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Blog: Carlsberg catches up on low-strength lager trend
James Wilmore | 14 February 2013
Carlsberg has today revealed its hand in the battle over low-abv beers in the UK.
The Danish brewer's first new launch into the 2.8% and below category is a citrus version of its namesake lager called, imaginatively, Carlsberg Citrus. I guess it does what it say on the tin. (Incidentally, the brewer lowered the abv of its Skol brand to 2.8% in 2011, but Citrus is its first new launch in the category).
This trend in the UK towards new low-strength beers, Molson Coors has Carling Zest (2.8%), A-B InBev has Rolling Rock (2.8%), is for three main reasons.
Partly to offer health-conscious consumers more choice.
Partly to fulfil a pledge to remove a a billion units of alcohol from products per year by December 2015, as part of the government's responsibility deal.
But also, and perhaps as tellingly, it makes business sense. The goverment cut duty rates on beers at 2.8% and below back in 2011, as a way to "tackle problem drinking by encouraging industry to produce, and drinkers to consume, lower-strength beers".
Carlsberg points to Nielsen figures in its press blurb today showing that the lower- strength beer category is growing 50% year-on-year.
A government policy that's boosting profits and helping public health? Well fancy that.
Follow me on Twitter @jamescwilmore
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Who do you work for? I ask, merely to draw your attention to just-drinks’ company pages....
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You might not know it, but there may be a little black box that rides along with you recording your vehicle’s every move.
Read This Article
If you live in the U.S.
This week began with the 2013 Ford F-150 shedding the camouflage that once covered the full-size light-duty truck's front-end.
In a recent article, CBS News takes the Obama administration to task for loaning nearly $2.5 billion to encourage various car companies to build electric cars.

domain: news


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Thu, 17 Nov 2022 04:58 PM IST
Virtualness, a mobile-first platform created to aid businesses and creators in navigating the complicated Web3 space, said on Thursday that it had raised more than $8M in seed money. Virtualness was founded in 2022 by industry leaders Kirthiga Reddy and Saurabh Doshi.
Led by Blockchange Ventures, the fundraise was joined by Polygon Ventures, Micron Ventures, Better Ventures, FalconX, Neythri Futures Fund, Carolyn Everson, Randi Zuckerberg, Nusier Yassin (Nas Daily), Anjali Bansal, Ashwini Asokan, Harsh Jain, Sandeep Singhal, Stacy Brown-Philpot, Vani Kola and other thought-leaders.
Virtualness seeks to aid millions of creators who lack the basic tools to scale their businesses and easily capture the value-creation opportunities that blockchain and Web3 represent. Keeping "empathy at the core" of their values, Virtualness puts creators first, and is building the playbook for easy design, efficient sharing and seamless digital commerce.
It will be launched in early 2023 and will be used by authenticated creators and brands to design, mint and showcase branded digital collectibles; easily share across their social media channels; directly interact with their fans and community; enable unique experiences; and unlock new channels for monetization.
Education, personalisation, discovery, integration with Web2 and Web3 platforms and a mobile-first experience are central to the platform.
Virtualness is co-founded by Kirthiga Reddy, former Managing Director of Facebook India & South Asia, along with Saurabh Doshi, former Head of Meta. "Creators are the ultimate entrepreneurs. We've been at the heart of the Web2 ecosystem building and onboarding creators and brands, and we're on our journey to do it again for Web3. People are spending more and more time in various digital worlds and have the desire for customized experiences, individual identities, expressions and personalized commerce," said Reddy and Doshi in an official release.
"We're excited to see how creators and brands mimic various physical experiences in digital forms and in newer ways. This is about building a new economy - unlocked by branded digital collectibles that deliver unique experiences, capability and value. Our belief is that everything that can move from a physical form to digital will move."


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Market Focus: Inside the Hispanic Book Market
While the Hispanic population in the United States is expected to expand to nearly 50 million by 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, current purchasing patterns indicate that this 16 percent of the nation may not buy books at the same rate as the remaining 84 percent.
Book publishers have different theories as to why this growing market hasn't yet met expectations in terms of sales, as well as some ideas on how to better serve this segment. From embracing Hispanic celebrity influencers to tailoring content to reflect the nuances of this particular culture, publishers may have to adapt and mature before the market segment can reach its full potential.
Strength in Numbers
If the U.S. Census Bureau projection holds true for 2010, the Hispanic population in the United States will have more than doubled since the 1990 figure of 22 million.
"The market for books in Spanish is not proportional to the population, and that has proved to be a disappointment to many publishers," says Larry Bennett, vice president of digital print media and world language materials at Charlotte, N.C.-based book distributor Baker & Taylor. "Many publishers looked at the more-than-50-percent growth of the Hispanic population between the 1990 census and the 2000 census, and said, 'Oh my goodness, there's a huge opportunity here.' And [publishers] were consequently surprised that the sales were not as robust as they thought. But having said that, there's still a robust market.
"There are about 40 million Hispanics in the United States. But, of them, about 15 million are bilingual …, [and] they tend to want to read in the native language of the author," he adds. "… Then, there's some 10 to 15 million who are Spanish-speaking only, and they obviously favor Spanish-language books. And then, there are another 10 or 15 million who are English-speaking only. They might be third, fourth, fifth generation, have a Hispanic name, but only speak a few words of Spanish and certainly not enough to read a book in Spanish."


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Verizon, Motorola's partner with the Moto Z3 and this Mod, is launching 5G service in four markets later this year, but that's residential broadband and not mobile. Naturally, people are wondering when the next Moto Z will be announced.
As stated earlier on, the Motorola Moto Z3 will be available exclusively on Verizon network in the U.S. The device will start shipping on Augst 16. At least not this year. Here we are just over a couple of months later and the Moto Z3 and the Moto 5G Moto Mod are now official.
In the United States, the Moto Z3 comes only in Ceramic Black color and will be costing around $480 (approx Rs 33,000).
Coming to the smartphone, the Moto Z3 features a 6000 series aluminium frame with rounded corners.
Motorola has also brought the 5G Moto Mod that is created to deliver a next-generation experience on the Moto Z3. So the Moto Z3 owners with the 5G mod will be able to experience gigabit speeds.
Want more posts like this delivered to your inbox? Also, the new Androidphone, as it is now, can't do 5G for another reason. The phone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery, and it comes with support for TurboPower charging, claimed to offer half a day's power in half an hour. A dual-LED flash accompanies the rear camera. So, it has chose to circumvent the cost of up-to-date native components and forward the cost to a Moto Mod. The Moto Z3 comes in only one colour model - Ceramic Black.
For its size, a 3,000mAh battery is rather small for the Moto Z3, and it does not look like it will be doing such a terrific job in competing with the other flagships that sport better hardware specifications. It'll be for Verizon's 5G network, and it will come "early in 2019", according to Verizon network chief Nicola Palmer. The Mod will definitely only work on Verizon's 5G network, not any other carrier's, though. The Z3 even shares some of the Z3 Play's once-unique features as well, like the side-mounted fingerprint scanner that's easily accessible with your thumb or your index finger. However, the company said it's still working with Verizon to determine whether users will still face the same data caps they're already limited to on current 4G networks.
Motorola promises the 5G-ready Z3 can download 90 Spotify songs in 10 seconds. Motorola hasn't officially confirmed availability of the flagship smartphone in India yet. There is now no information about the eagerly awaited Motorola One Power and the Moto One smartphones.
However, Duterte has made it clear he would rather destroy the cars than have the government profit from crime. The relentless crash of the cars was personally chaired by the President - Rodrigo Duterte.
Meanwhile, Putnam, a longtime Florida political fixture, has been running a campaign that emphasizes his rural Bartow roots. He predicted DeSantis will win against Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the state's August 28 Republican primary.
Households can expect the cost of their loans and mortgages to go up as banks and lenders lift their own interest rates. In other words: when inflation is steady at the Bank's 2% target and the economy is running at its maximum speed limit.
Some of the companies such as Cynosure that is owned by Hologic Inc. state that they have based their treatments on science. But the FDA noted the devices haven't been evaluated or approved for vaginal rejuvenation.
The yen climbed 0.1 percent to 110.92 per dollar from a more than six month trough of 113.15 touched earlier in July. FAANG group: Facebook FB.O , Amazon.com AMZN.O , Apple AAPL.O , Netflix NFLX.O and Google parent Alphabet GOOGL.O .
Another OnePlus smartphone which became the third best selling premium smartphone was the OnePlus 5T launched last November. Apple is expected to bounce back strongly in the next quarter with the launch of its three next-generation iPhone models.
Willian , in recent time, has been a subject of heavy interest from the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United . Asked if Hudson-Odoi would remain part of his first-team squad, the Italian replied: " I think so .
Tesla also said it's working on a new version of its Autopilot semi-autonomous software that will have greater safety features. The company laid off nine percent of its workforce in the second quarter as it attempted to become profitable.
When asked about that incident, Meyer claimed at the Big Ten meetings last week, that he was unaware of a 2015 incident. Smith was sacked last week after an accusation of domestic violence against his wife Courtney came to light.
Both held serve until the ninth game, when McDonald sent a forehand wide to hand Murray the break and a 5-4 lead. He added: 'It wasn't so much thinking about hanging the rackets up, I've always planned and wanted to come back.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant reportedly broke up the fight, with James leaving the party shortly after. Another source described it as a face mush while other reports described it as a legit punch.
Engine flaw delays Boeing test of crew capsule to 2019
His remarks were widely reported and Boeing spokeswoman Rebecca Regan confirmed the news via email to SpacePolicyOnline.com. There will be at least eight astronauts announced tomorrow - each crewed test flight will have at least two astronauts.
John Kelly Hits 1 Year As Chief Of Staff
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. Kelly's allies have said he took the job out of a sense of duty and he has not exactly hidden his simmering dissatisfaction.


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Twitter recently announced its new app optimized to run only on Windows 10 April 2018 Update devices, and the old UWP app will be retired for all older version of Windows operating including the Windows Phones. The company is recommending users to either use Twitter in web browsers or upgrade to Windows 10 April 2018 Update.
Twitter in the same blog post has announced that it’s new Progressive Web App (PWA) for Windows 10 will receive new features in the coming days. The company has promised features like night mode and it will be added in very near future.
Twitter’s PWA features a consistent look and feel, it also offers a streamlined experience on desktops. The company says the new app is modern and works with most of the unique Windows 10 features like support for native APIs. The other features also include the ability to bookmark tweets and access to 280 characters-long tweets.
Twitter is fully committed to Microsoft’s Windows platform and it aims to provide features to all of the platforms. “We want to continue providing our Microsoft users with the latest and greatest, and will be adding additional features like night mode, in the coming weeks and months,” the company said.
Yesterday, Twitter also announced that their apps will stop working on platforms such as Windows Phones as Progressive Web App for Windows would only run on Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The old UWP app has been removed from the Microsoft Store and it may stop working on existing devices after June 1st.
Twitter’s old apps will no longer work on Windows Phone Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile and earlier. Needless to say, Twitter never really bothered about Windows Phones and the performance of its UWP app on mobile was below average.
Twitter ending support for Windows Phone is not a big news as Microsoft itself is no longer committed to its own mobile platform. Windows 10 Mobile is currently in maintenance mode and only security fixes would be delivered until mid-2019.
Needless to say, developers are one by one leaving Microsoft’s mobile platform after Joe Belfiore’s announcement. While more developers will likely pull their Windows Phone apps and focus on Android and iOS exclusively, most of the first and third-party apps including the Progressive Web Apps will continue to work on Windows 10 Mobile devices.


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As anticipation builds for the release of the newest installment of the Madden franchise, EA Sports has been giving fans sneak peaks at player rankings and game footage. On Saturday, the gaming company released the first close up of rookie Washington defensive end Chase Young.
— Madden NFL 21 (@EAMaddenNFL) July 25, 2020
The first Madden 21 gameplay trailer that EA Sports released in June included footage of Chase Young on the field but it wasn't possible to see his face with his facemask on. However, Saturday's photo looks pretty spot on when compared to what the real Young looks like.
Madden 21, featuring Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on the cover, is set to hit the shelves Aug. 25.
Stay connected to the team with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.
MORE WASHINGTON FOOTBALL NEWS:
Ready for Camp: NFL, NFLPA come to terms
Fans in FedEx: Team planning for patrons
EA Sports nails Chase Young's resemblance in Madden 21 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington


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Microsoft Employs AI to Simplify Media Editing
Microsoft unveiled its new project to enhance its photos app, Story Remix, on 11 May, 2017. Making use of the increasingly popular technology of Artificial Intelligence, the company has made the process of creating videos and capturing photos even simpler and fun.
The Story Remix app lets the user add animations in the video. To cite an instance, Microsoft executive Lorraine Bardeen showed how the app works by recording a video with a girl playing with a ball and as the girl shoots the ball, an animation of blazing fire was added. What makes this app a real eye-catcher is the fact that few other apps in the market allow for such complex editing of media on a smartphone.
The app mainly uses deep learning and several other Microsoft technologies to process the videos and edit them. The Cognitive toolkit open source framework is used extensively in the app for AI. The system is made so as to use a shared cluster of Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) in its Azure Cloud. The app is developed with a technology that can recognize objects in a video in every frame and follow them. In addition, the app also lets the user search for photos and videos based on the people, videos, objects, and places that they contain. Microsoft has obtained graphical data from volunteers and they process the tags and locations to make those available as search results. Microsoft states that it does not process these photos or videos unless the users allow them to do so.
Microsoft announced that the Story Remix would be made available for Windows 10 PCs as well as phones over the following few updates. This radical development by Microsoft is anticipated to bring it back in competition with Apple and Alphabet. According to Chris Pratley, Corporate VP, Microsoft, as the AI-based system is dynamic and will get smarter and smarter after it gains more data from the users, the face of video creation and editing may have changed forever.
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Windows Phone 7 devices sending massive "chunks of data" over 3G for no apparent reason
Count this one in the strange category and WP7 bug backlog. It appears that there may be a little bug in Windows Phone 7 that is sending out random "chunks of data" over AT&T 3G even when the device was hooked to a WiFi connection. There is no indication of what device this problem is affecting, yet it seems to be a Windows Phone 7 issue as a whole.
The user that this affected received a notice from AT&T saying that his 2GB cap had almost been hit, even though the user barely used any 3G access, or so he thought. It appears that his device was sending out around 30 to 40 MB of data each day at specific times and even once when taken off of airplane mode sent a whopping 400MB! Needless to say the user isn't happy about the situation and contacted Windows and Microsoft Guru, Paul Thurrott to find out what he knew.
It appears that Mr. Thurrott has had the same issue and acknowledges that it is a problem for many users on his Windows Phone Secrets blog. Apparently the 3G is still being active even when WiFi is on and at this point there is no rhyme or reason to what the device is sending. Thurrott thinks it may have something to do with the Marketplace, yet he isn't too sure.
So, AT&T Windows Phone 7 users, watch out! Make sure that you aren't a victim of this bug as it could cost you a lot in overages. And by the way, in true Microsoft fashion, there has yet to be an official statement of what the heck is going on here and what they plan to do to fix it.


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Serving the Poor Is Challenged by Market Changes
When it comes to lower income and underserved consumers, the chief challenge facing some mainstream credit unions and banks may not be how to serve them competitively but whether to serve them at all.
Some analysts argue that consumer banking is increasingly moving toward using technology and communication platforms that may become steadily less available to lower income consumers.
With the constant changes in the marketplace, some financial institutions are also finding it necessary to assign fees to the sorts of services that primarily lower income consumers use in order to offset their costs. This will likely only increase the barriers to access for consumers who have already shown little appetite for paying banking fees.
“What we need to comprehend is that the future of technology in financial services is no longer in the future,” said Brett King, author and financial services consultant. “The future is now. We are in the future.”
King is the author of Banking 2.0, a book that depicts the changing market for financial services as technology meets changing consumer demands. This is particularly true for convenience, a demand which King estimates will drive the market for at least the next decade.
“There will be very little, if anything, that will trump the desire for convenience,” King told an audience of over 500 credit union executives attending CO-OP Financial Services THINK 2012 conference in Boca Raton, Fla., in April.
King illustrated his point by showing the THINK attendees a video of an 18-month old infant interacting with different sorts of communication technology. In the first minutes of the video, the infant is shown playing with a tablet computer, using the icons to move images on the screen, smiling and squealing in delight. In subsequent minutes of the video, the infant is given two different types of magazines. Rather than treat them as magazines by flipping the pages and looking at the pictures, the infant treats them in the same way she did the tablet computer and looks up frustrated from the effort.
“Clearly, for this child, magazines are merely iPads that do not work,” King told the audience. “The future is happening right now and we have to prepare to meet it as financial institutions.”
The effort to meet consumers demand for convenience, King explained, may mean financial institutions will continue to move more of their consumer banking services to mobile phones, smart phones and other electronic platforms so that they will be able to obtain financial services no matter their timing and location. Most consumers actually enter a bank or credit union branch as little as two or three times year and some not that often, he pointed out, adding this trend will likely continue.
David John, a financial services analyst and expert at the Heritage Foundation, a primarily conservative think tank, agreed with King that the trends toward both convenience and technology will likely continue. However, neither banks nor mainstream credit unions have addressed the need for banking platforms or other technologies that might be available to lower income consumers.
“It's a fascinating question and I don’t think we have yet seen it answered, but I remain optimistic that it will be answered,” John said.
His optimism is rooted in the likelihood that few mainstream credit unions or banks will develop their own proprietary technologies or platforms for lower income customers to use due to the expense of doing so, but will instead license these platforms from technology companies which will find the broader financial services market sufficiently large to justify the investment.
John also acknowledged that those technologies have not yet been developed and until they are, steadily larger numbers of lower income consumers may find themselves using third party financial service providers such as payday lenders, check cashing firms, title loan firms and large retailers for basic financial services.
The largest and most familiar of these is Walmart, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer that offers products and services to primarily lower income consumers who lack relationships with financial institutions. The products include check cashing, check printing, bill payment and money orders, domestic and international transfer services and ATM services. The retailer also offers prepaid cards and prepaid card reloading, a credit card issued in partnership with Discover Financial Service as well as a proprietary charge card good in Walmart stores as well as VISA, MasterCard and American Express branded gift cards.
Sarah Spencer, Walmart’s director of corporate communications, said the retailer merely wanted to provide another service. “We know that many of our customers either don’t have a bank account or are poorly served by banks given the costs and service issues they find with them,” Spencer wrote in a response to questions about Walmart's retail financial products. “Walmart’s goal is to provide these unhappily banked or unbanked customers with affordable products and services that help take care of their everyday money service needs such as cashing a check, transferring money or paying a bill.”
John largely applauded the efforts of Walmart and other financial service third party providers but agreed that, compared to some financial institutions, all those entities can provide is something of a financial dead end. Other than a credit card loan issued with in conjunction with another firm, Walmart cannot offer loans or any of the other mechanisms that might help lower income consumes climb the financial services ladder. John pointed out that a few years ago, Walmart applied for a financial services charter through a mechanism provided by the state of Utah but was blocked from doing so.
The current emphasis on having financial institutions be the primary providers of payment and financial transaction services is largely out of step with the rest of the world, John said. He recounted a story from this past summer where, while traveling in Britain, he needed to have some reimbursement funds added to his bank account. John said his British hosts were perplexed at how many steps he had to take to get this relatively simple task accomplished. Had he been in Britain, a firm would have sent a text message to his bank authorizing the transfer.
“But of course, that can't happen here because we haven’t implemented text message transfer yet,” John observed. He also noted that in certain African countries, the chief means for conducting financial transactions is the cell phone – not a smart phone or a fancy mobile phone – but a cell phone with text messaging enabled.The service is widely accessible, inexpensive to use and familiar to almost everyone, he said. However, the provider is a telecommunications company. One organization that is watching these developments closely is the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions whose member credit unions serve a predominantly lower income membership. Pablo DeFilippi, NFCDCU director of membership, sees the potential challenge but is optimistic.
“Cellular phones, particularly in the immigrant communities, are already widespread and popular,” he said.


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THE full reopening of non-essential retail in Ireland today has been hailed as a “landmark day for the industry” with 280,000 people going back to work.
Retail click and collect services and appointments shopping resumed last week, as did personal services such as hairdressers, barbers and beauticians.
But as of today, ALL retail can fully reopen as Covid-19 restrictions are eased. Penneys are among the stores that have announced extended opening hours for excited shoppers.
Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence, said: “Monday is a landmark day for the retail industry in Ireland and fantastic news for 280,000 retail employees around the country.
“We eased back into trading with click and collect services and appointment-only shopping last week, and now retailers get the opportunity to fully welcome shoppers back into their stores after a long, hard four and a half months of the latest lockdown.”
Graham said this easing of restrictions is different to those that happened before.
He added: “Thankfully, our vaccination rollout is picking up pace and we have had strong assurances from the Government that we are not going backwards.
“Finally, this means that retailers can plan for the weeks and months ahead with the sort of confidence that has been missing for over a year.
“As always, shoppers can be confident that retailers are continuing to uphold the highest standards of safety for everyone in their stores, and we would urge shoppers to be patient when visiting shops once again.
“Retailers are prepared and fully stocked for the full reopening and cannot wait to get trading properly once again.
“The retail industry will undoubtedly need major financial support from the Government in the months ahead, but for now businesses are relieved to begin trading once more without restrictions.”
RACE TO STORES
Non-essential retail closed in December under strict restrictions as Ireland faced into one of the toughest and longest lockdowns in the world.
On June 2 hotels and B&Bs can get back to business and the following week on June 7 restaurants and bars will re-open for outdoor dining.
With thousands of more shoppers expected to race to stores this week, Penneys has committed to extended opening hours.
Every Penneys store in Ireland will open earlier and/or close later starting today with exact hours for each store available on the clothing giant’s website.
The extended hours will be in place to help reduce queues and give customers “more time to shop safely”.
Penneys CEO Paul Marchant said he was “blown away” by the number of 275,000 shoppers that turned out for appointments last week.
Marchant said: “It has been a fantastic welcome back and we are ready and waiting to fully re-open our doors to everyone from Monday.
“We have extended opening hours in every store in Ireland to help with queues and customer demand, so there’ll be plenty of time for everyone to visit.”
Meanwhile, in Skerries, Co Dublin, a barber has become a local hero by cutting all commers - to deal with the “national emergency with hair” as “everyone has a mullet”.
Clippy Kyle Reid decided to throw his appointments book out the window and to cut as much hair as possible.
The skilled scissors technician told the Irish Sun: “There are no lunch breaks, no tea breaks, nothing. It’s a twelve hour day.
“But we got a national emergency with hair and barbers like me have to step up to the plate.”
As queues formed from early morning every day outside Kyle’s Barbers on Quay Street, the 29-year-old erected a marquee so customer can stay dry and socially distant.
Kyle said: “People passing by can’t believe they can drop in and get a hair cut.
“I’m usually shouting out the door to the queue, ‘Don’t worry everyone will get a cut. I’ll get to everyone’ and I do.
“I stop taking customers at six but it takes me to eight o’clock that night to do the last one.”
The 29-year old hard rock fan said he stays fuelled on Lucozade and ‘listening to Lizzy’ as he expertly welds his scissors.
Kyle said: “The mullets are a nightmare, everyone is turning up with them.
“People have hair going down everywhere. You’re also trying put a shape back on haircuts people have been doing at home.
“You got fifteen minutes to pull off a miracle but if it’s really bad, you also have to tell them, ‘Listen I’m not a magician’.”
While rival barbers dismiss customers without an appointment, often days in advance Kyle said he decided it wasn’t the way he would go.
He said: “If I’ve learned anything in this business, it’s that women book hairdressers weeks in advance but men get their hair cut on a whim. I understand that.
“I previously worked in town as a barber and I know from experience that a large number of people don’t show for bookings, it can turn into a domino effect that can ruin your whole day.
“So you might as well cut the hair for the people on front of you. That’s what I’ve been doing”.
But the clippy remains vigilant about socially distancing, making sure that only the allowed numbers are allowed in his shop at any time, taking breaks from his barbering to good humouredly police his queue.
But it could be good for business too with a large number of Kyle’s customers having previously been customers at rival barbers.
Kyle said: “I am meeting loads and loads of new people, and they all seem to be leaving happy. But all the barbers in Skerries get on. It’s a great town”.
Most read in News
Incredibly the crimper has spent much of the week on a solo run, with his two assistants, both students, studying for exams.
Kyle said: "Education is incredibly important. Reopening or not, the guys have exams and they’ll be back afterwards and we’ll be back to three barbers”
Quizzed how long he can go on chopping lockdown hair, Kyle said: “I love my job but I tell you something, I’m off on Sunday. I never work Sundays. That’s family time”.


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Indian trade body demands 'country of origin' info to identify boycotted Chinese goods
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wants every e-commerce portal to mention 'country of origin' on each product being sold so that Indian buyers can avoid Chinese goods.
According to the CAIT, which has launched a campaign for a boycott of Chinese goods, consumers remain unaware that some e-commerce portals are selling Chinese products.
Thus, it urged Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to make such rule mandatory so that consumers can make an informed decision.
CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal had asked Goyal to amend the requirements for FDI backed e-commerce companies and the framing of a general rule for Indian e-commerce firms.
The trader's body also asked the chief ministers of all states and political parties to support the campaign to boycott Chinese products.
The CAIT likewise demanded that the Board of Cricket Control of India to withdraw the sponsorship of Vivo and any other Chinese firm and had urged the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to cancel the sponsorship of Chinese companies.


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At its annual upfront event April 2 at New York’s Ziegfeld Theater, cinema advertising company Screenvision outlined its Weekend Daypart concept, calling it “a high impact and essential complement to TV advertising plans.” Additional presentations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit were to take place today. Citing a high awareness of cinema advertising among 18-49 years olds – so-called millennials – one executive said, “When you run an ad on a big screen you know it will be seen.”
National CineMedia has renewed its long-term affiliate agreement with leading regional movie theater circuit Cobb Theatres and is also adding four new regional theater circuits to its network to further expand its national reach and geographic coverage.
At its annual meeting held in Las Vegas during last week’s CinemCon, the Cinema Advertising Council announced record cinema advertising industry revenues in 2013 – up 6.5 percent to $677,957,000, marking its fourth consecutive year of $600 million or higher.
Volkswagen has released a cinema campaign for its Up! city car, and is making use of Digital Cinema Media's geo-location tool to direct viewers to their nearest dealership.
Finnkino Oy has selected Advertising Accord software developed by Unique Digital to drive their full conversion to DCP pre-show management and distribution, making Finnkino Media the only cinema advertising company in Finland. The new technology will enable them to supply pre-show content to 20 cinemas and 113 screens accounting for over 80 percent of the box-office admissions in the country.
The decision to see—or not to see—a movie often rests on the film's trailer. No wonder that moviemakers invest a great deal of effort to create previews that grab our attention and make us want to see more. Now in its fourth year, the International Movie Trailer Festival celebrates the art of the indie trailer. One
The Cinema Advertising Council has announced a new slate of officers and committee chairs and named Screenvision’s Katy Loria president and chairman. Effective October 1, the term runs through September 30, 2014.
In the early days of digital cinema, advocates of the new technology said one of the best things about it was the ability it gave theatre owners to show all kinds of content, not just Hollywood movies. The studios scoffed at this and labeled anything they didn’t produce as, essentially, worthless garbage. One early term was ODS, which stood for Other Digital … well, you get it.
When the city of Sevierville, Tennessee decided to place a 30-second promotional spot in Regal Theaters throughout the US, they went to Cinemarr Studios.
NCM Media Networks and Beijing China Times Media Advertising Co. have entered into an advertising cooperation and fee agreement to help international brands reach movie audiences in the United States and China.


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Sacramento – Oct 27, 2009 – NewsBlaze, a hybrid among online news publications, has joined the World City Press (WCP) news network as a syndicate partner under which the two online news publishing organizations are sharing stories across their networks while promoting joint marketing opportunities between them.
“We see Newsblaze.com fitting into our family of news network websites very well,” said WCP Publishing Editor, Eric Stevenson. “Our relationship from the beginning is proving to be profitable for both organizations.”
“NewsBlaze.com has been looking to expand its publisher relationships in strengthening our content and brand,” said NewsBlaze founder and publishing editor, Alan Gray. “The opportunity to work together with WCP has great potential and we hope it becomes an example to other publishers who might join our cooperative approach to publishing online.”
Newsblaze.com syndicates stories to 50 small town newspaper sites within its own news network as well as close to a million unique readers a month on its parent website. The media services Newsblaze.com offers are accented by the services WCP provides, giving both publishing companies more revenue generating capabilities.
Newsblaze.com is also an online press release service and by opening up all three online news networks under WCP’s control, Newsblaze.com’s press releases now have an unparalleled ability to reach a broader audience without incurring additional fees. WCP’s business news feature program is also enjoying a broader exposure through NewsBlaze syndicate with stories being rewritten for those markets, again, at no additional cost to WCP’s agency customers.
WCP hopes to expand its publisher syndicate in a similar fashion as with NewsBlaze on the basis of sharing content, expanding media services and potentially online advertising sales. Plans call for developing a more sophisticated hosted news solution which WCP’s syndicate partners can benefit from through third-party sites that would sign up for this unique custom news display solution. Sites being targeted for the program either receive free news to display and in cases where their traffic is high enough, ad space is shared on the hosted page from their site which acts as a template to serve up the stories without the visitor feeling like they’ve left their site. Those WCP syndicate partners who participate share in the revenue those page views generate from a shared master database, or pooled-content approach.
“We’ve spent several years beta-testing a hosted news solution and found that traffic can vary greatly depending on the type of website and news category they chose to display,” said Stevenson. “After sharing our plans with Alan’s publishing company we found that the technological skills NewsBlaze brings to the table are able to advance our traffic-generating program tremendously. We’re very excited to have NewsBlaze as a partner in moving forward with our growth strategy.”


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Downtown Holiday Window Competition Spreads Seasonal Cheer
December 8, 2015
by Mariana Colín
The holiday season is in full force, and you may have noticed that the stores of Downtown are decorating accordingly. Businesses all around the central Downtown area are participating in this year’s Holiday Window Display Competition, organized by the Downtown Tucson Partnership and 2nd Saturdays.
During this month’s Second Saturday, the winners will be announced at the Scott Stage and awarded prizes anyone would be pleased to find under the tree. First place will receive two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S., Second will get $1,000 in advertising opportunities with KGUN, and third will get a $100 Downtown Tucson Gift Card, good at over seventy Downtown businesses.
“This is a great opportunity for local businesses to be involved in the holiday decoration of Downtown,” said Brandi Haga-Blackman, Director of Operations at the Downtown Tucson Partnership. “We’re really looking forward to what everyone comes up with.”
Entries in the competition are limited only by their imaginations and the seasonal theme, meaning the storefronts of Downtown will embody holiday cheer in ways as different as the businesses themselves, turning Downtown into Tucson’s destination for holiday excitement (since our weather won’t do the work for us).
The deadline for contest entries is December 11th, but walking around Downtown you’ll see plenty of businesses, many of whom have impressive window displays year-round, already getting into the holiday spirit.
From festive vintage fashion scenes in the window of Flash in the Past to a Christmas list in the window of FORS Architecture surrounded by a flurry of letters to Santa, businesses around Downtown are incorporating the themes of their business into their contest entries.
This year, the competition marks one more addition to Downtown’s draw as a destination, for Tucson as well as surrounding communities, and not just for the holidays. For now though, the competition is just focusing on what members of the community can do to help add beauty and fun to Downtown, offering a holiday event that’s earlier and longer-lasting than the fantastic but all too fleeting Downtown Parade of Lights.
With the enthusiasm businesses have shown already for the competition, it looks like we have a lot to look forward to with Downtown’s holiday transformation this year. As Downtown’s holiday spirit grows, next year is sure to be even merrier.
More information on the Downtown Window Decorating Contest is available here.


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Demand in the economy will increase when the uncertainty regarding health in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak ends, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy V Subramanian said on Friday.
Speaking at a webinar session organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Subramanian said that discretionary spending in the economy has not risen due to uncertainty regarding health in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Unlike in countries such as the US where people buy food after getting cash transfers, the scenario is different in India.
"In India, we have a public distribution system which provides food to the people. So, people in our country resort to precautionary motive due to uncertainty," he said.
According to him, this uncertainty arising out of the health factor will stay until a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed, and spending will not pick up till then.
"People will save more and the right time for increasing demand is when uncertainty is not there", Subramanian said.
He said the government is cognizant of the fact that there is a need to increase demand in the economy.
He said that the Jan-Dhan account holders have a high marginal propensity to consume, though they are saving more at the moment.
Regarding the Rs 20-lakh crore financial package announced by the government, Subramanian said elsewhere, in the world, particularly in countries such as the US and the UK, the fiscal component in the stimulus packages was 3.5 percent, the balance being monetary and liquidity measures.
"India has exactly done that," he added.
He said that the health sector is now seeing a spurt in demand due to the pandemic while the tourism and hospitality segments have been suffering.


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Martin Dimitrov | E+ | Getty Images
It’s tempting to go on a post-pandemic shopping spree.
After a year of hunkering down, skipping vacations and restaurant dining, many Americans can’t wait to start spending again.
Just over 50% of U.S. consumers plan to spend extra money splurging or treating themselves, according to a May survey by McKinsey & Company. The global management consulting firm polled 2,076 U.S. adults in February and weighted it to match the national general population.
While many Americans are still struggling financially, others are doing well. They cut down their debt and saved more money over the past year. While treating yourself may be well-deserved, tread carefully, experts warn.
“We are all experiencing freedom, euphoria and relief post-Covid to varying degrees,” said financial therapist and coach Carrie Rattle, CEO and founder of New York-based Behavioral Cents.
“It is easy to take that emotional release and translate it into shopping for material goods,” she added. “In these instances, there may be overspending and definitely splurging.”
The urge to splurge post-pandemic is being called “revenge spending.”
Yet that could impact not only your finances but your happiness, if you wind up overspending, said researcher Elizabeth Dunn, PhD, chief science officer for financial technology firm Happy Money and author of “Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending.”
Sample monthly budget
People who spend less money than they bring in reported about 17% higher levels of life satisfaction than those who outspend their income, Happy Money research shows. They have 14% more life satisfaction versus those spending the equivalent of their income.
“[By] going beyond the amount of money that you have coming in … you’re ultimately not getting revenge on the pandemic, you’re setting yourself up for lower happiness,” she said.
Before you splurge, approach your purchase analytically before you even put it in your cart, Rattle said.
Ask yourself: “Do you already have one? How often will you be using it? Have you priced compared to ensure you’re getting value for your money?”
Before you make a purchase, ask yourself if it will change the way you spend your time, advises Dunn, who is also a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia.
“This is a really simple question that people can ask themselves that can help them sometimes pull the items back out of the cart,” she said. “This is not actually going to have any bearing on the way I spend my time.”
We often take shopping breaks, either by picking up our phone or shifting away from a project on our computer. Instead, walk away and do something else to let your emotion subside, Rattle suggests.
When you buy something, write down what you bought and how much it was.
Keeping a real-time, running tally of your spending can help you see patterns, such as days when you spend, situations that drove you to spend and sites you spent a lot of time on, Rattle said.
“Often when we total the spend per week, it can have an incredible dampening effect on our urge to shop further,” she explained.
There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, as long as you are smart about it.
Dunn recommends spending on experiences, since we’ve been deprived of them over the past year and they tend to make us happier, according to her research.
“Really actively anticipating a vacation can give you this sort of free source of pleasure, before the actual experience,” she said. “So you’re getting kind of a double dip in terms of happiness.”
Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images
Source : CNBC


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Prime has a can-do attitude
Think a good beer has to come from a keg or a bottle?
Prime, the burger joint near Rowan University at Whitney Center on Rowan Boulevard in Glassboro, has other ideas.
Owners Dan Clark and Ed Hackett are introducing the addition of wine and beer to Prime's menu this month.
The eatery's all-can beer list will include 10 to 12 domestic and local brews, including Sly Fox Pilsner, Jack's Apple Cider, Sam Adams Seasonal, Brooklyn Lager and Shiner Bock, as well as red and white wine by-the-glass.
The beverages pair nicely with Prime's free range, grass-fed build-your-own burgers.
Prime also serves up fries, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and hand-spun milkshakes.
Prime is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Outdoor seating and extended hours are offered as the weather warms up.
Call (856) 243-2191 or visit primerowan.com or follow them on Twitter (@PrimeRowan), Instagram (@PrimeRowan) and Like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/PrimeRowan).


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Local authorities and the labor unions have signed an agreement in principle to support a business plan presented by Ital Lenti of Belluno last Jan. 19 to start up again production of ophthalmic lenses under the Galileo brand name at a new industrial plant at Marghera, near Venice. Besides taking over the Galileo brand name, Ital Lenti is also purchasing Galileo Italia's factory near Milan and what is left of the Galileo holding company's headquarters in Venice for a total of 11 billion lire (e5.7m).
Ital Lenti's industrial plan is expected to bring the total number of Galileo's employees in Italy within 4 years to 97, including 65 based in Marghera, which is presently shut down, and the others at the more efficient Settimo Milanese plant. The approval of Ital Lenti's business plan paves the way for financial aid by the local authorities and commits the workforce in Marghera to stop demonstrating to preserve their jobs. The 3-stage plan calls for a near doubling in annual sales of treated prescription lenses, manufactured at a new factory due to be built in Marghera, from 9,660 million lire in the first phase to 18,231 million lire (e9.4m) in the third one. Including other types of lenses, overall sales generated through the local factories should increase from 16.2 to 30.4 billion lire (e15.7m).
Ital Lenti proposes to invest 10 percent of the budgeted turnover, with half the amount stemming from soft loans carrying an annual interest rate of 6 percent. Ital Lenti has already planned to invest 5.9 billion lire (e3m) on the new industrial project this year. It will add investments of 10.2 billion lire (e5.3m) in the first phase to start the production again in Marghera, about 6 months after the city of Venice assigns a suitable site for construction of the new factory. Another 15.2 billion lire (e7.9m) will be spent in the second 12-month phase, which should start up around February of 2001. The third phase will last 30 months, involving additional investments of 15.4 billion lire (e8m).
Technically, Galileo's Italian facilities are still the property of Signet Armorlite of the USA, which is in turn still controlled by Galileo's holding company, Galileo Industrie Ottiche. Signet is still trying to regain its financial independence, while maintaining ownership of Galileo's companies in France, Germany and Spain. There are unconfirmed rumors that Signet is about to go through a refinancing and management buyout plan supported by institutional investors that will allow it to get out of the control of the Galileo holding company, which would be liquidated. Itainvest, the Italian state investment company that is one of Galileo's major shareholders along with a bank pool, will not confirm these rumors. Anyway, the acquisition of Galileo's Italian operations by Ital Lenti will allow Itainvest to get back 7 billion lire (e3.5m) previously lent to finance Galileo's day-to-day operations.
Ital Lenti is a company based in Italy's major eyewear manufacturing district that employs 58 workers. Led by Leo Polzotto, it reached a turnover of 10.8 billion lire (e5.6m) in 1998, or 7 percent more than in 1997. About 60 percent of the turnover is in Italy, 35 percent in the rest of Europe and 5 percent in other countries outside the European Union. In the first 9 months of 1999, its turnover reached 8.7 billion lire (e4.5m). The debt-to-equity ratio significant, but it fell from 11.3 percent at the end of 1998 to only 1.5 percent last Sept. 30. The company's production is focused on anti-reflective treatments and on customized lenses.


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The next iteration of the Honda Legend might soon become the most intriguing offering in the Japanese carmaker’s lineup. We know, we know, this is quite the statement when you take into account how exclusive this model is. But there’s a good reason for us to say so.
If this report by Nikkei Asia rings true, the new Honda Legend will become the first car in the world to be nationally certified in Japan for ‘level 3’ autonomous driving. It says the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has already approved the technology.
No specific details or a date of release has been made known by the brand, but Honda says the vehicle will be introduced by March 2021.
According to the report, Honda’s Traffic Jam Pilot will have level 3 autonomous capability and will be able to, well, handle driving duties in traffic jams. Drivers, though, must still pay attention and be ready to take control of the vehicle in the event of a road emergency.
It adds that Audi supposedly has its own level 3 self-driving tech ready for release, but is unable to because of a lack of autonomous driving legal framework in the US and Europe.
Other Japanese carmakers making moves to advance their self-driving tech include Toyota, which hopes to introduce its own level 3 capability within the next few years, and Nissan, which is making its ProPilot driver assist system (level 2 autonomy) a standard feature.
Last month, Tesla released the beta version of a “full self-driving” software upgrade to select “careful, expert” drivers. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reacted to the news by saying it would be keeping close tabs on the company, saying it “will not hesitate to take action to protect (the) public against unreasonable risks to safety.”
By the look of it, Japan might eventually become the first major auto market to have true self-driving cars. Is this a motoring future you’d be down with?


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Security solutions provider Securex Agencies has launched a smart home security kit targeting domestic residences.
Branded as the ‘Rafiki by Securex’ do-it-yourself (DIY) home security kit, the solution will help to curb the increasing burglary incidences in domestic homes by providing surveillance, deterrence, self-monitoring, and response subscription, all via their smartphone application.
The ‘Rafiki by Securex’ solution is designed to offer affordable security solutions to all those looking for an affordable, easy to manage security system which they can access at any time, from anywhere using their home Wi-Fi connection.
The basic kit will retail online at Kshs 6,500 and will come equipped with a router and intrusion detection capabilities. Users will also have the ability to purchase additional security accessories that suit their different needs, such as door contact sensors, motion sensors, cameras, and even smart lighting.
“Over the years offering security solutions to our customers, we have recognised that most security services are not always available to the average Kenyan household. Security should not be a privilege; it is our basic right. To boost the safety of our nation, we saw it prudent to offer an accessible solution, where customers can always have eyes and ears on their homes and loved ones, knowing they are at ease, even when away from home” said Securex CEO Tony Sahni.


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The carpet industry comprising of a fair share or Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is hopeful that next council meeting will be fruitful and ST rate on carpets will be lowered. Carpets were earlier exempted from local taxes, and are currently facing 12% GST due to which the industry has lost its competitiveness and is facing losses.
In an conversation with FISMI's KNN, Mahavir Pratap Sharma Chairman, Carpet Export Promotion Ccouncil (CEPC) said that it is unfortunate the government did not decrease the GST rates but he is hopeful that next GST council meeting would be productive and the GST rate will slash to 5%.
The chairman added that the government should realize that the carpet industry is a rural and labour intensive industry, hence the burden of GST should be reduced.
He said due to high GST rate of 12% the capital has been blocked because the carpet manufacture cycle is 8-9 months cycle. Other than that the manufactures are facing compliance and GST filling issues due to complex online platform and lot of paper work involved. He further said that many small scale manufacturers have shut down their business and have retreated from the industry.
He said the government should enforce stricter norms for machine carpet manufacturers selling under handmade categories otherwise whole carpet industry will suffer because of small percentage of machine carpet manufacturers.
He also said that apart from decreasing the GST rates to 5 percent government should provide high duty drawback to exporters and simply the GST mechanism by ironing out the unnecssary complexities and formalities.


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HTC was always among the first manufacturers to ship new Android versions, at least when it comes to current flagship models. Since the company confirmed earlier that it received Android Nougat 7.0 software from Google and that it will ship it soon to its current flagship, the HTC 10, the question remains when exactly HTC 10 will get the new Android version?
Well, one Tweet may hold the answer to the question. Popular leakster, LlabTooFeR, recently shared a couple of screenshots showing a stable Android Nougat build running on HTC 10. This means Android Nougat will come to the current HTC flagship model before the end of the year. The first region receiving the new firmware will be Europe, with other regions soon to follow.
We are getting close to Android 7.0 release for HTC 10 (EU)… Build is stable… pic.twitter.com/Oa3LBM0D4Z
— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 16, 2016
As you can see on the screenshots, new Nougat-based firmware runs smooth and stable, meaning that the official update will start shipping very soon. As HTC said earlier, the 10 will be the first to receive Nougat, followed by HTC One A9 and One M9. If all goes according to plan, two models should see the update sometime during early 2017.
Although three mentioned models are the only ones officially confirmed for the new firmware, chances are for other recent models such as HTC Desire 820, HTC Desire 826, HTC One ME, HTC One E9, HTC Butterfly 3, to receive Android Nougat, but there’s no official confirmation from HTC at the moment. As you already know, HTC One M8 won’t get Nougat; the only way to install Android Nougat on HTC One M8 is to get one of the unofficial Nougat ROMs, which can be found on XDA-developers HTC One (M8) page.


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So far the Apple iPad is only available in the US and prices start from US $499. According to the news reports, 450,000 iPads have been sold in the first 5 days. That's pretty amazing. However, there are also reports that lots of people are returning them as well.
So you just have to be patient for a few weeks and wait for the used iPads to appear on eBay for a fraction of the retail price and in fact they are already there
In case you are one of those guys who think the iPad is a phone, you better read up here.


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Don’t worry, everything here is SFW.
In March, PornHub announced plans to run its first-ever advertising campaign in the U.S.
The porn site launched a competition encouraging users to send in their versions of what the SFW adverts should look like, with the winner being employed as PornHub’s creative director on a one-year contract.
And now PornHub has announced the finalists and is asking people to vote for their favourite:
14. There were two video submissions as well:
15. You can vote for your favourite here.
Last month, to mark Arbor Day, PornHub announced it would plant a tree for every 100 videos watched in a specific category on the site.
The stunt was imaginatively called “Pornhub Gives America Wood”.


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Sean Doyle and Rodger Greene of Modus Energy receiving their Environmental award at the Kilkenny Business Awards from Sarah Boylan of EPA. d
Kilkenny based company Modus Energy has been announced as a finalist in the SFA National Small Business Awards 2018.
38 companies have been selected as finalists, from 13 different counties, across eight categories. Modus Energy has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Small Business (<5 employees) category.
The Awards prize package for ALL finalists includes participation in the SFA Business Connect event in February, a strategic management masterclass weekend, as well as broad-ranging national and local media coverage, all valued at €50,000. Finalists also receive five complementary tickets to the gala prize giving ceremony which will take place in the RDS in February 2018 when the category winners and overall winner will be announced.
The category winners will be presented with a trophy and free membership of the Small Firms Association. The overall winner will also receive a bursary of €5,000 to present to a charity of their choice (funded by the 2013 Overall Winner, Megazyme International Ireland) and a responsible business practices check-up and action plan from Business in the Community Ireland.
The aim of the awards is to celebrate the achievements of small business in Ireland, and to recognise the vital contribution of the small business sector to Irish industry.
“The response to the awards programme serves as a reminder that Irish small companies are resilient, putting their best foot forward and seeking recognition for their efforts” commented Sue O’Neill, SFA Chair and Chair of the SFA Awards Judging Panel. “As well as our seven award categories we also feature five of the best Emerging New Businesses (less than two years established) and I must say that given the quality of the businesses represented this year, entrepreneurship is alive and well in Ireland.”
“The SFA National Small Business Awards are now entering their fourteenth year and are a celebration of the achievements of the 245,000 small firms in Ireland, who collectively employ 700,000 people, half the private sector workforce. The Awards aim to promote excellence, achievement and innovation amongst small businesses in all sectors and parts of the country. The companies that have been announced as finalists this year represent all that is good about small business” said O’Neill.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, who is Patron of the Awards, stated that: “Every day 700,000 people across Ireland go to work in small firms and make an important contribution to their local communities and our economy. The SFA Awards are a great way to showcase the many successes of Irish small businesses, which help support the livelihood of families in every county nationwide. The Government is committed to supporting small firms as a vital part of our local and national economy and we will continue to build a business friendly environment in which they can thrive.”


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With Golf Digest, Conde Nast tees up first of several consumer marketing efforts
Condé Nast said it would launch multiple consumer revenue projects this year to diversify its revenue streams. Its first swing at one, Golf Digest All Access, which launched April 2, offers more than 200 instructional videos, live and interactive coaching clinics, plus a print subscription to Golf Digest, for $9.99 per month or $100 per year.
All Access was two years in the making and fits Condé Nast’s overall strategy for pursuing consumer revenue, where each title is responsible for growing this business, be it through paywalls like The New Yorker’s and Wired’s, content or commerce. In typical Condé Nast fashion, the corporate office is mostly hands-off, though centralized digital strategy, consumer marketing and product development teams all pitch in.
“The ideas will come out of the brands,” chief digital officer Fred Santarpia said. “The folks that are living and breathing the brand every day almost always have the best ideas of what’s going to resonate.”
Chris Reynolds, Golf Digest’s digital gm, said All Access was shaped by the fact that instructional content attracts the most engaged readers. Seventy percent of the site’s audience reads at least some instructional content, but the most engaged audience members would look at it four to five times every month.
Some of that content is free to visitors. But last year, Golf Digest began selling instructional video courses a la carte for $10 apiece. The first course, “12 Days to Better Golf,” was released in April 2017. Since then, Golf Digest has developed almost 60 classes, and it’s sold individual courses to 10,000 customers. Reynolds said Golf Digest is raising the price of individual classes, eventually to $24.99.
Golf Digest priced All Access lower than the courses to encourage people to subscribe, which drives recurring revenue. The low price point was meant to make it easy for people to subscribe and for Golf Digest to later add on and charge for other services, such as exclusive photos or tee times.
Golf Digest also opted for a subscription model based on a 2017 survey of amateur golfers that found that 75 percent of respondents said they did not have a favorite golf instruction subscription; the company with the highest share, Revolution Golf, had just 5 percent of the market.
Santarpia said whatever progress All Access makes will be shared across Condé Nast titles.
“We’re going to be tracking what the conversion rate is against those loyal users,” Santarpia said. “We’re going to try and superserve them, and white-glove it. It’s not about broadening it out to a mass product.”
‘We’re netting out with higher revenue’: Publishers reaping the benefits of Snapchat’s strong second half
With CPMs up as much as 20% year over year in the fourth quarter, many Discover publishers are bullish on the upstart platform for next year.
How Cosmo is building brand affinity with younger audiences through its focus on commerce
Cosmopolitan's focus on e-commerce through a line of branded wines and its own shopping holiday has led to a 254% increase in product sales.
‘Go to market faster’: The Washington Post’s Arc goes outside the tent for payment and data integrations
Subscriber revenue has become more of a priority to the Washington Post's Arc clients since it launched its subscription tools last year.
SponsoredPublishers will lead the charge as cookie-less advertising becomes the norm
Steve Wing, managing director, EMEA, Magnite As the advertising industry moves closer to a cookieless world — one in which browserless environments including connected TV (CTV) and mobile in-app are an increasingly large part of ad budgets — publishers will have an increasingly important role in developing the future of identity. Segment creation and identity […]
‘Profitability in the back half of next year’: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti (and Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan) on their big merger
A special Digiday podcast episode features Interviews with BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan.
‘People have had permission to experiment’: Pandemic expedites rethink on 9-to-5 work structures
Starting out as a short-term fix to weather the coronavirus storm, employers are seeing work hours outside the traditional 9-to-5 week as a new normal.


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Kobe Bryant will be playing in his final NBA game ever on April 13th when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Everyone will be trying to find a way to get a ticket to that game before now and then.
Continuing with the special colorways of the Nike Kobe 11 that have been celebrating Kobe’s career is this upcoming Draft Day colorway. This Kobe 11 is dressed up in a combination of White, Blue Lagoon and Court Purple, which happen to be the team colors of the Charlotte Hornets, the team that originally drafted Kobe back in 1996. Kobe was taken as the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and was traded on Draft Day to the Lakers. As you can see in the images above, this colorway of the Kobe 11 is not made up of Flyknit but instead features an engineered mesh upper and has been hit with “6.26.96” on the heel, the day that Kobe was drafted.
The Nike Kobe 11 Draft Day is expected to hit retailers on April 28th for a retail price of $160. Will this be a cop or a drop for you?
via: Sneaker Files
Definitely a colorway that you would want to add to the collection if you’re a Kobe Bryant fan. This shoe signifies the beginning of Kobe’s career and what could have been if he were never traded.


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Reality of COVID-19 impact on Tweed’s hospitality industry
AS AN employer of about 130 hospitality workers on the Tweed, the coronavirus's blow to business for PLB Group was initially devastating.
But thanks to diversifying operations and the JobKeeper program, the business was able to hire back about 60 staff.
Now running a mixture of takeaway options, home delivery and online ordering across their six eateries, operations manager Toby Bamford said it was a long, hard road back to pre-pandemic status but the company was doing everything in its power to adapt.
Heartbreakingly, new business Lolita's Mexican Cantina in Casuarina was just days away from its official opening when restrictions were put in place.
"We had done our soft opening trials and were putting the finishing touches to the dining room on the weekend everything shut down," Mr Bamford said.
"Opening a restaurant is a lot of time and energy … but it is exciting to see the locals getting behind the online version we have opened in the meantime. It is an avenue of revenue and income we didn't know was sitting there for us.
"For example, last weekend we did 180 Mother's Day packs and we used to do 180 people a night in the restaurant and now we served 180 people at home."
Other adaptations meant partnering with another local business instead of going ahead with a planned expansion to take them on as competitors.
Baked at Ancora in Tweed Heads bakers were preparing to launch their own bread into the wholesale market.
"The virus wiped that off the table for us," Mr Bamford said.
"So instead we turned off the ovens and joined forces with another Tweed company, Bread Social. So we are proud to now use their bread in our venues and sell their product."
Mr Bamford said one of the challenges was looking after staff on visas.
"It's very difficult because they just got missed … they are here to be part of our workforce and contribute more tax than others to do that, they are a skilled labour force and a fundamental part of our team," he said.
"We have had to be creative to keep in touch, make sure they have things like enough food to survive as well as a sense of family, community and support."
Mr Bamford explained for the moment the group's restaurants would not reopen under the 10-person rule.
While he admitted it was great for some, to cover the cost of operating their eateries they would need to do more like 50-60 people to break even.
"We are going to wait and not going to rush into it, to make sure we get it right," Mr Bamford said.
"We want to get the whole experience right as well. People want to know you have changed the way you do things so they are safe in the space."
The PLB Group operates
- Pastry Bread Espresso and
- Baked at Ancora in Tweed Heads,
- Taverna and Bombay Cricketers Club in Kingscliff and Osteria and Lolita's Mexican Cantina in Casuarina.


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As per recent data, a lengthy market downturn has led to more than 26% reduction in the number of weekly active developers over the last three months.
According to Blockchain data aggregator Artemis, the four top smart contract platforms witnessed even much bigger decreases in developer activity. These include Ethereum [ETH], Polkadot [DOT], Solana [SOL], and Cosmos [ATOM]. These networks witnessed declines of 30.5% [ETH], 43.6% [DOT], 48.4% [SOL], and 48.9% [ATOM], respectively.
The current state of the market?
Building smart contracts that power decentralized applications, maintaining and updating infrastructure, and developing blockchain architecture are responsibilities of blockchain developers. One of the key indicators of a smart contract platform’s success is the activity of its blockchain developers. A platform with few developers would probably find it difficult to expand.
However, on 8 September, Tascha Che, a cryptocurrency researcher and the founder of Tascha Labs, tweeted that she didn’t think the trend was all that concerning. She also stated that the decline was attributed to the departure of “tourist investors” and “tourist builders”. Furthermore, it would give real builders “peace and quiet to get real work done.”
Active developers across all crypto protocols have dropped 30% this yr.
Tourist builders are leaving along w/ tourist investors.
Finally the industry is having some peace & quiet to get real work done.
— Tascha (@TaschaLabs) September 8, 2022
A second Twitter user, a Binance research analyst, claimed that developer activity will be an “essential indicator” to take into account in the future because of the “flywheel effect” it has on the industry.
Interplanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized data storage technology, and the blockchain network Internet Computer were two of the few leading platforms for smart contracts. These platforms witnessed a growth by 206.6% and 21.7% respectively.
The impact on trading volumes
According to a study from cryptocurrency asset manager CoinShares, institutional investors’ trading activity for crypto funds dropped to $1 billion last month. This stood at the second-lowest amount of the year.
For sometime now, there hasn’t been any trading. Furthermore, in the past three weeks, volumes have stayed at or just above $1 billion. According to CoinShares, last week’s decline to $1 billion made it the second-worst trading week thus far this year. That is a 55% decrease from the year’s average trading volume.
According to additional research released by Glassnode, there are indications that interest has been declining among retail traders as well. Even if Bitcoin [BTC]‘s price increased somewhat last week, according to Glassnode, trading volume for transactions costing $1,000 or less decreased consistently. Furthermore, Glassnode blamed this on retail traders.


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NEW DELHI, (Asia Pulse) – The Indian auto industry may continue to face tough times till the first quarter of 2012-13 as firms are expected to hike car prices by up to 10 per cent, resulting in reduced demand, a study has said. “The hike in car prices would mainly be driven by high interest rates, rising raw material cost coupled with labour pangs,” said the Assocham study.
The hike in product cost would lower car sales.
From January to November, car sales shrank four per cent over the same period last year, Assocham Secretary General D.S Rawat said.
The industry can hike prices as it has been giving huge discounts to woo customers and moderate sales this year, he added.
“Besides, global disturbances in the US, sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, sluggish economic growth in Japan and a slowing Chinese economy are other significant reasons due to which automakers in India have been finding it difficult to keep their margins intact,” Rawat said.
The chamber interacted with nearly 50 experts from the industry, including leading automobile manufacturers, dealers, auto-parts traders and analysts across cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune.
The industry body suggested that auto


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Ferrari is also suspending vehicle production for the Russian market.
This week, automakers continued to react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month. Both Lamborghini and Ferrari have made statements about the ongoing violence, announcing changes to their corporate operations as well as donations to charity that aid Ukrainians.
On Twitter, Lamborghini said that it is arranging an undetermined donation to UN Refugee Aid, which has been working in Ukraine since 2014. The supercar company also announced that it would halt its business dealings with Russia. Lamborghini is owned by the Volkswagen Group, which also owns Porsche, and the two companies have donated €1 million ($1.1 million at today’s currency rate) to UN Refugee Aid.
“While we hope for a speedy return to talks and a peaceful conclusion, we cannot remain oblivious to the anguish of everyone affected,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.” Ferrari has also declared that vehicle production for the Russian market would be halted.
Ferrari and Lamborghini are just two of many automakers attempting to help individuals affected by the war. Nissan and Stellantis have also pledged a €1 million donation to aid Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. However, as the international community condemns the violence, automakers have gone even further by stopping operations and sales in Russia.
Toyota said that it would close its manufacturing in St. Petersburg, which produces the Camry and RAV4 for the Russian market. Honda, GM, and Mazda have all ceased exports to Russia, while Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover have joined Ford in stopping business in the country. The violence is also exacerbating the industry’s supply chain problems.
Sources: Ferrari, Lamborghini / Twitter


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Consumer confidence in the second quarter of 2015 increased eight index points in Kenya to 112 and three points in Nigeria to 132—the highest score of the three countries measured in Nielsen’s mobile consumer confidence survey in sub-Saharan Africa. Conversely, confidence decreased five points in Ghana (94), marking the second consecutive quarter of declines for the country.
The outlook for jobs increased significantly in Nigeria and Kenya, rising 11 and eight percentage points, respectively from the first quarter. Likewise, sentiment for personal finances and immediate spending intentions also increased in both countries. Eighty-five percent of Nigerian respondents and 67% of Kenyan respondents believe the state of their personal finances is good or excellent, up two and three percentage points, respectively. Conversely, sentiment for all three indicators declined in Ghana.
The majority of respondents in the three countries (70% in Ghana, 64% in Kenya and 58% in Nigeria) said they did not have spare cash, levels that increased in Ghana but declined in Kenya and Nigeria from first quarter. Among those who did claim discretionary funds, saving continued to be a priority for the majority: 82% in Ghana, 83% in Kenya and 79% in Nigeria plan to put money into savings accounts. Discretionary spending intentions for home improvement projects were the second-biggest priority among respondents in all three countries.
The three sub-Saharan countries were added to Nielsen’s measurement of consumer confidence in the first quarter of 2014 using a mobile survey methodology, which differs from the online methodology used to report consumer confidence and spending intentions for 60 other countries in Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Survey.
Other findings include:
- Recessionary sentiment improved in 31 of 60 measured markets from the first quarter.
- European consumer confidence increased two points to an index score of 97.
- Worries about the economy, job security and health issues are top global concerns.
- A closer look at country-level insights within global regions.
- Confidence in North America remained optimistic at an index score of 101.
For more detail and insight, download Nielsen’s Q2 2015 Global Consumer Confidence Report.
About the Nielsen Global Survey
The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions was conducted May 11-29, 2015, and polled more than 30,000 online consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East/Africa and North America. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on its Internet users and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers. It has a margin of error of ±0.6%. This Nielsen survey is based only on the behavior of respondents with online access. Internet penetration rates vary by country. Nielsen uses a minimum reporting standard of 60% Internet penetration or an online population of 10 million for survey inclusion. The China Consumer Confidence Index is compiled from a separate mixed methodology survey among 3,500 respondents in China. The sub-Saharan African countries in this study are compiled from a separate mobile methodology survey among 1,600 respondents in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. The Nielsen Global Survey, which includes the Global Consumer Confidence Index, was established in 2005.


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COFFEE producers in Goroka have been urged to consider a single marketing and promotion entity that will promote locally-produced organic coffee overseas.
University of PNG lecturer Prof Chalapan Kaluwin has proposed the idea to Avute and Davinia coffee producers in Goroka.
Prof Kaluwin, who is senior technical adviser to the national strategic plan (NSP) taskforce, is in Goroka to attend this year’s national education conference.
He told the farmers there was an enormous potential for organic PNG coffee overseas, stressing that this was an option that had not been thoroughly looked into.
“I want to see aspiring Papua New Guineans own the coffee chain from the tree to the cup anywhere in the world,” Prof Kaluwin told the producers at Avute and Davinia during separate meetings.
Prof Kaluwin and NSP adviser Joseph Sukwianomb, visited the coffee producers to promote local wealth-creation concept as part of the NSP.
He said the unique flavour of PNG organic coffee commanded top price in the world market, adding that careful handling of the coffee marketing chain would pay huge dividends for the economy.
Prof Kaluwin, who has widely travelled overseas, said a single entity to handle all marketing and promotion of PNG coffee at the international level would cut off unnecessary expenses and take the coffee industry to new heights.
Avute Coffee managing director Huk Avute agreed, saying that the country needed a single marketing entity for its coffee.
He said for too long, middlemen who did not even own a single coffee tree had capitalised on the ignorance of farmers.


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The official White House Twitter account posted a video Monday of President Donald Trump speaking at the Made in America event being held at the White House. In the tweet, they included the hashtag #MadeinAmerica.
"American manufacturers gathered at the White House today to showcase American-made goods from all 50 states. #MadeinAmerica," the tweet reads.
American manufacturers gathered at the White House today to showcase American-made goods from all 50 states.… https://t.co/sFFw4DVUYu— The White House (@The White House) 1532376516.0
The short video clip showed the President before a display of products from each of the 50 states all "Made in America."
However the internet being what it is, people seized upon the hashtag to make a point to the Trump Organization —the private businesses owned by the family— and the Trump presidential administration.
People shared photos of Trump brand merchandise labels, showing the goods were not #MadeinAmerica. Instead of kudos, people trolled the First Family accusing them of hypocrisy.
Happy #MadeInAmerica Day! https://t.co/ijJAtO3HFS— jordan (@jordan) 1532366421.0
@GOP @realDonaldTrump Well that seems odd..... https://t.co/OaAenoztwo— Kel Varnsen (@Kel Varnsen) 1532380524.0
Everything from golf shirts...
Trump brand golf shirt made in China (Twitter image)
Trump brand tie (Twitter image)
Trump brand tie (Twitter image)
Trump brand wool suit made in Mexico (Twitter image)
...to the hats synonymous with the President were shared with the hashtag #MadeinAmerica.
Trump MAGA hat made in China (Twitter image)
After considerable criticism, official MAGA logo hats sold on the President's campaign website are now made in the United States according to fact checking organization Politifact, but people online claim free hats given away at rallies are still made in China.
Other members of the Trump family received negative feedback for their branded products as well, most notably First Daughter Ivanka Trump. Tweets and images called her out for her products manufactured overseas.
@GOP @realDonaldTrump What about @IvankaTrump @IvankaTrumpHQ stolen clothing designs and her clunky shoes that are made in China?— RJ (@RJ) 1532381113.0
@GOP @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/qOMic164lA— Alt Fed Employee (@Alt Fed Employee) 1532381796.0
@GOP @realDonaldTrump Isn't his crap and Princess @IvankaTrump's shitty stuff made everywhere BUT the USA? 🤔— JB Proud #NeverTrump #HumanScum (@JB Proud #NeverTrump #HumanScum) 1532381153.0
@WhiteHouse Conspicuously absent from #MadeInAmerica is Ivanka Trump, since her stuff is all made in China! Tone deaf & shameful!— Mona Soliman (@Mona Soliman) 1532377140.0
@realdonaldtrump had a #MadeinAmerica event today, sans ANY products from Trump or @IvankaTrump b/c they have their… https://t.co/ikUTQyRvyt— grey-sister (@grey-sister) 1532381798.0
Ivanka Trump branded clothing labeled made in China (Twitter image)
@WhiteHouse #TrumpOrganization foods nowhere on display lol @POTUS @realDonaldTrump start w @IvankaTrump line of go… https://t.co/rXtMlF6y4V— TheBreakerOfWalls (@TheBreakerOfWalls) 1532381595.0
@GOP @realDonaldTrump Not his though, right? Or Ivanka's? https://t.co/nsY3omRVPq— Radioactive Dinosaur (@Radioactive Dinosaur) 1532381156.0
@GOP @realDonaldTrump And yet.....NOT ONE product of his or Ivanka is #MadeinAmerica #MadeInAmerica #Hypocrisy https://t.co/RCGr2wYqv7— Justin Peach~ @FloridaCracker (@Justin Peach~ @FloridaCracker) 1532381545.0
Ivanka Trump footwear box marked Made in China (Twitter image)
@GOP @realDonaldTrump Look at what is not Made in America and exempt from tariffs! #Hypocrite https://t.co/R0vKBmUMJG— Lisa Amaral (@Lisa Amaral) 1532381126.0
The hats given to Republican members of Congress during the Trump inauguration also bore made in China labels. Photos of those special black hats also made it back onto Twitter in celebration of Monday's White House #MadeinAmerica event.
2016 inauguration commemorative hat made in China (Twitter image)
Illinois Democratic Representative Cheri Bustos outed the inaugural hats on Twitter the day of Trump's inauguration.
GOP colleague let me see his Trump hat. It was made in China. Awkward given Trump's #BuyAmerican pledge. All talk n… https://t.co/O5THaIOkHW— Rep. Cheri Bustos (@Rep. Cheri Bustos) 1484936320.0
Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel also took the Trump family to task back in March for the lack of products made in America in the Trump online store.
The White House issued no official response to Monday's online criticism over Trump branded merchandise.


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Today at 4p ET, CNNMoney, one of the world’s top business news brands, led by CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, will visit the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and ring The Closing Bell to commemorate the re-imagined CNNMoney, a now fully-owned CNN Worldwide property.
Joining Mr. Zucker on the platform will be:
- Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans
- International Business Correspondent Richard Quest
- Sr. Media Correspondent Brian Stelter
- Business Correspondent Alison Kosik
- Business & Personal Finance Correspondent Zain Asher
- Technology Correspondent Laurie Segall
- EVP of CNN News Services Susan Grant
- VP & Managing Editor of CNN Digital Meredith Artley
- VP of CNN Money & Politics Ed O’Keefe
- Managing Editor of CNNMoney Rich Barbieri
- Director of Business News Caleb Silver
- SVP of Communications & CMO Allison Gollust
- Sr. Director of PR Matt Dornic
Following the closing bell ceremony, Richard Quest will anchor CNN International’s Quest Means Business from the floor of the NYSE. CNN’s Jake Tapper will take the feed at the top of The Lead.


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Tesla Motors' Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know
Tue, 28/12/2010 - 07:39 by Brian D. Pacampara
Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors(Nasdaq: TSLA) sank as much as 13% in early Monday trading as the 180-day lock-up agreement from its IPO expires.
So what: Last week, Morgan Stanley estimated that the end of the lock-up period, or the point when insiders can start selling on the open market, couldtriple the number of Tesla shares available for trading. So when you combine that potential surge in "supply" with the fact that Tesla shares are up significantly since its IPO, it's easy to understand investors' concerns.
Now what: I wouldn't be so quick to pounce on today's plunge. Double-digit declines over imagined insider dumping aren't worth getting worked up about, but when you consider that Tesla lacks any real scale to compete against green-focused giants Ford (NYSE: F) and Nissan, I know I'd be selling at the first opportunity. With skepticism steadily growing on Wall Street about just how fast Tesla will be able to grow, Mr. Market might not be ready to support the flood of new shares.
© 2010 UCLICK L.L.C.


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Lender leader steers economic development through role, community involvement
For President and Executive Director Erica Dombey, a trip down U.S. 30 drives home the impact of the Regional Development Company.
“Our assistance is very tangible. I can drive from Valpo to Dyer and point out all of the businesses we have financed,” she said. “It’s a great feeling, knowing that we helped them grow and succeed.”
The nonprofit organization, a Small Business Administration 504 lender, offers up to 90 percent financing for owner-occupied commercial real estate and large equipment. The team also provides 100 percent financing for expansions on the same property and a debt refinance program that lets entrepreneurs refinance their real estate debt.
“Our program allows small business owners to get into a new or larger facility with just 10 percent down,” she said. “This allows them to retain precious capital for other uses, such as increased payroll, inventory or working capital.”
In 25 years, the Valparaiso-based RDC has funded more than 500 loans and also donated more than $250,000 to chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.
“We make dreams come true. What could be better than that?” she said.
The non-profit has assisted almost 20 E-Day honorees in the 10 years that Dombey has been in the leadership role, including Task Force Tips, Vyto’s Pharmacy, Martin Binder Jeweler, In Touch Pharmaceuticals and Calumet Testing Services, Inc.
“We have financed everything from a $150,000 dental office to a $12 million assisted living facility, and just about everything in between … manufacturing facilities, franchise restaurants, even farms and a slaughterhouse,” she said. “So many of our borrowers say, ‘We couldn’t have done this without you!’”
While Dombey started her career on the consumer side of banking, she found the right fit after switching to the commercial team.
“I loved working with small business owners. Every owner is unique and every business is unique,” she said.
“I love hearing their stories: how they started, what keeps them going, how they overcame struggles, how they’ve innovated. Just learning about different industries is fascinating!”
Through her RDC role, Dombey develops relationships with borrowers, lenders and referral sources and manages the RDC’s day-to-day operations, marketing, staff, compliance and finances.
She has strong roots in the community serving as chairperson for the Northwest Indiana Forum, board member for the Lake County Indiana Economic Alliance, advisory board member for the NW-ISBDC and board member for Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation Center.
Dombey continues to find success in the success of the RDC’s clients.
“Small businesses are the heart of America, and owning a small business is the American dream,” she said. “The common thread is their passion for their industry and business. They work so hard to succeed, and are the bravest people I know … to put everything they have and own on the line.”
Regional Development Company
1757 Thornapple Circle, Valparaiso


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Altice USA, the nation's fourth-largest cable company, is teaming up with Sprint, the nation's fourth-largest wireless network, in order to create a new wireless carrier. Financial terms were not disclosed. The latter will employ Sprint's network to give its subscribers access to wireless voice and data.
The traditional MVNO (a tortuous acronym if ever there was one) is better understood as a Wholesale/Retail arrangement where the retailer (the MVNO) undertakes to build and manage its own back end involving billing, marketing, customer help and the rest of it, essentially buying network capacity from the "real" mobile network operator and selling it under its own brand. Charter's wireless service is expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year.
Major internet outage hits Comcast users across the US
A number of internet service providers appear to be down today across the country, from California in the west to NY in the east. Less than 10 minutes later, Comcast's official support account said the issues were resolved for "almost all customers".
Cable operators may see bundling mobile service with cable and internet offerings as a way to reduce customer churn as they continue to lose pay-TV subscribers to cheaper alternatives such as over-the-top services.
US cable companies have begun venturing into the wireless market as a way to bundle more services to reduce churn, or customer defections, at a time when more consumers are canceling cable subscriptions. However in a Monday press call, Sprint CFO Tarek Robbiati said the carrier will leverage Altice's service footprint across 21 sates to deploy "thousands of small cells". "Sprint is a critical part of our plan to ensure that we can deliver our vision to American consumers and we are very confident in its future".
BMW issues recalls for fire risk, recommends parking outside
The firm said that if the wiring experienced an extreme amount of heat, it could cause the electrical connectors to melt. Repairs are to begin on December 18th, 2017, and certain 3 Series models are included in both recalls.
This isn't Altice's first foray into wireless though, as it's a subsidiary of Altice NV, which has more than 26 million mobile customers in countries including France, Portugal, and the Dominican Republic. This particular MVNO partnership goes deeper than the typical agreement - instead of just using Sprint's service, Altice is being embedded deep into Sprint's network.
Deion Sanders goes scorched earth on ringless Tony Romo
Without your gentle trash talk, I never would have been able to see a Royals catcher get a Primetime crotch to the head. Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott leaped over Peters and that led Romo to say: "Peters doesn't want to tackle".


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A sample of General Mills flour was tested positive for E. coli O121 by federal officials. The sample, recovered from the home of a sick person, was associated with the outbreak that affected over 38 people starting from December 2015.
The company has made a massive recall of many brands and varieties of flour. According to the FDA, 10 of the 38 reported victims needed to be hospitalized because their symptoms were too severe. The number of affected consumers covers 20 states after the first victim was confirmed in December 21st, 2015.
It is paradoxical how such a dangerous outbreak has started from a single person. This situation shows how essential the quality of food is. Moreover, the process of manufacturing it must be 100% safe, otherwise, consequences could be dangerous, such as in this context.
Besides the 38 confirmed cases, CDC announced that no other case had been reported since May 5th. Unfortunately, it is not because no one has gotten ill since then, but because it takes an average of around three weeks until the symptoms appear and the illness is reported.
As mentioned previously, General Mills recalled a large variety of products on May 31st, consisting of 10 million pounds of flour, sold under the Signature Kitchens, Gold Medal Wondra and Gold Medal brands, from unidentified food producing companies, restaurants, and retailers.
Furthermore, the varieties of recalled flour include self-rising flours, all-purpose and unbleached. Experts and public health officials are still worried that customers might still have the recalled flour in their homes without knowing that it has the E. coli O121.
According to Dr. Karen Neil, a CDC’s Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch medical epidemiologist, consumers are urged to check their packages of flour and to throw them immediately away if the label codes match those of the products that were recalled.
Plus, people are advised to wash their hands and clean their containers, as well as any object in the house that came into contact with the flour. Plus, using the flour in cooking or baking is the worst possible idea, as it might kill the consumer and cross-contaminate other foods, surfaces, and utensils during preparation.
Plus, raw dough or batter must be avoided as they can also contain the E. coli O121. Hopefully, the problem of the recalled flour will soon be over.