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Authors, agents and publishers often work hard to promote their books in the hopes of winning a spot on the New York Times best-seller list. Alan Nevins, a prominent literary agent with Michael Ovitz's Artists Management Group in Los Angeles, took promotion a step further last week by placing orders for at least 18,000 copies of his client's new book at a handful of small bookstores that report sales to The Times's list keepers.
''This order of books should be reported the week ending August 18th to The New York Times in the business category, as an off-site author book signing,'' Mr. Nevins wrote in a fax to one bookstore, putting the date in bold for emphasis.
Times editors involved with the best-seller list said Mr. Nevins's effort would not influence their compilation, because unusually large bulk orders are deemed suspect and are typically not counted. But Mr. Nevins's activities seem likely to reinforce concerns among publishers and bookstores about efforts to influence the various best-seller lists artificially.
For his part, Mr. Nevins said manipulating the best-seller list was not his intention when he sent orders worth more than $75,000 to four Los Angeles bookstores for thousands of copies of the new book, ''Hope From My Heart: 10 Lessons for Life,'' written by his client Rich DeVos, the 74-year-old co-founder of the marketing giant Amway.
Mr. Nevins said he arranged the sales on behalf of companies that distribute Amway products so they could resell the books at a markup during their fall sales conferences. Amway sells a variety of items like cosmetics and soap through a pyramid-style network of salespeople. He said he arranged special discounts from the publisher because of the size of the orders, but Mr. Nevins declined to explain why he opted against the even cheaper alternatives of buying through a book distributor or directly from the publisher.Continue reading the main story
But Ron Land, a sales executive at the book's publisher, Thomas Nelson Publishers, said that getting the book on the best-seller list was indeed the motive for arranging the sales at bookstores.
''The purpose of directing those sales through the stores was to get the book a presence in the marketplace and get it on the list, and give our marketing a jump-start,'' Mr. Land said. He said he believed that it was ''very common'' for business book authors to arrange bulk purchases either from seminars they lead or companies they run, directing the sales through stores to get on the lists.
''Most people who are successful in the business book area have a large machine behind them, like Amway; that is just the way things are done nowadays,'' he said.
Owners of the stores involved say Mr. Nevins made his intentions clear to them as well.
Mr. Nevins's firm, Artists Management, issued a statement yesterday: ''We are concerned about the issues that have been raised. As a matter of corporate policy, we don't condone or support any activities that could potentially jeopardize the integrity of any best-seller list. We have asked our outside counsel to conduct a thorough fact-finding review of the matter and will take whatever action is appropriate.''
Mr. Nevins's effort began last week with calls to the bookstores with an unusual proposition involving Mr. DeVos's new book.
Mr. Nevins offered to pay the stores in advance to order thousands of books at deep discounts from the publisher, for direct shipment elsewhere. ''Many thanks for your help in this matter,'' he wrote in his fax. ''More to come!''
Some bookstores played along.
''We said fine,'' said Mahri Kerley, owner of Chaucer's Bookstore in Santa Barbara, Calif. Mr. Nevins sent her a check for $25,200, instructing her to pay $22,680 to Thomas Nelson Publishers for 6,000 copies of the book. At $3.78 cents a copy, that was a considerable discount from the normal price to bookstores of about $6.50 a copy. And the arrangement left Ms. Kerley $2,520 in profit without the risk of stocking a single book.
''It was amazing,'' she said. ''Who am I to turn it down?''
Ms. Kerley said she happily reported the sales to The Times, knowing that the best-seller list compilers would disregard the order as an anomaly. But she did not tell that to Mr. Nevins. ''I figured that he had to have that much brains,'' she said.
At Mr. Nevins's request, Dutton's Brentwood Bookstore, in Brentwood, Calif., bought and reported sales of about 8,000 books. After calling Dutton's for advice on Mr. Nevins's proposal, Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles also bought and reported sales of 4,000 copies.
One bookstore balked at Mr. Nevins's request. ''I put my finger to my nose because it stunk,'' said Karen Watkins of Vroman's Bookstore, in Pasadena, Calif., who received a fax from Mr. Nevins outlining the same terms.
She said she immediately reported to The Times and to the American Booksellers Association that a scheme was afoot to manipulate the best-seller list. ''I was stunned that he put something like this in writing,'' Ms. Watkins said. No other independents or any of the chains reported any orders at all for the DeVos book.
Mr. Nevins is not the first to try to influence The Times's best-seller list. In 1995, Business Week reported that Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema arranged large purchases of their own book, ''The Discipline of Market Leaders.'' The magazine said a consulting company associated with the authors paid $250,000 to buy 10,000 copies of their book and funneled 30,000 to 40,000 additional purchases through corporate clients, all made at stores. Times editors said the efforts might have influenced the book's rank on the list, but not its appearance there.
The Times does not disclose its survey methodology, a secrecy that some critics say fuels speculation about potential manipulations.
''People in the business are suspicious because The Times's formula is guarded like some kind of secret sauce,'' said Oren Teicher, chief operating officer of the American Booksellers Association, a trade group representing independent bookstores. The association compiles a best-seller list of its own each week, based on sales reports from 350 stores whose participation is publicly disclosed.
Michael Kagay, The Times's surveys editor, whose department compiles the list, said the paper kept its methods secret to make outwitting its system more difficult.
Charles McGrath, editor of The Times Book Review, said that although manipulating the list was not impossible, it would be expensive and difficult.
Mr. Kagay said the paper relied on reports from big chains as well as a constantly changing list of hundreds of independent stores. The paper does not disclose the stores' names, although people in the industry contend that they are widely known. Mr. Nevins managed to call at least four stores that report to The Times.
After receiving sales reports from stores, the Times editors look for unusual sales patterns. In many cases, the editors remove or mark down unusual sales, Mr. Kagay said. When they decide that including the bulk sales is appropriate -- sales to a local book club, for example -- the editors also note on the weekly published list which books received bulk orders.
Mr. Land of Thomas Nelson, a religious publisher based in Nashville, said it was partly the frequency of such special notes that led him to believe it was common practice for a business author to arrange bulk orders of his own book.
Mr. Kagay said the extremely improbable sales of Mr. DeVos's book -- at a time when no other stores reported any sales, and coming from small stores that report only a few hundred sales of even a Harry Potter book -- certainly would have excluded the DeVos book from The Times's list.Continue reading the main story


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VMware’s new channel program has finally come into effect.
The data centre infrastructure giant announced the new program, dubbed Channel Connect, in April 2019.
VMware framed the new program as services-driven, revealing that partners would be asked to attain “Master Competencies” that denote skill in, and commitment to, different areas of its product portfolio. The new program would also bring consistency to programs that had sprawled across a decade of evolution and acquisitions.
While VMware offered lots of detail about the program, it didn’t say exactly when it could commence. That changed in August 2019 when the company’s global channel chief Jenni Flinders announced that February 29th, the once-in-four-years calendar anomaly, would be the day the company leaped into its channel future.
A couple of weeks later the company explained its new tier credits model that offers more rewards the more a partner commits to wining Master Competencies.
"Partners who resell subscription services or who focus on cloud consumption don’t have the same revenue model as a partner who resells licenses for on-premises software,” the company explained in a blog post. “Partners across all business models need to support all facets of customer demand, and a tier credit model helps eliminate the inequities along different types of transactions.”
And in January 2020, the company revealed some extra changes to training and commerce tools.
While VMware named February 29th as the date on which Partner Connect came into effect, the fact that day fell on a Saturday means that in much of the world – including Australia – today is the first business day it is in force.
In conversation with CRN, VMware’s ANZ head of channels Neels Du Ploy said local partners have been quick to adopt the new program and have done so enthusiastically, as they appreciate the chance to demonstrate their mastery of VMware products.
Asia-Pacific and Japan vice-president and channel chief Uma Thana Balasingam, pointed out another important new feature of the program: the inclusion of transacting partners who don’t offer services. This new class of partner recognises that some users have strong and/or mandated procurement preferences, but are happy to work across a pool of partners. Master competencies also offer partnering-with-partners opportunities, she added, as partners may need to work together to bring a customer all the skills they desire.
VMware also issued a statement about the new program in which Australia’s AC3 had its say.
“Partner Connect encourages us to focus on our strategic priorities by simplifying the engagement model with VMware,” said AC3 director of sales Harry Kassianou.
“We can now focus our time on what’s most important – delivering outcomes for our mutual customers. The program unifies the customer journey, meaning we can support our customers throughout the entire IT lifecycle.”
“We’re excited about the potential for further collaboration as we develop new products and services around VMware technology.”
In other VMware news, the company late last week reported its Q4 and full FY19/20 results.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was US$3.07 billion, up 11 percent from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. That was not what markets wanted, so the company's share price tumbled despite full year 19/20 revenue cracking the US$10bn mark for the first time.
The company also reported a revenue backlog that has sparked a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which wants to understand why just $18m of VMware's $10.3bn expected future revenue have been formally recognized.
VMware execs said "export requirements" are behind the odd-looking numbers.
- With Joseph Tsidulko

domain: news


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Wednesday, September 28, 2005/lk
MABTON - Mabton High School senior Jesica Orozco has begun a canned food drive to help victims of hurricane Katrina and Rita.
Orozco said she came up with the idea after seeing similar efforts in Daily Sun News stories.
In addition to canned foods, she is also collecting hygiene items such as toothpaste and soap.
"I started on the project to help but it's turning into my senior project," Orozco said.
Beginning next week, her collection efforts will shift to clothing items for hurricane victims.
The items can be dropped off at Mabton High School at any time during school hours.
More like this story
- Help for hurricane victims trucked out each Friday from Lower Valley
- SCHS cheer team aids Katrina relief
- Food bank, Nuestra Casa beneficiaries of Mabton student’s senior project
- Outlook open house serves as fund-raiser for hurricane victims
- Mabton elementary students pledge to help victims of Hurricane Katrina


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Welcome to another summer of architectural prowess and creative design at the Hampton Designer Showhouse!
With approximately 25 top interior designers and decorative artists each year, the Showhouse has become a must–see for those with a passion for artistically curated spaces. The home is set for opening on July 24 in Sag Harbor, and will once again benefit Southampton Hospital. All proceeds raised will help the local hospital provide the very best care to this area’s residents.
This year marks the 16th anniversary of the interior design display and the event will be bigger than ever. “It’s a national showhouse event now,” says producer Tony Manning.
Manning strives for an eclectic and creative mix by using designers and decorators from all over the country. “We try and use new, as well as established, designers to inject fresh concepts and looks each year,” he explains.
For the house to be completed, designers must collaborate to create one cohesive look. Each designer is tasked with decorating one room or a specific part of the home. “We have new designers this year and there will be a lot of new design trends,” says Manning.
On the roster for this year are design firms such as Art Works & Designs, Inc., Bakes and Kropp, Baltimore Design Group, Dodson Interiors, Dyfari Interiors, Elle Cole Interiors, Inc., Elsa R. Soyars Interiors, Erin Gates Design, Kate Singer Home, Kyle Roberts Interior Design, Liliane Hart Interiors, Mabley Handler Interior Design, Marie-Christine Design, McGrath II, Melanie Turner Interiors, Mendelson Group, Inc., Michael Del Piero, Mikel Welch Designs LLC, The Rinfret Group, Tilton Fenwick and Wolf Interior Designs.
There will also be the favored QR codes in each room of the house, allowing guests to access audio (via their phones) that provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the design process. Manning says that the QR codes receive great feedback each year. “Everyone really enjoys this. It gives the designers more of an ability to show how they did each room.”
The home is built by Bodenchak Design & Build, and Manning hopes visitors will leave the Showhouse more knowledgeable about everything that goes into making such a grand and refined space. “I hope visitors have a great day and take away lots of ideas and inspiration they feel they can incorporate into their own homes.”
Manning encourages everyone to visit the Showhouse this year, and is looking forward to a great event that raises money for an excellent cause. “Come on down and have a great day,” he says.
The Hampton Designer Showhouse 2016 will be open daily beginning Sunday, July 24, until September 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Gala Preview Cocktail Party will be held Saturday, July 23. Visit hamptondesignershowhouse.com for more information.


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‘Supernatural Forever’: What’s Hot in TV Guide Magazine’s Special Issue? (VIDEO)
YOU. WANT. THIS.
Family is forever and so is Supernatural. In honor of the wayward sons who carried on for 15 amazing seasons, the team at TV Guide Magazine have put together a must-have for every fan: Supernatural Forever, a collector’s edition, full-color special issue celebrating the Winchester brothers (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), trench-coated angel Castiel (Misha Collins), Jack (Alexander Calvert), and every demon, hunter, bad-ass woman and meta-joke they met along the way.
Packed with shout-outs to some of the most memorable episodes from the show, we decided to take another look at the show that made history as the longest-running, live-action scripted program on broadcast television and singled out a few of our favorite hours. And according to the fans who weighed in on TV Insider last month, we all share similar tastes in the top eps. But then again, when a show is this good for this long, it’s OK to have a few hundred favorites, right?
The 'Supernatural' Finale's Original Ending Revealed to Have a Different Kind of Heaven for Sam & Dean
The glossy publication is basically a bunker full of all sorts of SPN content, including a behind-the-scenes history, exclusive cast portraits featuring Jared, Jensen, and a few others from their cover shoots and massive Comic-Con appearances, and a Supernatural-themed crossword puzzle. Plus, get a sneak peek inside the May 25 release of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s epic Supernatural: The Complete Series DVD and Blu-ray collection featuring all 327 episodes and extras galore.
Set to hit stands on May 18, the unprecedented demand for the Supernatural Special issue means that the magazine’s online pre-orders have already sold out of their initial supply! But don’t worry, they are printing more copies so orders placed now will be shipped on June 4. So click here to get yours while you can!


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Heidelberg makes subs option modular
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Heidelberg is now offering a more modular way for customers to use its subscription package and expects its “digital eco system” for printing industry services to eventually outstrip traditional machinery sales.
At an analyst and investor conference today (6 June), Heidelberg reaffirmed its financial performance in 2018/19 and cautious outlook for 2019/20, due to headwinds such as trade disputes, global economic uncertainty and the ongoing lack of clarity around Brexit, which resulted in a downturn in UK orders.
Overall sales increased by €70m to €2.49bn, while order intake fell by €29m to €2.56bn. Major investments in digital projects, the Innovation Center in Wiesloch, and the instigation of new business models saw negative free cash flow balloon from €8m to €93m.
EBITDA excluding restructuring charges increased by €8m to €180m.
Heidelberg said it aimed to become “less susceptible to economic fluctuations” and would “vigorously pursue” its digital transformation and reorganisation plans.
“The future belongs to our subscription model as well as digital packaging and label printing,” the firm’s management board said in a letter to shareholders. “They are core elements of Heidelberg’s future growth story.”
It is now offering modular access to its subscription model, with options for customers to select software, service, consumables and equipment and gradually build up their package, as required.
The aim is for a third of overall turnover to eventually come from subscriptions.
Heidelberg said around 8% of its current order backlog already involved some form of subscription contract and consumables consumption in Germany had increased by around 10% on the back of the subs model.
“In the future, customers will also be able to combine and utilise individual components from this offering over a defined period of time and in line with set standards. This will enable them to switch to usage-based service models in a phased process,” Heidelberg explained.
In the UK Heidelberg is yet to sign up any 'full blown' subscription packages including presses, but sales director Jim Todd said the business had some "strong prospects" in the pipeline, while other customers had already embraced its Prinect software via a subs model, as well as service and consumables. "Software has become a subscription product and is being received really well by customers," he said.
“There is no alternative to the ‘Heidelberg goes digital!’ strategy. We will continue to see the fruits of our strategic activities. Unfortunately, current economic developments are dampening our growth dynamic, even though the market potential for digitisation in the printing industry and for digital packaging printing remains high,” stated chief executive Rainer Hundsdörfer.
This week’s acquisition of cloud-based software specialist Crispy Mountain is part of Heidelberg’s plan to build a “digital eco system”, HEI.OS, for the print media industry. This will be shown for the first time at Drupa next year.
The firm has reined back on growth plans and said sales and profit for the financial year 2019/20 were likely to be similar to the past year. “With underlying economic conditions making companies more reluctant to invest in new technologies the ramp-up in the area of digital printing can be expected to be more conservative than originally planned. Postpress sales will grow at a slower rate as the antitrust authorities blocked the acquisition of MBO. In addition, the downturn in trade in consumables is likely to be greater than expected.”
Heidelberg now has 30 installations worldwide of its Primefire B1 sheetfed inkjet press and Labelfire inkjet label press. “We have reference sites in each main region and that’s important,” said a spokesman.
Heidelberg has produced an elaborate annual report to show off the tactile and stand-out qualities of printed matter, featuring Johannes 'Johnny' Gutenberg wearing a virtual reality headset produced using inline cold foiling.


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Microsoft is letting people in the U.S. with a smartphone collect up to 10 more points per day in their Bing Rewards account if they search the web with the Bing mobile phone website.
Nokia Lumia is no more. Long live Microsoft Lumia! (It's official now.)
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Windows Phone's future success lies at the low end, says Alcatel VP
Windows 10 logo
Microsoft has added new options for Bing Rewards members that will allow them to turn any points earned searching on the site to miles on many airline frequent flyer programs.
Microsoft is offering people who sign up to use its free Bing Rewards program a way to get 100GB of storage on its OneDrive service for one year for the cost of just 100 points.
Microsoft has announced it has expanded its Bing Rewards service to iOS and Android devices, and added that Windows Phone support will be coming in the near future.
Microsoft's newest TV commercial for Bing showcases the long running Bing Rewards program as yet another way that the search service is different than just using Google.
Microsoft has added using its MSN.com news website as one of the options that can be used by Bing Rewards members to gain points that can be exchanged for prizes.
Microsoft has a great deal for Windows Phone users: search with Bing and get free apps: they've expanded their Bing Rewards program by adding gift cards for the Windows Phone Store to their offerings.
Microsoft has announced plans for changes in its Bing Rewards program that include the discontinuation of offering users physical reward items that are mailed to the precipitant.


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Having launched at least three Android-powered smart TVs in India over the past year, HMD Global has started teasing the launch of new Nokia-banded TVs in the country.
According to the official Nokia India website and Flipkart, the online event is set to take place tomorrow, October 6th, where the company is expected to announce as many as six new variants of its televisions in five different screen sizes.
According to sources quoted by XDA, the upcoming models will include four UHD offerings in 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch screen sizes alongside a single FHD variant with a 43-inch panel. The company is also apparently planning to launch an entry-level variant with a 32-inch HD display to cater to a wider base. As is the case with existing Nokia TVs, the upcoming models are also said to be exclusively sold via Flipkart.
In terms of features, all the devices will ship with integrated Onkyo soundbars, but while the UHD models will have 30W speakers and 18W tweeters, the less expensive variants will have 24W speakers and 15W tweeters. HMD is using the ‘MaxBright’ moniker to highlight the display clarity of the upcoming devices that are said to ship with micro-dimming and Pronto Focal AI Engine.
While the UHD models will get a 5000:1 contrast ratio, the other two will get a more modest 3000:1 contrast ratio. The max brightness, meanwhile, will vary from 450 nits on the top-of-the-line model to a more humble 325 nits on the entry-level unit. As per NokiaPowerUser, the pricing will start at Rs. 21,999 for the 32-inch model, but there’s no confirmation on that front just yet.
Featured Image Courtesy: Nokia


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Nuclear Fusion Reactions See Net Gain in Energy Using controlled nuclear fusion for a source of virtually unlimited power that is pollution-free has been a dream of physicists since Einstein’s day - but many had written the process off as science fiction. Though it is still a long way off, a new breakthrough has occurred where researchers actually saw a net gain in energy following a fusion reaction. The announcement comes from lead author Omar Hurricane from the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was published in Nature. Nuclear fusion happens naturally in the cores of stars. As atoms from lighter elements smash into one another, the nuclei fuse to create a heavier element and energy is released. If this happens in large enough of quantities it starts a process called ‘ignition’ which is a chain reaction of more atoms fusing and releasing more energy until there is a self-sustaining energy source.
Researchers make magnetic graphene -- ScienceDaily Graphene, a one-atom thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, has many desirable properties. Magnetism alas is not one of them. Magnetism can be induced in graphene by doping it with magnetic impurities, but this doping tends to disrupt graphene's electronic properties. Now a team of physicists at the University of California, Riverside has found an ingenious way to induce magnetism in graphene while also preserving graphene's electronic properties. "This is the first time that graphene has been made magnetic this way," said Jing Shi, a professor of physics and astronomy, whose lab led the research. The finding has the potential to increase graphene's use in computers, as in computer chips that use electronic spin to store data. Study results appeared online earlier this month in Physical Review Letters. The magnetic insulator Shi and his team used was yttrium iron garnet grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy in his lab.
Technology and Education La pile du futur est née, ultra-puissante et biodégradable Charger un téléphone en 30 secondes, une voiture électrique en l’espace de quelques minutes, c’est pour bientôt ! Deux scientifiques de l’université de Californie à Los Angeles ont créé par hasard une pile super-puissante et biodégradable lors de leurs travaux sur le graphène, rapporte le site Co.Design. Les résultats de leur recherche ont été publiés dans la revue Nature. Le graphène est un matériau révolutionnaire découvert en 2004 qui a permis à ses inventeurs de remporter le Nobel de physique en 2010. C’est en cherchant une manière plus pratique de fabriquer du graphène que Richard Kaner et Maher El-Kady ont mis au point le «super-condensateur»: une nouvelle pile flexible, superpuissante et biodégradable qui pourrait bien être la potentielle alimentation des gadgets ou systèmes électroniques de nouvelle génération. Les scientifiques expliquent leur découverte dans la vidéo ci-dessus de présentation. Ce super-condensateur combine les avantages de la pile classique et du condensateur.
Graphene's love affair with water: Water filters allow precise and fast sieving of salts and organic molecules -- ScienceDaily Graphene has proven itself as a wonder material with a vast range of unique properties. Among the least-known marvels of graphene is its strange love affair with water. Graphene is hydrophobic -- it repels water -- but narrow capillaries made from graphene vigorously suck in water allowing its rapid permeation, if the water layer is only one atom thick -- that is, as thin as graphene itself. This bizarre property has attracted intense academic and industrial interest with intent to develop new water filtration and desalination technologies. One-atom-wide graphene capillaries can now be made easily and cheaply by piling layers of graphene oxide -- a derivative of graphene -- on top of each other. Two years ago, University of Manchester researchers discovered that thin membranes made from such laminates were impermeable to all gases and vapours, except for water. Small salts with a size of less than nine Angstroms can flow along but larger ions or molecules are blocked.
FDA approves a life-like prosthetic arm from the man who invented the Segway After years of testing, the FDA today approved a new type of prosthetic arm that its makers claim will bring a whole new level of control to amputees. Known as the "Luke" arm or DEKA Arm System, Segway inventor Dean Kamen has been involved in its development and unlike existing prosthetics, it can understand multiple commands at once, giving its wearers "near-natural" control of the limb. As demonstrated in the videos embedded after the break, tests show wearers can get back to easily performing tasks like using keys and locks, brushing their hair, removing papers from an envelope, or picking up an egg without breaking it. While we've seen demos using other mind control techniques, the one approved for sale does its magic with electromyogram (EMG) sensors activated by the wearer contracting muscles close to where the prosthesis is attached or on their feet, which an embedded computer translates into movement. Another triumph here is the (relative) speed of its approval. Comments
New Battery Biodegrades Inside The Human Body When medical devices are implanted, there is often an issue with providing the device with power. There are wireless power sources available, but they are relatively bulky and are often too large for devices that are deep in the body and obstructed by muscle and bone. Putting a battery in with the implanted device is ideal, but there are some safety considerations involved. However, a new battery developed by John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is biodegradable and dissolves completely . The anodes of the battery are made out of magnesium foil, while the cathode can either be iron, tungsten, or molybdenum. There are other batteries in development seeking to achieve biocompatibility, including one by Christopher Bettinger from Carnegie Mellon which is a sodium-ion battery with electrodes generated from cuttlefish ink. Aside from biological implants, these batteries could be used for environmental purposes, like after oil spills.
'Soft' approach leads to revolutionary energy storage: Graphene-based supercapacitors Monash University researchers have brought next generation energy storage closer with an engineering first -- a graphene-based device that is compact, yet lasts as long as a conventional battery. Published today in Science, a research team led by Professor Dan Li of the Department of Materials Engineering has developed a completely new strategy to engineer graphene-based supercapacitors (SC), making them viable for widespread use in renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicles. SCs are generally made of highly porous carbon impregnated with a liquid electrolyte to transport the electrical charge. Known for their almost indefinite lifespan and the ability to re-charge in seconds, the drawback of existing SCs is their low energy-storage-to-volume ratio -- known as energy density. Low energy density of five to eight Watt-hours per litre, means SCs are unfeasibly large or must be re-charged frequently.
Why Apple vs. Google Is the Most Important Battle in Tech In the 1990s, Microsoft Internet Explorer battled Netscape Navigator in the great Web-browser wars. In the 2000s, Google and Yahoo locked horns over Internet search — and we know how that turned out. Today, the latest high-stakes tech conflict is between Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android mobile operating system for supremacy in the smart-phone market. Each of these clashes defined an era of Internet history. Apple and Google realize how huge the stakes are in this fight. (MORE: Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Raps Apple on iPhone Maps, Floats Yahoo! This smart-phone showdown is important because Apple and Google are advancing radically different business models to the fight. Each company has been successful with its respective strategy: Apple makes $1 billion per month on iPhone sales, and the device is considered the gold standard for smart-phone design. (MORE: Patent Peace: Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Larry Page in CEO Talks)
How A Drop of Seawater on Graphene Generates Electricity Ever since the early 19th century, scientists have known that an electric potential can be generated by simply driving an ionic liquid -- fluids with charged ions in it, like water or sodium chloride solution -- through channels or holes under a pressure gradient. The latest in hydroelectric power involves generating voltage by immersing carbon nanotubes in flowing liquids. But scientists have never quite figured out exactly how this happens -- and generating electricity without a pressure gradient remains a challenge. They experimented with a wide range of various parameters, and they found that the resulting electric potential is proportional to the velocity (of the dragged droplet) and the number of droplets. Other factors they took into account: concentration and ionic species of the drop, as well as the number of graphene layers. To demonstrate the potential of this electrokinetic phenomenon, they scaled it up and created an energy-harvesting device.
Graphene supercapacitor breaks storage record Researchers in the US have made a graphene-based supercapacitor that can store as much energy per unit mass as nickel metal hydride batteries – but unlike batteries, it can be charged or discharged in just minutes or even seconds. The new device has a specific energy density of 85.6 Wh/kg at room temperature and 136 Wh/kg at 80 °C. These are the highest ever values for "electric double layer" supercapacitors based on carbon nanomaterials. Supercapacitors, more accurately known as electric double-layer capacitors or electrochemical capacitors, can store much more charge than conventional capacitors. The new device was made by Bor Jang of US-based Nanotek Instruments and colleagues. The researchers coat the resulting slurry onto the surface of a current collector and assemble coin-sized capacitors in a glove box. Fast charging We believe that this is truly a breakthrough in energy technology Bor Jang, Nanotek Instruments The work was reported in Nano Letters.
Education Week's Digital Directions: 'Second Life' Struggles to Catch On With Educators Published Online: June 15, 2011 Published in Print: June 15, 2011, as Avatars Wanted Features During an informal “campﬁre chat” on the ISTE Second Life Island, participants discuss the themes from a series of virtual speaker presentations. —Courtesy of ISTE Teachers from around the country are gathering together to visit the Alamo in San Antonio, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and the Louvre in France in the span of a few hours without shelling out a dime. Those are the kinds of virtual experiences, made possible by a computer and a high-speed Internet connection, that first attracted educators to Second Life, technology experts say. Initially, there was a lot of excitement about the possibilities of using Second Life as a professional-development tool for educators. But, for a number of reasons, those expectations have largely fallen short, offering cautionary lessons about using technology for professional development. Hosting Virtual Events ‘Friends in Real Life’ 1. 2. 3. 4.
New Dual Carbon Battery Charges 20x Faster Than Lithium Ion Power Japan Plus has announced an innovative new battery that charges up to twenty times faster and lasts longer than high-end lithium ion batteries. The company boasts that electric vehicles with the ability to drive 300 miles (480 km) on a single charge may soon be a reality. The Ryden dual carbon new battery is cheaper, safer, and 100% recyclable, making it an attractive option that could bring high-performance electric cars to market more quickly. “Power Japan Plus is a materials engineer for a new class of carbon material that balances economics, performance and sustainability in a world of constrained resources,” said Dou Kani, CEO of Power Japan Plus in a press release. “The Ryden dual carbon battery is the energy storage breakthrough needed to bring green technology like electric vehicles to mass market.” The battery was developed in partnership with Kyushu University in Japan.


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L'Occitane is known for its sumptuous shea butter cream, but what you may not know is that the cream is now 20 years old. What's more, the brand has a fair trade setup with workers in Burkina Faso, buying the shea butter from women to help them earn living wages. Two years ago, L'Occitane bought an astounding 75 percent of Burkina Faso's shea butter produced for the beauty industry, and that percentage is growing every year.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the brand has created five shea butter-laden creams featuring the scents of African flowers: Acacia, Frangipani, Vanilla, Rosebud, and Ylang Ylang. So if one of those is your favorite scents, you might want to check it out. (Confidential to C. Foster Kane: Rosebud smells like flowers, not sleds. Sorry.)


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On day three of Pwn2Own, competitors hacked the Samsung Galaxy S22 for the fourth time since the competition began, and this time they did it in just 55 seconds.
Security researchers representing penetration testing provider Pentest Limited did this after demonstrating a zero-day bug as part of a successful bad input validation attack against Samsung’s flagship device on Thursday.
It won them $25,000, or 50% of the total cash prize, as it was the fourth (and final) time the Galaxy S22 was hacked in the Pwn2Own Toronto 2022 contest.
Tri Dang and Toan Pham from Qrious Secure also tried to bypass the smartphone security protection but failed to demonstrate their feat during the time allowed for their attempt.
On the day one of Pwn2Own Torontothe STAR Labs team and a security researcher known only as Chim demonstrated two more zero-day exploits in successful attacks targeting the Galaxy S22.
In all four cases, the smartphones were running the latest version of the Android operating system with all available updates installed, according to the contest rules.
Day three of Pwn2Own Toronto ended with Trend Micro’s Zero Day initiative, which awarded $253,500 for 14 unique bugs across multiple categories.
Throughout the day, attendees also showcased exploits targeting zero-day flaws in routers, smart speakers, printers, and network-attached storage (NAS) devices from Cisco, NETGEAR, Canon, Ubiquiti , Sonos, Lexmark, Synology and Western Digital.
That brings the total to $934,750 awarded for 60 unique zero days after the first three days of Pwn2Own, according to ZDI Threat Awareness Manager Dustin Childs.
The Pwn2Own Toronto 2022 consumer-focused hacking competition has been extended to four days after 26 individual participants and teams registered to exploit 66 targets, and it runs from December 6-8.
On day four of the competition, entrants will demonstrate new zero-days across multiple consumer device categories, including printers, wireless routers and network storage.


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2009 May 5
Eva Bares It
(NEW YORK) Just hours after Eva Mendes stunned in Calvin Klein Collection at the Met’s Costume Institute Gala on the arm of her friend Francisco Costa, the fashion house has announced that the actress and longtime fan of the brand will star in both the Calvin Klein Jeans and the Calvin Klein Underwear Fall 2009 global ad campaigns, shot by Steven Klein. Mendes is currently the face of the Calvin Klein Secret Obsession fragrance campaign and the Calvin Klein Underwear campaign.
“I have a long-standing relationship with the house and I’m thrilled to extend my association and now be a part of the new Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear campaigns,” said Mendes, who will appear alongside model Jamie Dornan, who had had face (and body) time with Calvin before; he was featured alongside Kate Moss in 2006 and Natalia Vodianova in 2004 in two Calvin Klein Jeans ads. “I loved shooting with Steven Klein and we had a great time on-set with Jamie. I think that the creative for both campaigns will be really exciting and fresh.”
Chanel is taking quite a trip for its next showing: Karl Lagerfeld's latest Cruise collection will be trotted out in Dubai on May 13. The show will be staged on an island off the city...
Meaghan Murphy, formerly deputy editor at Self, has been named executive editor at Good Housekeeping...John Brodie, formerly executive editor at Hachette Book Group, has been named...
It's always an editrix-studded affair when Ann Taylor presents their latest collection, and their Fall 2014 preview this week was no exception. The likes of Kyle Anderson, Cindy Weber...


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Posted by Dale Buss on July 3, 2013 09:15 AM
Lululemon sued by shareholder over sheer pants debacle.
Apple poaches YSL CEO Paul Deneve to run special projects.
Avon sells jewelry business at big loss.
Obamacare employer-penalty requirement is delayed for a year.
Audi tops premium auto brands in China satisfaction survey.
Auntie Anne's expands breakfast rollout.
BMW trims Mercedes-Benz sales lead in US.
CNN enjoys ratings boost.
Coca-Cola promotes Mexican soccer team in new campaign.
Dell sees pressure build on founder to contribute more of his wealth to buyout.Continue reading...
brand and bottle
Posted by Jennifer Sokolowsky on August 11, 2011 05:00 PM
Newcastle Brown Ale isn't just hearty — it's also arty. The British beer is trying to lighten things up in San Diego this summer with public art installations building on Newcastle’s “Taste the Lighter Side of Dark” campaign.
First, Newcastle looked to get San Diego residents trapped at the Del Mar Race Track — in a giant pint glass of Newscastle.
“Trapped in a Schooner” is a 3-D optical illusion that allows one person to stand in a certain location, while another climbs inside a three-piece larger-than life replica of Newcastle’s traditional glass, the Geordie Schooner. In the photo, the person appears to be trapped in the drink.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on April 26, 2011 09:00 AM
Apple and Google are pressed on tracking and privacy by House committee.
Barnes & Noble target book lovers with new campaign for Nook reader.
Coca-Cola misses profit forecasts because of Japan quake aftermath.
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros find their music all over adland (incl. MINI Wanderlust campaign).
Electronic Arts selects a different Madden to lead digital push.
Facebook introduces Deals service to rival Groupon and LivingSocial.Continue reading...
Posted by Shirley Brady on April 25, 2011 06:15 PM
Carl's Jr. taps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Olivia Munn for a cameo, above.
Below, new spots from Newcastle Ale, Lady Gaga, ING Direct, MSNBC and more.Continue reading...


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The EV market has been booming like there’s no tomorrow! From the coming up of next-gen brands to a CAGR of 94.4% in the next ten years, the industry size is expected to reach USD 152.21 Billion by 2030. In India, newer brands have set foot in the market, and are offering some really amazing deals to the buyers. Ola, Ather, and SmartE are crushing the veteran brands with their very first moves in the industry. Ola in its first booking window took up to 90k orders. Ather sold 1,800 units in July itself. Even Bajaj’s Chetak has sold 3,300 units in a span of one and a half years.
Bookings delayed, here’s why!
The craziest of all have been the sales of S1 and S1 Pro by Ola Electric. The company opened the sales window on the 8th of September. With booking amounts of RS 20,000 for S1 and RS 25,000 for the S1 Pro.
The company stated that all the prospective buyers can book the Ola Electric scooter through the website from 1st November. But in light of recent events, the company has delayed the second purchase window to 16 December. The reason is said to be the unprecedented demand for the scooters in its first purchase window. The company has issued a note to the potential buyers and customers saying, “currently busy fulfilling existing orders”. The note read that the company will be opening its purchase window for fresh orders on 16th December 2021 and will reach out to the people in the coming weeks to schedule a test ride. It also said that there will be no changes for the customers who have paid the booking amount during the first purchase window on September 15 and September 16, and the window for final payment of already booked scooters will open from the 10th of November.
Ola is committed to delivering the already booked scooters on the promised delivery date and is working at full capacity to achieve the same. They said, “your scooter is on track to reach you within the delivery window already communicated to you.”


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USDA establishes the "MiNKota Regional Food Business Center"
The US Department of Agriculture has established the “MiNKota Regional Food Business Center,” which includes North and South Dakota, and Minnesota.
USDA is looking to expand small and mid-sized agricultural food and supply chains.
The North Dakota Farmers Union is part of that effort. Farmers Union president Mark Watne said the COVID pandemic exposed some weaknesses within food delivery and supply chain systems.
"Just the fact that we had empty shelves during COVID, simply because we're trying to be a 'just-in-time' delivery system, without a lot of backstops," Watne said. "I think this will create opportunities for people to produce more locally, for people to buy more locally, to try and get a little bigger mechanisms of logistics to be able to supply consumers, if there are periods of time when our 'just-in-time' delivery system can't function."
Watne said the Center is an important step towards building local and regional demand for products, as well as expanding food processing capacity. He said he hopes this will mean success for the local entrepreneurs.
"It's not as simple as, 'Okay, now I'm going to process meat, and I'm going into the marketplace and make money,'" Watne said. "You still have to be competitive. You have to develop your marketing channels, and build a customer base."
Watne said he hopes there won't be failures in the ones that are taking off. And he hopes this will lead to more systems being created.
The Minnesota and South Dakota Farmers’ Unions are also partners in the project.


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Race teams, racing entrepreneurs and other motorsports professionals may now register online for the 2013 Performance Racing Industry Trade Show.
This one-of-a-kind event, known as "The Three Biggest Business Days In Racing," takes place December 12-14, 2013, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Attendees can register online by visiting www.pri2013.com/attendeereg. After verification of their role in motorsports has been approved, attendees will receive an official confirmation email of their acceptance. The deadline to register online is November 14, 2013.
Now in its 26th year, the annual PRI Trade Show features exhibits by over 1100 racing companies occupying 3300 booths, and will bring more than 40,000 racing professionals from across the US and 72 countries to the Racing Capital of the World, Indianapolis.
Held in Orlando, Florida, for the previous eight years, the PRI Trade Show returns to the Midwest in 2013 following its consolidation with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS). The Indianapolis-based IMIS was purchased by SEMA, which owns PRI, in November 2012, and the two shows have since been merged under the umbrella of the PRI Show.
As always, the hottest new racing products, the latest advances in motorsports engineering, and the best of today's precision automotive machining equipment will be on display at PRI, where all forms of racing are represented, including stock car, sprint car, dirt late model, open wheel, drag racing, off-road, karting and much more.
"We've got an extraordinary array of exhibitors that hasn't been experienced in years all in one place, all at one time," said PRI Trade Show Producer John Kilroy. "It's going to be an incredible showcase of the latest advances in racing technology, a 'must attend' event for racing professionals everywhere."
However, PRI is much more than a trade show, as the days leading up to and including the Show have come to be known as Race Industry Week. With over 35 conferences, seminars, social events and gatherings, this year's Race Industry Week will see an abundance of activity in and around the Indiana Convention Center.
An expanded seminar program offers unparalleled educational opportunities, from returning favorites like the 'Winning the eRace' digital marketing conference to the all-new Race Safety & Technology Center. Additional Race Industry Week events include: Advanced Engineering Technology Conference (AETC), International Council Of Motorsport Sciences (ICMS) Annual Congress, Vehicle Dynamics & Data Acquisition Seminar, Race Track Business Conference, Grand Opening Breakfast, Exhibitor Reception and more.
The PRI Show is a trade-only event; only members of the racing industry are granted admission.
For additional information on the 2013 PRI Trade Show, visit www.pri2013.com.


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Kenya should be greatly commended for its environmental leadership role. It’s not only a great example but also it will inspire others, and help drive further commitments to the Clean Seas campaign.
The move to ban plastic was announced in kenya, barley three weeks after UN “declared war” on plastic, mid-March this year.
Rwanda was one of the first countries in the world to ban plastic shopping bags in 2004.
After Rwanda’s move, Eritrea followed, with bans and/or taxations, in 2005, Tanzania in 2006, Uganda and Botswana in 2007, and Senegal in 2015. In 2013, Mauritania plastic bag manufacturers can be jailed for up to a year.
South Africa, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ethiopia and Malawi are also among the African countries that have limited the use, adopted or announced bans on the use of plastic shopping bags.


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Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) posted Q1 results that reached new peaks and trounced market expectations. Revenues for the quarter reached a record $6 billion, 29% higher than the same period the previous year, and above the average analyst estimate of $5.9 billion.
Net profit measured on a non-GAAP basis came in at $2.2 billion ($1.26). The EPS figure was also a quarterly record for the company, and was notably higher than the $1.12 average estimate from analysts. It also represented a 32% year-over-year improvement.
Qualcomm also provided Q2 and fiscal 2013 guidance in its earnings release. The company believes it will post revenue of $5.8 billion-$6.3 billion in the current quarter, and EPS of $1.10-$1.18.
For the full year, it anticipates top line of $23.4 billion-$24.4 billion, with EPS of $4.25-$4.45. The latter set of figures represents an increase over the company's previous guidance, as well as the average analyst estimate.


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adidas' Never Made Pack Is Getting a Wider Release
Team Trefoil paid tribute to their rich archive over the weekend, dropping the ‘Never Made’ collection at Hypefest. If you couldn’t make it to the event, you needn’t worry — they’re releasing globally on October 17.
The pack pays homage to adidas’ long history, fusing heritage uppers to new-gen soles and celebrating three distinct archival periods. The Ix4D, CountryxKamanda and Marathonx5923 retool 70s silhouettes for the modern day; 80s-derived MicropacerxR1s, BostonSuperxR1s and RisingStarxR1s sit retro models atop 21st century NMD soles; and the 98xCrazyBYW and ZX930EQT update Trefoil tech for today’s sneakerheads.
Feeling the mix of old and new? These will hit select adi stores on October 17.


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Fresh shopping for, quick protecting raise spot rubber by admin- Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 07:54:18 AM
ANRPC sees revival in rubber alternate however careful about third wave of the pandemic
Spot rubber resumed its upward journey on Monday. RSS-4 closed firm at ₹172 (171.50) consistent with kg after hitting an intra-day high of ₹173 as reported through the buyers.
The grade improved to ₹171.50 (171) and ₹166.50 (166) in line with kg, respectively, in step with Rubber Board and dealers. The market made all-round profits on clean shopping for and short covering but the average volumes had been low.
“Though the customers have been visibly energetic within the marketplace for the duration of the day, they could not procure the minimal preferred quantity to fulfil their early commitments,” an observer said. “ I expect sheet rubber to hit ₹one hundred seventy five a kg this week due to fundamental and technical motives,” he brought.
The IMF has downscaled economic boom outlook of India by using 3.0 percent points for 2021. The downscaling in large part reflects the lockdowns and restrictions imposed within the united states until June. By the end of June, maximum of the States have both lifted or eased the regulations on attaining sharp decline inside the virus unfold. As a result, groups and production activities have resumed in most of the States. The usa’s rubber goods manufacturing region is expected to rebound inside the closing months of the yr except the pandemic takes any other wave, said the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
The the front month August delivery become up zero.39 consistent with cent from Friday’s agreement charge to shut at ₹174.Ninety nine per kg with a volume of 10 lots at the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
RSS-3 (spot) slid to ₹136.14 (136.23) in step with kg at Bangkok. SMR 20 declined to ₹one hundred twenty five.Seventy one (126.Ninety one), whilst Latex firmed as much as ₹90.19 (88.Ninety seven) in keeping with kg at Kuala Lumpur.
The herbal rubber contract for the September shipping turned into up 0.Fifty nine in keeping with cent from preceding day’s agreement charge to close at 13,510 Yuan (₹a hundred and fifty five,448.Seventy five) a tonne with a quantity of 304,948 lots in day time trading on Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).
The maximum lively January 2022 shipping was down zero.05 consistent with cent from final day’s settlement charge and closed at ¥217.5 (₹147.Sixty five) per kg with a volume of ninety five masses at the Osaka Exchange, Japan.
Spot rubber prices (₹/kg): RSS-4:172 (171.50); RSS-5: 169.50 (169); ISNR20: 158 (156.50) and Latex (60% drc): 127.50 (127).


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LAHORE: Violent protests broke out at some places in the city on Wednesday against “fuel adjustment charges” in electricity bills that have virtually tripled the bills, but there was no casualty or major damage to property.
The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) has been recovering fuel adjustment charges from its consumers for two months and doing so in one go; making life difficult for the already hard-pressed consumers and stoking up violence.
Last month, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) allowed the distribution companies to recover fuel adjustment charges for June and July at the rate of Rs1.036 and Rs2.042 per unit, respectively. The distribution companies were supposed to recover these charges during October and November. However, the Lesco slapped these charges on most of its consumers during November, making things doubly difficult for them.
To make the matter worse, once the people took to the streets and started converging on Lesco offices, the officials, fearing violence, quickly removed fuel adjustment charges from bills. In December, all these charges, however, reappeared, tripling the bills.
Protests broke out at Kot Lakhpat, Saidpur and Defence, where people gathered to denounce the inclusion of fuel adjustment charges in their bills. Though there were reports of the lower staff still removing fuel adjustment charges from bills for the fear of retribution, Lesco insisted in a press release that the charges were final and consumers had to pay these. “These charges have been finalised by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and there is no escape,” says an official of the company.
Explaining company’s position, Customer Services Director Khalid Mehmood said the Lesco had nothing to do with the charges, which had been finalised by the Nepra and allowed by the Ministry of Water and Power, casting distribution companies in the role of collectors. Thus, these charges have to be recovered unless the federal government allows otherwise.
“This is insensitivity of the highest degree,” says Muhammad Ramzan, a protesting shopkeeper of the Defence area. If the Nepra has asked the distribution companies to recover these charges in two installments, how come they are doing it in one go? Last month they removed these charges, saying that the court has issued a stay order. That court order is still intact and they are charging again. Someone has to be held answerable for mismanagement of the whole affair, he said.
“The Nepra determined the ruthless charges, the federal government allowed these with complete insensitivity to people’s plight and the collector completely mismanaged the collection. The hapless consumers are now expected to bear the brunt of all their acts of omission and commission. Someone should be listening to consumers. If the government thinks it can recover the charges this month peacefully that it could not last month, it is mistaken. The charges are too exorbitant to be paid without protest and people will pay exactly the way they should.”


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Make it work, Michael Kors!
Glittering gold watches are nothing new to the "Project Runway" judge, whose latest limited-edition jewelry pays homage to his hometown and favorite city in the world.
According to WWD, "New York" is displayed in a swirly script on the dial, and a diamond embellishes the number 12. Even the back casing shows the city some love, with an etched graphic of its skyline.
“I like the idea that our jet-set customers can wear this watch anywhere in the world and still have a piece of New York with them,” Kors told WWD.
While his normal gold watches sell for $250, Kors' limited-edition piece is set to retail for $650 at michaelkors.com.


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The Galaxy smartphone line has been in need of facelift on the UI end. Many have complained over Samsung’s use of its overcrowded TouchWiz interface, seeking a more simplified user experience. According to SamMobile, the company is working on a solution to appease its audience, apparently building the Galaxy S6 from scratch in conjunction with its Project Zero initiative and optimizing software similar to that of the Nexus 6.
Samsung is looking to eliminate any “unnecessary features,” while taking a more stock Android approach to the next TouchWiz update. The mobile giant has slowly been removing some of its useless features as evident in the Galaxy Note 4, though there is much that needs to be taken out if you ask the public. Moving forward with its optimized version of TouchWiz could also lead to some of the manufacturer’s lower-level devices supporting the software as well. Samsung has yet to confirm anything, though we expect leaks to surface online heading into MWC 2015.


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Media subscription services for video, music and software have become so ingrained in our routines that for many, monthly fees are just a part of life. But consumers can only budget so much for these conveniences. Are media budgets squeezing out meal kits and other subscription box services?
This infographic from Brafton illustrates 12 ways to optimize your business YouTube Channel for better visibility.
This infographic from Digital Ready illustrates the latest trends in digital marketing and offers insights into the state of the ever-changing online marketing landscape.
This infographic from Micro Creatives highlights best practices for social media engagement on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
This infographic by Izea illustrates influencer marketing tools and provides tips on how to use them.
This infographic recommends four steps brands should take to reassess their digital marketing during their digital spring cleaning.
New research from artificial intelligence-powered video creation service Wibbitz provides some insight into which social media platforms video advertisers should be paying attention to—and it’s pretty much what you would expect.
A new survey of social influencers worldwide from influencer platform Zine found that nearly 80% of respondents considered the Instagram to be their primary way of collaborating with brands.
Wyzowl conducted a worldwide survey of marketers in December 2017, finding that YouTube and Facebook were considered the first- and second-most effective video platforms for marketing—in that order.
Social media user satisfaction remains steady this year though it is still in the lower tier of industries on this measure. The overall index for social media is unchanged at 73 on a 100-point scale, though some platforms are better rated than others.


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|It's faster, it's cheaper, it's just as
beautiful and now it's greener - at least its packaging
Apple, the same company that got bruised in its fistfight
with Greenpeace last year, literally just announced that
its new iPhone
3G, in all of the glory of its already unprecedented
demand, will arrive in the US next week outfitted in green
According to reports, Apple has ordered millions of potato
starch paper trays from PaperFoam - the same Dutch
company that supplies Motorola with packaging its products.
The result - a 90 percent reduction in carbon footprint over
plastic and a tray made entirely from a natural resource,
as opposed to the visually appealing but environmentally appalling
Styrofoam in which the MacBook Pro was previously packaged.
Since the Greenpeace attack, Apple Chairman and CEO, Steve
Jobs personally committed to delivering a "Greener Apple"
and to ridding the company's products of polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) - together with
its flat-panel displays of arsenic - by the glass by the end
Apple is talking more about its products and their impact
on the environment than ever before and this announcement's
convenient appearance just over a week before the new iPhone
3G's big US launch is sure to keep the launch date in iPhone


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Facebook could be working on a smartphone, according to paperwork recently spotted by cyber sleuths which the tech giant filed earlier this year.
The first-of-its-kind initiative by Google and ESA showcases images of the interiors of the ISS and allows users to experience how looking down on Earth from outer space would feel like.
Other telecom players have to move into services on data and not just telecom services: Vikas Agarwal, OnePlus India
"Every service that Jio is offering is directing a user to utilise their services which is the television, music, entertainment or anything that is offered with bundled service plan that Jio is offering," said Agarwal.
"Our platform uses AI to provide advanced telephony services to businesses," says CEO and founder of Knowlarity, Ambarish Gupta.
Google on Friday rolled out a latest update in its Search engine which will help users discover, promote and attend their favourite events in town.
Malladi said ACT was fairly funded and profitable. “My topline is Rs 1,300 crore for March 2017," he said.
Google on Thursday rolled out its 'Expeditions' app with a new solo mode for all users.
'Hire' integrates with G Suite apps like Gmail and Google Calendar.
Google Feed will suggest links based on a user's Google search history.
A week after nearly 2,000 publishers in the US formed the News Media Alliance to get an anti-trust exemption from the Congress to negotiate over advertising revenue with digital platforms, a top Facebook executive has confirmed the company would soon launch a news subscription product.
The service, comparable to Apple's Siri or Google Assistant, was previously available only in Korean.
The eye-wearable device Google Glass that was declared 'dead' in 2015 after a year-long trial with select individuals as Explorer Edition at a price tag of $1,500 each and taken away from the market is officially back -- now as Enterprise Edition.
What can you get for a thousand bucks? There are some very interesting products and accessories available in this price bracket that often get lost in the crowd of listings.
Internet outage in violence-plagued Somalia is extra headache for businesses
The public cloud services market in India is projected to grow 38% in 2017 to $1.81 bn, according to Gartner, as the market in country remains vastly untapped.
Britain-based luxury phone-maker Vertu, which rolled out jewel encrusted smartphones costing as much as $46,600 is not finding buyers for its devices, setting the stage for its collapse, the media reported.
Taking into account the massive opportunity, the e-wallet industry in India is set to acquire share of more than $ 6.6 billion by 2020.


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Regal Cinemas, a leading motion picture exhibitor operating one of the largest theater circuits in the United States, announces Deadpool 2 has broken the record for Regal website advance ticket sales in a 24-hour time period for any R-rated movie in company history.
Within four hours of going on sale, Deadpool 2 had already doubled the previous 24-hour bench mark.
“We are on the edge of our seats to see what Ryan Reynolds and his team have planned for Deadpool 2. With the 24-hour advance ticket record shattered, moviegoers seem just as excited as we are to see our favorite anti-hero back on the big screen.” said Ken Thewes, Chief Marketing Officer at Regal, in a press release. “With tickets now on sale, we will continue to add seats to accommodate the demand.”
In addition, select Regal locations will offer an action-packed double feature, with back-to-back screenings of Deadpool and Deadpool 2.
With nonstop comedy and adventure, movie fans can purchase tickets now both online and on the Regal mobile app.


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To date, their dream hasn’t been realized, but it’s certainly not from lack of trying. In fact, one of the most recent attempts to ban the plastic bags was via Assembly Bill (AB) 298, which was a bill to ban single-use plastic bags statewide at supermarkets, retail pharmacies and convenience stores in California starting in 2014. AB 298 would have also required retailers to provide reusable bags for sale and to charge a fee for recycled paper bags – all to give incentives to people to remember to use their reusable bags. Unfortunately, AB 298 failed to pass the California State Senate.
But that won’t stop Californians from their bag-ban mission. In fact, in a little over the past two years, over 50 California cities or counties have voted to ban single-use plastic bags. When all of those ordinances go into effect, then nearly one-third, or approximately 38 million, of Californians will reside in plastic bag-free communities. That in itself is a win, but Californians won’t stop until they accomplish the dream.
Banning the plastic bags is not just a trendy bandwagon to jump on, either. Plastic bags have serious consequences for beaches and other waters, marine life and other wildlife, and even for the land-based taxpayers. Truth be told, single-use plastic bags are one of the most common forms of waste found on beaches that make their way into the ocean, becoming a part of what’s called the “Great Floating Garbage Patch” or the “Pacific Gyre.” (By the way, there’s also one in the Atlantic Ocean – a similar story, but a different location.)
In fact, over the last 25 years, 7,825,319 plastic bags were collected from beaches around the world. Plastic bags can also clog drains and create mosquito breeding grounds during warmer months, resulting in other health consequences.
Adding to the plastic-bag nemesis is that plastic bags nearly indefinitely – since they’re not biodegradable – to continually work their damage. What’s more is that of the 115 billion plastic bags used nationally each year, only a dismal 5% are recycled. (California alone uses a whopping 12 billion plastic bags a year.)
Likewise, pollution from those plastic bags directly affects 267 animal species annually, including whales, fish, birds and turtles. Speaking of turtles … the Pacific Leatherback sea turtle, which consumed jellyfish, can mistake plastic bags for jellyfish. Unfortunately, one-third of adult turtles have consumed the plastic, which undoubtedly adds to the reason why the Leatherback sea turtle population has declined by 95% in the last 20 years. Additionally, plastic bags make their way into wilderness areas where they can choke and kill animals.
Marine life and wildlife are not the only ones who pay the cost of plastic bags, however. California taxpayers spend approximately $25 million each year to landfill used plastic bags – money which could certainly be used for better purposed. L.A. County alone spends $24 million on litter prevention, cleanup efforts and enforcement, with plastic bags weighing in significantly on those costs.
Getting rid of those plastic bags could also result in Green jobs in California, as there are currently 15 reusable bag companies based in California. One of those companies, Green Vets, could see more jobs created for disabled veterans if there could be a statewide plastic-bag ban law. The bottom line is that there is so much good that can come from getting rid of those plastic bags.
So I have a suggestion that would really help our environment and that is that each month we buy at least one reusable shopping bag, in this way, we are all responsible Americans. Second, recycle all plastic so that you’re not part of the problem, but part of the solution.
We can’t continue to complain and not do anything. It’s up to each one to start doing what is right – don’t worry about others – you and your household is all you have to concern yourself with – the others, one way or another, they will catch on.
Do realize that every time we do something like this we’re saving the world for our kids and their kids. Understand, every small effort becomes really big down the road – so let’s all get started being good citizens.
Temporary website: www.drhenry.com
Email inquiries: email@example.com
Las Vegas Office: 702-269-8120


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Picture all the clothes you’ve bought in the last year. Or decade. Even your lifetime. Some stayed in your closet rotation, others were donated, and a few may have ended up in the trash can after too many stains, rips, tears, and missing buttons.
That clothing trash — duplicated in every household — adds up.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency measured the amount of discarded clothing and textile materials generated from 1960 until 2018.
Across half a century, the number of textiles that ended up in landfills leapt drastically up from 1.7 million tons to 11.3 million tons. And that number only keeps growing.
Reclypt is a New York City-based business that strives to educate consumers on circular fashion, diminish waste through upcycling, and bring fashion lovers and activists together at clothing swaps.
Recylpt first started as a fashion marketplace for upcycled fashion, selling upcycled clothing from other small businesses. Then over time, Ceruti began joining forces with friends and community partners to teach mending basics like sewing, embroidering, embellishing, and repairing clothes.
“At Reclypt, we believe style lasts longer with community,” Ceruti said in an interview with CanvasRebel Magazine this past June. “The Reclypt community is the driving force behind everything we do; from the upcycled fashion community to the DIY repair community.”
Thus, Reclypt’s Mending Club was born. These days, the Mending Club takes on many forms, gathering all over New York City at pop-up happy hours and skill-sharing spaces.
“This can look like a ‘mending 101’ class at a cafe in Brooklyn, an ‘upcycling workshop’ at a Venture Capital firm in Manhattan, a ‘swap and mend’ event for a local runners group, or a clothing swap at a vintage store in Queens,” Ceruti told CanvasRebel.
Ceruti knows it can be hard not to feel defeated about the state of clothing waste. Fast fashion, cheap clothing, and a diminishing second-hand clothing market can make it difficult to feel confident about ethical consumption.
“I see you out there, thrifting, donating, re-selling. It’s all well and good, but all of that ends up in landfills.” Ceruti explained in an Instagram video last summer. “There are just too many clothes. It’s estimated that 20% of clothes are never worn.”
The circular fashion economy is built to offset waste and pollution.
In addition to creating a constant flood of clothing waste, the fashion is also responsible for up to 10% of global pollution, according to the article “The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion” published by Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
The article also estimated that the fashion industry is only second to aviation as the largest industrial polluter in the world and consumes 1.5 trillion liters of water a year.
Issues like these drive Ceruti to inform the public and strive towards a “Circular Fashion Economy.”
For decades, fashion has been made from synthetic materials, designed and produced, sold and worn, and shipped off to decompose for up to 200 years. As Ceruti pointed out, even donated materials are at risk of ending up in landfills.
In a circular fashion economy, clothes are created sustainably through material sourcing like unused “deadstock” fabric from warehouses and recycled clothing. Circular fashion is designed to last longer and be mended when needed. At the end of its use, the clothes are repaired, re-sold, or exchanged again.
Reclypt’s growing success can be attributed to its dedication to accessibility, forming community partnerships, and practicing transparency when it comes to compensating mentors and panelists fairly.
The Mending Club helps people look at thrifting and clothes shopping in a new light. And the love is spreading.
“Such a fun day!!! Swap til ya drop!” Instagram user @indigostylevintage exclaimed on a post about a swap meet-up in Brooklyn.
“I am so ready to spend the day surrounded by green life and community,” another commenter, @sincerelytri, said beneath a post advertising an upcycling event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“Wow, I absolutely love seeing this,” user @recycle2riches commented on a recent Instagram video of a Mending Club montage. “Keep going!”
Header image courtesy of Reclypt


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NVP pumped in Rs 96.26 crore in the round, while Bahl and Bansal contributed Rs 8.45 crore each.
New Delhi: Snapdeal has raised over Rs 113 crore from early investor Nexus Venture Partners and founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, amid talks of a potential sale of the e-commerce firm to larger rival Flipkart.
NVP pumped in Rs 96.26 crore in the round, while Bahl and Bansal contributed Rs 8.45 crore each, according to regulatory filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The shares were allotted on March 10, 2017, it added.
Bahl and Bansal were allotted 1,300 Series J preference shares, while Nexus was given 14,810 preference shares, the filings showed. It is not clear how long the fresh financing round will help Snapdeal in continuing operations as it faces intense competition from rivals Flipkart and Amazon. E-mails sent to NVP and Snapdeal remained unanswered.
The cash-strapped firm, over the past few months, has trimmed workforce and shut down non-core operations in a bid to control costs. Also, the development gains importance as Snapdeal's largest investor SoftBank has been proactively mediating a potential sale of Snapdeal to Flipkart for the last few weeks.
The Japanese investment firm, according to sources, has succeeded in getting Board members to agree to the said sale but a term sheet for due diligence with Flipkart is yet to be signed.
SoftBank has already written off over USD 1 billion on valuation of its investment in Snapdeal. One of the leading contenders in the Indian e-commerce space, Snapdeal has seen its fortunes failing amid strong competition from Amazon and Flipkart.
Compared to a valuation of about USD 6.5 billion in February 2016, the sale to Flipkart could see Snapdeal being valued at about USD 1 billion. The deal between Snapdeal and Flipkart, if completed, would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space.


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Nexon, Gangnam-gu, Dungeon & Fighter Mobile
Nexon (Representative Lee Jeong-hyun) told the ‘Dungeon & Fighter Mobile (Dungeon Fire)’ in the middle of the city of Seoul.
Nexon released a video of the on-the-art display of the indigo-type signboard installed on the 1st of Gangnam-gu, on the last 16 days. The video of the Buff Fairy of Dunfamo flyed the main building of Gangnam, and the last K-POP Square was produced in 3D.
This extraordinary outdoor advertisement is until April 30 ▲ COEX K-POP Square ▲ COEX H-WALL ▲ Gangnam Station Is-LIVE ▲ POSCO DANGER V-PLEX ▲ V-PLEX ▲ Reversam Screening.
Nexon has introduced a new TV advertisement on the last 14 days and 15 days. Advertisement ▲ The start of the adventure ▲ Memories of ceria ▲ Another move to the world, and it will be a total of three stimulating the memories of the original Dungeon and Fighter, while stimulating the memories of the original dungeon and fighter.
Nexon will formally launch the PoMo Bailles on the 24th and the Apple App Store on the 24th.
Detailed information on Dungeon Bailles can be found on the official homepage.


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It received a lukewarm welcome last year, but according to Counterpoint Research, the Tizen device has promise in emerging markets, becoming the top selling device in Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2015.babyliss pro perfect curl repair products Nominated in the Entertainment Performance category for their body of work over the last year, the pair will go up against Jack Whitehouse and The Last Leg's Adam Hills. For Baron, if the boy negotiated just two things, each one of them unambiguously simple and clear: We and we alone keep control of our borders, and the House retains the final say on any new law, rule, regulation originating from Brussels.
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We take a look at some of the major movements in the small caps world over the last week.
Arena Events Group PLC, a turnkey event solution provider, was purchased this week in an agreement 21p per share cash offer.
The shares jumped 44% to 20.25p after the bid. It was made by IHC Industrial Holding (an Abu Dhabi-based publicly listed holding company) and Tasheel which already holds a 23.9% stake in Arena.
Arena’s entire ordinary share capital is valued at approximately PS71.0 million. These terms also imply an enterprise valuation – i.e. Arena’s debt is included £95.1 million.
Ironveld PLC, (AIM:IRON) rose 40% to 0.825p this week, thanks to a large investment by Grosvenor Resources. The company is purchasing PS5.6mln shares at a penny per poke.
Ironveld stated that Grosvenor, a South African private company, was founded by young black entrepreneurs to expand their mining and investment operations beyond bulk commodities and create high-value vertically integrated projects.
After the investment, Grosvenor will be able to nominate two directors non-executive to the Ironveld board.
System1 Group‘s trading update (AIM:SYS1) was a marketing and branding consultancy that sparked a stampede for shares. Shares rose 39% to 340p.
“We are delighted that both new and old customers continue to adopt System1’s repeatable and fast-turnaround data products. They have displaced the large, bespoke consultancy projects which dominated the group’s activity up until H2 last years,” Management stated in an update covering the six month period ending September.
The group’s revenue rose 22% year on year to PS12.3mln. Adjusted profit before tax, after all pennies are counted, is forecast to be around £900,000. This is compared to last year, which was at PS1.3mln.
Reabold Resources (AIM:RBD) PLC, the AIM-listed investment company focused on upstream, is to become a major shareholder in Daybreak Oil and gas, a US over-the-counter-traded oil and gas operator with assets in California.
Daybreak’s share capital will be held by Reabold up to 46.5%
Reabold shares rose 30% to 0.2215p after investors gave their approval.
Sachin Oza, co-chief executive officer at Reabold, stated, “This transaction creates liquidity and forms a new cash flow producing business with skills and capability to capitalize on growth opportunities from the existing portfolio and attractive acquisitions made by California market dynamics in California.”
Smartspace Software PLC (LSE-SMRT) was the biggest loser of the week. It plunged 30% to just 77p after lowering its full-year guidance.
The revenue for the year ending 31 January 2022 will not be less than £5.2mln. (FY2021: PSD4.6m). There will be an adjusted EBITDA (FY21) loss of £2.7mln. (FY21 adjusted EBITDA Loss: £2.1mln).
The company’s Evoko Naso room-booking software has been less popular than expected. This is because a full-blooded employee returns to the office takes longer than expected.
The board expected that sales of Naso would accelerate in autumn. However, September sales and initial indications for October have not reflected this.
Gusbourne, an award-winning English sparkling wine and still wine producer, was another stock that had a poor week. Its shares fell 24% to 93.5p due to fundraising news.
The company raised £2.6mln through the issuing of shares at 75p. This was a significant discount to market prices.
Funds raised will be used to support business growth in all channels (Direct to Consumer, UK Trade and International), and further development of the company.
It seems like a long time ago that toilet roll was the “must have” item during lockdown. Accrol Group Holdings PLC, the toilet roll company (AIM:ACRL), must be longing for those days after this week’s share price collapse.
In a trading update, the company highlighted the pressures facing its raw material supply chain. The company noted that the global rise in energy costs, shortages of inputs and general inflationary pressures has had an impact on the production costs of pulp and parent reels. However, the supply chain had shown “significant resilience” and had been managed well, but significant cost increases were needed to be sustained in the short term. Distribution pressures, including the availability of HGV drivers, have further impacted revenue growth for the current fiscal year, which runs until April 2022.
Although these cost increases are being passed on successfully, there will be some time delay in passing on their full impact. This will result in earnings for fiscal 2022 being lower than previously anticipated. This smells of a classic profit warning.
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By Maha El Dahan
DAVOS (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates is in early discussions with India to trade non-oil commodities in Indian rupees, Emirati Minister for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi said on Thursday.
The UAE signed a wide-ranging free trade agreement last year with India, which, along with China, is among the biggest trade partners for Gulf Arab oil and gas producers, most of whose currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Al Zeyoudi, asked by Reuters whether trade in rupees with India was on the table, replied "yes, we are in discussion with the Indians". The talks are related to non-oil commodities, he added.
"They are in the early stages," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The UAE's trade deal with India aims to increase bilateral non-oil trade to $100 billion in the next five years.
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Other countries, including China, had also raised the issue of settling non-oil trade payments in local currencies, the minister said, but discussions were not at any advanced stage.
The large majority of Gulf trade is conducted in U.S. dollars but countries such as India and China are increasingly seeking to pay in local currencies for various reasons, including lowering transaction costs.
"We have to be realistic, we are planning our budgets based on (US) dollars so it is not an overnight movement," Al Zeyoudi said. "There is a discussion, not only with India, but we are managing it in a way that does not conflict with the overall interests of the nation."
He said any advance in discussions would have to make sense for all countries involved, and for the UAE, would have to add value to the growth of the Gulf Arab state's economy.
The UAE has said its trade relations were increasingly looking to Asia, while its primary security and investment ties were in the West where Gulf Arab states have long-standing strategic partnerships especially with the United States.
Zeyoudi said that following bilateral trade deals with India and Indonesia, an agreement with Cambodia was expected to conclude in the first quarter.
China's president visited Saudi Arabia in December where he participated in a Gulf Arab summit and called for oil trade in yuan as Beijing seeks to establish its currency internationally.
Saudi Arabia's finance minister said this week that the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter and the largest Arab economy, would be open to trade in other currencies, aside from the U.S. dollar.
(Reporting by Maha El Dahan in Davos; writing by Rachna Uppal in Dubai; editing by Jason Neely and Angus MacSwan)
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Chicago-based Ebony and Jet publisher Johnson Publishing Company says Anne Sempowski Ward has resigned as president and COO. In a statement announcing the move, Ward indicated that she will be spending more time with her family and will join her husband in a business consulting venture.
“During Anne’s tenure, we underwent significant restructuring and reorganization of the company,” chairman and CEO Linda Johnson Rice says in the statement. “Her contributions have helped to position the company for the future.”
When asked if a replacement for Ward will be named, a Johnson spokesperson said: "We are continuing to assess our current internal staffing needs to enhance our senior-level management positions; and as such, we will determine our next steps following our evaluation."
The spokesperson went on to dispel reports that the company might be eying consultant Desiree Rogers for the job. "Ms. Desiree Rogers is not replacing Anne Sempowski Ward. As we’ve stated from the onset of her June 1 role, she serves as a strategic consultant for the company. She is not being considered for president and COO."
Ward [pictured] was named predient and COO in October 2008 after serving as president and COO of Johnson’s Fashion Fair, starting in October 2007. Before that, she served as assistant vice president of African-American marketing for the Coca-Coca Company, and spent more than a decade at Procter & Gamble, where she led several brands and categories.


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The Black Caps’ performance at the World Test Championships last week gave the team’s sponsors that coveted opportunity to bask in the glow of a victorious team.
The perennial heartbreak kids of the cricketing world finally delivered a victory and showed the world that they have the mettle to grind out a win in testing circumstances.
For key sponsor ANZ, this moment was 25 years in the making.
The bank has stuck with the team through some traumatic ups and downs, including two World Cup final defeats and periods of horrific form.
All organisations do, of course, want to be associated with illustrious champions, but ANZ general manager of data and marketing Astrud Burgess says that you need to take more into account than just the performance on the pitch.
“Loyalty is part of it, but we’re business people,” Burgess tells the Herald.
“There are numbers that we look at that tell you whether a sponsorship is contributing to the work you want to do and whether it’s helping to grow your brand.”
Burgess notes that sponsorship decisions shouldn’t be solely based on the performance of the team on the pitch.
“One of the things we always look at is how many people care about cricket and netball,” she says.
“It’s no coincidence that we’re with the two biggest sports after rugby in terms of participation at all levels. You need to know that people are still engaged with the sport.”
This longer-term approach is also evident in Vodafone’s long-running sponsorship of the Warriors and ASB’s continued commitment to the Classic tennis tournament despite the fact that the event was cancelled during the pandemic.
In addition to the level of interest, Burgess also notes that the conduct of the individual players can have a big impact on whether it’s worth the risk to keep backing a team.
The image of the Black Caps as nice blokes willing to extend their hand to a fallen opponent goes a long way toward giving the sponsor confidence that’s worth keeping the investment going. Rather than the obvious scenes of victory, these are moments that ANZ pushes in its brand advertising.
But the point about individual players also comes at a time when sports stars are more concerned with the personal brand than ever before.
This was seen recently when Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo removed a Coca-Cola bottle from the camera shot and urged viewers to drink water. This move sparked a domino effect, with other stars also removing the product out of frame.
These actions can be deeply damaging to a brand that pays handsomely for the right to have its products on display in the vicinity of these superstars.
Burgess says the answer is not to lash out and chastise the players for breaking the rules.
“Those players are really aware of their brands now, perhaps in a way that they weren’t many years ago,” Burgess says.
She points to the example of England star Marcus Rashford, who has campaigned incredibly hard to give lunches to school kids in recent years.
“When you see the power of someone like him to do good, I think athletes feel a real responsibility to make a difference. And they may also start to become uncomfortable if sponsoring brands don’t represent who they are.”
Burgess says this tension isn’t going anywhere in the coming years and that brands will have to become used to existing in the context of sports stars who are commercial entities in their own right.
Burgess says that if someone were to turn on ANZ, her response would be to have a conversation with the player and find out what they’re uncomfortable with.
“I’d also like to let them know what our brand stands for and why they should feel comfortable representing it.”
This task is obviously more difficult for much-maligned sugary drinks, alcohol or fast food brands, but it does point to the need for companies to evolve the perception people have of them if they’re looking to bask in the glory of victorious sports stars.
The reality is that money alone is no longer enough to guarantee that you’ll be taken along for the ride.
Source: Read Full Article


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The cannabis industry is certainly booming. More and more states are steadily modifying their laws on cannabis distribution, production, and use. However, the federal government still classifies cannabis as an illegal substance, therefore business have to jump through hoops to file their taxes.
Cannabis businesses are at a major disadvantage financially. The IRS won’t allow business deductions because the IRC Section 280E denies deductions for businesses remotely resembling distributing controlled substances. Even on a state level, cannabis businesses would also not be allowed to make these deductions under state income tax laws if they strictly adhere to IRC Section 280E.
Further, cannabis businesses are often required to pay other types of taxes that many other businesses might not, such as excise tax. In Colorado, a 15 percent excise tax is imposed on the first sale of cannabis from a cultivation center to a retail store. In addition, California also imposes a 15 percent excise tax on purchases of cannabis and related products.
But as the cannabis industry continues to expand, there’s little doubt that the government will want to capitalize in the form of taxes. But because this particular area of taxes and finances is somewhat new for both state and federal tax agencies, cannabis businesses are somewhat at their mercy. Cannabis businesses should have the freedom to file their taxes just like any other business, and that includes deducting expenses, which would otherwise help them save quite a bit of money
accounting and tax specialist firm to help them navigate the often-complex world of taxes.tains to the cannabis industry.


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The majority of Americans would not choose an electric vehicle for their next purchase of a car, a recent poll by Yahoo Finance and Ipsos has shown.
Despite the Biden Administration’s push to accelerate EV adoption and the many new models automakers are offering and planning to offer, most Americans remain skeptical about the benefits of owning an electric vehicle, according to the poll.
Cost, range, and availability of charging points and infrastructure are primary concerns weighing on U.S. consumers’ decision whether to buy an EV for their next car.
According to the polling, 57% of respondents in a survey of just over 1,000 Americans said they were ‘not at all likely’ or ‘not too likely’ to purchase an EV when they buy their next new car. Only 31% of respondents were likely to purchase an electric vehicle, with the ‘somewhat likely’ response the most common among those, with 17%. Just 7% said they were ‘extremely likely’ to buy an EV as their next car.
Among the demographics, 70% of respondents aged over 65 wouldn’t buy an EV, while 60% of consumers with an annual income of below $50,000 wouldn’t purchase an electric car either. A total of 76% of respondents who have identified as Republicans are not likely to buy an EV, either.
The biggest concern for those who said they wouldn’t buy an EV is the lack of charging stations or home charging, at 77%, followed by driving range with 73% of respondents citing it as a concern, and cost, which is a concern for 70% of American consumers.
There are about 104 gas pumps per 1,000 road miles on average in the United States compared to just 22 EV charging points for the same road distance, a study by smart fuel card management platform Coast showed earlier this year. As EV sales rise and the Biden Administration is pushing for transport electrification to reduce emissions from one of the most-polluting sectors in the U.S., the number of EV charging points is not enough now and the density of charging stations in some states is much lower than in others, according to the study.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com