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Excessive or uneven tyre wear is once again the problem most frequently reported by respondents to J.D. Power’s annual survey of tractor performance in India. It is also noted as the most bothersome problem by tractor owners.
In the recent J.D Power 2014 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study, Nexen Tire attained what the Korean tyre manufacturer described as “promising results” for the second consecutive year.
According to a new study from J.D. Power, the number of problems owners in the US experience with their original equipment tyres declined 22 per cent to 68.5 problems per 100 vehicles in 2014 – down from 88.3 in 2010. The 2014 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study also found the incidence of all tyre problems measured has declined over the five-year span, with the largest improvements in fast tread wear, slow leaks and uneven wear. The study measured tyre owner satisfaction after two years of vehicle ownership in four segments: luxury, passenger car, performance sport and truck/utility. Satisfaction was examined in four factors: tyre wearability, tyre ride, tyre appearance, and tyre traction/handling.
Pirelli in the US reports it is one of only two tyre brands to have scored above the industry average in this year’s Tire Satisfaction Index in the 2008 J.D. Power & Associates Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. Pirelli’s index score improved over last year and was ranked second only to Michelin among the 14 major tyre brands in the study, which – notes Pirelli – included major players such as Goodyear, Continental and Bridgestone.
British Columbia’s OK Tire ranked highest in customer satisfaction on the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study. Based in Langley, B.C., OK Tire, has some 260 owner-dealers across Canada. The company achieved an index score of 902 on a 1,000-point scale, and scored well in the areas of work quality and customer orientation, score areas the study considered.
“Naturally we’re extremely happy with the news. The results of the study are an objective confirmation in regards to the efforts our owners have made over the past year to ensure we earn the trust our customers place in us” said Greg Sims, OK Tire president and CEO. The J.D. Power 2008 Canadian Customer Commitment Index Study is based on responses from 17,114 owners of 2- to 12- year-old vehicles. Vehicle owners were surveyed between December 2007 and May 2008. Overall customer satisfaction with their vehicle service provider is determined by examining five key factors: appointment/check-in, service advisor, work quality, after service and customer orientation. (Tire Review/Akron)
For the 11th time, Michelin earned the highest ranking in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. This year, Michelin’s study scores averaged 38 points higher than the industry average in each segment, the tyremaker said.
Michelin has topped the rankings in all four award segments including Luxury/Sport, Pick-up/Full-size Van, Mass Market/Non-Luxury Sport and SUV. The 2008 results bring Michelin’s total to an unprecedented 56 awards in the U.S., the company said. (Tire Review/Akron)
Only 25% of Class 8 truck fleets say they “definitely will” buy or lease a new truck within the next 12 months, according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study. That 25% figure, said J.D. Power, was down from 41% posted in 2006, and indicates that there may be a very modest pre-buy of new tractors prior to new EPA-mandated engines that will be required as of 2010.
Only 54% of the truck fleets surveyed by J.D. Power said they will expand the size of their fleets, down from 2006’s 63%. The recent study tabbed smaller fleet operations with an average fleet size of 53 trucks at a single location. (Tire Review/Akron)
For the fourth year running, Michelin was ranked highest for customer satisfaction by motorists in the US, buying replacement tyres for cars and light trucks. These two accolades mean that Michelin has achieved no fewer than 37 such awards – more than all other tyre manufacturers put together. The company has also won a J.D. Power award every year since they were first introduced in 1989.
According to JD Power’s recent survey of North American buyers, whilst the Internet has become a regular shopping tool for nearly two-thirds of new-vehicle buyers, few vehicle owners use the Internet when it comes time to buy replacement tyres. The study finds that more than 60 percent of tire buyers access the Internet, but only 16 percent of those who access the Internet use it when they need to buy replacement tires. “The desire to discuss their needs with a tire salesperson and their intentions to buy from the same retailer are key reasons tire buyers do not use the Internet as a tire shopping tool today,” said Jeff Zupancic, director of the tire practice at J.D. Power and Associates. Of course, since the JD Power survey relates to new car owners it only touches on that fraction of the market. The larger, used car sector may make a different use of the Internet for tyre purchases.
J.D. Power has carried out a quality survey of models in the US car/light truck market. Vehicles are ranked by the number of problems per 100 vehicles and this year’s industry average was 133 faults. The highest rated was Lexus (76 faults), followed by Cadillac (103) and Infiniti (110). The model scoring the worst was the Hummer (225), but there were some famous names at the wrong end of the list, with Land Rover (190) in penultimate position, then Kia (168), Mini (166) and Saab (160).
In a study of Automotive Emerging Technologies by J.D. Power in the USA, safety-related features were more important to motorists than entertainment or convenience. The most popular safety feature on the motorists’ wish list was a tyre pressure monitoring system, prompted by recent tyre recalls. However, the study found that the price of these features is important – one feature which was high on the list was infra-red night vision, but interest dropped dramatically when consumers were told this would cost $1,800.


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The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Small Aircraft Revitalization Act in a vote late Tuesday afternoon, a move that supporters say will update outdated certification regulations.
Its passage paves the way for the bill to move to the Senate’s Commerce committee.
The legislation calls for the Federal Aviation Administration to reorganize certification requirements to streamline the approval of safety advancements.
Supporters say the legislation would improve safety while cutting the cost of certification in half for light general aviation airplanes.
“Today, all our manufacturers, especially our general aviation manufacturers, compete all around the world,” said Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, who introduced the bill. “Their ability to get their products to market faster … is incredibly important. Their capacity to make that happen and do it in a way to keep airplanes safe and sell products quickly aids in their ability to compete.”
The bill puts more responsibility for certification on the industry and manufacturers with the FAA maintaining its mission and obligation to ensure that products brought to market are safe and compliant with regulations, Pompeo said.
“It isn’t going to turn the lights on for our aviation manufacturing folks immediately,” Pompeo said. But it will improve their ability to compete over time.
Regulatory barriers to bringing new designs to market result in a lack of innovation and investment, according to the bill’s supporters. They say adoption of the legislation would spur innovation and clear the way for new technology to be adopted.
The bill has gained support from a variety of aviation trade groups, including the National Business Aviation Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association and National Air Transportation Association.
The Machinists union also came out in favor of it, saying that it will make “general aviation safer and help grow an industry that has been a source of good paying American jobs.”
The FAA’s Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee, made up of aviation experts and industry representatives, was given 18 months to provide recommendations to the FAA’s Small Airplane Directorate to reorganize certification regulations for Part 23 airplanes, which range from single-engine piston planes to multi-engine jets.
Those recommednations include replacing current, prescriptive certification requirements with performance-based, consensus standards.
Certification regulations would focus on aircraft performance and complexity and be written on a “broad, general and progressive” level.

domain: news


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Met Police target owners to reduce scooter crime
In a bid to reduce scooter crime, the Metropolitan Police has launched the Be Safe campaign to persuade scooter owners to protect their bikes more effectively.
56% of bike thefts in London are of scooters. Yet up to 80% of scooter owners use no extra security other than the bike’s own steering lock.
In an effort to reduce how easy it is for opportunist thieves to take scooters, The Met’s Be Safe campaign encourages owners to reduce the chances of themselves becoming a victim of theft, and their ride going on to be in other crimes like bike-jackings and street muggings.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick said:
‘This campaign is about encouraging scooter owners to do everything they can to adequately secure their vehicle against its theft and its subsequent use to commit thefts and violent robberies against the public.
“Police are working hard to make the streets hostile territory for reckless criminals who endanger lives, but it is the easy availability of scooters that is driving the rise in scooter enabled crime.”
To highlight the issue of scooter crime, Met has created a natty video to demonstrate how scooters are currently easy pickings.
Owners need to take responsibility
Given the shocking number of people who don’t use extra security, it’s clear riders should be doing more to protect their scooters.
Many argue that there is no point using extra locks, because if a thief wants to take a bike, they’ll do anything, including using angle grinders to do so.
They are right, to a point, but the No. 1 rule of motorcycle security is the more you do to protect your bike, the less likely a thief will be to attack it. They simply don’t need the hassle, especially when there are so many unprotected scooters to attack.
Remember, the majority of attacks in YouTube and newspaper videos are on high-end bikes – the angle grinders only really come out for the Triumph’s, BMW’s and Ducati’s.
Missing the point
On social media, observers have laid into the police claiming, understandably, that police should be doing more to clamp down on the gangs stealing the scooters.
Typical comments include, “Disgusting. Go chase and catch the inbreds stealing rather than tell people to lock their things up better. Doesn’t matter how much you spend on a disk lock and chain against a portable grinder ” and “This statement really pisses me off, it’s our fault apparently “
This misses the point.
Operation Venice continues to target scooter crime by known motorcycle crime gangs, but due to police cutbacks, there is a limited amount the Met are able to do.
They have limited resources and can also be hampered by the structure of the Met, where opportunist bike theft is dealt with at local station level, not by a dedicated team.
Faced with such severe restrictions, the Met has to look at other ways to reduce scooter crime, and that includes getting owners to take more responsibility.
Behind the scenes, they are also trying to get the manufacturers to take bike security more seriously, but that’s another story.
Get yourself sorted:
Use as much bike protection as you can reasonably afford.


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The owners of Philly’s Italian Ice & Mobile Eatery have reported their food truck missing.
Jill Young, one of the owners, says they last saw the truck at American Store & Lock at 9833 Newell Hickory Grove Road on Thursday, right before taking off four days for Memorial Day Weekend.
Young filed a police report Tuesday morning. She said the plan was for the truck to be out on Carowinds Boulevard Tuesday.
“We have a full schedule this week, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen,” Young said.
Philly’s is using social media to reach out to anyone with more information, Young added.
Philly’s sells Philly cheesesteaks, Italian ice, wings and more.


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A new study by on-chain analysis firm CipherTrace found that most Know Your Customer (KYC) processes in Bitcoin and crypto exchanges can be exploited by money launderers, criminals and extremists.
Only recently, the founders of BitMEX were indicted in a landmark case in the USA.
Not only exchanges in the USA, Great Britain and Singapore demand KYC
According to CipherTrade, over 56% of all crypto-currency service providers worldwide have a „weak or porous“ KYC process, such as wallets, money exchanges and others. The metric means that criminals and money launderers can use such services to deposit or withdraw their ill-gotten funds with very little or no KYC.
According to CipherTrace, companies in the U.S., Singapore and the U.K. are leading the way – despite the strict financial regulations in these three regions.
„Although these regions generally host a higher volume of crypto service providers, the large number of VASPs in these countries, which require little to no KYC, shows how easy and extensive potential exit opportunities for money launderers are,“ the report said.
According to the analysts, more than 60% of the world’s 10 „worst KYC countries“ are in Europe, 20% in Latin American and Caribbean countries and the last 20% in APAC countries.
Due to strict, or rather non-existent, regulations regarding digital currencies, most crypto-companies are forced to operate in non-transparent countries and open accounts in a tax haven like the Cayman Islands.
Lax KYC means, however, that regulators can still catch users and charge fees to business owners – as yesterday’s regulatory action against BitMEX showed.
The great DeFi risk
CipherTrace also points out that the burgeoning decentralized financial market (DeFi) on Ethereum – which has grown to over $10 billion in recent months – has characteristics of money launderers and is ripe to be exploited by them.
The company explains that even if the operations (i.e. the smart contracts and other technologies) are decentralized, their actual management and the presence of board members who manage such projects could mean that regulatory problems lie ahead.
The researchers found that over 90% of DEX with a clearly domiciled country had poor KYC, while 81% had little or no KYC. According to some regulators, despite its decentralized nature, this could be a „compliance violation“ and cause legal problems.
The company quotes Valerie Szczepanik from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in this context:
„[DeFi projects] are probably already subject to various laws, including securities law, possibly banking and credit law – definitely AML/CTF laws.“
Bill Barhydt, the co-founder of the crypto-wallet Abra, also expressed similar concerns yesterday after US courts summoned the three founders of BitMEX.
Regulation could therefore come sooner than one thinks.


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Daily news, dev blogs, and stories from Game Developer straight to your inbox
Alissa McAloon, Publisher
December 20, 2021
1 Min Read
Rec Room has raised $145 million for its social VR platform of the same name, bringing the company's lifetime raised to somewhere in the ballpark of $294 million.
Rec Room is largely known for its roots as a VR social app but has since expanded to nearly major platform possible, including smartphones and current generation consoles.
Boasting a lifetime userbase of 37 million and a 450 percent MAU jump since November 2020, Rec Room now leads with a user-generated content foot and says over 12 million "rooms" have been created within its platform since its inception.
"It's been amazing to watch Rec Room grow from a tiny collection of mini-games into a global platform with millions of experiences built by the community. The platform has become a place where people can come together to form meaningful connections, build communities, and share their creativity,” reads a statement from CEO and co-founder Nick Fajt.
“There’s still so much more we want to do, and as we head into 2022, we’re excited to build more experiences, expand to new platforms, invest in best in class trust and safety systems, and continue to expand our creator tools.”
This latest round of funding was led by Coatue Management, with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group chipping in as well. All in all, this latest round brings the company's valuation to $3.5 billion, up from $1.25 billion earlier this year.
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Calls For UK
Government To Deliver Strong Aviation Policy
By Mike Mitchell
November 1, 2011 - Association of British Travel Agents
(ABTA) on Monday welcomes the British Chamber of
Commerce’s (BCC) call for the Government to scrap its
proposed increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and devise
a bold and long-term aviation policy, as outlined in the
BCC Aviation Report.
The report, prepared with the support of local chambers
of commerce and which ABTA and the industry fed into,
draws a clear link between air connectivity and the UK’s
economic performance underlining that a lack of a clear
aviation policy will hinder growth and job creation.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said, “we urgently need the Government to set a clear strategy on aviation that supports sustainable growth across the whole of the UK and that meets local and environmental needs.
report underlines that aviation is a catalyst for the wider
economy. Government restrictions on growth and obstacles to new
routes and affordable flying not only hurt the holidaymaker,
they hurt manufacturers, retailers and businesses right across
importance of new airport capacity in driving economic growth is
further highlighted by new research from ABTA. According to the
research, nearly a third (29%) of the general public spend in
excess of $692 (US) in the UK before going on holiday abroad, on
items such as clothing, cosmetics and travel accessories,
demonstrating the importance of outbound tourism to the economy.
island nation our regional and international connectivity is
vital to our future competitiveness. Many of our airports are
operating at close or near to capacity and this is severely
limiting growth potential. Our research shows people who go on
holiday support the UK economy and it is false logic to assume
that by restricting capacity in airports we are keeping the UK
consumer pound here,” added Tanzer.
The BCC report also echoes concerns voiced by ABTA and the Fair Tax on Flying campaign that aviation taxes are hurting British businesses. UK aviation tax is currently the highest in the world and this report confirms that it is having a damaging effect on the growth of the tourism industry as well as being unfair to the travelling public.
“whether it is the need for more aviation capacity or fairer flight
taxes the Government ignores these issues at its peril. Aviation is a
driver of jobs and growth and this report further underlines that if
Britain is to grow Government must find a new deal for aviation.”
The BCC report,
the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called upon the government to
develop a long-term aviation policy that supports business growth and
job creation. The report, entitled “Flying in the Face of Jobs and
Growth” sets out recommendations that would see the UK’s aviation
infrastructure improved to support growth in the private sector. They
include building additional capacity at our airports and scrapping
proposed increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD). The report also includes
analysis which demonstrates that the lack of a clear aviation policy
means the UK could miss out on millions in GDP, and much-needed jobs.
Aviation not only
allows businesses to deliver high-value goods, move employees, and link
to new markets. Some 40% (in value) of the UK’s exports go by air; good
connectivity is vital to attracting inward investment, and driving
growth in tourism. If businesses are to deliver sustained economic
growth, then we need a long-term plan to improve the UK’s aviation
In other European
countries, expanded hub airports, such as Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Paris
Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt International, are increasing the
potential for investment and economic competitiveness. The UK requires
both an expanded hub airport and greater regional connectivity to remain
competitive. For example, an additional runway at Heathrow would address
the capacity issue and ensure the UK has a hub airport that can compete
with other countries. Heathrow has fallen behind its rivals in serving
the growing BRIC economies. Paris and Frankfurt already boast 1000 more
annual flights to the three largest cities in China than Heathrow.
recommends the scrapping of planned increases in Air Passenger Duty
(APD) as a priority for government. In the UK, APD has increased between
140% and 320% since 2007, with a further increase of 5% expected in
April 2012. Many European countries, including Belgium, Holland, and
Denmark, have abandoned aviation taxes due to the negative effect on
The EU’s carbon
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will apply to the aviation industry from
2012, and bring additional revenues to the Treasury. While the BCC wants
to see the aviation sector deal with carbon emissions, current plans
effectively mean double taxation for Britain’s aviation industry. The
government should offset current APD taxation with the direct revenue it
will receive from the EU ETS. This will ensure our aviation industry can
continue to support supply chains, jobs and economic activity.
John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said “with public finances straitened and consumer spending depressed, all eyes are on the private sector to blaze a trail back to prosperity. The onus is on creating a strong, rebalanced economy, powered by exports of goods and services. All modes of transport serve business, but it is air transport that businesses rely on to get their employees and goods quickly to distant markets. Identifying the link between air travel and economic performance is easy. What’s harder is to convince the government of the need for a clear plan to ensure aviation can play its full part in ensuring economic recovery.
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NDTV: A 3rd of Adani’s NDTV provide subscribed regardless of steep low cost
The class of company traders have tendered essentially the most at 3.9 million shares whereas retail traders have supplied to promote a bit of over 706,000 shares to the ports-to-power conglomerate with certified Institutional consumers making up the remaining, based on information obtainable on the Nationwide Inventory Trade web site. All shares being supplied will fetch a set worth of Rs 294 ($3.6) a chunk, that’s 27% decrease than Monday’s closing worth for NDTV.
The trade disclosure didn’t identify the funds or establishments which have supplied to promote their NDTV shares.
The conglomerate, helmed by Asia’s richest individual Gautam Adani, is working an open provide till December 5 to purchase as a lot as 16.76 million shares — or 26% of fairness — from NDTV’s minority traders. The requirement to carry an open provide was triggered after the Adani Group purchased an oblique 29.18% stake in August within the media agency. NDTV founders, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, who’ve stated they neither knew about Adani shopping for in nor consented to it, personal about 32% stake within the broadcaster.
The takeover bid has stoked issues about erosion of press freedom on this planet’s largest democracy as NDTV is seen as one of many few native media shops comparatively vital of India’s federal authorities. Adani advised the Monetary Instances this month that he intends to scale up NDTV to make it a global media group and has requested Roy to stay as chair.
The open provide was accredited by India’s capital markets regulator earlier this month. Adani Group is on a breakneck growth spree because the tycoon diversifies past his coal-based companies into airports, digital facilities, cements, inexperienced power and now media.
Shares of NDTV have rallied following Adani’s curiosity within the firm. They’ve risen virtually 250% this yr and are on the right track for finest yearly achieve since buying and selling debut in 2004.


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The DR generates 50,000 tons of plastic bottle waste per year
The country. Lunch of the Corripio Communications Group, with Mr. Celso Juan Marranzini President of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Mrs. Circe Almánzar Vice President of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Mr. Juan Amell president of the Association of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industries (ASIBENAS), Mrs. María Alicia Urbaneja Executive Director of (ECORED) and Mrs. Marielly Ponciano Coordinator of Circular Economy Project. Today / Pablo Matos 02/26/2020
22 companies joined in this purpose, through the EcoRed organization, they created the Circular Economy program, which includes an investment of 25 million dollars over seven years, to recycle hundreds of tons of plastic bottles that are used for the consumption of different products.
The details of that program were offered by Circe Almánzar, executive vice president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), and Marielly Ponciano, coordinator of the Circular Economy project.
By participating in the Corripio Communications Group Lunch, Almánzar said that the project was made as a 20-year business plan and that it has several phases, including the purchase of a plastic processing plant that costs five million dollars.
In that sense, Ponciano explained that the first phase of the plan includes the implementation of logistics that allow the monthly collection of 300 tons of this garbage.
Those wastes, washed and converted into bales, would be sold to countries that have polycondensing plants, which convert that plastic into resins, Ponciano said, noting that they have already made contacts, for such purposes, with Mexico, Colombia and the United States.
When that first phase starts, and is sustainable from the increase in the volume of waste, then the purchase of a polycondenser plant will be viable, he said.
In order for such equipment to be installed, no less than 600 tons of plastic bottle waste must be collected each month, Ponciano said. “That plant crushes and washes the plastics, and the product obtained in that phase is a washed flake, which is already another byproduct that can be consumed locally, or sold at a higher cost abroad.”
Education, a priority of the plan
María Alicia Urbaneja, executive director of EcoRed, explained that the execution of the Circular Economy project has allowed the companies involved to learn that solid waste management is an important issue that cannot be ignored, and that implies the search for innovative solutions.
“In the search for positive results, we learned that this is an innovative issue, which implies the possibility of generating more jobs in the country, as well as saving foreign exchange when processing plastic in the country,” she said.
All this has a great impact, both for what the project generates economically and for the impact on the sustainability of the environment and the conservation of natural resources. Urbaneja considered a very positive element that Dominican companies, competing with each other, have joined together in a single purpose. “To think that 21 companies that are competitors in the market have been able to sit at the table to look for solutions together, that is good news for the country,” she said.


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Clicks & Cravings: The Impact of Social Technology on Food Culture is a joint study by The Hartman Group and MSLGROUP Americas to explore how food culture in the United States has evolved under the influence of social and digital media.
Sales in the third quarter of 2012 increased by 6 percent at constant exchange rates driven by an excellent performance in Latin America. Sales in the first nine months of the year increased by 9 percent to reach a record $11 billion, with volume up 6 percent and prices up 3 percent.
Nebraska's corn and soybean harvest is roughly a month ahead of normal this fall, but the continued drought has hindered the winter wheat crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that this year's harvest continues to run on a different schedule in Nebraska.
Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select will sell at major airports worldwide and high-end retail stores in the U.S. and perhaps abroad, said James Perry, an executive with Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp., parent of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a Honolulu company is recalling more than 4,000 pounds of ground beef products distributed to Oahu restaurants because the products may be contaminated with E. coli. The department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Monday Higa Meat & Pork Market is recalling 10 pound bags of "Higa Market-Ground Beef Bulk."
The highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drink has been cited in five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack, according to reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating. The reports claim that people had adverse reactions after they consumed Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contains 240 milligrams of caffeine, or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola.
The open-innovation bandwagon continues to gather momentum. As companies look for new ways to cut costs, many seem to be opening up their kimonos and letting outsiders in. Being one of those outsiders, this delights me. As an American, I am disappointed in our slow adaptation to the requirements of a world in which innovation is becoming the main driver of every economy.
This Halloween, Tastykake is joining forces with North America's largest chocolate manufacturer, The Hershey Company, to introduce a new treat that combines the "best of both worlds." New Kandy Bar Kakes are the perfect blend of cake and candy, made with real quality ingredients and featuring HERSHEY'S most popular flavors.
The Manufacturing Excellence Share Group (MESG), part of the GMA, developed the paper in conjunction with a Booz & Co. study and panel discussion in which more than a dozen manufacturing executives spoke about hiring, training, skill requirements and development, operational styles and new ways to uncover talent.
Inspecting imports into the U.S. demands not only government oversight, but also the sharp olfactory skills of specially trained dogs. At the Port of Oakland, California, dogs are important tools in tracking down insects that could devastate agriculture in America.
Company will be showcasing its linerless labeling technology at PACK EXPO in Chicago.
Eden is a non-contact safety sensor for use on interlocked gates and hatches.
Company's Mixture Homogenizer can achieve a globule or droplet size between 2 to 5 microns.
While the increasing focus on products and nutrition panels has been somewhat helpful, The Hartman Group believes that the obesity issue is really one that is symptomatic of larger cultural shifts occurring in how people in America eat… and eat too much.
SunTrust Banks Inc. on Monday posted sharply higher third-quarter earnings, largely due to the regional bank's sale of shares it owns in The Coca-Cola Co. But SunTrust reported higher expenses amid persistently low interest rates, and its shares slipped in morning trading.
The landscape of Mingaladon township on the northern outskirts of Myanmar's main city tells a story of economic upheaval. Skeletons of factories for a new industrial zone rise from thick green rice paddies local farmers say were seized by one of Myanmar's most powerful companies.
A quarter-century after pioneering the socially responsible business movement, Ben & Jerry’s is throwing its support behind the growing B Corporation (B Corp) movement, a network of companies that meet what Inc. magazine has called "the highest standard for socially responsible businesses."
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain proposed to borrow $7 million to take ownership of a failed sugar cane mill in southwestern Louisiana built with state dollars and now teetering on default of its debt payments. If the mill defaults on its debt, the bank would take over the property.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. has offered to buy Australian grain handler GrainCorp for about $2.77 billion. GrainCorp says it is considering the non-binding offer that values it at 11.75 Australian dollars ($12.13) per share, which comes to 2.68 billion Australian dollars.
School cafeteria kitchens in Washington serve about 500,000 lunches a day. Given that volume, you might expect school kitchens to rack up a fair number of health department violations. A review found only 521 citations in three years in Washington's 295 school districts, which includes more than 3,000 schools.


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Nissan's long resistance to its French partner's request to make the Renault-Nissan alliance "irreversible" could come at a high price for the Japanese automaker, which appears to be the real loser in the proposed merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault.
Nissan has complained for years about its unbalanced cross-shareholding with Renault. Nissan has a 15 percent stake in the French automaker but no voting rights.
If the FCA-Renault merger is approved by Renault shareholders as proposed by FCA, the new entity would own 43.3 percent of Nissan's shares and voting rights, as Renault currently does, while the Japanese automaker's stake in the merged companies would be diluted to just 7.5 percent. Nissan would be invited to nominate a director to the 11-member board of the new combined company, under the plan presented last week.
This means the person representing Renault at the next Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi operating board meeting would be the proverbial elephant in the room, as that executive may soon also be part of a powerhouse with combined global sales of 8.7 million vehicles and more than €10 billion ($11.1 billion) in operating profit in 2018.
This possible change in the size of Renault comes at a particularly painful time for Nissan, which in the fiscal year ended on March 31 saw its global volume dip 4.4 percent to 5.5 million vehicles and its operating profit slump 45 percent to roughly $3 billion.
Nissan's attempt to rebalance the alliance on the Japanese side would become an even more daunting challenge if Renault and FCA merge. The move would also make Renault less worried about the possible dissolution of its fractured 20-year alliance with Nissan.


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Posted by: Olga Kharif on November 19, 2008
One good thing that could come out of this economic downturn is an explosion of innovation in consumer electronics. There are signs that the electronics industry may be inching closer to breaking a new frontier and offering flexible consumer electronics.
Just today, researchers from Northwestern University announced they’ve developed so-called “pop-up” technology to create electronic circuits that can be twisted and stretched by as much as 140%. And a team of Chinese researchers has just unveiled a way to make speakers out of thin and flexible film.
What does it all mean? Thin and flexible is in. The next electronics revolution could involve cell phones that wrap around your wrist, and film-like boom boxes that stick right to your house’s curved wall or the fridge.


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The fare on daily deal websites such as Groupon is no longer relegated to restaurants and hair salons — and that could be bad news for e-commerce stalwarts such as eBay (EBAY) and Amazon.com (AMZN), analysts say.
The ever-expanding number of daily deals have morphed from hawking discounts on consumer services to giving price breaks on hard retail goods. The deals now cover even more esoteric products, such as a Universal Pitot Boot to protect a vital engine part in airplanes.
The deals' spreading universe hikes competition for larger sellers such as eBay and Amazon, says Scott Kessler, an analyst for Standard & Poor's.
Deal site leader Groupon, which has filed for an initial public stock offering, is jumping on the hard goods trend. View Enlarged Image
"You're going to see more (deal sites) getting into a variety of categories, including traditional retail," Kessler said. "People have a finite amount to spend. If they are spending more on these daily deal sites, then I'd argue that on a relative basis they aren't spending that money on eBay."
The number of sites offering daily deals now surpasses 600, says BIA/Kelsey analyst Peter Krasilovsky. On Tuesday, Google (GOOG) made an acquistion to further its deal efforts. It's inevitable the offers will expand.
"It's boring to have nothing but restaurant offers," he said.
Deal site leader Groupon, which has filed for an initial public stock offering, is jumping on the hard goods trend. Groupon did so well with restaurant deals that moving into hard goods was a logical step, says Chad Nason, a Groupon spokesman.
"As people saw how powerful Groupon was as a marketing tool, it quickly began to transcend industries," Nason said.
In June, Groupon attracted 14.4 million unique U.S. visitors, up 217% from June 2010, says market tracker ComScore.
EBay and Amazon have been trying to catch up in the daily deals game. EBay offers daily deals on its home page. Amazon bought 7-year-old daily deal site Woot.com last year for a reported $110 million. In June, Amazon Local debuted with offers from LivingSocial. LivingSocial also has filed for an IPO. Amazon invested $175 million in LivingSocial last year.
Clearly, daily deals are becoming an important issue for eBay and Amazon, Krasilovsky says.
"They see this as being part of their potential growth," he said.
Neither eBay nor Amazon would comment for this story.
Offering Web-based daily deals on retail items isn't new to Marshall Evans. He's done it since 2007. His dealadaygolf.com offers discounts on rounds of golf, clubs and more.
Evans checks prices on eBay and other sites before posting his offers. Consumers expect to find great deals, he says. Rule No. 1 is not to disappoint them.


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Pip & Nut has teamed up with DTC dogfood brand Butternut Box to launch a range of peanut butter treats for dogs.
Called Barkisan Peanut Butter Bites, the treats are available in two variants: Banana and Raspberry & Coconut.
Billed as the perfect post-walkies treat, they comprise “human-quality ingredients”, including Pip & Nut peanut butter, peanuts, oats and chia seeds.
They have rolled into Pip & Nut’s and Butternut Box’s webstores (£4.50/10 bites).
The partnership aimed to create more “shared experiences between dogs and their human companions”, said Pip & Nut.
“We’re so excited to collaborate with fellow B Corp, Butternut Box, as we’re big dog lovers at Pip & Nut and have seen first-hand how nutty they go for our natural peanut butter,” said Pip & Nut founder Pip Murray.
Butternut Box co-founder Dave Nolan added that the businesses were natural partners.
“My own dog Apple is a big fan of their peanut butter, so I know she’s as excited as I am to see Barkisan Bites hit our virtual shelves.”
The launch comes after Murray recently joined B Lab UK as a board trustee for an initial three-year spell.


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After a few quarters of slowing down, it seems the PC slide has truly started in India. Gartner, Inc says the PC shipments in India totalled... ...https://in.news.yahoo.com/india-pc-shipments-slide-7-114000349.html
FRANKFURT: Britain's tech start-up scene was having a bumper year in terms of new company creation, fresh funding and acquisitions by global tech... ...http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/londons-tech-startup-scene-weighs-threat-of-brexit/articleshow/52955540.cms
Comments June 28, 2016 - Mountain View, CA VeloCloud Networks Inc., the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company, today announced that Deutsche Telekom has... ...http://andhranews.net/Business/2016/Deutsche-Telekom-Leverages-VeloCloud-Cloud-Delivered-SD-WAN-25441.htm
Around the globe, healthcare reform has mandated that it is time for healthcare information technology (HIT) to be modernized and cloud computing... ...http://www.cxotoday.com/story/healthcare-sector-to-share-data-in-open-cloud-study/
From the Wires Company Continues Global Expansion With Leadership, Channel Development and Product Localisation; New Services Help Meet GDPR... ...http://in.sys-con.com/node/3859118
"Enterprise YouTube" is a notion that...
Internet marketing is important...


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Tag: White-collar jobs
Jepkoech, who started off with one packet of wheat flour a day, says she does a bundle per day, making Ksh4500 per day from chapatis alone. In addition, she sells tea and chips, which tops up her sales to Ksh5,500 per day, translating to about Ksh140,000 per month.
Kondas will always be smiling, witty, tough and at times uncouth depending on which side of their life you are on
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People Daily newspaper criticises President William Ruto and his administration, arguing “the disdain by the Ruto administration for the media has never been disguised.”
Kenya is putting many thousands of shillings in the pockets of those at the bottom end of the pay scale than any of her counterparts, Uganda and Tanzania, in East Africa - it has the highest minimum wage.
Fourteen luck punters struck gold in the SportPesa jackpot bonus, marking a memorable Valentine's celebration.
Leading online gaming platform in Kenya SportPesa has announced a groundbreaking enhancement to its cash out feature, unveiling the all-new "FULL Cash Out" option to its customers.


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If accurate, the trio of rumored smartphones could feature lower-than-usual prices.
The smartphone is the first of three devices rumored to employ Samsung's new design language.
According to a source close to SamMobile, Samsung will soon introduce a family of devices with the A design similar to the Galaxy Alpha.
The 7-inch and 10-inch tablets will be receving the Android 4.0 update on Friday, April 27.
In a year that's seen Panasonic giving up on plasma TVs and consumer mobile phones, the Japanese company has finally returned to profit.
The gnarly Panasonic HX-A500 waterproof wearable camcorder shoots sick 4K video of your extreme adventures.
commentary Today's selection of Android 8-inchers, while rather pricey, are showing more creative differentiation than we're used to seeing in the 7-inch category.
A is for Acer. A is for Android. And A is for the Acer Iconia Tab A500, a 10-inch Android tablet challenging the Apple iPad with its dual-core processor and lengthy list of features.
Acer's Iconia Tab brings the price of Android Honeycomb tablets within reach and offers compelling features in spite of its hefty design.
CNET's Donald Bell goes hands-on with the Acer Iconia A500 Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet, offering his first impressions.


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The Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu has on Monday said there are no plans by the company to hike prices of commodities such as Sugar, Cement, Flour and Spaghetti among others.
The Chairman who spoke in Kano through his representative in the Northern region, Alhaji Mohammad Adakawa told marketers buying and selling its products to also complement its effort by not increasing prices of the commodities.
The declaration by the BUA group was coming on the heels that other companies have already increased the prices of their commodities for an instance with sugar which was increased from N1,500 to N1,700.
He promised to ensure enough supply to take care of the scarcity of the commodities which is largely responsible for the price hike.
According to him, “The BUA Group has resolved that it won’t add a dime on the prices of commodities (Sugar, Cement, Spaghetti and Flour) from now till after month of Muslim fasting (Ramadan month).
“Although, some days back, we appealed to him not to increase prices of commodities and with this decision he has granted our request.
“He also promised to ensure adequate supply of the commodities in excess to avoid hike of the commodities.
“We are calling on the marketers to also compliment his effort by not hiking the commodities,” Adakawa however stated.


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- PayPal has suspended a Ku Klux Klan fundraising account after it was flagged online.
The account was first spotted by Nandini Jammi from Sleeping Giants, an online campaign group that pressures advertisers who advertise next to racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, or homophobic content on news outlets.
- Jammi told the BBC that this an “alarmingly common” way for white nationalist groups to raise funds.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
PayPal has suspended a Ku Klux Klan fundraising account after it was flagged online.
The account was first spotted by Nandini Jammi from Sleeping Giants, an internet-based group that is dedicated to stopping racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic news sites by stopping their ad dollars.
Jammi noticed that a white supremacist organization, called the Loyal White Knights, was promoting a link to a PayPal account and asking people to make donations.
Oh cool you can donate to the KKK with @PayPal.@AskPayPal can you explain this? pic.twitter.com/bkEzSlM3p2
— Nandini Jammi (@nandoodles) August 24, 2019
The Anti-Defamation League describes the Loyal White Knights as “one of the largest and most active Klan groups in the United States” with approximately 100 members. The group blends a mix of neo-Nazi beliefs with anti-Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, and racist views, the ADL says.
Jammi told the BBC, that PayPal is still an “alarmingly common” way for white nationalist groups to raise funds.
“I’ve been tracking hate groups on PayPal for several months now,” she said. “I was just Googling for a new example and I kind of knew all I had to do was type in KKK.”
Jammi criticized PayPal for taking nearly a week to suspend this account after she had flagged it. She told the BBC that she is concerned that PayPal is not able to act “quickly and decisively” on hate groups.
Read more: Charlottesville is a tipping point in Silicon Valley’s approach to hate speech
Certainly PayPal has been trying to crack down on white supremacist groups for at least three years. In 2015, Southern Poverty Law Center research director Heidi Beirich described the site as the “banking system of the hate movement.”
After sustained pressure and in the wake of the deadly far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, PayPal pledged to close any sites that accept payments or try to raise funds to promote hate, violence, and intolerance.
“There are some examples of them acting in a fairly timely manner. But they’re not applying [the anti-hate policy] in a consistent enough manner,” Sleeping Giants’ Jammi told the BBC.
Sleeping Giants also criticized PayPal for not spotting the account on its own, in a tweet on Tuesday: “Good that @PayPal suspended the KKK’s account, but pretty crazy that a volunteer campaign on social media needs to do this job for companies making hundreds of millions of dollars.”
A spokesperson for PayPal did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Social media users have also pointed out that The Loyal White Knights’ PayPal account is set up with a Google email address. A spokesperson for Google told Business Insider that it is currently investigating this.
SEE ALSO: Alibaba, the $435 billion Chinese shopping giant, is gunning for Amazon in Europe
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Mexico has just one store where you can legally buy a gun and it’s located on a heavily-guarded military base


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Hulu has become confident enough in its new premium Hulu Plus service that beginning next week, it’ll go out of beta mode and be available to the general public. Along with that, Sony Bravia TVs will receive a Hulu Plus app.
Up until now, access to Hulu Plus has been restricted only to those who requested and received an “invitation” to the service. That will change next week, though, when it is an official and universally accessible extension to the free Hulu.com website.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve added several titles to the Hulu Plus service, including new fall shows like Raising Hope, No Ordinary Family, and The Event, and back seasons of hit shows including Monk,Psych, and Battlestar Galactica. Today, we’re also happy to announce the availability of Hulu Plus on Sony Bravia 2010 TVs, with the service expanding to other Bravia devices in the near future,” wrote Hulu figurehead Rob Wong.
The reception toward Hulu Plus has been tepid at best. Viewers are still agitated over the idea of paying a monthly fee for videos that still bombard them with ads. However, at least the service really only does that with new, current-season TV shows now.
In addition to the Bravia announcement, Sony is also opening up Hulu Plus access on the PS3. Users will no longer need to be a member of the system’s premium PlayStation Plus service in order to download the Hulu Plus app.
Hulu promises to bring the video platform to even more devices as the months go by. The Xbox 360, perhaps the most anticipated device for the service, will get Hulu Plus some time next year. Tivo, Roku, and Vizio TVs are also among the gadgets expected to get Hulu Plus soon.


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Tehran, April 19, IRNA – Managing director of Abadan Petrochemical Complex announced that a reputable US company has asked to buy Iran’s petrochemical products.
Talking to IRNA, Massoud Jebraeili said he cannot name the company till the end of bilateral talks on the issue.
Then, the US company, through its branch in Europe, will buy petrochemical products from Iran, Jebraeili said.
The US company is active in providing material for petrochemicals, said he, adding it has asked for Iran’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Serious talks on petrochemicals exchange between the two will be held soon, he added.
After announcement of ‘Implementation Day’ of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and lifting of anti-Iran sanctions on January 16, obstacles to ways of cooperation with the reputable world companies have been removed, the official said.
Due to concerns in the US over having direct relations with Iran, some American companies hold talks on cooperation through their branches in different world countries, he added.


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Esco Bar manufacturer Pastel Cartel has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the FDA’s refuse-to-accept (RTA) determination for over 100 products included in multiple premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) filed by the company. The products include disposable Esco Bar devices and bottled e-liquids.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges the FDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it refused to accept the PMTAs for review on technical grounds.
The company is seeking:
RTA is the first step of the PMTA process—a quick check that the application meets statutory and regulatory requirements for filing. Once a PMTA is accepted and filed, the actual scientific review begins.
If the FDA refuses to accept a PMTA, the manufacturer has no choice but to submit a new PMTA. However, because PMTAs submitted after the deadline (in this case, after the May 14, 2022 deadline for synthetic nicotine PMTA submissions) must receive an FDA marketing granted order (MGO) before the product can be sold, the manufacturer would be forced to stop selling the product while waiting for authorization to begin selling it again. However, products for which PMTAs were submitted before the deadline (and the PMTAs accepted for review) appear to be protected from enforcement by the FDA while the applications are still being considered.
Additionally, legal challenges to a refuse-to-accept decision—unlike challenges to marketing denial orders (MDOs)—do not automatically advance to a federal appeals court. The company must, as Pastel Cartel has done here, first file a lawsuit in a federal district court.
Pastel Cartel’s PMTAs were not accepted for review, in large part, because of supposed irregularities in the company’s submissions. The FDA claimed in its RTA letters that Pastel Cartel did not provide authorization to access certain tobacco product master files (TPMFs) referenced in the applications. (TPMFs are usually scientific breakdowns of third-party-provided ingredients used to make the products being submitted for review. In this case, one of the TPMFs in question was a scientific review prepared by a consultant for a coalition of manufacturers.) The agency also said the company failed to use required forms in its PMTAs.
According to the company’s court filing, Pastel Cartel’s PMTAs did include documentation of its right to access the relevant master files. Further, even if the TPMF authorizations had been missing from the PMTAs, internal FDA policy is to first contact the applicant before refusing to accept the application. The agency did not do that, according to Pastel Cartel.
The FDA also claimed that amended form 4057b was not included in Pastel Cartel’s applications, which were filed on May 14, 2022—the deadline for submission of PMTAs for synthetic nicotine products. However, the amended version of this form—which was used as a pretext for issuing RTA letters to many applicants—was not published in the Federal Register until two days after the submission deadline, and was not available on the FDA’s website until just two weeks before the deadline.
Amanda Wheeler, then president of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association (AVM), told Vaping360 last fall she believed the FDA changed the forms just before the submission deadline “apparently as a means to disqualify wide swaths of already-filed applications.” She described the form switcheroo as “another outrageous example of how FDA has been underhandedly rigging the approval process.”
The most interesting Pastel Cartel allegation may not be legally relevant, but is certainly an illustration of the FDA’s lack of seriousness regarding synthetic nicotine PMTA submissions. According to the court filing, the FDA Regulatory Health Project Manager assigned to Pastel Cartel’s applications had quit working at the agency months before the RTA letters were sent. Seriously.
“This slipshod treatment,” write Pastel Cartel’s lawyers, “strongly implies that the RTAs were not much more than cookie-cutter templates and raises serious questions regarding FDA’s conduct in this matter.”
Esco Bar has received perhaps the most attention from the FDA in its “war on disposables.” In mid-May, the FDA issued import alerts ordering FDA inspectors to detain shipments of Esco Bar products. A week later, the agency sent warning letters to the manufacturers of Esco Bar disposables, ordering products removed from the market.
In June, the FDA issued warning letters to 189 retailers for selling “unauthorized” Esco Bar products. A month later, the agency warned additional online retailers for selling Esco Bar products.
While it’s possible other companies have sued the FDA after receiving RTA determinations for submitted PMTAs, we only know of one for certain.
Last November, New York-based Magellan Technology and Texas-based retailer Vapor Train filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, alleging similar administrative malfeasance by the FDA regarding Magellan’s PMTAs for some of its Juno and Hyde vapes. As in the Pastel Cartel case, the products in question contained synthetic nicotine and the PMTAs were filed just before the May 14 deadline.
Nearly a year after the filing of the lawsuit, which asked for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction staying the RTAs, the court has taken no action and set no schedule for hearings. Meanwhile, Magellan, like Esco Bar, has become a regular target for government legal attacks.
Some of Magellan’s RTA issues are described in this 2022 article about MDOs issued to the company as part of an FDA publicity stunt. In May of this year, the FDA warned several retailers to stop selling Hyde disposables. A month later, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Magellan’s petition for review of 12 Juno MDOs. In July, New York City sued Magellan and other vape distributors, alleging racketeering, among other crimes.


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Revolving credit, which includes credit cards, surged by 21.4%.
“All of this newfound debt that Americans have is only going to get more and more expensive in the coming months,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst for Lending Tree.
The rise in debt levels is likely driven by two factors, Schulz said. First, there is some pent-up spending after lockdown. Then there are other cash-strapped individuals who are turning to credit cards to pay for basic needs that have grown more expensive, he said.
“An increase in credit card debt can be a sign of confidence, or it can be a sign of concern,” Schulz said. “I think we’re seeing both of those simultaneously right now in this country, and it’s just another example of how different people have been impacted in the wake of the pandemic.”
Quoted from Various Sources
Published for: WATPFC


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Yesterday, the Dallas-based dairy processor reported net loss on an attributable basis of $56.9m for the three months ended 30 June 2013 – compared with profit of $56.2m recorded in the same period of 2012.
Dean Foods has attributed the lackluster result to a decline in its share of US fluid milk sales volume, which fell from 37.8% in Q1 2013 to 36.4% in the second quarter of the year. The company estimates that “more than two-thirds of the decline in Dean Foods’ fluid milk volumes is attributable to the transition of volume to other providers related to previously disclosed business losses.”
Speaking on a conference call with analysts yesterday, Dean Foods CEO Gregg Tanner said the company intends to speed up its efficiency efforts to offset the impact of its falling fluid milk sales volume.
“Our focus remains clear; we continue to work to extend our competitive advantage, beginning with costs and efficiency,” said Tanner.
Th company claims to be making “solid progress” against its $120m cost savings target for 2013, including plans to close between eight and 12 (10% and 15%) processing facilities across the US.
It has so far closed or announced the closure of eight plants, including its Shenandoah’s Pride plant in Springfield, Virginia, and its Oak Farms processing facility in Shreveport, Louisiana.
“We have accelerated these efforts, including our plans to close 10% and 15% of the plants in our network. We expect these efforts to offset the volume deleverage we are experiencing and to further differentiate us from our competitive set from an efficiency and productivity perspective," said Tanner.
“Our advantaged cost position is important as we work to return to our long history of share gains. I expect these category share gains, combined with our portfolio of strong brands, a significantly strengthened balance sheet, industry-leading pricing tools and our uncompromising commitment to quality, safety and service to provide the platform for our success going forward.”
Despite the “challenging environment” Dean Foods currently finds itself in, it believes that “the momentum” created by its cost reduction activities will allow it to deliver “solid full year results.”
“Overall, for the year, we continue to expect to substantially offset the financial impact of the lower volumes through accelerated cost reduction and productivity, resulting in a low single-digit increase in operating income from the pro forma 2012 results,” said the firm’s Q2 results statement.


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Worker accused of assaulting customer with pipe
A store worker is accused of assaulting a customer with a pipe. The worker, Edvin Valdez, told police a man had entered Whittaker's Foods at 2941 NW 10 on Tuesday and attempted to assault him with a glass bottle, according to a court affidavit.
The other man was laying outside the store "covered in blood" with a severe laceration on his forehead and on his cheek, police reported in the affidavit. The man had wounds on his left arm from "attempting to defend himself" from the man "beating him with the pipe."
Surveillance video revealed a verbal altercation between the two men over beer, police reported. Valdez said he and the man were arguing because he would not sell him beer because he was intoxicated, police reported.
"Instead of disengaging from the confrontation, (Valdez) grabbed a metal pipe from behind the counter and began to strike (the man) in the head approximately 10 times," police reported. "(He) tried to scramble away on the ground attempting to defend himself."
A store janitor attempted to push a shopping cart between the two men to "deescalate the situation" and Alvarez went around the cart to "keep engaging" the man, police said in the affidavit. Both men ran out of the store. Valdez was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County jail.


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Europe’s commercial vehicle sales up in January
In January, new buses and coaches registrations climbed 21.2% year over year while sales for trucks reached 22,485 units, up 6.7% when compared to the same month of 2014.
Among the largest European markets, Spain (+25.7%) and the UK (+23.6) recorded double-digit growth.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- Longest-ever rally staggers in Turkey’s PVC market
- Upstream keeps China PET afloat; prices hit 11-month high
- Import PVC uptrend loses momentum in Asia; is the 9-month rally coming to an end?
- Tightness brings further price hikes in African PP, PE markets
- European PP hits new highs after 3-digit hikes for January
- Turkey’s PP, PE markets open 2021 with supply-driven hikes
- Vietnam’s local homo-PP market retreats for 3rd week on subdued demand
- China’s PE demand wavers amid controls on environmental pollution and electricity use
- January trend takes shape in Egypt’s PP, PE markets
- Stats: Turkey’s 2020 polymer imports set to beat the 2017 record


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Following on from the Interflora vs Marks & Spencer case another retailer is upset about AdWords trademark bidding. Handbag retailer Louis Vuitton has lost a court battle with Google in Europes highest court despite initially winning a case in the French courts.
Advocate-General Poiares Maduro said in his legal opinion to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that “Google has not committed a trademark infringement by allowing advertisers to select keywords corresponding to trademarks.”
He said that Google’s sponsored links did establish a link between keywords and the advertised sites selling products identical or similar to those covered by the trademarks.
“However, such a link also does not constitute a trademark infringement. In effect, the mere display of relevant sites in response to keywords is not enough to establish a risk of confusion on the part of consumers as to the origin of goods or services” he said.
“Internet users are aware that not only the site of the trademark owner will appear as a result of a search in Google’s search engine and sometimes they may not even be looking for that site.”
The thorny issue of brand bidding isn’t going to go away soon and it will be interesting to see how the Interflora case pans out.


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Last month PRIVATE WiFi™ sponsored an #ilikeprivacy contest on Twitter. As we asked our followers to tweet about their biggest online privacy concerns, a common thread emerged: so many of you are worried about your security, privacy and safety online.
After much deliberation, the PRIVATE WiFi team has selected our winners:
- Our third place winner of $100 was George Jenkins of Dorchester, MA. Tweeting as @IveBeenMugged, he voiced his privacy concern, “Banks selling consumers’ debit card shopping habits to 3rd parties. Broken trust & don’t know where data goes.”
- In second place and a winner of $200 was Kelly Elswick from Garden City, MI. Joining the discussion as @AngelMom037 she tweeted, “I worry about buying online as my debit card # was stolen last year and used to purchase things overseas.”
- Finally, @katmagick, Melanie Dieh, from Susquehanna, PA took first place and $300 when she tweeted, “I really worry about public WiFi connections and how secure or unsecure, they really are.”
Our grand prize winner certainly hit PRIVATE WiFi’s biggest privacy concern on the nose. When you use public wifi hotspots you are vulnerable to hackers who can sniff your unprotected connection. Using the radio waves of wifi, these cyber crooks can steal your private and personal information out of thin air; everything from your credit card numbers, bank codes, email transmissions are up for grabs.
PRIVATE WiFi, a personal Virtual Private Network (VPN), is software that encrypts all the data going into and out of your computer, making you invisible to hackers on any public network, anywhere in the world. Best of all, it works around you. The software is designed to be always on, automatically connecting to one of our secure servers every time you use the internet.
PRIVATE WiFi can be found on Twitter and Facebook. We care about your online privacy and want to raise awareness about how dangerous the insecurity of public wifi really is. But we also want to have fun and engage you with social media. So follow us and like us; there will be more contests similar to #ilikeprivacy and other interactive media coming soon!


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A few days ago, the issue of PS4 software update stirred a lot of excitement. After installing it, the players were warned that the console could record their calls. It was quickly clarified that it was intended for moderation purposes, but a lot of doubt remained. Now, Sony has explained exactly how this will work on the official blog.
PlayStation 5 will offer an option to report toxic statements from other players. We will be able to add a total of 40 seconds or sound recording to any such report - 20 seconds of the main part and an additional 10 seconds before and after. This segment can only be selected from the last five minutes of voice chat.
Thus, Sony will not be constantly monitoring player conversations or store their records. There will be no option to opt out of this feature, as it would ensure impunity for toxic users. The company's employees will analyze the uploaded recordings and decide whether any action is needed. If the submission proves to be unfounded, the moderators will try to explain why this has happened in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
It has also been explained that the changes have been made in PS4's update because users of this console will be able to talk to people on PlayStation 5. However, the blog shows that the system for reporting toxic statements itself is only to be available on PS5.
Let us recall that PlayStation 5 will debut on November 12 in several selected countries, including the US and Japan. A week later, the console will be available to the rest of the world.
- PlayStation - official website
- Sony Interactive Entertainment - official website
Last update: 2020-10-17


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On Tuesday, 10 November 2015, Old Mutual Corporate will host its annual Wisdom Forum – a platform for thought-provoking debate with celebrated speakers – and for the first time will live stream the event to the public via its web page.
This year, the Wisdom Forum will explore how cultivating the next class of entrepreneurs will provide the opportunities needed to grow South Africa’s economy, and the event will provide insight into the strategies of well-known international and local entrepreneurs who are making waves in their industries.
The speaker line-up includes Zev Siegl, co-founder of Starbucks and self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, as well as Stephen Archer, founding partner of UK business strategy consultancy Spring Partnerships.
They will share the ingenious thinking that has shaped their respective industries and paint a picture of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the future
Adding local flavour and joining them for a thought-provoking panel discussion will be Natasha Sideris, founder of Tasha’s – one of South Africa’s hippest and most successful eateries – and Matsi Modise, Managing Director of the SiMODiSA Association.
For more information, please visit http://www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/wisdom-forum. The event will be broadcast and streamed live on the OMCOZA Wisdom Forum page from the website.


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A mobile vet based in Prestwich has been convicted for illegally importing puppies into the UK for sale and running an illegal pet shop.
Viktor Molnar, 58, was registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and was originally from Hungary. At Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (7 March) he pleaded guilty to offences under the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974 and sections 10, 73 and 75 of the Animal Health Act 1981, and to an offence under the Pet Animals Act 1951 for using his premises as a pet shop without a licence.
Bury Licensing Service investigated Molnar after a retired teacher bought a miniature dachshund puppy from him for £700. The puppy was ill on journey home, prompting the customer to ask Molnar for its pet passport.
When she took the puppy to her vet, she was also told that it was between eight to 12 weeks old, considerably younger than the age on its vaccination card.
Bury council found that this meant the puppy would’ve been too young to be legally brought into the UK. Its vaccination card also indicated that it had not had its rabies jabs or any multi-headed tapeworm treatment.
Renfrewshire council was then contacted and an inspection was done at Molnar’s home in February 2016. An animal health inspector found four adult dogs and five miniature ‘teacup’ dachshund puppies inside.
Molnar was sentenced to a 270-hour community order and disqualified from operating a pet shop or a boarding establishment for 10 years. He was also ordered to pay compensation of £2,686 to the retired teacher as well as contribution costs of £2,500.
Angela Lomax, head of trading standards and licensing at Bury council, said: “Young puppies should never be transported long distances into the UK, yet underage and unvaccinated puppies continue to be illegally sent here from abroad – often in appalling conditions – and are destined to be sold via online adverts to unsuspecting members of the public.”


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Intel launches Dothan with Pentium M price cuts
Intel today knocked up to 30.5 per cent off the prices of its 130nm Pentium M processors to make way for the 90nm version of the chip, codenamed 'Dothan'.
German police arrest Sasser worm suspect
UpdatedAn 18-year-old German student has admitted writing the infamous Sasser worm, following his arrest by local police on Friday.
(Almost) everything may go, as Longhorn rushes to release
If Microsoft had counted on this week's WinHEC hardware conference to raise enthusiasm for the next release on Windows, then the event can certainly be judged a success. The build that found its way into developers' hands isn't the leviathan some feared: it purrs along happily with 512MB and a modest 16MB graphics card, although a 64MB card will be needed to take full advantage of the new compositor.
AMD to parade Socket 939 at Computex
AMD looks set to launch its Socket 939 Athlon 64 and 64 FX processors early next month at the Computex show in Taipei.
Sony unveils tiny wireless pen PC
Reg Kit WatchSony will ship a keyboardless PC in Japan later this month. But it's no Tablet PC - instead, this pen-operated, wireless-enabled Windows XP machine will be pitched at mobile media consumers.
Sony US music service an 'embarrassment'
Sony's US online music service, Connect, has been slammed as an "embarrassment" by the Washington Post.
Dollar decline stunts Symbian growth
The strength of the pound against the dollar left Symbian's Q1 results looking less impressive than would be justified. However, the company is still losing money and may need to raise more capital. This could prove a crucial point in the company's relationship with leading shareholder Nokia.
Oops! BT bills man £25,000 for cut cable
BT is looking to recoup more than £25,000 from a Cambridgeshire man after he severed a fibre optic cable while putting up a new fence in his garden.
Ebookers sales up but jobs down
Ebookers increased sales for the first quarter by 47 per cent and is confident about the year ahead. Despite the positive results the company is cutting 270 jobs, 200 in the UK and 70 in India, as business processes are increasingly automated. The cuts should save ebookers £2.5m this year.
Cisco offers WLAN switching
After a year of talk, Cisco has finally released long awaited wired/wireless switch capabilities and taken a major step towards an integrated enterprise network.
New version of Sasser undermines lone coder theory
The appearance of a new version of the infamous Sasser worm shortly after the arrest of its admitted author has fuelled speculation that its creator worked with other virus writers.
E-voting promises US election tragicomedy
New DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) voting machines came under fire in Washington this week, with expert witnesses giving contradictory testimony to the US Election Assistance Commission on the perennially entertaining and confusing topic of touch screen balloting.
Royal Bank of Canada dumps SCO Group shares
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has washed its hands of SCO Group (SCOX), dumping all 30,000 recently-acquired shares into the lap of BayStar Capital. The venture capital firm, which considered walking away last month, is now in a powerful position to influence SCO's future direction.
Sun and Veritas bury the hatchet
Server maker Sun Microsystems and clustered file systems maker Veritas Software have something of a love-hate relationship, but the two buried the hatchet this week. While Sun cannot afford to buy Veritas, attempting to license its technologies may be an idea worth looking into.
Nokia quits WiMAX Forum
In a shock move, Nokia has left the WiMAX Forum, indicating a U-turn on the technology it once promoted enthusiastically. Nokia was a founding member of the Forum, before Intel joined and raised 802.16's profile beyond recognition, and during 2003 was bullish about the technology, with development projects surrounding base stations for rural regions and 802.16e handsets.
BT in broadband free flight promo
BT is giving away free flights as part of time-limited promo to plug its broadband service. Any new punters signing up to BT's consumer broadband products within the next six weeks can get a return flight to a string of destinations in Europe and the US including Barcelona, Boston and New York.
FTC fines porn spammers $112k
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled charges with Brian Westby and Dutch citizen Martijn Bevelander, who employed spam that used deceptively bland subject lines, false return addresses, and empty reply-to links to expose unsuspecting consumers, including children, to sexually explicit material.
Japanese P2P founder arrested
Japanese police have arrested the developer of the popular Winny P2P application for breaking the country's copyright laws.
Hate websites continue to flourish
A new report from UK-based e-mail filtering company SurfControl says that the number of hate and violence websites has grown by nearly 300 per cent since 2000. The company said that in 2000, it was monitoring about 2,756 websites that were categorised as hate and violence sites. By April 2004, that figure had risen to 10,926.
321 lookalike punts DVD copy software
A new company trading as the ironically-named "123" appears to be doing exactly what 321 Studios has been stopped from doing by the US courts - offering software for making personal copies of DVDs.
BBC develops 'alternative' codec
Just when we think that the codec wars are just about over, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has released a codec that works differently from other existing systems. In March it issued it to the open source community through Sourceforge under the name of Dirac, named after the eccentric and brilliant British physicist.
Intel pumps VC cash into JBoss
Java application specialist JBoss today received a vote of confidence from Intel - in the shape of a big investment. Intel Capital joined Accel Partners and Matrix Partners in raising $10m venture capital for the firm. The money will go on product development and marketing.
IBM bangs drum for client middleware
IBM is banging the drum for a new desktop software bundle, centred around Lotus WorkPlace and OpenOffice. The pitch is simple: it's cheaper and more secure than a Microsoft-only technology, or as IBM puts it: "Customers will no longer have to deal with separate and distinct applications on the Web and their desktop PCs - receiving the benefits of a single model of client computing".
BT will compensate customers for Manchester blaze
BT has agreed to pay compensation to homes and businesses following an underground fire in March that wiped out more than 130,000 phone lines in Manchester as well as disrupting emergency services.
EC opens ears on e-money directive
The European Commission has opened a consultation period on its controversial "e-money" directive. The EC wants businesses to tell it how the directive could be improved to "avoid unnecessary burdens for industry".
T-Mobile wins Heathrow hotspot siting
BAA, the owner of the UK's key airports, today agreed to let T-Mobile install Wi-Fi hotspots in international departure lounges at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and at Glasgow. At Heathrow, the deal covers Terminals 3 and 4, and includes American Airlines' and United Airlines' business class lounges.
PalmOne preps Treo 600 code update
PalmOne will align the software it ships with its PDAs and smart phones, the head of the company's wireless division, Ed Colligan, pledged today.
Orange UK sorts German roaming snag
Orange UK punters are now able to make and receive calls while travelling in Germany after the mobilephoneco was hit by technical problems over the weekend.


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In Silicon Valley, where booming tech companies provide ample amounts of gratis grub, having hordes of perfectly edible leftovers has become the norm.
Many of these companies, though, won’t send the uneaten fare to the trash. A number of them have partnered with Food Runners, a local nonprofit that picks up food from companies and distributes it to people in need.
And the need in San Francisco is “tremendous,” according to L’Ann Bingham, Food Runners community relations representative. There, one in seven people struggles with hunger, according to Feeding America.
The partnership between Food Runners and area tech companies is so strong that they provide about half of the goods Food Runners retrieves, BuzzFeed reported last year. The group delivers 5,000 meals a week, Bingham told The Huffington Post.
The nonprofit collects food from 500 companies. Google, where employees are never more than 200 feet away from free food, is one of the biggest donors. Other participating tech companies include Twitter, LinkedIn and Craigslist, Bingham added.
The group picks up breakfast and lunch food and the “runners” immediately deliver it to the recipients. The meals are typically at their expiration date and the organization doesn’t store anything, Bingham said.
Airbnb, which also offers three meals a day to its employees, has made a concerted effort to be transparent and efficient with its food donations.
According to BuzzFeed, the company hired Food Shift, a nonprofit that fights hunger, to manage its recovery efforts. At the end of its annual company benefit in 2014, for example, Airbnb had 1,855 pounds of extra food.
Airbnb is also involved with Food Runners, and donates to the group regularly. Rafael Monfort, Airbnb sous chef, told CNBC that the company works with “really reliable farmers” who give the company “some of the best products.”
Food Runners distributes food to about 300 organizations in San Francisco, which include Warden House, a group that supports people with HIV and addiction problems, and Sala Burton Manor, a residential building for low income seniors and people with disabilities.
Recipients are usually pretty pumped when they see the Food Runners truck approaching.
“They’re excited to see us coming,” Bingham told CNBC. “They’ll typically know they’re going to eat well tonight.”
More stories like this:


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Trade Finance Global (TFG) are delighted to have had the opportunity to speak with Liliana Fratini Passi, Managing Director, CBI, for further insight into the situation.
For sustainable trade finance to scale, the industry needs a uniform model for ESG data that can be used by everybody, says Pradeep Nair, Global Head of Structured Solutions and Development of Standard Chartered Bank
TFG spoke to two leading policymakers at the G20 on how to improve financial inclusion for SMEs.
In 2019, FCI formed a working group called “Receivables as an Investable Asset Class” (RIAC). It was comprised of FCI members and companies who operate as funds supporting the
Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG: Is SME trade finance viable? A European outlook
India is projected to surpass China as the most populous nation in 2023, according to the latest medium variant data from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG: Euro hits parity with US dollar for the first time in 20 years
The WTO Director-General has extended the WTO Ministerial Conference by a day in a bid to secure some form of agreement around trade deals. With a potential food security crisis looming for developed countries, can an eleventh hour agreement be reached?
In our latest podcast, TFG’s Deepesh Patel spoke with John Miller, chief economic analyst at Trade Data Monitor (TDM), about the surprising resilience of global trade over the last two years
Despite net zero targets agreed to at COP26, global demand for coal is hotter than ever. TFG’s Lewis Evans investigates why…
In this article, Ed Lam and Pamela Mar offer a roadmap to a digital future for supply chains and trade finance, with a focus on Asian SMEs
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only intergovernmental organisation that regulates and facilitates the rules of trade between nations
Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG.
The UK’s trade deficit with China has more than tripled after a year of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the clocks struck midnight, we looked back at over 700 articles, handpicking our favourite stories that made the headlines in 2021


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‘Lion King’ reboot will make you cry, Disney film chief says. Here’s other hints he dropped about upcoming Disney projects
Feb 22, 2019
Disney’s got some major live-action projects in the works this year, and today we know a little bit more about them, including the much-anticipated “Lion King” reboot.
What happened: In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter this month, Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said he has seen four cuts of Disney’s upcoming live-action “Lion King” reboot and it is a tear-jerker.
- “Bring a handkerchief,” Horn said. “It’s so emotional.”
- Horn said the film, which is directed by Jon Favreau of Disney’s live-action “The Jungle Book” reboot, has CGI animation so solid, “you cannot tell these animals aren’t real.”
Disney’s “Lion King” reboot has a star-studded cast including Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter and James Earl Jones, and it joins a chorus of big Disney projects set to release later this year. Horn touched on a few of Disney’s projects in his interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
“Star Wars: Episode IX”: Perhaps Disney’s most highly anticipated film, alongside “Avengers: Endgame,” is “Star Wars: Episode IX.”
- Horn said he’s spent time on set with the cast, and though he hasn’t seen a cut of the film yet, he’s seen “dailies every weekend” and says “it’s going to be terrific.”
“Aladdin”: Horn had several things to say about Disney’s spinoff and live-action projects, including the upcoming “Aladdin” movie, which he said he thinks is “a terrific film.”
- “The thing about these big movies is they get a lot of attention, whether positive or negative. So when they don’t work, like “Solo,” the media says it’s a failure. I think it was a pretty good movie,” Horn said.
Disney Plus: Horn said staff members at Disney Animation and Pixar Studios are wearing more hats now to prioritize Disney’s upcoming streaming platform Disney Plus.
- “Netflix and companies like Amazon represent the great disruption in our business and a seismic shift in consumer offerings and viewing patterns,” Horn said. “The interesting thing, which is not resolved yet, is how big is the consumer appetite for these incremental services? I like our chances.”
- Horn said Disney producers may have three or four films released on the platform per year. Marvel is already planning a Loki series for the platform that follows Tom Hiddleston’s character, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Disney’s “Lion King” reboot will release July 19.
“Aladdin” will release May 24, and “Star Wars: Episode IX” is slated for release on Dec 20.


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Verizon unveils new Unlimited Mix & Match plans with 5G service
Frank Boulben, SVP Marketing and Products of Verizon Consumer Group says, "Our new Mix & Match plans make the choice clearer than ever: customers get the best network and the best value with Verizon. We led the industry by giving customers Disney+ on us. Now we're adding The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, for more entertainment choices that appeal to a variety of interests. We can’t wait to see what customers choose to suit their needs."
Again, the new plans kick off on August 20th and you can sign up on that date by going to verizon.com/plans.
This story is part of:5G connectivity (10 updates)
2 September The spectrum that could make T-Mobile the U.S. 5G speed leader has been added to 81 more markets
19 August T-Mobile's new television ad makes fun of Verizon's 5G coverage
17 August Verizon unveils new Unlimited Mix & Match plans with 5G service
12 July Once again 5G and coronavirus combine in latest conspiracy theory
12 July Official video shows off features of the new Moto G 5G Plus


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From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The U.S. economy is almost back to its pre-COVID level. That was the headline from this week’s GDP data, showing the measure of goods and services produced in the country rose an annualized 6.4 percent in the first quarter, putting it just 1 percent shy of 2019 levels. The rebound is being driven by an extraordinary repositioning of the consumer-driven economy: sales of durable goods — i.e., the stuff you buy to last a while, like furniture, cars, and appliances — are off the charts, up 41 percent in the first three months of 2021. (Stanley Black & Decker revenues up 34 percent YoY!) Just as the recession wasn’t equally distributed, the recovery isn’t, either. Spending on services like travel and restaurants are rising at a far slower pace. The big question is whether those sectors can ever make up the steep losses they suffered during the last year.
TECH EARNINGS BLOWOUT
The five biggest tech companies all reported earnings this week, once again showing how the pandemic has put their total dominance into hyperdrive. Google parent Alphabet beat on the top and bottom with revenues rising 34 percent from the same period last year. YouTube’s ad revenue alone crossed $6 billion, indicative of the digital advertising market’s comeback. Facebook blew it out, too, on a 48 percent revenue surge thanks, again, to the digital ads. Microsoft continued the trend with its biggest quarterly revenue growth since 2018, helped in part by LinkedIn booking $3 billion in ads during the last year. Apple raised the bar even further, reporting 54 percent revenue growth and showing almost insane sales in all product lines, not just iPhone. Then Amazon capped the week by demolishing expectations with revenues up 44 percent. The company has now made more money in the last year — $27 billion — than it did in the previous three years combined, which were its most profitable in history until the pandemic hit.
BOEING CAN’T GET OUT OF ITS OWN WAY
The FAA is launching an audit into the latest safety issues with Boeing’s 737 Max fleet, namely how a minor production tweak led to a problem with some of the plane’s electrical circuitry. The FAA will examine "Boeing’s process for making minor design changes across its product line, with the goal of identifying areas where the company can improve," regulators said after the WSJ reported the audit. The FAA has been all over Boeing since it lifted the nearly two-year-long grounding of the entire Max fleet following two crashes that killed 346 people. Months later, Boeing notified airlines that they needed to fix an issue with the electrical panels on about 100 planes, or about a quarter of the global fleet, that involved how holes were drilled. Meanwhile, Boeing reported its sixth consecutive quarterly loss, though it was slightly better than expected. The company says it expects 2021 to be a turning point as the air travel market picks up. Boeing shares tumbled 3 percent, though the stock is still up around 10 percent on the year after a horrendous 2020.
WHITE HOUSE SIGNALS GIG ECONOMY CRACKDOWN
President Biden’s labor secretary, Marty Walsh, sent shares of Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash cratering as much as 10 percent when he said in an interview that gig workers should be classified as employees with benefits. Walsh’s comments did not signify a shift in federal law, but investors took them as a sign that the new administration may crack down on the gig economy and its controversial labor practices, which would make it more difficult for them to become profitable. Both Uber and Lyft have said they think they can turn a profit by the end of the year. It’s a longer road for the food delivery apps, though DoorDash posted a fleeting profit in Q2 of last year when everyone was stuck at home ordering in.
CHANGING OF THE CRYPTO GUARD
The hottest digital coin on the block: Ether. The second most popular cryptocurrency, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain, hit an all-time high of $2,800. Ether is up more than 40 percent on the month while Bitcoin is down to just under $57,000 from its all-time high above $63,000 reached earlier in April. Bitcoin’s long-held dominance of the crypto space is showing signs of slowing as more capital flows into alternative coins like Ether or Doge, the meme-based coin that started as a joke and surged again this week on bullish comments from longtime supporter Elon Musk and new convert Mark Cuban.


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LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Royal Ahold's shares declined Wednesday after the Dutch supermarket operator and catering group detailed disappointing margin performance at its U.S. operations and a less-than-inspiring outlook.
Ahold (33181) AHO, which operates stores such as Stop & Shop in the U.S., said it swung to a second-quarter net profit of 130 million euros, or 8 cents a share. Last year, the company reported a loss of 28 million euros, or 2 cents a share.
Analysts said the net profit figure was better than expected, helped by lower tax costs and interest charges.
However, shares fell 5.2% in Amsterdam as investors focused on margins, especially at the company's U.S. operations.
Analysts at Merrill Lynch said the most disappointing performance came from the U.S. foodservices division, which it said showed no year-on-year improvement despite recording a 0.9 percentage-point margin improvement in the first quarter.
And Morgan Stanley analysts said: "We believe that Ahold needed to deliver margin improvement in this division in order to support its current rating. Thus, we expect the share to come under pressure."
U.S. foodservice operating income rose 9.4% to 35 million euros as a 0.1 percentage-point increase in gross margin to 1% was partially offset by increased costs.
Total operating income in the retail division declined 2.9% to 272 million euros, pressured by an 8.5% drop in income to 150 million euros at Stop & Shop, due to lower gross margins and a $20 million restructuring provision.
"(Total) operating profit (up 14% at 248 million euros) was lower than expected, mainly due to margin pressure at Stop & Shop," noted SNS Securities.
Merrill Lynch said that, although the operating profit was distorted by restructuring charges and other one-off costs, "the initial impression is that Stop & Shop has disappointed."
Stop & Shop and Giant-Landrover Arena recorded a 1.6% rise in sales to 3.1 billion euros, while sales at Albert Heijn Arena rose 4.9% to 1.537 billion euros, leading to a 1.3% rise in total retail sales to 6.955 billion euros.
U.S. foodservice sales declined 4.9% to 3.492 billion euros, which meant that overall group sales declined by 0.9% to 10.4 billion euros. Sales would have been 0.5% higher if currency effects were excluded, Ahold said.
Turning to the future, Ahold said it's pursuing its food retail-operating targets for 2006, though reaching these targets is becoming "increasingly challenging."
The company also said it expects adjusted operating margin for U.S. foodservice will exceed 1.7% no later than 2006.
Merrill Lynch noted "most crucially, retail guidance appears to be cracking -- the 5% sales growth and margin target for 2006 is now being 'pursued'."


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GWM HAVAL H6 PHEV Launched in Thailand
On October 7, local time in Thailand, GWM HAVAL H6 PHEV was officially launched overseas for the first time since it was launched in China on September 28. At the press conference, over 1,000 vehicles were ordered within just 40 minutes, and it was planned that the vehicle would be delivered to Thailand consumers in mid-November.
Now, HAVAL H6 HEV, HAVAL JOLION HEV, ORA GOODCAT and ORA GOOD CAT GT have officially entered the Thailand market. The arrival of HAVAL H6 PHEV marks that GWM has built a new energy product matrix covering various power modes of EV, HEV and PHEV in Thailand, providing diverse choices for users, and reinforcing GWM's confidence in becoming the leading new energy brand in Thailand and supporting Thailand to become a new energy vehicle manufacturing center in ASEAN.
Narong Sritalayon, General Manager of Marketing of GWM Thailand Company, said, "HAVAL H6 PHEV is the first PHEV model launched by GWM for the Thailand market. At the end of last year, when HAVAL H6 PHEV was unveiled in Thailand, it attracted the auto enthusiasts. Since the pre-sale on September 17, the intention order of HAVAL H6 PHEV exceeded 7,000, reflecting the high demand of Thailand consumers for intelligent new energy vehicles with cutting-edge technology, safety performance, and environmental protection. We believe that HAVAL H6 PHEV will not only be the new standard of the auto industry but also bring a pleasant driving and riding experience to Thailand consumers."
Since entering the Thailand market, GWM has been committed to becoming a leading new energy brand in Thailand with the brand value of "New Energy, New Intelligence, New Experience". Chong Baoyu, General Manager of GWM Thailand Company, said, "GWM is not only to provide high-quality products and services for Thailand consumers but also to win a strategic position for Thailand and make it become an electric vehicle R&D and manufacturing center in ASEAN."
The arrival of HAVAL H6 PHEV means that GWM will continue to consolidate its own global new energy strategy by bringing confidence to consumers around the world with the most advanced achievements in the hybrid power field. HAVAL H6 PHEV features GWM L.E.M.O.N. platform, L.E.M.O.N DHT technology, and 1.5L turbine engine, with a maximum power of 240 kW and a torque of 530 Nm.
HAVAL H6 PHEV is of futuristic style design, with wide body dimension and star matrix front grille. Its intelligent LED headlamp has ultra-high brightness, ensuring safer driving. HAVAL H6 PHEV is also equipped with various intelligent driving assist and safety systems, such as intelligent adaptive cruise control (ACC), traffic jam assist (TJA), intelligent parking (IIP), automatic reversing assist, automatic emergency braking and other functions to ensure a safe and trouble free traveling of users.
Data showed that a total of 11,796 GWM new energy vehicles have been sold in Thailand by the end of September this year. Among them, as the first new energy vehicle launched in Thailand, HAVAL H6 HEV has ranked first in the sales volume in Thailand C-class SUV segment for 11 months. Meanwhile, GWM has been deeply engaged in localization in Thailand, introduced the localized production and operation of its subsidiaries such as HYCET, Nobo Auto, Mind Electronic Appliances, and EA, and established a new energy ecology covering the production, sales and service of new energy vehicles.
Facing the coming new energy era, GWM firmly adheres to the global new energy strategy so as to gradually realize the transition from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles with the core technologies such as new energy vehicles, hybrid power technology, fuel cell engines and power batteries, thus establishing a low-carbon and wonderful travel mode.


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The shop, which sells new, second-hand, rare and first edition books in Southport, Merseyside, was much talked about after a tweet about it selling a book after 27 years went viral.
This followed Hardman receiving an award from the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) to mark his 50 years in the trade.
The bookshop’s tweet, “I have just sold a book that we have had in stock since May 1991. We always knew its day would come,” was retweeted more than 15,600 times, receiving 144,000 likes (and counting).
Moment in history
The book, a children’s biography of William the Conqueror priced at 99p when it was first produced, sold for less than £10 and was purchased by an elderly gentleman who was buying books on the Normans for his grandchildren.
Hardman, who was awarded his medal at the ABA Rare Book Fair Chelsea earlier this month, has owned the shop for 30 years.
He told ATG: “You can slave over what you put in a tweet and then this one, we dashed it off quickly and just look at the reaction it got.”
The shop was founded by Charles Broadhurst (1899- 1987), who was a past ABA president.