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Paramount Global and Walmart have reached a streaming bundle deal that will see Paramount+ offered at no charge to subscribers of 2-year-old loyalty program Walmart+.
The agreement, which followed days of reports that the retail giant was talking with a range of potential streaming partners, was confirmed in a press release. Similar to Amazon Prime, Walmart+ offers members discounts on in-store and online purchases, groceries, gas and streaming music via Spotify. The exact number of subscribers to Walmart+ has never been disclosed but a recent report from Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley pegged it at 16 million. While that’s just a fraction of Amazon’s 200 million-plus Prime fold, Walmart has indicated it plans a long-term commitment to streaming as a driver of growth. Unlike Amazon, it is not in the content game.
In the new setup, Walmart+ will remain $98 a year ($12.95 a month), with the basic, ad-supported tier of Paramount+ included at no extra charge, a value-add of $59.
Exposure to the tens of millions of Walmart+ subscribers should give a boost to Paramount+, a rebranded and expanded version of the former CBS All Access unveiled in March 2021. As of June 30, Paramount+ had 43.3 million subscribers and has shown growth recently even as other Paramount Global streaming outlets have declined. The broader industry is facing new headwinds as even longtime category leader Netflix saw its growth stall in the first half of the year.
Spanning decades of alliances across home video and consumer products, “Paramount has enjoyed a close relationship with Walmart for years,” noted Jeff Shultz, chief strategy officer and chief business development officer, Paramount Streaming. “Now, pairing Walmart’s expansive reach across the country with Paramount+’s broad and popular content that offers something for everyone is a unique opportunity to expand our partnership.”
Walmart+ SVP and GM Chris Cracchiolo said the addition of Paramount+ shows his company’s “unique ability to help members save even more and live better by delivering entertainment for less.” Paramount+ has qualities the retailer sparked to, mainly “premium content and broad appeal,” he added. “Like Walmart, they have something for everyone.”
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Business elites gathered last week for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and one of the themes they explored was how coffee could be a blueprint for regenerative farming, potentially promising a revolution in our relationship with nature.
Professor Johan Rockström, the renowned climate scientist, set the stage with a stark warning: “We are set to crash through 1.5°C of global warming, but nature investments can pull us back from the brink.” His urgency underscored the need for innovative solutions, paving the way for the discussion on regenerative agriculture.
Morten Rossé, Head of Nature and Climate at holistiQ Investment Partners, identified a key challenge in tackling the climate crisis: “Capital is required upstream, but profits are captured downstream. Regenerative agriculture could turn this dynamic on its head,” Rossé explained, “shifting capital, creating new business models, and unlocking value in nature assets.” This shifted the focus towards exploring how to incentivize sustainable practices by redirecting resources where they’re needed most.
Sebastian Nielsen, CEO of Slow Forest, used coffee production as a compelling example. “One way to shift capital upstream,” Nielsen pointed out, “is to shorten the value chain. We grow coffee, we process coffee, we roast it and sell it to corporations. That's rare in the coffee industry. Usually, coffee changes hands 15 to 20 times. Think about the loss of value. Think about the loss of transparency. By cutting out the middlemen, we captured the value so we could redistribute it back to communities and back to nature."
| Local farmer in Laos walks through a coffee agroforestry farm.
“To create further upstream value, Slow Forest has also committed to regenerative farming,” Nielsen explained. “We are raising capital to buy degraded farms with low productivity. We plant 350 trees and 20 different tree species per hectare including fruit trees and fast-growing trees, to get cover that gives good shade for growing coffee and to mimic nature as fast as possible.”
"This attracts biodiversity and creates a habitat for wildlife. You can taste the result. The coffee is better quality. And it has a negative carbon footprint. It's opening a market where consumption can help us raise the capital, create the return, and regenerate more land."
The event hosted by Lombard Odier at the World Economic Forum served as a crucial platform for exploring these groundbreaking ideas. Key players like Éliane Ubalijoro (CEO of the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry), Andrea Illy (Chairman of Illycaffè and Co-founder and Chairman of the Regenerative Society Foundation), and others joined the dialogue, bringing their diverse expertise and perspectives to the table.
Want to dive deeper into the conversation at Davos 2024? Visit Lombard Odier’s website here.

domain: news


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Prices for New Zealand log exports have been showing signs of improvement, albeit slowly. However, a forestry consultant has emphasized the need for the sector to diversify its international markets in order to reduce its dependence on China. Despite the construction slowdown in China due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, export prices have strengthened this month. Notably, sales to China, which is New Zealand’s largest customer, have picked up. In November, prices increased by $9 compared to October, reaching approximately NZ$110 per Japanese Agricultural Standard metre-squared at the wharf gate of South Island ports. North Island exporters have also seen an increase of $5-10. Overall, the sales performance for log exporters has remained solid.
It is worth noting that New Zealand’s exports to China have been experiencing a decline. This decline has been observed in the log and wood sector, highlighting the need for the forestry industry to explore new international markets. While China has been a significant buyer of New Zealand logs, the sector must seek opportunities elsewhere to reduce its reliance on a single market. This diversification would not only help mitigate risks associated with over-reliance on one country but also open up new avenues for growth and expansion.
The forestry consultant stressed that finding alternative markets is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the New Zealand log export industry. While China’s demand for logs has been substantial, the recent decline in exports indicates a potential shift in market dynamics. Therefore, it is imperative for the sector to proactively identify and tap into emerging markets to secure its future. By expanding its customer base, the industry can mitigate the impact of any fluctuations or disruptions in a single market.
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the New Zealand log export industry has shown resilience. The increase in export prices this month demonstrates the sector’s ability to adapt and find opportunities amidst a changing global landscape. However, it is crucial to maintain this momentum and continue seeking new markets to sustain growth.
Furthermore, the forestry consultant highlighted the importance of government support in facilitating market diversification. The government can play a crucial role in establishing trade agreements, providing market intelligence, and supporting industry initiatives to explore new markets. By working together, the government and the forestry sector can create a favorable environment for expanding exports and reducing reliance on any single market.
In conclusion, while New Zealand’s log export prices have shown signs of improvement, the forestry industry must actively seek new international markets to reduce its dependence on China. Diversifying the customer base will not only mitigate risks but also foster long-term sustainability and growth. The government’s support in this endeavor is crucial, and collaboration between the public and private sectors is key to unlocking new opportunities for the New Zealand log export industry.


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Now, as ardent fans wait to see whether Cisco can live up to the hype, even more eyes on Wall Street will be on the bellwether's hotly anticipated outlook, searching for clues to what's ahead for the tech sector.
Right or wrong, investors commonly believe that the computer networking giant will be among the first companies to benefit from a long-anticipated recovery in tech spending after a three-year slump. The surge in Cisco's share price has largely outpaced the techwide rally that started last spring. Cisco hit a 52-week high of $21.85 early Tuesday and later slipped 15 cents, to $21.56.
By most analysts' accounts, Cisco enjoyed a solid fiscal first quarter. The
spark that lit up the current rally came in September, when CEO John Chambers said he saw higher-than-expected sales in August. Those trends seem to have continued through October, according to analysts.
Now, with demand stabilizing, orders picking up, and the
backlog rising, some analysts, and obviously a number of investors, are convinced that Cisco's chatty chief may speak of continuing sales momentum. This has many wagering that Cisco will raise its second-quarter financial targets while giving its usual cautious optimism about a possible recovery.
"It's likely they'll have positive guidance for next quarter, but you will probably hear them try for their usual measured outlook," says CIBC World Markets analyst Steve Kamman, who has a neutral rating on the stock. CIBC has done banking for Cisco.
Analysts expect first-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share on sales of $4.8 billion, according to a Multex tally. While matching year-ago levels, those results would represent a 3% sequential sales improvement. The consensus outlook for the second quarter calls for 16 cents of profit on $5 billion in sales. That's 5% sequential growth.
"It will be interesting to see how the market interprets it," says Kamman. "I think overall tone will suggest a reasonable return to some spending recovery -- but not a return to bubble-era euphoria."
Among the areas analysts will try to probe is the progress of the
unit, Cisco's recent foray into consumer electronics and home networking systems. While Cisco defends the move as a logical extension of its Internet gear business, critics charge that it is a desperate lunge at sales growth that will drag down the company's lofty 70% gross margins.
Also, though the company is not likely to give much by way of details, investors will be curious to hear about the much-anticipated mega-router that Cisco has in test labs. Routers are large data-sorting devices that help speed Net traffic to addressed destinations.
Cisco's newest effort, internally referred to as a huge fast router or HFR, is an answer to rival
Gibson. The massive machine would sit at the core of phone networks and help distribute the ever-growing flow of Internet data.
According to trade news site
Light Reading, Cisco has developed a new software or operating system to run the HFR. That, says CIBC's Kamman, suggests that Cisco may be planning a new crop of products to coincide with the new software.
But even the buzz around a big router will mean little if Cisco doesn't wave the all-clear flag for a spending recovery.


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The White Rock Farmers’ Market officially launched its 16th season last weekend, with a well-attended opening day Sunday.
With more than 120 vendors registered for the 2015 summer season – which runs every Sunday through Oct. 11 – hundreds of attendees browsed local produce, baked goods, meat, cheese, food trucks and more.
Earlier this year, the White Rock Farmers’ Market was recognized by the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets as a finalist for best market in the province.
The winner of the large (61-plus vendors) category, named at the association’s annual conference in February, was the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market.
This year, the White Rock market will be operating with new hours – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – at Miramar Plaza, 15154 Russell Ave. The indoor winter market is set to run Oct. 18 to Dec. 13 at The Elks Hall, 1469 George St.
For more information, visit www.whiterockfarmersmarket.ca


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In the recent past, Netflix has made headlines for one thing in particular: the massive drop in its stocks. Now, the company announced a new subscription model that they themselves had considered out of the question for years. It's an option where you pay a somewhat lower price, but have to watch advertisements in return. The launch of this model is expected to happen very fast. For instance, the company decided to forgo test markets in order to be able to offer the new subscription plan within the next six months. They hope to win back some lost subscribers, as many cancelled their subscriptions due to the constant price increases and the lackluster content. Even though many reacted rather mockingly to the announcement, this could be a real opportunity for the streaming service to win back former customers. Other providers are more than capable of competing, and Disney+ in particular is one of the strongest contenders with its constantly surpassed forecasts. This may be due to the consistently high-quality catalog of new movies and series, along with the more affordable pricing. Unfortunately, it is not known yet what the cost of the new Netflix model will be. We are still waiting for an official statement in this regard.
What's your opinion on Netflix's new subscription model? Can you picture yourself watching ads for less money or, as a former subscriber, can you even imagine signing up for a subscription again? Feel free to let us know in the comments!


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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rupiah interbank exchange rate in Jakarta on Monday morning went up by 39 points to begin trading at Rp12,187 per United States (US) dollar—up from its previous position at Rp12,226 per US dollar.
"The US dollar dipped against the majority of global currencies as worries of a global economic slowdown and rising inflation affect investors from around the globe," said the head of research for Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, in Jakarta on Thursday.
Ariston added that the correction to the US dollar's position is also caused by the increasing possibility that the US Federal Reserve may delay its plans to raise its core interest rate to December 2015. Previously, experts estimated that the interest rate hike would be announced in mid-2015.
"Investors are letting go of their US dollar-denominated assets, and choosing to wait-and-see instead," said Ariston.
Recent figures suggest that the US economic growth is beginning to slow down—US Department of Commerce said that retail sales slumped by 0.3 percent in September, while the US Department of Labor said that September's producer price index also slid by 0.1 percent, suggesting an overall slump in activities.
A market analyst from Bank Himpunan Saudara, Rully Nova, added that the inauguration of president-elect and vice president-elect Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla on October 20, 2014 is giving the rupiah the positive boost it needs.
"We hope that the inauguration goes without a hitch and does not disrupt activities in the market, and we hope that the new administration will get to work as soon as they can to implement their programs that they have announced throughout the campaign," said Rully.


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The future of electronics in the Philippines is a little bit getting dimmer. This is because of the economic crisis that the world is right now experiencing and the Philippines is not excempted in it. I have been a student in electronics myself but I have never seen any such effect on the industry until today.
The repair services people are even experiencing this as I talked to a friend last month and he said that this is going to be predicted as the worst year for the industry in electronics repair. Although this is just some prediction based on the data he is collecting through job orders in his repair shop, I do not see any reason why the people who are involved in this industry to panic.
I'm sure that somewhere in the middle of this year, we will recover from this economic crisis.


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Vehicles with a battery pack of around 30 kW will have a range of at least 250 km.
By Pritish Raj
Government departments using the electric vehicles (EVs) from Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are understood to be somewhat unhappy with the mileage of the vehicles.According to an official in one of the departments, while Tata Motors and M&M had claimed these would run for 130 km when fully charged, they are able to do just about 85 km. “One is worried about running them for too long,” the official told FE.
A Tata Motors spokesperson said the Tigor EV has a certified range of 142 km as per an ARAI test report against the tender range requirement of 130 kms.
“The range of the vehicle varies from individual to individual and depends on the driving habits, road and traffic conditions,” the spokesperson added.
The two Mumbai-based automakers have so far supplied around 1,500 vehicles to Energy Efficiency Services (EESL), a public-sector unit in the power ministry. Another 1,000 units are expected to be driven in over the next few months.
Officials are understood to have asked EESL to urge Tata Motors and M&M to increase the battery strength to give the vehicles a range of least 120 km in normal road and traffic conditions. However, the EESL wants them to make do with the current lot because a bigger battery capacity would mean a higher cost.
EESL MD Saurabh Kumar said only a few officials had complained. “Obviously, the range will be better under standard test conditions than normal road conditions. This is also true for cars with internal combustion engines. Range has a lot to do with the driving behaviour and traffic conditions,” Kumar told FE.
He added that the cost of the vehicle would rise substantially if manufacturers were asked to fit them with batteries that have strengths matching global standards. “We have given the companies more time to supply the remaining units since we are waiting for the demand to pick up. If the vehicles are more costly, that could dampen demand,” he said.
According to Kumar, the focus has now shifted from procuring more EVs to making them popular by installing more charging stations. That would generate demand and mitigate problems, particularly related to range. New Delhi currently has 30 charging stations for the public and EESL aims to increase this to 200 soon. For vehicles procured for government departments, there are around 1,500 stations across states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Telangana.
While M&M has supplied its sedan e-Verito as part of the tender won by companies to supply 10,000 EVs in 2017, Tata Motors has sold the Tigor. Since the demand for EVs remains subdued possibly because of dissatisfaction over the range, EESL has given the companies an additional year till March 2020 to supply the remaining units. Earlier, the companies were to supply the entire units by March 2019. The second tender for another 10,000 vehicles has also been postponed for an indefinite period.
M&M did not respond to requests for comment till the time of going to press. According to the officials, the government’s intent to promote EVs may suffer a setback if the next lot of EVs is fitted with batteries of a similar capacity and range. “For private use too, a minimum range of 200 km is a must,” an official said.
The vehicles come with a battery pack of 18 kilowatt (kW), while the global standard is 25-35kW. Vehicles with a battery pack of around 30 kW will have a range of at least 250 km.


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HTC Corp’s (宏達電) smartphone shipments are this year expected to underperform Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩) for the second consecutive year, which hardly makes HTC a major smartphone brand in the global market, analysts said.
Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) last week forecast that Asustek’s smartphone shipments would grow 34 percent annually to 21.5 million this year, while HTC’s shipments could drop 27 percent year-on-year to 13 million units.
“We project shipments of HTC’s flagship model M10 will only be about 1 million this year… It is highly unlikely that HTC will be able to regain its past glory as a major brand in the market,” TrendForce analyst Avril Wu (吳雅婷) said in a report released on Thursday.
Asustek has become the leading Taiwanese smartphone brand, mainly because of its low-priced, high-performance handsets, Wu said.
The company’s strategy to switch most of its smartphone processors from Intel Corp’s chips to Qualcomm Inc’s, which are more efficient and generate less heat, also drive demand for Asustek smartphones, Wu said.
With tough competition from Asustek and Chinese vendors, such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀移動), HTC’s handset shipments are expected to fall from last year’s 18 million units, she said.
The 13 million units Wu expects HTC will ship include the Taiwanese company’s additional Nexus smartphone production in the second half of this year for Google.
HTC does not disclose its smartphone shipment numbers.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) forecast that HTC would ship a total of 17.7 million smartphones this year, representing a 7.8 percent annual decline from an estimated 19.2 million units last year.
HTC’s smartphone business has not improved, contrary to what the company told investors and shareholders recently, said a Yuanta analyst who declined to be named, citing HTC’s disappointing sales in April and May.
HTC global sales division head Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨) last month told shareholders that sales of M10 smartphones this year is much better than last year’s sales of the M9 handset.
At that time, Chang said the robust sales of the M10, which hit the market at the beginning of April, had also helped boost demand for the firm’s other handset models by about 20 percent.
However, the Yuanta analyst said Chang’s optimism over the smartphone sales was not reflected in the April-to-May sales figures, which plunged 48.58 percent to NT$12.5 billion (US$388 million) from last year’s NT$24.31 billion.
“Excluding the sales contribution from HTC’s VR headset that also hit the market in April, the scale of annual decline of the company’s smartphone revenues would be more than 48.58 percent,” the analyst said.
That suggests that sales of M10 and HTC’s other smartphones were not as good as the company said, he added.
In light of poor revenues in April and May, the analyst said HTC’s guidance of a smartphone business turnaround in the second half of this year would be difficult, because sales of the M10 is likely to dissipate following its launch in April.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, has decided to slow down its 3-nanometer chip production as Intel Corp, one of its major customers, plans to push back the launch of its new Meteor Lake tGPU chipsets to the end of next year, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. That means Intel has canceled almost all of the 3-nanometer capacity booked for next year, with only a small amount of wafer input remaining for engineering verification, the Taipei-based researcher said in a report. Based on Intel’s original schedule, TSMC was to start producing the new chipsets in
Aptera Motors Inc cofounder Chris Anthony, left, and Formosa AdvEnergy Technology Corp chairwoman Sandy Wang pose for a photograph next to an Aptera three-wheeled solar electric vehicle at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Formosa AdvEnergy yesterday signed an agreement to supply batteries for Aptera Motors’ solar electric vehicles. Formosa Smart Energy Tech Corp, another unit of Formosa Plastics Group, will also jointly develop a new generation of lithium iron phosphate batteries with Aptera Motors, the companies said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) NT$20 million (US$666,756) and suspended its chairman over poor internal controls. The company’s management team was found to have given major shareholder Angelo Koo’s (辜仲瑩) secretary inside information about the conglomerate’s banking, insurance and securities units from October 2020 to October last year, Banking Bureau Director-General Sherri Chuang (莊琇媛) said. The data also included company plans to acquire China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽), employees’ performance assessment and payroll information, Chuang said. The commission said its investigation did not show that Koo made copies of internal data or took actions based
‘NO NEED TO WORRY’: The central bank governor said foreign selling on the TAIEX is normal for this time of year and that the nation has ample forex reserves Taiwan would emerge unscathed from China’s retaliatory actions to protest US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, top monetary and financial officials said yesterday. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) shrugged off unease over potential instability in the foreign exchange and stock markets after foreign portfolio funds trimmed their holdings of local shares for two straight days amid Beijing’s threats of retaliation. “There is no need to worry,” Yang said on the sidelines of an event to celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of Central American Bank for Economic Integration’s (CABEI) Taipei office and the 30th anniversary of


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Battery cost and its technology evolution influences the rate of electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Likewise, the presence of a fully localised battery manufacturing factory will help a state grow its EV industry. Recognising the criticality of it, the Maharashtra state government which announced its EV Policy last week, has initiated talks with potential investors.
“We are very actively interacting with industrial houses to promote the manufacturing of EV batteries, and soon we will find that many investors take interest in setting up this battery manufacturing units here in the state,” Subhash Desai, Industries Minister, government of Maharashtra, tells Autocar Professional.
The names of the potential investors were not divulged, but Desai says they are “local as well as global”. One of them is set to be Reliance Industries, which has recently announced a Rs 60,000 crore investment plan to build a variety of components for the new energy ecosystem including advanced batteries.
Encouraging local entrepreneurship in the EV space is also a focus for the state government, according to Desai. While the state government conducts discussions with prospective investors of a gigafactory or two in the state, Desai says the focus is also on training and skilling local students and building a talent pool in the state which is fit for the EV ecosystem.
Developing industry-ready personnel
Availability of ‘industry-ready’ personnel has been an issue in varying degrees in the domestic ICE vehicle industry for long. Cognisant of the challenge, the Maharashtra government has taken measures to ensure availability of more industry-ready manpower, which is essential for the state to retain its position as a major auto hub. “The skill development corporation of Maharashtra is very busy since the past four years in converting the conventional courses into industry specific courses,” says Desai.
Incentives aimed at fuelling demand for EVs, setting up charging infrastructure are key for mass scale EV adoption in the state, and the country, but factors like availability of local supply chain (battery being the most crucial) and local talent pool would also be crucial in the growing competition among states vying to be major EV hubs. That explains the focus on these areas by the Maharashtra government, a major auto hub in the traditional ICE vehicle industry. Will it be able to achieve the same status in the EV industry? The jury is out on that, but the Maharashtra government is putting efforts for “time-bound results” and to be a major EV industry hub in the country. For starters, the first set of time-bound goals is 10 percent of all new vehicles in the state.


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US internet revenues totalled $2.9 billion in 2000, according to the latest figures released by CMRi AdNetTrackUS. The figure is 52.6% up on 1999 and equated to 3.04% of all adspend – nearly double that of 1999's 1.75%
The biggest online advertiser was General Motors which spent $47.9 million across all its brands, 96.5% up on the previous year. In second place was Microsoft at $25.5m (all brands), 31% down on the year before.
The most profligate single brand was Barnes & Noble, at $15.9m marginally ahead of Amazon’s $15.0m. The rivals’ spend was up on 1999, respectively by 55.8% and 24.7%.
Yahoo! attracted the most ad revenue with a 60.2% increase to $442m, well ahead of its nearest rival the Excite network which rose by 53% to $249m.
By sector, the media and advertising industry spent the most on internet advertising: up 83.4% to $542.2m. In the number two slot, retailers spent $510.8m, a 73.6% increase on 1999.
News source: Advertising Age - Interactive Daily


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SINGAPORE JUNE 25 2020 / EMURGO Ptd. Ltd. – EMURGO, a global blockchain solutions provider & a founding entity of the Cardano protocol, formally announces the joining of Trace Alliance – a collaborative union connecting technology solutions providers, enterprises, startups, and academia with supply chain professionals to foster blockchain solutions development & integration with supply chain verticals.
With the recent launch of EMURGO Traceability Solution – an enterprise-facing solution built to meet the needs for reliable & cost-efficient product traceability – this announcement serves to drive synergies between EMURGO’s tailored solutions for supply chains and fellow Trace Alliance members, as well as the potential to also broaden adoption of Cardano’s research-driven blockchain.
Trace Alliance is composed of a diverse set of established members of large & medium enterprises, service providers, and research institutions. According to a 2019 blockchain report commissioned by EY that surveyed more than 230 global business executives, three-fourths or 75% reported that their enterprises were either planning to implement tailored blockchain solutions within 24 months or had already done so.  The most commonly cited answer to the question of the reasons for implementing blockchain solutions was the “need to preserve data integrity.” The top two answers to the question for blockchain use cases were “data integrity” and “supply chain track-and-trace” with more than half of all respondents giving both of those answers. EMURGO’s inclusion into Trace Alliance offers strategic advantages to tackle these enterprise use cases leveraging blockchain technology.
“As traditional industries increasingly progress towards integrating blockchain solutions, joining Trace Alliance is mutually beneficial for both EMURGO and Alliance members to actively collaborate on ways to further drive blockchain adoption. EMURGO highly looks forward to the continued development of blockchain technology for supply chains and to add value to enterprises via our tailored solutions,” said Ken Kodama, CEO of EMURGO.
“Trace Alliance enables access to the world’s leading experts and forward-thinking companies, working together on global issues to create more efficient and transparent supply chains for the 21st century . We are delighted to see EMURGO join the Trace Alliance and are looking forward to having them work alongside research institutions, software companies, and NGOs to exchange information, experience and expertise in this quickly evolving field. Data integrity in global supply chains is essential for establishing trust and accountability, and it can only be achieved through collaboration,” said Ana Bevc, Secretary General of Trace Alliance.
EMURGO is a global blockchain technology company providing solutions for developers, startups, enterprises and governments. EMURGO develops enterprise-grade applications, builds developer tools, invests in startups, and provides blockchain education.
EMURGO has offices and manages projects in Singapore, Japan, the USA, India, and Indonesia. EMURGO is a founding member of the Cardano protocol. To connect and learn more, visit https://emurgo.io.
For further information from EMURGO
Chief Marketing Officer
About Trace Alliance
The Trace Alliance is an European Union based non-profit association within the OriginTrail ecosystem that functions as an inclusive, collaborative hub to connect all organizations aiming to work together to solve complex supply chain challenges using blockchain technology. Examples of the challenges the alliance intends to tackle include data interoperability, supply chain transparency and fighting counterfeit practices. The Trace Alliance acts as a platform for sharing knowledge and experience from real-world blockchain implementations, allowing members to connect and pursue joint projects, creating new expertise and facilitating the adoption of blockchain technology on a global level. Existing members of the Trace Alliance include Deloitte, EVRYTHNG, TMA Solutions, Gijima, T-Provenance, Oregon Tilth, TE-FOOD, BTC Logistics Centre, and 100 + enterprises and service providers.
To connect and learn more, visit https://alliance.origintrail.io


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LOS ANGELES--(www.hotflashhavoc.com), confronting the issue of menopausal hormone therapy, announced today that the film has just been released for sale on DVD at Walmart.com and select Walmart stores. Hot Flash Havoc, following its release in theaters earlier this year, is the recipient of the 2011 AASECT Award for ‘Best Audio Visual for Sexual Health’ from the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists.)--The producers of award-winning documentary Hot Flash Havoc (
“Women who may not have access to a menopause specialist can now have access to this valuable information everywhere online.”
Scott Duthie, distributor for Angry Monkey Entertainment, says, “Women who may not have access to a menopause specialist can now have access to this valuable information everywhere online.”
Executive producer Heidi Houston adds, “I believe the information in Hot Flash Havoc will save marriages, sanity and allow for a better quality of life.”
Over forty of the world’s leading medical experts on menopause and women’s health participated in the making of Hot Flash Havoc. The documentary seeks to educate doctors, women and men by sharing real information from experts in the field.
As indicated in the 2012 Census, there are currently over 73,000,000 women in the United States in some stage of menopause with less than 2,000 certified menopause practitioners, according to the North American Menopause Society. The onset of menopause can begin in women as early as 35 years of age.
Hot Flash Havoc, an Angry Monkey Entertainment release, is directed by Marc Bennett, written and narrated by Marnie Inskip, executive produced by Heidi Houston and produced by Houston and Gary Jaffe.
For more information, and to locate a participating Walmart store in your area, please visit www.hotflashhavoc.com.


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Ubisoft unveiled a brand new logo today, bringing 14 years of that adorable purple swirl to a definite close. Its replacement logo, one Ubisoft describes as “minimalist, modern and monochromatic,” hasn’t escaped criticism given the atmosphere that is brewing around Ubisoft.
The logo itself is the fourth that Ubisoft has used in its 31 years of existence. The company shared some anecdotes about the old logos and put them on a nicely organized timeline.
The new swirl is an evolution of our existing logo that marks a new era for Ubisoft, one with an increased focus on live and digital games as well as a player-centric approach to creating immersive worlds.
It all started in 1986 with this rad design – a look inspired by the distinct visual style of the ’80s. At the time, Ubisoft was a local distributor of video games. Nine years later, Rayman was born and Ubisoft introduced the rainbow.
This marked the company’s shift from distributor to creator, and highlighted the fact that Ubisoft was creating mainly family-oriented content.
Ubisoft explained that the new logo helps redefine its place in the modern video game world.
Today, we create worlds – worlds that live as video games, comics, movies, TV shows, books, and amusement park rides. Our new logo is minimalist, modern and monochromatic.
With this new look, we proudly embrace our role as a creator of worlds. As we move toward the most exciting time of the year, E3, you will see this new emblem take on the colors and textures of our worlds.
You can’t look more like an empty shell than that!
Ubisoft is already under bombardment by a corporate entity looking to buy it out, and many fear that the Ubisoft who creates games that explode with life, such as Rayman Legends, Beyond Good & Evil, and even the charismatic Far Cry games, could be lost under the clout of heartless corporate takeover.
I’m not saying that the new logo is bad, but it doesn’t exactly have a lot of character to it. It has no color, in an age where color in games is making a comeback, and it looks like an empty seashell more than anything. When you talk about something being a shell of its former self, this logo perfectly captures that idiom in a single image.
It’s not the image you want to be giving gamers when they fear for your future.
Seriously, go back to that 80s logo! That seems more fitting of the trends gamers want to make these days, fun and bursting with character, rather than the inevitable path of corporate entertainment empires that many video game publishers are all but destined to follow.


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US: Urban Outfitters opts for QuantiSense software
Apparel retail group Urban Outfitters has licensed the full suite of software solutions offered by retail analytics specialist QuantiSense.
The company chose the QuantiSense Decision Orchestration Platform, which includes QuantiSense Merchandising, Direct and Store Ops, for its retail brands, including Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters.
The system combines business intelligence, data warehousing and sophisticated retail analytics, using executive dashboards and personalised Retail Scorebooks and Retail Playbooks.
“In today’s fast-paced and competitive market, access to timely and accurate information is critical,” said Calvin Hollinger, chief information and logistics officer at Urban Outfitters.
“QuantiSense will be at the core of our next generation BI systems, providing a shared platform across all our brands and channels that will enable us to make more informed decisions.”
Retailer Urban Outfitters Inc has posed a 12% drop in first-quarter profit after the cost of opening new stories and higher markdowns on a few women's apparel lines offset a rise in sales....
A controversial T-shirt that appeared on the Urban Outfitters' website was an early prototype and should not have been displayed, Danish clothing firm Wood Wood has told The Anti-Defamation League (AD...
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has described a T-shirt associated with the yellow Star of David symbol, made by teen fashion retailer Urban Outfitters, as a new low....
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April 10, 2020
Lighting’s Dark Secret: Embodied Carbon in the LED Industry
Energy-efficient LEDs have a fat carbon footprint. The Lighting industry is beginning to grapple with the amount of embodied carbon in its materials.
One evening last July, concert pianist Stephen Hough sat down before an audience of 150 people in the Olivier Music Barn at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana. There was no spotlight, just him and a Steinway by a huge picture window overlooking the Beartooth Mountains. Apart from a few low-power ambient fixtures, it was mostly dusk-light that eased the room into the mood for Hough’s selection of brooding pieces by Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt.
“He played Chopin’s funeral march, Sonata No. 2,” recalls Tippet Rise Art Center codirector Pete Hinmon, who was there that night. “It was mysterious, heavy-hitting music. As the program progressed, the skies were getting darker. We heard thunder. The skies lit up the space with lightning. It was this amazing collision of arts and nature. I couldn’t have designed that,” he adds.
But in a way, Arup did design it. The firm’s lighting teams spent months studying that particular rolling-hill landscape (in collaboration with a team of engineers and audio pros), trying to come up with a just-right site for the music barn, which would capitalize on natural light, keep the structure’s carbon footprint as small as possible, and still deliver a highly dramatic performance space. They did install some LEDs in the barn, with aluminum fixtures that can be recycled if they’re ever replaced. But they also took deliberate steps to make use of illumination from the setting sun whenever possible, even if that meant limiting concerts to certain hours and adjusting the acoustics to compensate for the bouncy effects of more windows. The lighting designers proposed a change in theater expectations and human behavior in order to achieve a sustainability goal.
To some, Arup’s “use less” lighting strategy may sound extreme, but the point it makes about the state of manufacturing is a reality check: As energy efficient as lighting systems have become from an operational perspective, the greenhouse gas levels emitted in the process of making them remain earth threateningly high. Lighting researchers at Aalto University in Finland estimate that manufacturing LEDs, given the heavy metals and silicone in their electronic parts, releases more than double the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in making conventional lamps and luminaires. Are LEDs operationally efficient when installed? Yes. But are they carbon costly right now? Extremely.
Lighting manufacturers admit that it’s difficult to accurately track all the emissions produced during the extraction of ingredients, manufacturing of parts, and shipping and installation of fixtures— all of which contribute to what’s known as a product’s embodied carbon. One barrier to information is that many factories in southern China, where a majority of lighting components are made, do not release carbon emissions data. “I don’t know if that will change in China unless there’s a direct economic advantage to doing it,” says Robert Sonneman, founder and chief creative officer of manufacturer SONNEMAN – A Way of Light. But he says he’s becoming increasingly sensitive to the embodied-carbon issue and is trying to address it any way he can. “We’re absolutely looking to improve the packing and materials that are used in shipping. They’re a big threat too.”
The need for change is urgent. The amount of carbon the world can afford to emit in the next five to 10 years (without raising the earth’s temperature past a dangerous 1.5 degrees Celsius) is so meager now that it’s going to take a massive reduction effort across industries to slow the warming, the lighting industry included. Concrete manufacturers are experimenting with net-zero-carbon processes and products, and lighting manufacturers may want to follow suit. But so far there is no low-carbon way to keep making tech-heavy lighting strips, downlights, fixtures, controllers, shading systems, and sensors.
“Sustainable growth today is still an oxymoron,” says Govi Rao, a former vice president and general manager for Philips.
Solid-State Lighting Solutions. Rao now heads Carbon Group, an accelerator for cleaner businesses. “The bad news is that people are out for profit, so the primary focus is not going to be zero carbon.” The good news is that the number of professionals who are exploring ways to reduce the embodied carbon of lighting systems, such as Arup’s designers and Rao, is growing. Barbara Rodriguez, a Chile-based researcher who previously worked for the Carbon Leadership Forum at the University of Washington in Seattle, sees the coming decade as one of the most promising design seasons in history. “Most designers still aren’t aware of the impact that materials have,” says Rodriguez. “We need to find ways of doing more with less, and that’s fast becoming a trend. It’s a very exciting time in design.”
Architect Scott James Kyle of Glavé & Holmes Architecture in Richmond, Virginia, says he has found embodied carbon savings by using recycled materials to build lighting fixtures: Nearly every time he finds a way to employ recycled copper, aluminum, or brass, it’s a carbon win, because no new emissions went into making the fixture. His recycled material quest led to a creative local collaboration with Floyd, Virginia, lighting manufacturer Crenshaw, which was willing to fashion custom fixtures for Kyle’s projects.
“What is a light fixture? There’s the light element itself, an LED, and a chip, two to three parts there. You have to have those, no way around it. But the rest of it is really up for grabs. Your diffuser, your filtering element, your reflector, those can all be recycled,” says Kyle. “Architects are now making their own fixtures. Contractors are too. That part seems to be sort of hopeful,” he adds.
When Kyle needs a standard system, he tries to turn to manufacturers who post Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for lighting system components. EPDs are the closest designers can get right now to an accurate assessment of a product’s lifelong impact on ecosystems, charting not just carbon emissions but chemical composition and information about how the product will eventually decompose. The last 12 months have been very good to designers looking for this information: Two online platforms, mindful MATERIALS and an embodied carbon calculator called EC3, serve as easily searchable EPD compendiums. Is every lighting product on these platforms? No. But enough are there to help designers begin to piece together lower-embodied-carbon components for their systems.
“More and more products are coming out with EPDs, and we’re setting goals for products to reduce their embodied carbon over time,” says Wes Stevens, a director in the LEED department of the U.S. Green Building Council. “We can’t recycle our way out of this problem; we have to reduce consumption. That’s where good design comes in.”
As the Arup lighting team proved at Tippet Rise Art Center, sometimes good design isn’t about choosing the right materials, but about curbing our dependence on them. Not with a shame-on-you message of deprivation, but with a vision for what could happen if people (and their circadian systems) could track natural light cycles a little more instead of flooding our interiors and exteriors at all hours.
Rodriguez points to the Atacama Desert in Chile, home of the clearest night skies on the planet. Scientists and star-hungry tourists travel from all over the world for the chance to look through high-powered telescopes set up there, and restaurants and hotels that serve these pilgrims have agreed to not pollute the night skies with artificial light. They don’t spotlight their signs or facades after a certain time. They keep things dim for the cause, and there’s a sense of camaraderie about it all, says Rodriguez.
“It works because the whole community is very much aware of the impact they’re making, and they’re proud of it. There’s a whole culture making this happen,” Rodriguez says. “We can learn from that.”
You may also enjoy “More Good than Harm: How Humanscale Reduced Carbon Emissions with a Lightbulb”
Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]


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The new and yet to be launched cryptocurrency form Facebook called libra is not intended to either kill nor compete with bitcoin, the social media platform has confirmed.
Libra and bitcoin can exist side by side with differing use cases, said David Marcus, the person who is heading the crypto attempts of Facebook, and added that he himself is a big follower and fan of BTC.
The aim of creation of libra is to provide and offer a stable payment system, he explained through a tweet on the issue on Saturday. According to him, bitcoin is viewed to be more of a store of value or a non-correlated asset – which is similar ot the concept of bitcoin being the ‘digital gold’.
“Many want to pit Libra vs. Bitcoin. In my mind these two are not in the same category. BTC is a decorrelated (investment) asset. Libra is designed to be a stable medium-of-exchange. I have been, and remain a fan of BTC, but for very different purposes,” he tweeted.
Drawing a difference between libra and bitcoin, Marcus, who had earlier played the role of a president at PayPal, said that the design of libra is such that it would be able to be stand up a better system for engaging in digital cash and payments while the more prominent role and characteristic of bitcoin is that of a vehicle for making investments in the longer term.
According to a report by CNN, virtually none of the users of bitcoin use it as a means for payments and financial transactions. Merchant transactions were involved in only 1.3 per cent of all bitcoin related transactions in 2019 so far and most of the people owning bitcoin are holding them for the long term.
However, some analysts feel that the power of bitcoin to muscle its place in the payments space in the future is being underestimated by Marcus. Those analysts believe that over time, there would be a gradual reduction in the volatility in bitcoin which would make it a more viable vehicle for peer-to-peer transfer and payment of money.
Facebook cryptocurrency was called a “very high-quality form of digital money” by Marcus while explaining the libra in a television interview. “This is really designed from the ground up to be a great medium of exchange and very high-quality form of digital money that you can use for everyday payments, cross border payments, micro transactions,” he said.
Whatever the situations, the statements made by Marcus are significant. None of the marketing materials that were released by Facebook during the entire Libra rollout had any mentioned of bitcoin. Following that however, these comments made by Marcus now have placed libra alongside the largest cryptocurrency of the world – bitcoin.
(Adapted from CNN.com)


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BBC accused of raking in money by promoting brands during Children In Need and Planet Earth
by PAUL REVOIR
Last updated at 19:22 07 March 2008
Although regulation is supposed to prevent the corporation from showing adverts, companies can put money towards events, rather than programmes.
Scroll down for more...
For instance, "sponsorship packages" for events such as Children in Need can be bought.
Businesses might pay for venue hire, rather than investing in programming costs.
In return, they are given credits on air, and can receive VIP invitations to the event.
But critics believe the practice exploits gaps in the ban on advertising.
ITV and commercial radio stations have lodged formal complaints to the BBC, saying it is distorting the market.
In one example, the BBC allowed drink manufacturer Robinsons to sponsor Sports Personality of the Year. Presenters gave repeated name-checks to the brand during the awards in December.
Radio 2 live events have also been opened up - investors are given "verbal credits" in return.
The practice is estimated to have raised a total of £1million.
The BBC even has its own dedicated website which guides advertisers on how to get their brands on screen.
Sponsors who support Children in Need - which last year were Boots, BT and HSBC - are told they can "soften" their brand and give staff rewards that "money can't buy"
Last year's companies were entitled to a credit on air and tickets to the telethon.
Radio 2 events are also open to live sponsors, ensuring brands get branding on part of the station's online offering, as well as meet and greets with the stars.
Among those being offered up for grabs to companies is a forthcoming Phantom of The Opera broadcast in June and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Greatest Hits in September.
Critics claim that advertisers know that if they sponsor the event, they are effectively paying to sponsor the programme as well, as their named will be emblazoned all over the show.
ITV's newly appointed sales director Rupert Howell, said: “Since arriving at ITV I have been amazed at the extent and scope of the BBC's commercial activities, which are increasingly evident across their output. Such encroachment on to commercial territory could have a profound and distorting effect on the market.”
The practice sparked controversy in recent months after drinks company Robinsons sponsored the Sports Personality of the Year event on BBC1, fronted by Gary Lineker and Sue Barker, for an estimated £200,000.
The company was given repeated visual and verbal credits on BBC1 and Radio 5, helping to pay for the event in front of a studio audience of 8,000 and broadcast live to the nation.
Media regulator Ofcom's rules say "products and services cannot be promoted in programmes". But the BBC is regulated itself by the BBC Trust which is now said to be looking into the issue.
ITV must go through the broadcaster's in-house complaints department before it gets to the trust. But a complaint by trade body the Radio Centre is said to be further down the line.
They are concerned the corporation is now distorting the market for sponsorship and made their complaints after seeing the coverage of the Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
The BBC said it was well established that sponsorship of events was allowed.
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During the Xbox Live Enforcement panel hosted by Stepto (Stephen Toulouse- head of Xbox Live Policy and Enforcement) someone asked him if the recent 1.2 million dollars stolen in Microsoft points is true. This is what he had to say:
There is no way those idiots were going to get away with that.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Amgen (AMGN) just took another big hit from Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS), which has had the California biotech’s formidable drug franchise in its sights for while now.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday approved Novartis generics unit Sandoz’s Erelzi, a “biosimilar” version of Amgen’s top-selling drug Enbrel that will be cheaper than the original product. Enbrel, which treats inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, brought in sales of $5.1 billion in the U.S. last year and is among the top five best-selling drugs in the world.
Biosimilars are essentially generic versions of “biologic” drugs (which are derived from biological matter of some sort). But unlike generics of chemical drugs, biosimilars aren’t exact molecular copycats—and so their approval largely depends on their ability to show that they are as safe as and perform similarly enough to the original branded products they’re trying to emulate.
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This class of drugs is pretty new to the U.S. In fact, Erelzi is just the third FDA-approved biosimilar. The other ones are Novartis’ Zarxio, a copy of another Amgen drug for boosting bone marrow which was approved just last year, and Pfizer’s (PFE) and Celltrion’s Inflectra, which emulates Johnson and Johnson’s (JNJ) top-selling anti-inflammatory Remicade and was approved earlier in 2016.
The FDA’s growing willingness to approve competitor products for pricey biologics for a number of different conditions underscores the ongoing outcry over high drug prices in America.
“The biosimilar pathway is an important mechanism to improve access to treatment for patients with rheumatic and autoimmune diseases,” said the FDA’s Dr. Janet Woodcock in a statement, adding that patients and doctors can be confident that there are “no clinically meaningful differences in safety and efficacy” between Erelzi and Enbrel.
It’s still unclear just how much cheaper biosimilars will be compared to their branded counterparts. Estimates range from a 15% to 30% discount in the U.S., although price cuts have been steeper in Europe and other countries, where biosimilars have been around for about a decade. There’s also another snag for Novartis’ Enbrel competitor—Amgen has challenged its introduction into the U.S. market in court, meaning that it could take some time before it actually lands at discounted prices.
Novartis has had at least one setback in its quest to leech off sales from top-selling biologics. In July, the company revealed that the FDA had rejected its biosimilar of a different Amgen product called Neulasta. For its part, Amgen is working on its own biosimilars, including for the top-selling drug in the world: AbbVie’s (ABBV) Humira. That experimental product got a unanimous recommendation from an FDA advisory committee the same week that Erelzi did.


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Warcraft 3 Reforged and StarCraft Remastered have already been hacked, Diablo is next in line.
There are few games on Battle.net. Even fewer of them are hacked – a couple of times helped by the negligence of the developers. And until now, the service was considered an invulnerable stronghold of licensed games.
At the same time, Blizzard is in serious trouble. Hundreds of employees have been fired or quit, new releases are controversial, and the publisher is arguing with the fan community. Modders are particularly affected – in some cases, Blizzard even threatens them with legal action .
The Blizzless hacker team took it upon themselves to teach the publisher a lesson by breaking the security of the service . We started with the simplest games: Warcraft 3 Reforged and StarCraft Remastered. Full online modes are not available, but single player and local multiplayer work.
It is not known if hackers will be able to break into Activision projects, including Call of Duty, but this is the most likely target in the future. Now they promise to do Diablo 2.


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Telecom DailyWelcome to Faulkner's Telecom Daily. We publish Monday through Friday, updating top stories as events warrant.
Thursday, May 24...
Comcast Confirms it is Preparing Counter Offer for Twenty-First Century
Comcast has confirmed simmering rumors that it was considering its own bid for Twenty-First Century Fox in a new press release. According to the company's official confirmation, it is "in advanced stages of preparing, an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney (which do not include the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcasting Company and certain other assets)." Comcast did not disclose any details of its proposal, but did say that any competing offer it makes will be "all-cash and at a premium to the value of the current all-share offer from Disney." It further promised that any post-transaction structure, including the disposition or spinning-off of "New Fox," would be "at least as favorable to Fox shareholders as the Disney offer." Although long-expected, this news may not sit well with some members of the public that were looking forward to a combined Disney/Fox entity once again unifying the complete movie rights of the Marvel Comics Cinematic universe, which are currently divided between the two companies. Disney has yet to respond to the news with a counter offer or any other reaction.
Avast: Hundreds of Android Phone Models Shipping with
Security company Avast has published a new report which claims that hundreds of models of Android-based smartphones are being shipped to consumers with malware pre-installed on them. According to the company's research, these infected devices were manufactured by ZTE, Archos and myPhone, and were primarily low-cost models that had not been certified in any way by Google. Making matters worse is the fact that the malicious software on these devices is installed at a firmware level, making it extremely difficult to remove. Avast noted that the countries most impacted by the aforementioned devices are Russia, Italy, Germany, the UK and France. The company noted that it has informed Google of its findings, and was told that the OS maker is taking "steps to mitigate the malicious capabilities of many app variants on several device models, using internally developed techniques."
Google Begins Rolling Out AI Camera Updates Previewed at I/O
Google has reportedly begun rolling out the new features of its Google Lens AI-enabled camera software that it debuted at its recent Google I/O Conference. Android-centric blog 9to5Google is reporting that smart text selection, style match, and real-time results have all begun appearing on the devices of users eligible for the upgrade. Smart text selection is a new way for users to quickly turn any photographed text into selectable text which can be copied and pasted in other parts of the Android OS. Meanwhile, style match allows users to point their smartphone cameras at an object and tap it within the viewfinder to open a shopping page with access to similar items for sale. Finally, real-time results make it possible to use both of the aforementioned functions on the camera's live view, rather than actually having to store the captured image for processing. So far, 9to5Google has only confirmed that the needed update is available for the OnePlus 6 smartphone, but others are expected to follow in short order.
... Michael Gariffo, Faulkner Information Services
New Security Management Product Is Now Available on the Web
Faulkner's newest information service, Security Management Practices, is now available to subscribers over the Web! For information about subscribing, just send an email message to email@example.com or call 800-843-0460 (856-662-2070).


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Hacksaw Gaming, one of the world's leading suppliers of online slots, has announced another exciting deal with a leading operator in Italy. This was after the company collaborated with GBO to deliver its game lineup to well-known casino brands run by the operator.
Following the agreement, Hacksaw Gaming's titles will launch on the lobbies of the operator's Italian-facing gambling sites. The software supplier has already established five of its top-performing online slots on the websites.
Some of the games that will launch on GPO's casino sites in Italy include:
As expected, Hacksaw Gaming has announced plans to roll out more casino games on GBO's brands in the upcoming months.
The latest improvements will strengthen Hacksaw Gaming's position in the rapidly expanding Italian iGaming market. In December 2022, the company received full certification to distribute its iGaming content in Italy. GBO is the largest casino operator in the country and a dominant force in the sector.
Note that this is not the first time Hacksaw Gaming is signing a content agreement in the country. In January 2023, the content supplier signed a deal with StarCasino Italy, a leading casino brand owned by Betsson Group. Before that, in December 2022, the company agreed with 888 Casino to launch its content for the first time in the Italian market.
Gabrielle Star, Hacksaw Gaming's CCO, commented on the GBO deal:
"It gives us immense joy to team up with such a marquee name. GBO is the largest operator in Italy commanding a huge player base, and they align with our own vision of providing elevated online gaming experiences through our rich back catalog. We're excited to see our award-winning content reach an even broader audience as we drive forward our strategy to grow regulated markets."


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Blaze Pizza ready for New York debut
Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza will open its first New York location in West Babylon on July 17. To celebrate the grand opening, the new location will offer free build-your-own artisanal pizzas from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. July 18 to anyone who follows Blaze Pizza on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
According to a news release, the new, 60-seat restaurant is located at the Great South Bay Shopping Center (1047 W. Montauk Highway) near Bed Bath & Beyond, LA Fitness, Panera Bread, Old Navy and Red Robin.
The West Babylon Blaze Pizza will be operated by Lessing's Inc., a franchise group led by Mark and Michael Lessing. The company operates in more than 120 locations, including eight full-service restaurants and a hotel, and provides catering services for weddings and other special events.
Topics: Franchising & Growth


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WestJet today announced a cute new connected nightlight.
Dubbed the ‘Flight Light,’ the device pulls WestJet flight data to provide children with a visual representation of when their parents are coming home from a trip. The Flight Light does this with the help of a specially designed mobile app that allows parents to input and sync their flights to the device.
Using the same app, parents can send messages and emoji to the Flight Light, which the device will then project on the wall, just like it does flight routes.
What’s more, the light features a detachable, jet-shaped flashlight.
WestJet pulled design and colour inspiration from Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft, currently among the embattled company’s most advanced passenger jets, to create the Flight Light. West Jet added its first Dreamliner aircraft earlier this year. The company currently has 10 of the aircraft on order.
WestJet plans to beta test the Flight Light throughout the summer. Customers can get the latest updates on the Flight Light by joining the airline’s free WestJet Rewards program.
Source: West Jet


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On the final trading session of a volatile month for markets, European equities have opened mixed with the FTSE 100 trading around the flatline. Real estate stocks such as Land Securities Group (LSE:LAND) and Persimmon (LSE:PSN) are outperforming, while Glencore (LSE:GLEN) has sunk to the bottom of the UK blue-chip index.
China’s factory activity shrank for a fifth consecutive month in August. The official NBS manufacturing PMI hit 49.7 below the key 50 boom bust divide but ahead of forecasts for 49.4. Meanwhile, its services sector reading fell to an eight-month low of 51 in August versus 51.5 in July, touching the weakest level since December.
- FTSE 100 dividend stocks will pay out almost £16bn in September
- Insider: boss ups stake at FTSE 100 high-yielder
Investors will be paying close attention to today’s US inflation data, the PCE price index ahead of Friday’s jobs report.
According to a regulatory filing, Frasers Group (LSE:FRAS) has upped its stake in Boohoo Group (LSE:BOO) from 7.8% to 9.1%. Earlier this week in a similar move, the sportswear giant raised its stake in ASOS (LSE:ASC) to nearly 20%. Both online fashion businesses Boohoo and Asos have suffered share price declines over the past year, arguably providing an attractive opportunity to buy more shares at a discount.
Frasers has been acquiring stakes in several retail businesses as it looks to position itself as a consumer platform for the world’s best brands to provide a “world-leading retail ecosystem”. While several retailers have been battling with the demise of the high street and the cost-of-living crisis, Frasers has been faring well lately, landing its shares up over 10% so far this year, outperforming the wider market.
UBS Group AG (SIX:UBSG) reported a record second-quarter profit of $28.88 billion (£22.73 billion) following its takeover of embattled Swiss rival Credit Suisse, which closed in June, driven by a one-off accounting gain from the deal. UBS’ net new money in global wealth management hit $16 billion, the highest level in more than 10 years.
The Swiss lender also said it would be fully integrating Credit Suisse’s domestic bank with aims to achieve cost savings of over $10 billion by the end of 2026. UBS is planning to cut 3,000 jobs integrating Credit Suisse in Switzerland over the coming years.
The bargain price UBS paid for Credit Suisse has been heavily accretive to its share price, which has staged impressive gains in recent months, with the rally extending in today’s session to 2008 highs. The combined entity now has around $5 trillion in client assets, making it a “premier global franchise” in wealth management. Cut-throat decisions under the watch of returning CEO Sergio Ermotti lie ahead with the daunting challenge of trying to balance the need to retain key staff, while simultaneously carrying out major job cuts. Nonetheless so far, investors appear optimistic about the potential for the combined group.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
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Actor Vin Diesel flashes a heart-in-hand to the crowd ahead of the presentation of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s “cruise” line for fash...
Vin Diesel, Chanel Spark Cultural Backlash in Cuba
Fast and Furious. U.S. cruise ships. A star-studded private celebration of Chanel.
The triple tsunami of global capitalism that pounded socialist Cuba this month has spawned a fierce debate about the downside of detente with the United States. Artists, writers and intellectuals who believe deeply in Cuba’s opening to the world are questioning their government’s management of an onslaught of big-money pop culture.
On an island that prides itself on egalitarianism, sovereignty and its long record of outsize accomplishments in the arts, many are openly critiquing opaque deals with multinational corporations seeking picturesque backdrops for car chases and summer frocks.
“The essence of the thing is that we’re a country with a particular history that has a particular culture. We have to be conscious of those values and keep them in mind when it’s time to negotiate,” said Graziella Pogolotti, an 84-year-old cultural critic who wrote a long editorial in state media calling for deeper thinking about Cuba’s dealing with international entertainment brands.
Cubans began complaining soon after the eighth installment of the hugely profitable action movie franchise Fast and Furious began filming in Havana. On street corners and in living rooms, working men and women questioned how they would benefit from a production that was causing seemingly endless traffic jams — a new phenomenon in a city where relatively few people own cars.
Then came the arrival of the Adonia, the first U.S. cruise ship in Cuba in nearly 40 years. Around the world, television viewers watched prosperous-looking Americans greeted by trays of rum drinks and Afro-Cuban dancers in skimpy Cuban flag-patterned bathing suits. For many Cubans, it was a spectacle uniting the worst exotic stereotypes about their country with disrespect for a symbol of independence.


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Michaela Vybohova is the CEO of Michaela V Inc., a New York-based shoe company focused on creating comfortable yet stylish women’s footwear.
This has been a defining year for industries, companies and brands around the world. The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in new ways of doing business, as restrictions have rendered traditional models ineffective. The luxury fashion industry is no exception.
Prior to the pandemic, luxury brands were enjoying ongoing growth. In 2019, for example, one of the world’s leading luxury products group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, recorded revenue of 53.7 billion euros, which was up 15% compared to 2018, a press release from the brand said. In the current economic situation, I believe it’s possible that 2020 will not match those figures, especially as many customers have shifted their priorities to purchasing necessities and shopping more cost-consciously, according to an April report by Accenture.


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The Del Taco Mini Floats are being introduced by the QSR brand as a new menu item that aims to offer consumers a different way to satisfy their sweet tooth this summer. Priced at just $1 each, the floats are sized just right to make them suitable as a small indulgence, which will come as welcome news to those seeking to restrict their intake of calorie-laden desserts. The drinks can be ordered with your choice of drink and comes topped with the brand's premium Vanilla Shake.
The Del Taco Mini Floats are being launched on July 24, 2019 to coincide with National Drive-Thru Day. Patrons looking to score a free float with any purchase can access a coupon within the Del Taco app.
Image Credit: Del Taco


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In a recent blog post that has caught the attention of the automotive industry, Dmitry Sapko, a renowned car expert and mechanic at CarAraC, has leveled significant criticism at Hyundai for their latest release, the Santa Fe 2024. According to the author, the new model bears a striking resemblance to the Land Rover Defender, raising questions about the originality of its design.
The accusation points to several design elements in the Hyundai Santa Fe 2024 that seem to mirror those of its competitor. Sapko argues that the similarities are not just superficial but extend to core design choices, suggesting a lack of innovation on Hyundai’s part. He emphasizes that while inspiration in the automotive industry is common, there is a fine line between being inspired and replicating another brand’s design.
The critique focuses on various aspects of the Santa Fe’s design, including its body shape, grille design, and the overall aesthetic, which are reminiscent of the Land Rover Defender. The comparison has sparked a debate within the industry and among car enthusiasts about the fine balance between drawing inspiration and maintaining distinctiveness in car design.
Hyundai, known for its commitment to innovation, has yet to respond to these allegations. The company has previously prided itself on creating unique designs that stand out in the automotive market. This controversy comes at a pivotal time for Hyundai, as the Santa Fe 2024 is set to play a significant role in their product lineup.
Industry experts are divided on the issue. Some agree with the accusation, suggesting that Hyundai could have taken greater strides to differentiate its new model. Others argue that similarities between models from different manufacturers are inevitable, given the shared pool of consumer expectations and design trends.
As the debate continues, the focus is on Hyundai’s response and whether this criticism will impact the reception of the new Santa Fe 2024. The situation underscores the challenges car manufacturers face in balancing innovation with market trends, and it highlights the fine line between inspiration and imitation in the competitive world of automotive design. Read full article here
CarAraC is a comprehensive automotive resource, offering in-depth vehicle specifications, expert maintenance advice, and the latest industry insights for auto mechanics and car enthusiasts. Learn more at cararac.com
Company Name: Symbiotic Technologies Limited
Contact Person: Konstantin Pavlovskii
City: Hong Kong
State: Hong Kong
Country: Hong Kong


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Epic Pharmacy has invested $1.5 million in Flamingo, an Australian developer of vendor relationship management (VRM) software.
customer support - News, Features, and Slideshows
News about customer support
Telstra has turned to a tech startup for a context-based, self-service support system currently being tested with 10,000 broadband subscribers.
Telstra has pledged improved customer support through a “digital first” initiative announced today.


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‘I could not reconcile faith with the industry’
Muslim supermodel who quit fashion
Halima Aden, 23, who became the first ‘hijabi’ supermodel surprised the industry last year by quitting her budding career.
Halima, who rose from a childhood in a Kenyan refugee camp to make history wearing the hijab on the catwalks of Milan and New York, and appeared in a burkini on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
In an emotionally raw Instagram post, she explained that she could not reconcile her faith with the demands of the industry that had made her a star. She had told no one what she was about to do.
“I said I’m walking away and, no kidding, my emails flooded. I had offers from fashion brands, to do the cover of X-Y-Z magazine. And I turned them all down. Like, ‘Nope – you’re not going to use me now.'”
From the outside, it had seemed that Halima was changing fashion. Raised by a single mother who had fled violent turmoil in Somalia, she was granted asylum in the US with her family aged seven. She was spotted during a beauty pageant in her home state of Minnesota in 2016, mentored by Carine Roitfeld and was soon walking runways for Max Mara, Yeezy and Dolce & Gabbana. Brands believed that she was their gateway to a vast untapped market of Muslim women who want style without compromising their faith, just as mainstream fashion was also having a modest moment.
In many ways she was able to forge an untrodden path for Muslim women in the fashion industry; clauses in her contract ensured her a private space to change outfits backstage, and she turned up to shoots with a suitcase full of hijabs and other modest accessories.
She was branded the first Muslim supermodel, and touted as a sign that the industry was changing for the better.
Away from the spotlight, though, it was a different story. “In the first two years I had a lot of control, but for the last two years I was getting comfortable and trusting the styling team to put me in outfits and play with my hijab any which way they wanted to. Fashion is a very creative space so I don’t want to blame them. But I saw my hijab shrinking to something I didn’t even recognize any more.”
I saw my hijab shrinking to something I didn’t even recognize any more.
Looking back through Halima’s archive, the transition is clear. In the pageant and her early modelling days, when she was wearing her own hijab and styling herself, her head coverings are stylish but simple. In later images, they have been replaced by jeans, tulle or intricate jewellery – symbols of fashion, not faith. On set, she was the only Muslim, always bearing the burden of explaining to stylists and photographers what is and isn’t compatible with her faith.
Her epiphany about the industry eventually came from within her close-knit, traditional family. “My little cousin wanted to model; she was asking me to introduce her to my agency. And I said no, absolutely not, because of what I’d seen behind the scenes. So when I said no to her, I started to think, ‘Why am I in this industry?’ That was the tipping point. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.”
Ten months on, Halima says she has no regrets about quitting. And now she is coming back to fashion – ‘coming home’, as she puts it – with a string of collaborations with modest fashion houses that she has hand-picked.
On the one hand, it is a great business move: the Islamic fashion market is booming and is projected to be worth $400 billion by 2024. On the other, it is a natural fit for a woman who has worn the hijab since she was six.
Now she has a new approach to the industry. “I want to support brands that I truly believe in, where 100% our values align.”
“I want to support brands that I truly believe in, where 100% our values align.”
Modanisa, a Turkish modest fashion house, has signed Halima as its global brand ambassador. On one of its sets, several of the crew are also wearing hijabs, and the headscarf that Halima is wearing is once again her own choice.
She has seized back control of her life and career in an industry where models are too often left without agency over their own bodies.
Her decision to quit resonates far beyond religion: abuse scandals have been uncovered across modelling, where girls as young as 14 have been catapulted into a world where strangers have access to their bodies.
“On Instagram it looks glamorous, but burnout is real. Young men and women who are sometimes at their most vulnerable are entering this industry. People come and touch you, fix you without permission. I had so many models, some of them even bigger than me, reaching out and saying thank you for speaking up,” Halima said.


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Busch Gardens will discount its Christmas Town tickets to $12 during a special online sale from Nov. 12 to 18, the park announced via press release on Monday.
This $12 single-day Christmas Town ticket represents a $20 savings off the regular $32 one-day ticket price.
The Christmas Town $12 single-day ticket is redeemable on any one of the following dates: Nov. 21, 22, 23, 30, Dec. 7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22 or 30.
"The $12 Christmas Town ticket is the best deal of the Christmas Town season,” said Marketing Vice President Dan Dipiazzo. “Pick one of the 12 days to visit and discover why Christmas Town is the place where Christmas shines brightest."
When purchasing the tickets, shoppers are not required to choose a specific date. The website does, however, ask for names to put on each ticket. In past years, simply using the generic name "Guest" has been acceptable.
Visit ChristmasTown.com/VA to take advantage of the offer.


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Thursday 24th January 2019
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Apple has had a tough past few months, with the share price correcting by almost a third. While partly due to broader market movements, Apple has also had some company specific negative news flow that has exacerbated the slump.
The revelation last year that Apple will cease providing iPhone unit sales numbers had already unsettled many. It was still a bombshell though when on January 2nd, Apple provided its first pre-earnings release since 2002 and revised its revenue forecast down materially. This sparked a sell-off through the broader Apple ecosystem around the world.
At the fourth quarter results in November 2018, Apple provided revenue guidance in range of $89 billion to $93 billion. On 2 January, Tim Cook released a letter to Apple investors saying that the company was expecting revenue to come in around $84 billion. This was a shock revenue downgrade for investors who have become accustomed to Apple sales coming near, or exceeding guidance.
Greater China and emerging markets accounted for the “vast majority” of the year-on-year iPhone revenue decline, but iPhone upgrades were also not as strong as expected in “some developed markets.” The company suggested a few reasons for why this might be the case other than macroeconomic challenges in some markets, including “consumers adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, US dollar strength-related price increases, and some customers taking advantage of significantly reduced pricing for iPhone battery replacements.”
Regarding the latter factor, there have been some reports that about 11 million customers took advantage of the battery discount, when in a normal year, Apple would generally expect around 1-2 million battery replacements. Those who took advantage of the battery replacements might have upgraded to a new model otherwise.
Most other forecasts though from the November fourth quarter report were maintained. Apple now expects the gross margin to be around 38% in the first quarter, and operating expenses are pinned at $8.7 billion.
Apple also sought to alleviate some of the investor angst by highlighting some positives, including services generating over $10.8 billion, hitting a new quarterly record in every geographic segment. The company is on track to double the size of the services business over the 2016 to 2020 period.
The installed base of active devices hit a new “all-time high,” growing by more than 100 million units in 12 months. Services is a fast-growing segment for the company, and it is a high-margin one. Apple has been making a big push here, and we expect some interesting content offerings to be rolled out over the next year or two.
Mr Cook also highlighted that Apple expects to report a new record figure for earnings per share. That might seem a little counterintuitive at first blush given iPhone revenue is declining, but revenue outside of the iPhone business was reported to have grown by almost 19 percent year-over-year, including all-time record revenue from Services, Wearables and Mac. In addition, Apple has been prolific with its share repurchases.
Apple also noted that it expects to exit the quarter with about $130 billion in net cash, but is seeking to be net-cash neutral over time. That provides the firepower for plenty more share repurchases, hiking the dividend and/or making acquisitions.
Even so, in our view, Apple presents an attractive investment reward proposition at this juncture, given a correction which appears excessive, and an undemanding valuation of around 13 times earnings. We favour the company’s huge and growing installed base, strong consumer loyalty and the fast-growing ‘services’ business. An increase in this sort of ‘sticky’ revenue should see a higher multiple ascribed by investors going forward.
Disclosure: Apple is held in the Fat Prophets Global Contrarian Fund and managed account portfolios.
Greg Smith is the Head of Research at investment research and funds management house Fat Prophets.
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text: Business 812 businesses have gotten NC coronavirus loans. Their names are mostly secret. By admin Posted on August 1, 2020 Share Tweet Share Share Email Comments So far, small businesses have received a total of $28.6 million to stay afloat. The legislature has provided $125 million for the loans. Powered by WPeMatico Related Items:featured business Share Tweet Share Share Email Recommended for you Epic Games lawsuits against Apple and Google will be a battle of tech giants Coworking hub and business incubator HQ Raleigh is changing its name to Raleigh Founded Epic Games lawsuits against Apple and Google will be a battle of tech giants Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.


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By Bill Parry
The founder of the wildly popular Queens International Night Market is working with the city to help the borough’s independent vendors grow their businesses.
John Wang, the Mayor’s Office and the city’s Department of Small Business Services, are producing a series of free small business seminars during the run-up to the Night Market’s third season. The seminars, to be held at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, will cover such topics as creating a business plan, marketing, social media, securing financing, obtaining permit and navigating government regulation.
When Wang started the night market featuring multi-cultural independent vendors selling food, merchandise and art in 2015, he had to navigate through city regulations and funding to bring his vision to the parking lot behind the Queens Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The former corporate lawyer wanted to reproduce the open-air food bazaars he had experienced spending summers in his family’s homeland of Taiwan.
Last year the Queens International Night Market, held each Saturday evening during the warm weather months, averaged more than 8,000 visitors.
“Just as much as New York City is a global financial center, it is also a city of immigrants and small businesses. The neighborhoods and the cultural landscape here are inextricably shaped and driven by small enterprises and the unparalleled diversity,” Wang said. “Over the last two years, the Night Market has featured over 200 independent vendors representing over 60 countries. Over half of our vendors have been first-time entrepreneurs, making their business debut at the Night Market, so we are ecstatic to work with the Mayor’s Office and SBS to create this year’s small business seminar series.”
The free seminars are open to vendors interested in the Night Market, and also open to individuals and families interested in starting any type of business in New York City. More than 80 aspiring entrepreneurs enrolled for the same seminar series last year.
“The Queens International Night Market is one of the events that makes our city so special in that it brings us together to celebrate the diversity that makes us unique,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “We are proud to support participating vendors. In offering them support to grow their business, we are investing in their creativity and drive to keep our city’s economy vibrant.”
The first session March 9, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. will focus on business planning and Night Market topics and tips. The second session March 14 will focus on marketing and social media marketing and the final session March 16 explores access to capital and navigating government. The seminars will feature guest speakers, networking and question and answer opportunities. More information and registration can be found at https://bit.ly/2017-i
“We are excited to provide a series of free workshops for Queens International Market vendors looking to grow their businesses,” SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop said. “Our NYC Business Solutions Center in Queens will be providing this training and its services are accessible to business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the borough.”
Vendors wishing to apply for this year’s Queens International Night Market, running each Saturday night from April 22 until Aug. 19 and then Sept. 30 until Oct. 28, can direct questions to vendo
“The focus of the Night Market has always been on community, inclusiveness, and diversity — to cater to the broadest possible demographic,” Wang said. “The ultimate dream is to attract visitors and feature vendors from every country represented here in NYC.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr


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Keyword: Barefoot Networks
Intel is buying Barefoot Networks to beef up hyperscale cloud and programming capabilities.
White box and traditional switch vendors are driving the use of merchant silicon in data switches to new heights, according to a report.
Ever since it came out of stealth mode two years ago, Santa Clara, California-based Barefoot Networks has taken aim at shaking up the networking sector.
Ahead of deploying white boxes into thousands of its cell sites over the coming years, AT&T has released its white box specifications into the OCP.
Google Cloud and Barefoot Networks have created an open source project under P4.org called P4 Runtime.


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The "One Chip Challenge" is an excessively spicy tortilla chip sold by the single in boxes with skulls on them. A 14 year-old boy died after eating one, and the product has been immediately removed from store shelves.
Lois Wolobah told WBZ that the nurse at her son's school called her Friday to tell her that her son, Harris, had fainted after eating a tortilla chip. When Wolobah got to the high school, her son showed her an image on his phone of the Paqui chip that made him sick.
A few hours later, Harris passed out at home, Lois and her husband, Amos, told WBZ. He was taken to an emergency room, where he died.
The only clear evidence that the chip caused the medical problem is the timing, which isn't strong evidence. Even so, that is some stupid marketing, obviously inspired by inane, dangerous social media challenges and aimed at teens, and the company making it, Paqui, a Hershey Company-owned brand, evidently knows it could be in serious trouble.
It's just in passing and not key to the story, but note that The Washington Post and others gave anonymity to a spokesperson at Hersheys, a multinational corporation with about $10bn in annual revenues, so it could offer condolences without attribution. Not a good sign of the times.


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Bitcoin is rising in price at an exponential rate. In the last week, it jumped from $8,000 to $9,000. One day later, and Bitcoin is already at $9,655! (at time of publication) In today’s infographic, we visualize Bitcoin’s remarkable journey in 2017 – including the different events that happened along the way to it approaching the…Read More Visualizing the Journey to $10,000 Bitcoin
At first glance, the concept of “money” seems extremely straightforward. For example: the cost of a loaf of bread in New York City at a grocery store may be $3.50. We don’t think about it much, and we pull out our wallets to pay with cash or a credit card. But money is actually more…Read More What is Money?
In today’s economy, the value of the dollar is weaker than ever and the thought of a digital currency is becoming more of a reality with the recent introduction of bitcoins. This infographic done by Columnfivemedia in collaboration with Turbotax, shows how bitcoins are used and how have they become a currency that can be used…Read More Bitcoins — The Taxless Currency


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Black Friday was only the beginning of holiday deals. Many experts are expecting Cyber Monday customers to spend more than $7 billion this year in total.
But with consumers looking for the best deals in a timely manner, several risks arise.
Pamela Springer is president and CEO of ORIS Intelligence, a company that works with brands to help enforce online pricing through authorized retailers and uncover unauthorized online sales.
Springer says buyers should be cautious when seeing discounted prices online.
"Many times, aggressive sellers go lower, lower and lower," Springer said. "If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
"If it's a really low price, it screams counterfeit. You really need to make sure it comes from an authorized seller. Go to the brand's website. Many times they have authorized retailers listed on their sites."
Springer says it’s important to ensure that if there is a post-sale issue, a retailer will be there to handle it.