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2011 may have been riddled with frustrating political controversies and mind-boggling face-palm moments, but there were still some things that made us feel flush with pride rather than embarrassment. SPOT.ph celebrates this year's triumphs in the arts, filmmaking, sports, and more:
25.Pastry chefs win in Hong Kong's International Culinary Classic.
Our culinary prowess shone this year: the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines received five golds, two bronzes and a team silver at Hong Kong's International Culinary Classic held in May 2011. The team competed against delegates from 12 countries.
24.Local films Halaw and Busong are recognized in international film festivals.
22.Pinoy designer Alexis Monsanto's collection featured in first 3D fashion show in US
Pinoy designer Alexis Monsanto's collection debuted at the first 3D fashion show in Hollywood, California. The September fashion show was attended by blogger Perez Hilton, as well as stars from the new TV show, "Revenge," which will use some of Monsanto's creations on the show.
21.Pinoy athlete Antonio Lining is now No. 1 pool player in the world.
Antonio Lining was declared the No. 1 pool player in the world in April 2011. Although Lining was booted out of the World Ten Ball Championship in May 2011, other local bets advanced during the Ten Ball matches.
20. Pinoy furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue's bamboo and rattan car "a big hit" in Milan
Kenneth Cobonpue's bamboo and rattan car was showcased at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile during the Milan Design Week. According to a Manila Bulletin report, Conbonpue's design was well-received and two leading car manufacturers expressed interest in collaborating with the Filipino furniture designer.
19.London-based Pinoy fashion designer wins Collection of the Year in Italy
Shaun Samson bagged the Collection of the Year award plus €15,000 at the International Talent Support Prize (ITS) held in July in Trieste, Italy. The California-born, British-trained Pinoy designer was chosen from eight finalists by a panel of jurors comprised of Daily Telegraph fashion director Hilary Alexander and fashion mavens Viktor & Rolf, Antonio Berardi, Renzo Rosso, and Mandi Lennard.
18.Pinoy designer Robin Tomas' award-winning shirt launched at Bloomingdale's New York
Another designer made waves in the international scene: Robin Tomas' award-winning shirt was launched at Bloomingdale's New York in March. The piece won the Best Reinvention of the Men's T-shirt award at the Supima Design Competition in New York in 2010.
17.Three Fil-Am producers celebrate an Oscar win for God of Love.
God of Lovewon the award for Best Short Film (Live Action) at the Oscars in March 2011. Produced by former Eat Bulaga host Stefanie Walmsley along with Gigi Dement and Marketing and Distribution Producer Stephen Dypiangco, God of Love beat four other nominees.
16. Pinoy professor wins Gallieno Denardo international physics award
Dr. Ryan Balili proves that Pinoys can be just as competent in the sciences. The head of the photonics research of the Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology, Balili was lauded for his work on semiconductor optics and was awarded the Gallieno Denardo Award along with US$1,000, a diploma and an invitation to a three-week stay in Trieste, Italy where he will be given a chance to conduct a seminar on his work.
15.Designer Oliver Tolentino gets a standing ovation at Palm Springs Fashion Week and dresses up ANTM contestants.
14.Nonito Donaire is named No. 1 Bantamweight and No. 3 Pound-for-Pound Boxer in the World by The Ring magazine.
Earlier this year, The Ring magazine ranked the "Filipino Flash" Nonito Donaire as their No. 1 bantamweight champ. According to The Ring Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins, "The 'Filipino Flash' is on a helluva roll, one that could conceivably see him climb even higher in future months."
13.Four Pinoys included in the Forbes Heroes of Philantrophy List
Filipino tycoons Jose “Joey” Concepcion, Jesus Tambunting, Lucio Tan, and Stephen Zuellig made the Forbes Heroes of Philanthropy, a list of citizens who “have a large vision of how best to help society." The annual list aims to "call attention to a mix of notable people and causes throughout the region and to encourage more giving."
Screenshot from kermittesoro.com
12.Pinoy designer Kermit Tesoro wows London Fashion Week crowd with heel-less wedges and skull heels.
11.Ang Babae sa Septic Tank makes it to the Oscars short list.
We plan to cross our fingers while watching the Oscars next year: Ang Babae sa Septic Tankwas chosen to represent the Philippines in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards to be held in February 2012. The Eugene Domingo-starrer is among the shortlisted films from 63 countries. Baby steps, yes. But commendable nonetheless.
10.Fil-Am midwife is CNN Hero of the Year.
Following the win of street educator Efren Peñaflorida in 2009, Filipino-American midwife Robin Lim was named the CNN Hero of the Year for 2011. Lim received an additional $250,000 grant for her non-profit organization, the Bumi Sehat Foundation.
9. Filipino journalist Sheila Coronel wins Columbia University's Presidential Teaching Award
Investigative journalist Sheila Coronel made us proud when she won Columbia University's Presidential Teaching Award in May 2011. The award lauds Columbia's best teachers and is a recognition of her contribution to the university. Coronel co-founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in 1989 and has written for The New York Times, the Guardian in London, The Manila Times and the Philippine Panorama.
8.Charice stars in episodes of Glee; makes it to Entertainment Weekly's "11 to Watch in 2011"
Pinoy inventors Elma Arboleras and Rodel De Guzman developed the iBus concept which won a gold medal for the consumer category at the 11th British Invention Show. Arboleras reportedly turned down offers for its patent from foreign companies and wants the Philippines to use and benefit from the invention.
Photo by Philip Angert, courtesy of Levi's
5.Danica Flores Magpantay, 17, wins Supermodel of the World 2011, is the first Filipina to win the title.
4. Azkals win the AFF Suzuki Cup Fair Play Award and moved up eight places in FIFA world rankings.
From underdogs to athlete superstars, the Azkals are credited for making football a more popular sport in the country. This year, they moved up eight places in the FIFA world rankings as of October 2011. The team is also 29th in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings.
Ventura's painting titled "Grayground"
3. Pinoy artist Ronald Ventura’s painting sells for nearly P47 million at Sotheby’s auction.


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The one-page pre-Apple employment questionnaire is among a collection of rare items signed by Jobs being sold by Boston's RR Auction announced Thursday. Though Jobs responded on the form that he had a driver's licence, he said his access to transportation was "possible, but not probable".
A 1973 job application handwritten by a teenaged Steve Jobs, and rife with mistakes, is expected to fetch at least $55,000 (£39,000) when it goes to auction next month. He remained on campus for the next year or so, during which he would have written this job application.
It's not known whether the job application was successful. "At the bottom, he describes his 'Special Abilities" as "electronics tech or design engineer. digital. -from Bay near Hewitt-Packard [sic]". "With regard to skills, he scribbled "(design, tech)" under two sections titled "Computer" and "Calculator".
Zions Bancorporation Raises Position in Walt Disney Co (DIS)
Moreover, Chickasaw Cap Management Limited Liability has 0.02% invested in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS ) for 8,650 shares. Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 95 funds opened positions while 563 raised stakes.
With an estimated value of about $50,000, the one-page application from 1973, complete with spelling and punctuation errors, lists his name as "Steven jobs" and address as "reed college", the OR college he attended briefly, Boston auction house RR Auction said.
Jobs was born in 1955 to a Syrian Arab father and an American mother of Swiss-German descent, who put him up for adoption in San Francisco. In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak set out on their own and founded Apple, introducing the personal computer to the masses. The Daily Telegraph says he didn't secure a technical role until he joined Atari as a technician in 1974. Four years later, he teamed up with Steve Wozniak to launch Apple, the company which analysts believe could soon boast a stock market value of more than $1 trillion.
The sale is being handled next month by RR Auction, and also includes a newspaper article about Apple signed by Jobs, and signed OG Mac OS X manual. Jobs died of cancer in 2011 at the age of 56. It is accompanied with letters of authenticity and bidding runs from March 8 to March 15.

domain: news


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IDATE: Cellular M2M market to grow 14 percent
The cellular machine-to-machine market is expected to increase 14 percent in 2012 over 2011, reaching €22 billion, according to a recent report by consulting and research firm IDATE.
In terms of volume, the M2M market is expected to reach 140 million modules in 2012, a 36 percent increase over 2011, IDATE predicts. By 2015, the M2M market is predicted to grow by 30 percent in volume to almost 370 million modules.
Asia-Pacific should dominate Europe and North America in volume, but Europe should still lead in value, followed by North America, IDATE said.
Over the next few years, the M2M market will be driven by demand in the automotive, consumer electronics and utilities industries.
"The M2M market is growing very fast but its development is not spread out homogeneously over the verticals markets. Take the automotive industry worldwide: in volume we predict an average growth rate of 40 percent until 2016. In parallel, the consumer electronics industry has an AGR of 15 percent and will represent barely a third of the M2M volume for the automotive industry in 2016," said Samuel Ropert, project manager and senior consultant at IDATE.
At the same time, IDATE noted that some barriers could obstruct growth in the automotive and utilities sectors. In the short term, some applications in these industries are recurrently delayed and have a potential impact on the traditional M2M market.
"The utilities market is now seen as less attractive with business opportunity being somewhat limited. In fact, most smart meters will be connected to the cellular network through a concentrator and large utilities players will try to leverage their negotiation power to drive down the unit price. Finally, multiple M2M users are adopting a 'wait and see' position regarding the world economic situation," IDATE explained.
- see IDATE's release


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January 6, 2017, Reuters
Sugar: the thing we love but does not love us back.
In a September article about sugar in our diets, we addressed the need for scientific research to be publicly funded to avoid the conflict of interests inherent when the industry itself pays for the studies. Just a few months later, we are again looking at sugar’s role in damaging our health through a couple of lawsuits.
A lawsuit charging Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association with misleading the public has been filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California on behalf of the Praxis Project. The Praxis Project is a nonprofit whose mission, in part, is “to build healthy communities by changing the power relationships between people of color and the institutional structures that affect their lives.” The suit states that the soda company claims obesity and diseases such as diabetes are not linked to beverages containing sugar, but scientific studies cannot back up those assertions. The suit goes on to claim that Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association depict the lack of exercise—and not the consumption of sugar—as the culprit for obesity and related conditions. While scientific studies have determined that sugar plays a part in the growing number of obese Americans, the soda company implies that one calorie is the same as another.
Some of the deceptive statements called out in the lawsuit are:
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- Coca-Cola’s senior vice president, Katie Bayne, claims that“[t]here is no scientific evidence that connects sugary beverages to obesity.”
- “Coca-Cola is an excellent complement to the habits of a healthy life,” said former Coca-Cola chairman and CEO Douglas Ivester.
- “There is no unique link between soda consumption and obesity,” claims a post on the ABA’s website.
- “Simply put, it is wrong to say beverages cause disease,” the ABA stated in another
- Coca-Cola’s incoming CEO, James Quincey, equated sugar-sweetened beverages to any other calories, dismissing their unique contribution to the obesity epidemic by asserting such beverages contribute only two percent of calories overall.
Praxis Project has brought the suit in California, but the results will reverberate across the market. While one nonprofit fights that fight, a philanthropic organization comes to the sugar fight in the City of Brotherly Love. The Philadelphia Business Journal reports on another lawsuit, filed against the city of Philadelphia and Frank Breslin, the commissioner of the city’s Revenue Department, by local restaurants and beverage associations in the city after the passage of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. The suit is ongoing and has cost the city over $800,000 since September of 2016. A Texas organization, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, donated $500,000 to the city in November to help defray the costs of the soda tax lawsuit.
“The Arnold Foundation’s support will go a long way towards easing the City’s financial cost of defending against this lawsuit by the American Beverage Association,” City Solicitor Sozi Pedro Tulante said in a statement. “Philadelphia should not be penalized for doing what we know is right for our children or for doing what is legally sound—a view upheld by the Common Pleas Court last month.”
This is, of course, not the first time that the Arnold Foundation has weighed in with a significant grant on a controversial issue. Among other examples, in Baltimore they recently contributed to the costs of a community surveillance program, and previously they made a grant to investigate the prices of pharmaceutical drugs.
At the end of the day, sugar and the beverages that contain it are part of the economy. (Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway is Coca-Cola’s largest shareholder, has said he drinks at least five Cokes a day.) But as we learn and gain knowledge, we adjust; things fall out of use, as tobacco has—though it stills kicks a bit as its market shrinks. In the beverage arena, total consumption of soda has declined each year since 2004. It is now at a 30-year low. The market will likely settle all of this in the end, as it does with many issues. People will stop buying a product, even if you have created a marketing plan to disguise the facts.—Marian Conway


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A mounting crisis is facing GM Korea suffering from severely sluggish sales. A possibility of a decline in exports to Europe and sluggish new car sales among others are once again fueling a rumor about GM Korea's withdrawal from the Korean market which once subsided since new president Kaher Kazem, took office in September.
The crisis began when the Peugeot Citroen Group (PSA) announced on November 9 that the company decided to produce small-sized sports utility vehicles (SUVs), which had been imported from GM Korea, directly at European plants of Opel, a subsidiary of the PSA in order to boost Opel’s productivity. The production’s specific time and scale were not mentioned. The PSA acquired Opel which was GM's European subsidiary earlier this year. When reaching the sale agreement, both agreed to maintain volume from GM Korea for the time being but the situation has changed.
In no time, GM Korea was put on alert. GM Korea exported 130,000 units through Opel last year alone. The volume accounted of 22% of Korea GM's annual sales (597,165 units) last year. "The change will prune the operation rate of GM Korea’s plants in Korea and eventually lead the automaker to a restructuring," said an official of the automobile industry.
In the Korean market, GM Korea's crisis is deepening. GM Korea's domestic sales in the first ten months of this year fell 11% to 110,176 units from 144,726 units in the same period of last year. In order to overcome this situation, GM Korea launched an All-New Cruz diesel model on November 1 but the new model was not well received in the market due to its high price.


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Lawn Care Company fined $7,000
Nov. 27, 2018
Global Korean Post
Hired Hands Group Inc which is Lawn Care Company fined $7,000 for Pesticides Act Violation
The Hamilton located company was convicted relating to applying banned pesticides and storing a pesticide in an improperly labelled container.
The period of offence began on or about March 29, 2016 and ended on or about July 20, 2016.
On September 19, 2018, Hired Hands Inc. was convicted of two violations under the Pesticides Act, was fined $7,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $1,750 and was given 180 days to pay the fine.
Hired Hands Group Inc. owns and operates a lawn care business and stores pesticides at a facility in Dundas.
On July 20, 2016, ministry staff conduct an inspection at the site.
During the inspection, various empty containers labelled as pesticides containing 2-4-D, Mecoprop and Dicamba were identified, and some containers (including a backpack sprayer) were not labelled with the names of pesticide contents.
The empty Civitas containers containing banned Class 9 pesticide ingredients had been manufactured on March 29, 2016, which is well after the ban on Class 9 pesticides for cosmetic use.
The ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated and laid charges resulting in the conviction.


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Apple's CarPlay embeds iPhone voice, touch controls in cars
Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari launching feature shortly, 13 others to follow
Drivers of most major car brands will soon be able to access iPhone calls, messages, music and maps, through touch and voice controls embedded in their steering wheel and dashboard.
Apple announced Monday that the CarPlay feature will be premiering in Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo vehicles this week at the Geneva International Motor Show. It will be coming "down the road" to vehicles from 13 other manufacturers.
The feature connects iPhone 5 or later running iOS 7 to the car via Apple's Lightning connector. Once the phone is connected, users can tap into it via built-in controls on the dashboard or by pushing and holding a voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri, Apple's virtual assistant.
"IPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice-president of iPhone and iOS product marketing in a statement.
CarPlay features include the ability to anticipate destinations and provide directions based on recent trips, emails or texts, Apple said.
Volvo said its first car to offer CarPlay will be the new XC90 SUV, which will be introduced later in 2014, and is designed with a large iPad-style portrait-oriented touch screen in the dashboard.
Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers conference in 2012 that it was expanding Siri to cars, starting with Honda, Toyota and GM.
The rollout of CarPlay includes those manufacturers, the three CarPlay launch partners, and BMW Group, Ford, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Subaru and Suzuki.
Cars are increasingly featuring built-in multimedia displays, which manufacturers say are popular with consumers.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have been trying to crack down on drivers distracted by electronic devices such as smartphones. Most jurisdictions now allow only hands-free operation of phones, providing motivation for manufacturers such as Apple to find new ways of providing drivers with access to their devices.
However, recent studies suggests that drivers are distracted even by hands-free calling.


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USA: Toyota postpones decision on new plant site
According to Associated Press (AP), Toyota will postpone for several months a decision on building an assembly plant in one of five potential US locations, including Mississippi. AP said that a decision had been expected by early December and that the other finalists for the $750 million North American vehicle assembly plant are Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Alabama.
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- Tire company Goodyear is turning to technology to enhance safety and data visibility, incorporating sensor technology into its tires.
- The sensors, powered by cloud-based algorithms, send data to fleet operators in real time, the company announced Wednesday.
- "This is another step to evolve the tire to not only deliver its core, traditional job but also be a nexus of new data and information," said Chris Helsel, Goodyear's SVP, global operations and CTO, in the statement.
Data provides businesses with insights to inform decision-making. enhance operations, improve experiences and increase safety.
Unlocking new data streams is like hitting the jackpot, provided companies follow two rules of thumb, according to Pedro Pacheco, VP of research in Gartner’s CIO Research Group:
- Investment in sensors is key in order to get more and better data. Go beyond trying to do the best with the data that you already have.
- Most of data’s value is in indirect rather than direct monetization. Meaning, don’t waste time and effort trying to sell data. Instead, use data insights to deliver value-enhancing services to customers.
Goodyear equipped short-haul logistics company Gatik with the intelligent tires to demonstrate, in proof of concept, the tires’ new capabilities.
The partnership between Goodyear and Gatik started in September 2022. It allows Goodyear access to Gatik’s enterprise clients, such as Walmart, KBX and Georgia-Pacific.
In addition to enhancing safety, the data solution brings intelligent tires and the increased data visibility to the enterprise level and could be used as a cost saver.
"Much like smart watches that monitor vitals like heart rates and oxygen levels, Goodyear SightLine's tire intelligence monitors the health of a tire," said Chris Helsel, SVP, global operations and CTO, in a June announcement. "Goodyear SightLine takes the mystery out of understanding tires and provides proactive mobility insights to communicate when tires need service or replacement."


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On November 1, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the China Initiative, a Department of Justice (DOJ) program to combat Chinese economic espionage. The details of the announcement, which went largely unnoticed during those last days of the former Attorney General’s tenure, included a declaration in its accompanying fact sheet that one of the goals of the Initiative was to “[i]dentify Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases involving Chinese companies that compete with American businesses.”
Likewise noticed by few, the inclusion of Huawei in the 2015 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) report on Gulnara Karimova’s massive corruption (Game of Phones, Part I), which preceded the DOJ’s three years of related FCPA enforcement cases (Game of Phones, Part II).
The DOJ is unlikely to have similarly failed to notice the presence of Huawei, the leading Chinese company competing with American businesses in 5G network technology, in the Karimova case and include the Chinese telecom giant in its FCPA investigations.
Huawei and Gulnara Karimova
The 2015 OCCRP report noted the presence of Huawei in early payments to Karimova in 2001–04. The report stated that Huawei Technologies, which helped Uzdunrobita create mobile telephone networks outside of Tashkent, had sent payments to Revi Holdings, a Dubai company set up in November 2001 as an offshore holding company owning Karimova’s other firms. These payments preceded the massive bribery by Vimpelcom, TeliaSonera, and MTS from 2004 to 2012 that was the subject of the DOJ’s FCPA enforcement actions against those companies starting in 2016. The OCCRP report lacked further information on these payments, such as exact dates, dollar amounts, and counterparties, which it had included for payments by Vimpelcom, TeliaSonera, MTS, and other companies.
Uzdunrobita played a central role in Karimova’s corruption, according to the DOJ’s findings. Once the largest mobile telephone carrier in Uzbekistan, Uzdunrobita had been originally founded in 1991 as a U.S.-Uzbekistan joint venture and changed ownership before MTS became its majority owner from 2004 to 2012. MTS conducted its business in Uzbekistan through Uzdunrobita, which was partly owned by Karimova, and MTS used its local subsidiary as a vehicle in a scheme of Byzantine complexity for funneling corrupt payments to Karimova. The scheme included MTS and Uzdunrobita acquiring ownership of an Uzbek advertising company named Kolorit Dizayn Ink LLC, partly owned by Karimova, as a further vehicle for paying bribes. MTS, Uzdunrobita, and Kolorit paid approximately $420 million in bribes to Karimova from 2004 to 2012, according to the DOJ Criminal Information for MTS.
It is possible that Huawei was a good corporate citizen in Uzbekistan during a period of pervasive corruption on a massive scale in its industry sector, but it is equally or more possible that it was not. Huawei entities and executives have been prosecuted for bribery in Algeria from 2003 to 2006 (one Huawei executive and two ZTE executives were sentenced to 10 years in prison in absentia in 2012), accused in Ghana of funding the ruling party in exchange for a lucrative government contract in 2012, and accused of bribery in numerous other countries. The 2015 OCCRP report’s findings on Huawei payments to Karimova in 2001 through 2004 may be only the tip of the iceberg in a larger bribery scheme whose details have not yet been publicly revealed, or fully investigated.
The DOJ’s Criminal Case Against Karimova
The DOJ’s March 7 indictment of Gulnara Karimova for money laundering is also an indictment of Bekhzod Akhmedov, the general director of Uzdunrobita for a decade starting in 2002. The indictment describes criminal conduct by them that began in the fall of 2001, when they “hatched a corrupt scheme to obtain a bribe from the American Company” (unnamed in the indictment), which they forced to give a 20% ownership share in Uzdunrobita to a Karimova-controlled shell company. Akhmedov became general director of Uzdunrobita in 2002 following this acquisition of a 20% ownership share by Karimova, which increased to 51.4% after she used her influence to have the government of Uzbekistan transfer its 31.4% stake in Uzdunrobita to the shell company. The corrupt payments by MTS, TeliaSonera, and Vimpelcom punished in the settlements with those companies followed MTS’s 2004 acquisition of Uzdunrobita.
The actions of Karimova and Akhmedov from 2001 to 2004 to acquire control over Uzdunrobita and then use it to extract bribes are clearly of interest in the criminal case against them. That interest is likely to have directed the attention of the DOJ toward Huawei’s relationship with Uzdunrobita and Karimova-controlled shell companies in those years. If it has, then there may be an active investigation of Huawei for violations of the FCPA. The China Initiative’s stated goal of identifying FCPA cases involving Chinese companies that compete with American businesses may make such an FCPA investigation more likely, if the unnamed American company was in any way a competitor with Huawei.
The lack of any information about Huawei in the DOJ’s actions against Karimova, MTS, TeliaSonera, and Vimpelcom may reflect the difficulty of investigating a Chinese company in Uzbekistan without the cooperation of China and Uzbekistan. The DOJ’s announcements of these actions thanked law enforcement partners in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Isle of Man, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom for their assistance, but China and Uzbekistan were absent from the lists of cooperating countries.
China is unlikely to cooperate in an investigation of Huawei, despite having its own corruption case against Huawei for bribery in its domestic market, especially after imposing restrictions on providing judicial assistance between China and other countries in international criminal proceedings by passing the International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law in October 2018. As a result, any ongoing FCPA investigation may remain in progress and under seal for a long time.
FCPA, the China Initiative, and the U.S. National Security Strategy
The broader U.S. national security strategy will influence the DOJ’s FCPA actions and the China Initiative. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America issued on December 2017 states in its section on “Diplomacy and Statecraft” regarding “Tools of Economic Diplomacy”:
Retaining our position as the world’s preeminent economic actor strengthens our ability to use the tools of economic diplomacy for the good of Americans and others … Economic tools—including sanctions, anti-money-laundering and anti-corruption measures, and enforcement actions—can be important parts of broader strategies to deter, coerce, and constrain adversaries. We will work with like-minded partners to build support for tools of economic diplomacy against shared threats. (emphasis added)
Huawei and other Chinese companies must already be on notice of their potential criminal liability in the United States after the recent indictments of Huawei Technologies and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou for bank fraud and money laundering in violating U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, and of Huawei Device Co. for theft of trade secrets in stealing a smartphone testing robot arm from T-Mobile. Possible bribery of Gulnara Karimova is only one of many past actions by Huawei and other Chinese companies that may have violated U.S. and international economic sanctions, anti-money laundering laws, and anti-corruption laws, which should make them seriously concerned about potential enforcement action by the United States and other countries.


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Like mother, like daughters.
Ten-year-old Malia Obama's dress on Election Night is causing its own mini-fashion frenzy.
The $110 red silk taffeta dress by Biscotti Inc. was on the brink of selling out at specialty stores around the country even before Malia wore it, said a representative of the Oakland, Calif.-based high-end children's brand.
The morning after brought mayhem.
"The stores were all calling, 'We need more; we need more,' " said Judy Beall, marketing manager for Biscotti. "We had no idea she was going to wear it. It was purchased at Nordstrom without any encouragement from us."
Initially, Biscotti said no more could be made, even as it scrambled to find more fabric. By this week, it had succeeded. About 150 more of the bubble-skirted dresses will be turned around in about two weeks, in time for renewed holiday demand.
Biscotti at first wasn't sure the Election Night dress was its design because—as with many of her mother's garments—Malia's dress was tweaked. Under what we're guessing was parental guidance, a sparkly rhinestone belt was replaced by a more subdued choice and a cardigan was worn over the spaghetti straps.
"Malia happens to be tall for her age. She wears sizes typical of a 13-year-old," said David Shelist, owner of Madison and Friends children's clothing store at 43 E. Oak St., where some of the Obama girls' Election Night accessories, including opaque tights, were purchased. "That makes it a little more of a challenge to dress her looking her age. Whoever's dressing her is doing a fabulous job keeping her looking young."
On the Wall Street Journal Web site, a blog posting last week about the red dress had generated 25 pages of comments as of Wednesday morning. Some were critical: "So does this mean Obama is going to add an extra $110 tax credit to each child so we can buy them designer clothes that they will outgrow in a year?" Others supportive: "If a party for winning the presidency of the United States of America isn't an occasion to dress one's daughter in a fashionable dress, what is?"
Meantime, Gerson & Gerson Inc. also has sold out of its $72 little black dress, under the label Iris & Ivy, worn by 7-year-old Sasha Obama on Election Night. Buzz has been more modest; the dark dress was less attention-getting. Even so, for spring, Gerson & Gerson plans to retool the style and to name it: "Sasha."
A note: Several e-mails responding to a story about Michelle Obama's style in Wednesday's Live! section paper asked who foots the bill for the Obamas' clothing purchases. By all accounts, they pay for them out of personal finances, not campaign finances or other outside sources. "The Obamas pay for their own clothes," reaffirmed Katie McCormick Lelyveld, communications director for Michelle Obama, on Wednesday. Other questions? E-mail wdonahue@ tribune.com


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- On February 27, 2015
Today Search Initiatives Inc. announced it is developing a new subsidiary in the online video marketing space called Vewed (pronounced Viewed).
Vewed, LLC addresses the opportunity created by the explosive growth in online video advertising. It enables local businesses to promote their products and services to local customers through a simple to use online video ad creation and distribution platform.
According to BIA Kelsey, local businesses are spending more than $15Bn annually on advertising and an ever-growing percentage is adopting mobile and video advertising. Vewed, along with the synergy provided by its parent company, Search Initiatives (SI), is sitting at the vortex of these massive video and mobile forces. Vewed has a clear, well-defined, multi-pronged go to market strategy. In addition to promoting the services directly to SMBs, Vewed will work with an existing reseller network including more than a million indirect businesses to extend its video promotion solution to those resellers’ clients.


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US industry group HIMA (Health Industry Manufacturers Association) loses US Surgical:
This article was originally published in Clinica
US Surgical has left the Health Industry Manufacturers Association. Lou Mazzarese, the company's vice-president for quality and regulatory affairs, said the US trade group is simply too slow in making up its mind to be effective. HIMA's 40-member board of directors is too unwieldy to take a position on an issue on a timely basis, he said. Mr Mazzarese is a popular speaker who is often asked to appear as an industry representative at HIMA forums.
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The WHO’s new "living guideline" against remdesivir’s use in hospitalized patients notwithstanding, some key opinion leaders in India see a role for the antiviral, but underscore that COVID-19 is still in its infancy and all repurposed therapies for the disease still have a long way to go. They also see the US remdesivir studies as more robust.
Join us for a brief audio tour around the past week's major global biopharma industry developments, in this podcast version of Scrip's Five Must-Know Things.
A recent Department of Health and Human Services proposal to review regulations every 10 years may mean good things for the device industry, said David Hoffmeister, partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.


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As we inch ever closer to the release of Dark Souls III, you’d think that From Software wouldn’t be able to raise the bar for excitement any further. Well, I’m very happy to inform you that despite the several gameplay and cinematic trailers that have come before, this new trailer tops them all.
In typical Souls manner it’s dark, foreboding and operatic in its execution. Callbacks to the original game are made and lush visuals adorn the early portions. It’s all set to be the standard, giving the fans all the cryptic shenanigans we’ve come to expected; and then it all goes crazy.
I won’t say too much out of fear of spoiling the surprises, but it’s clear that this will be the biggest and most impressive game to come out of From Software to date. There’s a clear evolution to the franchise that’s in full display and the remains of Bloodborne can felt throughout.
Dark Souls III hits shelves on April 12th and we at VGU cannot wait.


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Powercat Financial Counseling hosted a Thrifty Gifting event Tuesday in the K-State Student Union to educate students on saving money during the holidays. The event included food, games and a
presentation on smart spending.
“[We want students to] spend
wisely and make informed desicions,” said DeLon Barbour, a member of
Powercat Financial and junior in psychology.
Kari Christensen, senior in family studies, led a presentation about budgeting for the holidays.
“It’s a happy and joyful time of year, and no one wants to think about debt,” Christensen said.
She encouraged students to set aside money each
month and open up a separate savings account to buy holiday gifts.
“Purchase gifts throughout the year, instead of the night before Christmas,” Christensen advised.
reins of the presentation were then handed over to Heather Gibson, senior in agribusiness, to discuss reducing costs during the season. Gibson’s tips included creating a detailed shopping list, making a budget and
setting a price limit for each gift.
“Gifts don’t have to be big-ticket items,” Gibson said.
Another way to save, she said, is to buy decorations out of season at steep discounts, to book plane tickets early and to bundle airfare, hotels
and rental cars if possible.
Sydney Henderson, senior in
agribusiness, discussed the dangers of
credit cards during the holdiay season. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 has
made it more difficult for students under 21 to get a line of credit
without a cosigner or proof of significant income, according to Henderson.
“Signing up for a bunch of department store credit cards all at once can knock your credit score down,” Henderson said.
presentation ended with peer counselors advising students to plan
ahead and create budgets to make the holidays less stressful.
then participated in a Christmas-themed game of Family Feud with prizes that included Country Stampede tickets and gift certificates to Quik Cats.


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N95 MASKS SHORTAGE
No shortage of PPEs, N-95 masks: Industry
Officials said the demand for N-95 masks is less than 300,000 per day and the production capacity is almost 3 million daily while the manufacturing capacity of PPE coveralls is 500,000 per day.
Covid-appropriate behaviour biggest social tool to break chain of transmission: Harsh Vardhan
In order to encourage the public from following...
AIIMS chief calls for PPP for large-scale rollout of COVID-19 vaccination programme
"We have this small window before things may worsen and t...
When the pandemic hit, India's healthcare industry was quick to adapt to the need of the hour
Indian diagnostic companies had experience in developing test assays for dengue, HIV, TB and H1N1, but with Covid-19 the delay in getting hold of the genetic code of SARS-Cov2 meant the Indian government, in the initial months of the pandemic, had to wait on imported RT-PCR kits that were expensive with worldwide shortage. In March, the Indian Council of Medical Research placed an order of one million probes from Germany.
COVID-19: Various measures taken to ensure availability of essential drugs, says gov
"The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has taken various measures to ensure the availability of essential drugs at reasonable prices during the COVID-19 pandemic," Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Is it safe to reuse N95 masks? Study says respirators can be used again after decontamination
Critical shortages of these masks have driven efforts to find new decontamination methods.
Govt removes restrictions on export of PPE, allows export of N95 masks with restrictions
The export of 5 million N95 masks and 2 million medical goggles a month has also been allowed, according to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The export of nitrile gloves continues to be prohibited. Masks other than the N95/FFP2 category and face shields can also be freely exported.
India may allow export of N-95 masks
Exports were banned in February amid the Covid-19 pandemic even as the government gradually removed restrictions on most personal protective equipment (PPE), including clothing and masks used in healthcare activities where there is risk of contamination.
You can use your home electric cooker to efficiently sanitise N95 masks
Fifty minutes of dry heat in an electric cooker could effectively sanitise the masks.
Low-cost moist heat treatment of N95 masks eliminates novel coronavirus: Study
"This low-cost reprocessing strategy can be applied 10 times without affecting the mask's filtration, breathing resistance, fit and comfort, and thus may help to alleviate the global shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic," said study co-author Gregory Borschel from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada.
India surplus in face mask production, allow exports to clear inventory: Industry
The government had in March banned export of all kinds of masks to avoid any shortage in the country at a time when the COVID-19 outbreak had started gaining momentum.
‘Replaceable filters’ for N95 masks soon
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, there's been a worldwide shortage of face masks — particularly the N95 ones worn by health care workers, they said. Although these coverings provide the highest level of protection currently available, they have limitations, the researchers noted in the journal ACS Nano.
Covid-19 outbreak: Protective health gear in short supply
“There is a shortage of body coveralls and N-95 masks,” stated the minutes of the meeting. “There is a shortage of material and the rate of supply is not able to meet the rising demand.” Order was placed for 1 million 3-ply masks with a vendor. So far, the supplier has provided only 200,000 masks and has also sought a 266% revision of prices.
Coronavirus scare grips India: Price of N95 mask shoots up to Rs 500, sanitiser shortage in stores
N95 masks that sell for around Rs 150 were being sold for up to Rs 500.
Surgical masks see up to 300% escalation in prices owing to coronavirus scare
Surgical masks have seen an escalation of up to 300 per cent. They used to cost for Rs 10 but now are available for Rs 40, a ToI report said. Prices of N95 masks, sanitisers have also shot up. Local shopkeepers are left with stocks being provided by domestic manufacturers of masks as supplies from China is also disrupted.


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Volumes fell 5.1% in the three months to the end of November, the world's largest chocolate maker said, as it was hit by lower output at its biggest factory.
The declines occurred as the Swiss company started ramping up production again at its Wieze factory in Belgium, which was hit by a salmonella scare last year.
Significant de-stocking and food manufacturers delaying orders also contributed to the decline in volume.
Sales revenue increased by 3.8% to 2.1 billion Swiss francs ($2.28 billion), as the company passed on raw material price increases the company said.
In local currencies, revenues increased by 7.2%.
"A number of reasons have led to a slow start to the year by Barry Callebaut standards, but a significant acceleration is expected in the course of the year," said Zurcher Kantonalbank analyst Daniel Burki.
Peter Boone, chief executive said that the chocolate maker was on track to achieve its existing targets.
"We are committed to achieve our current three-year mid-term guidance in this final year, based on our broad product portfolio and broad geographic and customer base," he said in a statement.
Barry Callebaut also announced a new mid-term guidance of 4%-6% volume growth for the years 2023 - 2026, slightly down from the current 5%-7% targeted volume growth for the three years up to 2023.
"We had expected coming out of COVID an acceleration," Boone said. "The acceleration is back to a normal trajectory."
Barry Callebaut also said it would target 8%-10% EBIT growth in local currencies for the period 2023-2026.


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As per the new deal, the brand has become the club’s official automotive partner for the next two seasons.
In metropolitan Melbourne, there are nine Subaru sales and service centers that are part of the Subaru Melbourne Group. In Victoria, the widest selection of new and used Subaru cars can be found at the network of top dealers and experience stores.
The Subaru dealer in Melbourne will join the club as a major partner, providing Melbourne Victory and its membership base with several advantages. Subaru Melbourne intends to collaborate with the Female Forum of Victory in Business to convene and enable women leaders in the business world.
Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, said, “The dedicated team at Subaru Melbourne share our understanding of what it’s like to work collaboratively together as a team to achieve a common goal and succeed at the highest level, and we’re looking forward to doing that together with Subaru Melbourne. This is a unique partnership that sees Subaru Melbourne become the Club’s first official automotive major partner and we’re excited to see the partnership prosper.”
Subaru Melbourne Group’s Head of Sales Operations, Rodney Tranter, said, “At Subaru Melbourne, we don’t just sell cars, we deliver exceptional customer experiences and forge lasting connections with our owners and the community. We’re thrilled that our partnership with Melbourne Victory will allow us to continue creating those connections and having a positive impact in the community; from supporting the Female Forum at Victory in Business to connecting with fans and members during matches and much more, we’re truly excited about the possibilities this partnership holds.”
Prior to this deal, the side also collaborated with Local Brewing Co. and NJ Lawyers. With three points from its opening encounter against Newcastle Jets, the team has gotten off to a fantastic start in the A-League.


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House Bill 5089 -- An Act Prohibiting Telemarketers From Transmitting Inaccurate Or Misleading Caller Identification Information, will forbid any telephone solicitor from intentionally cause or use any blocking device or service that will get around a consumer's personal caller identification service or device.
During a legislative session on Tuesday, April 17, Rep. Wood spoke of her support for this bill on the house floor.
"This bill will ensure that any company making an unsolicited call will have to identify and list their company accurately and not mask themselves as a private or toll free caller," Rep. Wood said. "A majority of my constituents, along with myself, have been affected by these calls on a regular basis. Essentially, we pay for phones lines and then become hounded with these disguised, unsolicited phone calls, despite being signed up for the `no call' list -- it's a violation of privacy."
The bill passed in the House 138-10. The bill now awaits a vote by the Senate.


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Aldi Aims for the East Side
Super low prices and in-your-face penny pinching
by Lindsey Lincoln
From the July, 2019 issue
Ann Arbor is getting a second Aldi discount grocery. With the first on Maple Rd. covering the west side, the new one will be on Carpenter Rd.
The site is across the street from a Kroger store and less than a mile from the east-side Meijer's. But in bracing contrast to those megastores, the German-owned chain practices a thrifty minimalism. A CEO once said that it wanted to "suck the profit" out of the grocery business, and its small stores and staffs, limited hours and selection, and in-your-face penny-pinching (carts require a deposit, and customers must bring their own bags) enable very low prices. The company, which has nearly 6,000 stores worldwide, also took a green turn recently, announcing plans to make all of their product packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
The existing traffic light by Kroger will be modified to serve both stores. The Cincinnati-based grocery giant is no doubt wondering how many of its customers will cross the road.
[Originally published in July, 2019.]
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By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY
Brown University medical student Nick Monu supplements his income by selling photographs online.
He uses the "stock" photography service iStockphoto.com, offering generic photos of people and places that can be used in brochures, magazines, websites and billboards.
Monu — known as "nico_blue" on iStockphoto — pulls in a six-figure income from his part-time gig. One photo even earned him $5,000. It's a feel-good image of two senior women, one African American and one white, smiling for the camera.
"This is the best of both worlds," says Monu, 23. "I get to work as an artist, and supplement my income."
Stock photography has exploded on the Web thanks to digital technology, which puts professional-level equipment in non-pros' hands at affordable prices. Stock photography is set to go even more mainstream today, when Flickr, the popular online photo site, joins forces with Getty Images, the world's largest stock photo agency.
Flickr's alliance with Getty, which also owns iStockphoto.com, was announced in July. Getty editors have spent the past few months culling through Flickr's 3 billion images, inviting photographers with stock-quality photos to participate. Some 10,000 photos were selected; most now will show up in a special Flickr Collection section of Getty Images.
Getty Images CEO Jonathan Klein says his clients wanted access to Flickr's wealth of photos, but only if they were cleared for commercial use. Getty Images targets higher-end professional photos for commercial clients, while iStockphoto.com solicits submissions from non-pros for smaller customers.
Flickr members eager to participate will have to be patient: It's an invitation-only process, for now. Klein says editors are constantly going through Flickr looking for quality photographers with salable work.
As long as the picture is posted publicly (Flickr members have the option of password-protected sharing) Getty can find your photo, Flickr general manager Kakul Srivastava says.
"If you decide you're not interested, just say no thanks," she says.
However, there's a huge difference between posting on Flickr a cool sunset image of a Hawaiian hotel, say, or a loving couple walking down the street — and making the image available for stock purchases.
Stock photography is more science than art, says Jon Oringer, CEO of Shutterstock, the No. 2 online stock photo service. You have to have a commercial eye for what will sell, he says. And there are legal hurdles you must clear.
Your couple strolling down the street might work well in a greeting card, for instance, but you must get model releases. Similarly, there might be a market for your street scene of a downtown location, but unless you either crop out or blur the identifiable names of businesses, you can't use it without getting approvals first.
Shooting stock takes effort, Oringer says, but, "There are lots of photographers willing to go the extra mile" — especially in a down economy where every little bit helps.
Real people, real life
Getty CEO Klein says he's looking for locally relevant content that could appeal to ad agencies. The service pays from $200 to $500 a photo.
"There's a huge difference between Venice, Italy, and Venice, Calif.," he says. "We want to see real people in real situations. One of the criticisms of stock photography is that it's too 'set up.' "
Success will depend on how prolific you are, Klein says. "You won't do well with just two or three images."
Lee Torrens, a blogger who runs the Microstock Diaries blog, says Getty's partnership with Flickr isn't so much about quality as quantity.
"Flickr was a major threat, because it has so many photos — more than all the agencies put together," he says. "By joining with Flickr, Getty heads off any competitors getting a deal."
Before the dawn of what Torrens calls "micro stock" — sites such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto.com — it was tough for photographers to enter the stock photo market, he says.
The current recession gives micro stock photos an even brighter future, Torrens says, as agencies look to those sites, and now Flickr, as sources of quality photos at lower prices.
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TRAVEL application airasia Super App signed a memorandum of understanding with Archipelago International for a direct hotel partnership on Tuesday.
“The travel industry is steadily recovering after the pandemic and Archipelago is gearing up to welcome the greater influx of travelers this year as confidence to travel grows,” Archipelago International President and Chief Executive Officer John M. Flood said in a press release.
“This symbiotic partnership is greatly aligned with our goals this year of expanding our distribution and network capabilities and becoming the preferred hospitality company for guests,” he added.
The partnership is seen to expand airasia Super App’s hotel portfolio by more than 40,000 rooms and residences in over 200 locations across Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Oceania. It includes 13 from the Philippines.
Among these hotels are Andrew L. Tan’s Hotel Lucky Chinatown, Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown, and Belmont Hotel Mactan.
Also part of the partnership are eight under Cocotel Hotels and Resorts, which are Tropicana Castle Dive Resort, The Mang-Yan Grand Hotel, Brisa Marina Beach Resort, Pier Uno Dive Resort, Safari Hotel & Villas, Laguna Technopark Hotel, La Andrew L. Tanirginia Leisure Park and Amusement Resort, and Paseo Premiere Hotel.
The remaining two hotels are Forest Crest Nature Hotel & Resort and Caliraya Ecoville Recreation and Farm Resort.
Currently, the integrated travel platform has more than 700,000 hotels worldwide. It offers more travel alternatives to its users by combining AirAsia flight tickets with the best hotel reservation prices in airasia.
In a separate press release, AirAsia Philippines announced that it successfully opened its Tokyo via Narita route, which took off at 84% load factor.
“Our maiden flight to Tokyo is just one of the many regional destinations we plan to open this first quarter of the year as we aim to fully restore our international capacity in coming months,” AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said in a statement.
According to the carrier, the flight route was the second top-selling international destination for January and is expected to revitalize Japan as AirAsia’s top destinations
AirAsia Philippines or Philippines AirAsia, Inc. flies a total of 15 domestic destinations and 15 international destinations as of April 2022, making it one of the country’s top low-cost airlines. — Justine Irish D. Tabile


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Connect with top gaming leaders in Los Angeles at GamesBeat Summit 2023 this May 22-23. Register here.
Last night, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a short demo of an HP slate computer — “slate” is just another word for “tablet” — that runs Windows 7. But HP, the world’s largest technology company with over 300,000 full-time employees worldwide, has other gadgets in R&D, too.
One is a tablet that boots Google’s Android OS. “It is almost identical in every respect to the one he showed off except for the OS,” an anonymized source told TechCrunch.
The company made a 17-second teaser video for it that shows a gesture-scrolled book with black-and-white illustration, a flickable color photo gallery, and a video chat with a beaming young lady being recorded. If only it were longer.
Check out our CES 2010 coverage.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Discover our Briefings.


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Swimming pools and indoor gyms may be able to open from the middle of next month, a government minister has suggested.
Hopes have been raised they could soon be allowed to open after outdoor exercise facilities in England were given the go-ahead to restart in the recent relaxation of lockdown restriction.
Business secretary Alok Sharma told Sky News: "I hope that we can allow leisure facilities to open at some point later on in July but only if we continue to meet the health tests, the five tests that we've put in place."
The hint follows widespread criticism from fitness organisations that swimming pools and gyms cannot restart on July 4 while pubs and restaurants will be allowed to welcome back customers, the Express reports.
Crossbench peer and 11-times Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is chairman of ukactive, an organisation representing 7,000 public and private gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools, has requested clarification on the move from government.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, she warned that 100,000 jobs could be lost in the leisure industry if fitness centres are forced to stay shut.
She wrote: “The consequences of further delays and ambiguity are stark.
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“Communities across the UK are now on notice at the potential loss of facilities in their towns and high streets, with more than 2,800 facilities at risk of closure and more than 100,000 jobs at risk, which is more than half of the workforce in fitness and leisure facilities.
“To lose these facilities in the midst of the biggest health crisis could set back public health for a generation. The loss would be catastrophic to communities.”
Baroness Grey-Thompson warned that keeping pools and other fitness centres closed could lead to long-term damage to the population’s health costing the economy more than £3billion a year.
She added: “At no point were any formal concerns raised about the proposed operating model within our guidance, and no formal questions asked for ukactive or our operators to respond to – an act we would have undertaken enthusiastically.
Swim England, the national governing body for the sport, also expressed disappointment at the uncertain future for pools.
Jane Nickerson, chief executive of Swim England, said: “We are frustrated and angry. We just feel massively let down.
“We were worried that 10 per cent of pools, particularly the older ones, will not open again. Swimming pool are not cheap things to run.”


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Gamber-Johnson LLC, which makes mounting systems, docking stations and related products, was awarded the President's "E" Award for Exports Wednesday by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The award honors U.S. entities for making significant contributions to the expansion of U.S. exports.
In a congratulatory letter, Pritzker told officials with Gamber-Johnson, which is based in Stevens Point, that the company had "demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion."
“The 'E' awards committee was very impressed with Gamber-Johnson’s flexibility in developing unique regional sales and distribution strategies," Pritzker said. "The company’s focus on redesign of products for international markets was also particularly impressive."
Gautam Malik, director of operations, leads the international expansion efforts for Gamber-Johnson.
“If you are not exporting, you are missing 95 percent of the world’s population," Malik said. "Export is a pillar of Gamber-Johnson’s strategy to grow. There is a value of having a strategically crafted export expansion plan. Exporting is achievable if you know the strategy behind trade finance, can identify and manage channel partners, conduct sufficient market research to pinpoint the correct countries to enter, understand legal compliance, and have a cohesive go-to-market strategy and brand promise.”
The U.S. has exported $2.3 trillion in goods and services, an all-time record for 2013, and that level of exports supported more than 11 million jobs, a 1.6 million increase since 2009.


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Add an Import Alert, preventing importers from bringing certain pig ears into the United States, to a crescendo of recalls and other activities to get control of a human Salmonella outbreak caused by the dog treats.
The Food and Drug Administration late Thursday said it was issuing the alert because contaminated pig ear pet treats represent a serious threat to human and animal health and are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they contain Salmonella.
The FDA said Import Alert 72-03 will stop the import of some pig ears to the United States.
The agency is making consumers aware of the issue so they can choose whether to remove pig ear treats from their homes or take steps to potentially prevent Salmonella infection from them. The FDA plans to update the pig ear import alert with additional information as it becomes available.
At the same time, the FDA provided a summary of the war on contaminated pig ears. It said with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state agencies, FDA is investigating a link between pig ear pet treats and human cases of salmonellosis. The agency provided these “fast facts” on the outbreak and investigation:
- As of Aug. 27, the CDC reports there are 143 cases of human infection tied to exposure to pig ear pet treats with Salmonella enterica serotypes I 4,,12:i:-, Cerro, Derby, Infantis, London, Newport, and Rissen in 35 states. The CDC reports that many of these outbreak strains are multidrug-resistant. Thirty-three people have been hospitalized.
- The FDA has traced back some of the pig ear treats associated with outbreak patients to sources in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. Three U.S. firms associated with illnesses in the outbreak have recalled products. Some of the treats tested positive for Salmonella, and further testing is ongoing to identify the Salmonella strain(s).
- Based on information gathered from cases and the traceback data gathered from the FDA, the FDA and CDC continue to recommend that people avoid purchasing or feeding any pig ear pet treats at this time. If you have pig ear pet treats, safely discard them and thoroughly clean the areas where the treats have been.
- FDA is working with impacted firms to remove pig ear pet treats from the marketplace and identify places where they may have been distributed.
- Salmonella can affect both human and animal health. People with symptoms of Salmonella infection should consult their healthcare providers. Consult a veterinarian if your pet has symptoms of Salmonella infection.
- The investigation is ongoing and the FDA will provide the public with new information as it becomes available.
What is the problem?
Testing conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) revealed that samples of pig ear pet treats collected from Pet Supplies Plus were positive for Salmonella London, Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Newport, and Salmonella Infantis. On July 3 Pet Supplies Plus notified the public about a recall of all bulk pig ear products supplied to all of its retail locations by several different vendors, including Lennox Intl Inc.
Further traceback by FDA has found that many of the people who became ill had encountered pig ear pet treats that were distributed by Lennox Intl Inc. Lennox reports that it sourced these pig ears from Argentina and Brazil. FDA is working with Lennox and other firms to identify the source of the pig ear treats, how they became contaminated, and where they were distributed.
On August 16, Dog Goods USA LLC announced a recall of non-irradiated bulk and packaged Chef Toby Pig Ears after a product sample from their Brazilian supplier tested positive for Salmonella.
To date, human Salmonella infections have been linked to pig ears imported from Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. However, these pig ears do not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak. Pig ears in bulk bins and/or sold without packaging or wrappers may be commingled from multiple sources which do not allow the products to be distinguished. In addition, effective product irradiation may not have occurred for bulk products and for packaged or individually wrapped products.
In addition to the existing Import Alert 72-03 (“Detention Without Physical Examination and Intensified Coverage of Pig Ears And Other Pet Treats Due To The Presence of Salmonella”) on pig ear pet treats, FDA is increasing its scrutiny of pig ears imported into the United States through sampling and examination.
On August 22, the FDA updated Import Alert 72-03 to include three firms that presented pig ears for import that then tested positive for Salmonella: Custom Pet S.A.S. (Colombia), Suarko, SRL (Argentina) and Anabe Industria e Comercio de Proteinas (Brazil).
What products are involved?
- On July 3, 2019, Pet Supplies Plus announced a recall of all bulk pig ears from its stores in AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI and WV.
- On July 26, 2019, Lennox Intl Inc. announced a recall for some of its pig ear pet treat products. On July 30, the firm announced an expanded recall.
- On August 16, 2019, Dog Goods USA LLC announced a recall of non-irradiated bulk and packaged Chef Toby Pig Ears. Product lot codes for the recalled products are 428590, 278989, 087148, 224208, 1168723, 428590, 222999, 074599, 1124053, 226884, 578867, 224897, 1234750, 444525, 1106709, 215812, 230273, 224970, 585246, 327901, 052248, 210393, 217664, 331199, 225399, 867680, 050273, 881224, 424223, 225979, 431724, 226340, 880207, and 334498.
What do consumers need to do?
The FDA and CDC recommend that people avoid purchasing or feeding any pig ear pet treats at this time. This recommendation may change as more information becomes available.
If you have pig ear treats, throw them away in a secure container where animals, including wildlife, cannot access it. Wash your hands thoroughly and disinfect any surfaces that have come into contact with potentially contaminated products.
In general, if you choose to feed treats like pig ears, practice good hygiene by: monitoring your pet while they have the treat, picking up the treat when they are done with it, keeping treats away from small children, cleaning the areas the treat contacted, washing hands, and not allowing your pet to lick you, your family members, or surfaces in your home.
Signs and symptoms of Salmonella infection in humans
Human and animal food that is contaminated with Salmonella bacteria usually does not look, smell or taste spoiled. Anyone can become sick with a Salmonella infection, but infants, children, seniors and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious illness because their immune systems are fragile, according to the CDC.
Anyone who has handled any of the recalled products and developed symptoms of Salmonella infection should seek medical attention. Sick people should tell their doctors about the possible exposure to Salmonella bacteria because special tests are necessary to diagnose salmonellosis. Salmonella infection symptoms can mimic other illnesses, frequently leading to misdiagnosis.
Symptoms of Salmonella infection can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. Otherwise healthy adults are usually sick for four to seven days. In some cases, however, diarrhea may be so severe that patients need to be hospitalized.
Older adults, children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, are more likely to develop a severe illness and serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions.
It is possible for some people to be infected with the bacteria and to not get sick or show any symptoms, but to still be able to spread the infection to others.
What do retailers need to do?
The FDA and CDC recommend that retailers, including online retailers, stop selling all pig ear pet treats.
Retailers, distributors and other operators who have offered pig ears for sale should wash and sanitize bulk bins, other storage containers, and any surfaces (e.g., counters, displays, floors) that have come into contact with potentially contaminated products.
In addition, you should advise employees and customers to wash their hands after handling pet treats and food. Carefully dispose of pig ear pet treats in a secure container where animals, including wildlife, cannot access it.
Alternatively, retailers who choose not to immediately dispose of pig ear pet treats should securely and safely store packaged product while they determine the next steps. FDA will release additional information about the investigation as it becomes available
Why is the FDA concerned about Salmonella in pet food and treats?
Pet food and treats contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella are of particular public health importance because they can affect both human and animal health. Pets can get sick from Salmonella and may also be carriers of the bacteria and pass it onto their human companions without appearing to be ill. The FDA is aware of cases in which humans and/or animals have gotten sick from exposure to contaminated pet foods and treats (Salmonella-human cases, Salmonella-kitten, Salmonella-kitten, dog).
Once Salmonella gets established in the pet’s gastrointestinal tract, the animal can shed the bacteria, and the contamination will continue to spread. Because animals can shed the bacteria, it’s particularly important to clean up the animal’s feces in yards or parks where people or other animals may become exposed. Pets should also be discouraged from licking you or other family members particularly in the face and it is also important to clean items in the home that may have come into contact with contaminated pig ears or pet food.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) require that all animal foods (including treats), like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. Pet food and treat manufacturers must effectively manage the sourcing of ingredients, processing and packing to control pathogens. Pet owners who choose to feed pig ear treats to their pets should be aware of the risks associated with these products.
What should I do if I think my pet has salmonellosis?
People who think their pets have become ill after consuming contaminated pet food should first contact their veterinarians. Veterinarians who wish to have pets tested for Salmonella may do so through the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN Network) if the pet is from a household with a person infected with Salmonella.
How can I report a human or animal illness related to pet food?
FDA encourages consumers to report complaints about pet food products electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal. This information helps the FDA further protect human and animal health.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)


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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Lower costs for fuel helped keep import prices unchanged in December, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Fuel prices fell 1.4% last month, a reversal from their sharp 7.1% gain in November, the agency's data showed.
Economists had been expected no change in import prices for December.
All told, import prices rose 8.6% in 2009 after a record 10.1% decline in 2008. Fuel was largely responsible for the change in overall import prices in both years, having fallen 47.0% in 2008 only to increase by 61.4% in 2009.
Prices of non-fuel imports into the United States rose in December for the fifth straight month, up 0.4%. Analysts attribute the increase to the weaker dollar, which makes imports relatively more expensive and makes U.S. exports more competitive in global markets.
Non-fuel import prices rose 0.4% in 2009, downshifting from 1.2% growth in 2008.
December data details
Prices of nonfuel industrial supplies increased 1.9% on the month. It was the largest gain since September.
Prices of imported capital goods rose 0.1%. Prices of imported consumer goods excluding autos were flat.
Prices of petroleum imports fell 2%.
Natural-gas prices rose 6.9% in December, but the data showed they dropped 28.4% in the past year.
Meanwhile, prices of exports from the United States rose 0.6% last month, led by a 2.0% increase in prices for agricultural exports.
Excluding agriculture, export prices rose 0.5% in December following a 0.6% increase in the previous month.
Prices were flat for capital goods that were exported.
In 2009, export prices showed 3.4% growth, after having fallen 2.9% in 2008.
Prices of goods imported from Canada rose 0.8% in December, while Mexican import prices fell 0.9%.
Prices of European imports increased 0.2%.
Prices of Chinese-made goods rose 0.1%. Japanese import prices were also higher, up 0.3%.
In a separate report issued Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial filings for jobless benefits rose 11,000 in the latest week. See more on the latest first-time unemployment claims.


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Naval Ravikant and Tim Ferriss backed fund wants to give Indian founders $1M to invest
Galaxy, a new Silicon Valley entity, wants to start a founder-led funding initiative in India. The fund is backed by Naval Ravikant, Tim Ferriss, and others.
Silicon Valley is waking up to the startup potential in India, and the newly-launched Galaxy investment entity is the latest example of America's interest in getting involved in the subcontinent's investment boom.
The idea is simple. They want to give Indian founders $1 million each to invest in new startups that they see fit in the area. The founders do not have to step away from their day jobs, and they don't have to worry about the legal and financial documents. All of that will be taken care of by AngelList.
Galaxy has partnered with Naval Ravikant, Co-founder and Chairman of; entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, who is well-known for his 'Four-Hour' series of self-help books; Mixer Labs co-founder and ex-Twitter VP Elad Gil, and others.
All the founders have to do is invest in companies that they are already talking to and helping. As Galaxy's announcement page puts it,
"Founders want to raise from other founders because the best startup advice comes from other founders. With their own funds, founders in India can also provide the best capital to get early-stage startups off the ground."
Galaxy's thesis is simple. They believe that the Indian startup ecosystem has matured enough and that it is time to start putting investment power in the hands of the founders who have seen the ecosystem grow. There is no prior investment experience needed as the partnered founders like Ravikant, Ferriss, and Gil will presumably help the founders with investment advice.
All the founders who prove their mettle with the initial million dollar grant will be eligible for a second $2 million grant to continue growing their investment portfolio. Applications are now open to partner with Galaxy for Indian founders exclusively.
Edited by Megha Reddy


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A popular US retailer that has made it its mission to upend Victoria’s Secret has agreed to settle a lawsuit over claims that it deceived shoppers with its billing tactics.
AdoreMe, which launched in 2011 and opened its first store in New York last year, will pay $1.38 million (£1 million) to resolve the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit, reports Bloomberg.
The FTC sued the underwear retailer on Monday, alleging the company violated the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act by making it difficult for shoppers to cancel subscription memberships and halt credit card charges.
Adore Me promised that customers could use store credits at any time, but the complaint found that the company revoked unused credits after customers cancelled their memberships. The settlement will be used to pay customer refunds.
“Consumers have suffered and will continue to suffer substantial injury,” the FTC wrote in its complaint, if Adore Me was allowed to continue these practices. Adore Me didn’t admit to or deny any wrongdoing in its settlement. A representative for Adore Me did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news comes six months after Hanesbrands took AdoreMe to court over a patent for a push-up bra.
The group’s Maidenform unit accused the company of infringing its patent for a bra designed to boost the wearer’s breasts by two cup sizes with a dual-layer design, reports Law360.
But the parties reached an undisclosed settlement soon after.
Victoria’s Secret currently controls nearly 62% of the US intimate apparel market, according to IBISWorld, but AdoreMe believes that recreating its online personalised shopping strategy with a unique, curated, by-appointment-only experience in physical stores will revolutionise the way people shop for lingerie and thereby challenge L Brands’ flagship brand.
In an interview with Business Insider, Adore Me director of business and brand development Sharon Klapka said: “We aim to slay Victoria’s Secret.”


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Since the early 1970s, canaryseed has become established as an alternative cereal crop for Saskatchewan farmers. The province produces approximately 90 per cent of the canaryseed grown in Canada and about 65 per cent of the global supply of the crop, which is used to feed wild and caged birds the world over. Now, canaryseed was recently approved for human food use in Canada and the U.S., offering the potential for new opportunities for Saskatchewan producers.
September 20, 2018 By Mark Halsall
The type of canaryseed approved for human consumption has ‘hairless’ seed and was developed by Pierre Hucl, a long-time canaryseed breeder at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) in Saskatoon.
The hairy shell of canaryseed has largely limited its use to bird feed and can cause human skin and eye irritation during harvest and processing. Hucl, who first started working on a hairless variety about 20 years ago, says the original idea was to remove the hairs to make the crop easier to handle.
“But then we thought, once we get rid of the hairs there could be some other options,” Hucl says. “It struck us that if you look at the quality profile, it might actually be interesting for human consumption.”
In addition to being gluten-free, canaryseed is high in protein, high in fat, and is a rich source of folate, phosphorous, magnesium, and manganese compared to other cereal grains. Potential food applications include adding the whole seed product to protein bars and whole grain breads, or grinding up the seed to make canaryseed flour.
In 2016, Hucl’s hairless canaryseed earned the designations of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and novel food by Health Canada, which recognizes that the substance is safe and can be lawfully used in food products.
Kevin Hursh is the executive director of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, which was established in 2006 to help fund agronomic research and variety development as well as the extensive work involved in getting canaryseed registered for human food use.
“This proved to be much more onerous and expensive and time-consuming than we ever thought at the onset,” Hursh says. “Basically, it took 10 years to get the novel food approval.”
Carol Ann Patterson, a food scientist with The Pathfinders Research & Management Ltd. in Saskatoon, orchestrated the toxicology, compositional and nutritional research needed to get canaryseed registered for human food use.
“She did just a tremendous amount of work on this file,” Hursh says.
Today, research scientists like Lamia L’Hocine at AAFC’s Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre in Quebec continue to study the nutritional aspects of canaryseed and its unique starch, protein, and oil components for food as well as other uses, such as animal feed.
Search for higher yields
Up to now, hairless canaryseed hasn’t yielded quite as well as regular varieties, so Hucl, who works out of the U of S department of plant sciences’ Crop Development Centre, has been focusing on producing new hairless lines that are higher yielding.
“Producers are going to want to grow the highest yielding material they can . . . so closing or eliminating the gap between hairless and hairy varieties is something I’ve been working on,” says Hucl, who recently released a new yellow hairless variety that boasts higher yields and agronomic advantages such as stronger straw.
Bill May is another long-time canaryseed scientist. Working at AAFC’s Indian Head Research Farm in Indian Head, Sask., he’s been studying agronomic aspects of the crop, such as the right rates for seeding and fertilizer applications as well as herbicide and pesticide tolerances, for the past 20 years.
“To keep canaryseed as a viable crop in Western Canada, you have to do agronomic research on the crop to keep the production practices current,” May says.
May is currently carrying out a crop sequencing study involving canaryseed and researching chloride and micronutrient applications in the crop. The results so far indicate that canaryseed isn’t more responsive to micronutrients than other cereal crops, but that’s not the case with chloride, a key component of potash.
“Canaryseed is much more responsive to chloride than other cereal crops are,” May says. “We recommend that growers always apply some potash to their canaryseed when they’re growing it in their fields.”
Hursh, who’s been planting canaryseed at his farm near Cabri, Sask. since the 1980s, estimates there are about 1,000 farmers in Saskatchewan also growing it in any given year. He says there are numerous reasons why canaryseed is considered a valuable alternative crop.
For example, Hursh says, if the weather’s wet around harvest time, canaryseed won’t shatter and lose quality like some other crops.
“It’s quite forgiving to grow, and it isn’t a big nitrogen user,” he says. This makes canaryseed a little less expensive to farm than many other crops, he adds, and depending on the market conditions, it can be a profitable option for growers in many years.
Another key benefit is that canaryseed allows cereal producers to diversify by providing with them a different market.
“It doesn’t fluctuate in the same timeframe as other markets do, and it’s more stable for farmers when they have multiple markets to sell their crops into,” May says.
“I think canaryseed has a good future, especially if we can develop the human food market,” May adds. “You’ll have to have an innovator who will drive that to the marketplace and it will be interesting to see how that happens.”
As Hursh points outs, some Saskatchewan companies are already testing the waters for new markets for hairless canaryseed that’s had the hulls removed.
Canpulse Foods Ltd. recently added a canaryseed dehulling line at its food processing facility in Zealandia, Sask. in anticipation of future demand, Hursh says, while Infraready Products Ltd. of Saskatoon has provided some dehulled canaryseed product to food ingredient companies to try out.


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Despite having to pay over $1 billion in damages to Apple, Samsung may yet recover, says a patent expert.
The impact on Samsung will be quite limited, as affected models are mostly legacy products and its new products did make some design changes to avoid potential litigation.
Still ... it's a sweeping loss in the most important market. It's inevitable that Samsung's brand will be negatively affected - Samsung could be perceived as a copycat.
More top news
Rain for the northwest, dry and cold elsewhere
Rejecting a showdown with Ed Miliband, David Cameron's terms sent to broadcasters reveal his deep dissatisfaction with the debate proposals.
The owners of what some people claim to be the 'Welsh Holy Grail' are offering a cash reward for the ancient artefact's safe return.


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US – DraftKings to go public in agreement with SBTechBy William - 3 January 2020
US daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Diamond Eagle, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, and SBTech.
The combined company will become the only vertically-integrated pure-play sports betting and online gaming company based in the United States. In connection with the closing of the transaction, Diamond Eagle intends to change its name to DraftKings Inc., reincorporate in Nevada and remain Nasdaq-listed under a new ticker symbol. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020 subject to the registration statement being declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
The new DraftKings will continue to be led by co-founder and CEO Jason Robins and will retain DraftKings’ highly experienced management team, including co-founders Paul Liberman and Matt Kalish. The SBTech management team who bring a wealth of international markets, trading and risk management experience will also be integrated into the organisation.
“The combination of DraftKings’ leading and trusted brand, deep focus on customer experience and data science expertise and SBTech’s highly innovative and proven technology platform creates a vertically-integrated powerhouse,” said Jason Robins co-founder and CEO of DraftKings. “I look forward to building significantly upon our goals of continuing our state-by-state rollout and creating the most entertaining and engaging customer experiences for sports fans globally.”
Institutional investors (including funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company, Wellington Management Company and Franklin Templeton) have committed to a private investment of $304m in Class A common stock of the combined company that will close concurrently with the business combination and, subject to any redemptions by DEAC stockholders, there is $400 million currently held in Diamond Eagle’s trust account. It is anticipated that the combined company will have an equity market capitalization at closing of approximately $3.3 billion and have over $500 million of unrestricted cash on the balance sheet.
“We are pleased to bring DraftKings and SBTech together as one public company,” said Harry E. Sloan, Founding Investor of Diamond Eagle. “DraftKings is already a premier online fantasy sports and betting platform. With the full integration of SBTech’s technology and innovative product expertise coupled with the right capitalization, DraftKings will be in a great position to continue its ambitious expansion plans in the United States. I have known Jason Robins for four years, and consider him a true entrepreneur. I believe our investors share my utmost respect for his vision and leadership.”
Since becoming the first mobile operator to launch in New Jersey in August 2018, DraftKings has consistently maintained greater than 30% online market share, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the company recorded 8.5x year-over-year revenue growth in the state.
DraftKings currently offers mobile and online sports betting in Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and retail locations in Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York. DraftKings’ daily fantasy sports product is available in 43 states and 8 international markets including Australia, Canada and the U.K., has approximately 60% market share and leverages its customer acquisition and cross-selling model for its sportsbook and iGaming offerings.
DraftKings established a “one-platform” model by launching features like single sign-on, an integrated wallet and universal user profile, that allows a user to move seamlessly between a DFS contest, a sports wager and a hand of blackjack, enabling the company to quickly bring to market new offerings without reinventing the wheel of an entirely new back-end infrastructure.
SBTech is a global full-service B2B turnkey technology provider with omni-channel sports betting solutions, trading services, and marketing and bonus tools powering some of the world’s most popular sports betting and online gaming brands.
“The combination of DraftKings and SBTech brings together two tech-native companies with the customer at their cores,” said Gavin Isaacs, SBTech’s Chairman. “SBTech will maintain its core business and continue its B2B focus. We are excited about the opportunity to join a company with a similar innovation DNA and create a unique and differentiated player in global sports betting and online gaming.”
SBTech has over 50 partners in more than 20 regulated markets and jurisdictions including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and UK, together with Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in United States. SBTech were recently awarded an exclusive contract offering mobile and retail sports betting for the Oregon state lottery with their Oregon Lottery Scoreboard brand.


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Wholesale Hair Market News
In the recent winter issue of the National Hair Journal, Editor-in-Chief Christopher Webb interviewed Isaac about the status of the global wholesale hair market. (If you don’t know Isaac yet, he is the owner of Hair & Compounds, Inc.) While discussing industry trends many important points were made that business owners would find important to know and make note for the future. If anything, you will have a better understanding of why wholesale hair prices keep increasing and most noteworthy – where is the Russian hair?
Indian Wholesale Hair
- Still the best option for quantity and quality if you can control your sources.
- Prices increase 3-4 times per year as global demands increase each year.
- The past decade has seen changes in Indian culture that is effecting hair donations to the temples. More and more women are selling their hair directly instead of donating at the temples.
- Supply trends have not really changed from the past few years, although many are just now starting to feel the limitations of wholesale hair supply and prices.
Russian Wholesale Hair
- Prices have been driven up to the point of ridiculous while quality has seriously declined.
- Last year our company in India has been approached by many Russian and Ukraine hair traders wanting to buy Indian hair. So even the exporters are blending and calling it “Russian” hair.
- The best testing method to know if you have authentic Russian virgin hair is to examine the lightest blond: dark roots, light ends and natural streaks.
- Russian’s have never donated their hair. It has always been sold and has become an increasingly dangerous business in many areas.
- It has also become a dangerous business here in the US as many know by now that even we were robbed at gun point for our Russian hair.
- Wholesale hair is no longer possible for long lengths. Only small quantities for the stylists and film wigmakers can now be offered in very limited quantities.
Check out the full article in the National Hair Journal for a more complete review.


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TVS iQube Colours
The TVS iQube is available in 1 different colour in India. Choose your favorite TVS iQube scooty colour and book now!
TVS iQube News
TVS Motor Company has launched a new electric two-wheeler in Bengaluru today - the iQube Electric. Priced at ₹1.15 lakh (on-road, Bengaluru), the iQube Electric will compete with the likes of the....


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Mobile is both curse and cure for retailers
Mobile is both curse and cure for retailers at risk
from showrooms TNS’s 2013 Mobile Life study reveals how
high street retailers can turn browsers into
TNS’s 2013 Mobile Life study reveals how high street retailers can turn browsers into buyers
Latest research findings released by TNS reveal that mobile can play a valuable role in reducing the risk that ‘showrooming’ poses to retailers. ‘Showrooming’, where people visit stores only to test products but buy them later elsewhere, has emerged as a significant threat to the high street in recent years, with one third of mobile users globally admitting to ‘showrooming’ behaviour.
TNS’s annual Mobile Life study, based on responses from 38,000 people in 43 countries, shows that whilst showrooming is a very real threat, mobile can offer a solution to brands in minimising this risk. Among those who showroom, two thirds use their phone whilst doing so, providing a major opportunity for brands to interact with consumers via mobile and turn browsers into buyers.
David Thomas, Director of TNS New Zealand, said, “There is both risk and reward for brands: mobile Internet and online shopping are coming together in a way that is posing a very real threat to traditional bricks and mortar retailers. However, there is also opportunity to mitigate that risk for brands that get their customer engagement right.”
Some behaviours - such as using a mobile to conduct independent research in-store - do present risks to retailers, as external influences may increase a shopper’s likelihood of leaving without making a purchase. However, the study shows that people are open to engaging with brands whilst in-store, with more than a third of smartphone owners in New Zealand keen to receive mobile coupons whilst shopping and two-fifths interested in apps that help them navigate the store they are in, compared to one fifth of people globally.
Meanwhile one in ten consumers in New Zealand are interested in a ‘virtual sales assistant’, who will help answer their questions in-store about a particular product. This openness to interacting does present a real opportunity for brands that get their mobile strategy right, to engage meaningfully with people at the point when they are considering a purchase.
David Thomas continued, “People still want the reassurance of seeing a product before they buy it, but purchasing elsewhere means retail outlets can be left as loss-making display cabinets. Rather than seeing mobile as a threat to in-store sales however, brands and retailers must embrace it as the most immediate and personalised way to engage shoppers to ensure they don’t leave empty-handed.”
Showrooming is a global phenomenon, but the role played by mobile varies significantly across the world. In markets where people’s first introduction to the Internet has been via a handset, shoppers are highly likely to use their mobile when showrooming – 75 percent in emerging Asia, 87 percent in the Middle East and North Africa and 67 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. People in developed markets, where online shopping is well established, are less likely to do so, with 55 percent of showroomers in North America and 56 percent in Europe using their phones in this way.
The biggest drivers for showrooming consumers are twofold: reassurance on price and reassurance on suitability, with 10 percent in New Zealand reading reviews or checking social media whilst in-store to inform their decision-making compared to 16 percent globally, and 15% asking friends and family what they would recommend buying (25% globally and as high as 49 percent in emerging Asia and 42 percent in India).
Having knowledgeable sales staff on hand is no guarantee of success, with 26% of people in New Zealand preferring to access information on their phone than speak to a sales assistant in store, compared to almost a third of people globally and two-fifths of 16-30 year olds.
concludes, “Mobile might seem like the enemy –
opening up the retail environment to a potentially limitless
range of competitors. However, anything that saves the
consumer time, money or angst will help reduce the flow of
people out of the shop to purchase elsewhere. In
understanding exactly how consumers are using their mobile
in-store, brands and retailers can improve their own
offering – whether through apps, mobile coupons or simply
greater provision of information – and begin to nudge
shoppers back towards the tills.”
An infographic exploring the findings from the study in more detail is available at www.tnsglobal.com/mobilelife