades of experience in outdoor sports in strategic marketing concepts and products and events, and will be a welcome addition to the gold standard of muskie fishing shows (Muskie Expo Chicago and Milwaukee) and the new FishX show.
Doug Reuter, founder and CMO of Muskie Expo and FishX has great expectations for his new team member as he prepares him to ultimately take over all three products.
“One thing that Veserat will bring is the energy to promote year-round at events in support of clubs and organizations” said Reuter.
With the addition of Veserat, Reuter can now concentrate his efforts on continuing to find creative ways to bring fresh ideas and talent to the shows.
“Let’s face it, there is no better place to see, touch, and feel the newest and hottest the industry has to offer,” said Reuter.
The Muskie Expo and FishX shows are expected to grow again in 2018 and well into the future with the steady hand and marketing expertise that Veserat brings to the fold.
You are invited to come and enjoy the Muskie Expo and FishX shows this year. Bring your friends and family to be part of the best shows in the Midwest.
For more information, contact us. Mike will be glad to help you out, or set up a time to speak with your organization.


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The landscape for auto lending has changed dramatically in recent years. Some large lenders have seen huge growth in auto loans while many smaller banks and credit unions have seen their portfolio flat to shrinking. Let’s take a look at some of the trends and investigate why it has never been more important for lenders to be competing for online searches or “looks” well before the buyer decides to actually get into a new vehicle.
Large Lenders “Not So Secret” Advantage
Capital One recently reported huge gains in auto loans, an increase of 29% over last year. Ally Financial has reported record gains as well. Why are these two lenders seeing such huge gains that many other lenders aren’t experiencing? It’s because they’re investing in technology to provide the consumer with an experience that caters to their shopping habits. Commerce habits are changing with younger generations of adults, Millennials and Gen Z, preferring to make purchases online out of convenience. More importantly, younger generations use their phone and mobile apps far more than they use computers.
Rise of the Online-Only Dealership
The days of only going to a dealership in-person are gone, with most people at least starting their car search online and some even purchasing their car completely online. This has led to online dealerships such as Carvana, Shift, and Vroom, rising in popularity in recent years. In fact, Vroom saw such large gains that they acquired their own lender and it’s only a matter of time before other online dealerships start doing the same thing, taking even more of the market share from traditional lenders.
In addition to online dealerships, platforms such as AutoTrader, CarGurus, and TrueCar have turned the car buying journey into an online marketplace. Consumers browse vehicles and want to get approved before even going to the dealership. Historically, lenders have provided the online applications for auto loans. If lenders are already offering an online application for auto loans, then why invest in technology that does that? Here’s a great test – try filling out an online application from your lender and time how long it takes to get a call. Then, fill out a form on a dealer’s own website and you can expect a call in minutes!
The Importance of Online Pre-Approval
A recent J.D. Power press release “Battle for Auto Loan Customers Shifts from Dealership to Online Pre-Approval” explains the current trends very clearly. “Auto financing customer behavior has fundamentally shifted from an exercise that largely took place in a dealership finance department to one that takes place online upwards of 30 days prior to a vehicle purchase,” said Patrick Roosenberg, director of automotive finance intelligence at J.D. Power. “Nearly half, 45%, of all customers now do research prior to financing a vehicle and their experiences with lenders can have a tremendous influence on that process. That really puts the onus on lenders to deliver a superior customer experience to existing customers and to position their websites and consumer marketing initiatives to maximize conversions.”
The J.D. Powers study also found that 60% of customers who shop online for auto financing options end up applying for a pre-approval.
So, if you need help getting more “looks” that lead to auto loans, contact us today. Our AutoQuoter customized online solutions, mobile apps and kiosks can be just the advantage you need to compete in this quickly evolving marketplace.


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Malaysia’s Commerce.Asia has acquired a 30 per cent stake in local rural social commerce platform BizApp, its founder and executive chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah told DealstreetAsia Tuesday.
Although the exact deal size could not be ascertained, it is understood to be a seven-digit investment (in terms of Ringgit).
Following the acquisition, Commerce.Asia is looking at consolidating its ecosystem before laying its focus on regional expansion.
According to a statement issued by the company on Monday, Commerce.Asia claims to have a database of over 8 million small and medium-sized enterprises across seven countries. Of them, as many as 61,000 are active sellers who transacted a gross merchandise volume of 1.5 billion in 2019.
“We believe that through this strategic investment, Commerce.Asia and BizApp can leverage on each other’s platforms to encourage the rural communities to partake in social commerce,” said Bangah. “Leveraging on our experience, we will expand the BizApp business model across Southeast Asia, enabling us to leverage on the fast-growing southeast Asian e-commerce industry.”
According to BizApp Ventures founder Hasnol Mizam Bin Hashim, the company’s current users are mainly from suburban and rural areas who have successfully grown their businesses online. A huge portion of Malaysians are transacting online via social media channels and the growth has been exponential.
“The technology-based business tools which are currently the backbone of our system will now be further enhanced with Commerce.Asia’s large ecosystem, enabling users to expand regionally, if not globally,” he added.
BizApp is a platform that is primarily used by local businesses and brands to manage their daily business operations including order and fulfillment management. The firm currently has over 200,000 agents with a gross merchandise volume of over 600 million ringgit transacted in 2019.
Commerce.Asia is an all-in-one e-commerce ecosystem that integrates technology solutions, talent development programmes and big data insights for Southeast Asian businesses.


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Apple Pay lets users make in-store payments for physical goods or services using an iOS 8 app. Payment information is stored in their iOS device, and users can use Touch ID to provide their payment and shipping information to complete the transaction with a single touch. The SDK is written using Objective-C.
Last month Google announced it was killing off several products, perhaps most notably Google Reader. Caught in the mix, and perhaps somewhat under the radar, was also notice of the deprecation of their shopping search API.
Hyperwallet revealed that its REST payout API has moved from public beta to full public availability. The announcement coincides with the launch of new Hyperwallet developer features, including software development kits (SDKs), additional API calls, and a bolstered self-serve developer portal.


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UPDATE: The owners of the infamous Bondi ‘hoarder house’ have lost their last minute injunction to prevent the sale of the home, despite turning up to court with $170,000 in a plastic bag.
News Corp reports that Magistrate Joanne Keogh was shown a bag of $100 notes by owner Elena Bobolas, her mother Mary and sister Liana which was given to them by 'friends'.
Waverley Council is seeking to force the sale of the home so legal fees and cleaning costs of $160,000 can be settled.
Magistrate Keogh reportedly dismissed the offer stating that despite the $170,000 being an “extraordinary offer” it had been made on the agreement that the debt would be paid in installments over five or six years.
“Whether in fact that offer would remain this afternoon, tomorrow, next month, it seems to me (the applicant Elena Bobolas) is still in some peril as to whether the debt will be paid," Magistrate Keogh added.
The Boblas family home was expected to sell at auction for up to $2million in the forced sale on Thursday night, but just an hour before the auction they received the injunction.
The home at 19 Boonara Avenue has been at the centre of the row with Waverley Council for 16 years.
The family have been in a battle with Waverley Council over many years.
The house and gardens are constantly piled high with rubbish and it is the third time the forced auction has been stopped and called off.
Previously it has been because the family has paid the outstanding money.
The saga now returns to court today.


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Canola was often cited as an example of what a merged Bayer and Monsanto will look like as the companies announced Bayer’s US$66 billion purchase of Monsanto at a New York press conference this morning.
Bringing the two farming inputs companies together as one larger entity is hoped to allow them to offer a full set of tools from seed and seed coatings to weed and disease control and even digital technology to manage applications and crop planning and development.
Mergers such as ChemChina’s acquisition of Syngenta and the merger of DuPont and Pioneer have been hot topics in the agriculture world for the past couple of years. Since the end of April, Bayer’s moves to obtain the American company Monsanto have made headlines.
Hugh Grant of Monsanto, in a joint announcement with Bayer’s CEO Werner Baumann, said the $128 per share offer reflects the value of the company, about 20 times earnings for the company.
He said the deal would be in the interests of farmers, increasing the capacity of the company to deliver discoveries and new technology at a faster pace and more broadly to producers.
“Improving the time from discovery to delivery,” he said.
Baumann also focused on the benefits to producers during announcement of the deal, which must still pass regulatory hurdles in “30 jurisdictions we need to file for in merger control purposes. In U.S. or Canada or Brazil and EU and a whole bunch of additional countries, we are requested to file in.
“The combined business will be ideally suited to cater to the requirements of farmers … because we have equal and meaningful strength in crop protection, seeds and traits and digital and analytical tools.”
Grant said there are some overlaps in the products of the two companies, but for the most part they have fewer than might be expected. Areas where regulators could find the need to require the companies to divest of some products are canola, cotton and soybeans, where the two have competing business with farmers.
Should the deal go ahead, the new company would be the largest of its kind with the chemical business centred in Manheim, Germany, and seeds, biotech products and North American operations located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Baumann said the savings, which would start to accrue in the third year, after the closing of the deal, would be about $1.5 billion annually, starting with administration, sales and marketing.
The two companies spend a combined $2.5 billion annually on research and development of agricultural products, and Baumann said they plan to continue with large investments in that area, keeping research centred in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“Closing the gap (between food and crop) supply and demand that is unfolding in the world is what we see being achieved,” said Baumann.
“Opening the next generation of farming and enforcing Bayer as a true leader in crop science,” he said.
He said the combined company would focus on sustainable farming that would provide producers with the ability to reduce crop applications and inputs while enhancing yields and margins.
It would also create a digital platform for producers that would use tools such as satellite reconnaissance to help farmers know just what areas to treat.
Baumann said producers aren’t forced to use the company’s products, so these would have to be providing good value to growers. He said the next generations of research by the larger company might even cause it to provide guaranteed savings or yield increases to producers.


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The over 21 million pounds of Topps frozen ground beef recall has caused greater than normal concern that E. coli-tainted meat is a major threat. In the late 1990s the meat-processing industry initated regulations to prevent dangerous bacteria from making its way to grocery store shelves after E. coli bacteria had become a major threat.
The Topps Meat Company frozen ground beef recall was the largest meat recall in a decade. The last such massive recall occurred in 1997, when Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds of ground beef. Following several meat-related E. coli outbreaks in the 1990s, the industry instituted new safety policies that greatly reduced bacterial contamination in meat products.
More concerning than this massive recall, the American Meat Institute studies show E. Coli-contaminated mean has increased significantly over the last three years. The Topps meat recall was one of only several E. coli-related recalls initiated this year. In August, Interstate Meats of Oregon issued a recall for more than 41,000 pounds of ground beef that was linked to an outbreak of E. coli poisoning in the Pacific Northwest. In June, United Food Group also recalled 5 million pounds of meat. That recall was followed by another that involved 40,000 pounds of E. coli-tainted beef products produced by Tyson Fresh Meat, Inc.
No one knows where the recent spike in E. coli contaminated meat initated, the USDA inspection of the Topps Meat Company processing plant may have found one source of the problem. Beef grinding operations there were suspended after the USDA inspectors found that the company had inadequate controls to prevent bacteria contamination.
For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.
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The share prices for Estee Lauder have experienced a 4.8% dip in premarket trading. The dip was experienced after the beauty company shared its earnings for the first quarter of 2022. In the report, Estee Lauder revealed it missed out on the estimations that were made by the analysts.
The executives at Estee Lauder revealed they generated revenues worth $4.25 billion for the respective quarter. The revenue that the analysts at Refinitiv had predicted for the first quarter was $4.31 billion.
The share prices for Devon Energy have experienced a 9% surge in premarket trading. The energy stock company experienced a surge after sharing its earnings for the first quarter of 2022. As per the executives at Devon Energy, it generated earnings worth $1.88 per share for the first quarter of 2022.
According to the analysts, Devon Energy was expected to generate earnings worth $1.75 per share. The estimations were reportedly made by the analysts at StreetAccount.
The share prices for Etsy have experienced a 12% dip in premarket trading. The e-commerce platform experienced a dip after sharing its earnings for the recent quarter of 2022. The officials revealed that they were unable to meet the earnings estimations made by the analysts for the first quarter of 2022.
Even the guidance shared by the executives at Etsy for the second quarter of 2022 was lower than the estimations. The chief financial officer at Etsy revealed that the consumers have a lot of money they can use for purchasing. However, they have access to many more places they can spend the money.
The share prices of Booking Holdings jumped by 8.2% in premarket trading. The travel booking site recorded a surge after sharing its earnings for the first quarter of 2022. It revealed having generated stronger earnings than the predictions made by the analysts.
They successfully beat estimations for the adjusted EBITDA and revenue for the first quarter of 2022. For the respective quarter, Booking Holdings announced that the gross bookings it generated were worth $27 billion.
The officials revealed that so far, $27 billion is the highest gross they have generated in any quarter ever since its launch. The company officials confirmed that preparations for busy summer season travels are in order.
The share prices for eBay have experienced a 5.8% dip in premarket trading. eBay recently shared weak earnings estimations for the second quarter of 2022 that resulted in the online marketplace experiencing a dip.
eBay executives confirmed that they beat the estimations for the first quarter of 2022. However, for the second quarter and the rest of the year, the earnings estimations they shared were weaker than the analysts’ estimations.


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It seemed like the world waited on baited breath for the launch of iOS 11. Within the update, the App Store received a complete overhaul that clearly distinguishes games and other app types with two unique tabs, which has effectively created two new App Stores….
Dave Bell is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gummicube.
Dave is a pioneer of the mobile entertainment industry with more than 15 years of experience publishing, marketing and distributing mobile applications and games across carrier, direct to consumer and app store channels.
Recent posts by this Author
Mobile has exploded in the number of devices, the number of apps, the time spent in apps, the billions of dollars transacted. Companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook have become mostly mobile companies, and continue to compete and partner and push mobile forward. But…


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Xbox users might want to check for updates, as a new version of the console’s OS is currently rolling out.
The latest update, which comes in at a hefty 2GB, doesn’t bring many user-facing features although it does prepare the console for two important functions: game streaming to Windows 10 devices and backward compatibility with the Xbox 360.
Game streaming has been shown off by Microsoft numerous times, ever since the feature was unveiled back in January. It allows users to stream their games from the Xbox One to any Windows 10 device that has the Xbox app installed. The feature works through the local network and has been quite reliable in testing.
Backward compatibility is arguably an even bigger deal for some Xbox fans, who have massive collections of Xbox 360 games. The feature was unveiled back at E3 to the fans’ delight, though the number of qualifying titles will be limited even at launch, a few months from now.
While both of these features have been available for testing by Xbox previewers, the two features will soon become available to all users. Game streaming will go live on July 29th alongside the Windows 10 rollout, while backward compatibility will follow a few months after that.
Source: Major Nelson


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Viacom 18 Will Launch NFT Marketplace In India: Fully Faltoo (Check Full Details)
The Indian media conglomerate Viacom18, a joint venture entity between Network18 and ViacomCBS has announced in a press release dated January 20, 2022, to set foot in the rapidly growing digital space of non-fungible tokens (NFT) by launching its own NFT marketplace, fullyfatoonft.com.
The said JV broadcaster, Viacom18’s YME portfolio lists brands like MTV, MTV Beats, Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity.
Here are all the details you need to know about the Youth entertainment brand’s first of its kind NFT marketplace.
Viacom18’s NFT Marketplace
The blockchain-certified digital art, Non-fungible Tokens or NFTs have gained much popularity after being widely endorsed by brands, artists and celebrities all over, in India and abroad.
In a first of its kind launch in India, Viacom18’s Youth, Music and English Entertainment cluster will launch its own NFT marketplace, Fullyfaltoonft.com, set up by GuardianLink.io, which is a pioneer in the NFT world, stated the media house’s press release.
The press release accessed by Trak.in, states, “This initiative will also mark the extension of the Fully Faltoo franchise that went on from being a show on MTV and a brand solutions studio, to now an NFT marketplace, that will launch its diverse range of digital collectibles.”
The launch of the NFT marketplace is set to go live on Feb 14, 2022 and will offer ‘fully valuable’ digital art conceptualized and created by the Viacom18’s YME team.
The creators and users of the marketplace can enjoy the safety benefits of GuardianLink.io’s Anti-RIP NFT technology, added the release.
Details on Auction at Viacom18’s NFT Marketplace
Through the platform, users can get the opportunity to claim ownership over their edgy and unique digital art pieces, while the marketplace’s exclusive collectibles will also have digital art pieces inspired by iconic pop culture properties like Roadies and Bakra, and shall be auctioned globally.
Users can purchase NFTs at a set auction price, as industry standard security layers would be enabled.
In order to make a purchase, users will be required to register on the platform, and the purchase would only be made by using a custodian wallet.
“As one of the world’s largest media markets, India is uniquely positioned to be at the focal point of this ‘Web3 revolution’. Our entry in the NFT space with Fully Faltoo is another step in the same direction, stated the company’s Head, Anshul Ailawadi.


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Price Change GSC Game World, the developer behind STALKER 2, has announced that the price of the game's Ultimate Edition is increasing to ensure collectible quality.
Anomalous Beauty STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World has released several new in-engine screenshots of the upcoming title.
STALKER 2 developer GSC Game World has teamed up with the Ukrainian retail corporation Silpo to open a STALKER-themed supermarket in the country's capital city, Kyiv.
This International Cat Day, the developers behind the upcoming survival shooter STALKER 2 showed off a feline mutant players will encounter while exploring Chernobyl in-game: the fearsome Bayun.
During the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase on June 14, STALKER 2 developers at GSC Game World shared their experience working amidst the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine has a huge video game industry, and many spoke out Thursday following Russia advancing into the country.
Developer GSC Game World confirms that development of Stalker 2 is being paused due to the war in Ukraine.
Upcoming survival-shooter Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, originally scheduled to launch in April 2022, is being delayed by several months to December 2022.
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Revelstoke Mountain Resort is reveling in more snow this year than last year. The British Columbia resort, which plans to operate until Easter, has rolled out March specials for lift tickets and lodging.
By early March, Revelstoke amassed a snow pack much deeper than last year with storm cycles still dropping powder. "It's not spring here yet!" spokesperson Ashley Tait told us. "Conditions are incredible." The resort had already passed the 800-centimeter mark with two months remaining in the season.
Revelstoke has introduced several lift ticket deals for skiers and snowboarders in March. The discounted lift tickets are available online at 15 percent off weekends and 25 percent off weekdays. Vertical Card Holders can purchase additional days online at 30 percent off. Season passholders from any Canadian ski resort can also get 25 percent off the full day ticket rate.
The resort has also put together several ski and stay specials. The March Powder Pass combines one night at Nelsen Lodge and a free day of skiing for $175 CAN per person. The same package is also available at the Sandman Hotel Revelstoke for $119 CAN per person. Both packages require double occupancy.
A three-night package combined with three days of skiing is available at both hotels, too.
The package costs $85 CAN per person per night at the Sandman and $125 CAN per person per night at Nelsen Lodge, based on double occupancy.
Families can get a deal for the kids in March at Nelsen Lodge and Sandman Hotel. Kids 12 years old and younger can stay, ski, and rent free. Purchasing adult lift tickets is required to get the deal for kids.
Revelstoke runs its lifts for spring skiing daily through April 10. But two bonus weekends are planned with lifts spinning again April 16-17 and April 22-24.
The Nelsen Lodge sits at the base of the gondola at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. Photo: Revelstoke Mountain Resort.


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Although strict health protocols will remain in place, Carnival Corporation has made a deal with Jamaica to include the Caribbean nation in 110 cruises or more over the coming six months. The news comes after Carnival Sunrise was one of the few cruise ships to visit the only port in Jamaica currently in operation for cruise visitors, Ocho Rios.
The announcement comes after a meeting between Carnival Corporation CEO Donald Arnold, Minister Bartlet, and other tourist officials from Jamaica. The meeting took place in Miami, Florida on September 28, 2021.
Jamaica can expect to see a steady mix of Carnival Corporation brands as the company seeks to expand the availability of ports in the Caribbean. The company has committed to 110 calls over the coming six months, between October 2021 and April 2022. So far, the country has had only five calls from cruise ships over the last months, with all of them calling in Ocho Rios only.
Also Read: IDEAL Things to Do in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Although the agreements were made between the two parties, they are still subject to the Jamaican authorities’ rules and regulations and how the calls can be handled logistically and based on the current public health issues and standards.
Tourism Minister Bartlett of Jamaica feels the current protocols will enable Carnival’s cruise ships to visit safely and protect the local population from outside infections of COVID-19.
“Carnival is a critical partner for Jamaica’s tourism and wider economic recovery. We are seeing a welcome return of vessels with the recognition that Jamaica’s Resilient Corridors offer a safe environment for our visitors, tourism workers, and the general population,” according to Minister Bartlett.
The arrival of Cruise ships will indeed be governed by strict health and safety protocols. So far, from Carnival Corporation, only Carnival Sunrise has been visiting Jamaica, with 11 calls scheduled for the vessel until December. Other cruise lines have also returned to the Caribbean island including MSC Meraviglia, operated by MSC Cruises.
“I must underscore that the cruises have to meet strict measures governing the restart of cruise shipping, requiring passengers over the age of 12 and crew to be fully vaccinated and for all passengers to provide evidence of negative results from a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of sailing. In the case of unvaccinated passengers, such as children, a PCR test is mandated, and all passengers are also screened and tested (antigen) on embarkation,” Minister Bartlett stressed according to eTurbonews.
Jamaica’s Cruise Market Heavily Impacted
After being closed for more than a year, the cruise sector in Jamaica is more than ready to get going once again. The policies that have been put in place in Ocho Rios have proved to be successful for the local residents.
Part of this is the Resilient Corridors program which aims to ensure the safety of those in the port and those visiting. This means that those operating within the port area or with visitors are all within a bubble. In bubble areas, facilities that have been approved by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) to receive cruise passengers. Vaccinations and regular testing are mandatory for anyone who interacts with visitors inside the bubble.
Worth Reading: IDEAL Things to Do in Montego Bay, Jamaica
Jamaica has traditionally been one of the most popular cruise destinations in the Caribbean. From 2015 to 2018, Carnival Corporation transported the largest number of cruise visitors to Jamaica, followed by Royal Caribbean.
The company was responsible for over 869,000 visitors to the island in 2018. With more than 200,000 visitors scheduled to visit the island onboard the Carnival Corporation ships alone, a positive future is forecast for the many tour operators, arts and crafts sellers, and other stakeholders on the island.


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Actor and television host Rannvijay Singh has invested in fashion styling app IStyleYou, a top company executive told Techcircle.
Singh will also be the brand ambassador for IStyleYou and help make the company a leading youth brand, co-founder Pallav Modi said. He declined to reveal the amount Singh invested.
The Gurgaon-based startup plans to use the funds for branding, marketing and expansion.
"Online fashion and lifestyle is the future, and IStyleYou has a unique business proposition that will attract the youth. I hope the company grows at an exponential pace," said Singh.
IStyleYou, run by Uninext Solutions Pvt Ltd, was founded in November 2015 by Pallav Modi, Amit Kejriwal and Vinayak Khanijo.
Modi is an alumnus of International Management Institute and has previously worked with BookAdda and PolicyBazaar. Kejriwal studied computer engineering from Delhi's Indira Gandhi National Open University, and Khanijo is an alumnus of Liverpool University.
The company operates a platform where users can get a personal stylist and product recommendations from e-commerce sites. It allows users to interact with fashion stylists and also know what is trending as per their own style profile.
The startup's product catalogue include apparel, jewellery, footwear and cosmetics. It has a team of about 10 people, supported by 25 stylists who work on a freelance basis. The firm claims to have at least 16,000 users on the platform and has around 1 lakh curated products.
Singh, known for hosting the famous MTV Roadies show, previously invested in car and bike pooling app Liftiee.
IStyleYou previously raised $100,000 (around Rs 67 lakh) from startup accelerator Green House Ventures. "They have devised an highly scalable asset-light model using technology in the lifestyle space," said Vikram Upadhyaya, chief mentor and evangelist at GHV Accelerator.
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16 Jun Japan launches a circular economy collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF)
At the “World Circular Economy Forum + Climate”, that took place on the 15th and 16th April, the Japanese government pledged to assess the state of circular economy policies in the Asia-Pacific region. This is an important development for the circular economy, which is closely linked to the sustainability of a broad range of products, including Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs).
In a related development, Japan has launched a circular economy collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF). When Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi participated as a panellist at the Circular Economy Roundtable the WEF held on 2nd and 3rd of March, he discussed a new draft legislation on plastics, and new Japanese guidance on sustainable finance. He also discussed the “Circular Economy Partnership”, for which the MOE has teamed up with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), as well as Keidanren (Japan Business Federation). Koizumi has been a strong advocate of the circular economy, having declared 2021 Japan’s “First Year of the Circular Economy”. Koizumi has also proposed the government develops a new symbol for 100% recyclable plastic bottles.
Japan is also a member of the newly-established Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE), which was launched in February 2021. To date eleven countries, the EU, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have joined GACERE.


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March jobs report: Will employment growth come to a screeching halt?
The Great American Jobs Machine has been humming along nicely. After a halting jobs recovery in the years after the financial crisis, the U.S. economy has been adding more than 200,000 jobs per month for more than a year now:
Economists expect another strong report, with early estimates ranging from 225,000 new jobs to 290,000 new jobs in March. Those predictions were bolstered by the announcement of a huge drop in new claims for unemployment benefits this week. That figure fell to 268,000 from 288,000 the week before.
But while various jobs-related indicators paint a picture of a robust and even accelerating recovery, other data coming out in the first quarter of 2015 has been anything but encouraging. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta provides an indicator called GDP Now, which aggregates the various data that make up a GDP report in real time. Its latest reading on April 2 estimates that the economy is grew by a measly 0.1% on an annualized basis this quarter, far below consensus estimates:
Furthermore, corporate profits are looking dismal at the start of this year as well. As my colleague Stephen Gandel pointed out recently:
The first quarter is coming to a close, and things are not looking so good. Analysts predict that, on average, earnings at companies in the S&P 500 for the first three months of the year have fallen 5% from a year ago, according to FactSet. That would be the first time profits at the biggest U.S. companies have declined since the third quarter of 2012, and the largest dip since the third quarter of 2009, when profits dropped nearly 16%.
Top it off, poor retail sales numbers in recent months have had economists scratching their heads. While sales continue to fall, Labor Department statistics show employment in that sector continuing to grow. As Neil Dutta, an economist with Renassaince Macro Research, said in a recent research note to clients, “something’s gotta give,” in this dynamic. Either retail sales must start to climb, or retailers will cease hiring new workers.
These statistics have lead some analysts, including Jim Bianco of Bianco Research, to doubt that the economy can continue to add jobs at such a torrid pace. He points out that if the economy is not growing quickly yet employers are adding many new jobs, that must mean that productivity and efficiency are suffering. He writes:
Has the American economic suddenly become inefficient? We doubt it, so maybe some of the data is wrong. Most are inclined to explain away the poor data by pointing to factors such as weather. Maybe the weak data, which constitutes the majority of economic releases, is not wrong though. Perhaps we should be re-examining the one data point that is strong: non-farm payrolls.
One point Bianco may not be considering is the quality of the conflicting data. GDP can be very volatile from quarter to quarter and is subject to many revisions. 2014 was unquestionably a great year for job growth, yet the economy actually shrank by 2.1% in the first quarter of last year. There are many factors that can affect GDP growth from quarter to quarter, but when an employer decides to start hiring, he is making that decision based on his view of the long-term prospects of his business.
The non-farm payroll survey is a particularly reliable economic indicator. It is drawn from a survey of 143,000 employers across the U.S, representing 588,000 worksites, a robust sample size to say the least. With that said, no single statistic can tell us everything we need to know about the economy. If we’re lucky, the weak growth numbers coming in for the first quarter of 2015 will simply mark a repeat of 2014—a negative blip in an otherwise strong year for growth. But we should also be prepared for the possibility that the jobs recovery is about to come to a halt.


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Center could hinge on Marcus’ pledge
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The debate over public financing for The Corners of Brookfield project could come down to the developer’s name on the document.
The Marcus Corp. has set up a limited liability corporation to handle The Corners, a proposed mixed-use development with 380,000 square feet of retail space and about 150 residential units at West Blue Mound Road near Barker Road. But the town of Brookfield is afraid the corporation could fold if the project struggles, leaving the town without an option to get its money back, said Rick Czopp, town administrator.
“Marcus, they’re looking to protect their interest, which they should be, and we’re looking to protect our interests,” he said.
A proposed $34.5 million tax incremental financing deal is just one element that still has to be resolved before Marcus breaks ground. Von Maur, which is planning a 140,000-square-foot department store at the site, remains the only announced retailer, and Milwaukee-based Marcus hasn’t submitted site plans to the town to start the approval process, Czopp said. It’s unclear where Marcus is in efforts to secure financing for the $125 million project.
All that makes it seem unlikely Marcus will meet a targeted spring groundbreaking date on the project. A delay could push the opening of the project from fall 2014 to fall 2015 because Von Maur only opens stores in the fall.
Although Marcus hasn’t announced any new tenants, the company has been busy behind the scenes, said Ross Koepsel, a retail broker with Commercial Property Associates Inc., Milwaukee. Members of the Marcus development team told him that much of the space in the project is spoken for by retailers that have either signed letters of intent or are in negotiations to sign them.
Associate Editor Stacy Vogel Davis covers retail and tourism for the Milwaukee Business Journal. She also covers restaurant news through her Table Talk blog on The Business Journal website and column in the weekly edition.
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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is leading a contingent of 42 exhibitors at the World Travel Market 2019, one of the world’s leading travel trade shows, which is being held in London, during 4-6 November, 2019. Of those, a total of 27 are first-timers, mostly exclusive boutique properties, villas and tour operators specialising in niche markets.
Exhibiting at the WTM for 39 consecutive years, the Thailand presence includes 31 hotel and resorts, five tour operators, five other tourism-related agencies, and one health and wellness company. The line-up of first timers includes 20 hotels and resorts from Bangkok and beach destinations nationwide.
Other specialist exhibitors include the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Co., Ltd., the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat Co., Ltd., Chiang Mai Night Safari and the Thai Elephant Alliance Association (TEAA).


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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Federated Department Stores Inc. said Thursday it is selling for $1.2 billion in cash the iconic Lord & Taylor division to a private-equity partnership.
That would be the last major piece of May Department Stores that Federated has said it wanted to unload since it bought May a year ago. It has opted to change the nameplates on most of the other stores, including the venerable Marshall Field's chain, to Macy's.
A partnership that includes Apollo Real Estate Advisors and NRDC Real Estate Advisors, a shopping-center developer, bought the 180-year-old chain and expects to close on the deal in the third quarter, pending regulatory approvals.
Federated said it will continue to operate the stores until the new owners take control, according to a press release.
In a separate press release, NRDC Equity Partners, which includes principals of National Realty & Development Corp., said that the acquisition "furthers NRDC's strategy of acquiring great companies that have a strong brand and a valuable real estate platform." In February, the partnership acquired the Linen 'n Things housewares chain.
Many had speculated that the impetus for the deal -- with two real-estate concerns -- was driven in large part by its attractive properties. Chief among them is its Fifth Avenue flagship store, a 632,000 square foot property that has been valued at $500 to $850 a square foot.
"This is the biggest real estate play that we've seen in a long time," Fair Hope Consolo, chairman of the retail sales and leasing division of Prudential, said.
Referring to Apollo and Federated as two "major forces" in the retail industry, she said this "may be one of the most important retail real estate deals, not discounting Fifth Avenue."
But the partnership attempted to dispel those concerns as well as some suggesting that the deal would dismantle the esteemed brand for its choice real estate.
"We believe there is significant opportunity to continue the revitalization of the brand," NRDC president Richard Baker said. He said Jane Elfers, chief executive of the chain who has managed an overhaul of the stores since 2003, will stay put as will her management team.
In his press release, Federated Chairman Terry Lundgren called Lord & Taylor a "well-known niche specialty retailer with a great name, many outstanding locations and an experienced management team."
"We are pleased that NRDC Equity Partners sees the opportunity in operating Lord & Taylor as an ongoing specialty department store and values the quality of its management team," Lundgren said.


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Election worry drives consumers to spend less
Pre-election anxiety is causing consumers to spend less this fall, say local small business owners and a national survey.
Some San Diego County business owners said consumers reduce their spending in the months before every presidential election. Consumers worry about whether the winner will raise or lower taxes, or they worry about changes to services or benefits. Or it may be simple fear of the unknown. A few proprietors felt the election explanation was too simplistic for slowing sales. But for some, the cause and effect was clear.
“There’s uncertainty every election year,” said Greg Kantorovich, owner of Creedmor Sports in Oceanside. “Typically in the even years (when there are elections), a lot more (consumers) hold back than on odd years.”
Consumers' retail spending in election-year Octobers was less than in non-election-year Octobers in three of the last four presidential elections, according to inflation-adjusted data from the Department of Commerce.
Some people worry about what the winner will do to their tax bill. Private lending firm NetCredit.com sponsored a survey that showed 40 percent of Americans reduced their spending this fall because they believe their paychecks will be smaller in the future. Only 4.3 percent spent more and expect their checks to grow.
Specifically, 49.1 percent of survey respondents expected taxes would rise in the coming year, while 57.7 percent expected health care expenses to increase. Either way, they're worried about smaller paychecks and they're cutting their spending a result, business owners said.
Business owners said their customers were less worried about specific policies, but closed their wallets out of a generalized fear of the unknown.
“Let’s face it: It’s not that either candidate is going to have a huge effect on an individual's personal income for the most part,” said David Rivera, co-owner of George’s Camera & Video Exchange in North Park. But “there’s definitely a lot of people that feel, ‘While there’s uncertainty I don’t want to spend a lot of money.’”
Election worry extended to retailers considering new leases or expansions, according to Kirk Allison, a commercial broker and retail specialist with Colliers International in Carlsbad.
“I think there’s a little bit of ‘let’s wait till the elections over’ -- hesitation in the mind of some retailers in the sidelines,” he said.
That making a decision causes anxiety in most people is almost a truism in psychological research. But people tend to be happier once they make a choice, no matter the outcome of that choice, according to studies by Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist.
Not everyone agreed that election-worry is driving slower sales. Shari Mills, who works at P&P Beads and More in La Mesa, said she thought high gas prices in recent weeks had lowered the number of people looking to buy her wares. And Fred Belinsky, owner of the Village Hat Shop in Hillcrest, said he thought the election explanation was simplistic.
“The economy is complex,” he said. “Why business is slow is a big question, and to find a simple answer is reductive.”
For most retailers, Election Day on Nov. 6 won't just mean the end of voter anxiety -- it will mean the start of holiday buying.
Only Kantorovich, who runs a rifles and shooting store, said the winner will affect his sales. If Republican Mitt Romney wins, he can expect good spending for four years, as his customers are secure there will be no additional gun control laws. But if Democrat Barack Obama wins re-election, his customers will panic that new laws will forbid gun ownership.
"We're in the shooting industry," he said. "The fear factor of a Democrat in office makes spending go way up."


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KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — All businesses allowed to operate within the movement control order (MCO) may close at 10pm from tomorrow instead of 8pm currently, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
The senior defence minister said the decision was to streamline enforcement operations, citing confusion among businesses after the government previously allowed food outlets to open until 10pm.
“So after doing another risk assessment by the Ministry of Health (MOH), we agree to extend business hours for business sectors allowed to operate. They can operate until 10pm,” Ismail announced in his press briefing today.
Today, the Health Ministry reported 4,094 new Covid-19 infections or 1,109 more cases than when the renewed MCO began on January 13.
“Previously, after the Ministry of Health (MoH) carried out a risk assessment, the government agreed to extend operating hours of restaurants, food trucks, roadside hawkers, food courts and food delivery services until 10.00pm.
“MoH has also conducted continuous risk assessment and, to coordinate operating hours, the government also agreed to extend the hours of all previously approved business operations such as supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, shops selling daily necessities, animal food stores, laundromats as well as eyewear stores and others until 10pm starting tomorrow, January 29, 2021.
“This standardisation is also to facilitate the authorities’ monitoring and enforcement,” he added.
Ismail Sabri said that the government has also agreed to allow forestry and timber sectors as well as the supply chain involving logging operations to operate beginning tomorrow.


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Used to be in Detroit you could get about 30 stations on your radio. Then came satellite radio, and you could get 230 stations. Now, thanks to Ferndale’s Livio Radio, Chevrolet’s new Spark minicar will offer you 70,230.
Livio, manufacturer and developer of connected car products and smartphone app connectivity software through Livio Connect, announced the closing of its Series C financing round with Beringea, Western Technology Investment, Angel Street Capital, North Coast Technology Investors and Invest Detroit’s First Step Fund. Several angel investors also participated.
Livio Radio, a Ferndale manufacturer and developer of car Internet radio products and services, today announced the inclusion of AddictedToRadio (formerly 1Club.FM) in the Livio Car Internet Radio application and the newly announced Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit.
Ferndale-based Livio Radio, manufacturer and developer of Internet radios for the car and home, announced a sales relationship with the national non-profit Our Time in support of Our Time’s Buy Young initiative.
The Ferndale developer of Internet radio products and services Livio Radio Tuesday announced an investment agreement with Western Technology Investment, a venture debt firm with a portfolio including names like Google and Facebook.
Ferndale-based Livio Radio announced the inclusion of its Internet radio products in the Federal Communications Commission’s new Technology Experience Center.
The Spring Hill, Calif. electronics integrator Dice Electronics announced the arrival of the 2011 Silverline Duo Integration Kits with Ferndale-based Livio Radio. iPhone users will now have full control over Livio Car Internet Radio app’s 45,000 plus radio stations through factory radio controls, with no monthly fees.
Ferndale-based Livio Radio, creators of Internet radio devices and accessories, Monday released an Internet radio application for Android users.
Grooveshark, the world’s most comprehensive on-demand music service, and Livio Radio, developers of Internet radio devices and accessories, have joined forces.
Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report editor Matt Roush will be winging his way to Las Vegas Tuesday for the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show. What’s billed as the world’s largest trade show aims to […]


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Import to Belarus via Poland.
Imports to Belarus via Poland instead of Lithuanian and Latvian warehouses are becoming more and more relevant.
This route is becoming more interesting in light of recent developments in the imposition of various trade sanctions and the escalation of general political hysteria.
Imports to Belarus (this country is a member of the customs union) through Poland will be the most profitable and useful, as a number of EU countries (Lithuania and Latvia in particular) will not be able to easily and cloudlessly deliver goods and goods directly to Belarus through checkpoints at the state border.
There is evidence from independent sources that Belarus has recently tightened its requirements for Lithuanian hauliers. However, the president of the Lithuanian National Road Transport Association, Linava, says the situation has stabilized. But, despite this, part of the cargo flow carriers are trying to direct across the Latvian-Russian border, bypassing Belarus.
The history of the trade and transport conflict is connected with the elections in Belarus and the non-recognition of their results by the international community.
In response to external pressure, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has suggested that the government redirect all trade flows from Lithuania to other routes, he said after Vilnius threatened Minsk with sanctions if it refused to accept a plan to resolve the protests peacefully.
A similar rhetoric is addressed to Latvia - the threat of redirecting trade flows.
Politicians are very far from reality, which is why the Minister of Communications of Latvia Talis Linkites said that the risks of losing Belarusian cargo will not change the position of Riga in relation to the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarus mainly supplies potash fertilizers through the ports of Lithuania and Latvia, which accounts for more than 50 percent of exports. There are also deliveries of products of mechanical engineering, agriculture, food industry.
And what to do to all of us, participants of supply chains: forwarders, the logistician, carriers, storekeepers and cargo owners ??? There is a simple solution - delivery of goods to Belarus via Poland, now this service will be most in demand in the field of transportation of goods and products.
According to our forecasts, the transportation of goods to Belarus via Poland will only increase its turnover due to the fact that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will no longer be able to import their goods directly "smoothly" across the border, so stakeholders will look for alternative ways to deliver. Transit through Poland to Belarus is a solution that can simplify the delivery of any type of cargo, whether it is food or building materials, electronics, cosmetics, car parts, flower products, valuable goods or anything else.
The "Transit through Poland to Belarus" service seems to be in high demand, as evidenced by the influx of inquiries on this topic from various companies from Lithuania and Latvia.
So no need to worry, we need to work! Let's leave the "deep concern" for politicians.
Think of a safe way for your product, in other words - think about the future and you will not go wrong!
It is possible that the use of a shipper from Poland will cross the tension when the goods cross the border, why tease geese and trade with Belarus from a Lithuanian or Latvian company?
Lithuanian carriers are worried: will Belarus limit the transit of goods ???
Consultation on the organization of transit to Belarus through Poland can be found on our website https://agl-division.pl/
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Arlington, VA – The National Grocers Association (NGA) today applauded the advancement of H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, which included key policy provisions that focused on preserving and strengthening the public-private partnership between retailers and the federal government within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
As advanced from the House Agriculture Committee, H.R. 2, or more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, extends the temporary prohibition of processing fees on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) transactions as well as enhances the protection of highly sensitive store-level SNAP redemption data, and expands healthy eating incentive programs, such as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program.
“Independent supermarket operators across the nation are committed to working collaboratively with USDA, Congress, and industry partners to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the SNAP food delivery system. NGA and its members appreciate the House Agriculture Committee’s recognition of the important role supermarkets play in the successful public-private partnership within the program,” said Peter Larkin, NGA president and CEO. “We are pleased to see it contains many of the provisions the independent supermarket industry has advocated for, but urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to pass a comprehensive Farm Bill that reflects bipartisan consensus,” added Larkin.
“We are grateful that Chairman Conaway and the House Agriculture Committee included many of our key provisions within the 2018 Farm Bill,” said Greg Ferrara, NGA EVP of advocacy, public relations and member services. “As the bill continues to advance in the House, NGA will be working with lawmakers to ensure that any proposals to limit consumer choice in the marketplace and put new administrative burdens and fees onto retailers are defeated.”
NGA will support Farm Bill legislation that maintains a strong public-private partnership between the federal government and the private retail sector in SNAP, reauthorizes and expands the FINI program and other healthy food incentive programs, and rejects any new fees or excessive reporting mandates.


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Nationwide suffers IT glitch as customers struggle to log in both online and via smartphone apps
- Nationwide customers have been struggling to log-in since Tuesday
- Building Society says it is 'working to resume service as quickly as possible'
- Hundreds of customers are complaining to the mutual on Twitter
Nationwide Building Society is the latest major financial firm to suffer IT problems with customers struggling to log-in online and via its app since Monday.
On the Nationwide website is a holding message that states: 'Your Internet Bank is not available right now. We are working to resume service as quickly as possible.'
Meanwhile hundreds of customers are venting their frustration on social media platform Twitter, where the official Nationwide account stating: 'our Internet Bank & Banking App services are experiencing intermittent issues.'
IT struggles: It's not the first time Nationwide has suffered a glitch with its website and app
The problem does not appear to be hitting card payments or cash withdrawals at ATMs. However, many are now used to banking online, as customers are pushed away from branches for the 'convenience.'
Britain's biggest mutual - whose motto is 'on your side' - paid its boss Joe Garner £3.4million last year despite profits falling.
Many have been left frustrated by not being able to check their accounts on computers or smartphone:
Earlier in the year, Lloyds, Halifax, RBS and NatWest customers were locked out of accounts as its systems had a meltdown before Bank Holiday payday - causing many to panic that their cash had vanished.
In the last few years, Nationwide has also suffered from embarrassing glitches, including in April 2013 and June 2015.
A Nationwide spokesman said: 'Due to an intermittent performance issue affecting our Internet Bank and Banking App, some customers have experienced a slower and delayed service.
'We want to reassure our customers this issue relates to a technical fault rather than a malicious incident.
'As a result, we're currently undertaking maintenance to restore normal service as soon as possible.
'Customers will be unable to access Internet Banking and the Banking App while this work is being undertaken.
'All other services remain unaffected. Customer service remains our top priority. We thank customers for their patience and apologise for any problems caused.'
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UNIMY students from computer engineer, software engineering, computer science as well as other programmes showcased their Final Year Project on 8 January 2020 at the heart of KL in Fahrenheit 88 event hall.
We had visitors from Dell and KPMG visit the showcase during the event.
By chatting with these industry players, students were not only able to share about the benefits of their final projects to society but also learn from these industry leaders such as which job is best for computer science students, why computer engineering is a good career and many more.
The projects were showcased by our Degree and Diploma Final Year Students. Some of the projects showcased included an online bakery website, a timetable management system, a vegetarian restaurant e-commerce site, a 2D Animation Game, and also a SOS app for women.
The 8,000 sq feet event hall at Fahrenheit 88 was the perfect location for students to showcase their work with beautiful easels set up for them to showcase their project details.
Great Job Students! We are proud of you!


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Источник: The DairyNews
This was reported on the official page on Facebook by Oleg Sirota, according to The DairyNews.
"There will be more than 80 cheese makers from all over Russia. 120 tons of cheese is on the way to the capital of! We can forget of Western sanctions for the New Year and Christmas: we will bring to Moscow Tula Gorgonzola, semi-hard cheese produced in Moscow region, Krasnodar Camembert, Kaluga mozzarella, Yaroslavl Cecotto, flavoured cheeses from Lipetsk region and many others! It is not possible to enumerate all of them. During “Cheese weeks” dairies from Karelia, the Crimea, Kazakhstan and the Altai mountains make their debut - every day there are more and more of us. The locomotive of import substitution in Russia is accelerating slowly and will soon go in full force," - said Oleg Sirota.
He noted that the participation of farmers is absolutely free.
For those who wish to take part, wrote Oleg Sirota, it is possible to send a request by mail email@example.com
We remind that in the framework of the “Cheese weeks” the at the festival "Golden autumn" farmers cheese-makers have sold more than 60 tons of cheese.
Read full article in Russian on DairyNews.ru


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If you have yet to hope on board the Nintendo Switch hype train, you might be interested to learn that Nintendo has announced a new exclusive bundle for Walmart. This bundle will come with the Nintendo Switch in a neon red/blue finish, a copy of the recently released Mario Tennis Aces that was launched last month, and also a copy of 1-2 Switch.
All of this can be had for $359 and will be available from Walmart starting on the 5th of September. Note that the Switch is typically priced at $299.99 but given that this is a bundle that comes with two games, it is understandably more expensive. Mario Tennis Aces is already priced at $59.99 which means that you would be essentially getting two games for the price of one.
Also take note that these games are the digital versions, so for those who want the physical copy, you’d be out of luck. For those unfamiliar, 1-2 Switch is a game that was launched with the Nintendo Switch. It was designed to showcase what the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers could do, similar in concept to what the Wii Sports titles were like for the Wii and Wii U.


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After watching their economies stagnate and sputter forward, two economic titans are sitting down to talk about a trade agreement. Currently in the early stages of negotiation between the US and European Union, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could be critically important (and positive) for the future of both economies. Already critical markets for one another, the EU and US trade relationship accounts for about 30 percent of global trade, and $1.5 trillion in current-account transactions. This relationship may become much cozier soon.
Normally, free-trade agreements (FTAs) would break down the barriers to trade by lowering and removing tariffs, but tariffs are already low between the world’s two largest economies.
Lowering nontariff barriers to trade (NTBs) is the true prize here. NTBs make up most of the actual impediments to trade between the US and EU, and include everything from technical requirements on goods to health and agricultural standards. Mutual recognition of standards—the EU recognizing the FDA stamp of approval in drug development, for example—is an area in which agreement could create a meaningful positive feedback to both economies. For the TTIP to have a pronounced economic impact, regulatory standards will need to be integrated significantly. With the US and EU together constituting 50 percent of the world’s economy, setting firm, mutually recognized standards could spur a de facto global standards regime.
Because they are imperative, NTBs also run the risk of sidelining the TTIP as lobbies and interest groups apply political pressure. Externalities are already disturbing the trade talks. The recent U.S. government shutdown caused U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to cancel the second round of negotiations which had been scheduled for October 7—not the best way to begin an already delicate process.
The recent NSA spying fiasco is stoking concerns over data privacy and lessening already tenuous trust in US institutions. Needless to say, there is a skeptical undertone to the intellectual-property portion of the talks. The French recently summoned the US ambassador with questions about the NSA’s activities, and President Obama was forced to call Angela Merkel to tell her the US was not tapping her phone. But while these may be embarrassing instances, the rewards for removing even a portion of the NTBs are too great to ignore.
The EU will fight for the inclusion of language surrounding the protection of geographical indications (GIs). GIs—designations on goods indicating a specific geographical origin or a certain quality—are potentially very valuable. The US would argue that words like Parmesan and Pilsner indicate broad product categories, not specific places. A strengthening of GIs would benefit Europe, and some global marketing by US firms with certain products would have to change. Thus far, the US has not supported GIs as a global standard, but this may change if the EU concedes some controversial point(s) on their side.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a potential flashpoint. Opposition to GMOs is strong in the EU, where all GMOs must be labeled. Part of the EU’s distrust of a potential settlement around GMOs is a broader threat to their perceived high level of consumer-protection standards. The EU’s “precautionary principle” requires the producer to prove that a product is not harmful to consumers, but the US adheres to a “science-based approach” where the product must be shown to be detrimental to health before its removal. The GMO issue is important for both sides. Europeans want to know about their food, and majorities of key US crops are genetically engineered. The EU already imports more agricultural goods from the US than any other country except Brazil, and the US is the largest importer of EU agricultural products.
The US and EU need the TTIP, not only to compete more favorably with the emerging world, but to spur growth in a time of stagnation on both sides of the Atlantic. The OECD has estimated that the TTIP could boost the EU economy 3-3.5 percent. More than a million jobs could be created in the US. Spain and Italy could see 140,000, and the UK more than 400,000. And per capita income could rise more than 6 percent in Spain, 10 percent in the UK, and 13 percent in the US.
Not everyone will be so thrilled. A successful TTIP would erode the value of trade agreements already in place. Some countries that have long been trade partners with the US and EU will suffer. The US’s NAFTA neighbors, Mexico and Canada, will suffer relative trade losses as their trade treatment loses its exclusivity. (This likely explains the recent push by Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, for Mexico’s inclusion in TTIP.)
The BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will find their long-standing advantages of low-cost labor and production slipping. In the case of a comprehensive agreement between the US and EU that includes the removal of at least some NTBs, the Bertelsmann Foundation estimates the BRICs loss of export and import trade at more than 30% to the US and EU.
The TTIP is not the only FTA currently being negotiated by the EU or the US. The EU currently has 11 such negotiations underway. And they are set to discuss an investment agreement with China (though not an FTA). The EU estimates that if all their agreements were concluded and effected today, then 2.2 million jobs could be created and 2.2 percent added to the EU’s GDP. The US is involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which completed its 19th round of talks and includes a host of countries from Asia and the Americas. Again, no BRIC countries are involved, and it would be the second largest FTA to the TTIP. The nations involved in the TTP comprise 38 percent of the world’s GDP, but US participation in the discussions is mainly political—a piece of the “Asian pivot”.
However, the success of the TTIP is not guaranteed. France, which has little to gain from the TTIP and therefore little incentive to bargain, has already managed to exclude “cultural exceptions” from the talks. Meanwhile Germany and the UK, which have the most to gain, are looking for the most comprehensive TTIP possible. The TTIP could, in fact, be a reason the UK has stayed in the EU.
The TTIP is not a silver bullet. Its potential economic benefits should be met with at least some skepticism. The predicted gains are almost too good to be true. Consider this: If the US were to gain the entirety of its 1.1 million potential jobs today, it would reduce the unemployment rate to the Fed’s target of about 6.5 percent from 7.2 (assuming all else equal). It is probable the expectations for the negotiation will prove to be somewhat optimistic, and leave many NTBs untouched and mutual regulatory standards undetermined.
The US and EU are in desperate need of growth and job generators at the moment. A bold TTIP alters the global playing field, tipping the trading field in favor of the developed world. While politically difficult, its ultimate outcome has significant ramifications for the future of global trade and regulatory standards. The economic benefits, sorely sought by both sides of the Atlantic, outweigh some of the differences in regulatory thought. With the prospect for meaningful GDP and job gains in the US, maybe the TTIP is just the push the U.S. economy needs to attain escape velocity and for the EU to begin to reduce unemployment and reaccelerate growth. It is time for the West to regain its place of leadership and prominence in the global economy.
Samuel Rines is an economist with Chilton Capital Management in Houston, TX.
Image: Flickr/Daniel Ramirez. CC BY 2.0.


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''It's become a destination for Angelenos,'' said Tami Semler about Malibu Family Wine's tasting room.
The winery produces a staggering 11 varietals from ice wine to estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Visitors can either sample wines in the tasting room or buy a bottle to drink on the property. Classic movies are shown outdoors on Thursday nights. And from Memorial Day through Halloween, live music fills the surrounding land on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
On a busy Saturday, the winery can attract as many as 1,000 visitors, said Semler, who is vice president of operations for her family's winery. "Every year, I keep on adding a bar."
Elizabeth Gilbert won many fans with her book Eat, Pray, Love. Now she is doing the same with Two Buttons Imports, her shop of exotic textiles. More
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|Boeing could kill production of its iconic 747 jumbo jet|


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Omega-3 role in weight loss
research conducted by researchers at the University of Navarra,
Iceland and University College Cork, published in the journal,
Appetite, [i] suggests that taking omega-3 whilst following
a weight loss programme makes people feel fuller for longer,
helping to reduce appetite.
The results of this research provide useful information for
the nutritional treatment of obesity, in addition to encouraging
changes in dietary habits to increase and maintain weight
With hundreds of weight loss products on the shelves of every
supermarket and health food shop, the food industry now clearly
recognises the needs of the increasingly overweight population
for solutions to weight loss and weight management. This category
of health supplement is already estimated to be worth $7bn,
and growing fast. Clinical research studies linking obesity
and other life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, metabolic
syndrome, cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer are another
driving force behind this growth.
Over 200 volunteers were recruited to this study, who were
classified as either overweight or obese. Participants were
randomly allocated to an energy restricted diet and supplemented
with either low (260 mg per day) or high dose (1300 mg per
day) omega-3 for eight weeks. The researchers measured appetite
during the last two weeks of the study.
The interesting findings of the study relate to the hunger-influencing
properties of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Subjects fed
dinners rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids felt less hungry
and remained fuller for up to 2 hours after meals compared
with those who ate a low omega- diet. The researchers hypothesise
that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids must modulate hunger signals.
Whilst these findings suggest a potential weight-management
role for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, further research
must be conducted in order to fully understand this mechanism.
Blood sample analysis also showed that a higher omega-3 concentration,
and a greater ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 were associated
with higher satiety. With the ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6
in the region of 2:1, the average diet is now quite significantly
out of balance, with an average ratio of approximately 25:1.
Changes in the Western diet, modern food processing techniques
and increased consumption of refined vegetable oils have been
blamed for this shift, which has been linked to increases
in a range of conditions including emotional problems, difficulties
with the circulatory system, obesity, skin problems and inattention
A wealth of research already attributes increased consumption
of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids to improved learning and
development, better memory, and reduced risk of cardiovascular
disease, depression and dementia.


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A fashion chain formed following last year's collapse of Ethel Austin fell into administration yesterday, casting uncertainty over the future of more than 1,000 jobs.
Life & Style Retail, which runs 91 stores across the UK, has appointed RSM Tenon as administrator after becoming the latest victim of the tough retail environment. The joint administrator, Simon Bonney, said the business would trade as normal while a buyer is sought. There have been reports that a private equity firm could rescue the group.
The company was formed from the remnants of the Ethel Austin fashion chain, which collapsed in March 2010. Elaine McPherson, formerly the chief executive of Ethel Austin, bought nearly 100 of its stores from administrators and gave it a new name, saving 1,183 jobs in the process.
It was the second time she had done so as Ethel Austin had gone into administration in 2008. Ms McPherson made her fortune selling the MK One fashion chain alongside Philip Green in 2004.
Ethel Austin, which once ran 300 stores, was formed in 1934 by Ethel and George Austin from a council house in Liverpool.


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Imagine the ability to completely control and monitor your car from the palm of your hand. Launching in late 2010, the Chevrolet Volt will be the first vehicle to support the new OnStar Mobile. Users will receive unprecedented connectivity with the ability to monitor electric range, MPG, battery level, and charge status.
OnStar Mobile will also allow drivers to control car functions like charging their Volt, unlocking and locking their doors, remotely starting the engine, running diagnostics, and receiving automatic alerts.
For a demo of their Android application, visit OnStarMobileDemo.com from your Android phone. (Warning: the app was designed for the Motorola Droid, so the UI does not fit on phones with smaller sized screens.)


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Christmas is right around the corner, and we all know what that means. It’s time to decorate the home, put up the Christmas tree, and go shopping for the perfect Christmas presents for our family members. While millions of people in the United States celebrate Christmas, we all know that there are some families that take this holiday a bit more serious than others.
A family in Texas has taken their home’s Christmas decorations to an entirely new level. The suburban Texas family decided to place thousands of LED lights all over their home. The front yard of the property has been decorated with over a dozen pine trees that light up white, and there are also two other trees that are decorated with colorful Christmas lights and ornaments. Giant snowflakes cover the front of the home, and they light up as well.
However, these decorations alone are not what makes this house special. Just last year, the hit Disney movie ‘Frozen’ proved to be a blockbuster success in theaters across the world. ‘Frozen’ was memorable for a number of different reasons, but the movie’s featured song ‘Let It Go’ was extremely popular among the film’s fans. The residents of the suburban home in Texas decided that it would be a cool idea to put together a light display that was in sync with the song ‘Let It Go.’
As Christmas nears closer, millions of people around the world are beginning to get into the holiday mood. A YouTube video of the suburban Texas home has gone viral. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have helped spread the word about the incredible Texas Christmas home. While the home is covered in mainly Christmas decorations, there is one thing about this home’s look that has people a bit confused. A social media user asked why there was a giant cactus alongside the rest of the Christmas decorations.
The residents of the suburban home stated that they live in Texas, and they can get away with it. Also, the husband and wife happen to love cacti, and that’s why the desert plant is prominently displayed alongside Christmas trees and snowflakes. Nonetheless, anyone who is a fan of Frozen should check out the incredible Texas Christmas home on YouTube.


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NVIDIA is planning to launch its next-gen RTX 40 series graphics cards in the second half of the year. Based on the Ada Lovelace microarchitecture and TSMC’s N5 (5nm) process node, these GPUs will roughly double the raster and ray-tracing performance over existing RTX 30 “Ampere” parts. According to well-reputed tipster Greymon55, NVIDIA will launch its next generation of GeForce cards starting with the RTX 4080 and 4090 in September.
The RTX 4080 should feature 16GB of GDDR6X memory running at around 21Gbps, while the RTX 4090 should pack somewhere between 20-30GB of GDDR6X memory. In terms of specifications, we’re looking at an FP32 core count of up to 18,432. The AD102 flagship is rumored to feature 144 SMs distributed across 12 GPCs. That results in a raw compute gain of over 2.5x (90 TFLOPs) over the GA102, granted the core is running close to 2GHz.
The bus width of the RTX 4080 and 4090 should be the same as their predecessors (384-bit and 320-bit), paired with faster GDDR6X chips, resulting in even higher memory bandwidth. According to Greymon55, the Lovelace-based RTX 4070, RTX 4080, RTX 4090, along with their brethren will essentially be a miniaturization of their RTX 30 series predecessors on TSMC’s N5 (5nm) node. NVIDIA plans to increase the die size to nearly 900mm^2, and stuff over 18,000 FP32 ALUs or CUDA cores on the top-end AD102 die. Of course, ray-tracing performance will get special attention as more and more titles adopt the technology. You can expect either a doubling of RT cores or some sparse matrix-grade optimization to significantly enhance the RT capabilities.
Other than that, as already mentioned, the SM will almost certainly get a shakedown either in terms of ALU count and/or partitioning. Other than that, there’s not much else that should change. The Tensor cores should more or less stay unchanged, perhaps even getting a trim. This sheer focus on compute density and ray-tracing performance are what will likely push the power consumption of the RTX 4080/4090 over 500W despite leveraging TSMC’s cutting-edge 5nm node.


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By RACHEL KONRAD
Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. CEO Bruce Chizen said Monday he would step down, and President and Chief Operating Officer Shantanu Narayen will replace him on Dec. 1.
Narayen will retain his title as Adobe's president and join its board in December, Adobe said. Narayen has been president and COO of the maker of the popular Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat programs for almost three years.
Narayen joined Adobe in 1998 as vice president and general manager of engineering. In 1999, he was promoted to senior vice president, and in January 2005 he became president and chief operating officer. Before Adobe, Narayen co-founded Pictra Inc., a digital photo sharing software company. He also served as director of desktop and collaboration products at Silicon Graphics Inc. and was a senior manager at Apple Inc.
Wall Street reacted negatively to the loss of Chizen, a blunt-speaking executive known for keeping Adobe's morale high.
The stock closed Monday at $42.19, down $1.05 or 2.4 percent as news dribbled out. After the CEO's departure was formally announced, the stock lost another $1.51 in after-hours trading.
Chizen, who has been at Adobe for 14 years, will remain CEO until Nov. 30, then work halftime as a strategic adviser until the end of fiscal 2008. He will also serve on Adobe's board of directors through the spring.
Chizen, 52, who has served as Adobe's CEO for seven years as the company collected record profits, said in a phone interview he was stepping down "to take a break."
"This will be the first time in my life I've had a chance to take a step back and figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life," Chizen said. "As much as I love Adobe products and employees, I didn't want to find myself at 55 saying, 'Gee, I wish I had done something else besides Adobe.' The role of CEO is all-consuming."
The company is expected to file paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission about the personnel switch on Tuesday.
The San Jose-based software maker has been on a tear in recent quarters, launching a slew of new programs for "creative professionals" _ editors, videographers, Web designers and other workers willing to pay top dollar for sophisticated software. Besides Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat, the company's flagship products include the popular Creative Suite, which was updated in April and sells for $1,599 (euro1,097) to $2,499 (euro1,714).
Adobe reported in September that its fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled on a 41 percent revenue increase, and bullish executives have predicted a sustained double-digit growth spurt. The company reported a record $851.7 million (euro584.2 million), up from $602.2 million (euro413.06 million) in the third quarter of 2006.
"I'm not leaving under any cloud. There's no severance agreement. I'm taking a break, and the reason I feel comfortable taking a break is because the company is in such good shape," Chizen said.
Narayen, who holds five patents and degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Bowling Green State University and Osmania University in India, called Chizen a mentor and friend.
"The reality is that Bruce and I have partnered over the past few years over fundamental strategy," Narayen said Monday in a conference call. "With five years of double-digit growth, it's clear to me that our strategy is working."
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said Chizen has done "amazing stuff" _ particularly after Adobe's $3.4 billion (euro2.33 billion) purchase of Web software maker Macromedia Inc., which closed in December 2005. At the time, pundits speculated that the huge acquisition would sidetrack Adobe and give critical advantages to Microsoft Corp., its main rival.
"This has nothing to do with the state of the business. It has to do with Bruce and the next chapter in his life," Munster said.
Chuck Geschke and John Warnock, Adobe's co-chairmen, said in a statement that Chizen "helped transform Adobe from a company that was known mainly for its popular design products into one of the largest and most diversified software companies in the world."
Chizen said he's been talking to the board of directors for several quarters about his desire to step down. The Los Altos resident plans to stay in Silicon Valley _ though he hopes to spend more time in his native New York as well.
"I'll be attending to long list of things my wife would like me to do _ but I refuse to do laundry," he quipped.


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The NAB 2020 show has been cancelled on account of Coronavirus Disease COVID-19.
As you know, we have been carefully monitoring coronavirus developments both domestically and globally over the past few weeks.
A statement from Gordon H. Smith, president and CEO, NAB Show said:
In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April. We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community.
This was not an easy decision. Fortunately, we did not have to make this decision alone, and are grateful to our NAB Show community for engaging with us as we grappled with the rapidly-evolving situation. This show is as much yours as it is ours, and it is important to us that we move forward together...
I want to stress that despite our disappointment at how this year’s Show has been impacted by global public health concerns, we are more excited than ever about the future of NAB Show and our relationship with you.
We are grateful for each and every member of our Show community. It is your passion for the industry that makes NAB Show a success year after year, and it is that same passion that will drive us into the future as we look ahead to new possibilities later this year and beyond.
The story follows a similar path that the MWC Show in Barcelona faced: major exhibitors began pulling out a few weeks before the show. A few days later it was announced that MWC 2020 would not take place in Barcelona.
The situation with NAB, however, could potentially have been impacted following US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend travel from Europe to US.
Earlier this week, CABSAT announced that the 2020 edition of its show was postponed to October this year.


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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
MT. PLEASANT — For nearly a year, the Crown Motors location sat unoccupied, but Krusen Motors has since filled the lot.
Krusen Motors is a family owned dealership that sells new and used vehicles in the Mt. Pleasant community.
This is Krusen Motors’ first Iowa location, however, they do already operate in Marshall, Minnesota.
Krusen Motors chooses to dive right into the Mt. Pleasant community.
During their Memorial Day Sale event, Krusen Motors partnered with KILJ to not only offer deals on cars, but grilled food and enjoyed chatting with members of the community.
The company has already sponsored local organizations like Mt. Pleasant Disc Golf and the Iowa Barrel Racing group IA NBHA District 5.
Krusen Motor’s Chief Executive Officer Keith McKinzie and General Manager Kris McKinzie are also members of Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance as of July and the Mt. Pleasant Noon Rotary group.
“We are so excited to welcome Krusen Motors to the Chamber,” Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Delaney Van Ness said. “They’re going to be a great asset to our community and we are thankful for their support!”
The time has now come to officially celebrate this new addition to the Mt. Pleasant community with a ribbon cutting and Grand Opening event Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. with the Chamber of Commerce.