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Johnny Tominaga joins Fast track
Tominaga, who has over 15 years experience in marketing and advertising, has joined Fast Track’s team in Malta. After having worked with well-known brands such as Microsoft, Intel, Disney and Pepsico, he has been based in Malta for the last four years and has led the launches of several ventures, as well as heading up marketing at the vehicle sharing platform GoTo.
With a wide range of expertise, including work with branding, UI/UX design and a special interest in technology, he will now help to establish Fast Track as a global igaming technology brand.
Fast Track is a growing technology company that intends to solve efficiency and scalability challenges for igaming operators. The supplier’s CRM platform is used to power player engagement across a large variety of brands.
Simon Lidzén, co-founder and chief executive of Fast Track, said, “We are at a really exciting stage in Fast Track’s growth and Johnny is going to have a pivotal role in shaping how we communicate with the industry as we continue to evolve. We are already impressed with his wide-ranging knowledge and creativity and know that we can expect great things!”
Johnny Tominaga, head of marketing at Fast Track, said, “Fast Track is disrupting the igaming industry by creating cutting-edge technology that will continue to change the dynamics of the industry. I’m excited to be part of that journey and help the team continue to tell their story.”


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First Shift: BMW 3 series going electric?June 29, 2017
BMW, with eye on Tesla, to introduce electric 3 series, report saysJune 28, 2017
BMW to resume full production as Bosch solves component snagMay 31, 2017
BMW supplier Robert Bosch is resuming deliveries of steering gears that will enable the carmaker to revive full production of models including its bestselling 3-series sedan after a parts shortage disrupted output.
BMW to push on with Mexico plant despite Trump tariff threatJan. 16, 2017
BMW plans to finish construction of a $1 billion plant in Mexico undeterred by threats from President-elect Donald Trump that he will impose a 35 percent tariff on cars imported into the U.S. from its southern neighbor.
BMW recalls 110,000 cars in Japan over Takata airbagsSept. 9, 2016
Mexico plant could build any BMW rwd vehicleJune 20, 2016
AutoNews Now: German luxury, made in MexicoJune 16, 2016
BMW to build next-gen 3-series sedan in Mexico starting in 2019June 16, 2016
BMW will revive North America output of its best-selling U.S. model when it begins producing the next-generation 3-series sedan in a new factory in Mexico starting in 2019. BMW plans to build as many as 150,000 cars annually at the plant, where the automaker will invest $1 billion.
BMW confronts oversupply on dealer lotsMay 8, 2016
BMW will likely spend the rest of the first half of this year liquidating inventories in the U.S. as it attempts to reduce a heavy stock overhang stemming from the end of last year, when it edged out Mercedes-Benz and Lexus for the U.S. luxury sales crown.
After 40 years, BMW's 3 series rules a tougher leagueNov. 30, 2015
Alfa design chief: 'We did not copy a BMW'Nov. 16, 2015
Design similarities between the Alfa Romeo's new Giulia midsize sedan and its chief rival, the BMW 3 series, are so evident that the man responsible for the look of the Giulia defends his work without being asked.

domain: news


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Judges chose winners for The Work Truck Show® 2018 Innovation Awards in three categories at last week’s Show.
The Most Innovative Vehicle award went to Workhorse (Loveland, Ohio) for its W-15 electric pickup truck. The Most Innovative Safety Product award was presented to J.W. Speaker Corporation (Germantown, Wisconsin) for the Model 8910 Evolution 2 LED headlight, and the Most Innovative Truck Equipment honor went to CARR (Temecula, California) for its Factory Step.
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
Indianapolis may not be everybody’s ideal destination for early March, but it was the place to be last week as The Work Truck Show set records for product unveilings and press conferences. It also made for a lot of exciting news for the light- and medium-duty markets.
General Motors grabbed top billing, as it used the show to unveil its brand-new Chevy Silverado 6500-HD, the top of the line model in its re-entry this year into the Class 4 through 6 market. The rest of its new lineup includes the Silverado 4500-HD and 5500-HD trucks.
Ford made its own splash with the unveiling of its updated Transit Connect small delivery van for 2019. The big news is that the model includes the first diesel engine in the segment, a 1.5-liter turbodiesel it expects to earn an EPA rating of more than 30 mpg on the highway.
Solar storms can sever the data connection between a vehicle’s global-position system and the satellites that supply location information.
In the event of solar trouble, computer-driven cars would pull over and wait for connectivity to return. Self-driving systems should not be overly reliant on GPS.
"At the very least, in the event of solar disruption, there is enough redundancy for the car to calmly pull itself over and stop, said Danny Shapiro, senior director of the automotive unit at Nvidia Corp., which makes chips and artificial intelligence systems for Uber Inc. and a wide range of automakers. Automated vehicles can operate quite well, even when online connectivity is hampered."
Read the article at Bloomberg.
XL unveiled its new hybrid-electric Ford F-250 at The Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. With regenerative braking and electric assist, the truck offers a 25% MPG improvement over a standard F-250.
Chevrolet just revealed its first-ever Silverado Class 4, 5 and 6 chassis cab trucks at The Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, and they’re billing them as the most customer-focused medium-duty trucks of any major competitor.
With a network of over 500 providers across North America, LINE-X is positioned to offer upfitting for your fleet vehicles with minimum downtime.
Officially called e-fuel, the new substance will be made available in both e-gasoline and e-diesel versions sometimes in the distant future.
The fuel is, in fact, a liquid isooctane produced from biomass in a two-step process.
Having created enough for a test run, Audi engineers are currently testing the solution to check for combustion and emission performances.
“Like all Audi e-fuels, the new fuel has many advantages,” said Reiner Mangold, head of product development at Audi. “It isn't dependent on crude oil, it is compatible with the existing infrastructure, and it offers the prospect of a closed carbon cycle.”
Read the article at autoevolution.
Mercedes-Benz Bank is piloting a new car subscription service - Mercedes me Flexperience - that allows customers to swap between up to 12 vehicles a year for a single monthly payment.
Through a smartphone app, customers manage their vehicle requirements online, ranging from choosing a car to arranging collection and delivery, with dealers playing a key role in providing the service.
Klaus Entenmann, CEO of Daimler Financial Services, said: “With our mobility and financial services expertise, we are in a position to provide our customers with maximum flexibility in the vehicle use, from digital vehicle selection and booking to vehicle change.”
Read the article at Asset Finance International.


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Coca-Cola Co. plans to retain Glacéau Chief Executive and founder J. Darius Bikoff, along with other top executives for at least three years following the announcement Friday that it will acquire the maker of Vitaminwater for $4.1 billion.
The company, which will operate as a separate business within Coca-Cola North America, will continue to be run from its Whitestone, N.Y., offices.
The deal is part of Atlanta, Ga.-based Coca-Cola's plan to expand its non-carbonated beverage offerings and oust Pepsi from the top spot. Enhanced water and energy drinks continue to eat up an increasing share of the beverage industry's volume and gross profit growth.
Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo. is the noncarbonated leader, with brands like SoBe LifeWater, Aquafina Alive and Propel. Coca-Cola gets 80% of its sales from soda, compared to PepsiCo.'s 20%. Keeping dependence on soda down is a savvy business strategy at a time when soft drink volume in the U.S. dropped about 1.3% last year for the two soft drink makers.
"We welcome Vitaminwater, the icon of active lifestyles, to Coca-Cola, the ultimate and enduring icon of refreshment," said Coca-Cola Chief Executive Neville Isdell in a statement.
India's Tata Group said it would sell its 30% stake in Glacéau to Coca-Cola for about $1.2 billion. Tata bought the stake in August for $677 million, valuing the company at $2.26 billion at the time.
With 30% of the U.S. market for flavored water, Glacéau's has been a tale of upstart success. Since it was founded in 1996 by Mr. Bikoff, the company has propelled itself to $350 million in annual revenues and earlier this year, the company was touted by Crain's as a small business success story. Shipments at Glacéau more than doubled last year to 77 million cases and the company has proven itself a strong competitor for big-name rival PepsiCo., which maintains a 45% hold of the "enhanced water" market. Coca-Cola has a 5% share.
Glacéau's success is founded on pure persistence. When Mr. Bikoff launched Smartwater, a vapor-distilled water fortified with electrolytes, he was unable to land shelf space at the major chains. Mr. Bikoff took to the streets, appealing to delis and upscale food stores to sell his product. In 2004, package-design firm Moxie TM Inc. snagged the job of redesigning the Smartwater bottle; sales have more than doubled since the eye-catching blue teardrop label started showing up in stores.
Two years later, Mr. Bikoff launched Vitaminwater, now the company's bestseller. Relying on promotional handouts and celebrity buzz that included proponents like Paris Hilton, 200 independent distributors currently give Glacéau products a national reach. Mets third baseman David Wright sponsors Vitaminwater, seeking out a relationship on his own after trying the drink. With the help of Pyramid Public Relations senior account executive Marlon LeWinter, Vitaminwater will soon start a national ad campaign featuring Mr. Wright.
Coca Cola, Glacéau and Marlon LeWinter were unavailable for immediate comment.


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Apple is going to kill off its Newsstand app for iOS and replace it with a Flipboard-style news reader, according to a new report. The new service will be free, and it is expected to feature sample content from partners like The New York Times, ESPN, and Conde Nast.
The free content will be ad-supported, and publishers will keep 100% percent of the advertising revenue they make from the app, sources familiar with Apple’s plans have told Recode. They’ll also be able to sell their own ads, and Apple will help sell unsold ad spaces in return for a cut of the earnings.
Partners who currently sell content through Newsstand — and plan to continue selling subscriptions and individual issues — will be able to offer dedicated magazine and newspaper apps through the App Store like any other iOS developers, Recode adds.
These apps will be subject to the same 30% cut of revenue Apple charges for other content sold through its digital marketplaces.
Newsstand made its debut with iOS 5 back in 2011, but it isn’t exactly loved by all. Many iPhone and iPad users don’t use it and wish they could delete the app, while some publishers have criticized it for burying their content, Recode says.


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Shenzhen store given over to iPhone banners, phones, accessories
While again not a confirmation of a formal agreement between China Mobile and Apple, one of the carrier's resellers or retail outlets is already aggressively promoting the forthcoming LTE network and pushing the latest iPhone models as being compatible with it. An American blogger in China going by the name "PRC and Me" spotted and photographed the store in Shenzhen's Futian district, featuring advertising material, accessories and on-display iPhones.
Nest CEO denies being buyer of Product Red Mac Pro, gold EarPods
Former Apple executive, "father of the iPod" and Nest CEO Tony Fadell has denied being the buyer of two high-priced but one-off Apple items designed by Sir Jonathan Ive for a Global Fund charity auction. "To be clear, Im not the owner of either" the red new Mac Pro or the gold EarPods, Fadell tweeted, which together sold for over $1.4 million. Photographs of Fadell with the items taken by Kevin Abosch and posted on Twitter earlier this week suggest, however, that Fadell knows the winning bidder. "The real owner will reveal themselves if they so choose." Fadell's wording hints that both items do indeed belong to a single buyer.
Update lets Skype users keep chatting in other apps
Skype has rolled out an update to its Android app that lets tablet users continue to video chat even when they have gone into other apps. The new picture-in-picture feature pops up a small Skype window that persists even as a user moves away from the main Skype app. The update also contains a number of other additions, as well as fixes to assorted compatibility issues.
Second improvement in supply since mid-November debut
On the heels of significant improvements to Apple's iPhone 5s stock, the company has now listed its latest product, the Retina iPad mini, as shipping in 1-3 days in its North American and Asia Pacific stores. This is the second time Apple has been able to improve shipping delays; earlier this week saw the first improvement, from vague delays of 1-2 weeks to 3-5 days. The product was initially constrained due to issues with display yields, which were later resolved.
Verizon may announce Intel TV buy next week
Verizon Communications could announce a deal to buy Intel's unreleased Internet television startup as early as next week. This according to Bloomberg, which cites sources close to negotiations between the two tech giants as saying that Verizon is quite close to closing a deal for Intel's OnCue service. The communications giant's thinking is that it has the clout to succeed where the chipmaker has so far failed.
GameEvil announces Kaizin Rumble app for iOS
Mobile game creator GameEvil has announced the release of its newest mobile title, Kaizin Rumble. A card battle game, Kaizin Rumble is an RPG that features a reactionary battle system. Players follow the game's storyline as the "evil" Kaizin race who aim to conquer the world. Players can collect over 750 cards, which offer in-game depth and content.
Company criticized for bowing to government pressure
Apple has reportedly pulled a censorship-circumventing app from the Chinese iOS App Store. The app, titled FreeWeibo and developed through collaboration with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, is said to have worked around the government's censorship filters for content posted on the Chinese microblogging service Sina Weibo.
Number three carrier could gobble up number four
Sprint is working toward a bid to purchase T-Mobile, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. The United States' third-largest wireless carrier is reportedly considering offering more than $20 billion for T-Mobile, which sits in fourth place but has been reinvigorated by a number of disruptive "UNcarrier" offerings. Those offerings have given T-Mobile a boost even as Sprint appears to have languished, with drops in subscriber totals and abysmal customer satisfaction ratings.
Existing tests improved
Micromat has introduced an update to its OS X repair utility, Techtool Pro. Version 7 adds a new test for RAM, enabling memory modules to be analyzed for potential problems. Users can also view a serial presence detect (SPD) report with a deeper level of technical data related to system memory.
Can the oversized earbuds intended for vigorous exercise take the reps?
Finding a good pair of headphones for a midnight jog is hard. An over-the-ear set is either flopping around on your head, falling off, or collecting pools of sweat. Earbuds pierce ear canals in order to assure a tight grip -- or the troublesome cord that gets caught in your arm or cuts off your windpipe as it has somehow wrapped itself around your neck after the earbuds have fallen out several times. Looking to get at least one piece of trouble out of the way, iHome has put out a new Bluetooth set of earbuds -- the iHome Bluetooth Wireless Sports Earphones. Will they be a necessarily piece of equipment for an athlete? Or are they destined to be left in the locker room to collect dust? Read our review and find out.
screen saver authentication in Mavericks and more
It seems there must be more holiday shopping going on this week than chatting in the MacNN forums, because new discussion topics have been few and far between. "How do I modify 10.9 Mavericks Screen Saver authentication?" asks Mac Elite "Matt OS X" earlier this week, and a solution has yet to be found. Forum goers help one Forum Regular determine the best configuration for a new iMac.
Mac Pro from $3,239
This week at Apple's online store, save on refurbished aluminum Mac Pro models and more. A $560 discount is offered on the refurbished Mac Pro with two 2.4GHz Intel 6-core Xeon processors, 12GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive, now $3,239. For $4,249 is the Mac Pro with dual 2.66GHz 6-core Xeon processors, 12GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, now $4,249.
Dell 24-inch widescreen LED monitor, SSDs and more
A 33 percent price cut is offered on the Canon EOS Rebel T5i 18MP digital SLR camera with 18-55mm and 55-250mm IS STM lenses bundle at BuyDig.com. Separately these items would cost $1,326.48, but the bundle price is $999, making this about $200 less than the lowest price offered anywhere else. This camera features 18MP resolution, a CMOS sensor, Canon EF lens mount, and 1080p video capture. A one-year limited warranty is included from Canon.
Windows 8, RT users can take advantage of Slingbox
Slingbox announced in a post to its blog on Friday that its SlingPlayer app is now available for Windows 8.1 and RT devices. The new app pairs with a Slingbox in order to transmit video content from a user's home computer or other device directly to a user's mobile device. Users downloading the app will have access to a free test-drive period of 24 hours before it will require them to decide whether they wish to purchase it for $15.
iSkin's ProTouch keyboard protectors includes collection printed with commands, patterns, and langua
Technological accessories brand iSkin has announced its latest lineup of keyboard protectors for MacBook, MacBook Pro with Retina and the 13-inch MacBook Air models. The ProTouch protectors are designed to help protect against food spills, dust, dirt, hair, fur and other impurities. Its ultra-thin silicone is BPA-, phthalates- and lead-free.
Public release expected soon
(Updated with additional details) Apple has seeded the second iOS 7.1 beta to developers, nearly a month after the first beta was released for testing. The company has yet to publicly detail any changes to the second release, which was spotted by 9To5Mac, though the first beta was primarily centered around bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Larger speaker holes, firmer buttons found in newer Nexus 5
The Google Nexus 5 smartphone has quietly received some slight changes to its construction, apparently in order to fix customer complaints. Changes relating to the way the buttons feel, speaker and microphone grills and the SIM tray have all appeared, all without comment from either Google itself or manufacturing partner LG.
YouTube abandons 100 subscriber limit for live streaming
YouTube has abandoned the 100-subscriber minimum for access to live streaming for all users. The policy change, revealed on Thursday in a post to the YouTube Creators Blog, lets all verified YouTube accounts create and stream live events to watchers, no matter how popular they are. The policy update also adds the option to launch a Google+ Hangout On Air directly from within the YouTube Live events manager.
Companies to focus on mobile development
Chip maker ARM has announced that it is set to acquire Geomerics, a startup that specializes in lighting effects for game developers. The companies are said to have been directly collaborating on projects for several years, however the buyout is promised to bring a tighter focus on improving the graphics capabilities of ARM's mobile processors.
Upgrade for older Macs touts 867Mbps maximum speed
BearExtender has extended its line of USB Wi-Fi devices by shipping an adapter that can add 802.11ac connectivity to older Mac desktops and notebooks with slower wireless network connections. Connecting over USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, the BearExtender Turbo is said to be able to offer up to three times the speed of internal 802.11n AirPort cards.
Combining knowledge of imaging, mobile divisions could lead to better cameras on phones
Samsung has combined two of its businesses relating to smartphones and cameras into one larger business, according to a report. The company's Digital Imaging and Mobile Communications businesses are now apparently a single unit, one which could potentially lead to more impressive cameras on Samsung smartphones in the future.
International version of Xperia Z1f to have Android 4.3 onboard
The rumored Sony Xperia Z1 Mini has reportedly reached the FCC for testing, as the company prepares it for launch in the US and Europe. The filing for the smaller version of the Xperia Z1, previously called the Xperia Z1S, offers little in the way of new information for the device, except that it has the model number D5503 and given the codename "Amami."
Report claims Pantry launch in 2014 with 2,000-item inventory
Amazon could be going after customers that buy groceries from warehouse clubs and wholesale retailers, according to a report. The online retailer is apparently planning to launch Pantry, a service that will offer the same packaged grocery items typically found in Costco and Sam's Club, such as cleaning supplies and canned goods.
Extra capital to finalize design, start production of Oculus Rift
Oculus VR has raised another $75 million in funding, in order to bring the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to consumers. The extra funding, following an earlier $16 million round in June and the original $2.4 million raised through its Kickstarter campaign, will be used to finalize the design of the consumer version, as well as to help it finally enter production.
Pebble updates software with alarm settings, notification controls
Pebble has updated the software for its smartwatch, adding a new "Do Not Disturb" setting. As well as allowing wearers to designate a period of time when notifications are not displayed, the update adds changes to the way it handles alarms, including adding multiple alarms, toggling them on and off, and a new "Snooze Alarm." Added controls for notifications, improved iOS performance, and a number of bug fixes are also included.
Partnership agreement shines light on little-known chapter
A 1978 legal agreement between two college buddies -- Steve Jobs, who was already involved at the time with Apple Computer, and Robert Friedland, who went on to become a mining tycoon and billionaire -- setting up partnership for an investment business has fetched $40,000 at auction. The eight-page legal document, creating a "place of business" in McMinnville, Oregon for dealing with real estate investments, bears the signatures of both men.
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Electric motor maker UQM plots China move
UQM Technologies, Inc. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with an unidentified “major” Chinese company to launch the electric motor company’s marketing efforts in China.
Longmont’s UQM (NYSE: UQM) said the memorandum of understanding is for the development and marketing of UQM electric propulsion systems for China’s “New Energy Vehicles” initiative.
In July, the China State Council published its New Energy Vehicles plan, with the goal of having 500,000 energy-efficient and clean vehicles on the road in China by 2015, and 5 million vehicles by 2020.
Under the agreement, UQM and its China-based partner will collaborate to introduce UQM products into the Chinese market for use in the initiative, UQM said.
“This agreement is an important step in our strategic plan to enter the Chinese market with our highly efficient electric propulsion systems and related products for New Energy Vehicles,” said Eric R. Ridenour, UQM’s president and CEO, in a statement.
“With annual revenue of over $5 billion, our Chinese partner has a substantial footprint throughout China and is well-positioned to introduce our products to the country’s developing New Energy Vehicle market,” Ridenour added.
UQM’s equipment powers test-fleet vehicles by Audi in Germany, Rolls-Royce and the London Taxi Co. in the U.K., and previously, Saab vehicles in Sweden. UQM’s motors also are powering Hino electric city buses in Japan and demonstration vehicles for EV Engineering in Australia.
In the U.S., UQM can be found in Los Angeles-based CODA Automotive Inc.’s all-electric passenger sedan, now available in California; Greenville, S.C.-based Proterra Inc.’s all-electric composite transit buses, Boulder EV’s all-electric delivery vans, and Stockton, Calif.-based Electric Vehicles International’s all-electric medium-duty trucks and delivery vans.
Cathy Proctor covers energy, the environment, transportation and construction for the Denver Business Journal and edits the weekly "Energy Inc." newsletter. Phone: 303-803-9233. Subscribe to the Energy Inc. newsletter
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As businesses begin to feel the pressure that the novel coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) is currently placing on the world's economies, you may be wondering how to continue with life as normal during the outbreak.
With international markets shifting and the worrying possibility of widespread worker illness looming ahead, your corporate goals may well have been thrown into uncertainty. The President may be saying that it's 'business as usual', but it’s hard to carry on without wondering how the outbreak will affect your business over the coming weeks.
The good news is that our accreditation services are specifically designed for companies who want to offer digital ISO certification. As countless companies consider switching to remote working during the coronavirus outbreak, now seems like a great time to introduce business owners to the benefits of online accreditation. By reducing travel requirements, you’re not only protecting your employees during the virus outbreak, you’re also doing your bit to save the planet in the long run!
The Benefits of Online ISO Accreditation
Digital ISO certification offers businesses an efficient and eco-friendly way to achieve ISO 9001 and other certifications. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve found an unexpected benefit - every cloud has a silver lining, after all! As events unfold, the opportunity for change and innovation grows, and we’ve seized this opportunity to make remote and digital certification a possibility while providing a practical solution that will keep your business running in line with public health recommendations.
By removing the need for a physical auditor, we limit the amount of travel needed and therefore reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading. By handling everything digitally, you reduce the chances of the virus spreading to your work force, ensuring you have done everything you can to keep your business running while the outbreak continues. While we don’t guarantee your workforce won’t be affected by the virus, we can provide a step to reduce the risk, and save you time and effort too!
There are also environmental benefits to digital accreditation. By removing the need for physical auditors, we could take potentially hundreds of auditors off the road - which, in the future, could amount to a massive reduction in fuel usage and CO2 emissions. It’s estimated we’ve already taken 25 auditors off the road, keeping 185 metric tonnes of CO2 out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine if everyone moved to online ISO accreditation!
So come join us in the future! If you’d like to find out more about digital ISO certification and how we can help you get certified online, please contact us today.
Image from Pixabay


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American workers are fat–and it’s our employers’ fault. According to The Marlin Company’s just-released 2007 workplace poll conducted by Harris Interactive,
just 36% of workers in 2004 said their company was “very active” or “somewhat active” in offering information about exercise and healthy eating, 22% fewer than in 2007. The number of employees whose companies were “not at all” or “not very active” has dropped from 63% in 2004 to 41% in 2007. Meanwhile, it seems that companies have not made the same strides to discourage junk food consumption. In the 2004 survey, 84% of workers whose companies had vending machines said their workplace vending machines were stocked with snacks, such as potato chips, cookies, and candy bars, a difference of just 9% over 2007.
Yeah! I’d be Ashley Olsen if it weren’t for that damn Snickers bar singing an aria at me from the kitchen vending machine. Whoever put that there is the one to blame for my creeping weight gain. If only they’d replace the oily, sugary snacks with a basketful of raw cabbage–well, hello, America’s Next Top Middle-Aged Model.
So what’s the answer, other than planting an IED in the snack-food dispenser? Steelcase and Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic think they’ve got one: the treadmill cubicle.
You read me right. It’s called the Walkstation. From Steelcase:
Designed to encourage more movement by walking slowly at work, Dr. Levine estimates that users of the walkstation have the potential to increase energy expenditure and burn calories even when walking at a 1 mph rate. For some individuals, particularly for obese individuals and those who do not otherwise exercise daily, use of the walkstation may result in actual weight loss. Additional benefits of movement at work can include less stress, increased productivity and improved focus.
Check it out:
Now, you TIME subscribers might remember my “newbicles” article of 2006 (a trend which, I might point out, the Wall Street Journal got around to discovering just this week). You can read my article online but if you’ve got ’em lying around, dig up the July 9, 2006, issue for the terrific graphics. Even those newfangled cubicles, you’ll see, focus more on things like increased privacy, interchangeability and hip design–not on flab reduction.
Would I want to exercise at my desk while, say, interviewing a CEO on the phone and scribbling notes? More importantly: could I pull it off without collapsing in a humiliating heap? I may go check it out myself at the press event; says here there’ll be refreshments. Wonder if I can walk 1 mph, type, and talk on the phone without getting nougaty Snickers crumbs on my dress.


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Farm to Fork
by Starke Jett
Like other counties in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, Middlesex, Lancaster and Northumberland are primarily rural and there is an economic emphasis on agriculture.
However, purchasing locally raised livestock and eggs can still be challenging. Virginia Cooperative Extension agents in each county can be contacted for lists of alpaca, bison, cattle, emu, lamb, pig and poultry farmers. There are also seasonal farmers’ markets in many towns and a plethora of roadside stands throughout the region selling fresh fruit, honey and vegetables.
Sometimes there is just a sign by the road indicating that local produce can be bought up the driveway.
Such a sign leads the way to Willow Oaks Farm at 11704 Mary Ball Road near Kilmarnock. Thomas and Susan Smither describe their 40-acre homestead as a retirement home for animals. They have 50 chickens, 14 cats, four dogs, four sheep, three horses, two ducks and two goats.
|The Northern Neck Farm Museum in Northumberland County holds a Farm to Fork dinner featuring all locally grown products.|
|Brian Barnes feeds the hogs on his farm in Lancaster County.|
They started selling eggs to help defray the cost of animal feed when they found they couldn’t give them all away. They get between one and two dozen blue and brown eggs every day. They are not motivated by the bottom line but rather just a plain love of animals.
“This is the home of happy hens,” said Susan as her cats followed the couple at feeding time. “We know them all.”
Acquiring local farm products has been made easier by the advent of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The system was started in Japan 50 years ago, according to Northumberland-based certified naturally grown organic farmer John Cooper. He is the owner of Olin-Fox Farms in Reedville, a founding member of the Family of Fine Farms, a regional farm group that adheres to very high growing standards and sells year around through Olin Fox’s CSA system.
Cooper said the first Japanese CSA organizers had become concerned about where their food was coming from, so they devised a system under which clients could sign up with local farmers. They paid in advance to receive a share of produce each week during the growing season, thus assuring them of where and how their food was produced.
This system has proven effective around the world and has been proliferating in the U.S. over the last two decades. One of the first local farms to market through the CSA system, Olin-Fox Farm is in its 12th year of selling that way.
“I got into this for the love of a good tomato,” said Cooper. “I grow over 200 different kinds of vegetables now. The CSA is great for both the client and me. They get a steady supply of high quality produce and I get a steady, dependable cash flow.”
Holly Hill on Waterview Road in Middlesex is a member of the Family of Fine Farms. Iris Keister owns and operates the naturally grown, certified organic farm.
|Iris Keister of Holly Hill Farm has a new 2,100 square foot grow tunnel.|
Her husband Frank, son Jim Fellers Jr., and his children, Jim Fellers III and Emily Fellers, are all fully involved in the enterprise. Like Cooper, she uses no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, but she has been farming this way for 25 years.
She recently added a 2,100-square-foot grow tunnel to produce crops throughout the winter months. A grow tunnel is different from a greenhouse, she said. It has no heating system except for passive solar heat from the arching plastic roof that also produces constant condensation moisture.
A January visit to the farm featured a walk through rows of healthy green and red vegetables growing in the tunnel. Chinese cabbage, kale, leaf lettuce, red poc choi, ruby red swiss chard, spring onions, cilantro, basil and parsley were among the crops cared for by the Keisters. In the summer they also will produce Asian eggplants, blueberries, heirloom tomatoes, squash, strawberries, sugar baby watermelons and zucchini. They also have apples, Asian pears, pears and persimmons.
Like Olin-Fox, the eight-acre Keister farm employs the French intensive method of cultivation to maximize their available space. Crops are planted close together in raised beds. Iris said she is also a fan of the CSA system and she usually has 50 members each year.
“Our return members have been really great,” she said. “Some decide what they want and some let me fill their orders.”
Brian Barnes sells produce from farming part time through the CSA system and agrees that it is beneficial. For about $15 a week a client would get a “bushel box” of a variety of produce, he said.
“It’s gotten quite popular,” said Barnes. “It helps everybody, especially a small grower like me to know how much demand there will be in advance.”
Barnes also raises Duroc pigs on his farm near Kilmarnock, where he has about eight acres dedicated to growing produce and raising his livestock. He said the “all American breed is known for its taste.” He breeds female pigs to sell the young to other farmers, not for market slaughter. Each female can produce up to 20 babies a year.
|Luke, Mitch, and Lexi Simpson help around the family farm. They are also raising their own cow, Candy, for a 4-H project.|
|John Cooper of Olin-Fox Farm in Reedville runs a Community Supported Agriculture market.|
“I’ve only been selling the piglets, mostly to people up in the Shenandoah Valley,” said Barnes. “Raising your own meat is really big up there.”
The lack of a local slaughterhouse has made selling pigs for their meat difficult because of the logistical costs of traveling out of the region twice (drop-off and pick-up) to get the pigs butchered, said Barnes.
However, a new venture in Miskimmon could change that.
Mama Payne’s Meat and Feed will soon open in a new 1,600-square-foot cinder block structure owned by Robin and Neil Payne on Courthouse Road in Northumberland. The enterprise is the culmination of a lifelong dream for Neil, who learned his trade as a youngster in Stafford County, where he worked for his grandfather, Warren Harden.
“I always wanted to be a butcher,” said Payne. “This has always been my dream. I’ve got a line of people that want me to work for them.”
Payne has been butchering deer for hunters and to donate to the Hunters for Hungry program for the several years.
His operation will be the only commercial slaughterhouse in the Northern Neck, he said. In early February Payne was waiting to get the last of his equipment from Canada and final health inspections. He hopes to be open for business by the end of February and will employ two other people beside himself.
Payne will be seeking USDA certification, which may take up to a year.
Emily Simpson is excited about the new slaughterhouse. She and her husband, James, co-own Simpson Farm a short distance down the road from Payne. She usually has a couple dozen Hereford and Red Angus cattle and a dozen lambs that she raises to sell for their meat.
Currently she has to travel more than two hours each way, twice every three months to get her livestock butchered by a USDA certified butcher. She said there are only five certified butchers in the state.
“I’m so excited to have him opening so close,” said Simpson. “Now we can go a mile down the road and get freshly butchered meat. I am sure he will get USDA certified. Having that processing facility is huge. It will benefit everybody.”
|Fritz Wildt cares for up to 60 bison each year on his farm in Richmond County.|
|Neil Payne of Miskimon is fulfilling his lifelong dream of opening a slaughterhouse.|
She said her livestock eats grass and grain, a feeding method called “grass fed, free option,” which means they have both available. It is generally considered the best method. Simpson said the cows usually prefer the grass.
Her farm is certified all natural by the USDA, which means she uses no antibiotics, no hormones and no steroids, substances normally found in feedlot raised livestock. It is also an open farm, meaning she will sell to anyone who wants to stop by and pick up just a couple of steaks or any other amount.
“There has been a huge influx of people interested in eating naturally,” said Simpson. “It is always cheaper and healthier.”
The 280-acre Simpson Farm is a family affair. Their four children, Lexi, 14, Maddie, 13, Mitch, 11, and Luke, 8, pitch in with all the chores of feeding, cleaning and cultivating. Mitch said he is particularly fond of using the red 1948 Farmall tractor to grow hay and other crops.
They are virtually self-sufficient, said Emily. They bake their own bread, make their own goat’s milk soap and can their own produce. She said they only go to the grocery store for a few items, such as oranges, that they might crave, but don’t necessarily need.
“I am just totally happy here,” said Simpson as three of her children petted their one-year-old cow named Candy. “All our cows get touched every day. They all have names.”
Black Angus beef can be bought in the Middle Peninsula from Fox Hall Farm, owned by Douglas Trainham Jr., who has 20 free-range, grass and hay fed cows on his 80 acres.
Trainham is a neighbor of the Keisters on Waterview Road. He lives in a 300-year-old farm house that he has restored. He said he really enjoys the “hands on” aspects of the operation, such as building fences and repairing buildings.
He has owned the farm for 15 years, but just started his cattle operation a few months ago. His cows can reach 1,400 pounds, he said. A 1,000-pound animal will yield about 400 pounds of meat. Currently, he is operating by word of mouth.
“I am just trying to find a niche,” he said.
|Douglas Trainham Jr. recently began raising Black Angus cattle on Fox Hill Farm.|
Another niche livestock market is bison farming. There are two bison farms in the Northern Neck. Edmonds Farm, owned by Don and Kim Edmonds since 1997, is a 135-acre facility near Ottoman in Lancaster. Wild T Bison Farm, owned by Fritz and Kerry Wildt since 2000, is a 128-acre ranch near Haynesville in Richmond County.
The Wildts care for a herd of up to 60 animals a year, with two breeding bull bisons named Wild Bill and Blackjack. The male animals can reach sizes of over 2,000 pounds, while the females only grow to a paltry 1,300 pounds or so.
“You never turn your back on a bison,” said Fritz after he had delivered hay on a tractor to part of his herd. “They are wild animals, unlike cows, and much more aware. They are as fast as a quarter horse for short distances. If one just accidently brushes up against you, you’re in trouble. And our lead cow is particularly peculiar.”
As he was trying to spread the hay out for the big animals, that female, number 56, started coming close to where he was standing with a intense gaze on her furry face. Her approach prompted his quick exit from the pasture under the 10,000-volt electric fencing. His rolling dive seem to be a well-practiced maneuver.
Wildt’s wife, Kerry, related the time Wild Bill had tried to jump over a holding pen, while she and Fritz were standing on a platform just on the other side.Wild Bill got hung up halfway over the six-foot-high steel railing. They were able to get the animal back into the pen with prodding staffs, but neither cared to repeat the exercise, so they added an extra foot to the height of the safety railing.
Raising bison meat is a growing market, according to Wildt and data from the National Bison Association (NBA). From a low of only 1,000 at the turn of the 20th century, there are now over 220,000 animals in the U.S. The NBA website maintains that the meat is higher in protein and iron and lower in cholesterol and fat than beef, appealing traits to health conscious customers.
“What is enabling them to grow again as a species is that people are eating them,” said Wildt. “The more that people eat them the more they will be farmed.”
The movement to buying locally grown food is also a growing trend, according to Bernadette Barber and her daughter Charlotte of Tall Trees Farm in Nuttsville, where they raise cattle and pigs. She said livestock raised in commercial feedlot operations, also called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s), is inhumane and unhealthy. Buying locally can assure a customer they are eating healthy, well-cared for animals.
“One reason we are moving back to locally grown foods is the dangers of feed lots,” said Barber. “Their methods are cruel and unsanitary. It’s all hidden. They don’t want us to know how bad they are for the environment and the livestock. Those places are like concentration camps for animals.”
“Our animals are indirect objects of our humanity,” said Charlotte. “The way we treat them reflects the way we are.”
Edmonds Farm: Bison, emu, chicken, duck, hogs;
Kim and Don Edmunds, 804-462-9904,
Fox Hall Farm: Black Angus beef;
Douglas Trainham, 804-832-8173.
Holly Hill Farm: Fresh produce;
Iris and Frank Keister, 804-758-3639.
Willow Oaks Farm: Fresh eggs;
Susan and Thomas Smither, 804-435-2566.
Mama Payne’s Meat and Feed: Slaughterhouse,
Robin and Neil Payne, 540-832-3440.
Olin-Fox Farm: Fresh produce; John Cooper,
804- 453-4125, olinfoxfarms.com.
Simpson Farm: Beef, goats, lamb;
Emily Simpson, 804-580-6466.
Wild T Bison Farm: Bison; Fritz and Kerry Wildt,


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The Audi Q3 was supposed to arrive Stateside this year, but that plan is now on hold.
Its approach angle prevents the small Audi utility vehicle from being classified in the U.S. as a light truck. Now, the company is delaying its American sales plan for another one or two years according to a report from Car and Driver.
SEE ALSO: 2014 Audi Q3 Headed to America
The vehicle will be sold as both the normal Q3 and performance-tuned RS Q3 as well. In its RS performance form, it will use the same turbocharged five-cylinder engine as Audi’s TT RS, which is good for at least 310 hp.
Expect a 2.0-liter turbocharged four pot in the less exciting sibling.
GALLERY: Audi RS Q3
[Source: Car and Driver]
Discuss this story at Audi Q3 Forum


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Foxconn opens up Apple’s corePUBLISHED: 15 May 2012 00:05:18 | UPDATED: 15 May 2012 09:10:57PUBLISHED: 15 May 2012 PRINT EDITION: 15 May 2012
The global controversy surrounding the treatment of assembly-line workers who manufacture iPhones and iPads – and just about every other consumer device– is triggering an unprecedented effort by Apple and its chief supplier, Foxconn, to lift the veil of secrecy that normally surrounds their operations in China and highlight how they have improved conditions for those employees.
Since a series of reports about troubling conditions at Foxconn plants, including suicides and charges of forced overtime, worker abuse and unsafe conditions, Apple and Foxconn have moved quickly to address the issue, stepping up audits of all Apple suppliers and giving workers pay raises.
Now the companies are ready to show off what they’ve done.
Recently, a reporter and photographer for the San Jose Mercury News were invited to visit a factory campus in Shenzhen, a coastal city in southern China, to spotlight efforts to change the work environment for hundreds of thousands of workers across China.
The day-long visit included unhindered access to parts of the nearly 2½ square kilometre complex, and interviews with five employees chosen by Foxconn who had participated in a college program sponsored by the two companies that offers classes ranging from English to engineering, and which awards two-year associate degrees. The journalists, though, were not allowed inside a factory.
The sprawling complex known as Foxconn City resembles a college campus as much as one of the world’s most famous tech factories, where gadgets of all shapes roll off assembly lines that operate around the clock.
It is dotted with grocery stores, restaurants and recreation facilities and has security guards who diligently check the bags of pedestrians and boots of vehicles leaving to ensure device prototypes are not removed.
Though Foxconn has long denied it exploits workers in unsafe working conditions, a top executive of Foxconn’s parent company, Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision, said in an interview that the company was devoting more time and resources to ensure employees understood their legal rights, knew where to find help and were encouraged to alert others if they spotted signs of depression in co-workers, such as refusing to eat. Supervisors were also receiving management training.
It will “take a mind-set change to be more people-centric,” said Louis Woo, special assistant to Hon Hai founder Terry Gou.
Some labour rights activists applaud the firms’ campaigns – they believe such efforts by two of the most influential players in the electronics industry will pressure competitors throughout China to do likewise – while others are unconvinced they go far enough.
In a report earlier this year, Apple highlighted 229 audits the company conducted of suppliers, which uncovered labour violations, such as the use of child labour. In March, the Washington-based non-profit Fair Labour Association said its investigation of Apple’s suppliers discovered labour violations as well – with workers doing more than 60- hour weeks and some in hazardous conditions. Foxconn vowed to ease overtime and raise wages to compensate for reduced hours.
“They are definitely responding,” said Geoffrey Crothall, spokesman for Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, which promotes the rights of workers on the mainland, but “it’s very difficult to gauge how that response is translated into improved conditions” across a company with 1.2 million Chinese workers.
Some workers pointed out that while pay had increased, reductions in overtime or cuts in housing subsidies threatened gains. “There are 101 ways for them to claw that money back.”
It wasn’t long ago that Foxconn and its vast operations across China were virtually unknown to most Western consumers. Some 200,000 young Chinese workers live in and around the Shenzhen facility, which came to symbolise the plight of factory workers after more than a dozen employees here and at other Foxconn factories committed suicide in 2010 by jumping from high dormitories.
Their deaths raised the spectre of young workers struggling in sweat-shop conditions to make glitzy gadgets for the wealthy West.
But as with many aspects of life in China, the situation on the ground is more nuanced. While assembly-line work can be rigidly repetitive – and in some circumstances dangerous – many migrant workers embraced it as their best chance to end grinding poverty. On recruitment days, thousands line up for a chance to land a job at Foxconn, which numerous employees said offered better working conditions than the other electronics manufacturers. From amenities such as an Olympic-size swimming pool and famous Taiwanese beef noodle cafes, to a stronger focus on worker safety, Foxconn is seen as the factory employer of choice.
“I’ve met a lot of middle managers in their 30s and 40s and they are all middle class because of working at Foxconn,” said Zhang Tao, 22, who joined the company in 2009 and now works on an iPad line with the hope of attaining the Chinese Dream. “They have cars and houses.”
On a recent Friday in April, Foxconn’s Shenzhen campus was swarming with young workers beginning or ending shifts. Female workers were dressed smartly in black and green tights, platform shoes and fashionable skirts, while a number of young men had Justin Bieber haircuts. Off-duty employees worked out at the company gym, ate at one of a number of eateries– the complex even has an organic fruit and vegetable store– while others sipped coffee at a Starbucks-like cafe. There is a campus TV and radio station, and a video of employees participating in Foxconn’s version of American Idol – with impressive singing and hip-hop dance acts – was beamed from a huge LED screen in the company’s massive soccer field and track stadium.
The only sign of past problems were the safety nets around dormitories to prevent further suicides.
The deaths, Mr Woo said, “caught us by surprise.” The company, he added, hadn’t paid close enough attention to its youthful workforce, a significant number of whom come from remote villages. Some of them, he said, “had never seen a flush toilet” or a lift and struggled to assimilate into what to them was a “mega-city” far from their family and friends.
“Everything is new – walking into a cafeteria with 5000 people,” Mr Woo said. “The challenge for us is not only training a skillful employee, but also training a young person in how to live in a modern society.”
Two years ago, shortly after the suicides, Foxconn began taking new steps to help its workers, including setting up a 24-hour care centre and providing on-site counselling from Buddhist monks and psychiatrists.
Mr Crothall, the labour activist, said Foxconn would have to significantly shift its management style, “which is very authoritarian, very strict, requiring employee obedience at all times” , if it wanted to thoroughly change the company’s culture.
Employees provided by Foxconn for interviews, while clearly model workers, didn’t hesitate to offer complaints. Advancement all too often depended on whether a manager personally liked them, not on accomplishments, they said. They also criticised new limits on overtime work and jobs that could be boring. Nonetheless, each said they would or have encouraged family members to join Foxconn.
The employees said assembling Apple products gave them a sense of pride and more financial benefits. Apple covered class tuition for them, while other Foxconn clients did not. Each said they hoped the company-sponsored education, which they could not afford on their own, would improve their lives. More than 60,000 assembly-line workers have taken at least one class, according to Apple.
“This is one way for me to fulfil my dreams,” Mr Zhang said.
Asked about reports of workers injured making Apple products or of underage workers at Foxconn, Deng Jiang Yao said, “Please, there is no child labour here, and people are not walking around with mangled hands.
“We are very excited to make these high-tech products,” the 25-year-old said. Working on Apple products gives us a lot of face.”
San Jose Mercury News
The Australian Financial Review


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The Nintendo 3DS camera was likely intended to be used for the occasional selfie and augmented reality game, but that hasn't stopped some owners of the handheld device from using it as their primary way of capturing memories. Hilariously, one fan took their DS for quite the ride when they were spotted using their dual-screened device to record a Bring Me the Horizon concert.
Posted to Twitter by user @TedClaxton94 and spotted by NintendoLife, the video that spotted the 3DS-using concert-goer isn't particularly long, but it gets the point across pretty well, showing a single hand holding an original blue 3DS out of the crowded pit. It doesn't seem like the most convenient way to record concert footage, but because the method is so odd, it's likely that this wasn't the first time this person has used a DS to film something like this.
If someone were to want to record a concert using a DS, the original 3DS does seem like the Nintendo device to use, however, as newer models are bigger and would require more pocket space. That said, the camera on the 3DS leaves a lot to be desired as records at 640 x 480, a resolution far lower than all modern smartphones.
It's just odd that someone would bring a 3DS to a concert that can get as packed as a Bring Me the Horizon show. While owners might be trying to get more hits on the 3DS' Street Pass, it's not a particularly comfortable device to hold in just one hand, making filming the show a little bit risky for the handheld. If it were to be knocked out of the owner's hand, that would likely be it for the system as the screens were notorious for breaking apart with relatively small impacts.
Although a little puzzling, it is nice to see a 3DS out in "the wild" like this as the 3DS was discontinued just over a year ago. It was a popular console, so seeing people playing on one while on public transit was a pretty common occurrence, but the popularity of the Switch paired with the fact that no new 3DS' are being made means that sightings will be less and less common.
While the Switch might eclipse the 3DS in a lot of ways, both from a technical and library standpoint, there's no camera on the Switch, which means that the 3DS might be the only solution for those looking to easily record concerts on a Nintendo console. You know, all those people.
MORE: The Nintendo Switch Pro Might Be The Ultimate 3DS Replacement
Source: Nintendo Life


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The government will continue travel restrictions from March 14 and advise against travel that is not strictly necessary to all countries.
“We are not making any changes,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) told NRK.
The reason is first and foremost the unclear situation worldwide.
– “We see that the infection rates are increasing everywhere,” says Søreide.
“In addition, it is now very difficult to get to and from different countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invested considerable resources in helping Norwegians get home from abroad, but that window is closing,” says Søreide.
“It’s getting worse and worse,” she says.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today


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With the hype of cannabidiol, or CBD, comes an industry-wide debate on what practices and processes result in the best CBD. There’s a debate on the best methods to extract the compound from cannabis or hemp—to use carbon dioxide, or ethanol, or a cold-pressed method. And then a debate on the best delivery method; do tinctures help users more, or do edibles?
A unique cannabis industry conference is coming to Newark on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, and six industry pros there will go head-to-head in an equally unique event: a CBD cage match.
“Everyone’s so opinionated about which CBD type and process is the best. This is a hot topic on all the forums because this is an area that we have a little science behind,” said Gary George, who founded the Real Cannabis Entrepreneur Conference with his wife.
In its inaugural year, the Real Cannabis Conference aims to be different than the other conferences out there. Event creation has been a large portion of George’s digital marketing business, and after putting on events for other people’s businesses, his wife said: “Why keep doing this for everyone else if you’ll never do it for yourself?” The Georges had been to cannabis conferences and found they were no longer learning anything they didn’t know.
“We were searching so hard to find the actionable data [on cannabis] we’re used to in the business world,” he said, “So I said, you know, we’re making the conference we’ve been looking for all this time.
“This is the real how-to. It’s not just like ‘hey, this is what CBD does,’ it’s ‘this is my CBD company, this is how I started distributing, this is how I got my packaging and this is what’s good about it.’ It’s real life individuals in the trenches who have the experience to back it up,” George said.
Another facet of the event, Spark Tank, will allow cannabis businesses to pitch their models and ideas in front of angel investors.
What gets investors excited, he said, is “understanding your numbers.” If a business hopeful doesn’t know how much they’re giving in return for what they’re asking for, investors will look on. Hopefuls need to make sure their idea is unique—“if they’re just doing the regular Joe Schmo, that doesn’t excite investors. They want the Airbnb, the Uber, that idea with 1,000 or 2,000 [times] returns”—and to make sure their pitch deck is succinct and to the point.
This is the real how-to. It’s not just like ‘hey, this is what CBD does,’ it’s ‘this is my CBD company, this is how I started distributing, this is how I got my packaging and this is what’s good about it.’ It’s real life individuals in the trenches who have the experience to back it up.
– Gary George
“It’s putting a delivery in story form. It’s about telling a story,” George said. “You gotta have that beginning, middle, present, and bring it home.”
More than 20 speakers, including New Jersey cannabis industry vet Tara Sargente and George himself, will be presenting over the course of two days.
George will discuss digital marketing for cannabis brands, and how to get around Google and Facebook rules prohibiting paid ads. Sargente, founder of New Jersey’s first legal edibles brand Blazin’ Bakery, will discuss how to launch a successful edibles brand.
There’s one other thing that’s different about this conference than others, he said: “We’re doing it in a way that we’re making it fun,” through interactive networking or interactive participation.
“It’s not just straight information. That’s why we decided to do the CBD cage match. When you have it in a way that we call ‘edgytainment,’ it’ll be a better way for them to absorb information that makes learning fun.”
Tickets for the Real Cannabis Entrepreneur Conference can be purchased online.


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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Analog, mixed-signal, and DSP vendor Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) posted strong second fiscal quarter results on strength in all of its key market sectors, including industrial, automotive, and communications, which accounted for 89% of revenue.
Revenue reached $695 million, up 5% year-over-year and 11% sequentially, while net income reached $187.4 million from $164.5 million in the year-ago quarter and $152.6 million in its first fiscal quarter of 2014. Diluted EPS was $0.59, beating consensus estimates by $0.03.
ADI’s president and chief executive, Vincent Roche, said order rates continued to improve at its largest customers, a trend that began in its first fiscal quarter of 2014.
“In addition to continued optimism at our largest customers, total orders were higher than in the prior quarter across all our end markets, and we finished the quarter with a book-to-bill that was above 1,” Roche said, during a conference call with analysts on May 20. “These trends, coupled with inventories that are in good position and recovering demand for capital goods, we believe are positive signs for our business in the third quarter ’14.”
In its third fiscal quarter 2014, the company expects revenue to increase between 1% and 5% sequentially, and diluted EPS of $0.60 to $0.64.
Business conditions in the industrial sector, which accounted for 47% of ADI’s second-quarter sales, were better than expected. Sales grew 5% year-over-year and 13% sequentially, buoyed by burgeoning demand from the instrumentation sub-sector, as well as the wireless and semiconductor test equipment industries. Regionally, Europe and North America, which accounted for over two-thirds of its industrial sales, chalked up double-digit growth.
“The industrial sector is indeed the backbone of ADI with a very diverse customer base of tens of thousands of customers and long lifecycle products with sustainable profitability,” Roche said. “We believe the industrial sector has the potential for both market growth rates driven by the need for more intelligent, connected, and energy-efficient products.”
Communications infrastructure revenue grew 25% year-over-year and 11% sequentially, which also beat ADI’s expectations. Roche attributed the robust growth in the communications infrastructure segment, which accounted for 23% of revenue, to “strong base-station deployment in China and the capacity build-outs in the U.S.” As more 4G LTE-enabled devices hit the market, ADI expects to capitalize on the trend as it provides advanced RF devices designed to improve the efficiency of these wireless networks.
The automotive segment, which generated 19% of ADI’s second-quarter revenue, was up 10% from the year-ago quarter and 9% sequentially. The increase was fueled by increasing content and vehicle unit growth, as well as strong demand for premium vehicles in the US and China. In addition, revenue improved as new vehicles continue to incorporate more safety features, such as radar-based advanced driver assistance systems to avoid collisions.
— Ismini Scouras is a freelance writer for EE Times.


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The company, whose products are 90 percent cotton-based, has committed to sourcing 100 percent more…
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The jeans brand managed to close 2020 with adjusted profits and a leaner profile.


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Razer makes great gaming laptops, but the company’s “Project Valerie” is about to outdo anything anyone else has ever done. Imagine a high-end gaming laptop with not one, but three UHD (4K) screens side-by-side. That’s what the company revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show this year.
When you open the laptop, two additional screens slide out from the main screen towards either side. That gives you three 17-inch screens with stunning visuals that take up a large chunk of your field of vision, giving you a near-VR experience.
At 1.5 inches thick, you’d think it was abnormally large and bulky, but Razer says it’s typical for a gaming laptop to be bulkier than most home or office laptops.
As for the multiple screens, a lot of gamers tend to use more than one monitor, so there’s definitely going to be a market for this unique high-end laptop. Interestingly, industry insiders feel that this is something more along the lines of what Apple might have done.
The Razer prototype uses special hinges to make the two additional screens automatically slide out.
This being a prototype, we’re not clear on when it might actually go into production or be ready for release – or even the price point it will be sold at.
Gaming analyst Jonathan Wagstaff at Context told the BBC that he also envisions “wide interest” for such laptops from architectural and graphic design companies.
That makes sense, because a wider visual plane means more data, more imagery, the ability to see more when zooming in and so on. And being 4K screens, they have the capacity to render color and contrast at a level that professional visual designers will definitely want.
In fact, it’s something the music industry might take a serious look at. Recording studios often use multiple monitors for visuals, editing and so on. A lot of other media-related industries could show interest in such a device as well.
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Bosch Automotive Service's installation of the 240-volt station, which will be made by Evatran, will include a wall unit, floor charger and vehicle adopter. The system allows wireless "induction" charging between a floor pad and a vehicle adapter. Bosch Power Max recently announced a conventional home charging system that costs $449. Bosch says it's developing wireless charging systems for other models as well, and is offering financing options that stretch for as far as five years.
Since early last year, Evatran has been joining up with public and private partners to get its Plugless Power wireless some notoriety. Last September, it reached an agreement with both Google and the Los Angeles Deptartment of Water and Power to test the wireless charging systems.


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More than a year after plans were announced, Walmart still cannot fit an oversized Super Center store into Midtown Miami by design, hook or #$%$.
It's been 18 months since Miami New Times first reported mall owner DDR Corporation would sell out the South block of Midtown Miami Mall to the ravenous Betonville, Arkansas-based retailer. Two complete sets of plans have been delivered to the City of Miami, but neither follows local design standards. I suppose deeming the Walmart plan for Midtown a failure for having supplied two complete sets of non-compliant plans would be a private sector idea.
The next public hearing on Walmart's mayorally-backed redesign of Midtown will be this Wednesday February 20th, at 2 p.m. at Miami City Hall, in front of the Urban Design and Planning Review Board.
Walmart withheld plans from the public record -- at the advice of high-priced counsel -- while requesting to scrap a neighborhood Master Plan built around pedestrians. The company's plans are so odious, they've convinced the city of Miami twice to hold public hearings without giving promised notice to stakeholders in the community.
The heart of efforts to prevent Walmart's arrival in Midtown center on one simple premise: a Super Center and 600 parking spaces cannot fit into Midtown as designed. At what point should our public servants stop spending taxpayers' money on city staffers' time reviewing a plan ignorant of local regulations, and insistent upon requesting repeatedly rejected changes which are out of character with the area?
Miami 21, the city's newly implemented zoning code, is written entirely in English, and contains local regulations with architecturally drawn design standards, none of which seem relevant to Walmart's architect, Gensler. The latest plans contain two egregious flaws, either of which merits outright rejection of the current application that has been requested for six months now.
The first fatal flaw is the Midtown zoning requirement 627.2.12 (item 3, page C.25), which encourages developers to line second story parking structures with active uses such as office space. This is because the Master Plan seeks to eliminate canyon-like streets surrounded with soulless multi-story parking structures.
Without padding by active use space, garages must be placed 85' back from the lot line of Miami Avenue and Midtown Boulevard, according to local regulations designating them Primary Streets. But Walmart wants to place 600 parking spaces without any active second floor use.


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A few associates of the People’s Lender of China (PBOC), the Chinese central lender has issued a doc prohibiting establishments and companies from partaking in any kind of virtual forex transactions. The newest established of regulatory paperwork ban payment service vendors and fiscal institutions from supplying any variety of services involving cryptocurrency transactions. The a few associate bodies that issued the document involve the Countrywide World-wide-web Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association, and the Payment and Clearing Affiliation of China.
Breaking: Three associations below the Central Financial institution of China issued a doc demanding establishments not to carry out virtualcurrency business, calling on the general public not to take part in virtualcurrency, and emphasizing that virtualcurrency transactions are not safeguarded by law.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) Might 18, 2021
The formal document browse,
“Recently, crypto currency rates have skyrocketed and plummeted, and speculative trading of cryptocurrency has rebounded, critically infringing on the basic safety of people’s property and disrupting the usual financial and financial buy,”
The issued doc highlighted that virtual currency buying and selling is banned in the country and is not secured by legislation. The warning will come at a time of the expanding acceptance of altcoins in the country and mounting investment curiosity.
Even although cryptocurrency buying and selling in Fiat was banned numerous a long time in the past in the country, there was no regulation prohibiting crypto-to-crypto buying and selling and all through the bull season, it has peaked to new highs, consequently attracting the attention of the authorities.
China Often had Enjoy-Dislike Marriage With Cryptocurrencies
China was amid the initial nations to ban crypto investing citing a threat to their fiscal sovereignty, at the very same time they also started out doing the job in the direction of their nationwide electronic currency as early as 2014 which is on the verge of a huge-scale launch now. While several other international locations are both discussing launching a nationwide electronic forex or have just started the advancement, the Chinese Electronic Yuan is at this time becoming analyzed across a number of provinces in hundreds of pilot packages.
In 2019 the Chinese President praised blockchain and even named for its accelerated adoption and later on the countrywide media even praised Bitcoin, but before long soon after it manufactured a u-flip boasting BTC has numerous flaws which would be loaded by Electronic Yuan. China is also the epic middle for Bitcoin mining creating it important for the Bitcoin ecosystem in spite of threats from the federal government of probably banning BTC mining in the state.
The presented information may possibly consist of the personal belief of the author and is matter to market place condition. Do your industry research prior to investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any accountability for your particular economical decline.


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Romanian Regulator Proposes Stricter Rules on Licensed Gambling
The Romanian government has announced that the ONJN, the country's gaming regulator, is to impose a range of changes to the gambling industry, including a reserve of €1m for licensing.
The Ministry of Finance has introduced a proposed new set of rules that incorporates a new fee structure for gaming operators. It goes on to list these, including the licensing fee for retail gaming venues that offer casino-style gambling will be €150,000, and slot machines at venues will cost €150,000.
Another proposed change is that all operators must be domiciled in the jurisdiction. The Romanian government has said they would like a database of players in the jurisdiction so the gambling regulation authority can monitor the play of gamblers. The aim of this is to encourage responsible play and to be able to intervene if customers have their play marked as erratic and they are at risk from problem gambling and related harm.
The full package of changes proposed by the Ministry will be put to a vote in the Romanian Parliament next month.
Licensing Provisions Require Minimum €1m
From the start of 2025, the ONJN is to ensure that all regulated gaming businesses are required to hold a minimum of €1m for licensing provisions. This regulation applies to all gaming operators regardless of the size of the operation.
The government also wants the ONJN to carry out stricter enforcement of its tax collection process, with gaming operators expected to submit their tax liability to the regulators 5 days prior to the end of the financial month.
New Advertising Restrictions
Including in the suite of changes to the regulated gambling market is the proposal to increase the restrictions on gambling-related adverts in the Romanian jurisdiction.
The ministry has outlined a ban on advertisements that promote bonuses, promotions, jackpots, and all unsolicited online adverts.
More Regulation News
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RELATED TOPICS: Regulation


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As you probably know, Sony has announced that the new episode of the State of Play program , focusing on the Hogwarts Legacy game, will air on the morning of Friday, March 18th. The event will be 20 minutes long and a demo of the game’s gameplay will be released and information from the game’s story section will be shared.
Also, all the shows have been recorded from the PS5 console and are scheduled to be shown. But the question arises here, which has aroused much curiosity. Why is Sony planning to do massive marketing for this non-exclusive game? We will examine this issue in the following.
Why Is Sony Hosting The Hogwarts Legacy Gaming Event?
State of Play events usually feature screenings of upcoming PlayStation games. In recent years, with the reduction of face-to-face events, Sony has introduced new plans for the State of Play event. In May 2020, Sony announced that part of the State of Play program would have an 18-minute preview of The Last of Us Part II. The following month, Sony dedicated another part of the program to Ghost of Tsushima.
At that time, everyone realized what Sony’s policies were and what plans it had to introduce its games. This form of performance continued last year with Deathloop, Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. This year, another Sony exclusive, Gran Turismo 7, is in the works. The latest state-of-the-art game was Ghostwire Tokyo, which is a time-exclusive for the PlayStation 5 console.
But Hogwarts Legacy is different from other programs. In addition to the PS5 and PS4, the game is set to be released for Xbox and PC consoles. There has been no talk of the game being time-exclusive for PlayStation consoles. It is strange why Sony is planning to launch a special event for a multi-platform game. When we look at statistics and numbers, a little bit becomes clear to us. Sony and Warner Bros. Games made big deals. The game was unveiled at the PS5 Showcase, and its initial trailer received nearly 28 million views on platforms . The same number of hits shows that the Hogwarts Legacy is a great opportunity for Sony. But it is still strange that Sony has valued this game as its own monopoly.
Hogwarts Legacy has no specific release date. The game was originally scheduled for release in 2021, but was delayed at the beginning of the year, and according to Warner, the game will be released in 2022. Most likely, in this event, the release date of the game will be determined. Most state-of-the-art games have a close release date, so it is unlikely that Hogwarts Legacy will have an early release date.
But according to a Q&A on Warner Bros., Warner Bros. stated that Rowling has no direct role in making the game, but that the foundation of the game is based on what he has created. After all, Hogwarts is a place created from Rowling’s writings, and all the elements inside this magical place were created by him. Elements that may be a major part of the gameplay.


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The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool. India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished.
At the launch, the first diamond contract for delivery in November was traded at Rs 3,279/cent. With over 103 registered members so far, ICEX has launched 1 ct diamond futures contract for delivery in November.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- Indian Commodity Exchange Limited is deemed recognized Stock exchange under the SCRA,1956.
- Mr. Ashok Sinha is the Chairman of Public Interest Director of ICEX.
Source- Business Standard


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A MALAGA-based entrepreneur has invented a new type of speed bump to jolt dangerous drivers out of the fast lane.
The brainchild of 34-year-old inventor Jose Antonio Aguilera, the ‘intelligent’ bumps give speeders a jolt while leaving non-speeders alone.
The speeds bumps are filled with a liquid which hardens or softens depending on the speed of the passing vehicle.
Marbella’s La Cañada shopping centre will be the first place to trial the technology.
Now THIS is a good idea
There’s a kids toy called Nutty Putty that behaves in a similar manner. If that’s what has been used he will have difficulties with patents.


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ITC judge: Microsoft Xbox infringes on Motorola patents
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This story has been updated to include Motorola's statement.
Motorola Mobility has won a small victory in its battle with Microsoft over video compression technology patents.
The International Trade Commission, a U.S. trade organization that investigates patent infringement that pertains to international trade, issued a ruling today finding that Microsoft infringed on four of the five patents being reviewed. These are the same patents Microsoft counter-sued Motorola over, claiming the mobile phone maker was charging exorbitant licensing fees after it had promised to be reasonable.
"We are pleased that the Administrative Law Judge’s initial determination finds Microsoft to be in violation of Motorola Mobility’s intellectual property," Motorola said in a statement. "Microsoft continues to infringe Motorola Mobility’s patent portfolio, and we remain confident in our position. This case was filed in response to Microsoft’s litigate-first patent attack strategy, and we look forward to the full commission’s ruling in August."
The ITC began its investigation last summer.
“Today’s recommendation by the Administrative Law Judge is the first step in the process leading to the Commission’s final ruling. We remain confident the Commission will ultimately rule in Microsoft’s favor in this case and that Motorola will be held to its promise to make its standard essential patents available on fair and reasonable terms,” Microsoft said in a statement.
This is only the beginning for this lawsuit. The full commission will review the judge’s findings and issue its own ruling. The companies can then appeal the decision.
Emily Parkhurst oversees all digital content for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
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[caption id="attachment_471678" align="aligncenter" width="628"] MS Dhoni had signed a endorsement deal with Spartan Sports Getty Images[/caption]

India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who remains a sought after personality in the endorsement world despite his retirement from Tests, has been duped by one of the many brands he endorses -- Spartan Sports -- of over Rs 20 crore. It has been reliably learnt that a three-year bat and sponsorship deal worth Rs 13 crore has gone sour with Australia-based Spartan Sports, a sporting gear and equipment company, regularly defaulting on payments. With the royalty clause on Dhoni's bat deal included, the owed amount goes well over Rs 20 crore. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies, 1st Test match

Sources in legal firm advising Rhiti Sports, Dhoni's management company, told PTI that Kunal Sharma-owned Spartan has paid only four installments since the deal was struck in December 2013, the latest payment being made in March 2016. When asked why the deal has gone awry, Rhiti Sports boss Arun Pandey did not elaborate before saying that, "everything is not smooth and hopefully the matter will be resolved soon".

Spartan boss Sharma did not respond to calls and messages despite repeated attempts. Besides Dhoni, the Australian company interestingly has big names of the cricketing world as its ambassadors -- former Australian captain Michael Clarke, West Indies batsman Chris Gayle, England cricketer Eoin Morgan, former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson and Sir Viv Richards to name a few. ALSO READ: Nepal captain Paras Khadka meets Sachin Tendulkar

Some other Australian cricketers associated with the brand are Joe Burns and Gurinder Sandhu. While the deal with Spartan is technically still on, Rhiti Sports are planning to take legal action against the company which has its flagship store not just in Sydney but also in New Delhi.

Though Test captain Virat Kohli is the most sought after cricketer in the endorsement market, Dhoni remains in demand with his brand value worth over Rs 100 crore. Dhoni currently endorses 15 brands besides co-ownership in ISL football franchise Chennaiyin FC and Hockey India League team Ranchi Rays.


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French Ecology Minister Segolène Royal lashes out against Nutella
Issued on: Modified:
France's Ecology Minister, Segolène Royal, has lashed out against big brands. In the past few days, she has taken on giant herbicide producer Monsanto and giant Italian chocolate group Ferrero over its chocolate walnut spread Nutella.
After Segolène Royal’s calls on garden centres across the country to stop sales of Monsanto’s ‘Roundup’, she decided to take on Ferrero’s Nutella.
Late Monday, she urged the public to stop eating the (mouth-watering) chocolate hazelnut spread, saying it had a huge impact on deforestation, which causes considerable damage to the environment and leads to global warming.
Many products consumed on a daily basis are made with palm oil and Nutella is no exception. Oil palms have replaced trees, and this has not only a massive environmental impact, it also destroys the natural habitat of endangered species.
Royal's comments have rattled Ferrero. Without referring to the French Minister, the Italian group issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was aware of the environmental stakes and had made commitments to source palm oil in a responsible manner.
Ferrero gets its palm oil supply mainly from Malaysia, but also from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Brazil...
Two and a half years ago, French senators tried to impose a 300 percent tax on palm oil, claiming it was dangerously fattening, and its cultivation has a negative impact on the environment. The measure was, however, defeated.
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Edited by Emily Draznik on
Eight years after being arrested for stealing merchandise from high end retailer Bergdorf Goodman, 36-year old Erica Wang was arrested for stealing $52,000 worth of Ralph Lauren merchandise over the course of six months.
36-year old Erica Wang was arrested for stealing after finding $5,944.25 worth of merchandise that she bagged up and hid in a storage room. Later on, Wang admitted that she stole an additional $45,000 worth of merchandise since she started working on the accessories floor at the Ralph Lauren flagship store in January.
The shoplifter was once engaged to the famous chef Todd English, who is behind The Plaza Hotel Food Hall and other successful eateries. In 2009, he called her on her wedding day and said he couldn’t marry her. The chef is reportedly not surprised of Wang’s latest actions.
A former Wang business associate said Wang, “always seemed very charming, but these series of legal events demonstrates an underside to that charm. Obviously, she has some issues.”
Whether the $46,000 worth of stolen Ralph Lauren merchandise still exists is still up in the air. Ultimately, it appears as if seemingly charming women like Miss Wang often have a dark underside that can lead them to steal 50 grand worth of designer crap.


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Exchange traded fund investors interested in a growth opportunity can consider the impacts of a growing digital consumer class in the emerging markets and companies best positioned to benefit from this shift in consumer behavior.
In the recent webcast, The Future of Emerging Markets and An Accelerating Digital Revolution, Kevin Carter, Founder and CEO, EMQQ, highlighted the opportunity in developing economies, notably their favorable demographics that continue to support consumption-based growth. Specifically, 85% of the global population resides in developing economies, accounting for over 50% of global GDP. Emerging markets and frontier markets also boast some of the youngest demographics, with about 8.8 times the number of those under the age of 30, compared to developed economies.
Looking ahead, middle-income consumers will likely take on a greater role in the emerging economies. According to McKinsey & Co. projections, there will be an expected 4.2 billion people among the consuming class by 2025, and the emerging markets will make up $30 trillion in consumption while developed markets will make up $34 trillion. In contrast, emerging market consumers accounted for $12 trillion in world consumption back in 2010. Carter also pointed out that the younger demographics will also support online retail or e-commerce as the Millennials and Gen Xers groups spend 50% more time shopping online than their older Baby Boomers and Seniors counterparts.
While some have already allocated toward the emerging markets, investors who have some exposure are more likely exposed to state-owned enterprises owned and controlled by the government. These so-called SOEs are large, inefficient, have poor corporate governance, and may show widespread corruption. Among the largest or most popularly traded emerging market ETFs, 30% of their underlying holdings are allocated to SOEs.
As an alternative to these broad emerging market fund strategies with a high focus on SOEs, Carter highlighted the potential opportunity of a targeted developing country e-commerce play to capture a rising middle-income consumer class in the emerging markets. He underscored ongoing trends like the growing reliance of smartphones as a major catalyst in changing consumption patterns and pointed toward the greater reliance of e-commerce and online shopping through smart devices in an increasingly digital age. The rise of e-commerce has also paralleled the increased adoption of smartphone usage or the declining costs of smartphone devices.
The increased reliance on mobile devices in this digital age has also fueled rapid growth in mobile payments for online transactions. For example, in China, the total online transactional value in mobile payments made up $25.9 trillion in 2018, compared to $15.4 trillion in 2017, $9.2 trillion in 2016, and $1.9 trillion in 2015.
Carter also noted that the adoption of smart devices and internet penetration among developing economies remain in the early phases, so there is still a lot of room to run as more consumers gain access to online retailers. For example, while 79% of U.S. citizens have access to smartphones, Chinese smartphone users make up about 60% of its overall population, and India’s smartphone users only make up 25% of its population.
While the coronavirus or COVID-19 has pummeled the global economy, Carter argued that internet and e-commerce based business models are receiving a slight boost, notably from an increase in demand for widely adapted e-commerce businesses. The shift in day-to-day habits from lockdown measures to contain the pandemic has accelerated the adaption of certain platforms, such as distance learning, telemedicine, and food delivery, among others. China also looks like the one economy that resumed activity quickest and suffer the least from the coronavirus outbreak, with estimates of 70% to 80% levels of economic activity back online.
As investors look for ways to capture growth in the emerging markets, some may look to a targeted consumer-sector EM play, such as the Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (NYSEArca: EMQQ), which includes access to EM companies related to online retailers or the quickly expanding e-commerce industry. To be included within the ETF’s underlying index, companies must derive the majority of their profits from E-commerce or Internet activities and further includes search engines, online retail, social networking, online video, e-payments, online gaming, and online travel.
Carter argued that EMQQ might be particularly well-positioned as it includes a heavy focus on a quickly recovering Chinese economy. China makes up 65% of EMQQ, and it is in the best position of any major economy. E-commerce in the emerging country is increasing in relative importance due to the outbreak, with digitalization expected to stabilize at a much higher level.
Financial advisors interested in learning more about the emerging markets can watch the webcast here on demand.


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How much does it cost to build a house in Surprise AZ?
Market Overview: New Homes in Surprise, AZ
|Price Per Square Foot
|Builders in Surprise
|Toll Brothers Fulton Homes Taylor Morrison
|Customizable Options in Surprise
What is being built in Surprise AZ?
SURPRISE, Ariz. — A Scottsdale-based real estate developer is set to build a massive outdoor mall in Surprise. SimonCRE announced Thursday, The Village at Prasada will be a 700,000-square-foot-plus development with a variety of shops, restaurants, and entertainment options. It is set to open in Fall of 2022.
Does Lennar build in Arizona?
In the specific market of Phoenix, Lennar offers floor plans and layouts in nearly every size. You’ll even find a few plans that grow to 3,658 sq/ft and have 5 bedrooms! Starting at only $355,990, the Phoenix area is one of the best locations to build a new home, and Lennar may just be the best builder for the task.
What restaurants are coming to Surprise AZ?
I am happy to report that the following are coming soon/newly announced to the City of Surprise: New Restaurants: Puerto Rican Pete’s, Granite Falls Restaurant, Farmer Boys, Habit Burger, Arby’s, Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade, Whataburger (hiring 100 new employees!), CBD Coffee Brewed Differently.
What are they building next to Costco in Surprise Arizona?
Prasada is the retail component of a 3,355-acre master-planned development that will bring medical services, hospitality, residential and employment to the rapidly growing community of Surprise, Arizona. The mixed-use retail development will become a regional destination for shopping, dining and entertainment.
Are they building a Whataburger in Surprise?
11 New Restaurants and Entertainment Spots, from an Ax-throwing Venue to Whataburger Opening in Surprise. Surprise will soon have more selections for where to eat, drink and throw an ax.


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Hey there, fellow collectors! Are you currently browsing Toys Wonderland, contemplating a purchase due to their promotion on YouTuber...Read More
Action Figure News
As with any hobby or general interest, the world of One Sixth Scale action figure news is larger now more than ever. Things like announcements of new figures are expected, but there is a lot of other things that happen in the community than just new figure releases.
What Kind of News Can We Expect?
While new figure announcements are exciting, there is a lot that happens behind the scenes that is worth mentioning. Sometimes a company like Hot Toys can acquire a new license to produce new one sixth scale figures. While that is not a figure announcement itself, it is interesting to look into what goes into the creation and licensing of figures, as well as the inner workings of a company.
Other times, news comes out that is a bit more critical than behind the scenes news. A prime example of this would be the Storm Collectibles Mike Tyson figure issue, After reports of Mike Tyson figures cracking, Storm Collectibles announced via their various channels that they would be supplying buyers with replacement parts. Action Figure News like this is of utmost importance for some collectors, and as such it is our goal to report this news to the general public.
Whether it is inner workings at a figure company, or news about a product replacement or recall, the news regarding events in the hobby is important to communicate. Being collectors ourselves, we know how important it is to be in the know, and we here at One Sixth Society want that to be as convenient as possible for our readers.Close
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