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April 12, 2019
By Seth Sandronsky
At best, some owners of small firms are lukewarm about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) that Congress passed and President Trump signed. We turn to an April 10 public opinion poll from Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform.
Among 501 small-business owners who were polled March 26-27 across the U.S. who have filed their taxes or are yet to finish their filing, nearly half, or 48%, reported that the new tax law did not make their profits or firms grow. About a quarter, or 24%, said the law caused them harm. Some 19% of respondents said the law positively affected their enterprises.
Of the small-business owners polled, two-thirds approved partially rolling back the 40% tax cut that corporate America received under the TCJA.
Ray Dalio, a hedge-fund billionaire and philanthropist who “60 Minutes” profiled on April 7, weighed in against policies such as the 2017 TCJA (without naming it) in an interview with CBS’ Bill Whitaker.
“Bill Whitaker: So should taxes on people like you be raised?
Ray Dalio: Of course.
Bill Whitaker: You say of course.
Ray Dalio: Of course, one way or another, the important thing is to take those tax dollars and make them productive.
Bill Whitaker: Very, very recently the idea has been that cutting taxes on people like you will promote productivity.
Ray Dalio: Yeah, I — I — that — I — that doesn’t make any sense to me at all — any sense at all.
Bill Whitaker: So, it’s gotta be through taxation?
Ray Dalio: Yes. Am I saying something that’s controversial?
Bill Whitaker: It’s just strange to hear it come from the mouth of a billionaire.”
The thrust of the TCJA of 2017 is supply-side economics. That is the idea that government policy to supply tax cuts to the top tier of wealth holders will, in time, benefit the broader society.
“Lawmakers sold this law as a boon for small businesses and their customer base — the middle class,” said Frank Knapp, Jr., co-chair of Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform and the president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. “Instead, large corporations — which didn’t need the help in the first place — reaped giant windfalls and just pocketed the cash, and the majority of small business owners have seen no impact, or in some cases, a negative impact.”
Rohit Arora, the CEO of Biz2Credit, an online lending platform, sees the cup as half-full for small businesses under the 2017 TCJA.
“I believe that small business owners, particularly those companies that are formed as C-Corporations, have benefited from the tax cuts,” he told MultiBriefs in an email interview. “Sole proprietorships and S-Corps may not have benefited as much, and that may be what’s reflected in the poll results.”
“It is important to remember that the federal tax break differentiated by the structure of the company, not by the size of the company,” Arora said. “I have seen businesses in a range of industries — hotel/motel, liquor stores, and transportation, for instance — that have benefited from the tax cuts.”
The American Conservative Union Foundation, Economic Policy Institute and National Federation of Independent Business declined requests to comment for this story.


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AMHERST, N.H. — A check signed by Neil Armstrong hours before he took off for the moon has been sold for $27,350, 40 years to the day after it was written.
An engineer in California bought it in an online auction run by RR Auction of Amherst, N.H. The company says Armstrong — about to become the first man to walk on the moon — wrote the check to NASA manager Harold Collins just in case something went wrong, but assured Collins he would return.
The $10.50 check was sold this morning, ending the 17-day auction.
Anthony Pizzitola of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club says the price is a record for a single Armstrong autograph.
Jack Staub, an engineer and business owner from Newport Beach, Calif., bought the check.

domain: news


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On March 28, it was confirmed that Stella McCartney has bought back the 50 per cent of her business owned by luxury conglomerate Kering. The British designer is now the sole owner of her London-based brand after 17 years of co-ownership with Kering (formerly Gucci Group and PPR).
“It is the right moment to acquire the full control of the company bearing my name," said McCartney, in an official statement. "This opportunity represents a crucial patrimonial decision for me. I am extremely grateful to François-Henri Pinault and his family and everyone at the Kering group for everything we have built together in the last 17 years. I look forward to the next chapter of my life and what this brand and our team can achieve in the future.” The designer will remain a board member of the Kering Foundation and will continue to collaborate with the conglomerate regarding its sustainability projects.
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, added: “It is the right time for Stella to move to the next stage. Kering is a luxury group that empowers creative minds and helps disruptive ideas become reality. I am extremely proud of what Kering and Stella McCartney have accomplished together since 2001. I would like to thank Stella and her team wholeheartedly for everything they have brought to Kering - far beyond business. Stella knows she can always count on my friendship and support.”
The announcement marks a significant moment for British fashion that may result in the McCartney relocating her show to London Fashion Week. The vegan designer is the last of her generation to own a namesake brand on a global level (the late Alexander McQueen joined the conglomerate at a similar time as McCartney; her former assistant Phoebe Philo departed LVMH-owned Céline late last year).


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Subsidiary records its lowest revenues since 2006, but maintains profitability during "transformation".
Boating season kicks off this weekend and while many recreational boaters do not have advanced navigation and communications equipment, they do have a smartphone. Install the USCG mobile app to stay informed and improve safety.
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USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren didn't offer comment Monday when Knight Transportation Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., once again made its case for a takeover of the firm. But that doesn't mean USA Truck is letting criticism of his turnaround strategy go unanswered.
On Monday, Knight dropped a 17-page presentation detailing some of its key arguments for a $9 per share buyout of the USA Truck. Among Knight's criticisms: USA Truck's aging equipment, including its tractor fleet. Knight says USA Truck has "consistently" underinvested in its equipment.
Low and behold, there's this today from USA Truck: a news release touting "initial delivery of 150 2014 Navistar International ProStar model tractors."
They are slated for arrival throughout the fourth quarter of 2013 and into January 2014. This new order follows the 250 new tractors and 400 new trailers purchased and put into service earlier this year.
Through this continued investment of equipment, USA Truck is maintaining and reinvesting in a modern fleet of Class 8 trucks with an average age of 2.5 years, well below the industry average of 6.6 years for 2012 according to ACT Research.
USA Truck makes no mention of Knight or its Monday presentation in the news release. CEO John Simone says the order is part of USA Truck's "ongoing fleet reinvestment program," through which the firm will replace "almost one-fifth" of its company tractors in 2013.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville is taking green building to a higher level. The roof.
The world's largest retailer is working with Portland State University to build a green roof research site on top of Wal-Mart's new store in North Portland.
PSU’s Green Building Research Laboratory will deploy scores of sensors and a weather station on Walmart’s new Hayden Meadows store. It will feature 40,000 square feet of vegetative roof installed in three separate sections—each devoted to testing different aspects of green roof design, such as materials and soil depth. The remaining 52,000 square feet of white membrane rooftop will also be monitored by sensors, providing an opportunity to deliver side-by-side comparisons on factors including surface temperature, water flow and building operations.
Data collected from the Hayden Meadows roof will be compared to similar data collected on a Walmart green roof in Chicago, thus providing a comprehensive view of green roof performance under various conditions, PSU says.
Yep, Wal-Mart has a green roof project in Chicago, as well. In fact, Arkansas Business wrote about it waaay back in 2004, part of a story on how Wal-Mart was adapting its stores to different cities. At the time, Wal-Mart was the first "big-box" retailer to take part in a Chicago program that encourage green roof projects:
John Bisio, the Wal-Mart spokesman, said the company has been building stores with white rooftops for at least seven years now, but the foliage on the roof will be an added benefit to urban Chicago.
"It will keep things cooler in the summer, beautify the area and reduce air pollution," he said.
Green roofs have also been popping up in Arkansas. The University of Central Arkansas began testing one on Laney Hall in 2010. And the new Hillside Auditorium on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville features a three-tiered roof design that will support trees, shrubbery, ornamental grasses and other plantings.
Wal-Mart's Portland project will include lots of student involvement and community partners, including the local Bureau of Environmental Services and the Audubon Society, which will monitor bird habitats.
“The data we collect will help the green building industry improve upon the many benefits provided by green roofs—from reducing heat island effects to improving overall building performance,” said David Sailor, director of the PSU Green Building Research Laboratory and professor of mechanical engineering. “This research project will lead to better green roof design for buildings around the world.”
As we've noted, Arkansas' first Bass Pro Shops is set to open next week, and the store is promising a big grand opening celebration, with appearances by Nascar Driver Tony Stewart, Jimmy Houston of the "Jimmy Houston Outdoors" TV Show, legendary bass angler Bill Dance, Miss Arkansas USA Hannah Billingsley, and several others.
Still, we haven't gotten a proper peek inside the 120,000-SF store -- until now.
Arkansas Business news partner THV 11 News went inside the store and brought back several photos, which you can see here. If you've been inside any of the retailer's other stores, you know what to expect: fish tanks, woodland displays, taxidermy, etc.
You'll of course be able to see it all in person when the store officially opens at around 6 p.m. Nov. 13, just in time for holiday shopping.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said Friday that he'll hold a U.S. Department of Defense nominee until "Arkansas State University receives the justification for the Army’s abrupt decision to shutter its Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program."
Pryor's move comes about a month after the U.S. Department of the Army officially informed the university that it would end the 77-year-old Army ROTC program at ASU.
"This action is not a reflection of either the quality of your program or the outstanding Cadets you have produced," Thomas R. Lamont, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, wrote in a letter to ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson, according to a news release from ASU in October.
From Pryor's news release:
U.S. Senator Mark Pryor this week said he will hold a U.S. Department of Defense nominee until Arkansas State University receives the justification for the Army’s abrupt decision to shutter its Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Program.
“Despite our repeated requests, the Army has yet to provide its justification for closing ASU’s ROTC Program,” Pryor said. “This lack of information is completely unacceptable. I refuse to release this nominee until the Army fulfills its promise and provides a reasonable explanation for its decision. This is a successful program, and I will fight tooth and nail to keep it open.”
In October, the Army announced that ASU’s ROTC program would be discontinued at the end of the 2014-2015 school year. Following the announcement, Senators Pryor and Boozman, along with Representative Crawford demanded justification from U.S. Army officials. Despite the Army’s commitment to turn over data and materials, the delegation has yet to receive any information. This week, Pryor placed a hold on the Army’s nomination of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure ASU receives the answers it deserves.
At the time of the annoucement, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford's office told The Jonesboro Sun that ASU was one of several campuses losing the program for not meeting "viability standards." ASU administrators said they would work with Arkansas' congressional delegation in hopes of reversing the decision.
There's been some steps forward in key legislation for the trucking industry today, thanks to a bipartisan group of Arkansas' congressional delegates.
U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., have proposed legislation that would instruct the U.S. Department of Transportation to recognize hair testing as an option when conducting drug and alcohol testing.
Arkansas Business wrote about the issue back in June. In short, current government regulations stipulate urinalysis as the only universally accepted and sharable method of drug testing for transportation companies, including J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. of Lowell.
But J.B. Hunt also uses hair testing to screen its drivers, and the company told Arkansas Business earlier this year that the method is more accurate, can detect drug use over a longer window of time and is more tamper-proof than urinalysis.
The problem has been that companies can't report hair test results to others in the industry. That means that it's entirely possible that the 3,221 drivers who failed J.B. Hunt’s drug tests since 2006 are on the road for somebody else.
"Advanced uniform drug testing requirements for trucking companies will help cut costs, spur economic growth and improve safety on our roads," Boozman said in a news release announcing the legislation. "Hiring drivers who lead a drug-free lifestyle is good for the industry and other drivers who share the roads. It makes sense to have the most accurate drug tests available and the ability to share those results among the industry."
The bills, one introduced in the Senate and another in the House, both have the support of the Arkansas Trucking Association.
Update: I'm told that U.S. Reps. Tim Griffin and Steve Womack, both Arkansas Republicans, have signed on as bill co-sponsors.
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Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
The American market research firm Canalys predicts that the 3-D printing — or additive manufacturing — market could grow to more than US$16.2 billion worldwide by 2018. Using 3-D models, engineers and designers will be able to design and print anything from aviation components to medical devices.
Last year’s 3-D Printing Design Quest contest — a collaboration between GE and open engineering community GrabCAD — attracted 700 entries from 56 countries. The quest was to redesign a metal jet engine bracket, making it lighter while preserving its integrity. The bracket attaches to the outside of GE Aviation jet engines, including the GEnx.
One contest entrant was M Arie Kurniawan, an engineer and co-founder of DTECH-ENGINEERING in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia.
“When we heard about the competition through the GrabCAD community, we got the team together to work on the project,” says Kurniawan.
His design employed an H-beam profile that offered strength under horizontal, vertical and axial loads and pared the weight of the original bracket from 2,033 grams to just 327 grams.
“Our team first discussed the ‘backbone’ of the design to satisfy the contest requirements,” says Kurniawan. “Next, we created the 3-D design based on that, then analyzed the design with Finite Element Analysis software to see how the design behaved under the loads described in the competition. We then submitted the 3-D files to the contest, to be rendered in titanium alloy using additive manufacturing.”
The designs of 10 finalists were printed at GE’s additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio using a direct metal laser melting machine. The prototypes were then shipped to GE Global Research in Niskayuna, N.Y., for destruction testing.
Kurniawan’s bracket design was awarded first place and US$7,000 for exhibiting the ideal combination of stiffness and light weight.
GE Aviation is currently testing 3-D-printed fuel nozzles inside a jet engine on a test stand in Peebles, Ohio. Developing talent and supply chains to leverage 3-D printing technology is key to its implementation, says Michael Idelchik, leader of the technical collaboration teams within GE Ventures, and vice-president of Advanced Technologies for GE Global Research.
“We have to get the people with the right talents to embrace it and create an ecosystem of designers, suppliers and materials scientists,” he says. “You need almost an artistic approach to design, the ability to model and analyze structures, and also the knowledge to pick the right materials and the correct manufacturing equipment. There is a lot that goes into the mix, and collaboration is the perfect tool for finding the best solution.”
Kurniawan agrees, noting his firm is taking a global view to growth.
“Additive manufacturing is a tool that helps us to export our designs anywhere that someone has a 3-D printer,” he says. “It won’t be long before 3-D printing is available everywhere.”
Not content to rest on the achievement of his prizewinning design, Kurniawan says he has since revisited the project to make the bracket still lighter while retaining it strength.
“It’s not just a goal,” he says. “We’ve already done it.”
This story was produced by Postmedia’s advertising department in collaboration with GE to promote awareness of this topic for commercial purposes. Postmedia’s editorial departments had no involvement in the creation of this content.


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Cloud-based e-commerce solution company, Unicommerce, released a “Fashion E-commerce Report”, according to which, India’s online fashion industry has seen a 51 per cent growth in order volume as well as a gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of 45 per cent. The report also states that the average order value of the industry has declined marginally by four per cent.
As per the report, as more fashion brands adopt a direct to consumer (D2C) approach, their connection to the consumer grows stronger as well. This reflects in brand website statistics which see a 66 per cent order volume growth and 77 per cent GMV growth in FY21 as compared to the previous financial year, leading to a six per cent increase in average order value. In comparison, marketplaces have seen lower growth, with their order volume growth at 45 per cent and GMV at 33 per cent, leading to a decline of eight per cent in average order value for FY21.
"Fashion labels have been at the forefront of re-inventing, re-strategising, and re-aligning themselves to rapidly evolving business environments and changing consumer needs. The industry has also observed multiple retail brands establishing their niche in the e-commerce industry," the report by Unicommerce states. The company has analysed fashion trends for the period of FY21 and FY20 with a sample size of over 70 million orders for the report.
In addition to positive indications for the D2C approach, an upward trend in buying from tier-II and -III cities was also reported, with order volume growth of 118 per cent, driving 192 per cent order volume growth.
Amongst the different segments, kids wear saw the highest growth of 200 per cent in volume growth as well as 17 per cent increase in market share as compared to three per cent in the last financial year. Comparatively, the segment with the highest market share of 50 per cent, womenswear, saw a growth of 30 per cent in order volume in FY21.
Kapil Makhija, CEO of Unicommerce, said in a statement, "Fashion segment is one of the biggest contributors to the e-commerce industry of India with the highest order volume. This report deep dives into the fashion industry to analyse the trends in the online fashion space... this report will help fashion e-tailers in understanding the changing dynamics of the fashion e-commerce industry."
Image used for representational purposes only.


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Sears lays off 700 workers
Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) announced Thursday it is laying off 700 workers across the country as part of a move to "right-size" the company and focus on restructuring its business.
The national retailer says 360 people are being laid off from its department stores and about 300 from its distribution centres. The remaining workers are being let go from head office and other support areas.
The job cuts will be across Canada.
"This is part of our initiative to right-size the organization, which is working in concert with other initiatives to make Sears successful," said Sears spokesman Vince Power in a statement.
The city of Belleville in eastern Ontario, where Sears has a distribution centre that deals with small-ticket catalogue and online sales, will lose 120 jobs, the largest single cut in the current round of downsizing.
A distribution centre in Regina, which also deals primarily in smaller items for western customers, will lose 80 jobs. There will be smaller job losses at distribution centres in the Toronto and Montreal areas, which deal more with larger items, and at two small distribution centres in Calgary and Vancouver.
By contrast, the job losses at Sears retail operations will be smaller, in the range of two to four people per store.
At the Sears department store in Kelowna two employees at the management level were laid off Thursday.
Power said the distribution centres are feeling a bigger impact because "over time we've been able to improve some processes, so we're able to do more in the distribution centres."
"And also we didn't want to affect customer service in the stores."
Sears Canada has been revamping operations to encourage more customers to return to its stores after years of declining sales, and also to prepare for the entry of numerous U.S. retailers, including discount chain Target (NYSE:TGT).
In a report assessing the impact of Target's arrival, released last fall, Barclays Capital said that Sears Canada, Walmart, Old Navy, Loblaw's Joe Fresh brand and Canadian Tire are the retailers most at risk.
The company has 195 corporate stores, 269 hometown dealer stores, eight home services show rooms and more than 1,500 merchandise pick-up locations.
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Cardaxn has announced the company’s Q1 2020 financial results ended on March 31, 2020. The company has recorded a net loss of $1,135,420 in Q1 2019 to $1,002,868 in the financial results of Q1 2020. The company has secured $770,000 through the issuance of convertible notes in Q1 2020 ended on March 31, 2020. The company has used $150,000 to pay off a convertible note due in March 2020 for general working capital.
The company has secured the $211,300 formidable loan from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program under the state-passed CARES Act. The company has primarily used the amount to support urgent financial businesses, including the salary of its employees. The economic aid it secured under the CARES act proved to be vital to retain company’s operations.
The company has further predicted that all its company’s operations, including the expenses, revenues and any other private or public offering, may be significantly affected in 2020 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, although the extent and magnitude of the pandemic was only in beginning and at the initial stages.
Chief Executive Officer of Cardax, David Watumull said, “First, I would like to thank our employees, contractors, advisors, and professional service providers for all of their efforts during these difficult times. They have made an efficient and productive transition to our virtual work environment. Their perseverance and commitment are allowing us to pursue important opportunities to advance our business strategy, including our pharmaceutical development program.”
“In addition, on the consumer side of the business, we were pleased to continue as GNC’s top product in Hawaii and top anti-oxidant product nationwide. We are also exploring new channels opening up as a result of sales and distribution disruptions related to COVID-19,” Company’s CEO David Watumull further added in his statement.


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⦁ Developing a joint Cloud solution
⦁ Joint marketing and distribution
⦁ Intershop's solution the ideal commerce addition to Microsoft Dynamics 365
Jena, Las Vegas, July 31, 2018 - The Intershop Communications AG was presented with the 2018 Runner Up Award in Las Vegas on July 19, 2018, on the annual Microsoft partner conference "Inspire" in front of more than one thousand German conference attendees.
It was only for the second time that the award was presented to a partner in Germany. It recognizes the close and good cooperation between the companies on the German market.
The award honors Intershop's strategic and goal-oriented focus on the Microsoft product palette and the successful cooperation for marketing and selling the Cloud solution via events and social media campaigns. In addition to availability in Microsoft Azure, Intershop products are also closely integrated with various Microsoft Dynamics 365 business applications, and more than a dozen customers now rely on Intershop's joint solution based on the Azure Cloud.
Jochen Wiechen, CEO, explains: "Our decision to operate Intershop's solution in the Microsoft Azure Cloud has proven to be the right one. The close, cross-departmental cooperation with Microsoft led to the successful and efficient implementation of all joint projects. We are very grateful for the award, which is a recognition of this successful cooperation."
Sebastian Grassl, Head of Go-To-Market at Microsoft Germany, says: "The Runner Up Award is an award for partners who stood out in the past fiscal year. We are very proud of the close cooperation with the Intershop team. Together, we successfully launched Intershop's new Commerce-as-a-Service Cloud offering and will continue to market and sell it nationally and internationally in the coming fiscal year. Together we can continue to drive the Cloud growth of the leading Microsoft Azure platform".
Intershop (founded in Germany 1992; Prime Standard: ISHA) enables the world’s leading manufacturers and wholesalers to digitalize, transform, and boost their businesses. Our e-commerce platform and cloud-based technology give B2B companies the power to establish and expand their digital presence, improve customer experience, and increase online revenue. With 30 years experience and a global presence, we help our 300+ clients turn products into profits, customers into business partners, and transactions into lasting relationships.
Intershop is built to boost your business. Learn more at www.intershop.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial and operational performance of Intershop. Actual events or performance may differ materially from those contained or implied in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could lead to such difference could include, among other things: Intershop's limited operating history, the unpredictability of future revenues and expenses and potential fluctuations in revenues and operating results, significant dependence on large single customer deals, consumer trends, the level of competition, seasonality, risks related to electronic security, possible governmental regulation, and general economic conditions.


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The FDA has warned companies to stop making unsubstantiated claims about what cannabis can do, otherwise they could be charged with a felony. Many brands have taken issue with the warning and American consumers are still left without clear information on what is allowed in terms of health claims.
The “is weed legal in washington” is a question that has been asked for years. The FDA has issued a warning about the misleading claims that are being made by some companies.
The FDA is worried about unsubstantiated health claims and packaging that appeals to minors.
Companies marketing goods containing delta-8 THC, a cannabis component, have been warned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for making unfounded claims about the products’ health benefits.
The FDA said that despite the lack of study on delta-8 THC, a component present in the cannabis sativa plant, internet vendors and cafés are claiming that products containing the chemical can assist with anxiety and sleeping.
Delta-8 may give people a “high,” but it comes from the same portion of the marijuana plant as CBD, a non-psychoactive and legal ingredient, therefore its legality is ambiguous.
The FDA sent warning letters to five firms – ATLRx, BioMD Plus, Delta 8 Hemp, Kingdom Harvest, and M Six Labs – for allegedly making fraudulent claims regarding delta-8’s advantages.
“The FDA is particularly concerned about the rising popularity of delta-8 THC products being offered online and in shops around the country,” said FDA deputy commissioner Janet Woodcock. “Some of the food items are packed and labeled in ways that may appeal to youngsters, which is highly concerning.”
The FDA’s crackdown on delta-8 comes at a time when marijuana laws, which remain federally prohibited, are in flux. There is a fresh drive in Congress, led by members from both parties, to allow cannabis companies to utilize banking services, which would be a huge step in establishing their legality throughout the United States.
Cannabis shops are forced to trade in cash because to the federal prohibition, making them a target for robbery.
“Right now, this is a cash-only operation.” It’s risky for the workers,” Murray, a member of the Senate conference committee in charge of the bill’s final form, told the Hill. “The customers are in risk, and it can be rectified.”
The American Bankers Association is urging Congress to pass a separate bill that would allow financial services to cannabis businesses, stating that this would help decrease crime and raise tax revenue. Senator Steve Daines, a Republican, expressed confidence that such a measure would get the necessary votes from both Republicans and Democrats.
The US House of Representatives approved a measure decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level last month. It has yet to be voted on in the Senate, and Joe Biden has refused to endorse it, despite promising to support legalization of marijuana users during his presidential campaign.
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The region has experienced the highest increase in rent levels in the UK for industrial and logistics space in the first half of 2016, according to the latest research by Colliers International.
Warrington continued to be a particularly strong location for the industrial market, as rents rose by 13.6% compared to the same period in 2015. Nationally, rents increased by 3.7% to an average of £6.22/sq ft, the highest since before the recession.
The North West saw the highest rise of all the UK regions at 10.6%, taking rents to £5.88/sq ft.
The research compiled by the industrial and logistics team at the North West offices of Colliers International in Manchester and Liverpool showed that the ongoing shortage of available distribution space and good quality space, remained the defining feature of the region’s industrial and logistics market.
There is currently seven million sq ft of units of more than 100,000 sq ft in the North West, with the majority of that space being second-hand and of poor quality. Based on average take-up levels, the total availability of new and refurbished space of over 100,000 sq ft would be occupied in little more than five months.
Colliers said that this overall shortage of suitable product, even of second-hand quality, is forcing occupiers wanting to expand to entertain all available options.
Consequently, the North West saw a 14% rise in rent for second hand units of 10,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft over the past year, to an average of £5/sq ft.
Take-up of available space throughout the North West in the first half of 2016 amounted to about six million sq ft, of which 1.79 million sq ft involved units bigger than 100,000 sq ft; a level of transactional activity down on the first half of 2015 which Colliers attributed to the lack of available locations.
The dominant player in the North West remained Amazon, with the online shopping giant taking an additional 265,350 sq ft at Manchester’s Airport City in a deal with Stoford and Mountpark to extend its footprint to 654,000 sq ft. Amazon also took 170,000 sq ft at Lancashire Business Park, Leyland, in a transaction with Lancashire County Developments, part of Lancashire County Council.
The largest deal in the first half of 2016 was achieved by Bolton-based online appliance retailer AO.com securing the lease on 386,753 sq ft of space at Crossflow 380, Crewe, from Prologis. This represented a substantial addition to the 360,000 sq ft already occupied by AO.com in the Cheshire town.
John Sullivan, director of industrial and logistics at Colliers, said: “The fact that the North West outperformed all other regions in terms of rental growth in the first half of 2016 reflects the classic economic scenario of supply and demand – there is increasing demand in the region from occupiers facing an ongoing shortage of space and people are therefore willing to pay top dollar for what is available.
“Larger deal activity continues to be driven by the retail sector and this trend is set to persist as online retail and ecommerce fuels the requirement for warehouse and distribution space
“While we’re obviously encouraged to see a return to speculative development of ‘big sheds’ for the first time since the economic downturn, this trend remains at a formative stage and we face the ongoing issue of available new and refurbished space being occupied by the end of the year if average take-up levels were to persist.
“Although it remains too early to accurately predict what economic repercussions there will be of the Brexit vote when the UK actually agrees the terms of its departure from the EU, we’re not seeing any discernible negative sentiment following the referendum decision with a number of active requirements in the market and occupier demand in general remaining at pre-Brexit levels.”


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Our portfolio company Agrivi developed a tool that provides farmers with real-time insight into the progress of crops with features like alerts for bad weather and possible crop disease.
It has just been named on the 1st place among foodtech startups in Europe and the 4th place in the world.
FoodTech 500 research placed Agrivi on the 4th place in the world
Forward Fooding presented FoodTech 500 list of global entrepreneurial talent at the intersection between food, technology and sustainability. From a truly global response with over 1.200 applications from 54 different countries, across 8 different categories of AgriFoodTech they introduced the world’s first FoodTech 500 ranking.
Environmental scores were calculated using data from a questionnaire filled out by startups about their manufacturing processes, product, company policy and revenue.
Each startup’s online footprint score was based on a mix of metrics including search engine rank, web traffic and follower counts, while their business growth score was based on various financial performance indicators alongside employee count.
Overall Score: 81/100
Sustainability score: 85/100
Online footprint score: 80/100
Business growth score: 80/100
Agrivi on the 1st place among 20 European foodtech startups to know in 2020 by Sifted
After FoodTech 500 ranking Sifted selected the best European startups from the list and placed Agrivi on the top of the list. Read Sifted’s recap of European startups that are changing the future of AgriFoodTech here.
Founder Interview: Putting the face behind the story
Forward Fooding has also conducted an interview with the top listers and Agrivi was presented by its CEO and Founder Matija Zulj. Read what led to Agrivi creation and other insights Matija shared with Forward Fooding.


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Today is World Oceans Day, a global day of celebration and collaboration for the world's oceans. Hundreds of events are planned in more than 100 countries, including the United Nations Oceans Conference taking place this week in New York City.
This year's theme is "Our Oceans, Our Future" with a conservation focus on solutions to plastic pollution and preventing marine litter.
According to The Ocean Project, here are six great reasons to celebrate World Oceans Day:
The oceans ...
• generate most of the oxygen we breathe
• regulate our climate
• clean the water we drink
• offer a pharmacopoeia of medicines
• provide limitless inspiration
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
The Return of a Relative: Tribal Communities in the Northern Great Plains Rally Around Bison Restoration
By Clay Bolt
On Oct. 11 people around the world celebrated the release of four plains bison onto a snow-covered butte in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
The climate crisis has put at least 945 designated toxic waste sites at severe risk of disaster from escalating wildfires, floods, rising seas and other climate-related disasters, according to a new study from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), as the AP reported.
By Bailey Hopp
If you had to choose a diamond for your engagement ring from below or above the ground, which would you pick … and why would you pick it? This is the main question consumers are facing when picking out their diamond engagement ring today. With a dramatic increase in demand for conflict-free lab-grown diamonds, the diamond industry is shifting right before our eyes.
For one year Rob Greenfield grew and foraged all of his own food. No grocery stores, no restaurants, no going to a bar for a drink, not even medicines from the pharmacy.
Apple has removed all 181 vaping-related apps from its App Store, the company announced on Friday. The removal of the apps comes after thousands of people across the country have developed lung illnesses from vaping and 42 people have died.


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Launch of the upcoming Suzuki Burgman electric scooter is still a couple of years away
It has already been established that Suzuki is working on an electric scooter specifically for the Indian market. Based on Burgman Street 125, this upcoming e-scooter has been spotted testing on Indian roads on multiple occasions. Spy shots suggest that design of the electric scooter is similar to that of its petrol-powered counterpart.
Earlier in April this year, it was reported that development of the Burgman electric scooter had been delayed by two years. According to Suzuki officials, development time of the upcoming electric scooter has been extended thanks to high ambient temperatures in our country.
Suzuki Burgman Electric Patents Leaked
In recent times, there have been many mishaps related to electric two-wheelers across the country due to high temperatures during the summer. Hence, Suzuki has decided to take some extra time to failsafe their technology. Meanwhile, a new patent drawing of the upcoming electric scooter has been leaked online. The latest patent image reveals a few significant variations in comparison to the previous patent leaked some months ago.
As per the latest patent drawing, the electric scooter is built around the same frame as the petrol-powered Burgman Street 125. However, this time it features a chain drive system which is unusual for an electric two-wheeler. This chain drive comes out of an AC motor placed far forward on the frame under the seat to drive the rear wheel.
Advantages of chain drive over belt drive
A chain drive system has many advantages over a belt drive setup. For instance, the belt drive setup offers a transmission efficiency of 91-94 percent whereas in case of a conventional chain drive it stands at 97-98 percent. Moreover, a belt drive setup is more expensive than a chain drive unit. Also, chain drive is more rugged and adept in tackling harsh Indian conditions like monsoon, bad roads, etc.
As a belt always needs to be in a tight position, it will keep the motor, wheel axles and ball bearings under load all the time. On the other hand, a chain drive is always designed with a slack and can transmit power even under extreme slack. Only disadvantage of a chain drive system over a belt drive setup is the constant maintenance the former warrants.
Further, an AC-DC inverter has been placed smartly underneath the floorboard that converts the battery’s DC output to AC for the motor. A DC-AC converter is mounted on the side of the battery pack to step the voltage down. Suzuki has made use of a fixed battery pack instead of a removable unit. This comes as a surprise, since Suzuki has formed a consortium with other Japanese brands to develop swappable battery technology.
The battery looks big enough and should offer more range on a full charge in comparison to a similarly rated removable battery. One major downside is that the battery pack may eat a large chunk of the boot under-seat storage which might affect its practicality.


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Meet Rajat Dhariwal, who has built world’s first wearable gaming platform for kids
MadRat Games has announced the prototype launch of SuperSuit, world’s first wearable gaming platform for kids & families at CES 2016 in Vegas. SuperSuit is a wearable gaming platform that reduces screen time, increases social interaction, physical activities and takes kids & families outdoors to play with each other.
SuperSuit is designed for the new play space of the 21st century – the emerging ‘Third Space’, a space between the screen-dominated indoors & the vanishing outdoors. It’s the backyards, front yards, parking lots, basements, terraces, corridors, streets in the neighbourhood where the majority of play is happening today.
Commenting on the launch Rajat Dhariwal, Founder MadRat Games said, “We are excited to announce the launch of SuperSuit today at CES. SuperSuit aims to take away kids from screen dominated games. I feel SuperSuit is the future of gaming.”
Rajat further added, “For children, outdoor play is already the favourite mode – they are unable to do that due to shrinking outdoors in cities & urban spaces and restrictions on them due to safety concerns in suburbs. There is a growing feeling of restraint & lack of freedom, and kids can claim that freedom back with SuperSuit.”
SuperSuit has two units – Vest and Glove. The Vest records hits & displays scores (in form of lights, audio and haptic feedback). The Glove enables the interactivity between players with triggers to send beams. It incorporates a proprietary gesture engine which allows a wide range of gestures which trigger special powers, creating the charm of telekinesis!
Additionally, the system supports external ‘Bots’ (from RC cars to the new age connected toys) to be connected to & controlled by it. SuperSuit’s SDK allows developers to create new games for it. SuperSuit’s companion smartphone app allows the parents to monitor children’s fitness data & track their location for safety purpose. It does so via Bluetooth – which is also used for downloading new titles, upgrade firmware and maintain player profile and data.
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It's taken a while, but Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is now available on Android devices. It costs $9.99 (with some DLC that costs extra), and can run on any Android 4.0 or later.
Baldur's Gate EE originally came out more than a year ago, and was available for iPad shortly after. Even its sequel came out before the original hit Android. But you can download it from Google Play now, at least. It received generally positive reviews.


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NYSE Euronext calls off stake sale in MCX
NYSE Euronext has called off its plans to sell entire 4.79% stake in India's premier commodity bourse MCX for about $45 million (Rs 246 crore).
Investment banking sources said NYSE Euronext's plan to offload little over 24.42 lakh shares of MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange) has been called off due to poor response from investors.
The sale, through secondary market, was expected to happen on Thursday. Shares were expected to be sold in the price range of Rs 1,005.10 - 1,026.25 apiece.
"The sale has been called off as bids did not come at the offered price range," a source said. At the higher end of the price band, the sale could fetch around Rs 250 crore.
According to sources, the sale is part of NYSE Euronext efforts to monetise non-strategic assets.
The exchange had bought 5% stake for about Rs 240 crore in June 2008.


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KUALA LUMPUR: Starting today, commission rates for Internet trading and cash upfront transactions will be fully negotiable as part of the new measures introduced to ensure a more competitive rate structure.
The commission rate for non-Internet and non-cash upfront transactions will remain unchanged but with a minimum brokerage charge of RM40 for these transactions, the Securities Commission (SC) said in a statement yesterday.
This initiative is part of a phased approach towards a more deregulated, competitive and vibrant stock market environment, the SC said.
In this regard, the new measures will allow brokers to provide customers with the choice of cost-efficiencies offered by Internet trading and the personal and customised service offered by dealer representatives, it said.
This creates an environment which ensures that the pricing of the services are appropriate to the level of services rendered.
The SC said that overall, the gradual deregulation of pricing structures was intended to provide industry the flexibility to offer a greater choice to a broader range of customers as well as to create a more competitive environment for the provision of intermediation services. Bernama
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Pleasanton, CA — January 17, 2023 — NextHome was recently named No. 1 on Franchise Business Review’s list of the Top Franchises for 2023, the company’s third consecutive year at the top. The franchise is honored to be featured once again on this year’s ranking of the 200 best franchise opportunities as rated by franchise business owners.
NextHome, Inc. is an independently owned national franchisor with a focus on changing the way consumers work with local agents and shop for real estate online. The NextHome franchise, founded in 2014, has 610 offices and 5,500+ members across 48 states. The company closed over 33,000 transactions in 2022 worth over $11.4B in volume.
Franchise Business Review, a market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction and employee engagement, provides the only rankings and awards for franchise companies based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. Franchise Business Review publishes its rankings of the top 200 franchises in its annual Guide to Today’s Top Franchises.
NextHome was among over 360 franchise brands, representing nearly 38,000 franchise owners, that participated in Franchise Business Review’s research. NextHome’s franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems, including training and support, operations, franchisor/franchisee relations, and financial opportunity.
“Having NextHome ranked the No. 1 franchise in the country for the third year in a row is not only an honor, but a testament to our franchise model’s continued success in an industry that’s continually evolving,” said James Dwiggins, Chief Executive Officer of NextHome. “At our core, we are focused on our people and their success. By providing the best marketing and technology tools, training opportunities, and world-class customer service, NextHome real estate professionals can spend more time doing what they do best—helping people find their next home.”
“Franchisee satisfaction levels hit an all-time high last year despite the pandemic, and we are pleased to report that our 2023 research shows satisfaction has remained sky high—a sure indicator that franchisee satisfaction is a top priority for franchise companies—and that’s good news for franchise owners and anyone thinking about investing in a franchise,” said Michelle Rowan, president & COO of Franchise Business Review.
Visit FranchiseBusinessReview.com to see the full description of the 2023 Top Franchises.
NextHome would like to thank our franchisees for this opportunity, without them, the franchise wouldn’t achieve such accomplishments.
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.


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Providing Healthy Products and a Healthy Planet
IDFA continues to play an active and leading role in supporting the industry's long history of environmental stewardship. At the same time, we’re challenging unnecessary and burdensome regulations that do little to enhance overall public safety.
Demonstrating a depth of collaboration and commitment, IDFA and other dairy leaders recently agreed to support a groundbreaking and comprehensive initiative that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by the year 2020. That goal is equivalent to taking more than 1.25 million passenger cars off the road every year.
The initiative is a project of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, an organization that brings together the leadership of the entire dairy industry, including producers, dairy cooperatives, processors and manufacturers. More than 500 stakeholders, including many IDFA member companies, have joined to date.
Each of the initiative's projects are designed to build business value and meet consumer demand for green products by reducing energy use, increasing efficiency and helping the industry tap into new sources of income. While the initial effort focused on fluid milk, IDFA and National Cheese Institute members have made great strides toward establishing a carbon footprint for cheese as well.


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One would think that the Italians, and most of the European winemakers, would be first in line for the shoot-yourself-in-the-foot booth. The weak dollar, inflation, high cost of living and ultimately price increases, followed by an expected slow-down in sales. And then California goes long boarding and tries to ride the high wave. Yeah. OK. Now what?
These days, wineries in California are changing their dance partners with a fury once seen on the deck of the Titanic. A 48% increase in sales isn’t good enough? Let’s find another conduit for marketing our products. Lost in the aisles of hundreds of other Chardonnays? Blame someone else. Slow down in sales? It couldn’t be that old fashioned label that your Aunt Tilley designed, now, could it?
Like the weather patterns that derive off the West Coast, sometimes the storm passes to the middle lands and even further. Maybe the sub-prime miasma is to blame. And the Italians are laughing about it and dancing in the streets, in their new Prada slip-ons
The trend seems to be, or rather, the cycle we are in right now, indicates that Italians aren’t slowing down like many of the naysayers are bellowing. Yet.
February 2008 is looking to be a good month for Italian wine sales in the midsection of the United States. January was strong, and this month, as it is wrapping up, is lumbering to a finish that outpaces the same month last year (SMLY).
Not so with respect to California wine sales.
A couple of things here.
The market is crowded; there is still a lot of juice floating around looking for a final resting place. There are a few other Two-Buck imitators that have made it to the interior. And yes, at the bottom rung, it is treated like a commodity because it is in a highly competitive part of the market. This isn’t Super-Yacht territory. If folks were used to buying three bottles of wine a week for $15.99, they are now buying two bottles now for $12.99 and making do. The supply builds up into tsunami-sized waves and gets scattered across the land, often heavily discounted.
So why isn’t this happening to Italian wines? Short answer: I don’t know. Perhaps it is because the Italian wines have diversified their penetration in the market. It seems they are everywhere these days, large retailers, small independents, mama and papa restaurants and big box chains. Spread out.
This might not be for long, but right now we are riding the wave in the cycle. And so far, we haven’t been thrown from the board.


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Just about the only game that Sony hasn’t fully detailed for their Holiday release schedule is Wonderbook.
mid november actually isnt a bad idea, the adults get black ops 2, the kids get wonderbook
You have no idea how many more kids play CoD than adults
Kids are probably going to buy Wonderbook AND BO2 thanks to their parents.
I think it is more like Wonderbook would be a parents decision while CoD will be a child's decision.
i like the cover, its not my type of game but it will appeal to tons of jk rowling fans. this thing will sell like hotcakes.
Yes thanks to sonys heavy marketing, this will sell like flopcakes
they are on a huge tour round the uk right now, seen it in hmv last week. kids loved it. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/r...
Lovin this tech, if they release adult stories like A song of ice and fire aka Game of Thrones then i'm sold.
I thought this looked terrible but that Diggs Nightcrawler book has really make me want one.
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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VCN – After more than seven months of launching the Portal for foreign suppliers, 37 suppliers have declared and paid tax in Vietnam.
|The Tax sector develops a database to manage risks to e-commerce. Photo: Internet.
According to the report of the General Department of Taxation, currently 37 foreign suppliers have declared and paid taxes via the Portal for foreign suppliers.
As of November 7, these suppliers paid over VND3,100 billion, including six major suppliers such as Facebook (Meta), Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Netflix, Apple, accounting for 90% of revenue from e-commerce services, business on cross-border digital platforms in Vietnam.
Currently, the General Department of Taxation is finalizing tax regulations and policies to strengthen the responsibility of e-commerce platforms in tax declaration and payment on behalf of business households and individuals doing business via an e-commerce platform that has the function of ordering online and providing information to tax authorities.
In addition, the country’s top tax authority continues to reform tax administration; upgrades information technology infrastructure to connect and store information to support taxpayers on the Portal.
The Tax sector has also built a database to manage risks for e-commerce; applied artificial intelligence (AI) in processing and giving warnings for cases beyond the risk threshold, and proposed tax management measures for e-commerce activities.
In addition, it has developed a smart tax management system, meeting data connection with state management agencies and taxpayers, e-commerce trading platforms to facilitate tax declaration and payment 24/7, and e-commerce needs.
In the future, the General Department of Taxation will conduct inspections and check information to detect violations of taxpayers, thereby making recommendations to develop more appropriate policies. It will also coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to exchange and connect information, and develop comprehensive legal policies in the control of e-commerce activities.
By Thuy Linh/Ngoc Loan


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Apple apologises and cuts iPhone battery replacement price
Australian Apple fans will pay just $39 for battery replacements as part of Apple's apology over iPhone slowdown issues.
In recent weeks it's emerged that Apple's solution for a situation where older iPhone batteries could lead to unexpected shutdowns was to incrementally degrade processor performance on those handsets.
From Apple's perspective, this was an effort to ensure that iPhones with older batteries didn't suddenly stop working in the middle of a call, message or other smartphone function. However, it did have the potential to make selected handsets respond more slowly after iOS upgrades with little indication to the end user as to why their handset was suddenly slower.
Many consumers figured that Apple was deliberately slowing down older handsets to encourage sales of new devices, unaware that (potentially) a new battery could bring back the performance they'd grown accustomed to.
In a message to its customers, Apple has taken the rare step of apologising for confusion around the issue, as well as outlining what it plans to do around battery life issues going forwards. In Apple's letter to its customers it states:
"We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. There’s been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes we’re making.
First and foremost, we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that."
It's a simple reality that current lithium ion battery technology degrades over time, even if a battery isn't particularly used. Apple's update was intended (as per the company line) to stop sudden shutdowns being an issue via the update to iOS 10.2.1:
"About a year ago in iOS 10.2.1, we delivered a software update that improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown. While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance."
Apple's response to the issue will be twofold. Early in 2018, it intends to release an iOS update that will "give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance."
Historically speaking, Apple has been very reluctant to allow app makers to delve into the iPhone's battery condition to inform consumers around their relative battery health, so it will be interesting to see if battery testing apps outside Apple's own start being approved at the same time, although that still feels unlikely.
In the meantime, it's dropping the price of battery replacements for older, out of warranty iPhones from US$79 to US$29, available from January 2018. In Australia, we'll pay just $39 for a battery replacement according to Apple Australia, down significantly from its current $119 asking price. Apple's timeframe for that price change is in January 2018, so it may not apply if you rush down to an Apple store today.
As always, you may already be covered by standard Australian consumer law, which states that goods must be fit for service within a reasonable lifespan relative to their cost. Apple sells its goods as premium products, and while this isn't legal advice, if you're sitting on a reasonably new iPhone with battery woes, even if you didn't buy the additional AppleCare+ warranty, you may have a case to bring to Apple for a battery replacement regardless.
Apple's note on battery life states that it will roll out lower pricing "available worldwide through December 2018", but hopefully it won't take an entire year before we see lower pricing here in Australia. We've reached out to Apple Australia to see if there's any local news to report on lower pricing for battery replacements to come.


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Vicky Ford is Conservative MEP for the East of England and Chairs the European Parliament Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
Over the past forty years, politicians across the world have worked to tear down barriers to trade but increasingly we now risk tipping into a new era fueled by protectionism. Public support for trade agreements will not be regained if politicians only focus on the small minority of elite consumers who shop across borders: after all, the vast majority of consumers consume in their local area. Decisions on the new relationship between the UK and the rest of the EU’s Single Market or what trade agreements we should make with other parts of the world need to be made from the viewpoint of the ordinary consumer.
During the referendum there was much debate on the impact of the Single Market on business, on jobs, on workers, on services and standards, but its value to everyday consumers was hardly mentioned.
The abolition of mobile phone roaming charges was briefly highlighted but whilst this may be important to younger voters and to those who regularly travel overseas it did not resonate with many older voters, those of lower income, and those in less affluent areas. It was only recently when suddenly British consumers found that Marmite and Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough might not be quite as readily available that the discussion on the impact for consumers really began.
Margaret Thatcher championed the Single Market. It is about more than just tariff-free trade. There are a plethora of networks for practical co-operation which have been built up under the past forty years. When we are preparing for the negotiations ahead we should look at these networks and the practical benefits they bring to many every day lives and consider which we might wish to maintain. I have encountered many examples.
Important for children is the Rapex alert system. If a dangerous toy is spotted in one market, this system is used to alert trading standards officials all across Europe so that recalls can be made across the supply chain.
On the subject of health, at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham MPs from all over the UK visited the Cancer Research UK stand to pledge their support. Clinical trials for those with rare cancers are increasingly run across borders as larger numbers of participants give more meaningful results. The charity’s top priority post-Brexit is to make it easy for British patients, especially children, to take part in joint clinical trials run across many EU countries so that they will be able to access latest treatment. The common approach across the Single Market to sharing of medical data and tissue samples enables these trials.
Patient safety today is also backstopped by an Internal Market Information Sharing System. This enables the UK’s General Medical Council to easily check the qualifications of doctors from other countries, and ascertain whether they have ever been barred from practice. We are the largest sharer of information on this system. In Brussels we are currently looking at using the same system to share information on applications for firearms certificates.
Last month in Ware in Hertfordshire I saw lifesaving new asthma inhalers rolling off the production line. The manufacturer, Glaxo Smith Kline, has just invested £74 million in additional capacity at the factory. The management team’s top ask post-Brexit is to keep close UK/EU cooperation on approvals for medical devices so that new innovations can come to market faster.
A common declaration system for imports from outside the EU helped customs authorities across Europe to seize over forty million counterfeit goods last year , not just illegal cigarettes, but fake medicines, toys and household electrical goods too. However, our port operators warn that if full customs declarations are also needed for goods moving between the UK and EU this could lead to huge delays at ports and airports. HMRC estimates that the number of customs declarations they would need to process would increase from 100 million each year to 350 million. If the Conservative Government is really committed to preventing unnecessary red tape then we must look for a simpler options.
Some of these Single Market networks are currently only used by the 28 EU countries, others are also accessed by EEA members, Switzerland or other neighbours.
In the UK, the Single Market is under scrutiny as never before. Having free movement of goods across the Single Market has on the whole given consumers greater choice, greater diversity and lower prices – even despite the propensity for the European political left to add extra costs into the supply chain or ban certain products.
Import prices matter to consumers, and trade deals with other parts of the world will bring new opportunities in the longer term, but currently over 50 per cent of the products that we import into the UK come from other EU countries. If we have to rely on a World Trade Organisation backstop for these products then British consumers will face expensive tariffs especially on food products, and negotiating a new free-trade agreement with Brussels to rectify this could take many years of uncertainty.
Therefore before we fully walk away from our entire relationship with the Single Market it is important to consider seriously strategies. Some politicians in other EU countries may say no to an “a la carte” relationship for the UK, but when one examines the EU’s own scoreboard for how individual countries implement Single Market agreements it is clear that some of those same countries already take quite an “a la carte” approach themselves.
Our on-going relationship with the Single Market will of course be partly shaped by the decisions we make to ensure the UK has control over migration, but even in this area things are not as inflexible as sometimes portrayed. Politicians on both sides of the channel risk being locked into positions based on theological purity, laying down absolutes as non-negotiable whereas real world examples show that there already exist many examples of more flexible approaches.
In practical terms it is impossible to move to Belgium without a reasonably well-paid job, Switzerland is about to introduce new rules so that jobs must be advertised to local people before non-domestic residents, and in its relationship with Lichtenstein the EU has already conceded the principle that a country with a firm cap on migration can have preferential access to the Single Market.
After Brexit, a new relationship between the UK and the rest of the EU’s Single Market will be needed but this is not a simple “leave” or “stay” decision. It requires sophisticated consideration and a multi-layered approach


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Mr. Musk has sold large tranches of Tesla stock before. Last year, he sold some 15 million shares, worth more than $16 billion, in two months. Those sales didn’t appear to drive down Tesla’s price significantly, though it’s not known if the price would have gone up if it hadn’t been selling.
When Tesla shares fall, what happens to the rest of the market?
Tesla is a component of both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index. In addition to being barometers of US stock performance, both indices are reflected in numerous widely invested mutual funds.
The S&P 500, considered the US benchmark index, weights companies according to their market value. Tesla, which is worth around $900 billion, is one of the most influential stocks in the index.
For every dollar Tesla shares fell on Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.099 points, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. That means the drop in Tesla shares accounted for almost a tenth of the drop in the S&P 500 on Tuesday.
How Elon Musk bought Twitter
A very successful deal. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has capped off what seemed like an unlikely attempt by the famously fickle billionaire to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion. Here’s how the deal unfolded:
“So it had a very big impact,” Silverblatt said, but “not the highest.” Apple, with almost three times the valuation of Tesla, has much more impact. Its shares’ 3.7 percent drop on Tuesday contributed more to the decline in the overall index.
So why did Tesla shares fall?
Tesla is a famously volatile stock. Tuesday’s 12.2 percent drop was its worst daily drop since September 8, 2020, when it lost about 21 percent of its value. But in the past six months, Tesla shares have fallen nearly 12 percent twice, on November 9 and January 27.
Some, including Musk, have at times suggested that Tesla is overvalued. Among those who believe in Tesla’s valuation, which is much higher than rival automakers relative to the size of its operations, much of the argument hinges on the Musk administration. Even Tesla acknowledges this, stating as a risk in its most recent quarterly report: “We rely heavily on the services of Elon Musk, Tesla’s tech king and our CEO. Although Mr. Musk spends a lot of time with Tesla and is very active in our management, he does not devote all of his time and attention to Tesla.”


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BENGALURU: The protest by drivers of Uber and Ola has hit fever pitch. With operators seemingly unrelenting so far, city-based drivers’ association is likely to float its own app-based cab service shortly.
Upset over the indefinite strike losing steam, the drivers’ association hit upon the new plan that is expected to sustain the income of drivers and eat into the market share of major app-based cab aggregators. The strike was called on February 22.
“We will ply by the government-fixed rates (Rs 19.5 per km for AC cabs). All drivers will exit from Uber and Ola platforms and join our network,” said Tanveer Pasha, president of Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola (UTO) Drivers and Owners Association.
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has reportedly extended his support to launch the new app. Pasha claims that nearly 40,000 taxi drivers in the city will join the new company.
“We will not impose surge pricing. We will ensure that drivers are not harassed and unrealistic targets for incentives are not set” he said. “Ola and Uber have grown in the city because of us. If all drivers decide to quit these platforms, then how will they operate here? They can’t bring outsiders to operate taxis in the city,” said Pasha.
He said they will continue to protest against Ola and Uber for its violations. “They have betrayed thousands of drivers in the city. We will approach all cab users and expose the irregularities of these two companies.”
A few taxi drivers, however, are sceptical. “The idea is good but we have to wait and see whether the new cab company of the taxi associations can compete with corporate giants like Ola and Uber who have good fundingand technology support.
Customers will use it only if services are cheaper than Ola and Uber, which may not be feasible,” said Ramesh Gowda, an Ola driver.
In Kerala, for instance, the trade union wing of CPM launched ‘Kerala Taxi’, an online and app-based taxi hiring service, last year. But the response was poor as government fixed fare was higher than that fixed by Ola and Uber. In Bengaluru, airport taxis like Meru Cabs, Mega Cabs and KSTDC ply at government-fixed fare of Rs 19.5 per km for AC cabs.


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If you’re wondering how Vidéotron’s recently-launched wireless service is performing, the folks at Desjardins Securities have done the legwork – or roadwork – for you.
The firm’s analysts have monitored the network since its Sept. 9 launch and conducted a 330-kilometre road test in Montreal and its suburbs. Their measurements in densely populated pockets, tall downtown buildings, underground shopping malls, rural areas and areas close to the edge of the announced home zone did not detect any major dead zones and signal strength was strong.
“Vidéotron has asserted in recent months that the decision to delay the launch of its wireless network for about 12 months from its first launch goal was made in order to avoid sacrificing network reliability,” Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi said in a note to clients. “Our road test backs up this assertion.”
While it is still very early in the launch phase, he noted that traffic was heavy in many of the company’s retail stores. Coupled with handset shortages, that indicates strong uptake for the company’s products.
The positive signs seen from customers thus far have Mr. Yaghi re-thinking his medium to long-term projections. As a result, the analyst increased his long-term forecast slightly, which prompted a price target hike to $39 from $37.50 for Quebecor Inc. shares.
However, he left his Hold rating unchanged as margins in the short to medium-term could deteriorate as Vidéotron’s wireless network runs below “critical mass” and as wireless subsidies rise on demand for high-end devices.


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Rumors about the iPhone 8 are flying thick and fast these days, with the latest report talking about what it’ll be carved out of. Apple is expected to launch 3 new additions to its portfolio this year, with two being standard ‘s’ upgrades and one a special tenth anniversary edition.
Sources from the upstream supply chain claim that the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s will be composed of an aluminum-alloy chassis, a look that’s been around since the iPhone 6. On the other hand, the 5.8-inch iPhone 8 will likely adopt a reinforced glass chassis with a stainless steel metal frame bordering it.
The material being used for the 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus is yet to be confirmed. It’ll probably stick to the same body as the iPhone 7s. Foxconn and Jabil Circuit are probably going to be in charge of supplying the OLED iPhone’s stainless steel frame, while Catcher Technology might deliver the aluminum-alloy chassis.
Other than an all-new glass design, the iPhone 8 may also feature AR support. This theory’s been gaining a lot of steam lately thanks to a number of patents and comments by Apple CEO Tim Cook himself. He recently compared VR to AR, stating that the former closes the world out and the latter allows an improvement on what’s happening at the moment.
Now Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski has joined the chorus by issuing a report where she expressed increased confidence that Apple would include 3D sensing abilities in the iPhone 8. She believes this robust AR functionality will be a key differentiator for the smartphone.
Jankowski went on to specifically mention optical component vendor Lumentum Holdings Inc. Apple is reportedly working with the firm to develop AR technology. Lumentum had notably talked about a high volume mobile device application in its Q4 earnings call, raising speculation that it was referring to the next-gen iPhone.


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Rogers has some decent iPhone 12 mini deals going on right now if you’re in the market for a new iPhone and don’t want to spring for a 13 series.
First, RedFlagDeals user ‘redflagmat’ posted that he received an “exclusive” offer via the MyRogers app for an iPhone 12 mini at $2.08 monthly financing using the carrier’s Upfront Edge program (spotted by iPhoneInCanada). $2.08 over two years works out to $49.92.
As for the Upfront Edge portion, the program works by discounting the monthly financing cost of a phone if customers agree to return the device after two years or pay back the discounted amount. For the iPhone 12 mini, the Upfront Edge cost works out to $190, which means all-in you’re looking at $239.92, which is frankly an excellent price for an iPhone. Moreover, you could choose to return the device and get a new phone instead, effectively paying about $50 to borrow an iPhone 12 mini for two years.
And for those worried they would have to change their plan to claim this kind of deal, user redflagmat says they didn’t and are on a $55/mo plan with 20GB of data, which isn’t a bad deal at all.
While it’s definitely worth checking your MyRogers app to see if the deal is available for you, it’s also worth noting that Rogers has another offer on the iPhone 12 mini that seems more accessible. On the carrier’s website right now, there’s a promotion to get an iPhone 12 mini 128GB for $0/mo financing when you trade in an iPhone XR (assuming you get the full $360 trade-in credit). Once again, it’s an Upfront Edge deal, but it’s not so bad if you’re not paying anything in financing.


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The return of Summer Game Fest will be kicking off on June 8th just four days before E3.
Summer Game Fest 2023 Returns June 8th
Geoff Keighley has announced the return of Summer Game Fest which will start on June 8th. This is just four days before the start of E3 2023. According to the producer, “Production is ramping up” and this one sets to be the “biggest Summer Game Fest ever”.
Production is ramping up on our biggest @SummerGameFest ever – the video game industry comes together this June, kicking off live from @youtubetheater on Thursday, June 8.
Stay tuned for more details! pic.twitter.com/2qlZJKdCzl
— Summer Game Fest – Live June 8! (@summergamefest) March 28, 2023
The details surrounding Summer Game Fest 2023 are still rather thin, but there will be lots of announcements and updates going by previous years. This is also not great timing for E3, as there have been recent announcements that big players such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have decided to skip the event. Recently there have been reports that another major publisher is also forgoing E3, Ubisoft. This was reported by VGC, who shared the update.
Last year Summer Game Fest gave us trailers for Zenless Zone Zero, Midnight Suns as well as One Piece Odyssey. The showcase has also given us big news in the pass such as the Elden Ring release date plus gameplay. Teasing that this will be the “biggest” one yet sets high hopes for some major announcements. Maybe we’ll finally get a release date for the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong? Although this might come up in Microsoft’s own showcase. Either way, we’ll be covering all the news as it unfolds and in the run-up to June.
For more news find it here in Final Fantasy 14’S Expansion Stormblood Free For A Limited Time Only On PS & PC and The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Gameplay Demo Reveals Link’s New Abilities.
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The Whetman Pinks-bred plant was showcased at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May when Adam Frost opened his garden ‘Time to Reflect’. Alzheimer’s Society celebrity supporters – including Sir Michael Parkinson, Arlene Phillips and Fiona Phillips – wore a corsage of the flower to Chelsea.
The ‘Memories’ plant was on sale at Homebase stores between April and July this year, with the sale of each plant raising 25p.Homebase head of corporate responsibility Amy Whidburn said: "I’m delighted by how successful the sale of this ‘Memories’ plant has been and how much we’ve raised for Alzheimer’s Society and its sister charities. There really is no place like home and our gardens are often such a special place. These flowers would have made a great addition to a dementia friendly garden this summer and, being perennial, can be enjoyed year after year."


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Tata has announced launch of its new small car, Tata Megapixel. Tata claims that it gives 100 kmpl mileage! It would have hybrid engine. Its still a concept car, Ratan tata unveiled it in Geneva motorshow. It is capable of transporting four people in it.
It would come with 305 cc petrol engine, operating in collaboration with the power of 13 kWh electric motor, and capable of producing ~30 Bhp of power. Tata Megapixel would come with 2 airbags. Price of Tata Megapixel is expected to be 4 lakh, which is not official.
Ratan Tata said it would take 3 years for them to implement this kind of engine. [Official launch date is not out yet.] The car’s turning radius is only 2.8 meters! It is also low on CO2 emission, it reduces emission to 22 grams/km. We would love to heartily welcome this kind of cars for daily use.


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With Christmas Adidas Sl 72 Trainers looming and your purse strings stretched to the limit, you might think you are saving money with a bargain on some genuine looking goods.
December 8, 2013 at 7:27pm
professional services giant PricewaterhouseCooper shows that 53% of British people have bought fake goods even though 90% think it is morally wrong, but police and Trading Standards fear the public do not know the real dangers of buying a pirated DVD or fake cigarettes.
Counterfeit goods can harm your health
Counterfeit items can harm your health and your pocket as well as financing crime and putting genuine traders out of business. Knock offs are estimated to cost the British economy 1.3 billion a year.
So if you are tempted to buy fake goods this Christmas, remember they could be a massive disappointment to the recipient and cause heartache all round.
Illegally imported tobacco and alcohol costs the taxpayer 3 billion a year, but again the revenue implications are secondary as vodka found on sale in the county contained chemicals used to make paint stripper.
Research has also found that fake make up contains high levels of mercury and the application brushes can be riddled with lice, while knock off jewellery often contains high levels of carcinogenic metals such as nickel and lead.
This article was obviously written by somebody with no knowledge Adidas Y3 X Ray
of a suitcase have given us the image of lovable rogues when it comes to counterfeit goods, but the reality is much more insidious.
In July this year, 20,000 illegal cigarettes were seized from four shops in Lincoln and one of the brands found, Jin Ling, is believed to be the cause of a house fire in which someone died.
Markets are also popular outlets for sham products: Trading Standards warn the rip off brand clothing falls to pieces easily and the electrical devices are fire hazards. The DVDs are unwatchable and their sale is known by police to fund the trafficking of people into Britain.
on the subject of counterfeit goods and is just spouting off incorrect information they have heard. The perfume one is very rare its almost none existent, typically fake perfume smells rubbish. The biggest current issue is cheaply produced electrical products with fake safety standards. Don get me started on DVD the only people buying fake DVDs are those too old to know how to download them. Dave who is burning a few copies of the latest films and selling them down the pub isn trafficking people in his spare time. Gangs are not completely stupid why would they be putting funds into making DVDs when they know the world is moving to digital distribution.
But if you have a closer look before you buy, a fake perfume that has a similar scent and name as an expensive perfume brand, could actually have liquid base of horse urine.
New research from Adidas Sl 72 Electricity
If you think you have bought counterfeit products check out Advice Guide or Lincolnshire Trading Standards, where you will also find details of county markets that have signed up to the Real Deal charter to ensure safe and fair trading.
The exploits of Delboy selling his dodgy wares out Adidas Tech Super Autumn
Many bogus goods are sold on the internet, and buyers give over their bank or credit card details to traders who are already breaking the law, so the risk of identity theft is high.
The brand is illegal in Europe because the cigarettes are not made to the correct legislative standards and pose a more significant health risk than genuine cigarettes.
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Jam lovers and chutney connoisseurs will have a chance to showcase their finest creations at this year’s Taste Bundaberg Festival as part of a new competition aimed at utilising local produce.
The 2023 Jam and Chutney Competition has been introduced to the August festivities to further educate and showcase the abundance of agriculture within the region to residents and visiting guests.
In the lead up to the ten-day festival, which takes place from 4 to 13 August, residents will be invited to submit their jams or chutneys for judging by Taste Bundaberg Festival ambassadors, before winners are announced at the Taste Farmers Market.
Bundaberg Regional Council's Arts, Culture and Events portfolio spokesperson Cr John Learmonth said the competition had been extended to include chutney after the success of last year’s jam contest.
“Our makers competition is returning with new and exciting categories allowing our competitors to experiment with an abundance of seasonal, fresh local ingredients,” he said.
“With such a large variety of produce available in the Bundaberg Region, this year’s competition will offer an even larger scope of flavours and combinations to be used.
“Contestants are able to enter one or both categories of their choosing and have full creative range on what produce they use and what flavour their entry is.
“There will be great prizes for the finalists, with judging carried out by two of our Taste ambassadors.”
Jam and Chutney Competition information
Expressions of interest for the competition are now open and can be made here.
Registration will officially close on Friday 14 July.
Contestants can only have one entry per category – one in jam and/or one in chutney.
Entrants will be kitted out with a Taste Bundaberg Festival jar pack to help prepare for the competition.
The packs will include jars and labels for entries, an information pack, an ingredient list to fill out, and guides to local produce options and instructions on how to sterilize the jars for use.
Contestants will be required to collect the jar packs from Monday 17 July to Wednesday 19 July.
Judging of the Jam and Chutney Competition will commence on Friday 4 August, the day before the Taste Farmers Markets, where entries will be displayed.
On Saturday 5 August, the placegetters for the competition will be announced on the cooking stage and prizes will be presented to the winners.


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March 1, 2004 -- Using antibacterial products in your home may not necessarily keep your family free of runny noses, cough, or other common symptoms of infectious diseases.
A new study shows that households that used antibacterial products for hand washing, cleaning, and laundry reported about the same number of infections as those that used regular cleaning products.
Researchers say the number of household cleaning products containing antibacterial ingredients has risen dramatically in recent years, and about 75% of liquid and 29% of bar soaps available in the U.S. consumer market contain antibacterial ingredients.
Antibacterial products are made to kill bacteria that commonly cause many different types of infectious illnesses. But they do not protect against viruses, which are also responsible for many infectious diseases.
Although manufacturers claim that these products offer health benefits, there is little evidence that these products fight infectious diseases in the home.
Examining Antibacterial Products at Home
In the study, published in the current issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers randomly assigned 238 households in an inner-city neighborhood of Manhattan to use either antibacterial or regular products for general cleaning, laundry, and hand washing for one year. All of the antibacterial products were commercially available, provided free of charge, and the packaging was blinded.
Each of the households had at least one preschool-age child living in the home, and researchers called the households each week to get information on cleaning practices and the number of common infectious disease symptoms. The symptoms they asked about included fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, and red eyes in any family member.
The study showed that an average of about 33% of the households had one or more members with infectious disease symptoms each month. The most commonly reported symptoms were runny nose and cough.
But when the researchers compared the number of months that one or more family members had infectious disease symptoms, they found no differences between households that used antibacterial products and those that did not. There were no significant differences in either the presence or number of symptoms reported.
Researchers say the results show that antibacterial products do not reduce the risk of infection in households that consist of essentially healthy people. But the study did not look at whether the use of antibacterial products reduced the symptoms of bacterial infections alone in the home or whether these products offered any usefulness in homes where a family member was immunosuppressed.
Weighing Risks and Benefits of Antibacterials
In an editorial that accompanies the study, J. Todd Weber, MD, and James M. Hughes, MD, of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the CDC, say several reasons may help explain the study's findings. For example, the antibacterial ingredients may not affect the infectious agents responsible for the symptoms studied, or the products may not have been used properly.
But they say it is also possible that the greatest risk for infection lies outside the home. Previous studies have shown that improved hygiene can reduce disease transmission in nonhome settings, such as day care centers, schools, military training camps, and correctional facilities.
"The decision to use products containing antibacterial ingredients to prevent disease transmission rest on whether there are proven benefits in a specific setting (for example, home or institutional) and whether there are risks," they write. "Among the risks associated with antibacterial-containing products is the possible link between resistance to antibacterial ingredients and the development of antimicrobial resistance."
The editorialists say more studies are needed to examine these risks in worsening an already growing problem of antibacterial and antiviral resistance, which makes treating once treatable diseases more difficult.
In a statement released in response to the study, the Soap and Detergent Association and the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association say that these findings are not surprising.
"None of the antibacterial products were designed, formulated, or claimed to be effective against viruses," they say.
"Household disinfectants and antibacterial household cleaning products -- depending on their active ingredients, specific formulation, and use instructions -- are designed to kill a wide variety of microorganisms that can live on inanimate surfaces, such as bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, which cause intestinal illness, and Staphylococcus, which causes skin infections."


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5 news items tagged IPS Alpha
PVI licenses FFS technology to IPS AlphaFriday 2 April 2010
Prime View International (PVI) on April 1, 2010 said it has licensed its FFS (fringe field switching) technology to Japan-based IPS Alpha through PVI's Korea subsidiary Hydis Techn...
Large-size LCD panel demand to increase 12% in 2010, says DisplaybankThursday 10 December 2009
Large-size TFT-LCD panel demand is expected to increase 12% in unit shipments and 19% in area shipments in 2010, according to Displaybank.
Panasonic to reduce LCD TV panel purchase from Taiwan, says paperWednesday 8 July 2009
Panasonic Taiwan will reduce its LCD TV panel purchase amount from Taiwan makers in 2009 by switching all 37-inch and larger panel orders to Japan-based IPS-Alpha, according to a...
IPS Alpha 8G LCD fab project on scheduleFriday 31 October 2008
IPS Alpha Technology has revealed that its 8G LCD plant project in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, is on schedule, having already begun construction in July 2008.
VA remains dominant wide view angle technology for LCD TV panels, but sees growing competition, says DisplaySearchFriday 17 October 2008
DisplaySearch has indicated that 70% of the LCD TV panels shipped in 2008 on an area basis will be of the vertical alignment (VA) type. The share for in-plane switching (IPS) panels...
IPS Alpha: 32-inch panels using CCFL (left) and LED (right) backlight units
Photo: Max Wang, DigiTimes, Friday 3 November 2006


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3M (NYSE: MMM), St. Paul, Minnesota, reported second-quarter sales of $8.9 billion, a 24.7% increase compared to the second quarter of 2020. Profit was $1.5 billion, a 16.7% increase compared to the prior year.
Total sales grew 28.1% in transportation and electronics, 24.9% in health care, 22.4% in safety and industrial, and 20.4% in consumer.
On a geographic basis, total sales grew 28.7% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 26.1% in the Americas, and 20.2% in Asia Pacific.
“3M delivered strong performance in the second quarter, once again posting organic growth across all business groups and geographic areas, along with increased earnings and robust cash flow,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman and CEO. “In an uncertain economic environment, our team executed well and drove innovation across our businesses, while continuing to build for the future. Looking forward, we remain focused on investing in growth opportunities coming out of the pandemic, improving productivity, advancing sustainability and delivering differentiated value for our customers and shareholders.”
For the first six months, 3M reported sales of $17.8 billion, up 16.7% from the same period a year ago. Profit of $3.1 billion was up 20.4%.