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Last year, when Anchor Brewing announced its sale to Japanese beer giant Sapporo, the fate of Anchor Distilling — the company’s quieter side, known for spirits like Junipero gin and Old Potrero whiskey — went conspicuously unexplained.
Anchor Distilling, both a producer and an importer of high-end spirits, was not acquired by Sapporo in the beer deal, but its building was. So, too, was its name: Sapporo got the Anchor trademark. Soon, Anchor Distilling learned, it would have to vacate the only building it has ever known, on Mariposa Street in Potrero Hill, and change its name.
Now, five months after news of the sale, Anchor Distilling has announced its new moniker, rechristening itself as Hotaling & Co., a nod to a notorious 19th century whiskey warehouse in San Francisco.
“We wanted to choose a name that talked to our past but also had a deep connection to our home in San Francisco,” said Dennis Carr, the company’s president and CEO.
This won’t be the first time Hotaling’s name appears on an Anchor bottle. The distillery produces a small amount of Old Potrero Hotaling’s Whiskey, a pot-distilled single-malt rye. It was first released in 2006 to commemorate the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake, which Hotaling’s whiskey warehouse famously, and improbably, survived.
“We’re changing our name in part because of the sale, and because we have to,” Carr said. But he noted the shift also signals an important moment of independence from the icon of Anchor Brewing — as a business, as a brand and as a San Francisco power player.
“We’ve always been in the shadow of the brewery,” he said. “Now, maybe we can do for spirits in San Francisco what Fritz (Maytag, Anchor’s former owner) did for beer in San Francisco.”
It’s a good time to be a distiller. Carr confirmed that Anchor Distilling’s profits outpace Anchor Brewing’s. He wouldn’t elaborate, but more broadly, U.S. spirits sales have been growing faster than those of beer for the past five years. In particular, dollar sales of premium spirits, which are hugely important for Anchor Distilling, grew by 5 percent in 2017 and now make up more than half of total spirits sales.
So what, exactly, was this old whiskey warehouse? A.P. Hotaling & Co. was founded in 1865, predating the original configuration of Anchor Brewing by three decades. Its founder, Anson Parsons Hotaling, came to California from upstate New York for the Gold Rush. He soon gave up panning and found work in a liquor store at Sansome and Jackson streets. Eventually he bought out the store’s owner, expanded the store into a wholesale business and moved it to a larger space on Jackson Street.
For a time, Hotaling’s warehouse was the largest liquor business in the city, with Cutter’s A1 Whiskey ($7 a bottle, as of 1902) its flagship product. An advertisement in The Chronicle from the early 20th century refers to A.P. Hotaling & Co. as “distillers agents and distributors of gins and Kentucky whiskeys.” It’s a description that would nearly fit Anchor Distilling today.
Thanks to the 1906 catastrophe, A.P. Hotaling lived on in public lore longer than it might have. The warehouse was virtually the only survivor of the post-earthquake fires in its neighborhood — an especially impressive feat for a building full of flammable goods. The humor in this was not lost on local poet Charles Field, whose verse would be reprinted in these pages many times over the decades to come:
“If, as they say, God spanked the town
For being over-frisky,
Why did He burn His churches down
And spare Hotaling’s whiskey?”
Ironically, the Hotaling building burned in 1953. It was rebuilt and is now used for offices.
But the rising-from-the-ashes quality of the Hotaling story appeals to Carr. “This is a rebirth,” he said.
What’s more, the sorts of whiskeys that Fritz Maytag aspired to when he founded Anchor Distilling in 1993 were not unlike those that Hotaling would have produced a century earlier.
Maytag had a fondness for reviving beverages that had fallen out of style: Witness his success with quaint, low-tech steam beer. His first foray into spirits, accordingly, was with rye whiskey, not exactly a booming category in the early ’90s. That pot-distilled product, Old Potrero, was a throwback to the American whiskeys that would have been produced in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Three years later, Maytag added another spirit to the Anchor Distilling lineup: Junipero gin. It, too, was an anomaly for its time, in an era when “premium gin” would have sounded like an oxymoron. But Maytag saw that consumers were beginning to gravitate toward higher-end vodka and made a bet that gin would follow that trend.
It did, and Anchor Distilling took off. The distillery has since added hopped vodka, Old Tom gin and genever-style gin to its lineup. Still, it never reached the fame of Anchor Steam Beer, and its production always remained minuscule, with just four stills tucked into the back of the brewery.
Maytag sold both brewery and distillery in 2010 to Tony Foglio and Keith Greggor, former Skyy Vodka executives. Under Foglio, Greggor and another partner, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Anchor Distilling became an importer of spirits as well as a producer. (As of this month, Greggor is no longer a partner.) Its sales have since grown by 500 percent, according to the company. Many of Anchor’s imports — Luxardo maraschino liqueur; Tempus Fugit Gran Classico amaro; Nikka Japanese whiskey — are now staples of bars around the Bay Area and the country. (Its No. 1 item, surprisingly, isn’t liquor at all, but Luxardo’s jarred cocktail cherries, which brought in $9 million last year.)
The new Hotaling & Co. logo reflects the company’s dual identity. Two pillars represent distiller and importer, “and the space between represents new opportunities to grow,” Carr said.
That growth will mainly take the form of a new distillery and visitor center in San Francisco. Carr said the company hasn’t chosen a location yet but is looking for “an iconic San Francisco building closer to downtown,” around 30,000 square feet. Classes, dinners, private events, lectures, a vintage cocktail book library are part of the plans for what Carr hopes will become the major hub for spirits education in the Bay Area.
The new home will allow the company’s spirits production to grow, from its 20,000-case volume to perhaps as much as 50,000.
It’s an ambitious plan for downtown San Francisco, with its notoriously high rents, but Carr said he never considered moving to, say, the East Bay. The company has built its identity on its San Francisco roots, he emphasized. Plus, San Francisco foot traffic doesn’t hurt.
The transition from the Anchor Distilling-branded bottles to new Hotaling & Co. bottles will take place this year. A new whiskey product is already in the works. The existing spirits themselves will remain the same; Bruce Joseph, an employee of Anchor since 1980, is still the head distiller.
If the new Hotaling & Co. can pull it off, this pivot could represent not only a salvaging of the company after the Sapporo sale, but also a coming of age for a business that has always played second fiddle.
“Sapporo forced a definitive moment,” Carr said. “In no way are we trying to turn our back on our history, but there comes a time when you have to leave the house and make something of yourself.”
Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob


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Topshop is prohibiting the intake of branded lingerie collections for the foreseeable future, Lingerie Insight has learned.
Multiple suppliers were notified by the fashion retailer this week that intake targets have been cut dramatically, with management putting restrictions in place to accept own-buy stock only for the time being.
The move means that Topshop will not be able to approve shipment or accept delivery of any branded stock this season.
However, the move is only expected to be temporary, with suppliers assured that Topshop will be in touch as soon as the situation changes.
Topshop currently stocks 11 lingerie branded labels and was expected to take on new suppliers for the SS17 season.

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All of September, Nexon will be celebrating with a multitude of events for the one year anniversary of their action MMORPG, Dragon Nest.
There is a list of all the events going on for their anniversary listed at the Dragon Nest website, so be sure to check that out.
There are challenges, bonus drop weekends, wipeout the GM?s, mysterious login events, pi?atas, and a GM trivia event. September 28th is the actual date for the anniversary, so players should expect some great stuff on that date as well.
Also, they have a celebratory trailer in lieu of their one year anniversary as well.
The trailer is here:
Prepare To Brawl In Upcoming Lost Saga Open Beta
Nexon recently announced that the action-packed, fist to the wall combat based MMO, Lost Saga, will be entering its open beta period late next month.
Lost Saga Website Relaunch Now Live
Nexon Europe today announced the official opening of the brand new Lost Saga website ahead of its closed beta testing scheduled to begin in February.
Arcane Chronicles Closed Beta, A State of Decay MMO and more! | The Daily XP January 13th
Your Daily MMO and MMORPG News for Monday January 13th. Today Kirk discusses State of Decay, Jumpgate: The Reconstruction Initiative and Arcane Chronicles.
Arcane Chronicles Closed Beta Begins This Week
Nexon Europe today announced that the closed beta testing for their upcoming browser MMORPG game, Arcane Chronicles, will begin this Thursday, January 16th.
Christmas Eve In The MMO World
Christmas is in full swing but if you find yourself struggling for entertainment this festive season we've comprised a list of the most exciting Christmas events in the biggest MMO's of today.
RED: Zero Update Information Revealed For MapleStory
MapleStory is one of the longest running sidescrolling MMO titles on the planet and despite its obvious flaws, it continues to appeal to millions.
Neverwinter's Shadowmantle, Atlantica Online, Warframe and more! | The Weekly Loot Ep 79
The Weekly Loot is MMO Attack's Weekly MMO and MMORPG News Show hosted by the lovely and talented Ayodele! This week we discuss Neverwinter's Shadowmantle expansion, Atlantica Online's Dragon Trial Dungeon and Warframe's Update 11.
Dragon Trial Introduced To Atlantica Online
Nexon and NDoors have released the latest update for the turn-based combat MMORPG game, Atlantica Online. The new update introduces a brand new time trial dungeon that promises to offer some of the most intense content available in the unique MMO title.
Dragon Nest Europe Catching Up
As other versions of Dragon Nest continue to soar the skies Dragon Nest Europe has fallen behind after the developers failed to keep up with the international updates
Trials of Ascension, Warface, Extraction and more! | The Daily XP October 16th
Your Daily MMO and MMORPG News for Wednesday October 16th. Today Kirk discusses Warface, Extraction, The Mummy Online and Trials of Ascension.


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Updated June 2: Cafe Sandra is now open!
A coffee shop called Cafe Sandra has signed a lease at 194 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.
Cafe Sandra already has a website. And despite what the site states, they are not yet open for business. The storefront is empty.
The previous tenant, Space 194, a hybrid tea-coffee shop-gallery, closed in early 2020 after nearly a year in service.
The address was previously the Neptune. The Polish-American diner shut down in December 2016 after 15 years in business. After their departure, the landlord divided up the restaurant into two storefronts.
Photo by Steven. H/T Upper West Sider!


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CloudBees , an enterprise software delivery company , has revealed high confidence levels in software supply chain security but a limited understanding of the essential components that make a software supply chain secure .
According to the CloudBees Global C-suite Security Survey , executives overwhelmingly claimed their software supply chains are secure ( 95 %) or very secure ( 55 %) and 93 % said they were prepared to deal with an issue such as ransomware or a cyberattack on their supply chain .
However , when asked additional questions about the security of their supply chains , the responses uncovered vulnerabilities . More than two in five ( 45 %) executives admitted that initiatives to secure their software supply chains were halfway complete or less and 64 % said they were not sure who they would turn to first if their supply chain was attacked .
“ It ’ s critical that software supply chains operate in the most secure and compliant manner possible . These findings show that while leaders are confident on the surface , they are also aware of security and planning gaps that could expose companies to significant business disruption , regulator and customer concerns and negative brand impact ,” said Prakash Sethuraman , Chief Information Security Officer , CloudBees .
NETSCOUT engages with NTT Communications on threat intelligence
ETSCOUT SYSTEMS , a market leader in
N cybersecurity , service assurance and business analytics , has announced that it is working with NTT Communications Corporation ( NTT Com ) to conduct research and resilience testing to detect and mitigate cyberattacks by leveraging the resources of NETSCOUT ’ s ATLAS Security Engineering and Response Team ( ASERT ).
and mitigate large DDoS attacks , implement defence measures for application attacks , analyse malware attacks in honeypots , leverage Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) to predict cyberattacks and identify new attacks before becoming an issue .
NTT Com is taking active measures to ensure its network can support increased traffic and security needs while providing a more resilient network for the future .
Volumetric DDoS attacks overwhelm internal network capacity to consume bandwidth so that genuine users cannot gain access to a network , application , or service .
“ We ’ ve detected a huge uptick in volumetric DDoS cyberattacks globally , since the release of the Mirai source code , including a 1.7 Tbps reflection / amplification attack in recent years ,” said Hardik Modi , Associate Vice President of Engineering , Threat and Mitigation Products , NETSCOUT .
NETSCOUT ASERT will collaborate with NTT Com ’ s technical team to implement this initiative . The focus will be to discover


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Islamic Development Bank Group strengthens presence in Indonesia
Islamic Development Bank Group strengthens presence in Indonesia
The IDB Group decided to launch its Country Gateway Office in Indonesia, following the signing of the bank group’s host country agreement in February 2013.
Prof. Bambang Brodjonegoro, minister of finance of Indonesia, and Ahmed Mohamed Ali, president of the IDB Group, hosted the inauguration ceremony.
Indonesian ministers, ambassadors of IDB member countries, high-level government officials, private sector representatives, country representatives of international institutions and eminent personalities attended the event at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, Jakarta.
In his speech, the president of the IDB Group expressed his appreciation to the government of Indonesia for facilitating the opening of the IDB’s Country Gateway Office in Jakarta.
He expressed his hope that the bank group’s office will strengthen ties and collaboration between the IDB and Indonesia.
Leveraging on its key strengths, the IDB Group Country Gateway Office will serve as a platform for all entities of the IDB Group to effectively implement projects and programs, expand cooperation in Islamic financial products and services, trade and project financing, and technical and advisory services, both in public and private sectors.
The office will also result in more effective management of the IDB Group’s portfolio in Indonesia and for generating more business opportunities particularly in transportation, energy and public-private partnerships.
During his address, the finance minister said that the Indonesia Country Gateway Office will be the IDB Group’s second establishment after Turkey, and it constitutes a renewed commitment to Indonesia as one if its founding members.
The opening of the new office coincides with the start of the new government, with new initiatives and programs on how to deliver more prosperity to the people of Indonesia.
He was confident that the Islamic Development Bank Group will take advantage of this opportunity by enhancing its engagement with the new government and aligning its cooperation strategy with the government current development priorities.
Furthermore, he expressed his delight that the Bank has recruited a number of local staffs to support the operation of the office.
This approach is greatly appreciated by the government since it will open new opportunity for local talents to contribute actively in one of the most renowned Islamic financial institution in the world.
Prof. Bambang Brodjonegoro and Ahmad Mohamed Ali inaugurated the Country Gateway Office and also took the opportunity to visit the new office premises for cutting of the ribbon.
Located in the Office8 building, Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD), the IDB Country Gateway Office in Indonesia will have international and local staff representing all IDBG entities.
The office will be headed by Ibrahim Shoukry, resident representative of the IDB Group, who comes with vast exposure of the bank’s operational activities and with over 23 years of experience in the private sector.
Morocco boycott slows sales growth at Danone
- Seeks to rebuild consumer trust in Morocco
- Sales growth shows slowdown
PARIS: Slacker demand for baby food in China and a consumer boycott in Morocco slowed third-quarter sales growth at Danone, although the French food group said it was sticking to its earnings growth targets.
Danone said it was banking on cost savings and a push into lucrative, healthy eating trends to meet those goals, despite lower sales of infant formula in China and the broad boycott in Morocco launched earlier this year on social media against what protesters said were unfair prices set by large companies.
Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis cautioned the slowdown in China would last several quarters while the Moroccan boycott would weigh on the second half of the year.
Danone, the world’s largest yoghurt maker with brands including Actimel and Activia, said third-quarter sales reached $7.1 billion, a like-for-like increase of 1.4 percent — slightly above analysts’ forecasts for 1.2 percent growth.
Nevertheless, this marked a slowdown from 3.3 percent growth in the second quarter and 4.9 percent in the first quarter, and Danone shares fell 2.8 percent in early trading.
“The main miss is on Specialized Nutrition where infant milk formula is down 20 percent in China in Q3 ... We were not expecting such a drop” said Oddo analyst Pierre Tegner.
Danone, however, kept its annual financial targets.
Growth had accelerated at its dairy and plant-based business in North America, where Danone is integrating organic food group WhiteWave, and its European dairy division was on the road toward stabilization, it said.
Danone, which is targeting an operating margin above 16 percent and like-for-like sales growth of 4-5 percent by 2020, reiterated its expectation for a double-digit rise in 2018 underlying earnings per share (EPS), excluding the impact of the sale of a stake in Japan’s Yakult.
Sales of Danone’s ‘Early Life Nutrition’ products in China fell 20 percent in the third quarter following a period of strong growth and amid signs of changes in market dynamics.
The sales of the China-focused infant formula products had grown by around 30 percent in the second quarter of 2018 and by over 50 percent in the third-quarter 2017.
In China, where Danone competes in the baby food market with Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser, there has been strong demand for baby formula products thanks to a sharp rise in birth rates tied to the end of China’s one-child policy, and the emergence of new cities and an affluent middle class.
The peak in birth rates, however, happened in 2016 and started slowing down in late 2017, leading Danone to caution that the Chinese market will progressively show more normal trends from the second half of 2018 onwards.
Danone’s indirect E-commerce infant formula sales had also benefited last year from China’s decision to delay regulation of cross-border e-commerce, which led to stocking up by traders.
Cabanis said that although there were fewer births in China, Danone continued to benefit from demand for its ultra-premium infant formula products such as Nutrilon and Aptamil.
Morocco, which counts for 2 percent of group sales, was another weak spot as a result of the consumer boycott.
In September, Danone announced measures in Morocco to regain consumers’ trust, including price cuts, but sales in Morocco were still down 35 percent in the third quarter.


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Twitter elevates Preetha Athrey to director of global business marketing, APAC
Disha Goenka Das moves onto a global role leading regional business marketing teams
Mar 18, 2022 09:23:00 AM | Article | Campaign India Team Share -
Twitter has elevated Preetha Athrey as director of global business marketing, APAC.
Athrey was head marketing, Twitter India. She updated her Twitter status to reflect her move.
She will be taking the reigns from Disha Goenka Das, who is moving on to a global role leading regional business marketing teams across Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Das said, "Resurfacing from parental leave to announce the best news! Preetha Athrey is now leading Twitter’s business marketing team in APAC. We are so incredibly lucky to have her leadership, creativity, wisdom as we do more to serve our customers and the public conversation."
Athrey said, "I am truly honoured to lead the amazingly creative and enthusiastic global business marketing team across APAC - full of energy, zest and who make work fun every day! We will continue to amplify the best of Twitter to activate our customers through inspiration and education."


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Limelight Health Recognized by SIIA as Best Emerging Technology
Rating Configuration Product Earns Prestigious Industry Recognition
By: Limelight Health
SAN FRANCISCO - June 9, 2020 - PRLog -- Limelight Health, the leading provider of cloud-based enterprise software solutions delivering quoting and underwriting platforms for the employee benefits industry, has tied for first place as the best emerging technology of 2020 as part of the annual SIIA CODiE Awards for its Rating Configuration product for the group benefits industry. The prestigious CODiE Awards recognize the companies producing the most innovative business technology products across the country and around the world.
Previously known as Stern, Limelight Health's Rating Configuration product streamlines the process of integrating pricing models into a cloud-based quoting system through a no-code graphical interface in the place of software code. The system enables insurance carriers to manage their own pricing models end-to-end without reliance on software engineers, changing the status quo in the insurance industry.
"We feel extremely honored and humbled to have been rubbing shoulders with reputable companies like Adobe and Red Hat in this category," said Jason T. Andrew, CEO and Co-founder of Limelight Health. "It's inspiring to look back at Microsoft Excel who was the first to win this award 30 years ago, and see how digital transformation has revolutionized the group insurance industry with products like ours at the forefront."
This year, Limelight Health has also been recognized for their rapid company growth and innovative leadership. The company ranked No. 64 on the inaugural 2020 Inc. 5000 Series California List, and received a bronze Stevie Award as Innovative Tech Company of the Year in the American Business Awards. Limelight Health CEO Jason T. Andrew was recognized with a silver Stevie Award as Entrepreneur of the Year in the insurance category. Additionally, Limelight Health's Director of People and Culture, Jill Felska, was recognized as one of the top 20 most inspiring HR leaders by Business Insider.
"Congratulations to this amazing group of 2020 Business Technology CODiE Award winners," said SIIA President Jeff Joseph. "These trying times have underscored the importance of innovative technologies like never before. The products and services we honor today connect us to colleagues and customers, ensure business practices move forward, provide new insights from data, and create new jobs and market opportunities. They represent the best of high-impact, outcome-focused innovation."
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, announced the full slate of CODiE winners during an online winner announcement earlier today in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SIIA CODiE Awards are the industry's only peer-reviewed awards program. The first-round review of all nominees is conducted by software and business technology experts with considerable industry expertise, including analysts, media, bloggers, bankers and investors. The scores from the expert judge review determine the finalists. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products, and the scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners.
More information about the Awards is available at: siia.net/CODiE.
Details about the winning products can be found at https://www.siia.net/
About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards
The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology's finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit siia.net/CODiE.
About Limelight Health
Limelight Health is a leading provider of cloud-based enterprise software solutions delivering the most efficient and compelling quoting & underwriting platform for the employee benefits industry. Limelight Health brings the carriers' archaic systems and solutions into the next century. The company provides process automation and seamless integration between every participant in the employee benefits industry including carriers, underwriters, sales executives, agents, advisors, and their customers.
Limelight Health's innovative suite offers a range of solutions that are highly configurable for business needs including quoting, rating, proposal generation, renewals, automated processing for pre-sales, new business, underwriting, enrollment support, data analysis, reporting, consumer delivery and agent self-service, document management and seamless integration with industry systems and services. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Limelight Health has satellite locations in Redding, California and Des Moines, Iowa, and a sizable remote workforce.
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Here’s a glimmer of good health news: It seems that nations around the world may be avoiding what, just a blink ago, was one of the United States’ significant public health concerns — vaping and e-cigarettes.
Juul, the San Francisco-based company at the heart of this controversy, has seen doors shut in its face as it tries to expand its U.S.-curtailed business, the New York Times reported:
“The company has been met with ferocious anti-vaping sentiment and a barrage of newly enacted e-cigarette restrictions, or outright bans, in country after country. As a result, its ambitious overseas plans have collapsed. Juul was kicked off the market in China last fall after just four days. The company has had to abandon plans for India after the government there banned all electronic cigarettes. Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos have also closed the door to e-cigarettes. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the arrest of anyone caught vaping outside designated smoking areas. Juul has postponed its launch in the Netherlands and has pulled out of Israel. In South Korea, the number of Juul customers has plummeted after the government issued dire health warnings about e-cigarettes, and the company has scaled back its distribution there.”


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Uber is testing a driverless taxi on the streets of Pittsburgh
Taxi app Uber is the latest company to explore driverless car technology, confirming it is testing a self-navigating vehicle that could force its drivers out of their jobs.
A Ford Fusion test car has been kitted out with radar, laser scanners and cameras by Uber's Advanced Technology Center, and will be mapping data across the American city.
In a statement, Uber – which has been credited with "radically disrupting" the taxi industry with its cash-free on-demand app – said it was aiming to make self-driving taxis as "reliable as running water".
It also said that self-driving cars had the potential to save millions of lives.
"1.3 million people die every year in car accidents – 94 per cent of those accidents involve human error," said Uber. "In the future we believe this technology will mean less congestion, more affordable and accessible transportation, and far fewer lives lost in car accidents."
Uber's comments follow on from statements made by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who said driving is too dangerous for humans and will be outlawed as soon as self-driving cars are proved to be safer.
The US Department of Transportation also backed this argument earlier this year when it unveiled plans to eradicate road accidents by increasing the number of autonomous vehicles.
However, the technology is still being refined. An accident report recently revealed that one of Google's self-driving vehicles had collided with a public bus in Mountain View, California – soon after it became the first non-human to be recognised as a driver in the US.
For now, Uber's self-driving vehicle will still carry a trained driver to monitor its progress and comply with legal guidelines.
The race towards driverless cars has also seen prototypes and proposals from architecture firm Foster + Partners, tyre company Goodyear and car giants BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz's self-driving truck set for Europe's roads in 10 years Mercedes-Benz.
Uber allows users to order a taxi on-demand, often at significantly lower cost than other local services, with payments automatically deducted from card details scanned into the app.
It was set up by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009 as a black car service for 100 friends in San Francisco, and went on to kickstart a transformation of the taxi industry that has caused uproar in numerous countries.


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On Tuesday 15th May, the E-commerce giant, Amazon.com Inc. announced that they are collaborating with Consensus Systems, better known as ConsenSys, to move into blockchain technology. Amazon is going to expand their cloud computing arm to provide their customers an easier usage of the blockchain.
Amazon is going to introduce “Kaleido”, a product of ConsenSys. They are aiming to grant their Amazon Web Services [AWS] customers easy access to the benefits of blockchain technology. AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon which offers a paid subscription to individuals, companies, and governments to their cloud computing platforms. Kaleido is going to be the first blockchain SaaS solution available on the AWS Market.
One of the founders of Kaleido, Steve Cerveny said that they are focusing on giving Amazon a simple platform to build their company on blockchain in which they can work on their innovations without many complications.
A lot of major players in the industry are investing and benefiting from the blockchain technology. The research teams at these major firms are developing their own blockchain or collaborating with various blockchain-based software companies. IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, J.P. Morgan, and HSBC are among the leading financial and tech firms who are developing and adopting blockchain technology.
Last week, a spokesperson of Facebook has given statements on various social media platforms stating that they have plans to launch their own cryptocurrency with their main focus being on improving the cross-border payments for their applications.
Facebook is exploring how to leverage the blockchain across their platform with a team led by David Marcus, the Vice President of Facebook messenger but there hasn’t been an official announcement regarding this matter. Facebook is planning to include a new blockchain to address their user’s privacy concerns.
A. Pompliano, a crypto-capitalist says:
“Amazon just announced a partnership with Consensus to reduce friction to blockchain tech for all developers. The big companies are getting behind the virus. No one can stop it”
Xico Hold ‘em, a cryptocurrency investor tweeted:
“These partnerships do nothing for $bitcoin or $cryptocurrencies adoption. In fact they may jeopardize the efforts to decentralize consensus..”
The post Amazon joins the fleet of companies investing in blockchain appeared first on AMBCrypto.


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Milk Production In February Up From Last Year
Milk production in the 24 major milk-producing states in February totaled 16.82 billion pounds, down 1.3% from February 2020 but up 2.3% after adjusting for leap year, according to data released this week by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). For the entire United States, February milk production was estimated at 17.63 billion pounds, down 1.5% from February 2020 but up 2.0% when adjusted for leap year. (All figures are rounded.)
January’s revised production for the 24 major states totaled 18.45 billion pounds, an increase of 150 million pounds or 0.8% from last month’s preliminary production estimate.
February production per cow in the 24 major states averaged 1,882 pounds, down 44 pounds from February 2020 and down 183 pounds from a month earlier. For the entire United States, production per cow in February is estimated at 1,864 pounds, down 44 pounds from February 2020 and down 180 pounds from January.
NASS reports the number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.94 million head in February, up 88,000 head from February 2020 and up 2,000 head from January. In the entire United States, there were an estimated 9.46 million milk cows in February, 81,000 cows more than February 2020, and 3,000 more than in January.
California led the nation’s milk production in February with 3.33 billion pounds of milk, down 1.5% from February 2020. Wisconsin followed with 2.42 billion pounds of milk produced in February, down 0.4% from February 2020.
Keep Up To Date On Cheese Industry News
Find all of HART Design & Manufacturing current industry news here.
Source: Cheese Market News


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To mark the round anniversary, Gasteiner Mineralwasser CEO Walter Scherb and Director of the Association of the Friends of the Hohe Tauern National Park Peter Rupitsch hosted a press conference followed by a tour of the plant. A new project to conserve the domestic river trout species was also presented at the event.
Conservation of the springs for the benefit of humans and animals
The close cooperation between Hohe Tauern National Park and Gasteiner Mineralwasser dates back 20 years now, and was further stepped up this year. According to Gasteiner CEO Walter Scherb, “The Hohe Tauern National Park and we share the same goal as partners: to conserve the springs, not only for the benefit of humans, but also for the ecosystem. A very special project came to our attention that is dedicated to conserving the river trout species.” As part of the Lemon Challenge that the company initiated to launch the Gasteiner Lemon, Grapefruit and Orange drinks and the go4health Challenge, a total of EUR 5,000 was raised to benefit conservation of the domestic river trout in the Hohe Tauern National Park. Peter Rupitsch, Director of the Association of the Friends of the Hohe Tauern National Park, took the opportunity during the anniversary event to express his thanks for the many years of cooperation, saying “With an area of 1856 km2 , the Hohe Tauern National Park is the largest conservation area in the European Alps. Gasteiner Mineralwasser has been committed for years to conserving unspoiled landscapes and the impressive flora and fauna.”
Cooperation with the Hohe Tauern National Park, however, is naturally just one of many initiatives launched by Gasteiner Mineralwasser in the field of sustainable development. “When it comes to sustainability, it’s a top priority for us to maintain the right balance between commercial success, environmental aims and social responsibility. Gasteiner has risen to that challenge for 90 years now and we’re striving to increase our efforts still further so that Austrians can enjoy our unique water without limitation for the next hundred years and more,” concludes CEO Walter Scherb.
1327: Gastein’s thermal water was first referred to in writing as “medicinal drinking water” in 1327. Drinking thermal water from Gastein has been popular throughout the centuries ever since.
1886: The Family Fund of the House of Habsburg acquired the thermal springs of Bad Gastein and then leased them to the town in 1887, which finally bought them in 1912.
1919: Local hoteliers took the first steps to launch the sale of Gastein water for drinking purposes. They founded a company in cooperation with a mineral water wholesale trader and with representatives of the city and the state of Salzburg.
1929: The Gasteiner Tafelwasser brand and company were established. Water has been bottled from the Elisabeth Spring, named after Empress Elisabeth of Austria (“Sisi”), since then. Since that time, the bottle design has featured motifs evoking the source of Gasteiner water.
1949: The water was renamed for the first time to “Original Gasteiner Medicinal Table Water”.
1985: Decades later, the name of the mineral water was changed again, this time to “Gasteiner Crystal Clear”.
1990: The visual branding was adjusted to lend even greater emphasis to the water’s alpine source. Even today, every Gasteiner bottle evokes the source of the crystal-clear mineral water: the mountain landscape of Bad Gastein.
2008: The Gasteiner brand underwent a complete relaunch to make the brand identity more modern and contemporary. For example, a new design bottle was launched in the hotel, restaurant and catering segment. The exceptional design won numerous awards (such as the “Austrian State Prize for Exemplary Packaging”, the HGV Praxis (an Austrian periodical for the Horeca sector) award, the corporate design prize of the state of Salzburg and the “iF Product Design Award”).
2017: To highlight its unique source in the depths of the Hohe Tauern, Gasteiner Mineralwasser introduced a fresh, crystal-clear corporate design in 2017. In addition to updating its logo and packaging, the long-standing company also changed the “Gasteiner – And the moment is yours” claim.
2018: Pünktlich zum Start des Rekordsommers 2018 brachte Gasteiner Mineralwasser eine echte Innovation im Near Water-Segment auf den Markt: Gasteiner Lemon. Dieses prickelnde Erfrischungsgetränk enthält als einziges seiner Art kein Aroma und keinen Zucker, sondern lediglich reinen, direkt gepressten Zitronensaft.
2018: Right at the start of the record summer in 2018, Gasteiner Mineralwasser launched a true innovation in the near water segment: Gasteiner Lemon. This sparkling soft drink is the only one of its kind not to have any flavourings or sugar, just pure, freshly squeezed lemon juice.
2019: Gasteiner Mineralwasser has been fully owned by food producer Spitz since the start of 2019. According to CEO Walter Scherb, “As a family business, we’re looking forward to taking the next step and acquiring the remaining shares in Gasteiner Mineralwasser.”
2019: Three new soft drinks were launched in spring 2019: Gasteiner Lemon, Gasteiner Grapefruit and Gasteiner Orange. They are a combination of the purest, sparkling Gasteiner water and freshly squeezed fruit juice in a handy 0.33-litre can.


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Ford Motor Company and Techstars Mobility, driven by Detroit announced newest class of startup businesses that will work this summer from Ford Field offices in downtown Detroit to develop future mobility solutions.
Winners will be part of a three-month program focusing on transportation solutions, aligned with Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
Each company will receive $120,000 in funding along with three months of intensive guidance on business development, customer acquisition and developing relationships within the auto industry, along with support from top business leaders.
The incoming class will focus on innovations that leverage emerging trends – connectivity, real-time data, on-demand services, and sharing and social platforms – in four key areas of interest to Ford:
- Consumer experience
- Information technology and data analytics
- Multimodal trip integration
- Flexible ownership and user experience
- Autonomous and safety technologies
The Techstars class of 2016 is:
- Acerta provides machine-assisted anomaly detection and root-cause analysis
- Algocian delivers state-of-the-art video analytics for security and autonomous vehicles
- Braiq works to personalize the self-driving car
- Cargo is a data-driven general store for the ride-sharing economy
- Donut Media is a digital media company for millennial and Gen Z car enthusiasts
- Drive Spotter offers real-time video search for fleet management
- GoKid delivers complete carpool solutions for busy families
- HAAS Alert is a connected notification platform that warns motorists when emergency vehicles are approaching
- HERO is an app that rewards safe behavior and helps impaired drivers get home safely
- Rally is a platform that allows for pop-up mass transit in high-occupancy vehicles
- Spatial provides a dynamic, human-driven layer of social intelligence for maps and navigation
- Voyhoy is a multimodal transportation booking platform in Latin America and Europe
Techstars Mobility is a mentorship-driven accelerator program launched in 2015 to focus on next-generation mobility solutions. This year, stakeholders reviewed nearly 500 applications from 52 countries across six continents – a 27 percent increase over 2015. Top themes from applicants include ride-sharing services and technologies, improving the car-ownership experience, and safety and autonomous-driving technologies.
Increasingly, applicants focused on personalizing electric vehicles using software or app development methods. Others concentrate on personal mobility for new eras of car owners including millennials, a generation that places a premium on standing out as opposed to fitting in. This encourages businesses to offer tools for greater self-reliance and purposefulness.
Techstars Mobility, driven by Detroit starts June 13 and culminates Sept. 8 with demo day at Detroit Opera House. Last year, more than 1,000 individuals from 50 different automotive organizations attended the inaugural Techstars Mobility demo day.Building on a successful 2015 class
The 2015 graduating class has raised $5 million in funding to date. Among them is SPLT, which developed a ride-sharing app to promote customized carpooling, which DTE Energy and other companies are adopting. At the end of the 2015 program, SPLT chief executive and founder Anya Babbitt announced her company would move from New York City to Detroit’s Ford Field.
Meanwhile, the global Techstars program has graduated 745 companies since launching in 2007. Those startups have raised $2.2 billion.
In addition to Ford, the Techstars Mobility consortium includes several global corporations also focused on next-generation mobility solutions. Magna International, Verizon, Dana, Honda, McDonald’s, Munich Re and Michelin have all contributed funding and mentorship.Expanding support for startup community
Ford is also committed to fostering the startup community through partnerships and donations.
Ford has acquired Detroit-based Livio, a software company working to deliver new in-car connectivity solutions. The automaker also donated a Transit Connect van to 2015 Techstars graduate Cosmos – now renamed Lunar.
“Startups are unburdened by the past and think with a cleaner sheet of paper,” said Bill Coughlin, president and CEO, Ford Global Technologies. “Great, storied companies can benefit from the exciting solutions scrappy startups offer. At the same time, Ford is interested in fostering and engaging this community so that automotive innovations can continue to grow and prosper.”


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See both BYTON concept cars in the flesh.
This Saturday, October 6th, BYTON will be hosting a "Bytes & Coffee" event at their North American headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
The event is open to the public, and attendees will get to check out both BYTON concept cars and chat with BYTON reps. BYTON is on schedule to release their first vehicle, the all-electric M-Byte SUV sometime in the 4th quarter of 2019. The initial release will be in China, with US customers getting their first deliveries about 6 months later, followed by European deliveries.
M-Byte pricing will begin at $45,000 and the vehicle will come standard with a 71 kWh battery pack, good for over 200 miles per charge. There will be an optional 95 kWh battery which will have a range of over 300 miles, according to the manufacturer. Power is also up with the optional 95 kWh pack from the standard 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque in the 71 kWh pack, to 470 hp and 524 lb-ft of torque with the larger battery.
Following the M-Byte by about 2 years will be the K-Byte. The K-Byte will be a sedan that is planned to launch with level 4 autonomous driving capability. With Level 4 autonomous features, the car can basically operate without any human input or oversight, but that's only under select conditions. Those conditions are defined by factors such as the type of road or geographic area.
Both vehicles use BYTON's massive 49" display screen, stretching across the entire width of the vehicle. We've had a few InsideEVs readers comment that they believe such a screen will be too distracting while they are driving, so this event might be a good one to see the display yourself and ask BYTON representatives how they plan to mitigate the possibility of distracted driving in their vehicles.
The event is free, and there's no need to pre-register to attend. Coffee and pastries will be served, and InsideEVs Tom Moloughney will be on hand at the event, so if you stop by to check out the cars, make sure you say hello. Here are the event details:
Byton Office 4201 Burton Dr Santa Clara, CA 95054 8:00 am to 11:00 am


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Players at UK online casinos will be able to access titles for innovative developer Spribe for the very first time after it secured a licence from the Gambling Commission.
Spribe launched in 2018 and has quickly become one of the most in-demand developers in international markets thanks to its hugely popular Turbo Games category.
These games combine elements of social media with simple but engaging gameplay for a truly fun and entertaining player experience especially when playing from mobile.
Turbo Game titles include Aviator, Mines and Dice, and have been designed to appeal to a younger audience (in particular, millennials) than traditional slots.
In addition, Spribe has also developed a suite of skill games and table games including Poker, Backgammon, Bura, Seka and Domino.
All games are designed and developed out of Spribe’s state of the art studios in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Games have been developed using cryptographic technology called “provably fair” which means it is impossible for any third-party to interfere in the game, taking security and trust to the next level.
David Natroshvili, Managing Partner at Spribe, said: “Securing a UK licence is a milestone moment for Spribe, allowing us to deploy our thrilling, entertaining and unique content to operators in the market for the first time.
“Our games offer something different and have been designed to appeal to the lucrative Millennial player. They have proved to be a big hit in other markets, and we believe they will be just as popular with players in the UK.
“Content is now one of the most powerful ways operators can stand out from their rivals and our Turbo Games in particular allow them to do this while also engaging new player audiences that were not previously interacting with their brand.”
Spribe’s games will hit game lobbies at UK slots sites over the coming months.


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Action Fraud has issued a warning that scammers claiming to be from HM Revenue & Customs are contacting people.
They are tricking people into paying bogus debts and taxes using iTunes gift cards.
Victims are being contacted in a variety of ways by fraudsters claiming to be from HMRC and are being told they owe an outstanding debt.
In most cases they ask for payment in iTunes gift card voucher codes.
A statement by Action Fraud said: “Fraudsters like iTunes gift cards to collect money from victims because they can be easily redeemed and easily sold on.
“The scammers don’t need the physical card to redeem the value and instead get victims to read out the serial code on the back over the phone.”
One 87-year-old victim is reported as having been phoned by fraudsters who claimed to be from HMRC stating there was an arrest warrant out in his name.
They told him it would be cancelled if he bought £500 in iTunes gift cards at Tesco.
The man bought the cards and gave them the serial numbers.
But when they asked for a further £1,300 in vouchers, he became suspicious and hung up.
Action Fraud has said HMRC will never use texts to tell you about a tax rebate or penalty or ask for a payment in this way.
It also said telephone numbers and text messages can be easily spoofed and should not be trusted.


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The Canadian fashion company, which has not yet presented its official economic results, expects revenues of up to 1,380 million dollars.
Lululemon boosts 2019 sales. The Canadian fashion and sporting company estimates it will increase its revenue by 20.5%, to 3,962 million dollars in 2019, after considering the year as a year of transformation and international growth.
The company, which has not yet presented its official results, has disclosed in a statement that between October and December it improved its initial economic forecasts. Lululemon planned to reach a maximum of 1,330 million dollars in the fourth quarter of 2019, however, its revenues will is set to reach 1,380 million dollars.
Last week the Canadian company incorporated Nikki Neuburger as the global brand director. The former Nike and Uber exec will set in motion a new phase this year within Lululemon, which initiated in 2019 as a strategic transformation plan to accelerate its international expansion and diversify its clothing line to include men’s wear.


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“The Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT) has boycotted Chinese goods this year, as it did last year, and it is certain that China would suffer a financial loss of around 50,000 crores as a result of Indian traders’ refusal to buy Chinese goods,” CAIT said in a statement on Friday.
The fact that Indians are banning crackers and other low-cost celebratory items from China this festive season means more earnings for India’s domestic industry. The traders’ group said in a statement on Friday that India’s domestic sales are projected to increase significantly this Diwali due to an increase in the number of customers in markets throughout the country ahead of the festive season. Consumer spending during Diwali sales might bring in a total of Rs 2 lakh crore to the Indian economy.
Another significant difference lately seen is that consumers in large cities around the country do not appear to be very interested in purchasing Chinese goods, which is expected to raise demand for Indian items instead. According to a recent poll done by CAIT’s research arm in 20 ‘distribution cities,’ no orders for Diwali goods, firecrackers, or other things have been placed with Chinese exporters by Indian dealers or importers.
New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ranchi, Guwahati, Patna, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Pondicherry, Bhopal, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Pondicherry, Bhopal and Jammu are in the list.
CAIT announced earlier this year that it has chosen to aggressively step up its statewide campaign to boycott Chinese goods in response to China’s “military aggression” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, which resulted in the death of three Indian soldiers.
“The CAIT firmly condemns China’s military action in Ladakh across the Line of Control, which resulted in the death of three Indian soldiers. “In light of the ongoing border conflicts with China, the CAIT has decided to intensify its statewide campaign against the boycott of Chinese goods, which began on June 10 under the banner of ‘Bhartiya Samaan-Hamara Abhimaan,'” stated CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal.


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It’s easy for those of us who tap our phones for instant updates — the latest headlines, live game scores, friends’ social media posts — to think that the internet is everywhere.
But the fact is, the majority of our fellow global citizens aren’t connected to the internet. Even in the U.S., where the internet was born, people residing in many rural areas can’t access the digital realm, at least not easily.
A new study from Facebook looks at global online connectivity and sees evidence of improvement — and shows how much further the internet needs to go to be a global tool of information and commerce. According to “State of Connectivity 2015: A Report on Global Internet Access,” an estimated 3.2 billion people were online as of the end of last year. That’s up from 2.9 billion in 2014 — a reflection of rising incomes and more affordable access. At the same time, it means that the world’s other 4.1 billion people weren’t online in 2015.
What’s behind this lack of connectivity? The study identifies four main barriers.
This refers to the proximity of the necessary infrastructure required for access. The data-rich Facebook study calculates that at least 1.6 billion people live in areas where mobile broadband is not available. More than 90 percent of them live in the developing world, many in rural areas. And rural and remote areas are costly to cover, whether in Asian rainforests or North American ranchland. That has led companies such as Facebook, Google and others to experiment with nontraditional connectivity technologies such as balloons and drones.
The Facebook study notes that almost 30 percent of the people in developing countries still live below the poverty line. While rising incomes and falling prices in recent years have helped improved online access, people in developing countries need to spend about twice as much on their mobile connections. And that doesn’t include the cost of buying a smartphone or tablet.
There’s a language barrier in cyberspace. According to the report, Facebook can handle only 139 languages. That’s not at all bad: It means the social networking site can reach around 83 percent of users in their first or second languages. Still, the top 10 languages account for 89 percent of websites, and most sites are in English only. Speakers of the thousands of other world languages have no reason to access the internet — there’s no relevant content for them.
A lack of access prevents millions across the globe from demanding online connectivity. As the Facebook study notes, “over two-thirds of the unconnected do not understand what the internet is.” Indeed, the report adds that 75 percent of the unconnected in Nigeria haven’t heard of the word.
Again, the screen is by no means all dim. The study found that connectivity has increased by approximately 200 million to 300 million people per year over the last decade. A good trend. But the growth also means that, in theory, it would take at least another 15 to 20 years to get everyone connected.
Here’s another way to look at the situation: It also represents a huge economic development opportunity. According to a February 2014 study from professional services firm Deloitte, “extending internet access to levels seen in developed countries today means that long-run productivity could be enhanced by as much as 25 percent in developing countries. Deloitte estimates that the resulting economic activity could generate $2.2 trillion in additional GDP, a 72 percent increase in the GDP growth rate, and more than 140 million new jobs.”
Facebook’s “State of Connectivity 2015” report details the investment the world’s governments, businesses and philanthropies need to make so that the World Wide Web truly is worldwide. See the study’s full results.
Tell Us Your Opinion
- How critical is internet connectivity to your business?


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A Few COVID Foods Trends You Can Rely On
With new items seemingly appearing overnight, it’s good to have a few trustworthy trends you can expect to drive business in 2021.
During the 2020 MUFSO conference, trend analyst Nancy Kruse gave out her bankable trends going into 2021. These include things like vegetables, nostalgic meals, and global flavors. Let’s dive into each of these and see how they could benefit your restaurant.
Trustworthy Restaurant Trends
Veggies continue to get attention on menus nationally. 2019 saw vegetables get sincere center-of-the-plate attention, and now in 2021 they’re getting all over the plate attention. Restaurants across the country are finding new and exciting ways to utilize vegetables.
Several pizza chains, like Donato’s, Blaze, Jet’s and California Pizza Kitchen have introduced cauliflower crusts. Dos Toros has released cauliflower rice as a base for their bowls. Even Taco Bell announced a return to serving potatoes on their menu, which can be substituted for any protein.
Driven by health and environmental concerns, there’s no doubt vegetables will continue to drive menu innovation and consumer interest.
Global flavors are continuing to pop up on menus universally. Domino’s launched a Taco Pizza, while IHOP launched a line of poblano burritos and bowls.
Even restaurants that focus on American regional fares have jumped on board, evidenced by Zaxby’s General Tso’s Chicken.
There are no real rules about where global flavors need to live. They can be seasonings, specialty ingredients, or entire menu items. Sauces are an especially easy way to add global flair to existing menu items. Use them to dip, drizzle, or slather onto your customer’s favorite menu items for safe experimentation they’ll love.
Let’s face it, for better or worse, the 80’s and 90’s are back. Don’t believe me? Just check out casual-dining chain Lazy Dog’s line of TV dinners. The Cheese Enchilada dinner. It comes with house-made chipotle ranchero sauce and cinnamon churro caramel cake, all housed in a compartmentalized tin container.
Chinese American cuisine is also making a comeback. We’ve already referenced Zaxby’s General Tso’s chicken, but don’t be surprised to see items like kung pao, lemon chicken, and beef and broccoli return to mainstream menus. Only now, they’ll feature cleaner ingredients and modern twists.
Where Do These Fit on Your Menu?
That’s what you should be asking yourself. Act quick to be on top of these broad new trends. They’re easy to execute and are bound to drive sales and interest. Don’t forget, people still love to dip and dunk, so make


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UpSpring brings 2 digestive products to Target
Mom- and baby-focused health-and-wellness company UpSpring is growing its offerings available at Target. The company has introduced its Probiotic + Colostrum (Powder for Kids) and Babies, as well as Stomach Settle Nausea Relief Drops, to Target’s digestive health assortment.
“Adding two of our products to the digestive aisle at Target is a huge win for UpSpring, as it will give us even more visibility and allow us to further expand the reach of our natural digestive aides to more shoppers nationwide,” said Lisa Williamson, co-founder and CEO of UpSpring. “We are grateful for the opportunity to have our products provide even more adults and children with natural, drug free digestive relief they can count on.”
Upsring’s Probiotic + Colostrum powder is meant to help reduce digestive upset while also offering immune support through 5 probiotic strains and prebiotics. The Stomach Settle Nausea Relief Drops are meant to relieve nausea, motion sickness, gas, bloating and other stomach issues, the company said. The lemon-ginger-flavored drops include ginger, spearmint, lemon and vitamin B6.
In addition to Target, UpSpring’s products are sold at CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart, among others.
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Credit: Original article can be found here
President Trump ushered in a new era of trade policy in the United States over the past three years where bilateral trade agreements and tariffs turned the tide toward a protectionist stance. This was most recognizable in the U.S.-China trade war, with each country steadily increasing tariffs and barriers on the other. Trade tensions also escalated with some of America’s key allies, such as the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
President-elect Biden likely will conduct trade policy differently than his predecessor, but we remain skeptical that he will completely revert back to the pre-Trump era of trade policy. We expect that Biden will be slightly more protectionist than President Obama, but we also look for him to be more cooperative and less confrontational, particularly with allies like the European Union, than President Trump. In this report, we discuss which tariffs are currently imposed, how trade policy may shift under President-elect Biden and what this means for trade flows and currencies.
Trade to Remain In Focus
On January 20, 2021, former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to be sworn into office as the 46th president of the United States. But it is looking increasingly likely that President-elect Biden will face a divided Congress. Of course, control of the Senate comes down to the two run-off elections in Georgia on January 5. For the Democrats to gain control of the Senate, they would need to win both of the seats up for grabs, resulting in a 50-50 tie in which Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would cast the deciding vote in favor of the Democrats.
In the event Biden does in fact face a divided Congress, or even in the slim chance that Democrats narrowly take control of the Senate, we suspect it will be difficult for Biden to pass sweeping policy legislation. Instead, we expect Biden will focus on efforts where the executive branch has unilateral power, such as trade policy in which we have seen President Trump take action during his presidency.
On Which Countries Are Tariffs Currently Imposed?
The Trump administration has threatened or imposed tariffs on many of America’s trading partners over the past few years. These trade partners include, but are not limited to, China, the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico, countries which accounted for 60% of total U.S. trade in 2019 (Figure 1).
Perhaps the most economically significant as well as headline grabbing has been trade tensions between the United States and China. Over thepast few years, the Trump administration has imposed multiple rounds of tariffs on imports into the United States from China, while Chinese authorities have imposed retaliatory tariffs against the United States. As a quick reminder, U.S.- China trade tensions began in the summer of 2018 with President Trump placing a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese imports. Multiple rounds of additional tariffs occurred in 2018 and 2019, including a U.S. imposed 25% tariff on $200 billion of goods as well as a 15% tariff on $120 billion of goods (Figure 2). In response, China placed tariffs (5%-10%) on an additional $75 billion of American imports.
The two countries reached an agreement on a Phase I trade deal in late 2019, which dialed back trade tensions. The United States agreed to cut the 15% tariff rate on $120 billion of Chinese imports to 7.5%. In return, China agreed to increase purchases of U.S. products by at least $200 billion, specifically, an extra $78 billion in manufactured goods, $52 billion in energy products, $32 billion in agricultural goods and $38 billion in services. Despite the Phase I trade deal, the United States continues to maintain tariffs on about $370 billion of Chinese imports (80% of the total), while China still has tariffs on just about all imports from the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, United States Trade Representative and Wells Fargo Securities
The United States and the EU have also experienced a deterioration in their trade relationship over the past few years. The World Trade Organization (WTO) backed the United States in late 2019 in placing tariffs on $7.5 billion of imported European goods as a result of illegal subsidies given to airplane manufacturer Airbus. But, the WTO also ruled that the United States had also given illegal subsidies to Boeing under WTO law, allowing the EU to raise tariffs on up to $4 billion worth of imports from the United States. President Trump also threatened to place tariffs on European autos and auto parts for most of his administration, which placed added stress on the U.S.-EU trade relationship, even though these tariffs were never formally implemented.
Canada and Mexico were not excluded from tariff and trade uncertainty. In mid-2018, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on imports of Canadian steel and a 10% tariff on imports of aluminum. In response, the Canadian government retaliated with countermeasures, imposing tariffs on slightly less than $3 billion worth of U.S. aluminum products. But the United States and Canada subsequently agreed in 2019 to lift steel and aluminum tariffs and end all WTO-related litigation. In Mexico’s case, President Trump threatened tariffs on most imports from Mexico in an effort to control illegal immigration into the United States. Although those threatened tariffs were never implemented, trade uncertainty hovered over Mexico as the risk of these tariffs never fully receded. Ultimately, the three North American countries agreed to the United States, Mexico, and Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was put into effect earlier this year.
Possible Trade Policy Changes in the Biden Administration
As mentioned previously, the president has a substantial amount of authority and influence over trade policy in the United States. President Trump did not need congressional approval to impose tariffs on American trading partners and withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Therefore, there could be a new direction for American trade policy if, as seems likely, Joe Biden becomes president on January 20. That is not to say we expect to get a full return to policy before President Trump took office; however, we believe it is likely that more conciliatory and less protectionist trade policy returns under a Biden administration.
One of the key pillars of Biden’s proposed policy is to strengthen trade relations with American allies via a multilateral approach to trade, rather than the bilateral approach pursued by President Trump. On the campaign trail, Biden hammered home his view of building closer ties with one particular trade partner: the EU. In our view, this could mean an attempt at restoring EU relations back to the pre-Trump era. Tariffs on the $7.5 billion in EU products could wind up being removed, while the threat of future tariffs on European autos and auto parts could also diminish under the Biden administration. Similarly, the Biden administration likely would not threaten to impose levies on Canadian and Mexican goods, and it likely will continue to honor the USMCA trade agreement.
During the campaign, Biden stressed a “hard line” approach towards China to change its behavior. Although Biden’s China strategy sounds similar to President Trump’s, Biden has not been clear on whether he would use tariffs as a way to incentivize behavioral change from China. In that context, it is difficult to know whether Biden will roll back some, all or none of the Trump administration tariffs. However, we believe an immediate reversal of the Trump administration’s China trade policy is unlikely. But Biden has stated explicitly that a multilateral approach against China may be the optimal tactic. Instead of using harsh rhetoric and threats of bilateral action, Biden has said that he plans on using a more coordinated approach, utilizing the EU specifically, as well as other countries to pressure China for reforms.
Implications for U.S. Trade Flows
So what does the possible shift in trade policy mean for U.S. trade flows going forward? Weak demand and necessary business and manufacturing closures to curb the spread of COVID caused trade flows to dry up early this year. Indeed, U.S. real exports and imports both fell at a record pace in the second quarter, although some rebound occurred in Q3 (Figure 3). But with virus cases on the rise again and renewed restrictions being put in place, U.S. trade could be subject to further disruption in the near term. Therefore, looking past the virus-induced slowdown is necessary.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce and Wells Fargo Securities
The trade policy of the Biden administration could have implications for trade flows in a post- COVID world. For example, China slipped below the EU in 2018 as America’s most important trading partner as the trade war between the United States and China began to ramp up and weigh on trade between the two economies (Figure 4). Although total U.S. exports peaked in 2018, exports to the EU continued to rise until the onset of the COVID-crisis. If Biden does indeed take a hard line approach toward China and relaxes restrictions on the EU, the latter could continue to gain as America’s largest trading partner.
Capital goods represent the largest share of American exports to the EU at nearly 40%, followed by industrial supplies and consumer goods that account for about 23% each. Exports to the EU represents 16% of total U.S. capital goods exports and a quarter of total U.S. consumer goods exports. We would expect exports to the EU, particularly in these three export categories, to grow as restrictions are relaxed. Similarly, the expected cooling in tensions with the EU would be a positive for import growth from that region. Less uncertainty around trade with Canada and Mexico should also support of U.S. trade flows with its North American neighbors. On the other hand, however, we would expect American exports to China to remain restrained if the United States and China maintain tariffs on each other. In that regard, capital goods represent the largest share of exports to China at 40%, followed by industrial supplies at 30%. Additionally, we would expect American imports from China to remain under pressure if tariffs remain in place.
Outside of specific trade relationships, addressing supply chain risk will be another factor at play in the coming trade environment. COVID has revealed vulnerabilities in international supply chains, and the pandemic may cause a shift toward reshoring. Although a complete on-shoring of supply remains unlikely, we expect part of the focus in the post-COVID recovery will be a rethinking of key vulnerabilities in supply chains, which has the potential to weigh on import growth. Although the cost of diversifying and/or stockpiling certain goods are high and can impede growth, some shift in supply chains will likely result from the virus. In that regard, Biden has articulated a push for ‘Buy American’ legislation, which supports a less reliant America in support of some supply chain reorientation.
Over the past few years, financial markets have reacted sharply to both negative and positive headlines on global trade. Tariffs and other escalations in trade tensions between the United States and China rattled financial markets and pushed volatility higher, while temporary “cease-fires” and the signing of the Phase I trade deal resulted in a risk-on tone across global financial markets (Figure 5). If, as we believe, Biden alters the direction of U.S. trade policy, then it is possible financial markets will pay just as close attention to trade-related headlines in 2021 as they did over the past few years.
Source: Bloomberg LP and Wells Fargo Securities
In the event the Biden administration is successful at implementing a less protectionist trade agenda with the EU, Canada, Mexico and other trade partners, we believe financial markets, in particular currency markets, could adopt a risk-on stance. In that context, we would expect currencies such as the euro, Canadian dollar and Mexican peso to rise, while other risk-sensitive G10 and emerging market currencies could also experience some upside. On the other hand, typical safe haven currencies such as the U.S. dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc could broadly depreciate as risk-taking comes back into the marketplace.
However, Biden’s approach to China could play out a few different ways in markets. Post-election, market participants broadly believe Biden will ultimately look to ease trade tensions with China as rhetoric and threats are likely to dissipate. While we tend to agree with this assumption, it is possible Biden’s approach to China turns out to be not all that dissimilar from President Trump. As mentioned, Biden’s stance on tariffs is somewhat unclear and we do not think an immediate snap back to pre-Trump policy is likely. This could mean tariffs stay in place for longer than markets are expecting, while a coordinated approach against China turns more hostile as the Chinese government digs in not only against the United States, but the EU and other powerful, influential countries.
Although this scenario is more of a tail-risk at this point, financial markets would probably adopt a risk-off stance, and risk-sensitive currencies could sell-off rather sharply. In this scenario, emerging market currencies broadly would depreciate, with commodity and China-linked currencies the most impacted. Currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollar would likely come under pressure, while the Chinese renminbi, Mexican peso, Brazilian real and most emerging Asian currencies would also come under pressure. We would expect the U.S. dollar to rally on safe haven capital flows as uncertainty builds and the path of the global economy and recovery from the COVID-induced slowdown becomes more unclear.
In the event Biden’s multilateral approach to China is successful and tariffs are rolled back, a Phase II deal is made or some other tension-easing developments are finalized—which seems more probable than our tail-risk scenario above, though still not our base case—we would expect foreign currencies to rally. In this scenario, high beta emerging market currencies such as the Mexican peso, Brazilian real and South African rand could outperform. Tariff related pressure would be lifted off the Chinese economy and the renminbi would likely strengthen, while emerging Asian currencies and G10 currencies with the strongest trade linkages to China would strengthen as well. This scenario may be the most negative for the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen, as market participants would have limited rationale for deploying capital towards safe haven assets or seeking exposure to traditional safe haven currencies.
U.S. trade policy will shift gears under President-elect Biden, although a complete reversal to the pre-Trump era of trade remains unlikely. We expect Biden’s priority when it comes to trade policy will be to mend relations with America’s allies such as the EU, Canada and Mexico. This will likely result in a rollback of existing tariffs or the quelling of tariff threats.
Further, although Biden will likely continue a hard line approach towards China, his exact strategy vis-à-vis that country remains unknown. In our view, Biden will likely seek a coordinated approach against China and work closely with allies such as the EU rather than continue the bilateral approach under President Trump. Although we expect American trade flows to pick up again as the pandemic-induced global recession comes to an end and as trade tensions with allies subside, the COVID shock could lead to some reorientation of supply chains. A general relaxation in trade tensions likely would lead to some downward pressure on the dollar, although the greenback could find some safe-haven support if trade tensions with China were to take center stage again.


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Curated online marketplace Moda Operandi has launched Moda Operandi Man, a male-focused online destination where men can pre-order pieces from emerging talents and heritage brands straight from the runway.
Belgian postal operator Bpost said on Wednesday it was teaming up with DHL for e-commerce deliveries in the Benelux region, in a move to boost its position in cross-border deliveries of online purchases.
Ant Financial Services Group, operator of China’s biggest online payment platform by market share, Alipay, has closed its latest funding round having raised $10 billion from a clutch of global and local investors.
Moda Operandi is debuting its showroom-to-shopping e-commerce trunk show experience for fine and heirloom jewelry in the US. The company has previously experimented with the trunk show format for other categories.
Department store numbers have plummeted in England over the last decade. And it looks like they'll continue to fall as House of Fraser prepares to shut a number of stores and as Debenhams also plans closures.
Luxury lingerie brand Coco de Mer is growing as it approaches the end of its first year under independent ownership with its wholesale business rising 150% and plans laid for interesting new collaborations.


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Food technology provider GEA’s range of equipment is playing a major part in helping a manufacturer of vegetarian and vegan convenience foods to diversify and expand into new markets, supplying retailers across Europe.
Vivera offers an extensive selection of vegan and vegetarian products, ranging from meat and fish mimics through to vegetable-based burgers and bites. As one of the biggest producers of plant-based products in Europe, it is vital for the company’s processing equipment supplier to be flexible and totally reliable.
First established in 1990, Dutch company Vivera quickly built up a strong working relationship with GEA, which has now been it’s technology provider for more than 30 years. With it’s rich Dutch heritage, the GEA Food Solutions unit, previously known as Convenience Food Systems (CFS) has developed a partnership with Vivera which has gone from strength to strength to produce high quality vegetarian and vegan products ever since. Over the years, Vivera has been supplied with equipment for a variety of processes and is currently trialling GEA’s forming equipment, with a view to creating an entirely seamless production line comprised solely of GEA technology.
Erik Tempelman, Process Technologist at Vivera has credited GEA’s food processing machinery as a key factor in the company’s spectacular growth, which has been listed as one of the top three meat alternative producers in Europe and the number one brand in its country of origin, the Netherlands. Vivera products are available in all major retailers across the UK, the Netherlands and much of Europe and the company is planning to heavily expand its production capacity and business within the next 5 years.
Try before you buy
Based at GEA Food Solutions in Bakel, the Netherlands, the GEA Technology Centre has also proved instrumental in the success of developments at Vivera. Prospective and existing customers are encouraged by GEA to trial new products and equipment at the centre before making any investment. The making of emulsions, for use in Vivera’s products for example, was perfected through trials there, with Erik commenting that “They have helped us test new machines until we were confident that all was well.”
Looking to the future
Looking ahead, Vivera expects to continue taking full advantage of all the GEA Technology Centre has to offer, as it continues to grow, and consumer demand for an increasingly varied range of vegan and vegetarian products grows with it. As well as this, current world events and financial cycles are predicted to cause significant disruption to global supply chains. Many of the company’s products use wheat and as commodity prices rise and supplies become disrupted, new sources must be found. “These new products will all have to be tested” explained Erik, and GEA has a broad range of equipment available to meet diverse processing needs.
Erik Tempelman is very proud of the products his company produces. “We deliver great products and our customers are happy,” he said. “My job is to make sure we do that as efficiently as possible, with the minimum of wastage. GEA helps me do that every day and our relationship is becoming stronger and stronger.”
For more information visit www.gea.com


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Carharrack Animal Feeds in Cornwall were looking for an EPoS system that would grow with their website as well as streamline processes and an e-commerce website - and we delivered
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