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Global IP & Innovation Summit, Shanghai - Day 2 updates
Litigation in China, Brexit, online platforms and trade secrets are among the topics on the agenda in Shanghai. Stephy Tang and James Nurton report
14.50: Japan focus
The two speakers in the final session focused on Japanese and international patent issues. Aki Ryuka, president of Ryuka pointed to the need to think about where to file and when, particularly given the risk of patent invalidation in the US.
“The order of the examination is important”, he emphasised in his speech. Factors to consider when deciding the order of examination:
Importance of the patent in each country
Importance of pendency
Whether keep it as a continuation or adjust it to divisional prosecution
In a nutshell, he suggested IPR holders accelerate Japanese examination in the first step; secondly, speed up non-US and non-Japan examination; and lastly have the US application or continuation examined.
Tomotaka Homma, director of IP rights department of JETRO, closed the two-day conference by introducing Japan Patent Office‘s efforts and challenges to make the national prosecution system better for international users.
14:00: Trade secret infringement in China
Trade secrets are increasingly important, and more attention needs to be paid to protecting them – that was the message from this afternoon’s first session. Xiang Wang, partner, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe pointed out that it is hard to collect evidence for trade secrets matters in China without the Public Security Bureau (PSB)’s help in a non-discovery jurisdiction.
Bruce Wang, IP counsel of 3M China, explained how to collect evidence from computer hard discs for trade secrets infringement issues. Wang also found it necessary to introduce trade secret-related articles into employee manual and labour employment contracts.
James Zhou, IP department manager at Saint-Gobain Research Shanghai, underlined the importance of the IP holder’s testimony in trade secret cases. Even if a criminal case is taken over by the PSB, rights holders have to collect prima facie to convince the PSB of the necessity to carry on the proceedings.
BASF takes a conservative and defensive approach to protecting trade secrets. Head of IP Xia Liu said the company’s employment contracts listed what to do and not to do regarding protecting trade secrets in detail. “Even though we’ve done everything on legal aspects, we don’t come up with good results. The legal system is not mature at this moment,” said Liu.
12:10: Online brand protection
Moderator Daniel Bennett is the CEO of Yellow Brand Protection. He opened this panel by providing tips to combat infringement online: search as many platforms as you can; and identify the key players, major distributors, and active vendors – these all are the potential offenders.
Yanwei Fan, legal and IP department senior manager of JD.com, said JD.com has a “zero tolerance” policy of counterfeits goods. The company enforces strict punishments on sellers: they will be kicked out for good if one fake product is sold. But patent issues are relatively hard to tackle. “We handle deign patent complaints on our own, and sometimes seek exterior assistance from SIPO to deal with invention patents infringement issues,” said Fan.
Maurice He, Wechat senior legal counsel of Tencent, wrapped up the panel by illustrating Wechat’s brand protection system and its workflow to address infringement issues.
11.20: Brexit, the EU and IP
Post-coffee break, Gordon Harris, a partner of Gowling WLG, shared his observation on the impact of Brexit on IP rights. He stressed that EU registered IP rights remain protected in UK for the time being, and there will be no change to European patents.
Some tips Harris gave to businesses were:
Adapt drafting – ensure that terminology in the documents is drafted in a way that the extraction of the UK from the EU and unitary IP systems can be accommodated without a further revision in the future.
Review existing documents - identify which covers pan-EU and which covers only UK, and adjust strategy accordingly.
Consider filing national UK applications for trade marks and designs.
10:00: Litigation versus arbitration
Ian Liu, senior associate at Deacons, briefly went through the pro and cons of civil litigation, administrative proceedings and arbitration in China.
Wade Zhu, senior IP counsel with DuPont, suggested choosing arbitration proceedings when a technology licence matter is involved, given the importance of cost and confidentiality. “Actually it [an arbitration proceeding] is beneficial to licensees. The cost is considerably higher in a litigation process, thus the licence fees might be higher,” Zhu said.
Jinjie Chen, legal counsel, Dover Corporation echoed Zhu’s comments on dispute resolution in domestic disputes. He suggested companies settle disputes through the court system rather than arbitration method if enforceability is a concern. There is a greater chance that arbitration decisions will not be executed or be cancelled by Chinese courts in the end.
Another practitioner from Deacons, partner Catherine Zheng, shared her know-how on cross-border patent dispute resolution. Cost, time and business goals are some key elements to consider. Zheng also suggested Chinese companies utilize the “one country two system” option given that the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre is a port of call for companies seeking confidentiality, cheap fees and a close location in cross-border disputes.
9:10: IP enforcement in China
Jamie Rowlands, partner of Gowling WLG, moderated today’s first panel, on the legislative changes affecting IP enforcement in China. China’s IP system has developed and improved since the country joined the WTO in 2001, but repeated infringers remain a problem, says Rowlands.
Steven Wang, senior IP counsel of Philips, is a senior trade mark practitioner. “Enforcement is a big problem in China’s trade mark law,” Wong said. He also introduced the changes to trade mark infringement in the previous 30 years, and pointed out that knotty issues in China include OEM export, “innocent seller” (Article 60(2) & Article 64(2)) and trade mark squatting.
“It’s much easier to prevent the trouble rather than fix it,” said Jeff Lindsay, head of IP at Asia Pulp & Paper. Lindsay shared his opinions from patent and trade secret perspectives. Make sure the company’s management board is well trained as most of them grew up at a time when IP law was very weak in China and are sometimes not fully aware of IP problems.
New technology is a threat to trade secrets, such as photocopiers with hard drives. It causes a risk when photocopiers are sold without being check and there are chances that the company’s business secrets come to their competitors in the end.


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This article is part of our Soft Drinks Report 2015
Coconut water had better watch out, there’s a new kid on the block (several to be exact), hoping to steal a slice of its £100m pie by drawing in consumers with the promise of similar health benefits but fewer calories. These new competitors are waters drawn from trees and other plants, including birch, maple, cactus and even artichokes.
Drinking water from a tree might seem unusual to some, but the practice is steeped in history. Take birch water for example; it has long been enjoyed by Nordic folk who used it as a post winter pick me up while maple water is popular in Canada with a number of brands tapping into the RTD market. Now, companies such as Sibberi and Drinkmaple are trying to crack the UK and European markets with their natural products.
So do these currently niche products have the ability to go mainstream? Are they the new coconut water or will sales eventually dry up?
“We think birch water can be bigger than coconut water,” claims Paul-Adrien Cormerais, co-founder of birch water brand Sibberi. “We know some of the big names in the industry are looking at it and we expect it to be a big thing in the future so we are trying to lead the way.”
However, he notes a lot more work around education and awareness of birch water and its health properties is needed before it will hit the big time. “We don’t feel the mass market is ready for birch water right now but there is the potential for this to happen in the future,” says Cormerais. “Coconut water has really opened the door for other tree waters to enter the market so our strategy as a new company will be about raising awareness through the media. It’s a nice story so we think people will want to hear it.”
Although representing a niche market at present, tree waters are part of a wider trend as consumers shift towards healthier products, explains Mandy Saven, head of food, beverage & hospitality at research and advisory firm Stylus. She believes the movement is being driven by millenials and boomers as younger consumers want health boosting products on the go.
“Experimentation is rampant in the bottled water industry, as consumers shift their beverage preferences from calorific carbonated drinks to healthier alternatives,” she says. “We’re seeing new varieties – such as birch, artichoke and cactus – that are really challenging the boundaries of flavour innovation in this category and surprising consumers with unexpected choices.”
The collection process for birch and maple water sees the sap collected from the trees over a three to four week period in early spring. It can be quite labour intensive and is susceptible to interruption due to changing weather.
To find out more about the birch water collection process, we sent deputy category reports editor Amy North to frozen Latvia with Sibberi to see how the sap is extracted…
There are a number of companies tapping into the tree water trend. We asked innovation research and advisory firm Stylus to name some of the latest entrants to watch over the coming year.
Drinkmaple Although maple-infused water may be a relatively new variant in the health beverage industry, it has long been regarded by Native Americans as a source of unprecedented benefits: Drinkmaple contains 46 naturally-occurring vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, antioxidants, electrolytes and prebiotics. And if that’s not enough to convince consumers of its nutritional status, it also contains half the sugar content of coconut water, and acts as an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid.
Nordic Koivu is a Finnish company that has developed patent-pending technology that enables it to collect and bottle birch sap without adding preservatives. Again, birch sap features in traditional medicine to boost immunity, treat arthritis and prevent migraines. It is also high in vitamin C, potassium and calcium. Popular in Japan and Korea, birch sap is produced by the tree in early spring.
Skinnygirl is a US-based liquid sweetener brand, whose blend of natural stevia leaf extract and cane sugar create Water Enhancers with a mere five calories per serving. The list of flavours evokes both exoticism and nutrition, and includes Blueberry Acai and Fuji Apple.
Sibberi is a start-up company hoping to pioneer the birch water movement in the UK. Its product comes from birch trees in Ukraine and Latvia and is available in over 35 stores across London priced around £3.30 for a 330ml bottle. So far, claims Cormerais, Sibberi has been successful with its first production run selling out. The birch sap looks like normal water with a light and refreshing taste with a hint of yoghurt at the end. The brand hopes to be able to introduce more flavours and open up wider markets, perhaps even tapping Scotland’s forests for the product as well as launching it in a PET bottle.
10 things you need to know about... soft drinks
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Money can grow on trees (or inside them at least)

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That network, as much as the car itself, has been a key to the. Its products include electric vehicles such as the Model S, Model X, Model 3 forbes and the Tesla Roadster. On Wednesday, December 23, Forbes magazine reported.
"Tesla signed a memorandum of understanding china with Shanghai government-owned Jinqiao Group for a Shanghai factory that will cost about forbes tesla china billion to build, the Business Times says, citing a person familiar with the process. 00; Single Digital Issue: James Mwangi Cover - Forbes Africa Aug/Sep R 50. Elon Musk, among the five richest men in the world. Recently we have conducted a series of tests to evaluate the safety of Tesla.
Most of the new billionaires live in China, where the first outbreak of coronavirus infection occurred. companies in the S&P 500 is a remarkable forbes tesla china achievement considering that the company lost . Tesla’s Shanghai factory has helped Tesla expand in China, and the company has said it can produce 200,000 vehicles a year at the site. Since when Tesla began selling the Model S, it has been building its Supercharger network at a furious pace. Tesla stock is down, way down in. See more results. Along with the Model 3, the Shanghai plant is also to eventually produce Model Y electric crossovers that can be sold to Chinese customers with no added tariff.
Sergey Brin Brin in Born Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin Серге́й Миха́йлович БринAug (age 47) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) Citizenship United States (since 1979) Soviet Union (1973–1979) Education University of Maryland, College Park (BS) Stanford University (MS) Occupation Computer scientist Internet entrepreneur Known for Co. This is the same businessman who owns the factory that assembles the iPhones in China and is richest man in Taiwan. (Part 1) Forbes 5 hours STC to invest up to 0 mln in cloud services with partners Financial Post 5 hours China’s Crackdown on Alibaba Great for U. ’s revenue from China accounted for about 11% of its total for the quarter ended September, up from 6% a year ago. · Now, Tesla convinced China to change this policy and has become the first forbes tesla china wholly foreign-owned automobile company forbes tesla china in China.
engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of fully electric vehicles, energy generation forbes tesla china and storage systems. During the coronavirus pandemic, 50 new billionaires have emerged in the healthcare sector. While in China, Forbes had one more mission: to determine how many Model S orders have been placed. More news for Forbes Tesla China. · Tesla’s TSLA +6% made in their newly minted Shanghai factory arrived at Belgium’s Zeebrugge Port on Thursday, marking the start of China becoming a hub for Europe’s post-fossil fuel automotive. firm said on Thursday, in a shift in strategy that will see it take more of a hit from tariffs linked to a biting. · Tesla Inc.
7 billion as of Oct. Now Forbes is republishing the China Power Dirty Tesla thing and we need to respond! Is Tesla made in China? Famed car designer Henrik Fisker is mounting a comeback seven years after his pioneering electric vehicle company collapsed. -By Alan Ohnsman, Forbes Staff. · Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles at its factory in Shanghai, east China.
engages in the designing, development, manufacturing and sale of electric vehicles and electric power train components. Tesla will export 7,000. The company delivers 15,000 to. While micro environment factors such as competition norms impact the competitive advantage of the firm. The American electric carmaker, Tesla, has sued US President Donald Trump’s administration as it seeks to end the “unlawful” tariffs imposed on parts that it imports from China. FAANG Stocks: Wedbush TheStreet 5 hours Nord Stream 2 completes laying pipes in German waters – DPA Financial Post. We continue to significantly invest in our product roadmap. The Macro environment factors such as – inflation rate, savings rate, interest rate, foreign exchange rate and economic cycle determine the aggregate demand and aggregate investment in an economy.
· Tesla has secured about half the lithium it needs from Piedmont Lithium in North Carolina, and at Battery Day Elon suggested all the lithium they&39;d ever need is available in Nevada, not China. However, relations between China. will cut the price of its standard-range Model 3 in China for the second time this year so it can continue to qualify for government rebates on electric vehicles that are being tightened.
· Tesla Inc. We discovered ways to remotely control the car’s lock, horn and flashing lights. Tesla Giga Shanghai (Chinese: 特斯拉上海超级工厂, or Gigafactory 3) is a factory in Shanghai, China operated by Tesla, Inc. The facility is currently producing final assemblies of the Tesla Model 3 and will produce Tesla Model Y, with Y deliveries slated to begin in January. Economic Factors that Impact Tesla, Inc. · If Tesla were making cars in the Shanghai area, it would have a powerful incentive to buy many, if not most, of the parts in China, strengthening China’s base of suppliers for the fast-growing. Tesla, Inc.
Astfel, compania a redus prețul cu 3000 de tesla dolari, stabilindu-l la 71. A large chunk of his wealth comes from the 21% stake in Tesla, according to Forbes. Meanwhile, Tesla’s stocks are down 9% in afternoon trading on Wednesday, following a network outage that disabled its app. News from China: My brother in law advised that a few days ago a Taiwan businessman signed an agreement with Tesla to assemble Teslas in China. I would guess it might have something to do with the Tesla 3 but that&39;s only a guess. What is Tesla Inc?
Last month, Tesla secured an additional . De asemenea, la începutul acestei luni, Tesla a redus. · Tesla says buyers in China’s Shenzhen can get special licenses: The city offers a limited number of license plates for new energy vehicles and Tesla was included in late March. · Tesla begins delivering Model 3s to China in March, but its China sales are restrained by a 40% import duty on foreign-built autos (China last month moved to cut that to 15%). · Hong Kong (CNN Business) Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pushing ahead with global expansion plans after beating his deadline to start making cars in China. · Tesla is cutting the price of its Model X and Model S cars in China, the U.
More Forbes Tesla China videos. For Tesla, China is vital for both: 1 producing, and 2 selling cars While China accounted for roughly 12% of Tesla’s total revenues in, we expect the proportion to almost double in, driven by production at the Shanghai Gigafactory, which opened in late. · “Tesla Semi deliveries will also begin in. Forbes estimates his net worth at . 6 billion loan from. Even the BMW iX3 SUV is made in China. PESTEL analysis is a strategic tool to analyze the macro environment of the organization.
And it&39;s getting a gift from China for doing so: the ability to raise. The company also manufactures home batteries and solar roof. · Writing in Forbes, Sam Abuelsamid, a transportation analyst for Navigant Research (which has been highly negative on Tesla for a while), begins with the obvious. 990 dolari în Statele Unite, iar pentru China scăderea aplicată pentru prețul de pornire a fost de 3%, relatează Reuters. The southern city.
Where are Tesla cars made? What are the economic factors of Tesla? Forbes - Tesla’s massive Supercharger network is finally getting some competition, which makes buying a non-Tesla EV more palatable. 00; Single Digital Issue: Forbes Africa June/July R 50. + Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images So imagine the horror for Europe’s electric car makers when.
This time he has a secret weapon: Geeta Gupta-Fisker, his cofounder, CFO–and wife. · Now Tesla’s quick build-out of its Shanghai factory, strong Chinese deliveries in Q2, and increasingly competitive pricing in China bode well for the company. Continuă. Tesla shares, which went public at a piece in, rose as much as 3.
Meet The Fiskers, forbes tesla china The Billionaire Power Couple Taking On Tesla Forbes - Alan Ohnsman. Tesla was founded by Jeffrey B. Straubel, Elon Reeve Musk, Martin Eberhard, and Marc Tarpenning on J and is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. Forbes - Kenneth Rapoza TSLAmade in their newly minted Shanghai factory arrived at Belgium’s Zeebrugge Port on Thursday, marking the start of China becoming a hub for Europe’s post-fossil fuel automotive market. is speculated to look to China for a substantial funding opportunity.
We can also open the skylight while the car is in motion – so Tesla drivers, take caution, you can get totally soaked up when it is raining. Bloomberg delivers business and markets news, data, analysis, and video to the world, featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News on everything pertaining to technology. 5% in morning trade to a record high. forbes tesla china NO2CO2 on Ap How does Neil Winton a Forbes contributor republish this without his own research? Also worth noting, Tesla is investing in a new battery factory in China. · Single Digital Issue: Nigeria 60 - Forbes Africa Oct/Nov R 50. · Tesla’s rise to become the world’s most valuable automaker and ranking among the top 10 largest U.
Submitted by EdwardG. · But Tesla remains a market leader in China, where deliveries of new energy vehicles reached 160,000 units in October, more than double from the same period last year. 6 hours ago · 5 hours Will Tesla Break The S&P 500 Index?
PESTEL stands for - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental & Legal factors that impact the macro environment of Tesla, Inc. · This week on Forbes Flash: Senator Elizabeth Warren leads the charge for clearing student debt; We release our best places to retire list; And Tesla faces bigger-than-expected losses in Q1. and Musk is worth . Forbes wasn&39;t able to obtain a precise figure though: "We tried through our industry sources to. 6 billion according to Forbes magazine. ” Despite the pandemic, Musk’s wealth has surged this year because of his nearly 25% ownership stake in Tesla. FILE PHOTO: Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, China Janu.
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Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2020. 8:23 pm CST.
By BBN Staff: The Statistical Institute of Belize’s (SIB) latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report, said that Belize’s economy ended off 2019 with a 2.8 percent decline, the worst for the entire year.
“During the months of October to December 2019, the total value of goods and services produced within Belize were valued at $669.90 million, down $19 million from $689 million during the fourth quarter of 2018. It is also the first fourth-quarter decline seen since 2011,”
the SIB said.
The institute’s data showed declines in the Primary and Secondary economic sectors and only minimal increase in the Tertiary (Services)
The Primary Sector, which comprises of the export of raw materials, declined by some 6.6 percent as all three of the country’s major crops saw a production decrease during the last three months of the year due to an ongoing drought. Banana production went down from 25.1 thousand metric tons in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 22.9 thousand metric tons for the same period in 2019. The drought conditions brought about underdeveloped sugarcane which lead to no cane being harvested during the fourth quarter of 2019. Citrus fruit production declined by some 6.4 thousand metric tons, from 8.9 thousand metric tons in the fourth quarter of 2018 to just 2.5 thousand metric tons in the same quarter of 2019.
The secondary sector was hit hardest, declining by 19.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2019. The major cause of the decline was found in the ‘Manufacturing and Mining’ subsector, which experienced a 5.7 percent decline in output, with several of the larger industries within this sector declining during the period. Crude oil production fell from 71.2 thousand barrels to 64.9 thousand barrels, as the reserves continue to deplete.
The tertiary sector grew slightly by 0.5 percent during the fourth quarter of 2019, but still saw its share of challenges. The ‘Transport, Storage and Communication’ subsector expanded by 2.4 percent, while ‘Government Services’ increased by 2.5 percent.
“On the other hand, the ‘Hotels and Restaurants’ subsector decreased by 5.7 percent during the quarter. Despite a 1.4 percent increase in overnight tourist arrivals to the country and a 1.1 percent rise in hotel room revenue, the tourism industry was impacted by having 15 fewer cruise ship calls during the fourth quarter of 2019. This resulted in a considerable reduction in the number of cruise arrivals, from 338,000 persons in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 282,200 persons in fourth quarter of 2019,” the SIB explained.
Notably, the only increase in Belize’s economy in 2019 was in the first quarter, when growth was recorded at 5.2 percent. Second-quarter figures showed a decline of 0.8 percent and third-quarter figures showed a decline of 0.4 percent.
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Bangkok, December 30, 2020 – dzcard, the largest smart cards manufacturer in South-East Asia, has been chosen by Kasikornbank (KBank) to deliver its fast, convenient and secure contactless EMV debit cards. KASIKORNBANK (KBank), one of the leading financial conglomerate in Thailand, is partnering with LINE to offer consumers the chance to save time and money when shopping with speedy transactions, using dzcard’s proven contactless EMV cards.
dzcard has a long-standing relationship with KBank. By creating a joint-venture with LINE - LINE BK -, KBank reaches the forefront of the country’s very competitive contactless payment market. By launching the LINE BK Debit Cards, KBANK is proposing a set of debit cards that targets the tech-savvy, young LINE users by offering multiple privileges for online spending and contactless payment.
KBank’s customers can choose from four different, very innovative card designs that are featuring three LINE FRIENDS characters (Brown, Cony and Sally). The LINE BK Debit Cards are linked to LINE app to allow a complete range of online transaction directly from within the app. The cards are also packed with benefits: consumers enjoy significant discounts when shopping with popular online platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, Grab or Agoda, etc., get e-Coupons from several top brands, receive 0.5% credit cashback from every online purchase (minimum 100 baht spending) and receive up to 1.5% of interest rate on their savings.
“This is yet another big move from KBank. This partnership with LINE, the biggest social network in Thailand with more than 47 million users, is creating a big impact in the Thai’s banking market,” said Teerasade Phutthichotiruksa, Managing Director of dzcard greater South-East Asia. “By introducing LINE BK Debit Cards, KBank is simply launching the very first full social banking service in Thailand,” he added.
“The innovative design of the cards is in line with dzcard’s approach to consistently suit its technologies to the very specific needs of local markets,” explained Teerasade Phutthichotiruksa, Managing Director, greater South-East Asia for dzcard. “With its transparent feature, the LINE BK Debit Card presented a real challenge for us. dzcard is very proud to have been selected by KBank to produce one of the most difficult product we have ever rolled out. These innovative cards demonstrate our ongoing commitment to using materials and production processes that pushes the limit of what the industry is used to propose.”
dzcard is the leading smart cards manufacturer in South-East Asia and Africa. dzcard is securing everyday lives in a connected world.
dzcard aims to provide solutions to the increasingly complex and fragmented digital lives by securing transactions, protecting identities and ensuring connections. It is empowering payment, fintech’s, telecom and governmental institutions with trustworthy product & solutions.
dzcard is a fully integrated company and offer an entire range of products, cards, packaging, personalisation, digital solutions and encrypted authentication.
The company has more than 1,000 collaborators, operations in 3 continents. With 2 factories and 5 scheme certified personalisation centres, dzcard is delivering its solutions to clients all around the globe.
For more information, visit www.dzcard.com or follow dzcard on LinkedIn.
dzcard media contact:
+66 2 705 1939
About KASIKORNBANK (KBank)
KBank is a Thailand-based commercial bank conducting businesses through a network of branches covering all parts of Thailand and certain cities overseas. Kbank provides commercial banking services including personal and commercial banking, international trade, as well as investment banking services, to its customers throughout Thailand. KBank operates an extensive branch network nationwide. Currently, KBank has 886 branches and 10,973 self-service channels in Thailand. In addition, the KBank international network now includes 16 establishments in 8 countries, with operations and services centralized at the Head Office.
For more information, visit www.kasikornbank.com
About LINE Corporation
Based in Japan, LINE Corporation is dedicated to the mission of “Closing the Distance,” bringing together information, services and people. The LINE messaging app launched in June 2011 and since then has grown into a diverse, global ecosystem that includes AI technology, fintech and more. In Thailand, LINE introduced its messenger service in 2012, and quickly grew into the country’s leading social media platform.
For more information, visit https://linecorp.com/en/
About KASIKORN LINE company
KASIKORN LINE is a joint venture between KASIKORN Vision Company Limited, a subsidiary of KASIKORNBANK, and LINE Financial Asia, a subsidiary of LINE Corporation. The company focuses on the offering of new innovative business models and experiences to create financial solutions that are more engaging, social, secure and easy to use.
For more information, visit www.linebk.com


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Talbots Cuts Corporate Staff in New Cost-Reduction Program
Hingham, Mass. The Talbots announced Thursday that it has implemented a new $150 million expense-reduction program to better position the company for the future. The program includes the reduction of approximately 370 corporate-level positions across all locations, representing approximately 17% of the chain’s corporate headcount. The move is expected to result in savings of approximately $22 million in fiscal 2009.
Talbots president and CEO Trudy F. Sullivan said: “We remain confident in our strategic plan and in the long-term value of our franchise. In that regard, today we are announcing two key initiatives that will help facilitate the successful implementation of our strategy and better position Talbots to emerge a stronger company when the economy improves and consumer spending returns. Specifically, we are refinancing for longer term liquidity and restructuring for near-term productivity.”
The company has also reduced its planned capital expenditures, net of construction allowances, for fiscal 2009 to approximately $23 million. Its 2009 planned capital expenditures will support the rollout of its new upscale outlet stores, the platform refresh of its e-commerce site and renovation and refurbishment of some of its existing store base.
Talbots said it has identified approximately 20 underperforming Talbots stores that it plans to close in fiscal 2009. Many of the locations have leases that will expire or otherwise terminate in fiscal 2009.
In related news, Talbots announced that Aeon Co., Ltd., which through its wholly owned subsidiary is the company’s majority shareholder, has committed to provide Talbots a $200 million unsecured term loan facility, maturing at Talbots option for a period of up to three years from closing, to pay in full the company’s existing acquisition debt.
The chain said that the new $200 million term loan facility agreement, when closed, will be used to repay all of the outstanding indebtedness under the agreement related to its acquisition of J.Jill in 2006. The new loan facility is in addition to Talbots’ existing working-capital borrowing capacity of $215 million, of which $200 million has been committed.
Talbots also announced that in light of the deteriorating economic environment, it has implemented a new $150 million expense-reduction program to better position the company for the future. These include a reduction of approximately 370 corporate level positions across all locations, representing approximately 17% of the company’s corporate headcount, expected to result in savings of approximately $22 million in fiscal 2009.
Safeway offers heart health screenings
PLEASANTON, Calif. Safeway is offering free blood pressure, BMI (body mass index), and cholesterol level screenings at store pharmacies to promote heart health and prevent the number one killer of women – heart disease.
As part of the company’s “Love Your Heart” campaign, a wellness program to draw attention to the importance of knowing the risk factors of heart disease, Safeway expects to conduct 36,000 free heart health screenings nationwide. The free screenings are available to women and men and will take place from Feb. 4 through Feb. 24 in Safeway pharmacies, including Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s and Carrs pharmacies.
“Most women are unaware that heart disease claims more women’s lives than any other disease or illness. Only 8%of women consider it the biggest threat to their health,” said Dave Fong, SVP pharmacy. “Our goal is to educate women about the risk factors and help them take control of their health.”
The screenings, a $40 value, are sponsored by Safeway, Campbell Soup Company, Kellogg’s, Healthy Choice, Diet Coke, Fresh Express, StarKist, Barilla PLUS, and Health Magazine. Screenings will be conducted by nurses or pharmacists at store pharmacies.
Walmart celebrates Black History Month
BENTONVILLE, Ark. Walmart is celebrating Black History Month this year by offering customers complimentary “Profiles and Pride” and “Black History Timeline” pamphlets at select stores. The pamphlets provide insightful black history information ideal for schools, organizations or individuals.
“This year’s Black History Month theme encourages our associates and customers to honor the positive impact African Americans have made throughout our nation’s history,” said Esther Silver-Parker, SVP corporate affairs. “Our company continues to be committed to the communities it serves through education, opportunity and celebration, and our campaign to celebrate black history throughout the year is perfectly aligned with this commitment. We proudly engage in initiatives to celebrate black history and we encourage our customers to join us in making this a year-round observance.”
To help parents and children increase their knowledge of black history, select Walmart stores nationwide and Walmart.com will feature the GEEBEE Black Heritage SeriesTM games and puzzles. The offerings will include an African counting game, a game about The Underground Railroad, black history trivia games, and an assortment of puzzles.
In an effort to stay connected to its African-American customers, Walmart’s “Our Voice” Web site offers resource information for families to enjoy throughout the year. The Web site – www.wmourvoice.com -provides an online platform for reinforcing the company’s black history message through games and useful information. Users can enjoy an online version of the GEEBEE Black Heritage SeriesTM games and puzzles or access the site to obtain updated information about Wal-Mart’s corporate initiatives supporting the African-American community. Walmart has also established a partnership with ancestry.com, which allows them to offer an interface on the site to aid users in tracing their family genealogy.


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Breaking EMM news!
VMware AirWatch was named a Leader in the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM). This is the first time in the history of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for EMM that a single vendor placed highest in ability to execute and furthest in completeness of vision.
IoT in the enterprise—VMware is on it.
Our CIO at VMware, Bask Iyer, recently introduced Liota (Little IoT Agent), a solution to help companies securely collect Big Data from connected devices. The vendor-neutral open-source software development kit (SDK) is a step towards making the Internet of Things (IoT) a reality in the enterprise. Check out what everyone’s saying:
- Forbes: “VMware Fights IoT Connectivity Issue With ‘Liota’”
- TechRepublic: “VMware launches Liota, an open source SDK to fight gateway problem in IoT”
- SD Times: “SD Times GitHub Project of the Week: Liota”
- CIO: “VMware CIO commands IoT effort”
Plus, VMware just joined the Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program to advance the ecosystem for commercial and industrial IoT solutions.
Even Silicon Valley gets hacked.
Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated how not to create and manage passwords this week. Reusing “dadada,” the Facebook CEO’s social accounts were taken over, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Pick the brains behind a winning app.
This week, the guys that founded popular mobile email app Boxer share their start-up story. Hear Andrew Eye talk about mobile micro-moments on a new Echo ONE podcast episode, and read Adam Cianfichi’s blog on what it takes to make successful mobile user experiences for the enterprise.
Small changes get employees—da-da-da-da-da—lovin’ work.
McDonald’s recently made a small change with a big impact on their employees’ burger-making workflows. Find out how it turned around productivity and profits on the AirWatch Blog—and the big takeaway for IT.
Don’t change the channel.
AirWatch has more exciting news coming soon.
— Sanjay Poonen (@spoonen) June 3, 2016
Subscribe at the top right of this blog to get the top mobile news in your inbox every Friday.


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BREAKFAST WITH THE FOOL
Friday, September 17, 1999
"To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."
-- Elbert Hubbard
Hughes Unit To Jettison 5% of Workforce
Richard McCaffery (TMF Gibson)
Satellite manufacturer, operator, and services company Hughes Electronics (NYSE: GMH), a subsidiary of automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) and the world's largest satellite maker, plans to cut 450 workers because of a lag in orders for new spacecraft, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported.
Hughes and the satellite industry as a whole have gotten the Mr. Bill treatment recently as Iridium (Nasdaq: IRIQE) and ICO Global (Nasdaq: ICOFQ), two start-up satellite telephone companies, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11. A handful of projects have been delayed, financing has dried up, and investors are skittish.
Second quarter revenue at Hughes' satellite system division declined to $554 million from $675 million from the same period last year because of increased costs and schedule delays. The unit reported negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $120 million for the quarter, compared to positive EBITDA of $72 million last year.
In addition, since it's not uncommon for satellite manufacturers to have an equity position in companies they're building spacecraft for, more bad news could be on the way. Hughes is building ICO's 12 communications satellites and has a 2.6% stake in the firm. If ICO can't pay what it owes, Hughes could have to take about a $500 million pretax charge against earnings. Ouch.
On the bright side, Hughes owns DirecTV, the country's largest provider of satellite television services -- you see the little 18-inch dishes on rooftops and porches everywhere. DirecTV has the exclusive rights to broadcast NFL Football games every Sunday. This is a cash cow for the company, a fast-growing business with substantial barriers to entry, and a blessing for sports fans everywhere lucky enough to have a roof to mount a dish on.
News to Go
Athletic shoe maker Nike (Nasdaq: NKE) said net income grew 22% to $200 million, or $0.70 per share for its fiscal first quarter, topping estimates by $0.04. The company said cost cutting boosted its bottom line.
Online publishing software company Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) blew away Q3 analyst estimates of $0.74 per share, earning $0.80 per diluted share (excluding restructuring and other charges as well as investment gains and losses) on profits of $57.2 million. The company said the shipment of Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and the continued strength of Adobe Acrobat spurred the growth.
Cable television holding company Cablevision (AMEX: CVC) plans to buy about $1 billion worth of set-top boxes from electronic equipment giant Sony (NYSE: SNE) in a deal that signals the Japanese manufacturer's first step into the U.S. cable set-top box industry, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Automaker DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) recalled 717,000 vehicles because of problems with the vehicles' engine cradle control arms.
Defense and electronics stalwart Raytheon (NYSE: RTN.B) could have to swallow $450 million to deal with problems in the company's electronics and engineering business, The Wall Street Journal reported.
See Fool Dale Wettlauffer's take on Estee Lauder and the treatment it's been receiving in the media... Barbara Eisner Bayer shares her thoughts on AOL... and The Motley Fool gets an armload of cash to help make the world a very Foolish place.
Remember to start each business day with Breakfast With the Fool at 9 a.m. Let us know what you think of this feature. Send all comments and suggestions (including Foolish quotes) to the Breakfast Fools.


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As Reported by designnews.com
Additive manufacturing (AM), including 3D printing, has the potential to upend manufacturing supply chains, according to the new report from Lux Research, “Building the Future: Assessing 3D Printing’s Opportunities and Challenges.” The catch is, it will take a while, and the results will depend on how quickly costs come down, and throughput goes up.
Although consumer applications — such as custom jewelry, toys, and art — have gotten a lot of attention, consumer products will remain a small portion of the 3D-printed parts market, Anthony Vicari, Lux Research associate and the lead author of the report, told Design News. These will grow $17 million from 2012′s $777 million total to $894 million in 2025, when the total market value reaches $8.4 billion. Between now and then, the overall market will grow at an aggressive 18 percent per year.
The lack of improvement in throughput places even more pressure on manufacturers to reduce the cost of materials, which are highly specific to each machine. “Materials are being sold at very high margins right now,” said Vicari, “so there’s a market for independent material suppliers.”
Many different types of materials are involved in each printer’s materials set; for instance, various additives for polymers to control melting temperature and flexibility. For metals, this is less true, but they still require custom development.
Even so, printer companies are only offering a few materials with their machines, compared to what’s potentially available. By 2025, there will probably be a more open market with third-party materials suppliers selling many more materials choices. Meanwhile, some 3D printer companies, especially smaller and newer ones, are partnering with materials companies.
Users of printers often don’t have access to controls, like modifying the chamber temperature for a given material. But once these machines move into production, not prototyping, where every large company has their own process engineers, these customers will want to have more control over the process and the materials, said Vicari.
Business relationships and business models will also change. For example, last November, Morris Technologies, a service bureau that worked primarily with aerospace engine components, was acquired by GE Aviation, which makes aircraft, military, and marine engines.
This makes me wonder whether more aerospace companies might adopt 3D printing and other AM techniques by outright acquisition, instead of investment or monetary support of various kinds, such as Lockheed’s partnership with Sciaky. I also wonder whether machines and materials sets will become more customized for first, specific markets, and second, for individual, very large OEMs.
(Source: Lux Research)
Both prototypes and production parts for automotive, medical, and aerospace segments will represent 84 percent of the entire market by 2025. Today, prototypes represent about 90 percent of uses, and most of the major aerospace and automotive OEMs have some kind of 3D printing division to make prototypes in-house, said Vicari. By 2025, though, this proportion will drop to 47 percent.
The big growth will be in small-volume manufacturing, led by automobile parts and aerospace engines; this will jump from $1 million in 2012 to $1.1 billion in 2025. The production parts that will be most amenable to adoption of 3D printing will be those that need a lot of customization, don’t require high volumes, and are somewhat less cost sensitive.
The report looked at nine different 3D printing technologies: stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), selective heat sintering, powder bed inkjet printing, fused filament fabrication, polyjet, digital light processing, laminated object manufacturing, and electron beam melting. It did not include related technologies such as CNC milling or metal injection molding (MIM).
Although the $11 million medical 3D printing sector is small, it’s growing fast, and will become $1.9 billion by 2025. Prices will drop for printers such as Stratasys’s Objet30 OrthoDesk for dental devices, as well as for materials and scanning technologies.
Before the shift can happen to a majority of production parts in aerospace, automotive, and medical, the report concludes that several other changes must occur, primarily a rise in throughput and a drop in costs. “Currently, throughput is good for 1 to 10 pieces, but once you need to make more than few hundred or even thousand pieces of a part, 3D printing is not likely to be the most affordable way to manufacture something,” Vicari told us.
Methods for increasing throughput vary by specific 3D printing technology. For example, just increasing the build chamber and the number of nozzles only gets you so far, since the process is still limited by the time it takes to deposit the material. There’s been relatively limited development in machine throughput in recent years, perhaps because of the tradeoffs between throughput and minimum resolution. That’s why the report concludes 3D printing is not likely to penetrate the high-volume manufacturing segment.


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The latest issue of SHIFT features some grand new stories. Biased advance trailer ahead!
Day: June 9, 2021
More guests, and Comics Clock Tower exhibitors line-up, announced for October’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival
October’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal is ramping up to be a treat
Commando opens 60th anniversary celebration in style, with a special revisit to its very first issue, and a new writer debuts
Stand ready, Commando Comics 60th Anniversary kicks off in style this week
Interdimensional Enforcers, and a classic Roy of the Rovers tale out this week from Rebellion – and many more thrills to come!
A great mix of old, new, rebooted and digital releases from Rebellion, out this week and soon!


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Travel + Leisure magazine’s list of Best Sandwiches in the world ranges from the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, to a hand-massaged Wagyu beef sandwich.
With an astonishing asking price of US$21.1 million, this Tokyo pad is the most expensive one-room apartment in the world.
A Chinese businessman paid $38,000 for a rare golden snapper Thursday in the Bangladeshi port city of Chittagong, a leading fish trader said.
Fom the I Love Dogs La Collection de Bijoux, Amour Amour is the world’s most expensive dog collar with the price tag of $3.2 million.
Hong Kong is now the most expensive place to take office space, according to the latest figures from Knight Frank. Hong Kong’s prime office space, which includes the city’s bustling Central district, was renting for as much as a monthly HK$1,046 (US$135) per square meter last year, a growth of 28%. By contrast, growth in … Continued
Nations Luxury Transportation, LLC, has agreed to acquire the domain name PrivateJet.com from Don’t Look Media Group for $30.18 million in cash and stock. Nations Luxury Transportation’s goal is to deliver the most efficient platform to facilitate worldwide chartering, aircraft acquisitions, and the selling of private jets. By the end of 2012, it is expected … Continued
A 124-day luxury cruise trip has been unveiled by Six Star Cruises which includes a flight in a private jet, caviar and Dom Perignon. The luxurious cruise departs in Los Angeles, US, and visits 28 countries including New Zealand, Malaysia and the Maldives. Guests will be picked up from their home by helicopter and transferred … Continued
A hand-crafted Faberge chocolate egg will vie to become the world’s most expensive non-jewelled chocolate egg sold at auction next month. Britain’s best chocolatier Willam Curley is creating the giant egg using materials such as expensive Tuscan Amedei dark chocolate and Japanese Wasabi chocolate. The auctioneers hope to break the current Guinness World Record price … Continued
For the first time in at least two decades of reporting the worldwide cost of living survey Zurich sits atop the ranking as the world’s most expensive city. An index swing of 34 percentage points pushed the Swiss city up 4 places compared to last year to overtake Tokyo which remains in 2nd place. Geneva, … Continued
A Chinese shipping magnate has paid a world record-high $328,000 for a Dutch pigeon, according to PIPA, an international pigeon auction house. The buyer of the most-expensive pigeon on record, PIPA said, is Hu Zhen Yu, who runs a shipbuilding company in China. He bought the bird for breeding rather than racing in China, where … Continued
DougieDog, a Frankfurter outfit in Vancouver, Canada is offering what is now the world’s most expensive hot dog: the $100 ‘Dragon Dog.’ The Dragon Dog is made with a bratwurst infused with hundred-year-old Louis XIII cognac, which costs more than $2,000 a bottle. Other ingredients include Kobe beef seared in olive and truffle oil, fresh … Continued
The price tag for One World Trade Center, the signature skyscraper under construction at Ground Zero in New York, has risen to more than $3.8 billion. According to WSJ, the price tag for the building has shot up $700m from the latest public estimate, making it the world’s most expensive new office tower. Once completed, … Continued
An astonishing golden outfit made from the silk of spiders has gone on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. It took more than four years to make the four-metre-long hand-woven textile from the silk of 1.2million female golden orb spiders, native to Madagascar. It was made by Englishman Simon Peers and American Nicholas Godley, both … Continued
A United Kingdom-based company called Superlative Luxury has created an eco-friendly t-shirt priced at $400,000. The t-shirt is made of 100% organic cotton and the manufacturing process uses only renewable energy, such as wind and solar, reducing the carbon footprint by 90%. The t-shirt features a spherical pattern created from 16 one-carat diamonds; half of … Continued
Chinese entrepreneur An Yanshi is convinced he has found the key ingredient to produce the world’s most expensive tea — panda poo. An has purchased 11 tonnes of excrement from a panda breeding centre to fertilise a tea crop in the mountains of Sichuan province, home to the black and white bears. He will harvest … Continued
The Peninsula Hong Kong is offering you the opportunity to soar high above Hong Kong’s spectacular skyline in a helicopter after enjoying a Champagne breakfast. Guests can enjoy breakfast and Champagne in The China Clipper, the hotel’s aviation-themed lounge, following an eight-minute helicopter tour. You will be able to observe Central’s magnificent skyscrapers through the … Continued
HYT represents a new concept in watchmaking — HYT stands for “Hydro Mechanical Horologists” and the brand will be dedicated to producing watches that not only contain liquid in them but use the liquid for a functional purpose. HYT claims 7 pending patents for various aspects of the H1, further underscoring the new ground that … Continued
First look of Versace’s Spring Summer 2012 ad campaign starring Gisele Bundchen and Ryan Barrett climbing into an abandoned pool. Photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot the images in the Californian desert surrounded by dry grass and cacti, under a striking blue light.
Black Astrum today launch the Signature Card range of bespoke diamond encrusted business cards, targeting ultra high net worth individuals across the world. A full set of cards can contain in excess of 30 carats. The average selling price per card is around the £1000 mark, sold in sets of 25, 50 and 100 cards. “The … Continued
A deep-pocketed restaurateur shelled out nearly $750,000 for a tuna at Japan’s Tsukiji fish market on Thursday, smashing the record price for a single bluefin. The 269-kilogramme fish stood at an eye-popping 56.49 million yen ($736,500) when the hammer came down in the first auction of the year. The figure dwarfs the previous high of … Continued


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Leprino Foods Company announced last week that it made the decision to close its Ravenna, Neb. facility in early November.
This difficult but necessary decision is driven by the technological advances at other facilities, the changing milk supply situation in the region and Leprino Foods' continuing commitment to meet its customers' requirements now and in the future, said Vice President Megan Gabriel in a press release.
"We are working closely with our employees and their community during this transition," said Robert Schwartz, senior vice president of Human Resources. "Leprino Foods is offering employees at the Ravenna plant severance pay, healthcare benefit continuation assistance, potential opportunities at other Leprino locations with relocation assistance, and a retention bonus program to those employees who stay with us through the plant closing date. Further, employees will be able to meet with state employment officials as well as career development professionals during the time leading up to the closing date to maximize opportunities for a smooth transition."
"Leprino Foods is committed to producing the best dairy foods and ingredients in the world. We are confident that we will continue to meet our customers' needs with the plant upgrades and expansions we have put in place and the milk supply supporting our facilities. We will be utilizing the technological advances and capacity increases at other Leprino Foods facilities, specifically at Fort Morgan," said Mike Reidy, Sr. Vice President, Corporate Affairs.
"Production and supply to our customers will be the top priority — our customers will continue to seamlessly receive their orders without interruption from our Fort Morgan, Colo., Tracy, Calif. and Remus, Mich. facilities," he said.


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Netflix and TiVo are linking up to stream the video renter’s Watch Instantly service to DVRs.
Testing will begin immediately. TiVo customers with HD-ready set-top boxes will have the streaming movies service by the end of the year, the New York Times reported. An eligible subscription to Netflix is required.
The Watch Instantly service will not be available to those using DirecTV boxes with TiVo.
Netflix has been on the move with its online video service, as slowdowns in its traditional mail rentals have battered the company’s bottom line.
Netflix just announced availability of its streaming movies and TV shows to Mac (Intel) users, as well as to owners of some new Samsung Blu-ray machines.
Recent content deals include partnerships with Starz Entertainment, CBS and Disney. A lot of the films offered on Watch Instantly are catalog titles and indie fare.


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Nearly everyone has logged onto Amazon to see if they have a product they are interested in. And Amazon almost always carries that product. That’s because Amazon takes advantage of an economic principle called the long tail. Essentially what this means is that Amazon can make profits from selling obscure rarely purchased products that a big box retailer could not. As Amazon continues to expand the nearly half billion item long inventory list (compared to just about 142,000 products sold in a WalMart) they are looking to enter new industries. The latest? Prescription drugs. So, what challenges do you face, and when can you get your prescription on Amazon?
Why do they want to sell prescription drugs?
As Amazon prepares to enter the pharmaceutical business it has a complex path to weave through all the legal regulations. With all these regulations why would Amazon even want to enter in the industry? Well, healthcare currently accounts for 18% of the United States GDP and is projected to grow to 20% in the coming decade as the population ages. Each year Americans spend $374 billion on prescription drugs. Additionally healthcare is a category in which nearly every household has a consumer, allowing Amazon to build relationships with the entire population.
When can you get your prescription?
Amazon has already begun to hire talent within the industry, including Mark Lyons, the former director of Premara Blue Cross. In the US, pharmacies are required to be licensed and registered in each state they wish to sell medicine so the process may take a long time. In Japan, Amazon is already in concept testing allowing category 1 drugs to be sold with pharmacist approval. Testing in American markets is likely still a year or so away but once it’s here, Amazon Pharmacy is likely to seriously disrupt the American health care industry. With Amazon’s size and reputation for competitive pricing, the prices of drugs could come down.
As Amazon begins to enter this industry, the legal questions go beyond just getting a license in each state. How can Amazon verify it is actually you who is ordering the prescription? Could this lead to more prescription drug abuse? The questions are numerous and this journey for Amazon will likely be an exciting one.


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A patent grants its holder exclusive rights to an invention, such as a piece of technology, for a certain period of time. While designed as a means of protecting the intellectual property of inventors, the system is not without its critics who believe that patenting deters innovation and wastes resources. Consider crypto founding fathers like […]
As crypto becomes more popular the number of cyber criminals looking for some easy pickings will increase. Online scams are nothing new but the nature of cryptocurrencies means that those without the technical expertise will be additionally vulnerable. Banks and credit card issuers have acknowledged this which may be the reason behind their buying blockade. […]
Banks will never be fans of Bitcoin. The concept of it alone is the complete opposite of a bank’s business model which is to make profits from other people’s money. Britain’s biggest bank today took the step of banning its customers from buying Bitcoin using their credit cards. Lloyd’s Banking Group will tell its 9 […]
J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup say no to purchases of crypto via credit card. #NEWS
Two of Wall Street’s biggest banks are reportedly taking steps to bar customers from using credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies.
A lot of things are happening in the world of finance right now. Banks have to make some very tough and unpopular decisions. Bank of America is getting rid of free checking accounts. This decision doesn’t go over too well with lower-income customers. They are now required to keep more money in the bank to […]
One of the Bank of America’s wealth management divisions, Merrill Lynch, has forbidden clients to invest in Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Investment Trust. The news comes via a memo from the financial advisory firm last December which was seen by Reuters. The note was sent to around 17,000 brokers at both Merrill Lynch and their subdivision […]
A run-down of some of the more notable crypto and blockchain patents seen in 2017.
During the first week of December, the second largest bank in the U.S., Bank of America (BOA), was awarded a cryptocurrency exchange patent. The BOA cryptocurrency trading platform’s concept summary outlines three types of accounts where users and businesses can swap digital assets instantly. Also Read: Two Days of Cboe’s Bitcoin Futures Show Intense Volume Fluctuations […]
The system will allow the conversion of one virtual currency into another automatically, with the exchange rate to be determined based on external data feeds.
In a patent awarded Tuesday, the second-largest bank in the U.S. describes a potential cryptocurrency exchange system for its corporate clients.
ING has developed a zero-knowledge proof that is supposed to ensure anonymity when transacting on a Blockchain.
Blockchain gains another major win in adoption, as KPMG joins the WSBA, becoming the first of the ‘big four’ auditing companies to participate in Blockchain growth.
What will be the next patent on Blockchain-based technology?
Under the system, a Blockchain can be integrated with communications and memory devices to facilitate the data processing process.


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Editors of the American Bar Association’s ABA Journal have selected Phoenix-based TopClassActions.com as one of the top 100 best blogs for a legal news audience.
The ABA‘s Blawg 100 Hall of Fame features the very best law blogs, known for their untiring ability to craft high-quality, engaging posts, sometimes on a daily basis. TopClassActions.com leads the pack by posting up to 20 news articles a day on the latest breaking class action and mass tort news.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Top Class Actions connects consumers to class action settlements and publishes breaking news on new class action lawsuits, product liability lawsuits and mass tort updates as they’re filed. The company helps consumers find, submit claims for, and receive compensation for every class action settlement they qualify to participate in. It also connects consumers with attorneys who can help them seek remedies for grievances involving consumer products, drugs, medical devices, employment issues, and more.
“No longer to be confused as a fad or the realm of the tech-savvy, law blogs are rooted in the legal media landscape,” ABA Journal Editor and Publisher Allen Pusey said. “While traditional media sources often break news, law blogs dive deeper to offer insight into what the news means for clients, the legal profession and the public. They are sometimes-irreverent watchdogs of the bench and bar. And the ones on our list are well-written and, more often than not, entertaining.”
“Being nominated for the 2014 Blawg 100 is a huge honor for TopClassActions.com,” president and CEO Scott Hardy said. “We pride ourselves on being among the first legal news sites to report on breaking class-action lawsuit and settlement news, and have helped our viewers claim millions of dollars over the years.”
Now that the editors have made their picks, the ABA Journal is asking readers to weigh in and vote on their favorites in 13 categories. Voting ends at close of business on Dec. 19, 2014.
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.


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Popular American Store Coming to Mississauga Very Soon
Although shopping has probably been top of mind for you since the holidays kicked off, there's one pretty exciting store you can't shop at in our neck of the woods just yet.
But your patience will be rewarded soon, as the building the brand will occupy is currently under construction.
For those who are not unaware, incredibly popular (and affordable) clothing store Nordstrom Rack is opening in Mississauga. That means that fashion-conscious Mississauga shoppers won’t have to travel outside of the city to take advantage of up to 70 percent off regular priced Nordstrom goods any more.
And if you've had to walk away from a few beautiful Nordstrom items while shopping at the Eaton Centre because they're not within your budget, this store will likely impress you even more.
The approximately 35,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in fall 2018.
For those who are unaware, Nordstrom Rack is the off-price retail division of Nordstrom, Inc. and is known for offering customers a wide selection of trendy apparel, accessories and shoes at 30-70 percent off regular prices. If you haven't shopped at the store in the U.S., you have been missing out.
Nordstrom Rack merchandise, available at Rack stores and at Nordstromrack.com, comes from Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom.com, as well as specially purchased items from many of the top brands available at Nordstrom.
“We’re excited to announce our third location in the greater Toronto area, in addition to our previously announced locations at One Bloor and Vaughan Mills,” said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack, in a statement released earlier this year. “We look forward to offering folks southwest of the city a convenient location to shop with us, and customers can expect a great selection of the brands at great Rack prices when we open our doors in 2018.”
Naturally, HTC is pretty excited about the store.
“Nordstrom Rack will provide outstanding brand strength and strong merchandise selection to Heartland Town Centers’ existing retail mix,” said Phil King, President of Orlando Corporation. “We are pleased they selected Heartland Town Centre as a partner in their Canadian expansion.”
We'll keep you updated on more new opening details as they emerge.
- New Nordstrom Rack Opening in Mississauga
- Highly-Anticipated American Store Officially Opens in Mississauga Today
- Massive Nordstrom Sale with Major Deals Set to Hit Mississauga This Month
- Discover High-End Brands at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga This Spring
- Stores and patio dining now open at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga
- Thirteen tickets won a massive lottery prize in Ontario but no jackpot
- UPDATE: Brampton teen drowns in Halton Hills area
- Mississauga enters first stage of reopening as COVID-19 restrictions loosen across Ontario
- Mississauga, Brampton vaccine clinics taking place this weekend
- What's open at Square One mall in Mississauga


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February 14, 2022 [NATURAL GAS INTEL] – Magellan Midstream Partners LP, which specializes in petroleum storage and transportation, said demand for its services swelled in the fourth quarter and is expected to grow further this year as consumption of travel fuels mounts.
Tulsa-based Magellan said Wednesday in its fourth quarter earnings release that the refined products business, which comprises about 70% of operating margin, benefited “from significantly improved transportation volumes” compared with late 2020 levels “due to the recovery in travel, economic and drilling” activity.
“We assume that refined products pipeline shipments continue to increase during 2022,” with fuel demand and economic momentum expected to trend favorably through the year, CEO Michael Mears said during an earnings call with analysts. He said 2022 shipments were projected to increase about 4% from 2021 levels, driven by a 4% increase in demand for gasoline, a 2% bump in distillate fuels, and a 15% jump in aviation fuel consumption.
The company also expects to increase its fees on refined product deliveries by 6% beginning in July – when agreements reset – due to both demand and inflation.
Rising Demand As Activity Grows
Magellan’s outlook reflects broader consumption trends as both the U.S. and global economies continue to grow and travel activity rebounds amid widespread coronavirus vaccination campaigns. While the pandemic persists, the governments of most major countries have resisted substantial business and travel restrictions, relying instead on vaccines to enable the strong economic recoveries of 2021 to extend into the current year.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said domestic petroleum product demand averaged 21.6 million b/d over the four-week period ended Jan. 28, up 12% from the same period a year earlier. Over that span, motor gasoline demand averaged 8.2 million b/d, up 5%, while distillate fuel consumption averaged 4.4 million b/d, up by 11%, and jet fuel product supplied averaged nearly 1.5 million b/d, up 29%.
Globally, the Saudi Arabia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its January global outlook that total demand would rise by 4.15 million b/d this year. It estimated that consumption would exceed 100 million b/d in the third quarter, returning demand to pre-pandemic levels.
Magellan said that as demand came back in 2021, it invested in expanding infrastructure. The company spent $73 million on expansion projects and said it currently plans to spend $50 million in 2022 to complete projects already committed. This work includes an expansion of its refined products pipeline system from Kansas to Colorado by late 2022. It also includes an expansion of the company’s New Mexico refined products pipeline, expected to be operational in April.
“We expect to add more growth projects throughout the year, although most likely smaller scale like these recent pipeline expansions,” Mears said.
Management said it continues to assess additional capital investments and expects expansion capital spending to total nearly $100 million for 2022.
“Bottom line is, we remain patient and committed to our disciplined investment approach” but “continue to look for opportunities to invest in attractive low-risk projects,” Mears added on the call. Mears, who announced in January his intention to retire in April, also noted on the call that his successor will be current COO Aaron Milford.
Magellan reported fourth quarter net income of $244 million ($1.14/share), up from $184 million (82 cents) a year earlier. For the year, the company reported profit of $982 million ($4.47), up from $817 million($3.62) in 4Q2021.
For the first quarter of 2022, Magellan projected per-share earnings of $1.02. It estimated full-year 2022 earnings of $4.20/share.
10,390 terminals as per the date of this article. Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data


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Porto Itapoa records more market share gains
Commercial director of Itapoá Roberto Pandolfo said that the increase in containers through the port is due to the hard work of the commercial department in targeting new shipper business. Photo credit: Porto Itapoá.
Porto Itapoá is winning market share in an intense battle for containerized cargo in the southern Brazilian state...
Itajai berth project will allow larger ships
The expansion project also marks the end of a long journey of recovery from the area's devastating 2008 flood. Photo credit: Cristiano Andujar.
An improvement project at Brazil’s third-largest container port, the Itajai Port Complex (IPC), will enable the key APM Terminals Itajai to handle both larger ships and more calls.
Brazil's TRG turns port productivity corner
There is a productivity uptrend at a key container facility in Brazil.
Shippers, terminal owners Wilson, Sons, and ocean carriers are benefiting from vastly improved productivity — up to almost 157 moves per hour, the highest in Brazil — at the Tecon Rio Grande (TRG) box facility, in southern Brazil.
Terminal consolidation comes to Brazil
Brazil is a leading exporter of various fruits (melons, apples, mangoes, oranges, bananas, watermelons, grapes and papaya), chicken, beef and pork as well as coffee. Photo credit: Shutterstock.
This week’s start of the 550 million reais ($167 million) expansion of Terminal de Conteineres de Paranagua (TCP) and DP World’s acquisition of...
Fruit shippers set to gain from new Suape terminal
Capacity of Suape Industrial Port Complex would more than double with the new terminal. Photo credit: Tecon Suape.
Brazilian fruit shippers could be the biggest beneficiaries of the auction for a concession for a new container terminal in the Suape Industrial Port Complex (SIPC).
Fruit shippers in the region have grown frustrated...
Deeper draft ushers in new era for Rio de Janeiro port
MultiRio and its local rival Libra Rio are using their deeper draft as a selling point to container lines. Photo credit: Multiterminais
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Truck and train movement into Santos will be delayed during a one-day strike. Photo credit: Rob Ward
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Bags of coffee wait in a warehouse for shipment. Photo credit: Shutterstock
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How does the animal advocacy movement measure the effectiveness of their campaigns?
In the absence of being able to measure it any quantitative manner, the next best option would be the response from those within the industry that is having the spotlight shone upon it.
If a campaign has the potential to have an impact on the practice that is being ‘exposed’ there is usually some sort of damage control undertaken in an attempt to convince people that it is either a ‘one off’ occurrence, or something outside of the norm.We have seen this with the piggery and slaughterhouse exposes that have occurred in recent times.
Sherrin footballs went into damage control when it was discovered that footballs manufactured overseas were made with child labour, with the footballs being recalled and taken off the market, at a substantial cost to the company.
Another example is the industry’s response to the ban live export campaigns. Not long after the ban was put in place, we were shown the ‘human’ side of the live export trade, when current affairs programs interviewed some of the nations biggest pastoralists.
The animal agriculture media recently sent the message out to its readers batten down the hatches in preparation for another onslaught from the ABC’s Four Corners, in an episode that is due to appear on Monday 05 November, 2012.
It could be said that the greater the impact that the campaign will have the bigger the response from those on the otherwise of the fence.
I have experienced this myself when I wrote a few articles about Queensland’s greyhound racing industry a few months back.
So with this in mind, I ask, what sort of response have we seen from those industries targeted by the Animals Australia’s Make It Possible campaign?
In a word. None!
Yes, we have seen the campaign mentioned in the media by Australian Pork Limited General Manager Communication, Emily Mackintosh, who has said that Animals Australia is fundamentally committed to veganism. With that being the only response to it, I would say that the comment was only made because saying “no comment” would have been seen as arrogant.
Though Ms Mackintosh did mention that the Australian pork industry was the first industry to make the voluntary commitment to be way back in 2010, to have sow stalls phased out by 2017 at a cost to the industry of $50 Million.
Mind you, this also does highlight one of the short comings of incremental reform, and transition periods.
Which leads me to ask my next question. Is the lack of meaningful response from industry due to the fact that when it really comes down to it, this campaign is going to have very little impact on the product that consumers buy?
If your response is that industry hasn’t had time to create a response to the Animals Australia campaign, you are probably being a little bit naive.
I have written a number of different posts that other sectors of the animal agriculture are skilling themselves up on the effective use of social media, using the pink slime fiasco in the US as an example that not saying anything is actually detrimental to the cause.
RSPCA Australia’s CEO, Heather Neil, recently told a beef feedlot conference that their use of social media is a more effective and quicker way to bring about change than waiting for industry and government to do it.
Over the weekend I spent the time have a bit of a chat to 10 different people, at both Coles and Woolworths supermarkets to gauge their opinion to the campaign, and if it would have any impact on their purchase decisions.
Of the 10 I spoke to, two said that they hadn’t see it, nor were they aware of it, and one said that they hadn’t seen it yet, though was aware of it.
As for the impact that it would have on their purchases they all said that it really comes down to their budget and ability to afford it. If the free range pork was more expensive than a different type of meat, then that one would be purchased instead.
The overall consensus for those who saw the ads was that it did have an impact on them when they saw it, and has raised their awareness a bit. Though when it actually came time to buy one of the products price, familiarity and time was a major factor when it came down to their decision to buy something.
While I do realise that talking to 10 people doesn’t really represent any sort of legitimate cross section of society or a high enough number to say that it is an accurate representation, it was done more out of curiosity and to gauge a few people’s reception to the ads.
Though it does make you wonder if the lack of response from the pork and egg sectors is because they know that it will have very little impact at the checkout.
I am sure in a few weeks time, Animals Australia will come out and say that the campaign was a huge success because they ‘reached’ X amount of viewers with their TV ads, Y number of people made a pledge to go meat or factory farmed free, and $Z was donated to the campaign fund.
The real impact of the campaign would be to A) see how much the market share of cage free products has increased since then. Though is that something that an alleged animal advocacy group should boast about? B) how much of a reduction in the weekly kill stats can be attributed to these ads.
What do you think?
This article was written by the founder of VeganPolice.com.au, Cameron Blewett.
Cameron is a long term vegan (30+yrs), and is passionate about veganism, and helping people to understand more about it and giving other animals equal consideration.
You can find Cameron’s other rants on his website, CameronBlewett.blog


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Food is a time-honored cornerstone of Michigan’s economy—and continues to be.
More than 300 commodities are commercially produced in Michigan, behind only California. The food and agriculture industry contributes $105 billion to the state’s economy annually and employs 805,000 workers, about 17 percent of the workforce, according to Michigan Agriculture Fast Facts.
“There’s tremendous potential to add new jobs growing, processing, distributing, and serving food,” says Aaron Jackson, who has been director of the Detroit-based Michigan Good Food Fund since 2022. “But budding entrepreneurs often need help combining their knowledge of food with the business aspects of food.”
The Michigan Good Food Fund
was founded in 2015 by industry partners and private donors determined to fortify high-quality food and farm businesses while strengthening and diversifying Michigan’s food system.
Tatse is a one-man operation, with Taiwo Adeleye taking orders, cooking, serving, and washing dishes.
The fund features 11 lending organizations that invest in early growth of food and farm businesses statewide. Its focus is on businesses that have been operating for a minimum of two years, but it sometimes supports newer enterprises run by entrepreneurs with industry experience or who have contributed funds to their startup.
The lending network includes ProsperUs Detroit
, Michigan Community Capital
, CEED Lending
, Michigan Women Forward
, Detroit Development Fund
, Capital Impact Partners
, CDC Small Business Finance
, Fair Food Network, Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women (GROW), Lake Trust Credit Union
, and RCV Frontline
A 22-member board of directors oversees the fund.
The Michigan Good Food Fund provides access to capital, business assistance from industry experts, and a peer network that spans from Southeast Michigan to the Upper Peninsula. The fund acts as a co-signer, reducing risks for the lenders and allowing customized financing.
Loans can be sought for things like equipment, inventory, and property improvements. The fund also awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 for training, certifications, licenses, business services, equipment, and other necessities.
Taiwo Adeleye received guidance from Michigan Good Food Fund partners.
But it’s not just about the money, Jackson says. Through Michigan Good Food Fund’s partners, food and farm entrepreneurs also receive business assistance tailored to their needs. Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems
and the Fair Food network
offer support to food entrepreneurs related to operations, aggregation, distribution, processing, and more.
In a four- to seven-week class called Food Finance Essentials
, entrepreneurs are mentored by leaders from their niche of the industry and network with peers. They also receive technical assistance, administrative support, and help with marketing and communications.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Some entrepreneurs work closely with their mentor and leverage expertise from their peer network for years. Others may want only short-term coaching.
“Food impacts every economy,” Jackson says. “Michigan is certainly no exception.”
Following are profiles of three entrepreneurs who have received assistance from Michigan’s Good Food Fund.
Tatse, an American African restaurant in Lansing
On some winter days there are fewer than a dozen dine-in customers at Tatse, a restaurant near the Michigan Capitol that serves Lansing’s only Nigerian cuisine.
It’s a good thing that owner Taiwo Adeleye is a blue-sky thinker.
Of course, Adeleye would prefer to be busier. But quiet days sometimes afford meaningful exchanges about food, music, and dance with the customers who do come by.
By trade, Adeleye is a dancer, dance instructor, and West Africa’s first certified dance therapist. With a 2021 loan and four grants made possible through the Michigan Good Food Fund, Adeleye added “chef” and “restaurateur” to his resume to give himself more ways to share African culture.
Taiwo Adeleye delights in knowing that 60% of Tatse customers are sampling Nigerian food for the first time.
“Food has great power to bring people together,” says Adeleye, who immigrated to New York City in 2015 to work as a professional dancer. He moved to Lansing in 2018.
Adeleye delights in knowing that 60% of Tatse customers are sampling Nigerian food for the first time, and he rejoices in providing them a symphony of flavors.
The name Tatse is shorthand for the Yoruba word for a red bell pepper. Nigerian cooks aren’t afraid to bring the heat, he says, and herbs and spices are a Nigerian chef’s best friend. Expect chili powder, curry, thyme, and ginger. Bank on tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers. Favorite meats are goat, oxtail, fish, and chicken.
Adeleye started in the food business in 2020, when restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic halted dance exhibitions, lessons, workshops, and recitals, and friends started paying him to prepare African meals for them.
Using the commercial kitchen at the Allen Neighborhood Center, Adeleye sold African food at three farmers markets nearby.
As his following grew, Adeleye worked to obtain the permits required to open a restaurant. He received guidance from Michigan Good Food Fund partners, then a loan from Lake Trust Credit Union. In February 2022 he opened Tatse at 221 S. Washington Square.
The place operates as Tatse from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. It resets at 8 p.m. as Alobosa African Bar. For information on hours and events, check Tatse & Alobosa’s Facebook page
The business currently is a one-man operation, with Adeleye taking orders, cooking, serving, and washing dishes.
During the winter when customers are sparse, it would be easy for Adeleye to doubt his businesses will ever thrive, but his mind doesn’t work that way.
Adeleye is now seeking funding that would allow him to cook, bottle, and sell sinatu sauce, a tomato sauce with the blend of spices that make Nigerian cuisine unique.
“If I sit alone, I find myself recommitting heart and soul to this idea,” Adeleye says. “For Lansing to be a vibrant, modern community, global influences must be shared and celebrated.”
Wormies vermicomposting in Alto
Healthy food starts with healthy soil.
That’s the conviction that Luis Antonio Chen Aguilera has been living by since 2018, when the Panamanian immigrant started Wormies
, a composting business that serves greater Grand Rapids.
Wormies practices vermicomposting, which uses worms to break down food waste and produce a rich compost. Gardeners describe this premium fertilizer as “black gold.”
“We can’t keep dumping food scraps in landfills where it might contaminate our land, water, and air,” says Chen. “We must protect our food system by composting food scraps.”
The Kent County Food Policy Council’s 2023 Assessment
estimated that 74.2 percent of the organic waste generated in Kent County in 2021 was food waste. Of the almost 72,000 tons of discarded food, 46.7 percent came from households.
Rotting food produces methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Chen says that instead of depositing food waste in a landfill, it should be composted within the community that generated it, then returned to enrich local garden soils.
Wormies enrolls residential and commercial customers to do just that.
Chen provides customers with buckets for their food scraps. The Wormies crew collects the buckets weekly or every two weeks, and adds the waste to compost piles at the Wormies farm in Cascade Township, just east of Grand Rapids.
Wormies has about 650 residential customers who pay $8 per five-gallon pickup. Its 25 commercial customers pay according to the number of pails they need and how often they schedule pick-up. A share of the fertilizer is returned to customers, some of whom donate it to community gardens.
A five-gallon bag of Wormies compost, which has decomposed at least 12 months, costs $35 at area farmers markets, or customers can arrange to have it delivered. In contrast, Chen said, compost processed at large facilities contains fewer raw inputs, usually livestock manure and leaves or garden waste. The mixture has been decaying four to six months and costs about $45 per cubic yard.
In 2023, Chen and three part-time employees produced an average 200 cubic yards of compost per month.
Chen was introduced to vermicomposting at the Art of Living Centre
in Quebec, Canada. All the food waste from the retreat center, which houses as many as 5,000 people, was composted into fertilizer. Chen learned their process of composting with worms and brought it with him when he and wife, Sarah Yost, settled in the Grand Rapids area, where she was raised.
Wormies started on a quarter-acre at Trillium Haven
, a 50-acre farm in suburban Jenison that leased parcels to local growers known for chemical-free practices. Chen picked up food scraps in a hatchback automobile with room for only 10 buckets at a time.
Luis Antonio Chen Aguilera started Wormies, a composting business that serves greater Grand Rapids.
By his second year, 2019, Chen had a van dubbed Worm Wheels and two pickup trucks collecting food waste from all over metro Grand Rapids.
With help from friends and family, Chen then purchased 13 acres of agricultural land in Alto. Four acres are used for vermicomposting. The rest includes a pond, an orchard, and other features that encourage natural ecosystems.
Of all the support Wormies has received, Chen said he is especially grateful for a $50,000, low-interest line of credit from the Michigan Good Food Fund.
Chen worked as an accountant until 2017, when he left his position with a large firm in Washington, D.C. Even with a background in accounting, he says he appreciated receiving guidance from mentors associated with the Michigan Good Food Fund about organizing financial statements, building his financial portfolio, and calculating growth projections.
Sometimes Chen is referred to as the “King of Worm Poop.” Most would cringe at the title, but he wears it like a splendid crown.
What’s the Dill, pickle sandwiches in Detroit
Leona and Kenny Milton serve sandwiches piled high with turkey, chicken, beef, cheese, and vegetables.
But there’s no mistaking their take-out sandwiches for the usual subs. Nor is there any mistaking their small sandwich shop in Detroit’s university district for a traditional deli.
That’s because the Miltons don’t make sandwiches with bread.
At What’s the Dill
, located at 4088 McNichols, the sandwich fillings are packaged between two halves of a hefty dill pickle.
There are, of course, variations. Customers restricting sodium can order their sandwich served inside a fresh peeled cucumber. What’s the Dill also features “smickles,” the Milton’s version of sliders, which are a trio of two-bite sandwiches fashioned between pickle chips. They also sell soup, with one recipe including pickles.
Leona and Kenny Milton subsitute dill pickles for bread in their Detroit sandwich shop, What's the Dill.
The most popular items on the menu are “dessert” pickles, which are soaked in one of six flavors of Kool-Aid. They cost $2 per spear, three for $5, or $15 per jar.
“We’re unique in that we appeal to pretty much everybody,” says Leona Milton. “Our sandwiches are gluten-free. We can make them vegetarian, vegan, or keto. People who just want a novel approach to eating a healthy meal really love us, too.”
Milton doesn’t remember when pickles also became the foundation of her sandwiches because it happened so long ago. Friends often teased her about her pickle sandwiches—until they tried them.
Milton worked in Detroit restaurants over the years. She also worked a couple of decades in a pharmacy.
When the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, Milton needed to find some way to earn money from home. She owned two large coolers that would hold 100 sandwiches. She would pack the coolers with pickle sandwiches, then announce on social media where she would be selling them at lunchtime. She would always sell out in two or three hours.
This pop-up business helped her weather a tough time. It also brought back her dream of opening her own restaurant, which started in high school. Milton also hoped to sell some of her pickle products in local supermarkets.
“I had no idea how to make my hobby into a business,” Milton says. “I am forever grateful to my angel, Jamie Rahrig, for walking me through the process and giving me whatever help I needed every step of the way.”
Rahrig, a registered dietitian, is an academic specialist at the Center for Regional Food Systems
at Michigan State University and an innovation counselor with the MSU Product Center
, both partners of the Michigan Good Food Fund.
Milton received three grants totaling $5,600 from the Michigan Good Food Fund for startup costs. She also received funding for equipment in 2022 from Michigan Women Forward, whose mission is to expand economic opportunity for women and entrepreneurs of color.
In November 2022, the Miltons opened their 574-square-foot restaurant across from the University of Detroit. The shop is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. The Miltons also cater meetings and parties.
“Whenever a customer walks in, our employees, who are family members, call out ‘What’s the Dill!’” Milton says. “Sometimes the customer says it back, but usually they just say, ‘Wow! It smells really good in here.’”
Kym Reinstadler is a writer, editor and researcher. After a distinguished career in daily journalism, she added library science to her repertoire, working for an international technology company that builds research databases. Big data has not overshadowed her interest in local news and people, however. Kym continues writing on a variety of platforms on topics ranging from fine arts and sports to accessibility and history. Reach Kym at [email protected].
Photos by Doug Coombe and courtesy of Leona and Kenny Milton, and Luis Antonio Chen Aguilera.
This story is part of a series that explores access, equity, and sustainability through Good Food in Michigan’s thriving food economy. This work is made possible by Michigan Good Food and is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.


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Israeli digital adoption software-as-a-service company WalkMe made a weak debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange with its shares falling below the initial public offering price.
Shares of WalkMe fell 7.06% to close at $28.81 apiece on Wednesday, stock-exchange data show. The company is now valued around $2.38 billion versus the $2.6 billion valuation it sought by pricing the IPO at $31 per share.
This is still above the $1.9 billion valuation the company commanded when it last raised funding in 2019.
WalkMe raised $287 million via the IPO. This will go up by $43 million if the underwriters fully exercise their options.
The company will use the money to meet working capital expenses, acquire new businesses, operational and capital costs and for general business needs.
WalkMe was founded in 2011 by chief executive officer Dan Adika, president Rephael Sweary and Eyal Cohen, who is no longer with the company. It is backed by venture capital firm Insight Partners, among other investors.
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are acting as lead book-running managers for the offering. Wells Fargo Securities, Barclays and BMO Capital Markets are acting as joint book-runners and JMP Securities, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Needham & Company are acting as co-managers for the offering.
Israeli tech company BLEND has acquired Atlanta-based GM Voices Inc, the voice company known best for recording Apple’s voice assistant ‘Siri.’ It didn’t disclose any financial details of the transaction.
This is BLEND’s first buy since it raised $10 million as part of a Series B funding round in March this year from existing investor Fortissimo Capital.
BLEND, earlier known as OneHourTranslation, was founded in 2008 and has over 120 employees, 25,000 linguistic experts and eight offices across the world.
GM Voices is known for professionally recorded voice, audio localization, and voice branding solutions.
BLEND said the acquisition is part of its strategy to offer enterprise-grade, technology-based localization services.


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Nvidia says to return $1 bln to shareholders this fiscal year
SAN FRANCISCO, April 11
SAN FRANCISCO, April 11 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp plans to return $1 billion to shareholders this fiscal year via dividend payments and share buybacks, the company said in a Thursday announcement that helped its shares trim earlier losses.
Shares in the chipmaker slid as much as 4 percent after it told investors at its annual analysts' day that it expects its mobile processor business to remain flat this year. They recovered after the buyback news, and were down just 0.5 percent at $12.77 in the afternoon.


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Beginning February 22, the popular better-burger chain will be donating $1 from every featured shake purchased from their rotating menu of seasonal flavors. BurgerFi’s signature Oreo Chocolate Mint Cookie Shake will kick off the year-long initiative, and a new fundraising shake flavor will be featured every six weeks. The shake features vanilla custard, chocolate sauce and crushed Oreo cookies topped with whipped cream, mint and two Oreo Mint cookies.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.
“BurgerFi is proud to partner with St. Jude, and we invite our guests to enjoy our shakes in order to help give St. Jude the freedom to focus on what matters most – saving children regardless of their financial situation,” said Corey Winograd, CEO of BurgerFi. “Our hope is that with our support and with the help of the communities in which we reside, BurgerFi will make a difference in hundreds of families’ lives, one shake at a time.”
Known for delivering the all-natural burger experience in a fast-casual environment, BurgerFi has a commitment to quality food that ensures no steroids, antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals or additives are ever used. In addition to using Angus beef that is humanely raised and sustainably farmed, all recipes are created from natural, fresh ingredients. Its partnership with St. Jude supports the hospital’s mission to ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
In addition to its popular shakes, BurgerFi’s offerings feature chef-driven menu items, including their made-in-house VegeFi burger, Vienna hot dogs with all the fixings, fresh hand-cut fries and onion rings served with housemade sauces, frozen custard, natural sugar cane sodas, and a variety of craft burgers.
For more information on the partnership, please visit www.stjude.org/burgerfi.
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