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Wyllow, a new line of California-grown cannabis flower, has launched in the Los Angeles area with inclusivity and affordability at the forefront of its brand.
Although CEO Camille Roistacher said Wyllow is intended for all cannabis consumers, the brand was inspired by a desire for more women representation in the cannabis industry.
“If I walk into a dispensary today, I would like to see more products on the shelves that are geared or marketed towards women that are also owned and operated by women, so that’s one angle to our inclusivity,” she said.
The other angle, she added, is centered on the brand’s pricing strategy.
“The goal is really to not have $80 or $90 eighths on the shelves, especially considering everything that’s going on,” Roistacher said. “People are losing their jobs, unfortunately, and money is tight. So, how can we bring our really nice product at a reasonable price to the consumer?”
Roistacher also operates a cannabis distribution company, Voyage Distribution, which allows her to run a more cost-effective business.
“This gives me the opportunity to essentially cut out the middle man and not have to mark it up so that we can bring this high-end flower at a reasonable price to the retailers, [and] more consumers can go ahead and give it a try,” she said.
Wyllow has partnered with an indoor cultivation facility in Coachella Valley, and Roistacher then directs that flower through her distribution hub.
And it was through Voyage Distribution that Roistacher first took notice of the cultivator that ultimately became her partner for the Wyllow brand.
“We started to notice how beautiful this flower was and thought, you know what? We could probably use this flower and really create something cool,” she said. “We talked to them about it, and they were definitely interested in the messaging behind the brand and they liked working with us.”
A Socially Distant Launch Strategy
Launching a brand during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic certainly posed challenges, Roistacher said, because traditional marketing activities like launch parties and other in-person events are not possible.
“We’ve had to shift very quickly with what that launch strategy looks like,” she said.
Roistacher and her team hosted a virtual launch series the week of Aug. 24, with each day featuring a free, live event, including Soundbath with Dynasty Electrik, a “Freedom Yoga,” class, a “Fireside Chat” with Roistacher and the founders of Cannabis Doing Good, an instructional, how-to called “J-Rolling with Jenn” and a launch party featuring DJ Essty.
“When would people join a virtual yoga session to celebrate the launch of a cannabis brand?” Roistacher said. “It’s so bizarre, but it’s just so fascinating and it makes me think, how can we incorporate more virtual activities? … I think this virtual aspect to our lives now is really fascinating, and I’d like to continue it in some way, somehow.”
The entire Wyllow team is currently working remotely, Roistacher added, with a social media manager based in San Francisco, a PR manager in Colorado and a virtual administrator in Florida.
The brand hosted pre-launch activities and in-store activations before Wyllow’s product line officially debuted on Aug. 24, and the team reached its goal of having product on the shelves in five dispensaries prior to the official launch date.
“We’re in quite a few different strategic locations,” Roistacher said. “I wanted to make sure to cover greater Los Angeles and then also get out into the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area to cover that territory, as well. I feel like we have a really nice spread throughout Southern California, and then some of the stores we’re in now expand up into the Bay, so it’s exciting to break into that market in the near future.”
Meeting an Increasing Demand
Right now, Wyllow’s product line is exclusively pre-packaged eighths of flower, but the brand is already receiving requests from its dispensary clients to expand its SKUs. While Roistacher is considering adding pre-rolls and possibly other products to the line-up, she said it will be some time before additional SKUs are introduced.
Roistacher’s shorter-term goal is to secure more flower to meet the increasing demand.
“I think the initial demand is higher than we expected, which is good—things are going well,” she said. “We need to secure more flower, though. [The] initial short-term goal is to onboard additional farms that we can work with and make sure they go through our vetting process so that [the flower] meets the standards of the brand and what we’re looking for.”
Then, Roistacher plans to focus on unveiling a line of pre-rolls, as well as a CBD product lineup.
While Roistacher was initially concerned that her focus on creating a women-focused brand would alienate male consumers, recent in-store launches have shown that many of the brand’s buyers are also men, which means Wyllow is well on its way to achieving its goal of inclusivity.
“We want all walks of life to be able to afford us, try us, follow the brand and join our community that we’re building here at Wyllow,” Roistacher said. “The initial feedback has been extremely positive, and that’s a great feeling because we took a chance on this and I’m just glad to see the initial success so far. I can’t wait to see where we’ll be in the next three to six months."


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TikTok is rife with scams promising to fix your credit score or wipe your debt, finance expert warns — here are 3
Accredited financial councelor and Markia Brown spoke to Insider about some of the financial red flags on TikTok.
A Des Moines man fell victim to a money-laundering scam. Now he's facing charges after police say the scammers tricked him into becoming the scammer himself.
Police say scammers convinced the man they were government officials conducting a cybercrime investigation and that they needed his help.
A couple got stuck in Maui after a scammer posed as Southwest, canceled their flights, and used the credits to book another trip
A couple on vacation in Hawaii wanted to escape the Maui fires. But a scammer canceled their flight and used the credits to book one for someone else.
A woman raised $43,000 for victims of Australian bushfires. Police say she gave $12.80 to charity and spent the rest on hair extensions, a treadmill, and a rug.
A woman raised thousands for the victims of Australian bushfires, but spent the money on hair extensions, a treadmill, and a rug, police said.
Reviews from 'verified' purchasers on Amazon can trick consumers into buying AI-created travel guides. Here's how to spot the scam.
Faking travel guides is the newest travel and vacation scam, fueled by the rise of AI, The New York Times reported.
Man who claimed to be a missionary spent millions meant for Bibles on gambling, gold, and real estate, prosecutors say
A Georgia man posing as a missionary raised millions by promising to bring Bibles to China. Instead, he spent the money on himself, prosecutors say.
A Virginia woman received more than 100 Amazon packages she didn't order, including 1,000 headlamps and 800 glue guns
A lawyer told WUSA that it was likely a Chinese vendor wanting to get rid of US inventory and picking a random address to send it all to.
A viral TikTok jewelry scam is sucking in customers with 'revenge' videos by creators who say they too were tricked
Customers of Trugala, Deraldi, and Vulosa were lured in with too-good-to-be-true discount codes, promoted by faked revenge videos.
I donated to the National Police and Troopers Association on a cold call. Now I get up to 10 spam calls a day.
Beware of the National Police and Troopers Association calls: I've been plagued by endless spam phone calls since I made a donation
A man rented a home and then impersonated the owner, applied for a mortgage, and stole the money, police say
A man impersonated the owner of the home he was renting in Toronto, Canada, to secure a mortgage on the property and then steal the money, police say.
A woman lost her life savings and was left with just $5 after she got scammed by a bogus durian seller: report
The 50-year-old woman who wanted to buy cheap durians inadvertently authorized a scammer to take tens of thousands of dollars from her bank account.
A fake Elon Musk angered and disappointed dozens of Chinese fans who showed up at a New York event wanting to meet the real deal
Over 120 Chinese fans went to Manhattan for a glimpse of Elon Musk. They waited for more than an hour until a man who barely resembled Musk showed up.
I got a job offer on my birthday after searching for almost a year, but it turned out to be a hiring scam. Here are the red flags I missed.
When I got a job offer on my birthday, I was thrilled — but it seemed too good to be true, and it was. It was a hiring scam.
TikTok said it would be a haven for body positivity. Then it took $4.3 million to push weight-loss products.
TikTok promoted the brands ColonBroom and Beyond Body on its platform, which promise extreme and unachiveable weight-loss goals.
Florida man sentenced to 9 years in federal prison for swindling $1.3 million from women by pretending to be a doctor on dating sites
Brian Wedgeworth, 47, was sentenced scammed more than 30 women between 2016 and 2021, prosecutors said.
Thai authorities have issued an arrest warrant against a popular YouTuber accused of scamming followers out of $55 million, reports say
The YouTuber and influencer may have defrauded more than 6,000 followers, reports say.
'Cursed' $58 million painting found hidden under a bed after police investigation into psychic swindle
The painting Sol Poente by Tarsila do Amaral was found after the widow of a Rio de Janeiro art collector was conned by a scammer posing as a psychic, say police.
Many past lottery winners have suffered personal setbacks and lawsuits or have become the victims of scams.
New Jersey woman who used $400,000 from GoFundMe homeless vet scam on Casino trips and cars sentenced to a year in prison
Katelyn McClure was sentenced to one day and a year in federal prison for fabricating a story about a homeless veteran to scam 14,000 people in donations on GoFundMe.
Scammers are targeting parents desperate to find baby formula. Some have spent hundreds of dollars and received nothing.
Parents of babies who are affected by the formula shortage say they have been conned by fraudsters who sell products that never arrive.

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Apec exec notes ‘paradigm shift’ in labor as new economy
BORACAY, Aklan – A senior official of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) on Tuesday noted the paradigm shift in labor system which is veering away from the assembly line of work and is heading towards knowledge-based services in the manufacturing sector.
In a press briefing before reporters, Ambassador Laura Del Rosario attributed the shift to the overabundance of services needed for the manufacture of a product. She cited the production of a car, which is now built by machines operated by laborers when earlier it was produced in an assembly line.
“We’re moving manufacturing and services. We’re just not looking at people working in an assembly line… We’re thinking of people doing services for a high-product. We have to change our paradigm. This is how the new economy looks like. It is knowledge-based and service-based economy…” said Del Rosario, also a Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for international economic relations.
Also chairing the Senior Officials Meeting for Apec, Del Rosario said the manufacture of a product produces 37 to 77 forms of service jobs. She said in the situation of a car manufacturing, workers do a variety of services such as painting, welding, advertising, sales, among others.
“When you sell a car, it’s not just producing a car inside the factory from beginning to end. If a product is produced and you go to manufacturing, you cannot get to the manufacturing itself of the product. You go to various services that go into manufacturing the product,” Del Rosario said.
This diversity in services for each manufactured product thus increases job opportunities, Del Rosario said, adding that the paradigm shift has resulted in an inseparable service and manufacture sector that now go hand in hand.
“Manufacturing and services are naturally bound together and therefore we cannot separate them anymore from flesh to bone,” Del Rosario said.
“There are some jobs that are becoming obsolete. At the same time, there are now jobs that are emerging. One study said of the 10 highly manned jobs in 2010, six did not exist in 2004. Can you imagine that? Sixty percent of jobs, which are high in demand in 2010, did not exist five years before. You can just imagine now what new jobs are being demanded,” she added.
Del Rosario said the promotion of services is in line with the administration’s inclusive growth agenda.
She also said the services sector contributes 54 to 57 percent in Gross Domestic Product or economic growth, and that the services sector caters to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which comprise most of the country’s industries.
“Our agenda this year is the promotion of services as a means for inclusive growth. We know services provide an area for SMEs and micro enterprises to get involved and we also know services are necessary for any activity related to manufacturing,” Del Rosario said.
Asked how the growth in the services sector could trickle down to the ordinary people, Del Rosario said the trickle down model is no longer relevant.
She instead cited the social enterprises activity initiative, which allows the common people to benefit from the corporate scheme by encouraging corporations to deal with the ordinary “masses,” such as by purchasing the products of farmers.
“It’s not trickle down anymore. How can we trickle down something big corporations do? It’s to source from them whatever you need. That for me is inclusion… We’ll go straight upward and hopefully we’ll go from the bottom up,” Del Rosario said.
The Philippines is hosting this year’s Apec, a delegation of 21 member economies. The country hosted Apec ahead of the Asean integration in 2015. It hosted the Apec leaders meeting for the first time in 1996.
The country will host on Wednesday the second leg of the Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings here, also as a way to promote the island as a premier summer destination among Apec member economies. AC
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Sony has submitted a new trademark application for 'PlayStation TV'.
As spotted by IGN, the application type is for a "service" and was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office last month.
Sony previously filed a PlayStation TV trademark back in 2006, but that mark lapsed in September 2012.
While it's unclear if Sony Computer Entertainment plans to launch a new TV service, the firm has signalled its intention to grow its media offering through stronger collaboration with its parent company's TV and film production unit, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In an interview published last week, PlayStation CEO Andrew House said: "Whereas I think you could have slightly accused Sony of a bit of forced synergy, if we'd been trying to enact this collaboration several years ago, the fact is now, with 110 million PlayStation Network accounts worldwide, that's a substantial business opportunity for Sony Pictures to reach a different audience."
Referring to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton's on-stage appearance at E3 in June, House continued: "So he was talking about two things. One is significant interest and work which is already under way to develop original TV-style programming content, which could be made available with some form of exclusivity to people on the PSN - essentially using PSN as a distribution network.
"The second point was to find ways to give earlier or exclusive access to other forms of content that Sony Pictures has - again, for people who are on PSN and particularly for members of PlayStation Plus."


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Thailand is apparently planning to ease its taxes regulations even more for digital currency dealers in order to support a business that has blossomed in the Southeast Asian nation in the last year. The government will eliminate a 7% tax on trading on approved exchanges, barely a month after exempting them from a 15% capital gains tax.
Thailand’s cabinet adopted new loosened tax laws on March 8, opening the door for the country’s digital currency trade to expand more aggressively.
Under the new taxation framework, dealers may deduct yearly losses from tax liabilities on digital asset investments. With the very volatile digital asset market, the new regulation will be a lifesaver for traders who have had to pay taxes on profits without regard for times when values fall and their portfolios are practically wiped out.
Even more importantly, the 7% value-added tax has been abolished for dealers who use approved exchanges, according to Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith during a press conference.
According to the minister, the new tax system would be in place from April 2022 until December 2023. It will also include trading in the retail digital baht, the country’s impending CBDC, however the exact date for the digital currency’s introduction is unknown.
With its new tax laws, the government also hopes to encourage investment in Thai startups. The cabinet authorized tax incentives for direct and indirect investment in startups, with investors who engage in businesses for at least two years receiving a ten-year tax holiday until June 2032.
A month ago, the country’s tax authorities declared that they were abandoning plans to impose a 15% withholding tax on digital asset transactions. Traders had launched a vigorous protest against the idea, which they said would destroy the expanding business.
As several of Thailand’s registered exchange executives stated at the time, the country’s tax department spoke with a wide range of stakeholders before scrapping the proposed tariff.
Thailand has grown to become one of the world’s largest digital asset marketplaces. According to the government, there are more over 2 million trading accounts on regulated exchanges, up from fewer than 200,000 a year earlier. With tourism suffering as a result of COVID-19-related lockdowns, many people turned to digital assets to supplement their income.
Despite the trade collapse, Thailand’s market is controlled by the Bitkub exchange. According to some estimates, Bitkub, which recently sold a 51 percent interest to Siam Commercial Bank for $500 million, controls almost 90 percent of the Thai market.


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The Obama Administration has pledged to help housing in states that are affected the most by the downturned economy. Which states are going to be affected and what kind of help is around the corner? President Obama announced February 19th that the government will provide $1.5 billion dollars from th...
Consumer Education Services, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to empowering and inspiring consumers nationwide to becoming debt free
Consumer Education Services, Inc. (CESI) is a non-profit service provider of comprehensive personal financial education and solutions for all life stages and for all of life’s milestones. Our goal is enhanced economic security for everyone we serve.
CESI is NOT A LOAN COMPANY


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Bankrate plummets 20% after misses earnings mark, sees slow 2013
Shares of Bankrate plunged 20 percent in after-house trading on Tuesday after the company announced disappointing fourth quarter earnings and a weak 2013 forecast shortly after the closing bell.
The North Palm Beach-based financial and insurance website company (NYSE: RATE) saw its shares fall $2.43 to a 52-week low of $9.95. That’s well off the 52-week high of $25.95 on Feb. 27, 2012.
Bankrate posted net income of $300,000, or zero cents per share, on revenue of $93.2 million in the fourth quarter. That’s down from net income of $14 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $113.8 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Bankrate missed the analyst expectations of fourth quarter net income of 11 cents per share on revenue of $106 million.
Bankrate’s revenue from display advertising and hyperlinks increased last year, but its revenue from lead generation suffered.
The company cast a wet blanket on expectations for 2013 by saying revenue would be relatively flat compared to 2012. Its profit margin would be about the same, it added.
Bankrate President and CEO Thomas R. Evans said the fourth quarter was a bottoming out on the insurance side of its business and it expects more sign ups and client retention this year. He said there’s increased marketing activity in credit cards as well.
For the full year, Bankrate earned $29.3 million, or 29 cents per share, on revenue of $457.2 million. That’s compared to a loss of $13.4 million, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $424.2 million in 2011.
At the same time, Bankrate announced that James Tieng resigned from its board of directors in connection from his recent departure from Apex Partners, which is an investor in Bankrate.
The company’s board also approved a $70 million share repurchase program on Tuesday.
Brian Bandell covers banking, finance, health care and education. Get the latest banking industry news here.
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- This comes after a recent report by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics which noted an increase in number in production of assembled vehicles.
- In 2019, Kenya imported approximately 130,000 Vehicles which dropped by about 50 per cent in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Global vehicle exporter BE Forward is shaping up to uplift Kenya’s manufacturing sector by upscaling the delivery of equipment and spare parts amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This comes after a recent report by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics which noted that production of assembled vehicles increased from 768 units in August to 798 units in September 2020.
The report also noted that machinery and other capital equipment; Fuel and lubricants; and transport equipment accounted for 17.81, 12.57 and 11.51, per cent of the total value of imports, respectively.
BE Forward Senior Manager South & East Africa Group John Mutahi commended the government on its efforts to grow the manufacturing sector, noting that an increase in the vehicle imports was a positive sign of economic recovery.
“Kenya being a fast-growing economy, there is huge demand for machinery and equipment as well as spare parts,” said Mutahi.
In 2019, Kenya imported approximately 130,000 Vehicles which dropped by about 50 per cent in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Although there was a huge demand of vehicles, the supply fell short due to unavailability of vessels which were stuck at various ports around the world.
“With import regulations adapting to the pandemic, we are optimistic that the demand to Kenya will grow, albeit slowly,” said Mutahi.
BE Forward has 7 local agent office in Kenya and over 100 agents globally in the approximately 200 countries they operate in.
Globally BE Forward employs above 2,000 Staff both directly and indirectly, their systems support about 50 youth who have secured employment with BE Forward Local in Kenya alone.


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Consumer Electronics Show has gadgets galore
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
1/08/13 at 7:25 AM
Read about the Consumer Electronics Show and find past tech product reviews from the World’s Robert Evatt.
Related Story: New and unique gadgets at CES
LAS VEGAS - The 2013 edition of the largest tech show in the world kicked off with a teaser of the best to come.
Solar chargers, speakers, weather radios, wireless accessories, medical devices, toys and much more were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show's Unveiled event, held Sunday night at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas.
Every company invited to display at the relatively small gathering were given awards for innovation by the Consumer Electronics Association, the organizing entity for CES.
These companies, both gigantic and tiny, were chosen from the thousands that will display their wares during the main part of CES, which begins Tuesday in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
George Sadler, a representative for the iGrip line of smartphone and tablet grips, said winning an innovation award from the CEA can be a huge boost for a startup.
"There's a lot of recognition and clout that comes with this," said Sadler, a 30-year veteran of the show.
Although the innovation awards were spread over a wide variety of categories, two of the most notable new products were focused on cars.
Chevrolet representatives demonstrated the company's new MyLink system, a touchscreen panel for controlling media functions that also connects wirelessly with smartphones.
In addition to sporting a strong visual component for voice-activated dialing and music controls, vehicles equipped with MyLink also will have a button on the steering wheel dedicated to Siri, the voice-activated assistant built into newer iPhones.
MyLink includes an app called TuneIn, which allows the vehicle to play more than 70,000 radio stations from across the planet.
Also at the event, Delphi and Verizon Wireless announced a partnership on a device that adds smartphone controls and tracking to any vehicle.
Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi will allow motorists to remotely lock, unlock or start the car from nearby or remote locations.
The device also uses GPS to locate the car, and it can be set to send text alerts if the car is detected to go over a certain speed or leave specified locations.
Vehicle Diagnostics plugs into the diagnostics port of most cars that have been manufactured in the last 16 years. A price hasn't been specified, and the service will carry a monthly fee through Verizon.
On Twitter: @RobertEvatt
Original Print Headline: Technology teasers
Robert Evatt 918-581-8447
A smartphone continues to operate while submerged in a tank Sunday at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. HzO Inc. has developed a polymer that protects phones from liquids. See the details about this and other products on E2. ROBERT EVATT / Tulsa World
A spectator stops to take a photograph of a Sharp Corp. television on display Sunday at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. DAVID PAUL MORRIS / Bloomberg


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Sales Dropping for Michael Kors Watches
Several months ago analysts began to predict that the Apple Watch would pose a serious threat to traditional watches selling in the $300 to $500 price range. Now that prediction has come true as Michael Kors has reported a 5.8% decline in sale store sales as well as a 6.7% drop in North America.
Analysts at Barclays stated last fall that they were “increasingly concerned” about Fossil, which makes products for several brands in that target price range including Michael Kors. “We cannot overlook what is increasingly becoming a major disruption to the entire watch industry,” the analysts stated. “Future innovation at Fossil …will largely be challenged by hype and innovative offerings from deep pocket technology-credible competitors such as Apple, Samsung and Motorola.”
Even though Fossil had already announced a plan to create smartwatches with Intel, the analysts feels that the brand “faces an uphill battle to establish its credibility” in the field.
Brian Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors expressed a similar opinion on the threat of the Apple Watch to similarly priced regular timepieces. “The versatility of the Apple Watch, as seen in its multiple straps and faces, essentially gives the consumer every watch style in the mall plus an Apple ecosystem that makes one’s life easier,” he said.
“At the price point, it’s a major threat to every watch player that dumps their timepieces inside of locked counters at the likes of Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Nordstrom.”
So which brands are not threatened by the smartwatch invasion? According to Sozzi, the most expensive luxury brands. “For people buying [luxury] watches, it’s viewed as a long-term investment … A family heirloom in many respects. For this group, they will own an Apple Watch and a Rolex.”
Time will tell how well the makers of mid-priced watches will react to the coming of the wearable devices—and which brands will survive.


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Gun violence has been a problem for a long time, but the recent shootings in Paris and San Bernardino have focused new attention on the issue.
Americans no longer just worry about someone shooting up a school or workplace for personal reasons. The threat of terrorism has added an alarming new dimension to the problem.
Coming up with effective and realistic solutions is not easy. Guns pose a tricky dilemma, because they can be used to do good or bad things. They can be used to commit heinous crimes, but they can be used to protect lives as well.
The challenge for lawmakers is to come up with ways to reduce the risk of criminal misuse of guns while preserving and even promoting the likelihood of guns being used in beneficial ways.
Ensuring that every firearm manufacturer and dealer operates as safely and responsibly as possible should be one piece of the puzzle.
A key way to ensure that gun companies have the right incentives would be to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Gunmakers’ special immunity
Enacted in 2005, this federal law gave gun sellers a special immunity from legal responsibilities that is not enjoyed by any other industry.
This law was enacted because a wave of lawsuits had put unprecedented pressure on the gun industry. In 1998, New Orleans became the first city to file a lawsuit against gun manufacturers. More than 30 other major American cities and counties soon followed. Other cases brought by individual victims of shootings began working their way through the courts as well.
As one of the lawyers at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence helping to bring these cases, I saw very clearly the impact that they had. The lawsuits generated evidence of severe problems with distribution of guns, including undercover sting operations revealing how gun dealers knowingly allow people to make “straw purchases” on behalf of convicted felons who cannot pass a background check.
The lawsuits also changed perceptions about the issue. Rather than seeing gun violence simply as a crime issue, the press and public began focusing for the first time on specific ways in which the gun industry’s practices contribute to the danger.
Journalists wrote a flood of stories about topics like how gun companies boosted the lethality of their products to boost sales, how new technologies could make guns “personalized” to prevent unauthorized use and what government data showed about the illegal market for guns.
The lawsuits put enormous pressure on the gun industry to either reform its practices or face serious potential liability. From the industry’s perspective, that meant the lawsuits were a major threat. Rather than doing the right thing and cleaning up its act, the industry turned to Congress for relief. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act knocked out almost all of the litigation pending against gunmakers at the time.
Regrets about immunity in California
If Congress decided to do away with this law, it would not be the first legislature that came to regret bestowing special immunity on gunmakers. California enacted a gun industry immunity law in 1983. Ten years later, a deranged gunman killed eight people and wounded six others in a shooting rampage at the office of a San Francisco law firm.
The killer used a pair of TEC-9 assault pistols, weapons with a notorious reputation for being designed and marketed in ways that appealed to criminals.
Survivors of the shooting and families of the victims brought a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the TEC-9s. They had compelling evidence of negligence but never got their day in court in front of a jury because judges ruled that the manufacturer was immune from liability under California’s statute.
Legislators in California were appalled and soon repealed the law, replacing it with a measure simply stating that those who design, distribute and market firearms have no special exemption from the normal legal duty to exercise ordinary care. California’s decision unfortunately became a moot point a few years later when Congress gave sweeping immunity to the gun industry on a nationwide basis.
A compelling case
The federal measure effectively bars almost any lawsuit against a gun manufacturer or wholesale distributor for failing to take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of criminal misuse of its products, such as exercising greater oversight of the retail dealers through which guns are sold.
It also bars a wide range of claims against retail sellers of firearms, leaving only a few narrow exceptions such as for certain types of claims based on statutory violations. For example, a gun dealer can be sued for knowingly selling a gun to a convicted felon or other legally disqualified purchaser. But if a dealer takes an “I know nothing” attitude and recklessly disregards circumstances that ought to raise reasonable suspicions or concerns about selling the gun, the dealer can invoke the federal immunity statute to avoid liability.
A case currently before the Supreme Court of Missouri provides a disturbing example of the federal law’s consequences.
Colby Sue Weathers had a long history of severe mental illness and substance abuse. She heard voices in her head and believed she was being monitored by a computer chip implanted inside her nose. She walked into a gun shop in May 2012, and, despite her debilitated mental condition, she managed to purchase a pistol.
She planned to shoot herself with it, but changed her mind and surrendered the gun to her parents. A few weeks later, Colby’s mother called the gun shop, told them about Colby’s mental problems and begged them not to sell another gun to Colby. She specifically warned the store that Colby would soon be receiving a Social Security check and was likely to use the money to buy another gun.
The shop could have simply declined to sell a gun to Colby, but it refused to use its discretion to refrain from making the sale. Two days later, Colby walked into the shop, purchased a pistol and then went home and used the gun to kill her father.
Limited legal avenues
Colby’s mother sued the gun shop for negligently selling the gun to her daughter despite being specifically warned of the danger.
The case is compelling, for even many gun rights advocates would be troubled to hear that a gun store would ignore such a highly specific warning about a particular customer, particularly a desperate plea from a mother worried about her child.
But for the case to have any chance of succeeding, lawyers bringing it had to try to squeeze it into one of the narrow categories of claims that the federal law allows against gun dealers. So far at least, they have failed, as the case was thrown out on the ground that all of the legal theories asserted in the case are either barred by the federal statute or not recognized under Missouri law.
The Supreme Court of Missouri will hear arguments in the case on December 9. It is likely to take a few months to announce its decision, but when it does so, it can save the day by declaring that Colby’s mother has a claim that is viable under Missouri law and not precluded by the federal statute.
But bringing the lawsuit would not be such a convoluted, uphill battle if Congress had not bestowed special legal immunity on the gun shop and every other company in the gun business.
At the same time, I would argue that gun manufacturers and dealers should not be subject to any extraordinary forms of liability that do not apply to other products.
They should not be liable, for example, merely because a firearm is a weapon that is capable of being used to do harm. But if a gun manufacturer or dealer fails to take basic, reasonable precautions in distributing products, it should be held accountable under the law just as an irresponsible company in any other business would be.
Think about what the threat of liability for defective cars like the Ford Pinto has done for auto safety, or how the risk of liability for a dangerous product like the Dalkon Shield contraceptive device gives good incentives to the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and other medical products. Why should the makers of firearms be any different?
With the risks of firearms in the wrong hands becoming ever more apparent, Congress should reconsider its regrettable decision to give the gun industry special immunity from legal responsibility.


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The US and European Union are seeking a preliminary agreement on the supply of so-called critical minerals used in electric vehicles, a step toward Washington’s efforts to reduce the global reliance on China for materials necessary for green-energy technologies.
The agreement, if finalized, also has a shorter-term benefit of defusing a trade dispute between the US and Europe by allowing EU companies access to some of benefits included in President Joe Biden’s massive climate-subsidy plan.
“We have agreed that we will start work now with a clear goal — the goal is to have an agreement on critical raw materials that have been sourced, or processed in the European Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Washington Friday where she met Biden for discussions.
The EU has been seeking concessions from the law, known as the IRA, which will offer as much as $369 billion in handouts and tax credits over the next decade for clean-energy programs in North America. Von der Leyen has said that aspects of the bill would unfairly help US firms and was seeking an exemption for European companies.
“We’re driving new investments to create clean-energy industries and jobs, and make sure we have supply chains available to both our continents,” Biden said earlier Friday. “The idea underpins our Inflation Reduction Act. And it lies at the heart of your Green Deal Industrial Plan.”
The White House is prioritizing access to minerals such a lithium, nickel and cobalt needed for electric-vehicle batteries as it pushes an ambitious climate plan. That includes both boosting the use of EVs as well as building those automobiles and their supply chains in the US.
That requires a generational overhaul in American carmaking and manufacturing, as well as ramping up supplies and technology dominated by China, which the US sees as its top competitor and an unreliable trade partner.
“The global demand for these minerals in the years to come will be enormous. And we’re highly dependent on China,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier Friday during testimony in the House Ways and Means Committee. “One of the goals of the IRA is to broadly strengthen supply chains for these critical minerals and their processing.”
The agreement with the EU, which she said is also being discussed with Japan, would “permit our close allies to also contribute minerals and their processing that would be eligible for use in electric vehicles that are assembled in North America.”
The US and the EU also agreed to create a new mechanism to avoid disputes over the green subsidies, called the Clean Energy Incentives Dialogue, they said in a statement. “Both sides will take steps to avoid any disruptions in transatlantic trade and investment flows that could arise from their respective incentives,” they said.
The two also plan to reach an agreement on sustainable steel and aluminum supplies by October, another initiative aimed at isolating China, a massive supplier of both materials.
The statement also touched on other efforts the US and EU are taking to limit certain technology exports to China, which have recently been dominated by equipment and knowhow needed to make semiconductors.
“We are increasing our cooperation to prevent the leakage of sensitive emerging technologies, as well as other dual-use items, to destinations of concern that operate civil-military fusion strategies,” they said. “Our respective existing controls related to exports, inbound investment, and research cooperation are essential tools and need to be upgraded to correspond to a changing geostrategic environment.”
The Inflation Reduction Act’s focus on spurring American industry angered trade partners from Asia and Europe who saw it cutting them out of the US market, particularly for automobiles. It includes a lucrative $7,500 consumer-tax credit for EVs that meet certain requirements.
The critical-mineral deal would grant the EU equivalent status as an American free-trade partner under the law, allowing European-made battery components or materials to be used in EVs eligible for US tax credits. The Treasury Department has also signaled that European vehicles used commercially or leased would qualify, which has also eased tensions between the allies.
The allies plan to immediately start talks on a deal “for the purpose of enabling relevant critical minerals extracted or processed in the EU to count toward requirements for clean vehicles in the section 30D clean-vehicle tax credit of the IRA,” they said in the statement.
“This kind of agreement would further our shared goals of boosting our mineral production and processing and expanding access to sources of critical minerals that are sustainable, trusted, and free of labor abuses,” they said. “Cooperation is also necessary to reduce unwanted strategic dependencies in these supply chains, and to ensure that they are diversified and developed with trusted partners.”
The implementation of the law and appeasing Europe, meanwhile, has drawn the ire of Congress, which has questioned the White House’s authority to use a deal on minerals as the equivalent of a trade agreement. As well, members including Senator Joe Manchin have blasted any effort to allow non-American companies to benefit from the law. That includes Chinese firms, which dominate the EV industry, form participating in joint-ventures based in the US, such as Ford motor Co.’s planned battery tie-up with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. in Michigan.
Even though opinions have moderated in the EU regarding the effect the IRA will have on European companies, some officials still warn that parts of the law are discriminatory in nature and could draw clean-tech investment away from the bloc.
Some European Commission officials said that the American law will build a “new industrial ecosystem” and poses a danger to Europe’s competitiveness, according to its initial assessment of the law seen by Bloomberg. It also identified more than $25 billion of company spending heading to the US and China, rather than Europe.
Von der Leyen has put forward the Green Deal Industrial Plan, which includes simplifying regulations and speeding up permits for new projects, as a way to compete with the US.


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The Indianapolis-based startup High Alpha has secured $100 million in funding that company heads say will be used to invest in software startups in Indiana and other parts of the Midwest, according to VentureBeat. Founded in 2015, High Alpha identifies as a venture studio because it balances between a standard venture capital firm and a studio incubator that creates ideas for and launches startup initiatives.
High Alpha CEO Scott Dorsey told VentureBeat that interest in venture firm is growing as funding grows.
“We were getting approached with frequency from large Fortune 500 companies that see an opportunity within their industry but don’t have that startup DNA,” he told VentureBeat.
The report notes that High Alpha’s studio portion of the company has helped launch nearly a dozen startups since it was founded by Dorsey, who is a former marketing executive with an Indianapolis firm. In the second phase of the studio’s new fund, Dorsey said he wants to launch and fund up to another 10 startups in the area.
Outside investors have put about $55 million into High Alpha’s companies to this point, according to Xconomy.
Funding for High Alpha’s studio portion comes from investor Emergence Capital and the Foundry Group to the tune of $16 million. Another $85 million was put into the capital firm portion of High Alpha.
“Three years ago, we pioneered the venture studio model by combining a startup studio with a venture capital fund. We are delighted with the 11 enterprise cloud companies we have co-founded and the 21 venture investments we’ve made,” Dorsey said in a statement on the company’s site. “With the support of amazing investors like Gordon Ritter from Emergence Capital, Brad Feld from Foundry Group and numerous limited partners in our venture fund, we are doubling-down on our initial vision and making sizeable investments in design, engineering, data science and corporate innovation resources.”


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Mark Zuckerberg got richer even when he was on paternity leave.
The college drop out’s creation, Facebook, made more than $1bn in quarterly profit for the first time this week as a surge in people accessing the social network on mobile phones led to a leap in advertising revenues.
On Wednesday, the company revealed a 52pc increase in revenues for the final quarter of 2015, sending shares soaring in after-hours trading.
This means facebook’s profit more than doubled year-on-year $1.56bn (£1.1bn) due to the fact that the number of people using the social media network rose by 40 million at a rate of almost 500,000 a day.
This surge is closely related to the fact that there have been a surge in the use of mobile phones. Which has helped the brand in increasing it’s revenue from advertising.


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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
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The firm employs thousands across the globe solely for the purpose
Amazon has admitted to employing thousands of people worldwide who are tasked with listening in on private conversations through its Echo line of speakers using the Alexa digital assistant, and the workers are revealing what they've heard.
What are the details?
Bloomberg reported that Amazon has teams of folks around the world tasked with transcribing recordings pulled from Echo customers' homes and offices. In one shift, the analysts will listen in on as many as 1,000 clips, which the firm says is minuscule considering the tens of millions of people who own the systems.
A company spokesman explained, "We only annotate an extremely small sample of Alexa voice recordings in order [to] improve the customer experience. For example, this information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding system, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone."
But the revelation confirms the fears of those who have warned against trading privacy for convenience. Two Amazon workers speaking on the condition of anonymity told Bloomberg that users frequently ask Alexa questions like, "Do you work for the NSA?" or "Is someone else listening to us?"
What else have they heard?
The Daily Mail noted that "concerns have been raised by some in the past that smart speaker systems could be used to [listen in on] user conversations, often with the aim of targeting users with advertising." But the analysts are hearing much more than just costumers' interests.
According to the Mail, Amazon workers have admitted to listening in on people singing in the shower, discussing bank account details, and conducting other intimate exchanges. Staffers have also raised the alarm when overhearing distressing situations like a child calling out for help, and instances where a sexual assault might have occurred.
It's only a matter of time, experts say, before law enforcement is granted access to listen in on what Alexa hears, too.
Security consultant Robert Graham told Gizmodo a few years ago, "It's likely that laws will be passed that will allow the police to remotely activate these devices and eavesdrop on suspects, pretty much as described in the book '1984.' "
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Posted 05/20/2015 at 8:44 AM
Posted 2 years ago
The billionaire investor with an activist’s spirit, Carl Icahn is betting that the on-demand car service industry could use a bit of a jolt.
This much was certain after news broke of his $100 million dollar investment in Lyft recently.
Lyft has gained prominence thanks to its highly courteous drivers and a whimsical appeal embodied in a giant pink mustache that used to be on the front of its cars, but now reside on the dashboard in a more reasonable size.
It still is locked in a tight battle with Uber, who is the current industry standard bearer.
Icahn’s investment, valued to possibly add to the $2.5 billion valuation of Lyft, falls in line with his own recent position that views ride-sharing as the future in a fast-growing global marketplace.
In remarks made to reporters with the Wall Street Journal, he viewed the investment thusly: “if you look at the way the market evaluates Uber and then look at the valuation of Lyft — Lyft is a tremendous bargain. There is room for two.”
The news comes after Lyft raised $350 million dollars in investments from Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, Inc.
Icahn’s association with Lyft is yet another prime chess move in a shifting industry that is seeing both Uber and Lyft evolve beyond ridesharing into retail delivery services.


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La Favorita has been celebrating after securing another high profile piece of coverage for its new log-fired pizza wagon.
Eat Out magazine ran a story about how the popular Edinburgh restaurant had launched the new mobile pizza wagon – which is the first of its kind in the UK.
The wagon uses a log-fired oven to cook its hand-made pizzas and has been designed as an alternative to the usual over-priced food available at music festivals and outdoor events. The wagon is being showcased this summer at events such as Rock Ness, T in the Park and the Jim Clark Rally, where it is expected to prove popular with revellers.
The full story appeared in Eat Out magazine and was the result of a campaign by Holyrood PR PR in Scotland.


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The Microsoft-Nokia partnership is in part a declaration of fealty by Nokia to Microsoftis Windows Media format. Nokia, the worldis largest cellphone maker, has already sold 10 million music-enabled phones, and the company plans to have more than half of its product line music-enabled by the end of 2005. But Microsoft has also agreed to support the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standards on digital media rights. The OMA, a Seattle-based standards organization has outlined only basic features of digital rights management (DRM) software, such as copy protection and the ability to preview media, but has not announced support for a particular DRM.
Nokia and Microsoft have competed in several markets in the past. Microsoft has long been tried to work it way into the mobile phone market by supplying the software for high end "smartphones." Nokia has refused to use Microsoft software, fearing lock-in and the high royalties PC manufactures pay in order to bundle Windows on their computers. As a result, this announcement marks a departure Nokia, but not for Microsoft.
The partnership was announced today at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France. Earlier today we carried an announcement of the European partnership between Apple and Teleca. Both of these announcements mirror the Apple-Motorola partnership in the US.


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Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) has expanded its partnership with Italian coffee company Lavazza Group to widen sales and distribution of Lavazza K-Cup pods and also offer K-Cup pods of the company’s Canadian brand, Kicking Horse Coffee, according to a release from KDP.
KDP will continue to source and manufacture Lavazza K-Cup pods exclusively, and it will add retail and e-commerce sales and distribution responsibilities in the U.S. and Canada. Lavazza and KDP have been partners since 2014. The partnership’s expansion opens new avenues for Lavazza and Kicking Horse Coffee to reach a wider audience across North America, the release said.
Lavazza was founded in 1895 and has been owned by the Lavazza family for four generations, and it has operations in 140 markets and eight manufacturing plants in five countries.


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Kanye West is the latest to cover the upcoming May issue of GQ Magazine. The Yeezy CEO sat down with the publication to talk about his visions for the future, restored faith, new music, Kobe Bryant and more.
Ye was also asked about the possibility of a Nike Air Yeezy Retro. West’s Air Yeezy 1 and 2 are exclusive pairs that run anywhere from $5,000-$20,000. Back in 2014, Ye ended his partnership with Nike over creative differences and took his talents to Adidas. Since its premiere release in 2015, his Adidas/Yeezy sneaker line is currently one of if not the most in-demand in footwear since Jordan. Ye seemed to be fine about the retro idea when asked about it.
“Man I’m with everything,” said the father of 4. “Man, anything that the kids want and the people want. People should be able to have what they want.”
West’s Air Yeezy 1 and 2 are exclusive pairs that run anywhere from $5,000-$20,000. Read the rest of the interview here.


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Two hundred new jobs are to be created at a new Tesco store being built on Tyneside.
The store is part of the Trinity Square development in Gateshead.
A recruitment hotline will open on Monday and priority will be given initially to people who have been unemployed for at least six months.
The development also includes other shops, a cinema and student accommodation and will bring a thousand new jobs in total to the area.
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Supermarket chain issue recall of certain packets of Ready to Eat Peppered Beef Slices after testing identified 'low levels of Listeria'.


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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Gap Inc., parent company of Old Navy, Athleta, Gap, Banana Republic, Janie and Jack, and Intermix, announced Thursday it is preparing to reopen up to 800 of its stores before the end of the month.
A selection of stores are already open, a company spokesperson confirmed.
“The company’s top priority remains the health and safety of its employees, customers, and communities, and a number of health and safety measures will be implemented to provide a safe and seamless shopping experience,” the company said in a statement.
To find out which stores are now open near you, click here. Hours vary by location.
Just a day ago, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Home Goods’ parent company also announced most of its stores would reopen in the next month.
Store reopening across the US are underway amid easing of coronavirus restrictions during the pandemic.
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- Broadway in Richmond returns for 12th season, beginning Feb. 2021
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After launching trade agreement negotiations with the United States and the European Union simultaneously, the United Kingdom has now wants to start trade negotiations with Japan and published its negotiating objectives to strike a free trade agreement.
The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) said talks are to begin shortly.
With the date for the formal and complete withdrawal of the UK from the EU nearing, London is looking all across the world to strike free trade agreements.
“Japan is one of our largest trading partners and a new trade deal will help to increase trade, boost investment and create more jobs following the economic challenges caused by coronavirus,” International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement emailed to the media.
In 2018, exports to Japan form the UK amounted to 13.8 billion pounds ($17bn) out of the Britain’s total exports of 642 billion pounds ($787bn) which made Japan the 11th largest trading partner of the UK. In the same year, the UK imported Japanese goods worth 15.4 billion pounds ($18.9bn) out of a total of 680 billion pounds’ ($834bn) worth of global imports into the UK.
“Both sides are committed to an ambitious timeline to secure a deal that goes even further than the existing [EU-Japan] agreement, especially in digital and data,” added Truss.
“Negotiations with Japan are an important step in CPTPP accession, a key UK priority, which will help us diversify our trade and grow the economy.”
The CPTPP is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership which is a trade deal signed by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The DIT said that negotiating objectives for Australia and New Zealand will be set out shortly by the UK government as the government under the leadership of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson targets to bring about 80 per cent of the total external trade that the country does under free trade agreements by 2022.
“So in addition to wanting to complete trade agreements with two of the three largest global trade powers [the US and EU] in the next year or so, we’re also going to start talks with the fourth largest,” trade expert David Henig, the UK director of the European Centre For International Political Economy, said.
“You can’t fault the ambition, but such a programme before we’ve taken time to consider what we want looks reckless. The risk is that by the time we know what we really want from trade agreements, we’ll have given away the access to our own market which we could have traded.”
The National Health Service will not be opened up to foreign companies, the UK has pledged, and it will not be part of any free trade negotiation. The UK wants that the current EU-Japan trading agreement to become the basis of a trade deal with Japan.
“As Japan is an existing EU Free Trade Agreement, and they don’t want to directly roll over the agreement, it makes sense to open talks,” added Henig. “The cumulative effect of all of the talks is the major concern.”
(Adapted from AlJazeera.com)


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Should India and China be at Trade War?
News desk, News Nation 360: Bharat Chamber of Commerce organised a Special e-Session on Should India and China be at Trade War, in partnership with Friends of Tribals Society, and addressed by His Excellency Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, Former Ambassador of India to China and Bhutan and High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. His Excellency Bambawale observed that India and China are yet to decide on their Line of Actual Control (LAC) and hence such aggression by the Chinese is not surprising. He felt that India’s military resistance at Galwan clearly indicates that such attempts will not be tolerated by India and lauded the Government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese Apps in India. Speaking on the economic measures to resist China, His Excellency stated that the Government should consider banning the Chinese Telecom companies to participate in the 5G spectrum sale in India like the U.K. He further stated that India should reduce dependency on the import of Chinese APIs for pharmaceutical manufacturing business and start utilising the Make in India initiative to substitute imports. Given China’s Comprehensive National Power which is much more than India, only economic resilience can help India to overcome China in the near future. A question asked by Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha (Retd.), His Excellency opined that a collapse of the Communist Party of China is very unlikely in the near future and hence, the path of economic progress and strategic diplomacy is the only weapon India should apply against China. Earlier Ramesh Kumar Saraogi, President raised his
concerns on whether a trade war between India and China may prove detrimental to the Indian economy on account of its dependence on raw materials for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, electronic hardware and several low-end products. The President also asked China has been able to very effectively integrate itself with India's neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, in particular and by declaring an open trade war with China, are India going to jeopardise their overall trade prospects? Responding to this, His Excellency Bambawale answered, He doesn't advocate a Cold-War like the situation with China and they may continue bilateral trade and commerce maybe not in the same magnitude. However, they need to reduce their dependence on China for imports by strengthening the manufacturing sector of the country. They must send a strong message to China by taking steps in the political, military and economic realms that such aggression will not be tolerated by India.
Pic : Courtesy
Report : Anustup Kundu


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I mentioned that I heard there was a new pizza place coming to 16th and Q by someone from Italy. Here is an article in the Bee today with more information, including a new Italian clothing store.
6 Degrees Boutique also opened a few months ago virtually across the street on 16th between Q and R St.
By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist
Last Updated 6:04 am PDT Monday, July 30, 2007
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D3
Pizzas and polos: Andrea Lepore loves Italian food. And Italian clothes.
Which explains why she's partnering in a new venture that combines both.
Hot Italian, a restaurant-boutique, is opening next year at the former site of Young's Fireside Shop at 16th and Q in midtown Sacramento.
The idea is to have "quick gourmet" food in one part of the L-shaped building, sportswear ("from $20 hats to $400 leather jackets") in the other.
Isn't that an odd pairing of retail services? It's a new concept here, Lepore agrees, "but there are a lot of places in Europe that do it."
Her partner in the venture is Fabrizio Cercatore, a chef from the Italian coastal town of LaSpezia. An exterior makeover of the building will be done by property owner Glenn Sorensen, a member of the Loftworks development team.
This is the second restaurant venture for Lepore, who ran a sports marketing business and dabbled in publishing before deciding to concentrate on development. Her first? She's an investor in the L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen at 18th and l streets.


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Your colleagues are on the move, find out who is going where.
Impact XM, an event and experiential marketing agency, has appointed Robynne Weaver as vice president, strategic accounts. She will join the organization’s client service team, as well as some of the agency’s largest client accounts. Weaver has more than 20 years of industry experience, including work on large-scale events and strategic experiences such as citywide corporate events, user conferences, trade shows, and more. She has worked with clients in the finance, technology, consumer, and nonprofit industries.
Becky Ball Kiley and Meghan Hilterbrand
Visit Oklahoma City (Visit OKC) has added new staff members to support its sales department. Becky Ball Kiley and Meghan Hilterbrand will both serve as convention sales managers.
Kiley has 15 years of experience working as an event planner, and most recently worked as the marketing event specialist for Heartland Dental. Before working in event planning, Kiley worked for Marriott Hotels as a group sales manager. Hilterbrand previously worked as the event operations manager for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Lisa Hudson has been named director of sales and marketing at the Thompson Houston. Hudson has more than 15 years of experience working in the hospitality space. In her new role, Hudson will help debut the new hotel, set to open in November, and will oversee its sales, marketing, and events teams. Previously, Hudson spent nearly 12 years working at Hotel ZaZa in Houston.


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PERTH'S corporate, legal and banking elite haven't seen anything like it on the Terrace before - the food that is, not the mouth-watering business deals.
It's certainly a bull market for upmarket restaurants on St Georges Tce, with the city artery offering a banquet of choices to rival any city in Australia.
The explosion of fine dining close to the headquarters of mining companies and other businesses mirrors the unprecedented development in the north of the state.
The Trustee Bistro and Heritage Brasserie opened last month.
In September the Colonial Leisure Group will open The Print Hall in old Newspaper House.
And The Sunday Times has learnt that the team behind popular inner-city small bar Helvetica has started transforming the old Emporio bar.
Meanwhile, a consortium of hospitality stalwarts will reinvigorate the short-lived XO restaurant in the Stock Exchange Plaza.
It comes amid persistent rumours that Jamie Oliver will open a restaurant in Perth.
Latest figures clearly show growth in WA's restaurants, cafes and takeaway food outlets has significantly outpaced the rest of the nation.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals the sector has grown by nearly 50 per cent in the past two years compared with a national growth just 9.8 per cent.
In May, the WA industry made $436.4 million, seasonally adjusted, well up from the May 2010 figure of $296.3 million.
Catering Institute of Australia WA president Craig Joel, who judges the prestigious Gold Plate Awards, said the opening of several restaurants on the Terrace proved Perth's dining scene had finally arrived.
"The food culture is definitely getting better and better every year in Perth and some of these new establishments are very international in their appearance, their appeal and their food offerings," Mr Joel said.
"People are definitely becoming more educated about food and wine."
Last year several multimillion-dollar restaurants opened, including Rockpool, Modo Mio and Nobu at the Burswood Entertainment Complex.
Mr Joel said Perth had been resilient to the downturn felt in other areas around the country.
"The restaurants in the eastern states are definitely feeling the financial pinch, but the market seems a lot more buoyant here," he said. "There have been a number of restaurants that have spent a considerable amount of money on the fit-outs and they are getting a really good following early in the piece."
The consortium behind overhauling the XO restaurant plans to offer cocktails and a high-end, all-day restaurant called The Butterworth.
It will open at 6am for coffee and trade until midnight from Monday to Friday and Saturday for dinner. The transformation will include a new fit-out and an al fresco area overlooking the Exchange Plaza.
The group has snared Damien Young, the talented former chef from The Brown Fox.
He plans to focus on modern European food inspired by Sydney's deluxe Sepia restaurant.
On the corner of Sherwood Court and the Terrace opposite, the old Emporio Bar and cafe will get a makeover by Helvetica partners, David Gillman, David Durack and Cristina Fego. They will be joined by general manager Patrick Ryan.
It will be a more casual restaurant bar called Lalla Rookh named after a gold mine near Marble Bar.
It will include a dining room, bar, lounge and beer garden in more than 800sq m of space and have a wine store with an entrance off Sherwood Court.
Head chef Joel Valvasori will serve modern Italian food.
Both are expected to open late August or mid-September.
WA's TOP 10 RESTAURANTS
Crown Perth, Burswood
Great, simple food with an emphasis on provenance.
100 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Very cool place, providing education for diners as well as offering fresh, local, sustainable food served in a unique way
21 Howard Street, Perth
Dimly lit and intimate, its the perfect backdrop for the wholesome provincial favourites
1/26 Stirling Highway, Nedlands
Tapas like these will never go out of fashion. The food here has authenticity and soul
88 Marine Parade, Cottesloe
They've got the recipe just right here. Laidback, good simple food and expert wine knowledge
La Petite Mort
225 Onslow Road, Shenton Park
You have to admire Todd Stuart, the earnest young chef behind the elaborate creations making artwork on the plate here
49/15 Labouchere Road, South Perth
Well thought out, exquisitely prepared food in a luxurious setting
64 Bronte Street, East Perth
There's a reason Hadleigh Troy wins awards. It's all evident in the intricate, painstaking dishes he prepares in a labour of love
519 Beaufort Street, Highgate
One of the stayers which consistently serves up outstanding French bistro fare to match the cool vibe.
1 Harvest Road, North Fremantle
If there's a new ingredient around youll find it on the constantly changing menu here.


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FT kicks off subscriptions campaign
By Andrew McCormick, mediaweek.co.uk, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 01:30PM
LONDON - The Financial Times is this week rolling out a direct and digital media campaign to drive subscriptions in the UK and Europe.
Tullo Marshall Warren has developed a campaign promoting free trial subscription offers, using press, e-mail and online display advertising.
The agency has developed the tagline "From corporate high flyers to fly fishing in Norway", using the image of MC Escher's Sky & Water illustration, to promote subscriptions.
The work and leisure references aim to include the relaunched FT Weekend as a selling point for annual subscriptions.
Press inserts in weekly consumer titles, including The Economist, Time Out and Investors Chronicle, are also being used to promote the offer.
This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk
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- Campaign Manager | Contract Salt £300 - £350 per day, City of London


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Automobiles - Q3 earnings gather steam: The road ahead Economic Times
In Q3FY2019, for the Sharekhan universe of consumer goods companies revenues are expected to grow by 12.6% in Q3FY2019 with favorable demand ...
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After the airing of 'NCIS' Season 16 episode 10 titled 'What Child is This' on December 11, the series went for almost a month hiatus. The upcoming episode ...
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Imagine yourself as if at a real conference – that is the future of virtual events. To achieve this goal, we started a partnership with Verus EventMagix, a virtual event software provider. ‘Verus shows what the next level of virtual events looks like,’ says Sjors van den Camp, business unit manager at Online Seminar.
The impact of the pandemic: from physical to online
Immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, congress organizations had to quickly switch from physical to virtual congresses. In the meantime, this virtual solution has proven to be a surprising and often complete alternative. Sjors expects virtual congresses to remain the norm in 2021 at least. ‘After that, conferences will take on a more hybrid character. Participants will then be able to attend both physically and online.’ Whatever the form, all these developments will create an even greater need for a realistic virtual experience. ‘A virtual congress can also be a total package party.’
The virtual platform: interactive and diverse
Responding to this development, Verus EventMagix has developed a modular platform on which the experience of a physical conference is fully realized: from registration to the check-out moment.
The realistic platform resembles a 3D impression of an architect through which you can walk in complete freedom. After registration you’ll enter a convenient lobby from which you can virtually move through the conference venue. For example, there is a room for plenary sessions with a stage on which a screen with all the speakers is projected. There are also halls for interactive breakout sessions. Sjors explains: ‘In these halls the platform of Online Seminar is used to interact with the audience in every way possible. For example, on the screen you’ll see experts talking to each other. The participants can respond live via chat, answer poll questions or click on a call-to-action.’
Virtual exhibition area
Furthermore, there is an area with various exhibition stands. You can then interact directly with the representative of the respective company or watch high-profile demos. There is also a library where participants can download useful articles, whitepapers or videos, among other things.
‘We see that this is really the next level of virtual events,’ Sjors says. It looks very realistic. What’s more, a virtual event saves a lot of money, is very environment friendly, creates a large reach, and remains available after the event. Participants can watch the sessions at a time that suits them. These are, of course, enormous advantages over physical events.’


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Just when is Amazon Prime Day 2018? Well, despite it being set to be Amazon's biggest day of the year, yes bigger than Black Friday, Amazon hasn't yet officially announced the date. But we're willing to bet our reputation on a date given what we know from past Prime Days.
Essentially, the last two annual Prime Days have landed on the second Tuesday of July. The first Prime Day was on a Wednesday (July 15 2015) though, just to put a slight kink in our theory, but Amazon seems to have settled on the Tuesdays in recent years, so that would mean Amazon Prime Day 2018 will land on Tuesday July 10.
If you're thinking Amazon is leaving it a little late to officially confirm the date, you may want to get comfortable. Despite Prime Day being on July 11 last year, Amazon didn't officially announce the date until 6am (GMT) on June 29.
But when do the Amazon Prime Day deals start?
Last year, Amazon Prime Day actually lasted 30 hours. In both the US and UK, Amazon started unleashing the discounts from 9pm the night before on the 10th, with discounted prices continuing through the whole of the 11th and finally finishing at 3am on the 12th. We can vouch for this. We were there. It was a long day.
We fully expect Amazon to at least roll with the 30-hour plan again, but we wouldn't be surprised to see an even bigger window announced. It's ok Amazon, we'll sleep when you eventually decide how long the day is.
So 9pm the night before is when Amazon fired the starter's pistol on its sales bonanza, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to get some fantastic discounts beforehand.
Other retailers usually have a sale of their own around Prime Day and they know too well what time many of Amazon's deals are launching, allowing them to attempt to beat them to the punch. So do keep an eye out for deals at stores other than Amazon on the day and the night before too. We'll be rounding up all the best deals from multiple retailers though on our Amazon Prime Day 2018 page.
What should you expect from Prime Day this year?
Amazon loves to discount its own items front and centre on Prime Day, but there are deals on pretty much every category on the Amazon sites. But yes, first of all expect Echo speakers, Kindles and Fire TV dongles to feature heavily on the Amazon homepage.
If we're lucky, we might get the chance to get an Amazon Prime membership discount in the days leading up Prime Day too. We saw it drop from £79 to £59 in the UK last year. The US didn't get a similar deal though and annual Prime membership prices have actually just gone up $20, so we're hoping for a fairly big discount before Prime Day 2018 - Amazon will be keen to get as many people to sign up as possible after all.
Outside of Amazon products you can expect some great prices on gaming consoles (Nintendo Switch bundles were on fire last time), cheap 4K TVs, discounted laptops, bargain boxsets, Philips Hue deals and much more.
If you don't want to miss out on the best deals, be sure to head on over to our Amazon Prime Day deals hub for all the latest updates leading up to Prime Day and straight through until the sale stops.


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Mattress Firm will be acquired by bedding company Tempur Sealy in a $4 billion cash and equity deal, the two firms said on Tuesday.
More than 2,300 physical stores, as well as an online store, are run by Mattress Firm.
The two businesses will have a combined total of almost 3,000 retail outlets, 30 e-commerce platforms, 71 manufacturing sites, and four research and development facilities once the Tempur Sealy acquisition is finalized.
In a statement, Tempur Sealy Chairman and CEO Scott Thompson claimed that the merger “will accelerate our growth trajectory and enhance operating cash flow.”
For more than 35 years, Mattress Firm has been a valuable retail partner. We are excited to welcome their 8,100 brilliant staff members to the Tempur Sealy family.
John Eck, CEO of Mattress Firm, noted that the deal will improve the businesses’ capacity “to address consumers’ needs better and drive growth.”
In the deal, the privately held Mattress Firm will get roughly $2.7 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock from Tempur Sealy.
Monday’s closing share price of $37.62 represents the issuance of 34.2 million common shares.
The firms anticipate finishing the deal in the second part of 2024. Mattress Firm will function as a separate business unit inside Tempur Sealy following the completion of the acquisition.
On Tuesday, Tempur Sealy also announced a first-quarter profit of $85.3 million on $1.21 billion in sales.
The mattress manufacturer in Kentucky reported a profit of 48 cents per share. After deducting one-time costs and gains, earnings per share came to 53 cents.


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The COVID-19 pandemic could be a major inflection point that changes consumer behaviors for years.
Over the past month and a half, streaming to the TV viewing has more than doubled in the U.S. — and with the current stay-at-home lifestyle, more Americans say they expect to keep watching more TV and streaming services after the coronavirus crisis is over, according to a new poll by L.A.-based E-Poll Market Research.
On the flip side, social distancing have people wary about going to movie theaters, concerts, sporting Events and theme parks — with those activities having among the highest net-negative consumer intent on E-Poll’s survey, conducted April 16-20. Only “taking a cruise” registered lower.
The top two activities Americans plan to continue after “things return to normal” are exercising outdoors and in at-home gyms, along with a pronounced lift in cooking, E-Poll’s survey found.
Close behind was “watching TV shows, movies, streamed programming”: 21% of those surveyed said they intend to do more of that, while 14% said they expect to do less (for a net consumer intent of +7%). Streaming music was also cited as an activity U.S. consumers plan to do more, with a net +6%.
The survey findings suggest the high-water mark for TV viewing could be the new baseline. According to Nielsen, streaming video viewing on TVs in the U.S. hit 654.6 billion minutes from March 23-April 19, more than twice the 301.4 billion in the comparable four-week period in 2019. For the week of April 13, Netflix — which added nearly 16 million customers in the first quarter — captured the biggest share of that viewing time (32%) followed by YouTube (20%).
Meanwhile, prior research has confirmed that people will continue to be skittish about attending large gatherings even after lockdowns are lifted. About 47% of those surveyed agreed that the idea of going to a major public event “will scare me for a long time,” per a study last month by Performance Research.
That said, research based on asking people to forecast their own expected behavior isn’t always a great indicator of what will actually happen: People often say one thing but end up doing another. It’s even more dicey given the uncertainty surrounding when quarantines will begin lifting in the U.S.
With that caveat, here’s a look at how Americans currently expect their activities to change, per the E-Poll survey.
Lifestyle Changes Post-Pandemic
When the crisis is over – will you be doing more of, the same amount, or less of the following compared to what you did before the crisis?
|Cooking for yourself/family/friends||25%||8%||17%|
|Using FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp or other technologies to video call friends/family||19%||12%||7%|
|Watching TV shows, movies, streamed programming||21%||14%||7%|
|Listening to the radio/podcasts/smart speakers||10%||9%||2%|
|Grocery shopping online||15%||15%||0%|
|Traveling within the U.S.||15%||20%||-5%|
|Traveling outside of the U.S.||9%||18%||-9%|
|Ordering delivery or take out||13%||22%||-9%|
|Eating out/Going out to restaurants||19%||28%||-9%|
|Seeing movies in the theater||12%||23%||-11%|
|Going to music concerts/theater||10%||22%||-12%|
|Going to sporting events||8%||20%||-13%|
|Going to theme parks||8%||20%||-13%|
|Taking a cruise||3%||22%||-18%|
Source: E-Poll Market Research, April 2020 survey of 1,677 U.S. consumers 13 and older


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The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India is considering to set up a new plant, over and above the two new upcoming units in Manesar, as it aims to sell up to three million units every year by 2015-16.
According to sources close to the development, the firm has already started internal discussions to set up its 7th plant and a final decision to this effect is likely to be taken within the next one year.
At present MSI is setting up two new units inside its Manesar facility at a total investment of Rs 3,625 crore. While the existing plant in Manesar can produce 350,000 units a year, its three units in Gurgaon have a combined capacity of 850,000 units.
Sources said the new plant could be either at the Manesar facility or elsewhere depending on the infrastructure situation once the two new units there are completed.
When contacted, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Chairman R C Bhargava said: "By 2015-16, the passenger vehicle market is estimated to be about 5 million units. We would like to maintain our market share to the maximum possible extent and for that we will be selling between 2.5 million units and 3 million units."
He, however, declined to comment on whether the company will be adding new capacities to meet the demand by then.
"If we run out of capacities, then we will have to look for something else. But it all depends on how the existing and upcoming capacities will be utilised, which will go on till 2013," Bhargava said, adding any decision to set up a new unit will be taken in consultations with parent Suzuki Motor Corp.
Sources, however, said the company will consider Manesar complex, which is spread across about 600 acres of land, as the first option for the new facility.
In 2010-11, the company's sales soared 24.81% to 12,71,005 units from 10,18,365 units in the previous fiscal. Domestic sales increased by 30.08% to 11,32,739 units from 8,70,790 units in the previous fiscal.
MSI's passenger car sales during last fiscal jumped by 26.24% at 9,66,447 units from 7,65,533 units in FY'10. However, its market share in this segment fell to 48.74% from 50.09% in 2009-10.
Besides fresh investment at Manesar, MSI is investing Rs 2,500 crore for its K-series engine plant and setting up a dedicated R&D facility at Rohtak.
Last week, the company had said it will hire at least 2,300 people, mainly for its upcoming two new plants in Manesar, within next two years.
At present, MSI, which is 54.2% owned by Suzuki Motor Corp (SMC), employs 8,617 people as on March 31, 2011.
The two new plants will have a capacity of 250,000 units annually. The company is aiming to open the second unit in Manesar by September-October this year, while the third one is scheduled to be operational in 2012-13.


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The Playbook reports:
Vice President BIDEN today 'will travel to Wilmington, Delaware. Vice President Biden will be joined by Governor Jack Markell and other Delaware officials to make a major announcement about the future of the former General Motors Boxwood Plant.' An administration official: 'This gives a window into how the U.S. auto industry is transforming--and it is tangible evidence of this White House's commitment to becoming a world leader in building electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as well as transitioning old factories for the new economy to put people back to work.'
Nine months in to the Obama administration and we have tangible evidence of the White House's commitment to building electric cars and no evidence that this White House is committed to winning the war that claimed the lives of 14 Americans yesterday.


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With an eye to its future, the Redlands Art Association is unveiling a new brand this month.
The new logo was selected from several submitted by graphic arts students at area universities. The winner was designed by a team from the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire, in San Bernardino.
“The winning one just blew everybody away,” said Larry Harvill, chairman of the association’s board of directors. “The colorful logo, based on a pattern of diamonds, was extremely professional and well done.”
The team of four students visited the association’s downtown Redlands gallery and researched its history and goals, Harvill said.
Along with the main logo, the students designed accompanying street signs, business cards, stationery, gallery labels, gift cards and bags and other items. Printing will be done by Signs Now, a Redlands graphic design and print shop.
The idea of seeking a new logo was hatched in fall 2013, when board members Jeff Owens and Penny McElroy lobbied for a brand “with some artistic pizzazz,” Harvill said. The current logo has been in use at least 20 years.
Evelyn Ifft, Tomi Olson, Candy Glendening, Grace Fermier and Gail Brownfield were appointed to a branding committee. They drafted a proposal and sought ideas and bids from three graphic design firms.
But a conversation with a Cal State San Bernardino professor led Harvill to instead seek the services of college students. Their work could be done as a school project at no cost to the art association.
The Cal State graphic design class did not meet in the fall, but design classes from the Art Institute and the University of Redlands agreed to participate. The Art Institute fielded two teams while the university had 23 individual participants, three of whom were chosen for the final competition.
Judging took place in December, when jurors Grace Fermier, Karen Mahmoudi and Jan Harvey selected the winner. Design team members were Christopher Gomez, of Pomona, Bryan Stifle, of Mentone, Candace Yanez, of Hesperia, and Ray Tapia, of Fontana. Three of the four, who all received one-year art association memberships, have graduated with bachelor’s degrees in design. Dorreen Davis was their faculty advisor.
The team also devised a number of slogans to go with the new brand, including “Creativity Starts Here,” which will be painted on the gallery’s patio wall.
“We drew our influences for the logo from Melbourne, Australia, with the color palette inspired by Google and the local Esri firm,” Stifle said. “The flat, trendy design creates a structure or grid of interchangeable diamonds with the R in the middle that looks like a painter’s palette with its color swatches.”
Introduction of the logo will coincide with Give Big Day on May 8, a worldwide online donation event for non-profits, sponsored locally by San Bernardino County.
“We want to move the Redlands Art Association up to a higher level of operation and our new brand gives us a new face forward,” Harvill said.


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The images were first posted on Chinese social media site Weibo and then later reposted by serial leaker Benjamin Geskin on Twitter, reports MacRumors. The translated text that accompanied the photos on Weibo says the photos are “Apple OLED TV spy photos” and that the television has a screen of “about 60 inches.” Apple has long been rumored to be working on an actual television set, but to date has only released the Apple TV, a digital media streamer. There are rumors that the current Apple TV box will be updated next month to feature 4K support, but this is the first rumor that suggests what Apple may release is an actual television set. However, right now these blurry photos cannot be corroborated, so it’s wise to maintain a good amount of healthy skepticism.
Alleged Apple OLED TV testing photos.
Metal body, thin bezel. Around 60-inch.
What do you think?
— Benjamin Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) August 16, 2017


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Microsoft brought plenty of interesting products to Computex 2016, many of them developed in partnership with other manufacturers. The company’s press conference was packed full of collaborations with companies like Acer, Dell and HP — as well as a new 2-in-1 that boasts a design from Porsche.
Not much has been said about the specifications of the 2-in-1, but in truth, the pictures of the device speak for themselves. This isn’t a computer that’s going to be sold on the strength of what’s going on under the hood — it’s a luxury item that can rely on its branding and an arresting aesthetic.
Computex 2016: ASUS new-gen ROG laptops have optional 120Hz displays
What we do know is that the laptop will feature an unspecified Intel processor and a 13.3-inch screen with touch capabilities, according to a blog post published by Microsoft. The system will seemingly be packaged with a pen accessory when it launches this winter, although it remains to be seen whether the peripheral will be designed by Porsche.
Microsoft appears to be treating this piece of hardware as an opportunity to talk about some features set to be introduced to Windows 10 via the impending Anniversary Update. The aforementioned blog post marks the company’s first mention of Windows Hello 2.0, according to a report from WinBeta.Check out all of Microsoft’s latest and greatest here
While this may not be the type of hybrid consumers would typically associate with Porsche, it’s not the first time that the company’s design wing has dabbled in computing. Porsche Design collaborated with LaCie on a hard drive earlier this year, and its aesthetic was praised in the device’s Digital Trends review.
However, the auto giant will not be contributing to the manufacture of this 2-in-1 — the company’s contribution is strictly limited to its subsidiary Porsche Design. The company is said to be working with a “local OEM” on the hardware.
- Asus’ new 2-in-1 is powered by ARM and costs only $600
- Surface Pro 9: What to expect from Microsoft’s next 2-in-1
- The redesigned new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 officially launches on August 25
- Mac Pro 2022: M2 Extreme, a familiar design, new displays, and more
- After 10 years of headaches, I’m finally a believer in Windows on ARM


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Teddy Sagi floating SafeCharge on AIM
2.4 million Israelis enter Facebook daily, according to the company's official figures.
Israel's Facebook community numbers four million real users, who enter the social networking site at least once a month, and are not fake profiles. 60% of the Israeli users, 2.4 million people, enter Facebook daily, according to the company's official figures.
52% of Israeli Facebook users are men and 48% are women. People aged 18-24 are the biggest segment by age, accounting for 30% of all users. They are followed by people aged 25-34 (25% of users), while people aged 35-44 account for a further 15%. Youths aged 13-17 account for 12% of all Israeli Facebook users, people aged 45-54 account for 10%, and people over the age of 55 account for 8%.
As for mobile access to Facebook, iPhone is the lead, with 40% of Israeli users accessing Facebook via the device, compared with 25% of users who use Android devices. 85% of Facebook users are still loyal to their PCs for accessing the social network. 10% of users access Facebook via iPads and 20% via regular mobile phones.
In May, Israelis uploaded 42.4 million onto their Facebook pages, wrote 12.4 million posts, and hit "Like" 764 million times. They also sent 711 million messages and made 13 million status updates.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 21, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013
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