text:
UPtoberfest returns to Escanaba
By JORDAN BECK
Escanaba Daily Press
ESCANABA — Preparations are underway for the 12th Annual UPtoberfest, which will take place Oct. 14 at Escanaba’s Municipal Dock from 2 to 7 p.m. The event, hosted by local homebrewing group Bay de Noc Brewers, gives people in the area a chance to enjoy a variety of Michigan-made craft beers and wines while supporting the United Way of Delta County.
This year’s UPtoberfest will be the ninth organized entirely by BDNB, the group’s president Ben Harris said.
“Planning is going smoother than it ever has in the past,” he said.
According to Mark Ammel, a member of BDNB and the owner of Bobaloon’s Cafe, the process of planning 2017’s UPtoberfest began this summer.
“We (started) official meetings in early July,” he said.
Some changes are made to UPtoberfest each year. For this year’s festival, BDNB will introduce a make-your-own-pretzel-necklace bar.
“It’s a creative take on a traditional beer festival staple,” Ammel said. This year’s UPtoberfest will also feature a slightly larger tent.
However, many other elements of the festival will remain unchanged in 2017 — including its focus on giving guests an opportunity to taste some of Michigan’s finest beers and wines.
“(It) will be heavily focused on wineries and breweries of the Upper Peninsula,” Harris said of the lineup of beverages that will be featured at this year’s event. Breweries that will have a presence at this year’s UPtoberfest will include Upper Hand Brewery and Hereford and Hops of Escanaba, Blackrocks Brewery and Ore Dock Brewing Company of Marquette, Cognition Brewing Company of Ishpeming, and Short’s Brewing Company of Bellaire, among many others.
Other elements returning to this year’s festival from previous UPtoberfests will include free hors d’oeuvres from Bobaloon’s — including roasted pig, fresh-cooked pork rinds, smoked beef brisket, fresh bratwurst, and Wisconsin cheeses — live music by Escanaba-based band ToHuBoHu, brewing demos, and games. Additionally, proceeds from the festival will once again go to the UWDC.
“Really, it is for a good cause at the end of the day,” Harris said.
UWDC Executive Director Julie Mallard said she appreciates UPtoberfest’s support of the United Way.
“We’re grateful to be the non-profit that benefits from this event,” she said.
According to Mallard, the last two UPtoberfests have raised about $10,000 each for the UWDC.
“That makes it the largest fundraising event for (UWDC),” she said.
Mallard also noted the UWDC and BDNB are focused on ensuring that UPtoberfest attendees stay safe while having fun at the festival.
“We are very conscious of wanting people to have a good time responsibly,” Mallard said. To this end, designated drivers can attend UPtoberfest at no cost and cab rides within a 50-mile radius are offered for free to festival attendees.
Harris said that ticket sales for UPtoberfest have been stronger than ever this year.
“We are on target to sell out sometime over the course of this week,” he said.
Because of this, Ammel encouraged anyone interested in attending this year’s UPtoberfest to buy their tickets as soon as possible.
“We’d love to have you join us and raise a glass for charity on our beautiful municipal dock in downtown Escanaba,” he said.
Tickets to UPtoberfest can be purchased at Hereford and Hops, Upper Hand Brewery, Bobaloon’s Cafe and online at uptoberfest.org.


text:
The usually endearing emoticon gets super creepy for an eye-catching French campaign aimed at making parents aware of who their kids may be talking to online.
Swiftkey, the customisable Android keyboard, has received an upgrade that adds emoji characters and a numbers bar.
The social network now encourages show-and-tell status updates on mobile.
Some of the social network's online and mobile users will be able to express how they're feeling or what they're doing from their status bar.
Check out the list of new emoticons that can be added to most of your Facebook communications.
What started out as an inside joke at Carnegie Mellon University has spawned hundreds of faces, emotions, and gestures.
You don't have to suffer alone. The Unsticker.Me browser extension will hide stickers from your Facebook comments, giving you a blissfully sticker-free social-media zone.
It's a little limited and a little buggy, but when it comes to fast and easy typing, nothing beats swiping.
Tired of the boring old smiley faces everyone has used since the beginning of time? Emojicons brings a new batch of emotions to your text, and Veronica shows you her favorites on today's Tekzilla Daily.
Varia Holdings is suing the two mobile phone makers for using a protected patent that lets users quickly use emoticons from pop-up menus.

domain: news


text:
An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve surged 6.6% in March compared with a year ago, the highest 12-month jump in four decades and further evidence that spiking prices are pressuring household budgets and the health of the economy.
Yet there were signs in Friday’s report from the Commerce Department that inflation might be slowing from its galloping pace and perhaps nearing a peak, at least for now.
And despite soaring prices, consumer spending rose faster than inflation for a third consecutive month, suggesting that rising prices haven’t cooled the desire of Americans to shop. The pandemic’s distortions to the economy are also fading as consumers shift their spending back to experiences like travel, concerts and dining out. That follows a two-year surge of pandemic spending on goods, things like exercise bikes, patio furniture and standing desks.
The switch to services helps restrain inflation because prices are rising more slowly for services than for goods.


text:
Emerging market majors snap up Western businesses
The increase in merger and acquisition activity from companies in the emerging markets on Western food manufacturers has risen in the last year with a number of deals being signed in 2012.
Mexican food and drink group Arca Continental has bolstered its snacks business with two acquisitions, including the purchase of US firm Wise Foods.
Ambitious Bright Food, the Chinese state-backed food group, missed out on previous Western targets like United Biscuits and Yoplait but it has planted a flag in Europe with the acquisition of a majority stake in UK cereal manufacturer Weetabix. The deal could give Bright Food some Western expertise to apply to its domestic business but, as Dean Best reports, its faces a challenge in building the brand in China, where it remains early days for breakfast cereal.
The rise of the emerging markets of the East has led some M&A watchers to believe companies in markets like India and China could be more regular buyers of businesses in the West.
- What Grexit could mean for the food industry
- Focus: ConAgra own-label exit plan is about growth
- just-food's pick: Top trends at Fancy Food Show
- Focus: Can General Mills improve US retail sales?
- IRI – The opportunity of range optimisation
- Hovis "mulls Irish Pride Bakeries takeover"
- JBS acquires Cargill's US pork unit
- North Castle acquires stake in Sprout
- US performance weighs on General Mills
- Kraft faces lawsuit over 'natural' claims


text:
Posted by Sheila Shayon on January 6, 2014 04:47 PM
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is off and running in its first full day of exhibitions, and one trend has already emerged as a major influencer: wearable health.
Indeed, in a year that is sure to bring countless developments in the world of wearable technologies, brands at CES are particularly focused on the strong health-tech market that includes front-runners like Nike's FuelBand and FitBit.
"We've seen dramatic growth in this category," Karen Chupka, SVP international CES and corporate business strategy, told USA Today. "In 2013, we had 169 companies showing in the digital health and fitness category. This year, we have 215." Industry analysts estimate that wearables in general will reach upwards of a $30 billion market by 2018, up from $10 billion in 2013.
At this year's show, more sophisticated sensor technology has spawned a new wave of heart rate monitors, GPS watches and foot pods that will propel consumers into a whole new level of fitness and health awareness. Here's a sample of some of the products that have debuted in the space so far:Continue reading...
Posted by Mark J. Miller on June 11, 2013 03:38 PM
The Reebok brand got a black eye in India last year when an accounting scandal there resulted in parent company Adidas firing Reebok India managing director Subhinder Singh Prem and COO Vishun Bhagat as well as shutting down hundreds of its stores.
Now the brand is trying to make a comeback in the world’s second-most-populated country. Adidas is “repositioning Reebok as a premium fitness brand in India as part of a major revival drive," according to the Economic Times. The brand plans to open 100 "premium stores" called Reebok Fit Hubs by March 2014 that will feature high-end merchandise and offer fitness consultations by certified staff members. There are currently 50 Reebok Fit Hubs in different locations around the world.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on May 3, 2013 09:15 AM
Apple dodges $9 billion in US taxes with bond deal.
Google named Advertiser of the Year.
Volkswagen makes $10 million donation to the National Mall.
Adidas sales drop on weakening Reebok brand.
Barnes & Noble begins support of Google apps on Nook.
Beam sales rise because of "formula run" on Maker's Mark.
Diet Coke slims down its vending machines.
Ford adds jobs and raises capacity to make pick-up trucks.
Geritol seeks new life with younger consumers.
Huffington Post brings rapid-response "native" ads to its home page.Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on March 7, 2013 09:18 AM
Facebook plans to announce facelift of its News Feed.
Taco Bell officially releases its Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos today.
Time Warner to spin off Time Inc. as CEO Laura Lang exits.
Adidas posts weaker earnings on Reebok.
Baskin-Robbins plans to triple franchise size in Australia with new partnership.
Birds Eye commended for healthy eating campaign.
Boeing needs to provide more answers on Dreamliner firest to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Costco backs minimum-wage increase.
Cracker Barrel adds lower-calorie items.
Dell sees buyout deal threatened by activist investor Carl Icahn.
DirecTV bemoans rising program costs.
Google expands Street View in Europe.
Jamba Juice looks to fresh juice to boost sales.
Lego eyes tie-up with "The Simpsons" on Fox.
Moe's Southwest Grill readies first national ad campaign. Continue reading...
Posted by Shirley Brady on February 18, 2013 05:31 PM
Nike and Oakley drop paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorious following steroid allegations during girlfriend's murder investigation.
Costco CEO addresses Tiffany suit for alleged trademark infringement in all-company email (exclusive).
Starbucks expands India footprint to seven stores as company tests video chat drive-through ordering and expands Starbucks Evenings concept to Washington's Dulles airport.
Carnival cruiseship fire blamed on fuel line leak.
China vows to crack down on "malicious" trademark registrations.
Disney's Hong Kong Disneyland theme park finally turns a profit thanks to Toy Story attraction.
Amway quietly builds brands and racks up sales.
BP prepares to go to court over Gulf spill.Continue reading...
Posted by Mark J. Miller on January 29, 2013 02:04 PM
Reebok is expanding its push in India, with large marketing campaigns, new products and tie-ins to big national sports stars.
The move comes as analysts say India, with more than 1.2 billion people, is ripe for market expansion. The India market research firm RNCOS found that the “Indian sports apparel market was set for annual growth of around 34% during the 2010-14 period.”
Seems like it’s a good time for Reebok to capitalize, especially since another report found that 15- to 24-year-old Indians labeled Reebok owner Adidas “the nation’s second ‘most exciting’ brand behind soft drinks giant Coca-Colas.”Continue reading...
Posted by Abe Sauer on January 24, 2013 01:07 PM
With the Year of the Snake dawning, Nike's zodiac cycle is complete: The approaching Chinese New Year will bring what Nike claims is a 12th version of its special edition zodiac animal-themed shoes.
In 2001, Nike had just one zodiac offering, the Air Force 1 Low 3M "Snake." In the ensuing years, some Nike zodiac shoes were better than others. (Air Max 1 Year of the Ox, anyone? Nike Dunk High pigs?). This year, with a better creature to work with, and as it had with last year's Year of the Dragon, Nike —along with its Jordan brand — has introduced a collection of serpentine shoes.
Nike isn't alone: Shelves of shoe stores in China are about to be filled with scaly offerings that would make Indiana Jones shudder. Continue reading...
Posted by Dale Buss on January 21, 2013 09:02 AM
Atari files for bankruptcy protection in the U.S.
RIM could license BlackBerry 10 software.
Sony plans to introduce tablet challenging Apple and Samsung.
AIG learns from "Thank You, America" misfire.
Alfa Romeo plans brand return to U.S. late this year.
Boeing sees safety investigators dismiss one potential cause of Dreamliner fires.Continue reading...


text:
Marriott International says it will fight a large fine resulting from a massive data breach that was discovered in 2018.
Following the July 8 statement of intention to fine British Airways £183 million, The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO, the UK data protection regulator) announced on July 9 that it also intends to fine Marriott International £99,200,396 million (just over $123.5 million). This should be a wake-up call to all companies of any nationality that expose the data of European citizens.
Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson said the company will fight the fine. “We are disappointed with this notice of intent from the ICO, which we will contest,” Sorenson said in a statement.
Marriott disclosed a breach ‘involving the Starwood guest reservation database’ and reported the incident to the ICO in November 2018.
Marriott International is the world’s third largest hotel chain, with just under 6,000 hotels in around 110 countries. It was founded in 1927 by John Willard Marriott, and is now headed by his son Bill Marriott. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Washington DC.
According to the ICO statement of intent, “It is believed the vulnerability began when the systems of the Starwood hotels group were compromised in 2014. Marriott subsequently acquired Starwood in 2016, but the exposure of customer information was not discovered until 2018.”
Personal data from approximately 339 million guest records were exposed. Thirty million of these related to residents of 31 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), with 7 million in the UK — bringing the breach within the jurisdiction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The ICO found that “Marriott failed to undertake sufficient due diligence when it bought Starwood and should also have done more to secure its systems.”
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham commented, “The GDPR makes it clear that organizations must be accountable for the personal data they hold. This can include carrying out proper due diligence when making a corporate acquisition, and putting in place proper accountability measures to assess not only what personal data has been acquired, but also how it is protected.” She added that if companies do not protect personal data, “we will not hesitate to take strong action when necessary to protect the rights of the public.”
“This is a very strong indication that the ICO, the UK’s GDPR Supervisory Authority is now prepared to play hard ball with organizations who they consider have demonstrably failed to protect EU citizen data under their stewardship. GDPR just got real in the UK,” warns Matt Walmsley, Head of EMEA Marketing at Vectra.
Chris Kennedy, CISO at AttackIQ, warns that GDPR is changing the cost landscape for a breach. “the frequency and cost of suffering a breach both continue to rise, especially for businesses that expose EU citizens’ data. Companies must now factor in the cost of fines under GDPR and CCPA, the costs of reparations for customers exposed, and litigations that could very well be in the hundreds of millions.”
Matt Middleton-Leal, general manager for EMEA & APAC at Netwrix, added that the fine “heralds a new era of greater regulatory power. Watchdogs’ barks may once have been considered worse than their bite, but this is no longer the case since the introduction of GDPR.”
This is the first major GDPR breach fine on an international company that is not fundamentally European. The French regulator, CNIL, fined Google £50 million— but that was over non-GDPR-compliant procedures rather than a breach and loss of personal data.
The ICO led the investigations into both the BA and Marriott incidents under GDPR’s ‘one-stop-shop’ procedure. This allows one national regulator to handle the process for the whole of the European Union. The UK has probably Europe’s best-resourced data protection office, and will likely take the lead in many major investigations. The size of these two fines demonstrates to other European nations that the UK can be trusted not to be soft on GDPR.
However, the apparent disparity between the BA fine (£183 million for compromising 500,000 customers) and the Marriott fine (£99 million for compromising 30 million EEA residents) could give BA some hope for its appeal. GDPR fines are not related purely to victim numbers, but include many other factors around the security posture and behavior of the company concerned. We are not currently privy to the details behind the ICO’s decisions, but these may become clear if either company proceeds to appeal. Those details will be as educational to other companies within the GDPR jurisdiction as are the size of the fines.
“After much discussion around the lack of substantial GDPR enforcement,” suggests Rick Holland, CISO and VP of strategy at Digital Shadows, “we are starting to see hefty fines for the exposure of European citizen’s personal data. The penalties should highlight to global businesses, that it is naïve to ignore GDPR. It is truly global, not just European. Furthermore, multinational companies that thought that the global social media brands would exclusively be targeted were wrong.”


text:
Florida Small Business Index Survey
Many in Florida’s small business community are experiencing both challenges and successes as our economy grows. As we work to secure Florida’s future, it is crucial that the Florida Chamber of Commerce understands what issues are most important to small businesses. The Small Business Index Survey tracks trends and issues affecting small businesses in Florida. Small business owners are surveyed in order to monitor small business trends and identify emerging issues that may be addressed by the Florida Chamber’s Small Business Council.
Florida’s Small Businesses Point to Workforce Quality as Top Concern Keeping Them Up at Night
Despite Concern, Job Creators Anticipate Higher Sales
Even though Florida is outpacing the national average in jobs created, workforce quality continues to be the top concern among Florida small businesses, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Fourth Quarter Small Business Index Survey. This is the 10th quarter out of 11 that small businesses have ranked this issue among their top concern. Despite this concern, job creators expect higher sales than last year.
While the probability of a recession is improving, according to the latest data on TheFloridaScorecard.org, economic uncertainty remains a top small business owner concern, survey results reveal. Despite this concern, Florida’s overall economy is robust and expanding, and in fact, it has become the 16th most diversified economy in the country, and unemployment numbers continue to decline.
The Florida Chamber’s Fourth Quarter Small Business Index Survey shows small businesses are most concerned about:
-Workforce Quality – 28%
-Economic Uncertainty – 14%
-Growth Management Process – 12%
-Healthcare Costs – 9%
-Government Regulation – 8%
Of Florida’s small businesses:
-49 percent of respondents expect the economy to improve over the next three years,
-41 percent of responders believe their business is better off now than it was just six months ago, and
41 percent of businesses have plans to make investments in plants or equipment, down from 43 percent one year ago.
“Workforce quality continues to be the number one concern of Florida’s small businesses, with economic uncertainty coming in second,” said Glenda Hood, Chair of the Florida Chamber’s Small Business Council, and Founding Partner, Hood Partners. “Small businesses are the foundation of Florida’s economy, and the Florida Chamber’s Small Business Council remains committed to advocating on their behalf.”
About the Survey:
The Florida Chamber’s Small Business Index Survey was conducted electronically September 10 through October 14, 2019. Thirty-four percent of respondents employ less than five employees, while 49 percent employ five to 49 employees. Click HERE to view the full report.
Florida Small Business Index Survey: Past Results
- 2019 – Quarter 4 Survey Results
- 2019 – Quarter 3 Survey Results
- 2019 – Quarter 2 Survey Results
- 2019 – Quarter 1 Survey Results
- 2018 – Quarter 4 Survey Results
- 2018 – Quarter 3 Survey Results
- 2018 – Quarter 2 Survey Results
- 2018 – Quarter 1 Survey Results
- 2017 – Quarter 4 Survey Results
- 2017 – Quarter 3 Survey Results
- 2017 – Quarter 2 Survey Results
- 2016 – Quarter 4 Survey Results


text:
An Asda boss has told a parliamentary committee the supermarket does not use fire and rehire tactics, despite 7,000 workers currently threatened with the sack if they don’t accept a pay cut.
When asked about the Asda workers facing fire and rehire, Chief Commerical Officer Kris Comerford told the Business and Trade Committee today 'fire and rehire tactics are not something ASDA employs'.
Meanwhile thousands of Asda workers across 39 stores in the South East southern England are set to lose location-based pay supplements and be paid less for night shifts and face dismissal if they refuse to agree.
GMB is now calling on the committee to recall Asda bosses and get clarity for thousands of GMB members in fear for the jobs.
Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said:
"This is a truly staggering interpretation of events by Asda bosses.
"GMB is currently engaged in consultation with ASDA who are threatening 7,000 workers in stores in the South East with the sack if they don't accept a 60p pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis.
“If that’s not fire and rehire, I don’t know what is.”


text:
I was, frankly, appalled by the now-controversial Carl’s Jr. advertisement touting the chain’s new all-natural burger. At first, I wasn’t sure whether to be more offended as a sustainable meat advocate or a woman but, over time, I think I’ve found my way. I suspect we all know the commercial that I’m talking about, but in the extremely unlikely event that you haven’t seen it, you can watch it here. I’m not going to describe it in detail, or talk too much about its odd and unsettling attempts to correlate sex and hamburgers. While I do find the ad offensive to both men and women, let’s try our best to set the inappropriate, coarse, and distasteful elements of this campaign aside, because I’d really like to take a hard look at what Carl’s Jr. is actually trying to sell with this commercial, and what that means within the greater context of the sustainable food movement.
The final line that a scantily clad Charlotte McKinney utters as she bites into her hamburger is this: “nothing between me and my all-natural, juicy, grass-fed beef.” Then, a line reads, “The first all-natural burger in fast food: no antibiotics, no added hormones, no steroids.” After all this time, Carl’s Jr. has decided to take a running leap after the already departed boatload of grass fed meat now being produced in this country.
I say already departing because, the truth is, Carl’s Jr. would never have ventured into the natural foods world were the demand not already high for so-called all-natural and grass-fed meats. In fact, Carl’s Jr. CEO Andy Puzder told USA Today that the decision to serve a grass fed burger wasn’t political (read ethical) at all. In his words, “our objective has never been to tell people what to eat, but to serve them what they want to eat.” Brad Haley, Chief Marketing Officer for Carl’s puts it this way: “we’ve seen a growing demand for ‘cleaner,’ more natural food, particularly among Millenials.”
While some idealists might wish a company like Carl’s Jr. would act on ethical principles alone, the increased demand that led them to pursue grass fed meat indicates a victory for sustainable food. For so long, a goal of the sustainable food movement has been to increase the demand for sustainably produced food in order to increase supply and, therefore, lower costs. Ideally, these lower costs would correspond with, and be aided by, a shift in the focus of government agriculture subsidies away from corn and soy. The lower cost would drive an even higher demand for sustainable food, and make such products more widely available, eventually reaching, we would hope, into food deserts and in-need communities throughout the country. You can find more information at globalsalmoninitiative.org of how the salmon farming industry is making sourcing salmon sustainable.
If we set aside confusion about terms like ‘sustainable,’ ‘all-natural,’ ‘clean,’ and ‘grass-fed’ just for a moment, we can see that an increased demand for grass-fed beef- even in the name of fast food- would be a good thing if it spurred American producers toward better practices. And this is where the first problem arises because, as it turns out, the grass fed, all-natural beef that Carl’s is using comes from Australia. CEO Haley explains that, “even though our loyalty to American ranchers is strong, rather than meet the shortfall with conventionally raised beef from cattle treated with growth hormones and antibiotics, we decided to take this opportunity to start sourcing more truly grass fed steak.”
It’s really important, this fact about the Australian grass fed beef, because it’s indicative of a larger set of misunderstandings about truly healthy, sustainable food systems. To put it simply, Carl’s Jr. wants all the cache of in vogue terminology like ‘grass-fed’ and ‘all-natural’ without actually contributing to the growth of a healthier American food system. Not to mention that, as Kristen Wartman wrote for the Huffington Post in February, “all told, you’re consuming about 60 ingredients in that ‘all-natural’ burger.” After all, what’s sustainable about shipping millions of pounds of meat overseas and ignoring the problems American animal husbandry practices have created at home? And what’s all-natural about including over 60 ingredients in a hamburger?
Now we can go back to those terms we set aside a while back because it would seem that much of the Carl’s Jr. ad, and indeed much of the food industry in general is working to appropriate and abuse catchwords for target-based ads campaigns. Words like ‘grass-fed,’ ‘clean,’ and ‘all-natural have little to no specific parameters of use and, while they appear to be indicators of health and real sustainability, they aren’t necessarily so. The real issue with the Carl’s Jr. all-natural burger ad isn’t the misogyny or the cheering of an antibiotic and steroid-free product that should never have become the norm in the first place. It’s the careful use of new natural food rhetoric, designed to convince millennials in particular that they are participating in a healthier, more natural, more sustainable system with the purchase of a Carl’s Jr. all-natural burger. However, it should be noted that certain health complications can arise as a result of antibiotic and steroid-infused food products. For example, prednisone is a steroid used for many chronic inflammatory disorders that can result in low serum testosterone which reduces sexual desire and causes erectile dysfunction. Of course, the affected individual can always get a prescription from or similar online pharmacies to treat these ailments.
The truth is that real quality and sustainability are never the hallmarks of a corporate fast food franchise. These businesses may use the terms, but their buying and processing practices don’t reflect what those terms are supposed to connote. When Carl’s Jr. becomes a buyer in the American market, puts pressure on suppliers to use good practices, and really gets behind sustainability and health rather than catch phrases like grass-fed, then I’ll buy their burger. Unfortunately, I think we might see cows fly before that happens.


text:
As we’ve discussed on our blog and our podcast, we have been closely watching how marijuana sales fare in the face of the recession created by the coronavirus. Sales figures for marijuana in May are still rolling in, but early returns appear favorable. For example, Illinois set a new record high in May with over $44 million in recreational sales. The previous high-water mark was $39.2 million in recreational sales in January 2020, which was the first month of legalized adult-use marijuana. Oregon also enjoyed a monthly sales record for combined recreational and medical marijuana and eclipsed $100 million in monthly sales for the first time. Sales this May in Oregon were up 60% compared to sales in May 2019.
While Oklahoma does not permit recreational marijuana, recent sales figures for its medical program are eye-popping. In the first five months of 2020 alone, medical sales have totaled nearly $275 million. And those numbers are on the rise: April sales increased to $61.5 million, a 21% jump from the prior month, and sales climbed to almost $74 million in May.
Although we do not yet have May sales figures for Colorado and Nevada, it’s worth noting that April sales were down for both states on a year-over-year basis. That decline might be explained by each state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic—dispensaries in Nevada remained open, but only for home delivery, while Colorado dispensaries were limited to just curbside pickup. It will be interesting to see whether there is an uptick in sales for May in those states.
Please check our blog for continued updates on the cannabis industry, including developments related to the coronavirus. Also, visit our COVID-19 Resource Center for up-to-date information to help you stay informed of the legal issues related to COVID-19.
The post Early May Sales Figures Show Promise, Including New Record Highs in Illinois, Oregon, and Oklahoma appeared first on Cannabis Blog.
Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest to your inbox.


text:
"Halloween Screams-A Villainous Surprise in the Skies"
TALKING SCARECROW (ANAHEIM, Calif.) - Guests will be surprised and delighted to interact with spooky and friendly characters as they celebrate Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, from Sept. 11 through Nov. 1, 2015. The Diamond Celebration continues at the Disneyland Resort through Halloween Time, with dazzling entertainment and decor, in addition to the return of Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. This year, the family-friendly Mickey’s Halloween Party expands to 17 nights at Disneyland park, where guests are invited to trick-or-treat in costume, celebrate with favorite Disney characters and enjoy special presentations of the “Halloween Screams” fireworks spectacular and the all-new “Paint the Night” parade. [For editorial news use only.] (Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland)
ScarecrowcostumeHalloween TimeHalloweenMickey's Halloween PartySleeping Beauty Castle


text:
Hey A circle of indie developers are selling a carton of their games which includes some of the biggest self-reliant games on the market. Gamers can pinpoint their own payment—from 1c to $1,000—as a use to a peck of games that would raise representing sternly $80 if sold separately. Anyone who buys the combination can set bettor with upon to themselves as grammatically; customers can send any amount of their purchases to two worst nonprofit groups. The selling, nicknamed the "Heart Include" not later than the studios confused, is certainly epic. The games included in the consolidate are Mankind of Goo, Gish, Lugaru, Aquaria, and Penumbra Overture. Each of these titles has proven to be a concentrated bang into, and the fact that five sequester studios are working together to tension them comfy on to gamers profit of be that as it may much they come by a thinking think back on to wither is unusual. As Jeff Rosen of Wolfire explained to Ars in a up to engagement check insensible, the close-knit cleverness of community number indie developers is as a rule uncorrupt in the work of the trafficking's existence.
Permission de ce forum:Vous ne pouvez pas répondre aux sujets dans ce forum


text:
Originally launched in San Francisco and since expanded into many other cities, Instacart has fundamentally changed the traditional grocery delivery space by connecting customers with shoppers and drivers who shop for and deliver grocery orders providing their own transportation in as little as one hour.
On Monday, the company – which makes a Web and smartphone app for consumers to order groceries for delivery from stores such as Whole Foods and Costco – announced that a large portion of Instacart staff in Chicago and Boston have become part-time employees, working 20 to 30 hours per week and receiving benefits including unemployment, Social Security and Medicare. Until now, Instacart’s shoppers all worked as independent contractors. Instacart plans to roll out this option to more of its independent contractors in some of the other cities it serves in the coming months and will make permanent the changes that were already in place in Boston.
Apoorva Mehta, Instacart’s founder and CEO, told Bloomberg Business on Monday that the possibility of new regulatory issues wasn’t the reason for making the change. According to the nonprofit freelancers union, 53 million americans now work as freelance contractors-about one in three United States workers. “A lot of these companies were looking at companies like Uber and FedEx and saying, ‘If these big guys can do it, so can we.’ Well, that tag line has come back to haunt people over and over again”.
But some on-demand workers are finding the seeming freedom offered by their jobs comes at a cost. It suggests that other similar operations-companies like TaskRabbit or Handy, if not Uber or Lyft-could reach a similar conclusion. And if equipment gets damaged or contractors get hurt and can not work, they lose the chance to make money.
“It’s been our claim from the beginning that all the Instacart workers are employees of the company and should be treated that way”.
Those working for Instacart as drivers and those who do both the shopping and driving will remain contract workers. And Google Express delivers from stores ranging from grocers and drugstores to Barnes & Noble and Kohl’s to entice shoppers to use the service for more of their purchases.
The conversion from independent contractor to part-time employee is an important distinction.
All of which makes Instacart’s decision all the more intriguing.
Turns out, contract workers might not be the answer to the on-demand economy. Rather, it says, it want to improve customer experience. Benefits are another aspect often extended to employees but not independent contractors.
Jonathan Davis, a San Francisco lawyer who filed suit against Instacart, said the change amounted to “conceding an essential point in the case”.
Instacart’s decision also comes as the company is in the process of splitting its shopper and driver roles. Workers who do the in-store shopping – picking out the ice cream or toilet paper a customer has ordered – will receive training and have management oversight as part of the switch to employee status. Under the new system, shopper-only workers “embed” in certain stores to prepare the orders for drivers; for now, it’s only these shoppers who are getting the option to switch over to part-time employee status.
Chicago is only the second market for Instacart’s part-time shoppers. Instead, it put some of its Boston contractors on the payroll for several months as a test and found they did their jobs better, the company said.
p style=”text-align: center;”>


text:
A new partnership sees the target on printing digital types. Picture: Information and facts Age
Australian cloud-centered style and design unicorn Canva has extended its reach into the environment of tailor made printing, leveraging a partnership with Australia-wide print-expert services huge Snap Print & Design and style to backlink its on the internet design providers with Snap’s community of customised printing choices.
The new hybrid assistance, referred to as Snap Print-On line, positions Canva’s application-as-a-company (SaaS) giving along with more conventional design and style possibilities – like uploading tailor made layouts or functioning with the firm’s inhouse human designers – to permit shoppers conceptualise and make new brochures, small business cards, posters, and nearly anything else that needs printing.
It stems from a partnership between the two companies that was initial declared in February – and, Snap chief expansion officer Sonia Shwabsky explained at the time, partnered “Snap’s countrywide network of printing authorities with the best design software in the world”.
Integrating Canva’s digital layout applications with Snap’s network of 132 merchants demonstrates increasing recognition that even a person of the world’s swiftest-increasing digital companies – an Australian accomplishment tale whose price shot toward $20b immediately after an April money increasing – experienced not however produced print absolutely irrelevant.
Early talks with Snap demonstrated “vision and a willingness to devote in a modern e-commerce system that would be finest in course globally,” Canva global partnership lead Aaron Working day pointed out.
“Through combining the Canva platform with this vision, what they have shipped is past our expectations and we hope large development from the Snap/Canva partnership into a high quality print marketplace.”
Not quite dead yet
Day’s optimism is significant offered that the tech industry’s luminaries had been arguing a ten years ago that then-newly introduced pill computers would herald the dying of print interaction within just, as MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte declared, five a long time.
Prognosticators have sounded the dying knell for all sorts of analogue technologies as digital equivalents emerged, but record has revealed that old favourites normally find new everyday living by pivoting into new niche sectors.
Gross sales of vinyl data, for illustration, plummeted with the new music industry’s shift to CDs but new years have found vinyl publish a significant resurgence: very last calendar year, Australian product sales of vinyl records ended up even pegged to surpass people of CDs and the feat was matched in the British isles and US – where by vinyl outsold CDs for the to start with time due to the fact 1986.
Although the electronic period saw the close of multinational bookstore chains like Borders, scaled-down nearby bookshops continue on to thrive – and, inspite of Australians’ dependancy to smartphones, ongoing demand from customers for print products is continue to so powerful that Amazon in Could declared it would begin presenting on-demand printing of paperbacks at its Western Sydney Fulfilment Centre.
The neighborhood Print on Demand from customers facility will make it possible for the organization “to get thousands and thousands of paperback titles to customers speedier than ever before,” Amazon Australia classification direct for media and books Matt Benham stated as the new ability commenced running out of the company’s Western Sydney Fulfilment Centre.
Leveraging Amazon’s worldwide Kindle Immediate Publishing (KDP) assistance, consumers can order paperback variations of electronic e-books as very well as self-publishing their individual books – enabling faster delivery to their audience and reduce warehousing fees for Amazon.
KDP adds a different choice to the variety of integrated print workflows that are ever more linking on line style and design and offline output into 1 seamless approach.
The partnership amongst Canva and Snap will set the companies into direct competitors in opposition to the likes of VistaPrint – a world personalized-printing big that prints a vary of goods from a facility in Melbourne’s west – and DesignCrowd, an Australian startup that has streamlined the method of sourcing graphical do the job from human designers all around the globe.
Backing from Canva is also a lifeline for the 132 compact-organization owners of Snap shops, who will reward from a hybrid electronic convergence system.
“Our consumers today have obtain to a earth-leading electronic design and style product or service as very well as local expert assistance when they need to have it,” Shwabsky stated.
“When you use Snap Print-On the internet, you are not acquiring your enterprise playing cards or marketing and advertising content from a faceless overseas entity you are not able to talk with, you are buying it from a locally-centered tiny organization.”


text:
Springfield Carriage Co. opens this week near Lincoln Home
Baseball-themed restaurant breaking ground on west side
This week’s dining scene marks the opening of a revival and the announcement of a newcomer.
THE SPRINGFIELD CARRIAGE CO. celebrates its grand opening May 24 at 724 E. Edwards St. in the Abraham Lincoln-era home, just south of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. The casual eatery opens nearly a decade after the closing of THE CHUCKWAGON AT THE SPRINGFIELD CARRIAGE CO.
But first, HOME PLATE BAR & GRILL will make some history of its own, breaking ground Thursday on Springfield’s west side at the corner of Koke Mill Road and Ginger Creek Drive.
Jeff and Elizabeth “Liz” Friedman — who have 16 years of experience with the local PIZZA HUT outlet — are behind the project to build the 3,200-square-foot, standalone establishment. A fall opening is planned.
The baseball-themed bar and grill will have an open seating format and a double-decker beer garden with more than a dozen televisions throughout.
The menu will feature freshly prepared sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas, daily specials and made-from-scratch desserts by Ellen Tadros. Bar offerings include two dozen beers on tap, as well as more than 50 domestic and craft bottled beers, premium wines and mixed drinks.
Kelly Batley and Jerry “Jay” Miller are the operators of the new The Springfield Carriage Co.
On-site smoked meats — including brisket, turkey and pork — highlight the menu and come with fresh-cut French and sweet potato fries. These signature meats will be used in grilled sandwiches and horseshoes. Round it out with a full breakfast menu, burgers, salads and dinner entrees. Daily soup and dinner specials available.
The establishment has yet to receive its liquor license. Customers are encouraged, for now, to bring their own alcoholic beverages.
Special hours for the grand opening are 4:30 to 10 p.m. Normal hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Dine-in, take-out available. Phone: 572-1457.
Carriage rides will be available Friday and Saturday evenings from the Petersburg-based Red Gate Farms. Rides must be booked in advance at http://bit.ly/carriagecorides.
Springfield teamster John Zeller originally constructed the Edwards Street building in 1840, living at the address for 20 years. The structure was renovated in 2008 to house the sister businesses — The Carriage Co. and The Chuckwagon at the Springfield Carriage Co. from 2007 to 2011.
COZY DOG DRIVE-IN and MEL-O-CREAM DONUTS are the latest Springfield businesses to receive the “Illinois Made” designation by the Illinois Office of Tourism.
The Route 66 landmark eatery and the 90-year-old Springfield doughnut brand were among 18 businesses statewide selected this year for “embodying the personal spirit of Illinois, demonstrating through their work what makes our state so unique.”
Carlinville’s TAYLOR’S MEXICAN CHILI — with its hand-sorted beans and shredded beef served in bowls, handmade tamales or atop hot dogs and nachos — also made the cut.
These new additions join other local business such as COCOA BLUE CHOCOLATES, CUSTOM MADE COFFEE, DANENBERGER FAMILY VINEYARD, ENGRAINED BREWERY & RESTAURANT, HAND OF FATE, INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS, MALDANER’S, OBED & ISAAC’S MICROBREWERY AND EATERY, PEASE’S and Sangamon Reclaimed.
The “Illinois Made” program began in 2016. The 147 business throughout the state bearing the designation can be found online at www.enjoyillinois.com/illinois-made/.
AMERICAN HARVEST EATERY, 3241 Iles Ave., has three special dinner events coming up.
A beer dinner — featuring a menu crafted by new chef Jordan Ohl and paired with drinks from Champaign-based brewer, BLIND PIG — will be Thursday.
The five-course menu features bruleed kielbasa, peppered banana crepes with fermented strawberry reduction, crawfish croquette on blackened shrimp toast, coffee-rubbed duck and Tres Leches beignets. Cost is $60.
The dinner marks Ohl’s return to American Harvest in the new position of sous chef.
Morels are the centerpiece for the special available Friday and Saturday with the fungi featured in everything from a wild mushroom salad to cauliflower gnocchi with a morel cream sauce to a morel tart served with goat cheese ice cream.
Cost is $70 for the four-course dinner, $90 for seven courses.
Reservations required for both events. Phone: 546-8300.
And for those interested in a road trip, American Harvest Eatery is part of the line-up for PRAIRIE FRUIT FARM & CREAMERY’s 2019 Dinners on the Farm series.
The Springfield eatery will provide the meal for the Champaign farm’s June 22 event. The evening includes appetizers and multiple courses with beer pairings, as well as a tour of the farm.
Cost is $100 a person. Tickets available at www.prairiefruits.com/2019-dinners-on-the-farm-series.
The new STEAK ‘N SHAKE in Taylorville begins offering regularly scheduled hours Wednesday.
The opening at the northwest corner of the intersection of Illinois 29 and 104 marks the first new market for the Springfield-based STULLER INC. franchise in four decades.
Initial hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with breakfast hours expected to be added in June. Dine-in, drive-through and take-out available.
Stuller Inc. — Steak ‘N Shake’s first franchisee — served its first steakburger in Springfield in 1939. Today, there are four locations at 1580 Wabash Ave., 4200 Conestoga Drive, 2465 N. Dirksen Parkway and 3184 S. Dirksen Parkway.
The franchise branched out of the Springfield market in 1978, opening its first Steak ‘N Shake in Jacksonville in 1978. Today, they are located at 1960 W. Morton St. in Jacksonville.
Stuller Inc.’s longevity with the Steak ‘N Shake brand allows its more freedom to add to the standard corporate menu offerings, which means the menu at the Taylorville location includes horseshoes and soups.
The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings closings, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 737-7254 or by email at email@example.com.


text: In efforts to compete with Uber’s UberX service, Gett, an international Uber competitor is making a huge push in NYC. Earlier today, the company announced that they are reducing fixed and predictable pricing by up to 25 percent. In addition to cutting prices and guaranteeing a flat $10 fare in Midtown, Gett is also promising a more reliable system of dealing with supply and demand. Unlike Uber’s Surge pricing structure which multiplies the fare based on a random algorithm, Gett users are charged an additional $10 flat during peak times. In a region where marketshare against Uber is hard to come by, Gett is aiming to compete by cut prices and put thousands of cars on the road. Gett currently operates internationally in cities like London, Moscow and Tel Aviv, with New York being its first market in the United States. Keep an eye out Gett, and for more information click here.


text:
The Cayman Islands are full of
pirates, but not the kind that usually make newspaper headlines.
They scour BitTorrent websites and
programmes instead of the ocean, they are armed with computers instead of
machine guns, and, rather than taking passengers hostage, the prisoners they
take are songs, movies, and TV show episodes.
Millions of people around the
world, including hundreds in Cayman, wreak havoc on the music and film
industries by buying and downloading pirated versions of their favourite music,
films, and TV shows.
Though authorities in major
countries like the United States and China manage to slap hefty fines on a
handful of copyright infringers every year, the financial restraints of enforcing
copyright overseas, and a lack of local regulation may make the Cayman Islands
one of today’s true pirate havens.
Digital pirates sell or distribute
unauthorised copies of recently released movies months before legal DVDs hit
the shelves for free or at a fraction of the cost.
“Actors and studios put up millions
of dollars to make these movies and they deserve something back,” says Deborah
McTaggart, co-owner of Blockbuster. “These people are stealing from them.”
The Motion Picture Association of
America would agree with McTaggart. Every year the music and film industries
claim to lose billions of dollars to digital pirates, even though the exact
cost of piracy is unknown.
The Cayman Islands are subject to
copyright laws and international conventions which make the sale of
unauthorised DVDs illegal. However, legitimate business owners say that little
or nothing is done to curb the bootleg DVD industry.
“I know they have stores here who
burn them for five dollars or two dollars and… nobody does anything,” says
Mark Watler, manager of Funky Tangs. “I never see police go down there and
arrest anyone or charge anyone.”
To supply these bootleg DVD and CD
stores, pirates use a variety of different methods to make unauthorised copies:
“Sometimes they buy a copy from you
[to burn], sometimes they download it from the internet to sell,” says Mr.
Watler, explaining the ways pirates steal music and films.
In addition to buying or renting a
single DVD to burn hundreds of copies, pirates in other countries will even
sneak camcorders into movie theatres to film new releases in order to sell
illegal copies months before an official DVD release.
While it is common for security
guards to patrol through movie theatres in the United States, security within
the actual cinema in Cayman is rarely seen.
Managers at the local Hollywood
Theatre in Camana Bay did not even seem to have a clear policy on how someone
caught illegally recording films would be dealt with, and the Vice President of
Marketing with Hollywood Theatres refused to comment.
Local business owners are not the
only ones at risk from pirates; local musicians are also targeted by pirates
and are particularly vulnerable once their work hits the web.
“It’s the norm, there’s a whole
generation that just are not conscious of the concept of paying for music,”
says Stuart Wilson of the musical group Love Culture. “It’s fairly daunting to
people like myself who are spending tons of cash to make good music.”
In fact, the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry blames digital piracy for a 30 percent
decline in music sales worldwide from 2004 to 2009.
Although internet music sales have
increased, sales of CDs have decreased by approximately 16 per cent worldwide.
Though piracy is a problem
affecting businesses, actors, and artists worldwide, digital piracy is particularly
difficult to police in Cayman.
According to Claudia Brady,
detective chief inspector with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service
Financial Crime Unit, the police have encountered difficulties pursuing the
vendors of unauthorised DVDs and CDs because of the lack of a clear
A complainant is the person or
party who files a formal charge against another in the court of law.
“We would have to show the loss to
someone as a result of the piracy and the gain by another,” she explains. “This
has been an issue in Cayman for some time but, with the absence of a
complainant, we have not actually pursued the matter.”


text:
Posted Aug 22 2013 by Kyle Russell with 0 Comments
Warner Bros. released some huge casting news this evening as they have chosen the next man to play Batman and it is definitely unexpected!
Popular YouTuber's are being paid a princely sum to promote Xbox One content.
Crystal Dynamics have finally answered the FPS question
Sony has lifted the street dates on all PS4 launch software


text:
Eating with our eyes
Opinions are great. They help us see the world from our own perspective and they are great conversation starters. It’s that time of year when forecasts become available – and opinions on what lies ahead, for that matter, are plentiful.
The latest food trends from Waitrose are closely tied to how Britain has become a nation of homebodies, as we have fallen back in love with our homes and rediscovered the joy of dinner parties. According to the annual Waitrose Food & Drink Report, even though we are allowed to socialise once again, the country is embracing staying at home and entertaining. Sales of Champagne are up 40% year-on-year as customers spend more money on little treats as we emerge from the pandemic. Over the year, we also brought our kitchens outdoors – one in five of those surveyed said they’d invested in a new barbecue while one in ten said they’d installed an outdoor bar.
We expect to see sustainability and health taking centre stage for food and drink companies in the coming year, as consumers show greater concern for these issues. Through Waitrose’s eyes, consumers stopped buying sandwiches to go at the beginning of the year as they made homemade feasts while working from home.
In this Insta-age, beautifully styled images are a baseline for success in the food and beverage market – the report into how our eating and drinking habits highlights how social media has influenced our shopping lists. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have driven sales of everything from feta and tortillas to pesto and potatoes due to viral food trends. Meanwhile the TikTok trend for making pasta chips at home contributed to a 400% rise in sales of air fryers at John Lewis.
I certainly agree with us rediscovering the fun, creativity and sense of togetherness that the lockdowns placed upon us. Food became an outlet for inspiration. It should come as little surprise that the majority of the people surveyed have changed their outlook – and they’re more conscious of their mental and physical health, enjoying life’s simple pleasures, and they’ve embraced the importance of family and friends.
In short, the past 19 months have seen consumers “fall back in love with our homes”. Nothing new there… except: now, there is extensive data to provide an insight into the products that defined the past 12 months. Waitrose polled 2,000 consumers across the UK of all ages on a wide range of topics.
Products that defined the year include:
- Canned fish – Sales of mackerel and anchovies rose by 17% in August 2021
- Searches for barbecued watermelon recipes on Waitrose.com rose by 65% in August
- Desserts – Knickerbocker glory recipe searches on waitrose.com are up 171% this year
- Sales of herbs and spices rose 41% this year with specialty salts proving to be the top performers
- Sales rose 54% while sales of sushi mats were up 57% and nori sales were up 56%
The drinks that dominated drinks cabinets include:
- Cream liqueurs have become popular all year round (not just for Christmas)
- Sales of Champagne are up 40% year-on-year, while sales of magnums and bigger bottles are up 88%
- Rosé wine continues to dominate our wine shelves and sales of rosé fizz are up 47%
Products, flavours and trends we can expect to see more of in 2022 include potato milk, umami, craft pre-batched bottled cocktails and climatarianism (a diet focused on reducing your carbon footprint).
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
Keep in touch via email: email@example.com Twitter: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.


text:
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) reported its financial results for the quarter ended April 26, 2020, on Wednesday before the market opens. The results exceeded analysts’ expectations. The company lifted its guidance for fiscal 2020.
The bottom line jumped by 34% for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 as increased demand for its products drove the top-line higher by 15%. In the quarter, the company experienced unprecedented broad-based demand across its brands as consumers sought food that delivered comfort, quality, and value.
The company lifted its fiscal 2020 outlook for net sales and adjusted EPS as a result of its performance in Q3, which was significantly impacted by the increase in demand of its products amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and its current outlook for continued demand for its products.
The net sales outlook for 2020 is now expected to grow by 5.5-6.5% compared to the previous estimate of down 1% to up 1%. The adjusted earnings guidance is lifted to the range of $2.87-2.92 per share from the prior range of $2.55-2.60 per share for fiscal 2020.
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has for long been the undisputed king of the streaming space. The streaming industry is seeing massive growth with several new players entering the field. It also
The demand for services that involve minimal human interaction is on the rise as people continue to practice social distancing. Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST), a market-leading supplier of vending machines,
HEXO Corp. (NYSE: HEXO) reported its third-quarter 2021 earnings results today. Net revenue rose 2% year-over-year to CAD22.6 million. Net loss narrowed to CAD20.7 million from a loss of CAD19.5


text:
|Home » News
Spotify: iPhone, US Market Next Big Thing
But it's a different market says Daniel Ek.
'The US is our next big thing', says Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek. 'If we released Spotify in all our markets at the same time we wouldn't be able to handle the traffic. It's extremely important for us that the quality of service doesn't slack.'
Not since Skype has a Swedish startup been hyped to this extent internationally. The success of Spotify has Google and Nokia frenetically looking for 'Spotify killers'.
One Day in Three
Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek is on an airplane every other day or at the very least every third day. 'I always take my passport to work', he says. 'I can get a call at any time and be on my way to Hong Kong or New York just like that.'
He's been doing this for years now.
Ek and Spotify cofounder Martin Lorentzon met for the first time in 2005 when Ek's ad company Advertigo entered into a partnership with Lorentzon's Tradedoubler.
'We got along straight away and started tossing a lot of ideas around. I told Martin where I thought music on the net was going. This matched Martin's own thoughts on where advertising on the net was going. Somewhere in there Spotify was born.'
What's in the Name
Ek sold his Advertigo to Tradedoubler in March 2006 and on 1 April that year - Martin's birthday - they together sent in the paperwork to register Spotify as a corporation. The name, a combination of 'spot' and 'identify', was dreamt up in Ek's old flat in Bandhagen south of Stockholm.
But how did they get the world's four biggest record companies - EMI, Universal, Warner, Sony BMG who'd earlier hunted down free services such as Napster and Kazaa - to sign agreements giving Spotify free access to all their music?
'No one's put more time and resources into this than we have. I almost literally lived in an airplane for two years', says Ek. 'I was at more meetings than I can remember and I have met people from all levels in the music industry. There were definitely moments when I thought we'd never get this baby going. I remember how I stood on a Manhattan sidewalk after having been chewed out by a record company exec, thinking to myself: that's it, I gotta find something else to do.'
Ready in 2007
That it finally worked was a combination of good timing ('they're losing 20% of their revenues each year and they finally realise they have to do something') and a good product ('we offer a good service and a believable revenue model') as well as being able to listen to what the record companies had to say and suggest.
'Originally we thought Spotify would be a completely free service financed by ads. But the record companies wanted a subscription service to get another source of revenue. So we added it.'
The first version of Spotify was ready for release already in May 2007 but it took until October 2008 before the service was launched in eight European markets. During the 15 months when only invited beta testers had access to the service the buzz about Spotify spread like wildfire on the net. At the time of the official release 300,000 people were in the queue for invites.
'We wanted to launch ASAP but we were forced to postpone the start time after time because we hadn't finished the copyright thing. We were in discussions with the record companies right up to the deadline. I don't remember our own launch party at all - I hadn't slept in 56 hours.'
Unleashed in the UK
By February 2009 Spotify became free and accessible to all in Great Britain. And the response wasn't long coming.
The first weeks 250,000 Brits downloaded the client software and Spotify is currently - together with Twitter - the most talked about Internet phenomenon in the country. The Financial Times, the Observer, all the major papers had huge article spreads on the Swedish music player.
'The UK's been crazy', says Ek. 'We get 20-40,000 new users each day. And last week they passed Sweden as the leading Spotify country in the world.'
Spotify currently has 1,400,000 users and climbing. Gradually the service will be released in other countries.
'The US is our next big thing. We're definitely going in there. At the end of this year or beginning of next. But that's a totally different market. Piracy isn't at all as widespread there and they don't have the same broadband infrastructure. In a lot of ways our current European market is more suitable for us but the big money's in the US.'
'It's no secret we're developing Spotify for cellphones. But this will take time. We want to make sure it's as good a service as our computer client already on Day One.'
As Big as iTunes
Spotify have signed further agreements with music providers since the launch. The overriding objective? Create the world's biggest music library. Today Spotify have 4 million tracks online as opposed to Apple's 10 million - but they have rights to at the very least 6 million more tracks and are integrating these into the system every day.
'We add about 10,000 new tracks each day. The combined song collections for the record companies we've already signed agreements with gave us about 10 million songs. So we still have more than half to add to the system.'


text:
disrupters in paper packaging
Paper food packaging contains synthetic chemicals suspected of disrupting
hormones, raising concerns it may be no safer than plastic packaging,
according to a study by researchers in Osaka.
packaging contains hormone disrupters, also known as endocrine disrupters,
which have been linked to atypical sexual development and reduced
resistance to disease.
a result, manufacturers have begun switching from plastic packaging
to paper-based containers.
the study, conducted by the Osaka City Institute of Public Health
and Environmental Sciences and led by Asako Ozaki, detected endocrine
disrupters in 21 paper packaging items, including cups, napkins,
tea bags and coffee filters.
levels (detected in the tests) aren't so high they could be a direct
threat to human health, but there should be some sort of guideline
for paper products,'' Ozaki said.
and the team began testing 16 kinds of paper products made from
virgin pulp and 12 items made from recycled paper in 2001.
A (BPA), a suspected endocrine disrupter, was detected in 13 of
the 16 items made from virgin pulp in levels between 34 nanograms
(a nanogram is 1 billionth of a gram) per gram to 360 nanograms
levels of between 190 and 26,000 nanograms per gram were also found
in eight of the 12 food containers made from recycled paper, including
sandwich and fried chicken packaging.
highest levels of BPA-26,000 nanograms per gram in a sandwich box-
is equal to BPA levels found in polycarbonate plastic food packaging.
tests also detected high levels of a chemical compound called Michler's
Ketone (MK), a suspected carcinogen contained in ink, in cardboard
boxes used to carry vegetables.
further examination, the researchers found microscopic traces of
ink and copy paper among the fibers of items made from recycled
pulp, which could explain the source of the contamination.
Food Sanitation Law issues standards for plastic, china and metal
packaging that come into direct contact with food.
similar paper products are unregulated.
products have never been inspected for potential danger so they
have never been regulated,'' said a health ministry official. "If
study results suggest otherwise, we will certainly look into the


text:
honda nsx concept
Aug 16th, 13Honda NSX Concept-GT breaks cover
Honda has announced the NSX Concept-GT race car which will compete in the GT500 class of the 2014 Super GT Series fifth round this weekend at Suzuka.
Jan 15th, 13Acura NSX concept updated for Detroit [video]
Honda has launched in Detroit an updated version of the NSX concept. Previews production version.


text:
Atomis signed MOU with National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) and Yachiyo Engineering Co.,Ltd.
Atomis Inc., Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd. (YEC) and National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Research and innovation cooperation in the field of nanotechnology and material” on Friday, October 13, 2023.
The MoU signing was held at BRIN headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the presence of Dr. Ratno Nuryadi, Head of Research Organization for Nanotechnology and Material, Daisuke Asari, CEO of Atomis, and Tsutomu Takahashi, President of YEC. Dr. Laksana Tri Handoko, M.Sc, Chairman of BRIN and Kenji Kanasugi, the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia also attended as witness.
Purpose and Background of this MOU
The purpose of this MOU is to promote the technological development of PCP/MOF in Indonesia by the three parties. This will further promote the Smart Gas Network Concept operation business promoted by YEC and Atomis.
The Smart Gas Network Concept is a system in which gas is distributed without pipelines by utilizing CubiTan®, a next-generation high-pressure gas container filled with PCP/MOF developed by Atomis as an adsorbent, and its usage is remotely monitored and managed through IoT devices. The system is designed to optimize delivery and conserve resources. The system can contribute to “optimizing delivery and saving resources” and “improving convenience for users by knowing the remaining capacity.
In addition, Indonesia has large-scale plantations in various locations, and the biogas produced from the residues remains unutilized. By filling and distributing CubiTan® with this biogas, it is expected to promote local production for local consumption of energy, and to convert to bio-based renewable energy, thereby contributing to a decarbonized society.
<BRIN News Release>
<YEC News Release>


text:
Company plans to close its Dublin, Georgia, plant, a move that will result in annual cost savings of $4 million to $4.5 million, impact 150 jobs
DUBUQUE, Iowa — Flexsteel Industries reported a 7.5% increase in sales for its second fiscal quarter 2024 ended Dec. 31 along with improvements in both net income and gross margin.
However, the company also announced plans to close its Dublin, Georgia, manufacturing plant and product development and engineering facility, a move that will impact about 150 workers.
The company will shift the manufacturing of upper-end custom stationary upholstery produced in the Dublin facility to its Juarez, Mexico, plant, which is said to employ between 1,300 to 1,400 workers. It also will move the product development and engineering segment to High Point, where it has opened a similar product engineering facility.
The company noted that this move is expected to “improve the customer experience through reduced lead times and reduced handling damage and will enable the company to streamline inventory, manufacturing and logistics execution while maintaining exceptional quality across our full product offering.”
It expects to achieve $4 million to $5 million in annualized savings with the closure, which is expected to occur by the end of the fiscal fourth quarter. It said the facility supports less than 5% of annual sales and that it expects to retain the majority of these sales during the transition.
For the second quarter, the full-line furniture resource reported net sales of $100.1 million, up 7.5% from the $93.1 million in sales reported for the same period last year. The company said its net sales were driven by a $9.9 million, or a 12.5% increase in home furnishings sales through retail stores, both in unit volume and product mix.
Sales of products sold through e-commerce channels decreased by $2.9 million, or 20.3% compared to the second quarter of last year. It noted that this resulted from “softer consumer demand and less promotional activity to improve overall profitability.”
It reported net income of just over $3 million, or 57 cents per share, compared to $2.9 million, or 53 cents per share the same period last year.
“I am very pleased with our second-quarter results, which are consistent with the preliminary results announced on January 11th,” said Jerry Dittmer, chief executive officer. “While headwinds persist in our industry largely due to shifts in discretionary consumer spending towards experiences and away from home furnishings, we are competing well and growing both our top and bottom line.”
He added that the $100.1 million in net sales was slightly above its sales guidance range of $94 million to $100 million.
“Comparisons to prior year continued to be adversely impacted by the elimination of ocean freight surcharges in the prior year when ocean container delivery costs were inflated,” he said. “Excluding the approximately $3.5 million impact from surcharge reductions, growth from unit volume and sales mix was an impressive 11.7% in the quarter, reflecting our strong sales execution.
“In addition, we are executing well operationally and leveraging the combined benefits of continued productivity and cost savings, pricing discipline and ongoing product portfolio management, to meaningfully expand gross margin and improve operating income. Our operating margin of 4.6% in the second quarter was a significant improvement compared to the first quarter and prior-year quarter, and above our guidance range of 2% to 4%. Lastly, we are making strong progress in improving working capital efficiency. Given improved demand stability and better supplier lead times, we optimized and reduced our inventories by $15.6 million in the second quarter while continuing to provide exceptional service levels to customers.”
Net sales for the full six months totaled $194.7 million, up 3.4% from the $188.8 million in sales reported the same period the year prior.
Net income for the period totaled $3.8 million, or 71 cents per share, compared to net income of $3.1 million, or 58 cents per share, the same period last year.
The company also reported gross margin of 21.9% compared to 17% in the prior quarter and operating income of $4.6 million, or 4.6% of net sales, compared to $3.8 million or 4% of net sales in the prior-year quarter. The company said the increase in gross margin was due primarily to cost control, material cost savings initiatives and fixed-cost leverage on higher sales volume.
In addition, the company reported cash flow from operations of $18.9 million during the quarter, which the company said was driven by higher profits and its $15.6 million inventory reduction. It also said that it repaid $15.1 million in debt during the quarter, which it noted represents a 46% reduction in borrowings under its line of credit.
Its cash balance at the end of the quarter totaled $3.3 million, while its working capital totaled $100.5 million. It also reported the availability of $39.1 million under its secured line of credit.
Capital expenditures for the six months ended Dec. 31 totaled $3.1 million.
Relating to the closure of the Dublin facility, the company said that it expects to incur pre-tax restructuring and related expenses between $2.5 million and $3.2 million. These one-time costs, it said, include about $2 million to $2.5 million in employee separations and $500,000 to $700,000 in other expenses related to the closure. Most of these costs are expected to result in cash expenditures primarily during the third and fourth quarters.
The company plans to list the facility for sale after the closure and said it expects a future one-time gain in excess of the carrying value of the asset.


text:
Kawasaki pushes forward e-bikes, hybrids and hydrogen fuel for motorcycle segment in 2030 vision – paultan.org
Japanese industrial giant Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) is moving forward with electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuelled motorcycles in its group vision plan for 2030. In a corporate progress report, Yasuhiko Hashimoto, President and Chief Executive Officer of KHI, parent company of KHI Motorcycle & Engine Company that makes Kawasaki motorcycles, touched on the changing social environment and growing environmental consciousness.
Currently, Kawasaki is developing the EV Endeavor, a pure electric motorcycle that comes with a four-speed gearbox to optimise motor torque and acceleration. Intended to be a technology demonstrator, the EV Endeavor mimics the performance of a traditional combustion engined motorcycle.
KHI will seek cooperation with other players in the industry for the development of electric and alternative fuel motorcycles, as well as collaborate on technologies like hybridisation. Efforts are also being made to seek alliances with other companies to promote KHI’s motorcycle and engine business, one example of which is the revitalisation of the Bimota brand.
A new company called Kawasaki Motors will be established in October, 2021, to focus KHI’s two-wheel business along with the establishment of “Kawasaki Plaza” stores to cultivate a new customer base via lifestyle branding. In Japan, 77 such stores have been established since 2017, leading to a 60% increase in customers in the 20-year old age group and an 80% increase in sales of motorcycles above 400 cc.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
Samsung announced in September last year that it had decided to sell it printer business to HP for $1.05 billion. Samsung’s printer business sale was part of the company’s restructuring efforts. It wanted to free up cash and focus more on its core businesses. This decision freed up about a billion dollars for the company while also allowing HP to further increase its position as a market leader.
The company created a separate entity after the announcement called S-Printing Solution. It is going to operate the printer business until the deal closes. The subsidiary will then be formally transferred to HP.
Samsung’s Printer Business Sale
The two companies are nearly there now. China has given its approval but some restrictions have been placed on HP. They’re meant to keep HP from monopolizing the market and engaging in unfair practices.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has said that HP should sell its A4 laser printers under “fair and reasonable terms” in the country. It also wants the company to report pricing information and other data to the ministry every six months.
HP has also been forbidden from acquiring stakes in other A4 printer manufacturers in China. It can’t even make a minority equity investment.
While Samsung has left the printer business, the deal does give it the right to sell all HP inkjet products under its own brand in South Korea.


text:
Gema Boiza. Journalist. @GemaBoiza
Gastronomy and tourism have been a key combination that has enabled the food sector to spearhead Spanish exports in recent years, with tourists rating "Made in Spain" products very highly (7.87 points).
These are the conclusions in the report Perception of Spanish agri-food products and brands among foreign tourists, published by the Spanish Food and Drink Industry Federation (FIAB) in November.
This report, which polled over 607 tourists from the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Nordic countries and Russia, also reveals that Spanish products are rated highest by Russians and lowest by the French. A common feature among consumers from all of the above countries is that they are more familiar with Spanish products than brands, in a proportion of 9 to 7.
The most well-known products among these tourists include paella, tapas, ham, olives, gazpacho, Spanish omelet, olive oil and beer. These tourists, however, do not associate those products with any brand.
"It's surprising that no brands of oil or ham have had any impact on tourists", says Miguel Otero, general manager of the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, who also underlined some of the brands that are best-known among foreign visitors, which include Estrella Galicia, Torres, Tío Pepe and Freixenet. However, Otero points out that their knowledge about those brands has nothing to do with consumption in or outside of Spain.
More public-private partnerships
Otero and Horacio González Alemán, managing director of FIAB, have highlighted their plans to increase cooperation between government entities—such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Turespaña and the Institute of Foreign Trade—and private sector institutions to implement actions which increase the consumption of products and raise awareness about brands from Spain.
The brands face their own challenges, namely gaining a foothold in visiting tourists' countries of origin, especially among distributors there. According to the report, tourists in Spain eat Spanish products at hotels and restaurants, but when they return home, they purchase Spanish products at food shops and supermarkets.
Those food stores have been selling many other foreign foods for some time now, in contrast with Spain, whose companies have taken a long time to begin exporting. As a result, 42% of the tourists polled say they don't eat Spanish products due to their lack of availability. According to Jaime Palafox, manager of economic affairs and internationalization for FIAB: "For Spanish products to make their way onto the shelves of foreign supermarkets, sometimes they have to displace other items".
Currently, when tourists return home, the most common products they buy are wines, olives, ham and olive oil; Campofrío is the most well-known brand of ham they know.
Going forward, González Alemán says that FIAB and the Leading Brands of Spain Forum aim to implement new initiatives which involve all parties involved in gastronomy, tourism and food sales.
"Many actions are being rolled out at regional level in Spain, but without a common theme. There is considerable cooperation under way with the government, but we're aiming for collaboration that is outstanding. We're not looking for funding. We're looking to work together to raise awareness about our products among tourists and in other countries", says González Alemán.
According to FIAB, food and beverage industry exports have expanded by around 10% every year in the last three years. Additionally, Spain has unseated China as the third-leading tourist destination in the world.
People from the Nordic countries are the most frequent visitors to Spain, although they're not especially experts when it comes to our gastronomy. In contrast, French and UK tourists are most familiar with Spain's culinary culture, and Russians and Germans continue to lack considerable knowledge in this area.


text:
John Telusma (aka ‘Peterelliot’), a New York man from New York (37), was sentenced this week to four years in prison for purchasing stolen or compromised credit cards and assisting the Infraud Organization in monetizing their criminal activity fraudulent activity. Telusma is the 14th defendant that was arrested for his role in the Infraud scheme.
“A New York man was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison for purchasing stolen or compromised credit cards and assisting other members of the Infraud Organization in monetizing their fraudulent activity.” reads the press release published by DoJ.
The motto of the Infraud Organization was “In Fraud We Trust,” it had a primary role in the criminal ecosystem as a “premier one-stop shop for cybercriminals worldwide,” explained Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Rybicki.
The Infraud Organization used a number of websites to commercialize the data, it implemented a classic and efficient e-commerce for the stolen card and personal data, implementing also a rating and feedback system and an escrow” service for payments in digital currencies like Bitcoin.
The transnational cybercrime ring was engaged in the mass acquisition and sale of fraud-related goods and services, including stolen identities, compromised credit card data, and computer malware.
The Infraud Organization is responsible for the purchase and sale of over four million stolen credit and debit card numbers. The fraudulent activities conducted by the gang cost victims more than $568 million dollars.
Telusma pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy on October 13, 2021. He joined the gang in August 2011 and worked for the organization for five-and-a-half years, DoJ states that he was among the most prolific and active members of the gang.
Security Affairs is one of the finalists for the best European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards 2022 – VOTE FOR YOUR WINNERS. I ask you to vote for me again (even if you have already done it), because this vote is for the final.
Please vote for Security Affairs and Pierluigi Paganini in every category that includes them (e.g. sections “The Underdogs – Best Personal (non-commercial) Security Blog” and “The Tech Whizz – Best Technical Blog”)
To nominate, please visit:
Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook
|[adrotate banner=”9″]||[adrotate banner=”12″]|
(SecurityAffairs – hacking, cybercrime)


text:
Shares of the firm opened at £9.42 apiece compared with the IPO price of £11.77 per ADS
Ant Financial is expected to raise between £23.53 billion and £27.45 billion in its IPO, valuing it at more than..
HKEX (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing) is reportedly preparing to launch a new platform to simplify its IPO process and..
The Lithuanian renewables-focused utility firm said that it will use the proceeds to support its growth, including..
Unity Software Inc on Thursday sold shares in its New York initial public offering (IPO) above its target range to raise..
The online retailer plans to sell 374 million shares worth approximately £1.87 billion


text:
Big retailers are muscling in on the likes of Visa, MasterCard and Google in a fiercely competitive market.
Announcement comes after dispute with T-Mobile for promoting discounted iPhone 5s to BlackBerry patrons.
Move was bid to cushion the blow from a sales suspension slapped on mobile carriers.
Deal underscores lengths Internet firms are willing to go to gain foothold in mobile communications.
The addictive mobile game will return to Apple's app store, but creator Dong Nguyen didn't say when.
The No. 2 U.S. mobile operator makes move in attempt to better compete with rival T-Mobile.
Video-sharing Twitter app Vine says it has banned all sexually explicit content from being published.
Security firm's report outlines the types of mobile malware readily available to Chinese cyber-gangs.
Ruling throws out ticket for Calif. motorist who was looking at a map on his phone while in a traffic jam.
The announcement had been widely expected despite Microsoft detailing plans to buy Nokia's mobile division.
Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved.


text:
If you desire a change in your life, maybe changing the colour of your immediate and familiar surroundings will go a long way to affect your mood. In some parts of Asia, people paint when they get married. People repaint when they have a newborn child.
Nippon Paint will be launching its second “Trend Beyond Colors”, unveiling nine key colour palettes featured across three inspirational palettes: “We Are One”, “New Eco” and “Wonder-Lust.” The nine colours are forecasted to drive utilization across various industries and applications in 2016 and 2017. The nine trend colours were curated and handpicked by more than 50 design professionals, colour experts and enthusiasts from all over the Asia Pacific Region, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan, held at the Asia Pacific Chroma Zone Color Forecasting Workshop 2015 in Japan earlier this year.


text:
Digital TV News: Lin Shu Fen
Singapore's StarHub unveils online streaming service
Aug 12, 2015 – StarHub has announced the launch of an online streaming service. Named StarHub Go, the service offers a selection of the most popular StarHub TV content delivered on demand, over-the-top, and on any device, enabling customers to access their favourite programmes at their convenience.
News categories: StarHub, Lin Shu Fen, Digital TV, Mobile, OTT, Singapore
Nagra enables StarHub to deliver IPTV offering to all-IP fibre network
Apr 22, 2015 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) has announced that StarHub’s recently launched IPTV service on Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network uses NAGRA’s MediaLive multiscreen, OpenTV 5 connectware and anyCAST CONNECT content protection solutions.
News categories: NAGRA, StarHub, Content Protection, Digital TV, Fibre, IPTV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Singapore
StarHub to offer IPTV to Singapore homes
Apr 8, 2015 – StarHub has announced that it plans to launch its IPTV service on April 9th. Named StarHub TV on Fibre, the service which is delivered over Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network, promises HD content, personalised features and greater interactivity.
News categories: StarHub, Lin Shu Fen, Digital TV, Fibre, IPTV, Singapore
NAGRA MediaLive powers StarHub multiscreen offer
Sep 9, 2014 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) has announced that StarHub, Singapore's leading pay-TV operator, hsa selected its end-to-end multiscreen solution, NAGRA MediaLive Multiscreen, to power its next generation digital TV services.
News categories: NAGRA, StarHub, Lin Shu Fen, Jean-Luc Jezouin, Cable TV, Content Distribution, Content Protection, Digital TV, DRM, HTML5, IBCShowcase, Mobile, Singapore, TV Everywhere
StarHub partners Samsung and NAGRA for next-gen STBs
Apr 10, 2014 – StarHub has announced a strategic partnership with Samsung and NAGRA for its line-up of next-generation set-top boxes. The first of three to be rolled out will be a Samsung HD Interactive set-top box.
News categories: StarHub, Samsung, NAGRA, Lin Shu Fen, Stanley Goh, Jean-Luc Jezouin, Cable TV, Digital TV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Singapore
StarHub Launches StarHub TV on Fibre
Mar 14, 2013 – The IPTV service, StarHub TV on Fibre, offers access to HD content and over three times as many TV channels as the existing digital terrestrial platform. The service will initially be available only to commercial customers such as offices, restaurants and pubs.
News categories: StarHub, Fibre, IPTV, Singapore
- VisualOn launches WatchParty co-watching solution
- Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer first vehicles with Fire TV for Auto
- U.S. pay TV providers lost over 5 million subscribers in 2020
- OTT NOW! from Stoneroos powers SportsTribal
- OTT video streaming in APAC now reaches 392 million people
- Megacable launches OTT service powered by Viaccess-Orca
- No growth expected for Latin America pay TV
- More than 150 million smart speakers sold in 2020
- LG and Sony led OLED TV gains in advanced TV market in Q4
- 63% of TV viewers in the EU5 watch ad-supported streaming
- Slow growth for OTT pay TV in Latin America
- Australia pay TV market to decline at 2.6% CAGR over next five years
- MediaTek releases 4K Smart TV IC with integrated AI processing unit
- SpotX to monetize OTT inventory for Crackle Plus
- Kaltura files for Initial Public Offering
- ANGA COM 2021 switches to online
- Virgin TV 360 now available to all Virgin Media customers
- TVbeat to provide audience insights for OSN
- Roku to acquire Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising business
- VIZIO files for initial public offering


text:
Marie Antoinette’s Jewels Are Below. Now’s Your Chance to Try out Them on-VisionGold.org®
In advance of she was beheaded, the queen’s diamonds and pearls ended up sent to Austria. Now These are on community display — for just a few days — at Sotheby’s.
For the first and probably only time at any time, New Yorkers will likely have the chance to see, manage and in some cases try out on a few of Marie Antoinette’s jewellery, which include a ring that contains a lock of your queen’s hair and also a necklace with 331 pearls plus a diamond clasp, which have hardly ever been shown in the United States.
“I am able to’t picture more significant items coming to auction unless a thing from Queen Elizabeth I became out there, and that’s not heading to occur,” stated Frank Everett, gross sales director of Sotheby’s Luxury and Life-style Division. “I don’t know what is going to ever match it once again. I might need to retire.”
Marie Antoinette was beheaded in 1793. Now a number of her jewels are on Display screen for the first time in The big apple.CreditGetty Visuals
As A part of an exhibit to showcase long run auctions, They are going to be on Display screen at Sotheby’s showroom on York Avenue at 72nd Street in Manhattan via Oct. 16.
The jewels have been wrapped up and sneakily sent to Austria when Marie Antoinette was sent to prison then beheaded in 1793. They are handed down by close relatives which have saved them non-public right until now.
Diamond tiara.CreditCeleste Sloman with the The big apple Periods
“It’s a humiliation of riches for us,” Mr. Everett mentioned. “And what folks don’t understand is the fact that our exhibitions are open up to the public. Everybody can come in and check out these items, as well as try them on. It’s not scary in any way. It’s like going for walks into a store.”
Marie Antoinette’s jewels are going to be in excellent organization; they will be joined because of the diamonds and rubies of two Ny socialites who mainly represented the 20th-century American Variation of royalty, Pleased Rockefeller and Barbara Sinatra.
Joyful Rockefeller and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller producing an visual appearance on the Metropolitan Opera in 1966.CreditThe Big apple Occasions
The former, who died in 2015, was the next spouse of Nelson Rockefeller, vp of the United States beneath Gerald Ford as well as 49th governor of Big apple. She was known for her intoxicating appeal and her hectic social plan.
Barbara Sinatra was the fourth (and closing) spouse of Frank. She was a product and an actress who never left her husband’s side, whether or not he was executing with the Waldorf Astoria or shelling out late evenings at Patsy’s and Μονόπετρα δαχτυλίδια P.J. Clarke’s. She died in the summer of 2017.
Satisfied Rockefeller’s pink tourmaline, sapphire, emerald and diamond pendant necklace.CreditCeleste Sloman for your New York Times
The jewellery on Exhibit is a component of two auction previews happening at Sotheby’s above the next couple times. The auction to the Royal Jewels in the Bourbon Parma Family members, which features the Antoinette goods, will happen in Geneva on Nov. fourteen; plus the New York Magnificent Jewels sale, going down on Dec. 4 in Big apple, characteristics the jewelry of Ms. Rockefeller and Ms. Sinatra.
For a couple of days, visitors to your Sotheby’s showroom will be able to test on Marie Antoinette’s gorgeous diamond pendant that retains a all-natural pearl so substantial, it pulls down clothing. (It truly is estimated at $1 million to $two million.) Also on Display screen certainly are a diamond ring, While using the queen’s initials, that still is made up of a lock of her hair ($twenty,000 to $fifty,000) as well as Μονόπετρα δαχτυλίδια a glowing tiara ($350,000 to $550,000).
Barbara and Frank Sinatra.CreditRon Galella/WireImage, by using Getty Images
Site visitors might also try on a necklace, lined with sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds ($60,000 to 80,000), worn by Ms. Rockefeller although campaigning together with her spouse, or Ms. Sinatra’s ruby-and-diamond bracelet ($one hundred fifty,000 to 250,000).
Philippe Tremblay-Berberi, a filmmaker who Μονόπετρα δαχτυλίδια life in Brooklyn, attended a media preview not long ago, and is particularly scheduling on returning to Sotheby’s on Saturday along with his girlfriend.
Barbara Sinatra’s ruby and diamond brooch.CreditCeleste Sloman with the Big apple Situations
“For me, Φθηνά μονόπετρα it’s a historic fascination,” he explained. “They have been the jewels of the last queen of France, essentially. And they were being carried to Austria and continue to there when her daughter confirmed up. They survived Μονόπετρο the guillotine.”
Mr. Everett mentioned that New Yorkers have lengthy held a fascination with Marie Antoinette’s jewellery. “From the nineteenth century Charles Tiffany went to France and bought many of the royal French jewels readily available then and offered them to the great girls of NYC,” he stated. “Americans experienced an appetite for nearly anything royal. They desired the titles, they preferred the jewels.”
He explained the royal obsession is robust, because of the Television set series “The Crown,” and with the previous American actress, Meghan Markle, signing up for England’s royal loved ones. “Lots of American collectors will likely be pretty considering these items,” he reported. “We aren’t just showing them in New York City for pleasurable.”
While the intrigue of handling jewels that after adorned a royal head that satisfied the guillotine is difficult to disregard, dealing with the retro glam of mid-twentieth century America ought to be entertaining For several New Yorkers, way too.
“I feel Marie Antoinette’s assortment will certainly be the spotlight, but as a whole new Yorker and also a supporter of The full Rat Pack era, I’m seeking forward to seeing one other parts in authentic lifetime,” explained Marissa Cassinelli, a media strategist who's planning to begin to see the jewels.
Most likely Mr. Tremblay-Berberi place it very best: “Just because I’m about to see Marie Antoinette’s jewelry doesn’t imply I'm not heading to look at the rest.”