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LemonBox, a Chinese e-commerce startup that imports vitamins and health products from the U.S., has raised $2 million to develop its business.
The company graduated from Y Combinator’s most recent program in the U.S. and, fueled by the demo day, has pulled in the new capital from 10 investors, which include Partech, Tekton Ventures, Cathexis Ventures, Scrum Ventures and 122 West Ventures.
LemonBox started when co-founder and CEO Derek Weng, a former employee at Walmart in the U.S., saw an opportunity to organize the common practice of bringing health products back in China. Any Mainland Chinese person who has lived in, or even just visited, the U.S. will be familiar with such requests from family and friends, and LemonBox aims to make it possible for anyone in China to get U.S.-quality products without relying on a mule.
The service is primarily a WeChat app — which taps into China’s ubiquitous messaging platform — and a website, although Weng told TechCrunch in an interview this week that the company is contemplating a standalone app of its own. The benefit of that, beyond a potentially more engaging customer experience, could be to broaden LemonBox’s product selection and use data to offer a more customized selection of products. Related to that, LemonBox said it hopes to work with health and fitness-related services in the future to gather data, with permission, to help refine the personal approach.
LemonBox’s team has now grown to 20 people, with 12 full-time staff and 8 interns, and Weng said that the new funding will also go toward increased marketing, improvements to the WeChat app and upgrading the company’s supply chain. Business, he added, is growing at 35 percent per week as LemonBox has adopted a personal approach to its packaging, much like Amazon-owned PillPack.
“This is the first time people in China have ever seen this level of customization for their vitamins,” Weng told TechCrunch.
“What LemonBox offers resonates with me and is serving a clear China market needs. Personally, I travel a lot between China and the U.S., and I often was asked by my relatives to help purchase and carry them similar products like vitamins,” he said in a prepared statement.
“More importantly, what LemonBox can do is to build an initial core user base and a growing brand. Over time, by serving their users well, it can reach and engage more users who want to better take care of their broader nutrition needs, use more data and take advantage of increasingly stronger AI technologies to customers and personalize, and become an essential service for more and more users and customers in China,” Lu added.


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Only 38 more days to tell FDA and Congress that the proposed rules for supplements could lead to the elimination of thousands of supplements and make the surviving ones much more expensive.
When FDA issued their draft guidance for New Dietary Ingredients (that is, supplements), the agency was perverting congressional intent—the congressmen who wrote the original legislation even told the FDA commissioner before the guidance was issued that it needed to be fully consistent with DSHEA! FDA was also attempting to circumvent the notification system Congress intended by instituting a scheme that mirrors the Waxman supplement pre-approval system, introduced in 1993, which DSHEA was intended to stop.
Here’s some important background for you.
Supplement and integrative medicine champion Sen. Orrin Hatch made this statement when he introduced the bill for DSHEA, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994:
In our free market society, consumers should be able to purchase dietary supplements and companies should be able to sell these products so long as the labeling and advertising are truthful, non-misleading, and there exists a reasonable scientific basis for product claims.
Unfortunately, not everyone in our federal government shares these views. For more than three decades, FDA has tried to restrict severely the ability of the dietary supplement industry to sell and market its products and, consequently, the ability of consumers to buy them. The agency has repeatedly attempted to impose unnecessarily stringent standards that would leave many if not most supplement companies with no practical choice but to close their doors.
In sharp contrast, Rep. Henry Waxman wanted dietary ingredients and nutritional supplements to be considered food additives and therefore subject to FDA approval—not unlike the system that is used for drugs. So Waxman introduced the Dietary Supplement Access and Claims Moratorium Act of 1993. This bill would have amended the food additive definition to include dietary ingredients (supplements)—thereby making supplements subject to the food additive approval process.
Happily, cooler heads in Congress prevailed. Sen. Hatch explicitly stated:
As you know, [DSHEA] makes clear that dietary supplements are not food additives or drugs, and that the burden of proof shall be on the FDA to prove that a product is unsafe.
Consequently, when DSHEA was passed, dietary ingredients were specifically exempted from the definition of “food additives,” making supplements not subject to FDA pre-approval. All that was needed was a simple notification.
Now FDA has offered its draft guidance—which attempts to circumvent DSHEA as it was passed and create a new pre-approval system. Everything about this proposal is a perversion of congressional intent, and will (as Sen. Hatch told the world eighteen years ago) severely restrict your ability to buy nutritional supplements and leave many—if not most—supplement companies with no practical choice but to close their doors.
Time is running out—the comment period ends on December 2! Help us protect your access to supplements. We need everyone reading this to send their message to Congress and FDA right now to make sure the FDA and Waxman don’t win! Take action today!

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Shopify is edging closer to bricks-and-mortar retail after leaked documents show that it has filed a patent for a system of sensors that can measure traffic in retail store.
The application is further evidence the company is looking to go head-to-head with ecommerce giant Amazon which has expanded its bricks-and-mortar footprint exponentially over the past 12 months.
The filed patent appears similar to the same “Just Walk Out” tech that Amazon has deployed across its grocery stores in the UK.
It was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office on May 25, 2020, and published November 25, 2021 and describes a system of sensors that is able to measure the density and behaviour of shoppers in specific areas of a retail store.
The technology could be used to help a store owner determine what it is worth to display certain products in specific locations in the store.
Currently, manufacturers pay “slotting fees” to display products in a store, however the patent application points out that not all locations in the store get the same level of attention from customers visiting.
“From the perspective of a merchant that is interested in purchasing (or leasing) display space in a retail store, not all regions of the retail store are equally desirable,” the patent application reads.
“Advantageously, traffic density can provide a quantitative, accurate and unbiased metric with which to determine a value associated with displaying products in a region.”
The data could also include the number of shoppers that enter a part of the shop at a certain time, the average amount of time they spend in that area and the number of customers who interact with physical products over a specific time period.
The application was also filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office and is currently pending under review.
While Shopify is primarily recognised as being an ecommerce platform, it does have a number of services which give clients the ability to offer an omnichannel experience.
Every Shopify plan comes with POS Lite, which includes mobile and hardware point-of-sale accessories.
The Pro plan includes better features such as inventory-management, buying online and pick up in-store capabilities.


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Drambuie financial results to 30 June 2013 reveal that the company made an operating profit of £3.37m, 5% ahead of last year, with the UK achieving growth of 17% for the year making it the Drambuie’s best performing market. The company said this was on the back of a new marketing campaign which included experiential sampling, TV and cinema advertising. Additional funds were invested into Scotland with significant success from the participation in the opening of the Tron Kirk on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with a three day Drambuie Hogmanay celebration. In London, Drambuie benefited from the sponsorship of the innovative ‘Secret Cinema’.
Chief executive, Michael Kennedy, said, “Overall, this has been a positive year in the company’s quest to rebuild the Drambuie brand and we are in a good position to make progress in the forthcoming year.”
While the UK was the market with most growth, its US business is Drambuie’s most important market and it has recruited a new senior regional directors to lead this business. The company now has six brand ambassadors in the key cities of New York, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Portland and Austin. Following a positive response to the roll out of Drambuie’s marketing programme based on the “A Taste of the Extraordinary” campaign, there will be incremental investment in 2013-4 to allow for TV and cinema in key states.
Drambuie maintained its strong initiative in global travel retail with new listings for Drambuie 15 in a number of key airports, includingMoscow, Paris, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. Major promotions were activated in all 20 of the world’s top airports. As a result, sales continue to grow in this highly visible channel where Drambuie is close to securing its position as a global ‘top 50 brand’.
Drambuie sales in emerging investment markets grew 34% and new distributors were secured in the high growth spirit markets of Africa, specifically Nigeria, Kenya and Angola. Drambuie’s push into the fast growing emerging Asian markets continued with the roll out of a major campaign in Vietnam, spearheaded by Drambuie 15. Results were very encouraging and provide a good base for building this market further in the coming year.
Southern Europe finally began to level out in 2012-13 with sales across the region down just 1% on the previous year.
The value of sales finished broadly level with last year. The company reduced distributor stockholdings in a number of markets, particularly in Asia, which resulted in a slightly lower volume of global cased shipments.


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Ülker products free to Tweeters
Tweets are the currency not money in Ülker’s new campaign and more happy moments are on the way. Those who send a tweet in the #tweetineulker campaign going on at universities, stadiums and shopping centers get an Ülker product for free. Everyone who participates in the campaign taking place at the İstinye Park shopping center this weekend will get one of twenty different Ülker products in exchange for a tweet.
Ülker, a company that organizes effective social media projects, has started a new one on Twitter. In the “Ülker for a Tweet” project you can get a product of your choice from among twenty products in exchange for only one tweet. People who write #tweetineulker and the product they want in their Twitter message can get what they have selected from the campaign stand.
The #tweetineulker stand that met up with consumers at the StarcityOutlet Center and Istanbul Şehir University last week will be at the İstinye Park Shopping Center this weekend. Ülker will continue passing out “happy moments” in the months ahead at matches and university halls.


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The all-new Ford Focus offers a
new camera technology that makes reversing a breeze. The wide-angled camera
sees around obstacles, shows hazards driver can’t see. The radar sensors detect
vehicles crossing behind and can apply brakes to avoid collisions
For several years now,
reversing cameras that show drivers what is immediately behind them have become
increasingly popular with new car customers. Now, the all-new Ford Focus is
taking the technology a step further – by showing drivers what is around the
corner behind them.
Located just above the vehicle
licence plate, the camera captures a 180-degree view that can be displayed on a
touchscreen inside the car – so passing pedestrians, cyclists and other
vehicles can be more easily seen.
Reversing manoeuvres are also
made easier by radar sensors that monitor the area behind the car and alert
drivers to vehicles and motorcycles crossing behind. If the driver does not
respond to warnings, the brakes are automatically applied.
“We know that for nearly all our customers,
reversing is a crucial part of their daily drive – and one that some of them
really don’t enjoy. This little camera is helping us to make a big step
forwards in making it easier to go backwards,” said Glen Goold, Ford’s chief
program engineer for Focus.
According to a recent survey,
of the top five trickiest driving manoeuvres, four involved reversing, and the
fifth was driving forwards into a parking bay. The all-new Focus introduces a
wider range of advanced features and technologies than any Ford vehicle before.
As well as Rear Wide View
Camera, the car also has Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert
that warns the driver of vehicles and motorcycles that may soon be crossing
behind. The car can automatically apply the brakes to avoid or mitigate the
effects of collisions if the driver does not respond to warnings.
Bolt, India’s largest EV charging network, announced the launch of Bolt Lite, India’s first safest, smartest and most affordable universal EV charging socket.
Renon India, one of India’s leading energy storage companies, has launched its swappable smart batteries, Groot, for electric 2-wheelers. The Li-ion battery pack for low and medium speed EVs is built ...
MG Motor India introduced ‘MG Service on Wheels’ initiative to provide customers with car repair and maintenance services from the comfort of their homes. This service outreach programme reinforces th...


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Do calorie postings influence food choices?
In an effort to help consumers make better nutritional choices, states have implemented mandatory labeling standards for fast-food chains and restaurants – requiring them to reveal calorie and nutritional information about their meals.
But do these labels really influence purchasing habits? Are Americans making better choices because of them?
A recent study from researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center found that the answer is a resounding "no."
"What we're seeing is that many consumers, particularly vulnerable groups, do not report noticing calorie labeling information and even fewer report using labeling to purchase fewer calories," said lead study author Dr. Brian Elbel, assistant professor of Population Health and Health Policy at NYU School of Medicine.
Government issues mandatory labeling
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that restaurant chains with 20 or more national locations must reveal the calorie content of all food and drink items on the menu. But what early research shows is that this tactic may not be effective in preventing obesity or educating consumers about nutritional choices.
"Studies have not generally examined whether labeling is more or less effective for particular subgroups," Elbel said.
The researchers from NYU found that only 34 percent of McDonald's customers in Philadelphia, for instance, even noticed the labels posted to menu boards. Respondents with less education were also less likely to notice the labels. Worse yet, respondents reported eating fast food more than five times a week, even after the labels were posted. In Philadelphia, there was no decrease in fast food visits after the labeling began, the study found.
Calorie labels are 'not enough'
"We found no difference in calories purchased or fast-food visits after the introduction of the policy," Elbel said.
Posting calories is not enough, Elbel continued. At least not to change behaviors that appear to be deeply ingrained in our "fast food culture."
"We need to consider other, more robust interventional policies in places where obesity is most prevalent."
Source: NYU Langone Medical Center


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Seattle's Edgewater hotel is rock 'n' roll. The first music legends to walk through the doors, back in 1962, were The Beatles, and it's been a revolving door of musical icons ever since.
After completing a refurbishment, andBeyond Phinda Vlei Lodge is reopening this June in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province.
As a tribute to the "Masters of Time," Zicasso has launched a 9-day Luxury Watchmakers Tour of Switzerland and Germany itinerary with customizable dates.
The all-suite Reef 28 is Playa del Carmen's newest hotel, slated to open May 12.
With the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just around the corner, travelers are invited to tap into Europe's aristocratic legacy for their own royal fantasy.
The new Radisson Red hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, has partnered with comic artist Frank Quitely who has designed unique wallpaper for the rooms and public spaces.
Crystal is introducing brand-new 10-day Enchanting Moselle itinerary aboard Crystal Bach for 2019.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization has ranked Nicaragua among the top 10 World’s Fastest Growing Tourist Destinations, up 28.4 percent in 2016, and indeed, Central America’s largest country has become a go-to pick among savvy travelers looking for new vacation horizons.
Luxury Gold has announced the British Royale journey, a 9-day escorted tour of iconic sites and historic landmarks in the UK.
Luxe travelers will want to get in on this one. Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit has a new exclusive tequila experience that includes a private plane to Tequila.
Four Seasons Resorts has teamed with NetJets—a private aviation company—to offer luxury guests unique, private, bespoke experiences at select destinations.
South Florida is making a name for itself in the art scene, and with Hotel Beaux Arts Miami teaming up with Wynwood Walls to show guests around Miami's Arts District, your art-loving clients will be glad you booked them on the new and unique Wynwood Walls Walking Tour Package.
Thoughts of faith-based travel often evoke images of Jerusalem or Buddhist temples, but for practitioners of the world's major monotheistic religions, Turkey—often dubbed as "the other Holy Land"—provides a unique opportunity to experience some of the lesser-known sites of importance for these faiths.
The farm-to-table movement has taken the U.S. by storm with restaurants highlighting native ingredients on their menus, but Loews Hotels is taking things to the next level with their new food and beverage experience rolling out nationally this year: Flavor By Loews Hotels.
With the popularity of sites such as Ancestry.com and its DNA tests for ethnicity and genealogy, heritage travel or ancestry vacations—exploring the origins of one’s family tree, searching through local archives and with luck even meeting a long-lost relative—has boomed in popularity.
Lucky for your bottom line, multi-generational family travel has proven to be a megatrend, not just a passing one, but finding the right fit for a variety of ages always has its challenges.
Space fans won't want to miss Kennedy Space Center's NASA Now attraction, which allows guests to get an up-close look at vehicles that have traveled in space.


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“We are pleased that FutureCard has selected our biometric technology, and to see our outstanding T-Shape and software platform in the hands of more and more customers around the world.” – Thomas Rex, SVP Business Line Smartcards, Fingerprints
Fingerprints (FPC) has another new partner in the fast-emerging biometric payment cards market: United Arab Emirates-based FutureCard is going to offer Fingerprints’ biometric technology to its clients in the EMEA region.
FutureCard’s new card solution will feature Fingerprints’ T-Shape fingerprint reader module together with FPC-BEP, a software solution announced by Fingerprints in February, and designed primarily for card, wearables, and dongle applications. These technologies will be used to enable highly secure, biometrically authenticated contactless transactions.
In announcing the partnership, Fingerprints asserted that contactless payments are well-established in the Middle East, indicating a compelling opportunity for biometric card technology that can boost security while maintaining the convenience of tap-to-pay. “FutureCard is a uniquely positioned card supplier in the vibrant EMEA region,” commented Fingerprints’ smartcards VP, Thomas Rex. “We are pleased that FutureCard has selected our biometric technology, and to see our outstanding T-Shape and software platform in the hands of more and more customers around the world.”
For its part, FutureCard’s CEO, Hassan Mokdad, praised Fingerprints for having “the leading technology on the market” with respect to biometric cards. “Fingerprints biometric technology fits well with FutureCard’s business approach which is to satisfy our precious customers by offering them the best card solutions available on the market.”
The partnership is the latest sign of Fingerprints’ growing prominence in the nascent biometric payment cards market, with Gemalto having recently ordered Fingerprints’ T-Shape and FPC-BEP solutions for its own biometric payment cards.


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“Tinkoff Bank” buys popular iOS app for storing documents “Vkarmane”
“Tinkoff Bank” buys popular app “Vkarmane”, which allows you to conveniently and securely store documents on iPhone and iPad. This is reported by “Vedomosti” with reference to sources close to the deal.
The feature of “Vkarmane” is that it is intended solely for documents. This means that the user does not need to search each time the top folder that contains the scanned documents. Or there will be no need to scroll through a tape to find the data, photographed a month ago.
According to sources, “Tinkoff Bank” has no plans to close the “Pocket”, and will finalize the application and embed it in the “financial supermarket” on the site Tinkoff.ru.
According to sources close to the parties to the agreement, the amount of the transaction amounted to “tens of millions of dollars” but less than $1 million Investdirect LIfe.Sreda Igor Pesin in conversation with the newspaper suggested that “Tinkoff Bank” will spend much less than $1 million, given the market conditions. In his view, the founders had a choice between the closure of the project and selling it.
The founder of “Vkarmane” Sergei Mahendren said the Bank only buys the project itself, not its team, which now focus on their own developments. Initially the service was aimed at attracting customers and selling application a major player.
According to representatives of “Tinkoff Bank”, integration with “Pocket” will increase the number of transactions on the Bank’s website, as users, all documents are at hand and they don’t have to delay the payment of fines and other payments.
The app “Vkarmane” was launched in 2013. By the end of 2016, the project gained 700,000 units, he has 150 000 users monthly. In “Tinkoff Bank” expects to increase the number of services to 10 million people. A similar project has already released a “savings” app “Wallet” is available not only for Bank customers.


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Kojima presented a demo of MGS4 on the PSP2 (NGP) leaving a lot of us drooling, this has already caused a big hype and controversy and people saying it’s a fake video and not how it will looks like in the portable.
Honestly i dont doubt it’s a real demo (may buy xanax melbourne be wrong, heh) but the PSP was a true power horse back in the day and i think the PSP2 (or NGP) will be one as well, so im sure graphics will be something to look for.
And here is the jaw dropping video from the NGP presentation, said by kojima we will be able to play in our PS3, take the MGS4 in our NGP and play on the go, go back at home and continue in our PS3, this alone sounds amazing and im looking forward to it:
We cant but wait and see the final version of this Metal Gear Solid game for the NGP when it comes out, im sure it will be a pleasant experience and something the fans of the saga will enjoy, also waiting to see more of Konami’s line up for this new portable.
Pingback: Tweets that mention Metal Gear Solid 4 Demo on PSP2 (NGP) « Anime Courtyard -- Topsy.com


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Sweeping paddocks of grain crops are a familiar sight that greet people across much of regional Australia, but how many stop to think that those crops end up in their sandwich or breakfast bowl?
In fact, the average Aussie wheat farmer produces enough grain to make 3 million loaves of bread and 2 million tins of Milo.
In the final week of a crusade to better connect consumers with where their food comes from – and to value that food – the NFF-led campaign under the Australians Farmers platform aims to connect those dots.
Collaborating with kitchen creatives and cookbook authors Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards from Cornersmith, the six-week campaign has put the spotlight on six foods and six farmers who have grown those foods.
NFF President Fiona Simson, a grain grower herself from New South Wales’ Liverpool Plains, hoped the Australian Farmers campaign had opened people’s eyes to just how much work farmers invested into growing food sustainably, even the everyday foods you wouldn’t normally think twice about.
“This week we’re putting the spotlight on a household staple – bread. It’s main ingredient, wheat, is also a staple in the farming world,” she said.
“Cereal grains comprise 21% of the agricultural production pie because they’re incredibly important to feeding Australians and people across the globe.
“You don’t have to drive far from an Australian city or town to see a grain crop, but how many people consider those crops might just end up as the main ingredient in a bowl of cereal or pasta?”
GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said the organisation had crunched the numbers and found the average Australian grain farmer grows enough wheat to produce 3 million loaves of bread and 2 million tins of Milo each year.
“Australia produces a huge 23 million tonnes of wheat each year. This is used in bread, pasta, pizza dough, cake, instant noodles, dumpling skins and even animal feed,” Ms Gawel said.
“Our farmers work hard to grow crops sustainably, producing high quality food not only for today, but for generations to come.”
Given bread is one of the most wasted foods in Australian households, the Cornersmith duo will explain why bread is too precious to waste. They will show people how to store it properly and what to do if it goes stale (and it’s not throwing it in the bin!)
People will meet Brad Jones, a farmer from Western Australia, which is the nation’s largest wheat growing state, producing about 8.5 million tonnes each year.
From the outset Brad’s farm looks like any other cropping property, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find they’re introducing satellite imaging, have more than 700 soil testing sites and using a robotic sprayer to reduce chemical use by 95%.
When: At 6pm (AEST) tonight viewers will hear from Cornersmith about what to do when they find themselves with a stale bread situation, and tomorrow night meet Brad.


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Ford is making bold moves to improve vehicle fuel economy in the face of environmental regulations.
What will it take for Maersk to navigate the next great frozen frontier?
Concha y Toro, a Chilean winemaker, faces climate risk head-on by taxing its carbon emissions, reducing its water consumption, and maintaining the quality of its grapes. But it can improve by working to mitigate the risks associated with its partners and its logistics.
What does climate change have to do with the hospital design and construction of Mount Sinai's newest hospital?
As climate change threatens the future supply of cocoa, one company – Mars – looks to fortify its supply chain.
An ICT Industry Leader and Its Path to Greener Supply Chain Management…
This paper examines how the supply chain and manufacturing process of a key player in the U.S. beer making industry, the Molson Coors Brewing Company, is being (and will be) impacted by climate change, how the company is responding, and additional actions that could be taken to minimize longer-term impacts.
Smithfield Foods produces almost 19 million hogs per year as part of their business model which sells over 8 billion pounds of processed meat. As climate change impacts the costs of many of their production inputs, are they positioned to survive?
Climate change has the potential to drastically reduce tea yields – are CPG companies doing enough to ensure the industry's survival?
Is “sustainable beef” an oxymoron? The world’s largest beef producer claims they’re working on it – but will it be enough?


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Most Cancers Prevention Tools
Marketing supplies of e-cigarettes can not make claims that their product exposes users to fewer toxins or reduces hurt except the FDA grants an order permitting such claims. In September 2019, the FDA sent JUUL a warning letter cautioning against unauthorized cessation claims and questioning latest advertising practices that appeared to be focused to youth. As of Aug. 28, 2019, 220 localities had prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products, together with flavored e-cigarettes. These include Berkeley, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco, California; Aspen, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; and Providence, Rhode Island. However, a large majority of the U.S. population — greater than 90% — just isn’t covered by such restrictions. However, this request for remark isn’t a assure of company action on this issue and no additional rule-making action on flavors has been taken or announced by the FDA as of this writing. In March 2018, a gaggle of public well being organizations, together with Truth Initiative, sued the FDA for unlawfully delaying the implementation of the deeming rule.
- Around half of e-cigarette firm web sites have a minimum age discover that prohibited underage people from coming into.
- The up to date Tobacco Products Directive has been disputed by tobacco lobbyists whose companies could possibly be impacted by these revisions.
- The revised EU Tobacco Products Directive got here into effect in May 2016, offering vapinger.com stricter rules for e-cigarettes.
- The ease to get previous the age verification system at e-cigarette company web sites permits underage people to access and be exposed to advertising.
And although most states prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to people beneath the age of 18, increasingly teenagers are using them. In reality, recent surveys2 show dramatic will increase annually in the number of teenagers who have tried an e-cigarette in their lifetime, in addition to within the number who have used them in the past month. This is at a time when smoking tobacco cigarettes is at an all-time low among center and highschool students. The FDA is now evaluating 1000’s of such functions to sell e-cigarettes. In these purposes and related commercials, the owners of e-cigarette brands claim that their merchandise help smokers stop and can therefore be thought of “appropriate for the safety of public well being,” as stipulated by regulation. But a new systematic evaluate by UC San Francisco researchers of the scientific literature on this matter puts these claims to the take a look at. VaporFi is an internet hub coupled with brick and mortar places serving the ever-growing and passionate vaping neighborhood.
Anecdotally, youth are reporting indicators of severe dependence, such as incapability to pay attention in class, using an e-cigarette upon waking, and using e-cigarettes at night after waking with a craving. Some e-cigarette merchandise deliver nicotine as efficiently as a cigarette. The use of nicotine salts also lowers the pH of e-liquids, which permits greater concentrations of nicotine to be delivered with less irritation. For example, the maker of JUUL claims the product has a nicotine content material like conventional cigarettes, and that it delivers the nicotine as much as 2.7 occasions faster than other e-cigarettes. As e-cigarette users ourselves, we now have perfected the shortcomings that we perceived in other best e-cig brands.
The FDA appears to have accepted this timetable, though industry teams are still difficult the federal choose’s decision. However, when the company finalized the deeming regulation, the FDA issued a “compliance policy” that might give e-cigarette manufacturers more time to prepare those submissions and nonetheless enable the products to be in the marketplace. In different phrases, every e-cigarette on the market proper now could be illegal as a result of it has not gone via an FDA evaluation, and is only allowed to be offered as a result of the FDA gave them a short lived move. Among adults who used multiple tobacco product in 2017, the most typical mixture was cigarettes and e-cigarettes. In addition to the rate of nicotine delivery, the nicotine content material of products like JUUL also raises concerns about the potential for dependancy. A 2018 Truth Initiative examine printed in Tobacco Control found that among current youth and younger grownup JUUL users, the majority — 63% — did not know that the product at all times contains nicotine.


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A Belgian broadcaster obtained recordings of more than 1,000 conversations with Google's automated assistant, some including personal details and medical information.
It's never been harder to pick the right Apple laptop. Let us help.
Catch up on the most important news from today in two minutes or less.
Apple has refreshed its laptop lineup, adding the Touch Bar control strip to its entry-level MacBook Pro and killing off the popular 12-inch MacBook in favor of the redesigned MacBook Air.
Apple's next desktop operating system will bring new capabilities to your Mac. Here's an early look at the seven features that matter most.
Apple’s lead designer, who retired from the company, changed the expectations not just of technology design, but the role of design in consumer products.
The legendary designer is starting a new creative agency and signing Apple as its client.
The clock's ticking to fix a Gatekeeper bug that would let hackers slip malware onto your computer undetected.
Catch up on the most important news from today in 2 minutes or less.
Apple's next mobile operating system is now available as a public beta. Here's what you need to know about iOS 13.


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Business News›assam tea
Rare Assam tea sold for Rs 1 lakh per kg
Pabhojan Gold Tea offers a bright yellow liquor with a soothing after-taste and is made from the choicest second flush tips plucked from the tea estate. The tips turn golden and add a hue to the beverage.
Assam govt deems tea garden workers eligible for 10% compensation
Issuance of Assam Taxation (On Specified Lands) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022, this will enable the extension of tax exemption on green tea leaves for a further period of three years from 1st January 2022 under the Assam Taxation (On Specified Lands) Act. Around Rs 142.50 crore to be paid against outstanding Provident Fund dues of Assam Tea Corporation Ltd (ATCL) workers.
Assam: Trade Unions find fault with way of seeking comments on Tea Bill
The Tea board has stated that after 68 years some of the existing provisions of Tea Act 1953 has become redundant and there is a proposal to bring a new act in which Tea board will act as facilitator for the benefit of the industry.
Rare Assam tea sold for record price of Rs 1 lakh per kg
Manohari Gold Tea, a rare variety of tea in Assam has once again created history by breaking its own record as it was sold for Rs 1 lakh per kilogram.
Assam tea fetches highest price in auction, 1 kg of 'Manohari Gold' sold for Rs 1L
In 2019, Manohari Gold had sold for Rs 50K per kg - the highest auction value at that time.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal asks tea industry to submit a proposal about all issues of the industryThe Union Minister thoroughly discussed the issues with the participants and assured appropriate measures.
Tea Research Institute to sign research MoU with PatanjaliPatanjali MD Balkrishna stated that Patanjali will work with Industries and Commerce Department to promote medicinal plantation in Assam and buy back from farmers for their products manufactured in Sonitpur and Haridwar.
Trouble brewing: Assam tea industry is struggling for survivalBidyananda Barkakoty, Adviser, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), “On one hand the price realisation of tea is lower by Rs. 44.19 per kg, which is about 18% lower compared to last year and on the other hand, the cost of Production (CoP) has gone up due to hike in wages and inputs. CoP has gone up by Rs. 25.00 per kg of made tea due to recent hike in daily cash wage from Rs 167.00 to Rs 205.00."
Assam tea garden workers don't need to register for vaccinesThe registration on behalf of the workers will be done by headmen of a line, manager or the officer-in-charge of vaccination. The second wave has severely affected tea estates with almost half of them recording Covid cases.
Assam: Rs 2,70,000 loss for each tea workers owing to BJP govt's decision, says CongressThe Congress party feels that it is a rather harsh gift by the BJP government meted out to the tea workers for one mistake of voting for BJP. It is no doubt a rude shock for the simple tea workers to believe in the false promises of the BJP and the Congress feels that this is a lesson for others to learn as well, it said.
Assam tea industry facing unusual year due to prolonged drought like condition“The year 2021 has been an unusual year so far for the Assam tea industry as far as tea production is concerned. A study has been carried out to assess the crop loss due to the impact of prolonged drought like situation. This study has also taken into account the rainfall received in the last few days”, said Bidyananda Barkakoty, Adviser, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA).
Assam tea workers want new chief minister to speed up Covid testing, vaccinationThere are around 10 lakh workers engaged in Assam’s gardens that produce 700-750 million kilograms of black tea annually. The producers are worried that if Covid spreads rapidly, as is being seen elsewhere in the country, then things may go out of control.
Assam's tea estates record rise in covid casesTea estates have a large concentration of workers and were largely unaffected by COVID-19.
Assam will be governed only by the people from the state: Rahul GandhiGandhi, while addressing election rallies in Kamrup and Nalbari, said that the BJP-led government has ruined country's economy by introducing GST (Goods and Services Tax) and demonetisation. Now they are trying to destroy rural economy by trying to introduce the three farm laws.
PM Modi rakes up toolkit row, claims Congress backing those trying to finish Assam teaHe said a toolkit recently sought to defame Assam tea, famous across the world, and Yoga, the legacy of our ancient saints, as part of a "conspiracy".
Assam Tea Tribes' Students' Association announced complete shutdown of all tea gardens on March 22ATTSA president Dhiraj Gowala said that government has failed to address problems of tea workers. "The government has given 'lollipop' to the tea workers by hiking the wage to Rs 217. Additional Rs 50 was hiked by the government. We are demanding Rs 351 daily wage hike," he said.
Assam's Innovation & Transformation Aayog to make an action plan to vitalise Tea Corp estatesSITA will prepare an action plan based on the suggestion received during the interaction and will be submitted to appropriate authority for needful action.
Tea growers can collect their land certificates from DC office: Assam CM Sarbananda SonowalIt may be noted that under ‘Mission Assam QualiTea’ programme the building that Chief Minister Sonowal inaugurated has been built at an expenditure of Rs. 5.83 crore of the total financial outlay of Rs. 17 crore earmarked for small tea Growers’ training and research centre. The ground floor of the building has got four laboratory rooms and the first floor has four class rooms.
Dhunseri Tea to sell three Assam tea estates by December 2020The estate is being sold as a going concern to the partnership firm for a total consideration of Rs 6.60 crore, the company said in a filing with the stock exchanges. Khetojan estate produces 2.2 lakh kgs of tea annually.
Assam tea sector gets tax holiday of three yearsThe Assam government comes to the rescue of the ailing tea industry. It has announced interest subvention of three per cent on the working capital loan taken by the tea estates. A subsidy of ₹7 per kg will be provided.
Black tea prices surge 42% from a year earlier, making the brew dearer for consumersThe price increase has been mainly in the common CTC leaf and dust category, which has prompted many planters to shift from orthodox teas to CTC tea production.
Lockdown cuts India's April tea output by 54% y/yIn the first four months of 2020, India produced 113.36 million kg of tea, down 40% from a year ago because of lower production in March and April, the board said in a statement.
Premium quality Assam tea prices up 15% from a year agoExporters say the price increase may impact exports to Iran — the biggest buyer of Indian tea in 2019 — as the country is not ready to pick the expensive commodity and is bidding for the lower priced premium orthodox teas.
Bengal and Assam tea sector estimated a loss of Rs 2,100 crore due to lockdownIndian tea sector has estimated loss of Rs 2,100 crore in Assam and Bengal due to lockdown. This is based on the price recovered in 2019 North India tea auctions. These two north Indian tea producing states contribute over 80% to India's national yield. The plantation sector has requested government for a multidirectional financial package to come out of the crisis.
COVID-19: Assam tea planters stare at Rs 1,218 crore lossAs per the Tea Board of India official figures, the annual average price of tea of North India (which includes Assam) at the Indian auctions in 2019 was Rs 152.26 per kg. The total revenue loss of Assam tea industry due to lockdown = 80 million kgs × Rs 152.26 per kg = Rs 1,218 crore.
Assam Company unveils new technologies to provide fillip to tea industryThe company said it has begun a seven-day workshop with a consortium of experts from around the world in a bid to study the fields and creating a tech-supported architectural plan to completely reimagine the future of tea farming.Load More
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Galaxy S4 mini, the smaller flavor of Samsung’s latest flagship Android handset, is expected to make an official appearance on shelves in the United States in the not too distant future.
Verizon Wireless is expected to be the first carrier to launch it.
The handset was spotted on the Bluetooth SIG website with model number Samsung SCH-I435 attached to it, and this might be the first version of the device to land on shelves in the United States, it seems.
As PhoneArena notes, given that Galaxy S III landed on shelves at Verizon as SCH-I535, while the Galaxy S4 was released as SCH-I545, it would make sense for SCH-I435 to be launched as Galaxy S4 mini.
No official confirmation on the matter has been provided as of now but, with the handset is already available for pre-order in the UK, and should be launched in other markets around the world too in the near future.


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Johnson & Johnson Recalls Infants' Tylenol That's Too Hard To Use
Johnson & Johnson keeps finding new reasons to recall products.
This time there's a problem with more than a half-million bottles of grape-flavored liquid Tylenol for infants. What's up?
Well, the "SimpleMeasure" dosing system that's supposed to make it easier to fill a syringe with the right amount of the grapey painkiller and fever-reducer is too complicated for some parents.
J&J's McNeil division said it has received a "small number of complaints" about how difficult it was to use the docking system for filling the syringe.
Or, to be fair to parents and caregivers, it could be a shortcoming in design that makes it possible to dislodge a doughnut-shaped plastic piece in the neck of the bottle so it can fall into the liquid medicine. (See the video below for how it's supposed to work.)
Either way, it's new territory for the company, which has had so many recalls in the last few years that I've lost count.
The affected product is Infants' Tylenol Oral Suspension (1-ounce bottles). The lots are: BIL0U00, BIL0V00, BIL3500, BJL2D00, BJL2E00, BJL2T00 and BJL2U00.
There's nothing wrong with medicine itself, the company said.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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- Nigeria’s domestic market remains the primary source of revenue for most businesses, with over 97% of the revenue mix coming from local sales and less than 3% from exports.
- Despite government policies to encourage exports, businesses struggle to generate significant export revenue, relying heavily on the domestic market.
- Nigeria’s export revenue has increased but is still relatively low, standing at $4.8 billion in 2022, indicating the challenges faced in boosting export potential.
Nigeria’s domestic market continues to dominate the source of revenues for most businesses operating in the country for the financial year ending December 2022.
A cursory analysis of the financial statement of over two dozen manufacturing companies quoted on the Nigerian Exchange reveals their revenue mix includes over 98% local (or domestic) sales while just 2% was from exports.
The Buhari administration has for years introduced policies to encourage exports in line with its forex revenue drive. However, businesses continue to struggle to generate significant export revenue as they rely on the domestic market for much of their revenue. sources.
The Central Bank has also introduced several policies such as the RT 200 to encourage local exports of goods in exchange for forex. This appears not to have worked especially for quoted companies
However, these policies seem to have had little impact on boosting Nigeria’s export revenue, which stood at $4.8 billion in 2022, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). This represents a 39% increase from 2021 but is still far below the peak of $10.5 billion recorded in 2014.
Some of the factors that hinder Nigeria’s export potential include poor infrastructure, high cost of production, low-quality standards, trade barriers, and insecurity.
What the data is saying
For example, the likes of Dangote Cement, Unilever, Nestle, and Nigeria Breweries, reported domestic sales to make up over 95% of the revenues generated for their Nigerian operations. Our analysis does not take into account the revenue earned from their foreign operations.
BUA Foods, Dangote Cement, and Flour Mills lead exports
Dangote Cement, one of the largest homegrown businesses only reported a revenue of N32.5 billion or 2% of the revenue earned from its Nigeria operations. Its Nigerian operations earned N1.2 trillion.
Thus, most of its locally manufactured products are for domestic consumption.
Flour Mills, Nestle, Cadbury, BUA Cement, Unilever, PZ, and Guinness all reported less than 5% of revenues from their export business. Most of their products were produced and sold to Nigerians.
Despite the challenges, BUA Foods and Beta Glass posted significant numbers from their export business as both companies reported 14% and 11.6% of their revenues came from export. BUA Food reported a revenue of N359.7 billion while N58.5 billion was earned from export. Beta Glass reported a combined revenue of N48 billion with N6.3 billion from export sales.
Flour Mills earned N27.5 billion in exports compared to N1.1 trillion from its domestic sales business.
What this means
The implication of the information provided is that Nigeria’s export potential and its ability to earn significant export proceeds are currently limited.
- Despite the government’s efforts to promote exports and diversify the economy, businesses in Nigeria are struggling to generate substantial revenue from exports.
- The heavy reliance on the domestic market indicates that most companies are primarily focused on meeting the demands of local consumers rather than exploring international markets.
- The low percentage of export revenues reported by manufacturing companies suggests that there are barriers or challenges hindering their ability to tap into foreign markets effectively.
- These challenges could include factors such as limited access to international distribution networks, inadequate infrastructure for transportation and logistics, trade barriers and restrictions, and insufficient competitiveness in global markets.


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Get your wallets ready.
Steam will be starting their Winter Sale on December 22, according to a webpage on a new promotional website from PayPal. The page doesn’t list any end date for the sale, but it’s probably a good guess that it will go through to the end of this year, and until January 1.
It also remains to be seen whether the Winter Sale will do away with the Daily Deals and Flash Sales that used to mark Steam Sales, and made people check the storefront obsessively every few hours, in case there was a deal that they absolutely couldn’t afford to miss on on their favorite games. Considering how successful the Fall Sale was for Valve, it’s probably a good guess that they’re gonna continue with the new format.
This isn’t the first time PayPal has leaked Steam sale start-dates, either. The company’s promotional web listings have tipped us off on when Steam sales will be starting in the past as well.
Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information on the Steam sale.


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Philippines’ central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has introduced its own digital payment system to process retail transactions from its stakeholders amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
BSP governor Benjamin Diokno said that the new order payment system (NOPS) has been launched to transform the Philippines into a cashless economy.
Diokno anticipates that by 2023, 50% of the country’s total transactions, both in value and volume, would be online or digital.
Diokno said: “In line with BSP’s advocacy to promote digital payments and to provide BSP’s clients with accessible payment facilities especially during this pandemic, the BSP is launching the NOPS.”
NOPS is a web-based system offering various payment channels.
Clients can make payments to the BSP depository banks using over-the-counter, mobile or online banking, and Visa or Mastercard debit or credit cards.
Payment through PESONet and Instapay gateways, e-money service providers, among others, are in the works.
BSP’s asset management department can also offer NOPS to its clients, to generate order of payment statements, inquire status, and download official receipts.
Besides, BSP can collect property and lease payments; licensing fees of new banks, pawnshops and money service businesses; sale of bidding documents and corporate items, and bid securities payment, using NOPS.
Back in December 2015, BSP had first rolled out its National Retail Payment System (NRPS) in the country.
BSP is pushing the digitisation of retail transactions with the launch of NOPS.


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The iWatch is going to be a huge product for Apple. We don’t know how successful it will be down the line, but the company should be able to sell millions of these wearable devices upon launch. It goes without saying that the iWatch won’t simply run any iOS app, so it does make sense for Apple to start offering an app section for wearable devices. A recent report suggests Apple is planning to introduce a fitness platform, similar to the App Store, for the iWatch. That will allow others to develop solutions compatible with the device.
As Reuters has reported, one mobile health executive, who has asked not to be named, has suggested that Apple’s plan for wearable devices goes beyond the iWatch. Offering small and large companies the chance to build solutions for iWatch is going to help the device grow much faster. Apple is surely not just focusing on building smartwatches, so an app store for wearables could work for iGlasses and future iwearables. This is all speculation at this time though.
Speaking of exciting products, Oculus VR has come a long way since its launch. The firm got a lot of flak for selling to Facebook. But the company made the move to grow as its CEO has suggested. The goal is to bring the technology to over 1 billion users. With Facebook’s resources and infrastructure, Oculus could achieve bigger things. Many of us still remain skeptical of the Oculus + Facebook marriage though.


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South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said it is planning to build its first dedicated full electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facilities in the United States for about $5.54 billion (about Rs 43,110 crore). is planning to invest.
Hyundai will start its new facility in Georgia in early 2023 and is expected to begin commercial production in the first half of 2025 with an annual capacity of 300,000 EV units, the company said in a statement.
The South Korean auto group said it intended to create about 8,100 jobs.
Hyundai Motor Group, which houses Hyundai and Kia, said the battery manufacturing facility would be set up through a strategic partnership, details of which would be disclosed later.
Reuters reported last week that Hyundai was in talks to build an EV manufacturing plant in the United States and had discussed it with Georgia officials.
The plant is a significant part of Hyundai’s planned investment of $7.4 billion (about Rs 57,585 crore) in the United States by 2025 to promote future mobility. The state of Georgia is expected to attract $1 billion (about Rs 7,780 crore) in additional investment from non-affiliated Hyundai Motor Group suppliers on top of the investment.
SK On, the battery arm of Hyundai’s battery supplier, SK Innovation, has built two adjacent plants in Georgia. The first, which supplies most of Volkswagen, began production in the first quarter. The second, which will supply Ford Motor, is set to begin production early next year.
SK On will supply batteries for the Ioniq 7, a source previously told Reuters. SK On said it could not comment on supply deals involving specific customers.
Hyundai’s US investment coincides with the arrival of US President Biden in South Korea on Friday.
The South Korean auto conglomerate, which is one of the world’s five largest automakers in terms of vehicle sales, has production sites in Alabama and Georgia. In April, Hyundai Motor said it plans to invest $300 million (about Rs 2,330 crore) to add EVs to the Montgomery assembly.
Separately, Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday said it plans to invest KRW 21 trillion (about Rs 1,28,300 crore) by 2030 to expand its EV business in South Korea.
Online learning is here to stay: PW reaches 5 million Play Store downloads, registers 400% growth
The platform is set to launch courses in 9 vernacular languages and inaugurate 20 offline hybrid centers called Pathshalas across India this year
New Delhi, May 24, 2022: At a time when a large part of the ed-tech sector is considering employee and teacher layoffs, PW (PhysicsWallah), India’s most affordable ed-tech platform that provides quality education, has registered a remarkable growth.
As PW’s app, which has over 5 million Play Store downloads, approaches its 2nd app anniversary this month and is organising an event ‘2saalbemisaal’ showcasing the journey of Alakh Pandey and PW on social media platforms. The PW platform continues to grow and expand its team with no layoffs and a 1600-strong team of employees, including 500 teachers and 90-100 educational experts.
This is in addition to the 200 associate professors available to answer student queries, and another 200 professionals create exam questions and term papers. As it expands its horizon, PW continues to hire 150 employees every month, leading the way among all ed-tech brands.
Founded in 2016, PW currently has a 4.7 rating on the Play Store and a total of 80 lakh subscribers across all 10 channels on YouTube. Having a comprehensive, interactive, and engaging educational repository of content for K10 in the form of lectures, videos, and notes, among others, the platform has helped 10,000+ students crack competitive exams like NEET and JEE in 2020 and 2021. In fact, the platform has at least one student in six medical and one in 10 engineering colleges in India as its alumni.
Alakh Pandey, Founder, and CEO of PW commented, “Online learning is one of the most sought-after solutions by students across the country today. We are happy to share that PW has achieved tremendous growth since its inception and will be expanding in the K10 category. This is a milestone for us, and we’re committed to ensuring every student on our platform can learn in a hassle-free manner. To further make their learning experience seamless, PW is launching courses in 9 vernacular languages and opening more offline hybrid classrooms (Pathshalas) across the country. We look forward to continuing to enable students to access high-quality education at affordable rates.”
The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for the ed-tech sector, propelling its growth astronomically. As educational institutions temporarily closed, hybrid learning became the go-to solution and continues to remain so till today. And, as online learning takes precedence, PW has ensured it is free to access the vast library of educational content to students through interactive lectures on its website. Students can simply log in to https://www.pw.live/ and access tons of highly sought-after material. To make students’ learning journey seamless, PW also offers free access to over 20 lakh auto-generated answers and 5 lakh video solutions available on its app.
For the next three years, PW has multiple high-end growth plans. The platform has already made provisions for launching courses in 9 vernacular languages, including Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, and Kannada. This step will help PW reach every corner of the country and connect with 250 million+ students by 2025. PW also looks to bridge the accessibility gap by opening 20 offline hybrid classrooms, aka Pathshalas, across India. It has already inaugurated a few offline hybrid classrooms with more than around 7,000 students.
About PW, India’s most affordable edtech platform
Founded in 2016, PW (PhysicsWallah), the brainchild of Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, strives to ensure that money should not be an obstacle in the path of achieving one’s dreams. It prepares students for engineering and medical entrance examinations by affordably providing them with guidance from distinguished teachers. PW specializes in giving comprehensive lectures and sessions on YouTube, the PW app, and the website for students aspiring for NEET, JEE Mains. Having commenced operation as a YouTube channel by Alakh Pandey in 2016, PW has grown rapidly since its inception. During the pandemic of 2020, Alakh joined hands with Prateek Maheshwari to work on a technology solution for students by launching the PW app. The company currently boasts over 80 lakh subscribers on YouTube, with an impressive rating on its app.
For public relations and further inquiries drop an e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Stocks rise after strong earnings
Strong earnings results and another round of corporate deals pushed stocks higher Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has now doubled from its intraday low set in the financial crisis.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. rose 21 percent to $53.25 after investor Nelson Peltz's firm offered to pay up to $60 a share to take the discount retailer private. That was a 36 percent premium from Tuesday's closing price. Family Dollar rose the most of any stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Genzyme Corp. rose 1.1 percent after French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis agreed to buy the U.S. biotechnology firm for $20 billion in cash. The deal ended months of haggling between the two companies.
Dell Inc. rose 12 percent a day after the personal computer maker raised its full-year revenue forecast, a sign that businesses are spending more on technology.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. rose 7.6 percent after the teen clothing maker said its fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled on strong sales overseas and better U.S. results.
Comcast Corp. also reported earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations. Its stock rose 4 percent after more customers signed up for a combination of TV, high-speed Internet access and digital phone services.
Deere & Co. rose 2.4 percent after the equipment maker said its net income more than doubled, thanks to growing sales of large farm machinery in the U.S. and Canada.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61.53, or 0.5 percent, to close at 12,288.17, its highest close since June 13.


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Most of us have an account for 2-day free delivery from a mega online retailer. With the current pandemic we're in, most people are shopping from home rather than going to a brick and mortar store.
Online Retail Spikes, Increases the Need For Automated Front Door Awareness
How many times have you come home to a valuable package left on your front porch. Unfortunately, according to security.org package thefts are rising during Covid-19 Pandemic: Porch Pirates victimized 25 million households in the last 90 days, according to the research conducted the week of May 17-23rd.
How to avoid or deter package theft
A doorbell camera or intelligent video detection camera may be a deterrent for some porch pirates. Package thefts are one of the main causes for the increase in sales of doorbell and outdoor cameras in recent years.
At Praos Smart Security we offer doorbell cameras with free professional installation.
Contact us today for a quote.


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Crypto is totally dead lately—if you’re only looking at the price action.
Yes, Bitcoin is down 72% from its all-time-high price in November 2021, almost one full year ago. Ethereum is down the same, 72% from its own high of $4,878. Woof.
Crypto advocates point out that it’s not just crypto, stocks have been hammered too. And they’re right: everything is down right now. But that’s cold comfort for crypto believers, who—I’ll let you in on a little crypto media trade secret—do not care to read any crypto news when crypto prices are down. ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin put on a brave face last week when talking to me about the technological success of the Ethereum merge, but ETH is down a disheartening 21% since the event.
For a better temperature check on how crypto is doing, look at the major recent signs of mainstream adoption. In the past two months, we got a string of indications that major financial institutions and tech companies believe crypto is here to stay. You’d be excused for having missed these news stories while the global economy was collapsing all around us.
In August, BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, launched a spot Bitcoin private trust to give its customers exposure to the current price of Bitcoin. (As a reminder, the SEC has staunchly refused to greenlight a publicly-traded spot Bitcoin ETF, allowing only Bitcoin futures ETFs; but BlackRock can offer its own clients whatever service it wants.) BlackRock also said it’s seeing “substantial interest” in crypto from its institutional clients, and that it’s exploring stablecoins and tokenization. Wow. Bitcoin didn’t budge on that news, a sign of just how much the economy is weighing on every type of asset.
This past week brought two more big shows of faith.
Google announced it will start accepting crypto as payment for its cloud services early next year by plugging into Coinbase. As part of the deal, Coinbase Commerce will move its “data-related applications” from Amazon Web Services over to Google. So not only is this Google Cloud welcoming crypto, but also a form of tie-up between Google and Coinbase.
All of this might look to sneering crypto-skeptics like a sad attempt at rationalization. The favored mantra of Web3 builders, “bear markets are for building,” gets so oft-repeated at times like these that it has become cliché. That doesn’t mean it’s untrue.
I first wrote about Bitcoin in 2011. I’ve witnessed the freezing crypto cycles of 2014, 2018, and now. Some of the best-known crypto companies and platforms were built during those “winters.”


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Summer visitors are the economic bread-and-butter for Osage Beach residents who work in businesses that cater to these tourists. The drought of 2012 coupled with an extended heat wave cut down the number of visitors who annually flock to the city's retail, entertainment and recreation destinations. KBIA's Trevor Harris visited with some Osage Beach residents who count on a healthy tourist trade to keep their establishments' doors open.
This week the 40/40 project takes KBIA's Darren Hellwege to Kansas City, where we find the kind of hospitality some might associate with small towns in our state's largest city at MeMa's bakery downtown. And as our set of photos indicate, Darren also found something else to eat in KC, at his favorite rib joint, the famed Arthur Bryant's.
We've heard it from folks in many small towns, "if you have trouble, your neighbors will be there to help you." This week on the 40/40 project, we meet a little boy who's had to learn the hard way how true that is. Gabriel Wilcox was born in February, and on the way home from the hospital, survived a car crash that took the lives of his entire family. Now being raised by his grandmother, Gabriel's gotten help from neighbors all over the Eldon region, as we hear as we talk with Angela Wilcox at an event to raise money for her grandson. It's really true what they say about Missourians, they help out their neighbors when need arises.
The 40-40 project visits Lake Ozark, which isn't just a fun place to visit for a vacation but is home to a lot of fine people, including a store owner who tells us why she went from spending only the summer tourist season at the Lake to becoming a full time resident of Lake Ozark.


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Storied British sports car brand goes electric at new $1.3bn Wuhan factory
Company anticipates sales of ‘tens of thousands’ of vehicles a year by middle of decade
Popham says injection from Chinese owners will lead to expanded model line-up
Once these men were allies. Now it is a battle between two showmen used to getting their oway


text: China Wind Systems Inc. reports two new purchase orders to deliver 40 solar chamber subassemblies for photovoltaic cell manufacturing. Prototype components have been produced, inspected, and approved by the unnamed customer, leading to the assignment to supply the full order in two deliveries by June 2011. China Wind Systems Inc. is a forging operation in Wuxi, Jiangsu, and mainly supplies precision forgings and industrial equipment to China’s wind power and other industries. "We will utilize our self-manufactured forged rolled rings to manufacture and deliver solar chamber subassemblies under the contract,” explained chairman and CEO Jianhua Wu. Wu said the new order “marks an important milestone for China Wind as it demonstrates the high quality of our forged rolled rings, which are in accordance with the international standards for manufacturing and quality control. Our new customer is assisting us in expanding our capacity by supplying some components for six of the 30 units under the second purchase order," commented Mr. Jianhua Wu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Wind Systems. "We are committed to the highest quality standards of production which enable us to capitalize on the attractive growth opportunities in the clean-energy sector,” he continued. “We believe this supply contract moves us closer to our goal of becoming a leading supplier to the clean energy industry and further diversifying our customer base. We believe clean energy solutions will drive our future revenue growth and profitability."


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by Nicole Adlman | Mon., Oct. 28, 2013 11:41 AM
Leave it to Natalie Portman to consistently shut it down in Christian Dior.
The Thor: The Dark World actress has attended the film's European premieres in chic gowns from the brand, including a white confection worn to the Berlin premiere on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Our other favorite Dior looks from the brand spokeswoman include a black blouse and metallic skirt combo worn to the Thor world premiere in London, which Portman paired with Charlotte Olympia heels and Monique Pean earrings.
Not one to shy from texture and color, Portman has stepped out in a colorblock column dress for the 2013 New York City Ballet Fall Gala earlier this season. We also loved her 2012 Academy Awards look—a dotted couture gown from the brand which later sold for a cool $50,000.
Finally, who could forget Natalie's tiered navy gown at the NYC Ballet's 2012 Spring Gala? The look paired perfectly with her sultry makeup and handsome choreographer husband, Benjamin Millepied.
Portman has been partnered with Dior since 2010, appearing in various print and television campaigns for the designer brand.


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CABSAT returns this March with bigger and better promises for the Middle East broadcast market. Key broadcast exhibitors at this year's show, which will take place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 4 - 6, will include Harris, Oasis Enterprises, Panasonic, Sony & United Broadcast Media Solutions.
Speaking about the industry's growth, Helal Saeed Al Marri, director general of the Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of CABSAT 2008 said: "The liberalisation of the media sector in the region and private investment in the industry, are the main reasons behind the tremendous growth we are witnessing today in the broadcasting industry. This growth is mirrored in the increased number of participants at CABSAT 2008, which covers the entire spectrum of the Electronic Media from production, post production, transmission and displays."
One of the many highlights at CABSAT 2008 addressing the boom in the broadcasting sector, is the CABSAT 2008 Broadcasting Conference, a free event for industry players to attend and examine the paradigm shift to digital technologies. The conference aims to provide participants with a forum to exchange views and experiences relating to launching digital television. Real-life experiences and requisite information will also be shared, to address the lack of sufficient information and understanding of the technology and financial impact on the digital transition. Topics under discussion include HDTV, Mobile TV, IPTV, Archiving, Asset Management and many more.
CABSAT also encompasses two other key areas - Satellite Communications and Cable and Satellite equipment and accessories. Brand new this year will be a HD Studio featuring the processes of production and post production, a Display Area showcasing outdoor products like satellite dishes in addition to a Mobile TV Showcase and Radio and Audio Pavilion.
Speaking about the show, Roger Crumpton, CEO of International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers (IABM), added: "The annual growth of CABSAT reflects the growing worldwide market for broadcast and media technology products and services. Each year, more and more supply side businesses use CABSAT to showcase their capability and to meet partners and prospective customers in the Gulf states. The show is an important landmark in the global calendar and the region, and symbolises many of the changing issues that are impacting the sector."


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The collaboration, which was announced last month and was released to the public on June 30, brings the Xbox app to 2022 Samsung Smart TVs and allows Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members easy and instant access to over 100 high-quality games, including Xbox Game Studios titles on the same day they release.
Speaking in a new interview with NME, Gus Grimaldi, head of product Europe at Samsung Electronics, and Pav Bhardwaj, senior global product manager at Xbox Game Pass discussed the new partnership, explaining how they hope it will boost Xbox’s player base.
“We’ve said for a while we wanted to reach 3billion gamers around the world and I think Xbox Game Pass and Cloud gaming really, really kind of opens that up,” said Bhardwaj.
“[It] allows people to play the games on multiple devices with a community of millions of people around the world and it also increases the availability of the product in countries where maybe you haven’t been able to previously afford to play or access Xbox in that region.
“It really does kind of open up the choice and the accessibility of Xbox Game Pass.”
During the interview, the quality of the service on Samsung Smart TVs was also discussed. Bhardwaj touched on how the team were “very conscious about making sure that the latency was as low as possible” for gamers.
“We’ve set such a high benchmark with Xbox consoles and with PC game pass and PC experience,” he said, “We needed to make sure that every device that we go onto with Game Pass was really high quality. And so, working with Samsung over the two years, I wouldn’t say it was a challenge but the quality level was really important to us.”
In other news, Silent Hill 2 players have fixed a 20-year-old PC bug.


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Konami has announced it will offer an exclusive, free downloadable version of the new Umbro England strip to players of PES 2009 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Umbro will unveil the innovative new kit on March 28, when England take on Slovakia at Wembley.
The new kit has been designed to a strict specification from the England manager to provide a bespoke tailored fit for each player.
Konami's download will be available at the same time as the Slovakia game's 5:15pm kick-off, and PES 2009 will be the only video game to feature the new kit.
"Konami is extremely proud of its status as the official video game of the England team, and this download showcases the strength of our relationship with The FA and Umbro," commented Jon Murphy, PES Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "Our Japanese team has been working closely with both parties to ensure the innovative new kit is faithfully recreated in the game, and we are delighted to be able to offer it as a free download to our millions of fans on the day it is revealed for the first time."
The England kit update will be free to download on March 28th from 5:15pm.


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Ergon Energy is working closely with government and industry to create an electric vehicle (EV) highway with Australia’s first solar-powered charging station in Townsville (QLD).
With new analysis commissioned by the Energy Supply Association of Australia (esaa), released recently that found there could be almost 1 million electric and natural gas vehicles on our roads by 2025, Queensland is EV ready and has developed a strategy to enable the deployment of EVs across our network.
Through Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) and with our support, the State Government is seeking expressions of interest to build a service station in the Townsville suburb of Oonoonba that has both traditional and alternative forms of energy.
The announcement made in Townsville recently, attracted local Tesla owner Kosh Hazratwala and the Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland Coralee O’Rourke pictured above.
Oonoonba is less than three kilometres from the Bruce Highway and the Townsville CBD and is well positioned to cater for local motorists as well as those travelling along the highway.
The development would allow motorists to fill their car with fuel at a standard bowser or plug in their electric car for fast-charging.
Up to two electric vehicles could be charged at the same time, with an expected average charge time of 15-30 minutes.
Ergon will offer the business owner the opportunity to sign up to its business solar service which will avoid the need for up-front costs and provide access to 25 kilowatts of solar panels while and EDQ will provide support for EV charger equipment leasing.
We understand that for small businesses, pioneering a new technology can be expensive, so we have developed a business model to help reduce costs.
Carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles are growing and electric or hybrid vehicles are a step in the right direction to reduce them.
Transport accounted for 15 per cent of Australia’s emissions in 2012 and transport emissions have increased by 21 per cent since 2000. Road transport and in particular light vehicles are the main source and an uptake of hybrid and electric vehicles will reduce our emissions particularly when teamed with solar as an energy source.
Electric cars are already on our roads – in fact about 300 in Queensland and 2400 nationally between 2010 – 2015.
The ESAA’s research appears to support the thinking the number of EVs on our roads is only going to increase because of a changing paradigm, consumer interest and demand and perhaps over time, Government policies that support EV uptake.
But that would be dependent upon cost – effective policies to encourage more people to buy the cars and bring net economic benefits at minimal cost.
Either way, the future is charged and charging infrastructure will be a key factor for future EV uptake. And that’s why the Townsville charging point could be the first of many along the Queensland coast stretching from Brisbane to Cairns in coming years.


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New Belgium Brewing to introduce new fall seasonal, Red Hoptober
The calendar has yet to turn to summer, but details are starting to trickle out about the upcoming crop of fall seasonal craft beers. Among them will be a new autumn offering from New Belgium Brewing that will introduce many drinkers to a relatively new hop variety out of Washington’s Yakima Valley.
The new beer, Red Hoptober, will replace former fall seasonal Hoptober, a crisp-drinking American blond ale that had a sturdier malt backbone than a lot of beers featuring the word “hop.”
The distinguishing feature of Red Hoptober: El Dorado hops, first released in the fall of 2010 by CLS Farms, a family owned and operated farm on the cooler, northern end of Washington state’s Yakima Valley.
Lindsay Guerdrum, who has the enviable title of sensory analyst at New Belgium, said the hops are dominated by fruity characteristics such as tropical fruit, pear and watermelon.
“Our hop guy here (that’s Christian Holbrook, brewing material manager) describes them as being citrusy, watermelon and bubblegum,” she said in an email.
The CLS Farms Website lists a half-dozen craft breweries that have purchased the hops: New Belgium, Firestone Walker of Paso Robles, Calif., Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Md. (formerly of Colorado), Toppling Goliath Brewery in Decorah, Iowa, Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, N.H., and Blue Monkey Brewing in Nottingham, England.
Esquire Magazine proclaimed Flying Dog’s imperial IPA single-hopped with El Dorado hops one of the best beers of 2012 so far. The magazine also listed Odell’s Shenanigans (brewed with the wild yeast Brettanomyces), the Oskar Blues-Sun King Belgian-style ale collaboration Chaka and New Belgium’s Shift. (We clicked past a half-dozen ads for the documentary “Mansome” in a never-ending slideshow to glean this).
Red Hoptober (6 percent ABV, 45 IBU) also includes Centennial and Cascade hops offering hints of citrus, and a backbone of caramel malt and roasted barley, according to the sell sheet for the new beer.
The beer will be available August through October, said brewery spokesman Bryan Simpson.


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As it turns out, the word \"chacha\" is used as a term of disparagement in the Spanish language. Coincidentally, perhaps after somebody hit HTC's marketing genii with a Spanish phrasebook, the HTC ChaCha will hereafter be known as the ChaChaCha in the land of sun, sand and siestas. This follows mobil
3 years ago
Mitsubishi promised it'd bring the i MiEV over to the US before 2012 and now it's rehashed that pledge with a slightly more detailed roadmap and an indicative price point to boot. Maurice Durand, the company's communications manager for North America, is quoted as saying the newly renamed i will co
4 years ago
Rumors have been flying the past couple days that the OmniaHD is no more -- at least, not in name -- and it turns out that's partially true. We've received official word from Samsung that the S60-based superphone will be \"selectively\" renamed to \"i8910 HD\" in some countries \"due to business issues.
5 years ago


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Traffic fines for speeding violations in Dubai are set to go down, thanks to Dubai Police’s new initiative, but there’s a catch.
Discount on existing fines
Simply explained, motorists can be eligible for discounts on existing traffic fines if they don’t commit a violation for a period of time. Motorists who abide by rules for three months can get a 25% discount on existing fines, followed by a 50% discount for abiding the rules for six months and a 75% discount for abiding the rules for nine months.
Photograph credit: Your Dubai Guide
100% discount on fines available too
If you’re known as the “safe driver” among your pals, here’s some good news for you! Motorists can have all their existing traffic fines waived off, by not committing a traffic violation for a whole year. The initiative is in line with this year’s national initiative, ‘Year of Tolerance’ and the rule applies to fines after 6th February.
Fine rewards only for vehicles registered in Dubai
It’s worth mentioning that the traffic fine discounts only apply to vehicles registered in Dubai and that are privately owned. Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Assistant Commander-in-chief for Operations at Dubai Police clarified, “The initiative only applies to individuals who own vehicles and does not apply to vehicles registered to private companies, rental offices and public or private transport companies.”
Photograph credit: Viraj Asher/DubaiLAD
White points for safe drivers
Meanwhile, Dubai Police has rolled out another incentive for careful drivers, with shopping vouchers up for grabs. It’s quite simple: Download and register yourself on the Dubai Police app. Shortly, a map will appear displaying your live location. For every five to ten kilometres driven under the speed limit, you can earn white points, which can be redeemed in gifts, prizes and shopping vouchers. Also, you can form teams with your friends and compete for points.


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The company posted a net profit of ₹304.28 crore for Q4FY20, a drop of 44.15% from ₹544.84 crore in the same period last year
It sold 163,083 Royal Enfield motorcycles in Q4, a decline of 17% from 197,567 units sold in the same period in FY19
MUMBAI: Shares of Eicher Motors Ltd, the maker of Royal Enfield and Classic motorcycles, fell more than 3% on Monday after the company reported a drop of 44.15% year-on-year (YoY) in consolidated net profit for the March quarter.
The company posted a net profit of ₹304.28 crore for Q4FY20, against ₹544.84 crore in the same period last year.
The stock of Eicher Motors ended at Rs16,484.20, down 2.24% from the previous close, while the Sensex fell 1.77% to 33183.38.
The company's total income, which includes other income, declined to ₹2,351.30 crore during the quarter under review. The company had reported a total income of ₹2,642.78 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
“This has been a tough year overall for the industry. The last quarter brought with it unprecedented challenges and disruptive changes. At Eicher Motors, we have witnessed the impact of this situation, but have chosen to focus on the opportunities within these problems," said Siddhartha Lal, managing director (MD) of Eicher Motors.
Analysts at Nirmal Bang Securities said in a result note, "Royal Enfield has over 600 studio stores in tier-2 and 3 towns and plans to expand it further. Studio stores have low cost operating model and have lower breakeven point."
"Expected recovery in the rural economy will support demand from studio stores and will boost the spares and services revenue as well. The company is also focusing on improving accessibility by way of strip down variants, new colour options and has a long new launch pipeline, thereby, giving customers more choices and expect volume, revenue and PAT (profit after tax) to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.1%, 13.6% and 15.8%, respectively, over FY2020-2022E," Nirmal Bang added.
Royal Enfield sold 163,083 motorcycles in the March quarter, a decline of 17% from 197,567 units sold in the same period in FY19.
The company in a press release said, "Last quarter of this fiscal was particularly challenging in the wake of the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Royal Enfield’s manufacturing and retail operations were suspended between March 23 and May 5 as per the government directives. The company has since resumed operations, and more than 90% of its retail network is now operational."
Analysts at Motilal Oswal said in a note to clients said, " With satisfactory order flow of bookings and 90% of dealers are now operational, manufacturing operations are improving slowly, the company is seeing a sharp pickup in online inquiries and fulfillments."
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Jeffrey Simpson speaks to Marijuana Business Daily about struggling US cannabis companies
Jeffrey Simpson of Torkin Manes' Banking, Finance and Insolvency Group, spoke to Marijuana Business Daily about struggling US cannabis companies potentially looking to Canada for possible bankruptcy protection.
With capital constraints a growing factor in the marijuana industry, U.S. cannabis companies facing financial pressure are increasingly eyeing Canadian bankruptcy protection as a possible solution to their problems.
Canadian bankruptcy might provide an option for U.S. businesses that have Canadian operations, or they might go down such a route if their stocks are listed on an exchange such as the Canadian Securities Exchange.
But multiple caveats exist.
Indeed, lawyers say the listing qualification is unlikely to be enough purely on its own.
“A Canadian listing is not sufficient in itself,” said Jeffrey Simpson, a partner at the Banking, Financing and Insolvency group of Toronto-based Torkin Manes. “The debtor company typically needs to be a Canadian-incorporated entity or have the majority of its business operations in Canada.”
This article was originally published in the Marijuana Business Daily.
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You might have seen a lot of comparisons here lately, mostly dealing with big budget tablets or interesting smartphones, but we never were able to show you how the entry level market was like, especially with so many touch devices in that segment now. These are not smartphones, but they are not dumbphones either. Nokia particularly calls its new range Asha phone smartphones, which most might not agree with, but it has some really good features to talk about. Similarly, Samsung also recently launched its Rex series of devices to combat the Nokia Asha range in a similarly priced market. So, which one is better? Lets find out.
Continue reading “Nokia Asha 310 vs Samsung Rex 90”
Samsung unveiled a range of java-based feature phones in the REX series last week. The REX 90 is the top-end model in the series that comes with dual SIM support with Smart dual SIM feature and True Hot Swap. You saw the unboxing of the REX 90 last week, here we have the complete review of the phone. Let’s dive into the review. Continue reading “Samsung REX 90 Review”
Samsung launched the REX series of Smart feature phones in India today. We got some hands-on time with the REX 90 at the launch event.The REX 90 is priced at Rs. 6490 and it is the feature rich phone in this series. The Java-based phone that has a Touchwiz interface with 7 customizable home screens. Continue reading “Samsung REX 90 Photo Gallery”
Samsung has launched Rex, a new series of dual SIM feature phones in India. These java-based phones include, REX 60, REX 70, REX 80 and REX 90. Samsung is calling these Smart features phones. These phones are developed in India and it would be launched in several growing markets globally starting from India. These phones have TouchWiz interface with 8 homescreens Bluetooth and and some of these also have WiFi support. Continue reading “Samsung REX series of feature phones launched in India, priced between Rs. 4280 and Rs. 6490”


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Knox County Sheriff - Sheriff J.J. Jones
Knox County Sheriff News
Kwick Shop Robbed
An East Knox County convenience store was robbed at gunpoint Monday night. Detective Jim Shipley responded to the Kwik Shop at 7608 Rutledge Pike shortly after 9 o’clock. According to the report, a clerk said a white male with a white hoodie, black jacket, blue jeans, white tennis shoes and a black ski mask ran into the store and pointed a black revolver handgun at him. The suspect told him to keep his hands in sight and to give him the money. The robber got an undetermined amount of money and ran out of the business to the back. No one was hurt.
Anyone with information is asked to call the KCSO at 215-2243.


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Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) should consider purchasing an established media company such as CBS Corp. (CBS) to strengthen its streaming service’s ability to compete with industry leader Netflix Inc. (NFLX), according to MoffettNathanson.
In a research note, reported on by CNBC and Fox Business, Michael Nathanson, a senior research analyst at the firm, claimed that the e-commerce giant’s Prime Video service currently doesn’t have a deep enough library of content to compete with Netflix. Despite it having more than 100 million global paid subscribers, Nathanson argued that Amazon’s streaming service is “lagging” the industry leader in terms of usage and reach.
To better challenge Netflix, the analyst believes that Amazon must develop new, high-quality content that resonates with streaming customers. The quickest way to do this, he added, would be to acquire a company such as CBS.
"Rather than build it out over time, we wonder if Amazon would embrace a ‘buy it’ model and seek to acquire a traditional media company with content creation skills, deep proprietary content libraries, sports production capabilities, and burgeoning OTT ambitions,” Nathanson wrote in a note to clients. “Of all the companies available, CBS is the most logical fit.”
Despite identifying CBS as the most suitable target, Nathanson believes that the current legal battle between the company’s CEO Leslie Moonves and Shari Redstone, who controls CBS and Viacom through National Amusements Inc. (NAI), could make it difficult for Amazon to acquire the television broadcast company. (See also: CBS Board Votes to Curb Redstones' Power.)
“If CBS is given their freedom from NAI’s control (which we doubt), we believe that an M&A premium would quickly emerge,” Nathanson wrote. A decision over who wins control of CBS is not expected until October at the earliest.
CBS’s shares have fallen about 13% over the past year, giving the company a market cap of roughly $21 billion. Amazon’s biggest acquisition to date was its $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods.
A spokesperson for Amazon told CNBC they do not comment on rumors or speculation. CBS also declined to comment. (See also: Amazon Prime Adoption in US May Have Peaked: RBC.)


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Wagner SprayTech Plans Major Distribution Hub In Otsego, Minnesota
The company, which specializes in manufacturing and marketing paint sprayers, applicators and decorating products for the consumer and contractor markets, said it will build a manufacturing facility in the Gateway North Business Center, near Highway 101.
Construction is expected to begin this year and will be completed by October. The expansion will also include creating new jobs to assist in the operations of the facility.
As an incentive, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is supporting the expansion with a $180,000 grant from the Job Creation Fund. The company will receive the funding after meeting its investment and hiring commitments.
“Wagner SprayTech is growing thanks to an emphasis on innovative and quality products,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “This expansion will bring new jobs and investment to the Otsego area and help the company respond to increasing demand for its products.”
The Job Creation Fund, which was first proposed by Governor Mark Dayton in 2013, is a pay-for-performance program that provides funding to businesses after they meet certain criteria, including minimum requirements for job creation and private investments. Under the program, businesses must create at least 10 full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 to be eligible for financial assistance.
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The ailing retail industry is stuck in its worst slump for almost three years after another shock fall in sales amid plummeting consumer confidence.
A cold and wet October failed to boost clothes sales as shoppers continued to rein in spending in the face of political turmoil. Total sales unexpectedly slipped back 0.1pc compared to the previous month, led by sharp falls in clothing and household goods, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed. Sales excluding fuel tumbled 0.3pc.
Retail sales have now failed to grow for the last three consecutive months, their worst run since late 2016. Resilient shoppers have started to succumb to the malaise afflicting the rest of the economy, with...
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UPS podcast explores the future of trade, tech, logistics
Seeking to grab decision makers on the commute to work, two UPS communicators interview experts—and go beyond the delivery trucks to showcase their organization.
You might think of UPS only as the person buzzing your doorbell to get a signature on a fruitcake from your grandma.
But UPS is using a podcast on its Longitudes blog to offer expertise far beyond home delivery, looking at areas as futuristic as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cities of the future.
“When people think of UPS, a lot of times they think of delivery drivers in brown shorts,” says Brian Hughes, managing editor of Longitudes and cohost of the Longitudes Radio podcast. “They’re great, and we love them, but there’s so much beyond that that’s going on here that people might not realize.”
The podcast looks at the future of technology, global trade, sustainability and logistics. Since it started last fall, the podcast has been hosted by Hughes and Longitudes creative director James Rowe, both of whom are members of the executive communications team at UPS. Its guests include not only UPS people, but outside authors and industry experts.
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Tags: internal communication, podcasting, UPS


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Unilever’s ‘Clear’ game launch draws over four million downloads
SHANGHAI – AKQA designed a new online app game as part of its product launch for Clear anti-dandruff shampoo. The game, on Chinese social networking site QQ.com has already been downloaded four million times since going online two weeks ago
The game, titled ‘doomsday on dandruff on QQ.com’ was fully created by AKQA,. It launched just as the Unilever brand was reintroducing the men and women’s shampoo product line with new and improved packaging.
The two male and female game characters aim to virtually remove dandruff and other scalp problems like scalp itchiness, grease for males and dryness for females – these three scalp problems, which are represented by animated game characters, can be remedied through Clear’s deep scalp nourishment.
Various game mechanics allow innovative user interaction including jumping, crashing, slicing and smashing.
Users are able to challenge their friends to a face-off in the hopes of accumulating virtual “jewels” which are exchangeable for real world prizes like iPhone and iPad.
This is the first unconventional marketing campaign in which Clear messages its brand as not only one of hair care expertise, but also a specialist at treating other scalp problems.
Project: Doomsday of Dandruff for Clear anti-dandruff shampoo
Client: Unilever China
Agency: AKQA Shanghai
Executive CD: Johan Vakidis
Senior art director: Elephant Xiang
Art director: Joe Cai
Producer: Joe Cai
Copywriter: Double Du
Designer: Angie Fang
Senior account director: Fionnie Wu
Account manager: Emma Shi
Account executive: Leon Yuan
Project Manager: Nemo Li
Project Manager: Vivian Zhang