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Legislation introduced to ‘grandfather’ all supplements up to Jan. 2007
WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., last week introduced a bill — the Dietary Supplement Protection Act of 2011 — that would reclassify approximately 25,000 supplements launched between Oct. 15, 1994, and Jan. 1, 2007, as "grandfathered" supplements and not subject to proposed new dietary ingredient regulations.
The Food and Drug Administration recently issued draft guidance on NDIs suggesting that manufacturers would need both proof of prior marketing and proof that present-day manufacturing methods mirror those of manufacturing methods employed before Oct. 15, 1994.
"This standard could be difficult to meet for many dietary ingredients due to the lack of information on manufacturing methods used before the grandfather date," suggested a blog posted Wednesday on the FDA Law Blog site. "Moving the date for grandfather status to Jan. 1, 2007, would reduce the number of dietary ingredients for which the manufacturing method may have changed, and reduce the chance that industry no longer possesses information about the manufacturing method for a grandfathered dietary ingredient."
The bill (H.R. 3380) was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Nov. 4.
Interclick flu survey: 42% of Americans to seek flu shot
NEW YORK — According to the most recent consumer snapshot survey by Interclick, 42% of Americans are planning to be immunized this year.
The survey, released Wednesday, explores consumer behaviors ahead of flu season, including sentiment on the shots, preferred treatment brands and where they go for the latest news on the flu.
This year, nearly half of Americans plan on receiving the shot in hopes of warding off the flu, with a quarter reporting they do so annually. More women than men will roll up their sleeves, with 46% of females versus 38% of males planning to get the shot. Of those who opt out of the shot, consumers who identify themselves as not getting sick often or those who have never had the flu are less likely to receive the shot.
When it comes to finding information about the flu, the Internet is the new doctor’s office for younger generations. While adults older than 35 years generally turn to their doctors as expert sources, consumers 18 to 35 years trust doctors and online sources at nearly the same rate. In addition to younger generations, women also are visiting the Internet for health information, with more than 1-in-4 primarily going online to answer their flu questions. Overall, online sources came in second as a resource for flu-concerned consumers (33%), trailing slightly to television (40%).
Once sidelined by the flu, 2-in-3 consumers thought of flu-specific brands, while 20% first thought of pain-relief medications, such as aspirins or acetaminophen.
Interclick, in partnership with KN Dimestore, fielded the study in October 2011 to survey nearly 1,300 respondents about the flu. To view this survey and future audience insight surveys go to Interclick.com/FluSeason.
CDC to host Twitter chat in honor of Get Smart About Antibiotics Week
ATLANTA — In honor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, the CDC will host a discussion on Twitter that will underscore the importance of appropriate antibiotic use.
The awareness week, which was first established in 2008, will begin Monday, while the Twitter chat is scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The discussion encourages a dialogue between healthcare professionals and members of the CDC on ways to improve antibiotic use in healthcare settings and more.
For more information, visit CDC.gov/GetSmart.


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The Heart Bleed Virus has been causing serious security issues across the globe over recent days, potentially affecting sites that millions of Internet users log into every single day, posing a massive security risk for personal financial information.
However, now there is a virus test that can help users detect whether a specific website has updated itself to eliminate the bug, and if so users would have the green light to change their passwords and update their security measures to protect themselves.
The Heart Bleed virus test can be found on filippo.io by clicking here.
Once at that website, users can type in any domain to check whether the website is still vulnerable or whether it has updated its security measures already to eliminate the threat.
This is important because even though users have been advised to change their passwords across sites they use, this measure would be completely useless, and could even detrimental to users, if they did so before the website in question eliminated the security threat.
So users should visit the filippo website and check any website they are looking to change their password on.
A list of affected websites can also be found on GitHub.com by clicking here.
The Heart Bleed bug has reportedly put millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other private data online at risk.
The virus affects a widely used encryption technology that was supposed to protect online accounts. However, a flaw was recently found – one that could be exploited maliciously by those wanting to steal data, and potentially financial information from millions of users.
Some experts believe the threat could have gone undetected for more than two years, and many are concerned that hackers could have been secretly exploiting the flaw for a long time even before the problem was discovered.

domain: news


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Cute kittens, yes kittens, have begun taking over the Ethereum blockchain. Launched on November 29th, Ether holders have spent over $3 million on these virtual kittens on the blockchain-based, digital Pokemon-like game called CryptoKitties. Created by … Read
It’s been a shaky 36 hours for cryptocurrency, at around 18:49 UTC yesterday all of the top cryptocurrencies began their bearish decent, as major exchanges had technical difficulties just after Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time record … Read
Centra is a worldwide multi-blockchain debit card. So exactly what is Centra? Find out how it aims to drive the cryptocurrency community forward today in our full Centra assessment.
What Is Centra?
Centra, is a cryptocurrency … Read
Over the past 13 years, Ronnie Moas, stock research analyst and founder of Standpoint Research, has given more than 900 stock recommendations to those willing to listen. And now he is turning his attention to cryptocurrencies. … Read


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SINGAPORE – Two Singapore establishments have been named among the nominees for the first-ever World Restaurant Awards.
In a list revealed on Thursday (Dec 13), Sungei Road Laksa in Jalan Berseh has been nominated in the House Special category for establishments defined by a particular dish. It is up against 19 other nominees such as Hong Kong establishment Yat Lok, known for its roast goose.
Modern Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends in Teck Lim Road, which has one Michelin star, has been nominated in two categories – No Reservations Required, for restaurants that accept walk-in diners, and the more quirky category of Tweezer-free Kitchen of the Year, for a more “hands-on” style of plating.
Fellow nominees for the No Reservations Required category include The Bombay Canteen in India, and Clamato in Paris. Other Tweezer-free Kitchen of the Year nominees include Bo.Lan in Thailand, and Mocoto in Brazil.
Other award categories include Restaurant of the Year; Off-Map Destination of the Year, for restaurants in remote locations; and Ethical Thinking, an award recognising environmental policy, staff welfare and community engagement.
A panel of 100 judges that represent 36 countries includes the likes of chefs, restaurateurs, journalists, and film-makers. High-profile names include Danish chef Rene Redzepi of Noma in Denmark; Italian chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy; American restaurateur David Chang of the Momofuku restaurant group; and Canadian-born chef May Chow of Little Bao in Hong Kong.
Representing Singapore on the panel is Japanese food journalist Kyoko Nakayama, who has been based here for five years.
Julien Royer, chef-owner of French restaurant Odette, which debuted on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list at No.28 this year (2018). The 2018 awards ceremony was held in Bilbao. Singapore will host the annual restaurant awards next year (2019).
Food writer and broadcaster Andrea Petrini, who chairs the judging panel, said: “It’s important to pay attention to the full scale of the world’s great restaurants and chefs, but also to bring these awards into the 21st century by acknowledging the cultural nuances of today. For example, the pivotal role social media plays in the restaurant industry and, with tongue in cheek, to subvert current fashion with the ‘Small Plate’ awards such as ‘Red Wine Serving restaurant’, ‘Tattoo-free Chef of the Year’, and ‘Tweezer-free Kitchen of the Year’.”
The newly launched restaurant awards are being produced by IMG – an events, media, fashion and sports company which operates in more than 30 countries – in partnership with restaurant journalist Joe Warwick and Mr Petrini.
The award ceremony will take place in Paris on Feb 18 next year.
Full list of nominees here.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
Purchase this article for republication.
Published at Fri, 14 Dec 2018 03:54:52 +0000


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Japanese companies doing business in Pakistan have ranked the country second in the world in terms of business growth, according to a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
JETRO surveyed 9,371 Japanese multinational companies operating around the world and reported that Pakistan is ranked number 2 in terms of current profitability and expected sales growth. Taiwan leads with 81.8% reporting profits, followed by Pakistan with 74.1% being profitable in 2013.
Pakistan also ranks at number 2 with 81.5% forecasting future sales growth, just behind Myanmar where 84.6% see growth in the next one to two years. Other South Asian nations, including Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, rank much lower for both profits and sales growth.
JETRO has been conducting such surveys for many years. Pakistan’s da…


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A family-friendly adventure RPG.
Skybound Games and Manavoid Entertainment have announced that Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan, a family-friendly RPG, will be launching on Switch “soon”.
The game will be released on other platforms next month, and while Switch owners will have to be a little more patient, it looks like it could well be worth the wait. Rainbow Billy is described as a “wholesome” and “accessible” 2.5D adventure platformer that – judging by the new trailer above – comes complete with colourful, cosy vibes.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com


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Metro Boomin Reveals New Boominati Worldwide Merchandise
(AllHipHop News) Last month, Metro Boomin officially launched his new Boominati Worldwide record label.
The popular producer of tracks like "Bad and Boujee" and "Mask Off" has now revealed merchandise connected to the brand.
Boominati merch includes t-shirts, hoodies, and bandanas.
The items range in price from $15 to $65.
Besides clothes, Metro continues to let loose music as well.
He recently released his debut single from Boominati - “No Complaints” featuring Drake and Offset.


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New companies–those that haven’t yet found funding–are in for a particularly rough ride. Ninety six percent of survey respondents said it will be more difficult for new companies to get money in 2009. What’s more, 93% of respondents said it will be harder to sustain investments in existing companies next year.
Some sectors may see investment growth, including cleantech and and life sciences, according to the NVCA survey. But other sectors will lose out, with 79% of respondents forecasting a decline in investment in the semiconductor industry. In addition, 71% of respondents predict a slowdown in investnent in the media and entertainment sector and 60% figure there will be a dropoff in wireless communications investments.


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A new partnership is delivering a fresh approach to social housing repairs thanks to the UK’s first smart collection points.
GreenSquareAccord has partnered with Jewson Partnership Solutions (JPS) to launch its first smart collection point, giving operatives round-the-clock access to materials or tools they’ve ordered, whenever and wherever they need them.
Operatives can instantly access the secure containers, which house 38 individual lockers, via a mobile app. All the goods being held are secured by state-of-the-art encryption technology which will only allow access once the person collecting the goods enters a four-digit, one-time passcode sent to their mobile.
The first collection point has been installed in Chippenham as part of a new three-year contract with plans to roll out the initiative nationwide.
Ken Neale, Director of Repairs and Maintenance, at GreenSquareAccord said: “We’re delighted to be the first customer in the UK to work with JPS to use the new smart lockers. This modern approach will make a real difference to how we work – our operatives will have the necessary parts and equipment to complete a job first time for our customers, without the need to spend time checking stock in local stores or having to travel to branches. We’re expecting to see real benefits across the whole business, with a reduction in multiple visits to customers and less calls into our contact centre. Very importantly, by improving our efficiency, we drive better outcomes for customers, including faster repairs and greater appointment availability.”
JPS is Saint-Gobain’s business created to deliver more for registered providers of social housing, repairs and maintenance contractors and organisations operating in the public sector.
Scott Cooper, Business Director at JPS, said: “These lockers will make a real difference to our larger customers. Items can be ready for collection within 90 minutes during operating hours and picked up with no waiting, helping to improve efficiency for JPS customers.
“Essentially, this technology has the power to transform the way the building supply chain operates, saving our customers time and money every time it’s used. We’re proud to be helping our customers operate as efficiently as possible through investments in innovative systems like this.”
The first collection point was installed in April 2022.


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Horsemeat found in Lancashire school food reaction
Conservative MP Anne McIntosh said reports that cottage pie delivered to schools in Lancashire has tested positive for horse DNA were "deeply worrying".
The Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee chairman said she was "not convinced" the contamination in the wider food chain affecting British food was taking place in the UK.
And she told Andrew Neil about the changes in the supply chain for British supermarkets: "I don't think we will ever see that level of complacency ever again"
MORE FROM THE DAILY POLITICS
15 Feb 2013


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The coronavirus outbreak may have adversely affected the world, but the automotive and motoring industries show they are stronger
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines lends out L300 units for the DOTr and Sta. Rosa, Laguna LGU's transportation needs
The T1 Samba Bus remains an icon, and Volkswagen ushers its return as the electrified e-BULLI
The COVID-19 pandemic may have shut down vehicle production, but Fiat Chrysler proves they’re more than just cars
Mitsubishi’s newest Strada variant comes in the form of the tougher, sporty-looking Athlete. But is it meant to be able to take on the Raptor?
Here are some tips to make dealing with COVID-19 checkpoints as hassle-free as possible
2020 Mitsubishi Xpander Cross officially in the Philippines, to go against Honda BR-V, Toyota Rush, Suzuki XL7
The Everest gets an update plus a new Raptor heart, but is it enough to keep it on top of the 4x4 SUV food chain?
Nissan does good on their word, will bring the 370Z into the PH starting April 2020
Chery just came out with a Smartwatch that can control the Tiggo 8's functions, plus works as a fitness band as well
Public utility buses with drivers who have multiple violations will not be dispatched
Many laws pertaining to motoring in the PH already exist, and the LTO has been commissioned to deploy enforcers in and around the country
While being heavily based on the entry-level variant of the Montero Sport, the GT does have a few added bits and bobs to it. But is it worth the cost?
Geely officially enters Cagayan de Oro in partnership with Grand Cars Incorporated
Calamba, Laguna got to see Hyundai’s Modern Jeepneys up close during the two-day Negoshow Oro Mobility Expo
Philippine National Police sets their eyes on vehicles with dark tints
The UVVRP has been updated; check out the list of roads (and cities) with and without window hours
Routes, rules, regulations, and schedules - all you need to know about the Metro Manila Truck Ban
The new generation Veloster has a chance to rebuild its identity. Let’s find out if it did it right and better this time.
Here’s the lowdown for those wondering about the Restriction Codes on their Driver’s License


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Heavy metal fans are about to get a very special Rock Band treat.
Judas Priest's classic Screaming for Vengeance will be released next week as the first full album available for the popular game's online music store, MTV said Friday.
"In the domain of metal, this is a historic, influential album," Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Rock Band developer Harmonix, told Wired.com.
Priced at $15, the album will be available on Xbox 360 on April 22 and PlayStation 3 on April 24.
Individual tracks from the British band's 1982 disc, including the No. 1 hit "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," will be available for $2 each.
Harmonix said two more albums, The Cars self-titled debut and The Pixies' Doolittle, would become available for Rock Band in May and June, respectively.
Downloadable add-on songs have been a huge moneymaker for Rock Band since the game's launch last November. MTV and Harmonix have sold more than 8 million extra songs at an average price of $2 each. More than 80 songs are currently available from the in-game Music Store, more than are available on the $60 game disc.
The downloads currently available in Rock Band's store are packaged as both single tracks and packages of songs from the same artists, including Boston and The Grateful Dead. Motley Crue was the first band to use Rock Band to release a new single, "Saints of Los Angeles."
Downloads of full albums have been promised since before Rock Band launched.
MTV originally announced that Who's Next, the classic album by The Who, would be the first full disc available for download, but we've heard nothing about it since the original announcement last May. Ditto Nirvana's Nevermind, which appeared in a leaked list of upcoming downloadable content that MTV later confirmed was real.
MTV maintains that all will be revealed in due time. "We really can't go wrong with the albums that we have in the queue," said Paul DeGooyer, MTV's SVP of electronic games and music. "We plan to release albums on a regular basis."
As for the selection of Judas Priest for the first album, MTV said that the tracks simply had the distinction of being finished first.
"The process of asset delivery for a complete album is actually pretty complicated," explained DeGooyer. He says that the biggest issue with turning music tracks into *Rock Band *levels is that until relatively recently, recording studios did a lousy job of keeping master tracks straight.
"Nobody anticipated there would be any use for the multitrack masters after they made the albums," he said. Master tapes were frequently labeled or filed incorrectly, or simply lost as time passed.
Boston's self-titled debut could have been been the first album released for Rock Band, but "one of the masters from that first album was lost. The band tracked one song in a different location," said DeGooyer. So Rock Band fans got a six-pack of songs from the album, instead.
Filing and indexing of master recordings improved drastically about 10 years ago, so if your musical tastes run to newer fare, you should be in luck. Those of us hoping to rock out to older albums will simply have to cross our fingers and hope that someone in the studio had a case of OCD.
Of course,* Rock Band* fans whose consoles aren't connected to the internet won't be able to join in the album-downloading fun. Owners of the PlayStation 2 and upcoming Wii version of the game won't have a download store at all.
Rigopulos said that Harmonix is exploring ways to keep these fans happy, too.
"We want to make this content available to as broad an audience as possible, and we're examining all our options," he said.
Image courtesy MTV


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Per-capita ad sales in the U.S. are expected to climb 4.5% to $564.84 this year, an acceleration from 2.9% growth in 2013.
About $564.84 worth of ads will be bought for every person in the U.S. this year, marking the highest rate in the world, according to research from eMarketer. That's up from $540.56 last year. The figures include all advertising, including digital and print.
U.S. per-capita ad sales are trailed most closely by Norway, which is expected to be at $538.71 per capita this year, according to eMarketer data. Norway in 2012 had topped the U.S., but the U.S. took the top spot last year.
These are expected to be the top 10 countries by 2014 per-capita ad spending:
1. U.S. — $564.84
2. Norway — $538.71
3. Australia — $504.36
4. Canada — $397.39
5. Sweden — $393.07
6. Denmark — $385.38
7. U.K. — $366.68
8. Germany — $337.42
9. Japan — $318.37
10. Netherlands — $318.34
Digital ad buying is quickly growing as a percentage of all advertising worldwide.
This year, digital ads served by Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and other tech firms are expected to account for 25.7% of all ads. That's up from 20.8% in 2012 and 23.3% in 2013. By 2018, digital advertising is expected to account for 32.3% of all ads sold worldwide.
Follow Kevin Shalvey on Twitter at @IBD_KShalvey
Google Eyes Music Ad Market Vs. Pandora, Apple
Yahoo Sales Seen Stagnant 2 Years Into CEO Marissa Mayer's Tenure
Twitter Taps Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker As CFO, Boosts Mobile Ads


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Ildiko Nagy likes to toast her upbringing in communist Hungary with a grape-flavored soft drink.
She buys Traubisoda as part of her weekly shopping trip with her 9-year-old daughter. Together, they sing the Traubisoda song from a 1970s commercial Mrs. Nagy can recall from memory.
“It’s all about my childhood,” Mrs. Nagy, 42, said inside her Budapest kitchen, sipping a glass of Traubisoda. “It tastes better than Western brands, so I buy it for the home every week.”
Nostalgia has led Eastern Europeans to embrace the products they shunned in the 1990s, when the collapse of the Iron Curtain opened borders to goods from the West. From Traubi in Hungary to Inka coffee substitute in Poland and Jar dish soap in the Czech Republic, brands created to replace capitalist products are attracting consumers with disposable cash and credit cards.
Hungary’s “retro” brands — including Traubi, Tisza Cipo sneakers and Turo Rudi chocolate bars — are also attracting younger buyers searching for local products, said Reka Markovich, chief secretary of the Hungarian Advertising Association.
“These are Hungarian brands, which makes us feel that they are our own and no one can copy them.”
The new appetite for home-grown food, drinks and clothing labels that were ignored after the Berlin Wall crumbled isn’t based on price. Tisza Cipo sneakers, now considered an upscale product, sell for as much as $100 in chic brand stores in central Budapest.
Eva Molnar, 34, a journalist at a Budapest Web site, was drawn by childhood memories to snap up a pair of Tiszas last year for about $93.
“Tisza shoes were not cool when the communists were still in charge, but now they are cooler than any other brand,” she said.
At the Traubisoda factory in the village of Balatonvilagos, about 60 miles from Budapest, machinery that hasn’t changed since the 1970s churns out 80,000 bottles of grape soda daily, catering to consumers eager to relive the past.
The soda, made with 5 percent grape juice, is the country’s most popular behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi, said Traubi owner Salamon Berkowitz. The leading brand under communist rule, Traubi lost popularity to Western drinks, and the Hungarian government sold the company to Mr. Berkowitz in 1992 for $3 million.
Traubi, which is also sold in Romania and Croatia, has total sales of $13.8 million. The company is planning a sportswear line to profit from Traubi’s new popularity, Mr. Berkowitz said. The brand will be available in the Czech Republic and Germany next year.
“People are now coming back to the old-fashioned products because they are unique,” said Mr. Berkowitz, who fled communist Hungary with his family in 1951 for the United States.
At the George Soros-funded Central European University in Budapest, archivist Robert Parnica is creating an Internet catalog of everyday products used under communist rule.
“Every kid 20 years ago had Tisza sneakers,” Mr. Parnica said. “The road of remembering the past comes even now if you are 45 or 35 — you have a personal relationship to this product.”
Communist-era products are so popular in once-divided Germany that the consumer phenomenon is called “Ostalgia,” a play on the German word for east.
Turo Rudi, a chocolate-covered cream-cheese bar introduced in Hungary in 1968, is now owned by Friesland Coberco Dairy Foods Holding NV, the largest Dutch dairy. The company is marketing the product through a joint venture with Paris company Groupe Danone in Slovakia, Romania and Italy.
Inka, a company that produces a grain-based coffee substitute in Poland, spent about $3.2 million reviving its main brand and developing new products, including Inka Junior, a drink for children.
The company is owned by Biograin, a unit of Germany’s Kord Group, which bought the Inka factory and brands in 1998.
“We decided to revitalize the brand, to freshen the image, not only in the eyes of current consumers, but also to find new consumers,” said Pawel Jasienkow, Inka’s director of sales and marketing.
Jar detergent, which first appeared in what are now the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1959, also made the transition to the free market. Procter & Gamble Co., which in 1991 bought the company that makes Jar, expanded sales to Hungary and Croatia.
The soap was the only dish-washing product available at the time and has stuck in people’s minds, Norbert Racsko, an assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble, said in an e-mail.
“It’s a memory from childhood, and I even sometimes buy it,” said Daria Spackova, 31, a film production manager.


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Gap shines in so-so holiday retail sales
Published 4:00 am, Friday, December 6, 2002
Amid a lackluster November for the retail industry, Gap Inc. emerged a standout -- topping expectations and impressing many familiar with the company's prolonged struggle to regain customers' respect and rein in costs.
After weighing down industrywide sales averages for more than two years, the San Francisco apparel giant posted its second straight monthly gain, reporting a 9 percent jump in November sales at stores open at least a year.
Same-store sales are considered a key gauge of a retailer's health, filtering out the often-variable performance of new and closed stores.
Mildly better -- but still modest -- news is forecast for December, which will claim the lion's share of seasonal spending. This year's holiday shopping span between Thanksgiving and Christmas is six days shorter than it was last year.
Nationwide last month, retailers' sales at stores open at least a year dropped 0.1 percent, the first November decline in more than two decades, according to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. Its tally of 79 chain stores tracked $54 billion in sales last month.
A late-November buying spurt brought surprising good news to some companies but failed to offset a slow start to the month, analysts said.
"Despite a reportedly good start to the holiday shopping season in the post- Thanksgiving period, it was too little and too late to help the November pace of sales," said Michael Niemira of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Sharper Image Corp., based in San Francisco, had a 15 percent gain in monthly same-store sales. Gymboree Corp. of Burlingame posted a same-store sales gain of 2 percent, ahead of the Thomson First Call forecast of 0.8 percent.
Among retailers where the pace slowed noticeably, Target saw same-store sales fall 6.7 percent, and Sears, Roebuck & Co. saw its sales drop 10.9 percent.
Wal-Mart's same-store sales landed on the lower end of company forecasts, rising 2.6 percent companywide (2.8 percent in the Wal-Mart division alone, excluding Sam's Club).
Kohl's, a growing chain of moderately priced department stores based in Wisconsin, suffered a 3.4 percent decline in November same-store sales -- contrary to Wall Street expectations for a gain.
Also falling short of forecasts was Costco Wholesale Corp., where November sales rose 2 percent. Thomson First Call analysts had expected a 3.7 percent gain.
Meanwhile, at Gap Inc., every division of the company in November reversed double-digit monthly sales declines of a year ago.
Year over year, comparable-store sales last month climbed 6 percent at U.S. Gap stores, 3 percent at Banana Republic and 15 percent at Old Navy. Companywide, comparable-store sales gained 9 percent.
Total Gap Inc. sales rose 14 percent to $1.3 billion, from $1.2 billion a year ago, during the four weeks ended Nov. 30.
"I think people forget how ugly the merchandise was last year," when it was dominated by youth-oriented hippie looks heavy on orange and pea green, said Jennifer Black, a retail analyst for Wells Fargo Securities, which doesn't own any Gap shares. "It wasn't compelling to go in" the stores a year ago, she said.
The company partially credits its focus on denim and colorfully striped sweaters and scarves at Gap, and strong sales of fleece pullovers and accessories at Old Navy, with helping Gap Inc. regain its tread last month.
Black and other analysts have said that the company benefits not only from making better style decisions but also from paring down the volume of fashions,
making its stores feel less cramped and confusing.
"I think the biggest question in people's minds is, 'Is this sustainable?' " she said. "We really think it is sustainable."
November sales Percentage change in same-store sales among some major retailers in November from the same month a year ago: Gap Inc. (y) 9.0% Neiman Marcus 5.8 Wal-Mart 2.8 Costco 2.0 Gymboree 2.0 Ross Stores 1.0 J.C. Penney & Co. Inc. 0.0 Nordstrom -1.0 Target Corp. -6.7 Saks -7.0 Federated Department Stores Inc. (x) -7.4 Sears, Roebuck and Co. -10.9 . (y) Includes Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy (x) Includes Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bon Marche Source: Bloomberg


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The biggest crypto news this week is the collaboration between Tron (TRX) and Samsung. The addition of Tron to the Samsung phone is great news for several reasons and very beneficial for the future of this blockchain. Below, we will discuss how Samsung has succeeded in integrating cryptocurrency on their devices in a very secure way and why especially Tron will benefit enormously from this.
Samsung Blockchain Keystore
Samsung is a pioneer in cryptocurrency adoption and developed the first phone and tablet with a secure blockchain keystore. The blockchain keystore makes it easy for consumers to manage digital private keys in a secure vault on their phone. The storage is a separate hardware wallet in the phone and is further isolated by specially developed Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) software. This simply means that only the owner of the phone can use the private keys to sign transactions or use DApps. The keys, however, can never be seen directly by the Android operating system or Android apps on your phone. Just like other hardware wallets, the keystore is protected with a PIN code and with Samsung also with an optional fingerprint authentication.
Tron and the next generation internet
Tron is building a decentralized internet and a gaming and social media platform based on blockchain technology. According to an already familiar formula, CEO Justin Sun had previously announced that there would be a major announcement. It would be a collaboration with a one hundred billion dollar mega company and would be excellent for Tron (TRX) and all TRC10 and TRC20 tokens such as BitTorrent (BTT). In his message to his two million Twitter followers, he also wrote that this would make the development of user-friendly DApps and other Web 3.0 solutions much easier.
Web 1.0 – 4.0
A bit of history is appropriate here. We call Web 1.0 the first generation internet that makes colorful web pages possible thanks to the standard markup language HTML and a standard communication protocol HTTP. It was a milestone that all internet providers support the same language HTTP and that all internet browsers can display HTML on screen.
Web 2.0 was created in 2004 and consists of internet-based services such as all social media, wikipedia and other online collaborations. This development has grown enormously due to the mobile internet and cameras on mobile phones.
Web 3.0 is the development towards an intelligent internet. Think of machine learning and artificial intelligence so that computers not only store and display what is on the internet but also actually understand it. More and more you can just talk to Google, Siri, Alexa or other search services. They understand you better because they have come to know you and can also place your question in a certain context. “Hey, Google, let’s have some nice music shall we?” is well understood and music that you like starts right away. This creates a more intuitive user experience and grows above a simple “search engine”. The service is always online and also reminds you of appointments, for example. The information about weather or traffic is looked up if the service understands that you have to travel for your appointment.
It is expected that this will be perfected into a completely virtual personal assistant in Web 4.0. Web 3.0 is mainly about collaborating computers and sharing information worldwide. This fits perfectly with blockchain technology.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology also make decentralized applications possible. An app on your phone normally communicates with a central server at a commercial company and they store your data there. A decentralized application or DApp runs through the blockchain on thousands of computers and your data is only present on the network in encrypted form.
DApps are therefore superior in security and availability. Data can only be changed by you and does not end up on the streets during a data breach. Besides being safe for your data, Dapps are also transparent in their operation and results. The deposit, payout and fair operation of for example a casino Dapp can be followed by anyone via the blockchain.
The various DApps still lack an easy interface and this has everything to do with the bridge that has to be made for payment via the blockchain. The ease of use will be greatly improved by the integration of cryptographic currency wallets on the phone. Samsung Keystore SDK (toolkit for app developers) makes it possible to talk to the Samsung Blockchain Keystore directly from the DApp. The user does not even need to know that a wallet is created in the blockchain and cryptocurrency transactions are signed. They only have to agree with their PIN from time to time and all the difficult technology disappears into the background.
Fruitful collaboration for Tron
“This is a remarkable milestone for Tron, and I am happy to have the opportunity to work with Samsung,” says Sun. “We are fully in line with Samsung’s vision and strategy for the exploration of blockchain technology and will support it. The partnership will ensure a broad distribution of what Tron has to offer to billions of customers. The fact that there is still room for substantial growth can be seen from the fact that there are now approximately 3.9 million Tron wallets and only 611 DApps left. Nevertheless, Tron has entered the Top 10 in cryptocurrency market share on this news. This also puts the currency in the picture of the larger investors. Tron benefits in full from this.


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New in Announcements (page 15 of 114)
Nov 22, 2013 | 09:37 AM CST
The development of the plant will enable the company to significantly increase its production capacity to match its growth ambitions and will produce brands including Dove.
Nov 22, 2013 | 09:24 AM CST
The new U.S. operations for Schwan Cosmetics USA will merge Schwan Cosmetics’ Cosmolab facility in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and its Schwan Cosmetics USA facility in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Nov 21, 2013 | 10:15 AM CST
According to L'Oréal, the democratization of travel, especially in emerging countries, has lead to an increased number of travelers and thus consumers who today are searching in this channel for a full selection of products that correspond to their beauty aspirations.
Nov 21, 2013 | 10:02 AM CST
The company is selling its Soft & Beautiful, TCB and Pro-Line Comb-Thru hair care brands to Strength of Nature for an undisclosed amount.
Nov 21, 2013 | 09:52 AM CST
To move the brand forward and lead its international expansion, Coty has appointed Mary van Praag to General Manager of OPI.
Nov 20, 2013 | 11:50 AM CST
The partnership marks the start of a long-term venture that brings together two successful family-owned fashion and fragrance firms: the Italian-based Benetton Group and Puig of Barcelona.
Nov 19, 2013 | 11:58 AM CST
Beauté Créateurs announced its intention to cease its mail order activity during the first half of 2014.
Nov 18, 2013 | 11:31 AM CST
More than 20 fields of research will be represented at the center, including: molecular and cell biology, physical chemistry, ethnobotany, sensory analysis, formulation, toxicology and histology, among many others.
Nov 18, 2013 | 11:13 AM CST
Executives and employees from the company will visit the Stock Exchange for the bell ringing on Wednesday, November 20, 2013.
Nov 18, 2013 | 10:45 AM CST
Highlights sustainable gains ins conservation of resources, renewable resources, worth from waste, comforts of home and health, and hygiene.


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Top News in the A.M.
People are likely better acquainting themselves with Apple’s two-factor authentication system, after explicit photos of more than 100 celebrities were leaked over the weekend — stolen, seemingly, from their iCloud accounts. (Actress Kirsten Dunst, one of the victims, had some choice words for the cloud-storage service yesterday.)
Uber is now banned across Germany.
With Kleiner’s Snapchat Deal, There Isn’t Much to See
About a week ago, the WSJ reported that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is investing up to $20 million in Snapchat at a $10 billion valuation as part of a larger round that the messaging app is assembling. The piece noted that just months earlier, DST Global had also quietly committed capital — at a $7 billion valuation.
The news generated a lot of chatter, with one piece in particular suggesting that Kleiner is part of a broader pump-and-dump scheme to keep valuations frothy until retail market investors are convinced to buy companies like Snapchat on the public market. (If Snapchat is eventually sold for top dollar to a publicly traded acquirer like Facebook and Google, that’s apparently just as pernicious as they, too, are partly owned by retail investors.)
It’s not the first time tech investors have been accused of looking to sell their shares to a greater fool. When it comes to Kleiner’s investment, though, the argument misses the mark. Kleiner’s motivations look simpler to me.
First and foremost, despite a recent string of exits for the firm, including Dropcam’s sale to Google, Kleiner is still seen as slightly out of touch compared with some of its Sand Hill Road peers. It nearly missed Facebook and Twitter. It bet heavily on Zynga. And it has parted ways with many of its younger partners, through attrition, downsizing, and a lawsuit, which probably doesn’t make it any cooler to young entrepreneurs (or younger LPs, for that matter). Some say that institutional investors are no longer swayed by the logos in a venture firm’s portfolio, but LPs don’t swoon over Kleiner like they once did. In this case, maybe Kleiner is hoping the logo makes an impression.
Another motivating factor might be Kleiner’s desire to acquire information rights to Snapchat. What direction is Snapchat moving toward? What new technologies is it developing that will change the face of mobile apps? Who is it partnering with and which startups might it acquire? While it might seem like general information, it puts Kleiner in the know and could help its portfolio companies, at least tangentially.
There’s also IRR to consider. Kleiner’s Snapchat investment might not generate a good cash-on-cash return for the firm, but it could turn into a high IRR deal if Snapchat sells soon, which seems as likely as any scenario given that it has virtually no revenue at this point. Even if an acquisition doesn’t do much for Kleiner’s overall fund, it’s always nice to have some flashy numbers to produce for potential investors.
It may be convenient to use Snapchat as an example of a bubble in Silicon Valley. But pointing to Kleiner’s role in Snapchat’s soaring valuation is giving Kleiner a bit too much credit. The reality is more mundane, as far as I can tell. Kleiner wanted to be associated with a high-profile deal and it was willing to get in at any cost. And it succeeded.
Clearside Biomedical, a three-year-old, Alpharetta, Ga.-based biopharmaceutical company that’s developing drug therapies to treat blinding diseases of the eye, has raised $16 million in Series B financing from new investor RusnanoMedInvest, along with earlier investors Hatteras Venture Partners, Santen Pharmaceuticals Co., Mountain Group Capital, and Georgia Research Alliance Venture Fund. The company has now raised $33.9 million altogether, shows Crunchbase.
eNeura Therapeutics, a 14-year-old, Sunnyvale, Ca.-based medical technology company whose stimulation devices treat migraines, has raised $5.8 million in new funding, shows new SEC paperwork. Previous filings show the company has now raised roughly $14.6 million in equity and debt over the last two years alone. Terry Lierman, the founder of Summit Global Ventures, is among those directors listed on the filing.
FreeCharge, a four-year-old, Mumbai, India-based online platform that lets user earn coupons when they add money to their prepaid mobile phone plans or pay utility bills online, has raised a $33 million in Series B funding from Sequoia Capital, Sofina, and RuNet. The company has also added several new board members, including Gokul Rajaram, a well-known Silicon Valley operator who is currently head of online payments at Square. TechCrunch has the story here.
GC-Rise Pharmaceutical, a six-year-old, Beijing-based pharmaceutical company that specializes in women and children’s healthcare, has raised $15 million in Series B round funding from OrbiMed. GC-Rise makes a wide array of products, including to address anti-aging, reproductive health, autoimmune diseases and central nervous system disorders.
MindMixer, a 4.5-year-old, Kansas City, Mo.-based online platform that allows local governments and school districts to connect with their communities, has raised $17 million in Series C funding led by the Omaha-based firm Dundee Venture Capital, with Govtech Fund and another, unnamed strategic investor participating. The company has now raised $23.2 million altogether, it says.
Nabysys, a 10-year-old, Providence, R.I.-based life sciences company that makes semiconductor tools for DNA analysis, has raised $25 million in new funding, shows a new SEC filing that shows a $32 million target. The company had previously raised at least $58 million, shows Crunchbase. Its investors include Stata Venture Partners, Bay City Capital, and Point Judith Capital.
Purposely, a 1.5-year-old, Phoenix, Az.-based company whose online platform helps optimize college students’ employment preparation, has raised $2.4 million in new funding, shows an SEC filing. An earlier filing shows the company had previously raised $2 million from investors.
Ting Ting Group (“DXY”), a 14-year-old, China-based social media platform focused on healthcare services, has received $70 million in strategic funding from Tencent in exchange for a minority stake in its business. Reportedly, the company had previously raised two rounds of funding from DCM and Shunwei China Internet Fund. TechNode has the story here.
Whill, a two-year-old, San Carlos, Ca.-based company that creates high-performance wheelchairs, has raised $11 million in Series A funding from Innovation Network Corp., 500 Startups, NTT DoCoMo Ventures, Jochu Technology Co. and Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy, reports the WSJ. (If this deal sounds familiar, it’s because we reported on this round in July after spotting a related SEC filing.) The company had earlier raised $1.9 million in seed funding, including from Bridge Global Ventures, 500 Startups, Itochu Technology Ventures, KAMIA, MUFJ Capital, and VegasTechFund. It also ran a small, successful campaign on Kickstarter, which you can still see here.
DN Capital, a 14-year-old, London-based Pan-European early-stage venture firm, has raised $200 million for its third fund, reports TechCrunch. The firm, whose latest effort is three times the size of its predecessor, has now raised $320 million altogether. Among its newest bets is the real estate agency PurpleBricks, which raised a $13.4 million Series A round last month, and the online reservation platform Quandoo, which raised $25 million in Series C funding in July. (DN Capital also participated in Quandoo’s $8 million Series B round, closed last last year.)
Floodgate, the eight-year-old, Palo Alto, Ca.-based early-stage firm, has closed its fifth fund with $75.8 million, the third fund in a row that has closed at roughly the same size, says the firm.
Sequoia Capital is raising a fifth China fund, shows an SEC filing that doesn’t list a target and says the first sale has yet to occur.
Surgical Frontiers, a Utah-based incubator and investor in new medical technologies, has closed its inaugural fund with $7 million, reports VentureWire.
The highly anticipated public offering of e-commerce giant Alibaba is coming — fast. According to Bloomberg, the company “tentatively” looks to price its offering on September 18.
Business Insider remembers the kings of the dot.com bubble, and catches us up on where they are now.
Google‘s Sergey Brin Is “totally obsessed” with high-adrenaline exercise, says Business Insider in a sensational (but fun) read.
Eric Cantor, the recently defeated House majority leader, has joined the boutique investment bank Moelis & Co.; he’ll open a new office for the firm in Washington, reports the WSJ.
Steve Case, the former chief executive of AOL and founder of Revolution, is planning an 1,800-mile bus tour next month to draw attention to entrepreneurial communities in Madison, Wi.; Minneapolis, Mn.; Des Moines, Ia.; and Kansas City, Mo. Each stop will include a pitch competition whose winner will receive a $100,000 investment from Case.
Brian O’Malley, a general partner at Accel Partners, has some harsh words about Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, squarely blaming him for much of the company’s C-suite departures in 2014. “If someone’s gotten divorced once, you really don’t know who’s to blame,” O’Malley tells BusinessWeek. “But if someone’s gotten divorced five times, there may be a pattern there.” (O’Malley is a straight shooter. When StrictlyVC sat down with him last winter, just before Accel poached him from Battery Ventures, he also noted that “investors are fundamentally lazy.”)
You might take a second (or third) look at Y Combinator’s most recent graduates. Investor-entrepreneur Keith Rabois calls the 75 teams “almost surely the best batch as a whole that has ever existed at YC.”
Lindsay Sharma has joined Industry Ventures as a vice president, working with the firm’s secondary investment team. Sharma was most recently a principal in corporate strategy and development at Intuit.
Y Combinator is launching a recruiting drive to get more black entrepreneurs into its incubator program, including by adding black colleges to its recruiting tour this fall.
Online retailer Zulily is looking for a director of business development. The job is in Seattle.
BoxWorks gets underway in San Francisco today. Keynote speakers include Box CEO Aaron Levie, author Jim Collins, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.
Women venture capitalists underperform their male counterparts by some 15 percent, according to a new Harvard University study of old data. The study further suggests that difference narrow over time and at firms that employ more than one female VC.
Most accelerators aren’t worth much, according to Silk.
Startups are accruing funding in case of leaner times, they tell the New York Times.
The top 10 reasons that Apple rejects apps.
Even Ikea can’t be bothered to assemble its furniture.
The “sweet rides” of tech’s millionaires and billionaires.
We’ve definitely been peeling apples the wrong way.
If you’re in the market for a spider-shape, blow-up home that could be highly useful in a refugee situation and also a party-pad situation at Burning Man, billionaire Bob Pittman has you covered.


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Check out our McLaren 625C photo gallery
with HQ pics.
Last update in 625C gallery: 2014-11-24
At McLaren Automotive announced plan for the development of a model line by 2025.
McLaren distributed a new teaser of an extreme version of supercar 570S.
McLaren presented a track version of the car 570 Spider.
McLaren showed on teasers its most extreme version of the supercar, which is still called BP23 Hyper-GT.
We select only big size mclaren 625c photos
for our photogallery.


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Central Valley Fund II provides $6.5M in debt and equity financing
Los Angeles, CA and Portland, OR, December 20, 2012 – Source Logistics (“SL”), a California based leading 3PL logistics provider, and Fulfillment Corporation of America (“FCA”), an Oregon based fulfillment and digital deployment provider catering to some of the largest U.S.consumer product, financial service and healthcare companies, today announced that both companies have agreed to a transaction and a business combination.
The complementary combination of FCA’s fulfillment platform and SL’s national presence, create a broader portfolio of supply-chain solutions that can be delivered nationally through SL’s network in the U.S. The combined product portfolio and enhanced network will enable SL to double its addressable market in the U.S.
“FCA is a well-run company with a strong service model, led by its proprietary 3e® software, and an excellent customer base in the world’s largest logistics market,” said Marcelo Sada, SL’s CEO. “Because our products are complimentary, we’ll go to market with one of the broadest offerings in the industry. That creates strong growth opportunities for both SL and FCA and gives customers one-stop access.
“Strategically, it’s a great fit,” Sada added. “This is another big step toward our goal of expanding our presence in key U.S. cities. The transaction clearly supports our 2013-2015 growth and profitability targets, and meets all of our return-on-investment criteria for creating shareholder value.”
“SL and FCA share a common culture. We admire the in-depth industry expertise and enthusiasm of the FCA team and their excellent long-term relationship with customers and industry advisers,” Sada said. “We will continue FCA’s successful business model with its customers and the FCA executive team will continue to lead and drive the successful development of the new business unit.”
The Central Valley Fund II (“CVF”) provided $6.5M in debt and equity financing to complete the transaction. “It is a pleasure to support Marcelo and his team to purchase FCA,” said José Blanco, CVF Partner. “We have supported SL management in their rapid expansion since 2008 and believe they have a unique opportunity to continue to build a first-class national 3PL logistics firm.”
About Source Logistics
Source Logistics was founded in 1999 to provide third-party logistic solutions for the storage and freight handling of consumer products and apparel manufacturers. The Los Angeles based company utilizes its network of warehouses and a range of value-added services to permit its customers to increasingly expand their sales levels throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit www.sourcelogistics.net.
About Fulfillment Corporation of America
Fulfillment Corporation of America is located in Beaverton, Oregon, and provides fulfillment, logistics, and digital deployment services with a regional and national consumer product, financial services, and healthcare businesses. Tracing its origins back to a direct mailing service company in 1979 the company maintains warehouse operations in Beaverton, OR and Brea, CA For more information, please visit http://www.fulfillmentcorp.com/


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Sales Are Good!
February 7, 2012
comScore just released retail spending data for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the numbers are impressive. Sales came in at $49.7 billion for an increase of 14 percent year-over-year. Total e-commerce for 2011 reached an astonishing $161.5 billion! Despite the dreary performance of the economy over the last few years, this quarter represents the ninth consecutive year-over-year period of growth in e-commerce sales.
The online space has continued to grow as more and more consumers have shifted their spending online to take advantage of better choice, more information, simplicity of transaction and the convenience of home delivery. Speaking of shipping, during the holiday season a record 52% of transactions included free shipping, a rapidly growing trend and key offering for online retailers.
With so many customers continuing to move online, Commative knows how important it is to differentiate your site from the crowd. Make sure you spruce up your store with the right graphics and promotions. Add the important content that will help convert orders and improve your placement on Google and Bing. Most importantly, stay connected with your customers and always look for ways to keep them engaged.
Keep up the good work!
The Commative Team


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The local councils have joined up with bike share operator Beryl to provide public bike hire across Bournemouth and Poole.
The scheme will be rolled out over the next few months, with around 1,000 bikes becoming available for instant hire via the Beryl App, which unlocks the bike and also tracks it through GPS.
Beryl Bays will begin popping up in key locations such as rail and bus stations, and the town centres from next month, starting with just 50 brand new bikes which feature three speed gears, a step through design, and adjustable handlebars and seats.
Flexibility in the scheme allows users to park in places other than the preferred bays, as long as they are within the scheme area, and the GPS tracking allows operators to re-balance where required.
Beryl started in 2012, then named Blaze, selling bicycle products, but now has years of experience in helping with bike shares across the world, including in Montreal and New York, and even runs two dockless schemes in London.
The aim is to make Bournemouth and Poole greener areas with less carbon emissions and congestion, and get more people, including tourists, riding on two wheels.
In the future, Bournemouth and Poole councils hope to introduce a fleet of electric bikes for hire, and potentially expanding this scheme into Christchurch.
For more information, visit the Beryl website here.
Main image by Beryl


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- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:29 06:43 12:35 15:51 18:21 19:35
A Dutch man was sentenced to 12 years in a US prison on Friday for being an online "broker" for credit card numbers stolen in a computer hacking conspiracy.
David Schrooten struck a plea bargain in federal court in Seattle after being extradited from Romania for his role in a computer hacking and credit card fraud scheme, prosecutors said.
Schrooten, known as "Fortezza" in the hacker world, pleaded guilty in November to criminal charges related to hacking, bank fraud, and identity theft, according to Western District of Washington US Attorney Jenny Durkan.
"By trafficking over 100,000 credit card numbers stolen by hackers, this defendant helped create the profitable black market for stolen data," Durkan said in a release.
"We will target every link of the cyber crook business model," she continued.
"The hacker who stole the numbers was sentenced to seven years in prison, the broker who sold them online was sentenced today to 12 years in prison and next before the court will be the leader of a criminal gang that was using these credit card numbers for fraud."
Schrooten, 22, worked with an accomplice who stole credit card information from businesses by infecting point-of-sale terminals with malicious computer code, according to prosecutors.
Schrooten and his ally, identified as 21-year-old Christopher Schroebel of Maryland, sold stolen credit card numbers online, prosecutors said.
Investigators estimated that tens of thousands of people had their credit card numbers stolen and sold, and losses were calculated to tally more than $63 million.
A California man is set to go on trial by the middle of the year for his purported role purchasing and using stolen credit card numbers, according to Durkan.
"David Benjamin Schrooten's online criminal activities victimized thousands of US citizens and defrauded US banking intuitions out of millions of dollars," said Seattle Secret Service Agent in Charge Jim Helminski.
His arrest and conviction "demonstrates the Secret Service' ability to pursue criminal actors beyond the borders of the United States."
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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The European Commission launched the calls for proposals for European agri-food promotion programmes, in the EU and abroad. For 2020, a total budget of €200.9 million is allocated to the promotion of EU agri-food products at home and abroad.
A wide range of organisations, such as trade organisations, producer organisations and agri-food bodies responsible for promotion activities are eligible to apply for funding through the calls for proposals. Proposals should be submitted by 15 April 2020.
In order to help organisation complete a viable proposal the EU will organise an information day on January 30th, in Brussels. This day is open to all potential beneficiaries, advertising agencies, and national authorities.
The Commission will assess the proposals and announce the beneficiaries in the autumn.
Out of the total budget, €181.4 million is dedicated to the co-financing of promotion programmes that will be selected among the proposals following the calls. €118.4 million is allocated to promotion programmes in countries outside the EU. This includes those with high growth potential such as Korea, Japan, Mexico, USA and China. The selected programmes are expected to boost competitiveness and consumption of EU agri-food products across the globe.
Programmes should also inform EU and global consumers of the various EU quality schemes such as geographical indications or organic products. They can also promote the EU’s high safety and quality standards as well as the diversity and authenticity of European products.
Inside the EU, €8 million is earmarked for fresh fruit and vegetables, aiming at increasing their consumption within the context of a balanced and healthy diet.
EU promotion policy for agri-food products aims to help the sector take advantage of the expanding and increasingly dynamic global agri-food market, raise awareness on quality schemes including organic produce and help producers should they face market disturbances.
Included in the total budget, €10 million is kept aside (€5 million for simple programmes and €5 million for multi programmes) in case of serious market disturbance.
An additional €9.5 million is set aside for the Commission’s own initiatives. Those include participation in fairs and communication campaigns, as well as diplomatic offensives led by the agriculture and rural development European Commissioner and accompanied by a business delegation.


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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More than half of the students at CMS schools are living in poverty.
They need help this Thanksgiving as many students only get fed at school, so holiday breaks are especially tough.
A local non-profit called A Child’s Place is working to make sure they’re all taken care of. But they need sponsors to provide funding.
“These gift card sponsorships are to get those perishable items if they want to do a holiday meal or just to get food to get through that break,” said Annabelle Suddreth with A Child’s Place.
Folks can sign up to sponsor a family or volunteer time by going to www.achildsplace.org.


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Here Are The Advantages Of Giving Back In Times Of Crisis
Why the COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect time for you to boost your brand's approach to corporate social responsibility.
It’s been impossible to ignore the impact cannabis brands have been making during the coronavirus pandemic.
There was the reassuring nod by leaders around the world who affirmed the industry as an essential service, alongside a steady stream of news about marijuana and CBD-based businesses pitching in to help their communities through a tough time. Some started making hand sanitizer, while others looked around their greenhouses for protective gear to deliver to the front-lines.
It’s been a great chance for an industry that’s long been under the microscope to showcase its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. But what is CSR? It’s the idea that businesses should act responsibly toward customers and employees, conduct ethical operations, and be a positive force in the community.
For the average cannabis entrepreneur, seeing news about donations of tens of thousands of items float by on social media can be daunting. After all, even though many marijuana businesses are seeing unprecedented demand as consumers stock up on products, there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
But you don’t have to be a giant multi-state operator to use shelter-in-place orders and the social-distancing atmosphere as an opportunity to tweak your CSR approach. Experts say it doesn’t have to cost a lot and could actually save you money in the long-run.
The four principles of corporate social responsibility
CSR may smack of upbeat PowerPoint presentations and corporate motivational music, sure. You’ve most likely come across it in slick ad campaigns from some multinational company that wants to tell you about how they’re saving the rainforest with a new battery design or giving kids in Uganda an education by furnishing them with shoes. But CSR is more than just an add-on program.
Last year, the non-profit group the Global Cannabis Partnership released its CSR framework. Cannabis companies, government agencies, and lawyers from around the world came together to settle on four principles to guide the worldwide industry – responsibility, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. The standards touch on minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting responsible product use, and ethical business practices, among other things.
And while CSR covers a lot of different areas, from employee wellness to charity partnerships, coming up with your company’s plan isn’t about trying to pick the right topic out of a hat, according to Lisa Hogan, president, and CEO of the Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation.
“Implementing corporate social responsibility principles is not a zero-sum concept. Businesses and industries have many facets," says Hogan. "The goal for modern innovative companies is to source leaders and personnel with the skill sets to ensure that the company performs well financially and operates in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.”
CBD entrepreneurs, by the way, are in a prime position to get off on a good CSR footing, Hogan says. “The emerging CBD industry is well-positioned to implement CSR principles in its formative stages and achieve a competitive advantage with consumers and investors for the long-term,” she says. “Research shows that companies that proactively manage their impacts responsibly financially outperform their peers.”
Start small, and increase support
Samantha O'Neil, an Arlington, Virginia-based marketing and CSR expert who has worked with the NFL, NCAA, and La Liga, encourages brands to think local when trying to decide how to assist during the coronavirus pandemic. “Look for ways to help in the communities where your team members live and work, and focus on what you do best,” she says, pointing to distilleries that have begun making hand sanitizing products. “They are thinking local and making a huge impact on their communities by identifying a problem and figuring out how they can help with the resources and talent they already have.”
O’Neil says a serious CSR approach will ensure you still have an enthusiastic team in the future. “Ask your employees what is most important to them,” O'Neil says. “You don't have to start with a leap off the deep end. Start small. Measure and evaluate the success and impact of your strategies, and increase support as you go along.”
Ryan Kendall, of CSR consulting firm Savage Venture, says during the pandemic businesses that can give back should. “Perhaps it means rolling out free delivery services while giving hazard pay to those making deliveries and risking contamination,” Kendall says. “The important thing is to be people-centered and mission-focused. Extend your brand to wrap your arms around your community.”
While giant cannabis firms may have the resources to do so at scale, even smaller companies have shown themselves to be adept at implementing CSR principles. Some have focused on switching to sustainable packaging, donating to charities, and giving away free products to veterans and patients. Some provide employment opportunities to homeless people, while others team up with charities such as The Last Prisoner Project, to help counteract the effects of the drug war.
But if you can’t achieve everything you want right away, don’t beat yourself up about it, the Cannabis Certification Council says. “A company shouldn’t feel restricted because they are unable to hit every point of CSR,” a spokesperson said. “It’s better to focus on the areas in which you can provide a positive impact.” And there’s nothing wrong with letting current and future customers know, tactfully, about your CSR strides, according to the council.
Hogan, of the CSR foundation, agrees. “I think it is acceptable for companies to reveal and promote their charitable works and responsible environmental, social and governance business practices,” Hogan explains. “Society and consumers want the information reported and are increasingly making choices regarding whom to patronize based on that CSR reputation.”
The key, according to O’Neil, is to explain how what you’re doing connects with your brand’s values. “Companies who market their CSR programs to consumers successfully understand the importance of focusing on impact and results,” O'Neil says. “That’s why it’s important to measure impact and communicate it effectively both internally and externally.”


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Guelph Wellington county real estate is thriving and busy in the midst of the dog days of summer 2020. With a very healthy market, we have been continuing to experience more sales activity than listing activity, despite the continued presence of Covid-19. Wellington County started the third quarter with listing activity down compared to last July, however, sales volume doubled as sales prices continued to increase.
The year to date sales volume for end of July 2020 is up slightly by 6.66% over 2019 numbers, where 2020 sales volume to date is at $1.288B at end of July over 2019 YTD sales volume of $1.208B. The unit sales were at 2044 for the county which is 4.31% lower than July 2019 YTD numbers of 2136 units sold.
With the stay at home legislation being lifted and Stage 3 re-openings during the month, unit sales were up 32.95% to 464 units for the month of July, and sales volume followed upward by 52.64% to $301M sold compared to last July 2019 sales of 349 units and $197M. Further, with 448 new listings down 11.64%, and a 103.57% sales/listing ratio up 34.74%, the real estate market continued to showing some major effects from anxious Buyers looking to get into the market before sellers being ready to list this summer.
This spike in buyer activity brings the year-over-year median sales price of $576,250 at end of July 2020 up 13.44% from 2019 median of $508,000 just one year ago. The Median sales price also rose to $599,000 for the month at close of July 2020 for Wellington County. And year-to-date average sales prices continued that trend increasing 11.53% over 2019 resulting in an average sales price of $628,754 for YTD at end of July 2020 vs. $563,777 just one year ago.
Although 2019 saw a trend of homes staying on the market slightly longer than the previous year, 2020 is continuing to show shorter average days on market at 28.86 days at end of July 2020 versus 32 days at end of July 2019, so homes are still moving a bit quicker on the market.
The first half of 2020 had been an incredible start for the real estate market particularly with our Co-vid pause for a couple months, the real estate market and prices in Wellington County have not felt tremendous effects after lockdown and reopening. The average year to date sales prices in Wellington county for each type are:
Freehold Homes: $678,453 (Average sales price at end of July 2020)
Condominium homes: $447,875 (Average sales price at end of July 2020)
Vacant land sales: $514,817 (Average sales price at end of July 2020)
With our economy finalizing re-opening in July, and returning to a new normal, our numbers in the upcoming months may change, but, for now real estate prices in Wellington county are holding strong and continue on the rise, and as always as a safe and secure investment.
Keep healthy, stay safe and enjoy the rest of your summer!
CONNECT WITH FRANCES:
If you’re considering a move, or purchasing a home in the Guelph area, let’s chat! You can reach me at 519-824-9050 ext. 235 or email me.
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About a third of the Chinese television stations caught airing illegal advertisements have continued to broadcast the commercials despite warnings from the national broadcasting authority.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) caught 224 channels operated by provincial and city stations defying the ban on commercials for weight loss, breast enlargement and other health and beauty products and treatments.
However, warnings from the SARFT succeeded in forcing compliance from only 147 of them.
The ban was announced in July and became effective on Aug. 1.
It was introduced by the SARFT and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) because of fears that such ads violated consumers' rights and posed health risks.
The SARFT followed up with a survey early this month of 1,117 channels operated independently by provincial and city-level TV stations.
"The SARFT sent out 406 warnings and 13 notices to those who violated the bans in the past month -- and they had some effect," an official with the SARFT said.
If a television or radio receives three notices within 60 days, it is forbidden to screen advertisements and the officials in charge face penalties.
Under the new regulations, TV shopping programs must clearly state the manufacturing and distributing companies of medical products, and the government approval given to the products.
Experts said TV stations were reluctant to comply with the ban because advertising accounted for most of their revenues and health and beauty ads had proved highly profitable.
Many newspapers, magazines and websites have been competing for the advertising since the ban took effect.
Qu Jianmin, director of the SAIC advertising monitoring and administration, said the SAIC was closely watching for illegal ads and information in publications and websites. It was also considering regulations for the print and on-line media, in order to "create a fair market environment".
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)


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Nokia’s batch of devices were recently released in Malaysia, and tomorrow the devices will also be arriving at Finland for an official launch. There still aren’t any official prices for any of the devices, though we can’t see them pricing much higher than they already have.
Gizchina News of the week
The devices are also expected to be launched in other countries pretty son, if reports are to be believed. The Philippines will get them on June 8th and Vietnam on June 10th. India is also part of the list, as invites for June 13th launch have been making their rounds.
All three of the Nokia devices will come running Android Nougat, though Nokia has promised to bring an Android O update to the devices. What are your thoughts on this? Would you buy a Nokia device over one of the competing devices? Tell us down below.


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Is Kylie Jenner a self-made billionaire?
At age 21, Kylie Jenner has been pronounced the youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes magazine, replacing the previous owner of this spot, Mark Zuckerberg, who received the title at age 23.
A member of the Kardashian-Jenner family, Jenner has been on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" since the very first episode and has since had her own show on E!, "Life of Kylie."
On Nov. 30, 2015, the reality star from an acclaimed background founded a makeup company known as Kylie Cosmetics. Since then, her sales have skyrocketed and she did an estimated $360 million in sales in 2018 alone. She owns 100 percent of the company, which is estimated to be worth about $900 million.
Ranked number 2,057 out of the 2,153 billionaires on Forbes' world billionaires list, there has been controversy following the “self-made” portion of Kylie’s label. Her success is undoubtedly linked to the free advertising via her Instagram posts, seen by her 129 million followers, and her exceedingly famous family.
Many argue that she is not self-made because she was very well known before starting her company, and had an excessive amount of resources and money which could be used to grow her business. Although a self-made business is defined as one that was not passed down, there is still confusion about whether Jenner is truly self-made or not.
I don’t believe that she isn’t self-made; however I also don’t believe that she is.
Many children of wealthy individuals tend to sit atop their money and go through life without having to work hard for anything. However, Jenner used her status and resources to her advantage and began to build an empire out of it. While she did have fame and money handed to her, she used them to boost herself up and continue making a name for herself, rather than just blowing through money and doing nothing with her life. She did create her own business and owns 100 percent of it. She has worked hard for her company and has definitely sacrificed a lot for it.
I would not necessarily phrase her title as “self-made” but I would also not say that she hasn’t worked to be a prominent female billionaire.


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21 March 2022, VN: On March 17, an online conversation was held between Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk – Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland took place at the MARD’s headquarter.
Opening the meeting, Minister Le Minh Hoan expressed his respect for the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Poland over the past 7 decades in terms of politics, security, defense, economy, etc. cultural. “I am pleased to see that the cooperation between the agriculture and rural development sectors of the two countries has always been focused in recent years, Vietnam and Poland have similarities in organizational structure because the two countries take the same name. “Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development”, the Minister shared.
Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk also shared that Poland always maintains a close cooperation relationship with Vietnam and affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Poland.
On the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation signed by the two ministries in 2017 as a legal basis for the two sides to implement specific contents such as technology transfer in the preservation and processing of agricultural products, contract cooperation in animal and plant quarantine, trade promotion of agro-forestry-fishery products and investment in agriculture, as well as training of human resources.
Over the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a very heavy impact on the economic development of countries around the world, but Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery products exported to Poland and other commodities have not been exported. Polish agricultural products and food exports to Vietnam are still growing steadily, reaching more than 173 million USD in 2021. However, this figure reflects that there is still room for the two countries to promote trade in agricultural products more.
Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk highly appreciated the fact that many agricultural products of Vietnam have been present on the Polish market and hoped that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam would play a key role in further accessing the Polish market, especially is trading more products of beef, pork, duck, goose meat, etc.
The Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development believes that the two countries have potential for further development in trade exchanges in the coming time.
In response to the Polish Minister, Minister Le Minh Hoan also shared that Vietnam holds the view of diversification, multilateralization and access to the markets of countries around the world, including Poland, and wishes to receive supported by Poland and will create conditions for Polish agricultural products to be present on the Vietnamese market so that Vietnamese consumers can better understand Poland, Polish agriculture as well as specialties of Poland.
In addition, Minister Le Minh Hoan hoped that the Polish Government would always support Vietnam’s agricultural industry in sustainable aquaculture development, creating favorable conditions for Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery products to be exported. export to the EU market, contributing to the EU to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam.
“The story of Vietnamese agricultural products, including seafood, is not only a commodity but also an image of a country that is responsible to the world community. That’s what the ministry wants the Polish side to help Vietnam convince EU member states to support in many fields of agricultural investment, not just the IUU yellow card,” said Mr. Minister.
Mr. Henryk Kowalczyk agreed with Minister Le Minh Hoan’s opinion and said that Poland as a member of the EU can also help facilitate access to Vietnamese products. Poland is ready to become a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to enter the European market./.


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The company handed out thousands of bottles to East Germans crossing to the West, and within months was buying up the old state-owned bottling plants. Coca-Cola even helped pay for the unification ceremony in 1990 in its pursuit of the new market. For this had been Pepsi territory, unconquered land that, with the end of communism, became open to the red and white machine from Atlanta.
Coca-Cola is not an ordinary company: it is a brand, a marketing idea that combines a crusade, a credo and a machine for printing money. It is essentially an organisation that sells brown sugared water. But if you think about it that way you will never understand how it came to be the world's single best-known product, how it was woven into global history after the Second World War, or how it came to grief when a few dozen Belgian and French children suffered bad stomachs after drinking a can each last week.
Those few dodgy tummies are a minuscule proportion of the global market for Coke, perhaps 200 cans out of nearly 400 billion sold every year. It is not even certain that Coke was responsible for their illness. The company has said it may have been the result of a problem with a chemical sprayed on a pallet.
But the problem for Coke is much bigger. It is probably the world's most global corporation, the symbol of the vast explosion of transnational capitalism in the 1980s and 1990s, and it is sick to the stomach.
The European hitch is only one of many problems that the company faces. Its hyper-rapid expansion into new markets in the last decade has hit trouble as economic crisis has struck Asia, Russia and Latin America, halting sales growth there and raising questions about its massive capital investments. Its attempts to buy the overseas drinks business of Cadbury Schweppes has been diverted by several competition authorities, including that of the EU. It has been hit by a racial discrimination case at home. And it faces growing competition from the old enemy, the organisation referred to in Atlanta HQ only as the "P-Company" - Pepsi.
Coca-Cola was only one of many such sodas sold in America 100 years ago. But the marketing genius of Robert Woodruff, who presided over the company from 1923 until 1955, took it around the world. The US army shipped the bottles and the bottling plants abroad during the war, cementing its image as the all-American drink. The bottles, the posters, the music that accompanies the ads, the graphics and the colours created a classic. It was a central part of the creation of the New South, generating huge prosperity for Atlanta and helping to turn the city into a modern megalopolis from the sleepy southern city of a century ago.
Coke is no stranger to the perils of the global market place. It has been criticised and boycotted for ruining the environment, for allegedly turning a blind eye to the killing of union activists in Guatemala, for trading with Israel (it has been banned in much of the Arab world, and you will never find it on the table at the Iranian embassy), and for spreading the supposed evils of American imperialism. Its famous 1971 ad featuring the New Seekers ("I'd like to buy the World a Coke") and hordes of young people joining hands was in part a response to the Vietnam War: it had become risky being the all-American drink when America was itself dropping napalm on children.
Coke has stumbled in the market place before. Its most famous detour on the road to globalism came in 1985, when - weeks after Mr Woodruff had died - the company chose to alter the secret formula. It had been tampered with before, but this was a revolution, inspired - though no one would dare mention this at the time - by the Pepsi Challenge. Coke was slipping behind and it saw the answer in a new blend. "The best," announced its then chief executive officer, "has been made even better!" But the announcement triggered a furore. Within days it was re-thinking the re-think. At an emotional ceremony on 11 July 1985, it reintroduced the old formula as "Classic Coke". Television networks broke into their programming to announce it; 18,000 calls flooded the company's telephone hotline. Within months, old Coke had overtaken Pepsi again and the event served as a classic example of how to pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
It will not be so easy this time. The company has been slow to react, and seemed insensitive. The first interview given by Doug Ivester, the chief executive, on the subject was, significantly, to the Wall Street Journal, not in Belgium. This sent the signal that the company was more concerned about its shareholders than consumers, and did not help the company's case.
Coke is hardly on the ropes. It is still, by far, the number one soft drinks company in the world, selling 16 billion cases last year, or 64 cans to every man, woman and child in the world. Coca-Cola is the top brand. But its profits were down 14 per cent last year, and its stock price languishes at about 64, down from 88 last July, when the rest of the market has been exploding.
The context for global companies has been changed out of recognition in the last few years. The criticism comes faster and harder, and hits home more accurately. Bigger markets mean bigger risks. Organisations become unmanageable. Not for nothing are issues of food safety, corporate ethics, equity in the workplace and cultural sensitivity high on the agenda around the world: global capitalism has expanded at a furious rate for two decades, and the results are starting to be felt.
And Coca-Cola, more than anyone else, should know what this is all about. "It's a bit disturbing, that a big firm with worldwide fame ... did not take far-reaching measures more spontaneously and more promptly," said Belgian health minister, Luc Van den Bossche. Coca-Cola stands for more than just a soft drink, something that it reminds the rest of the world every day, but which it may have forgotten in its race for market share.


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AUSTRALIA – Amcor has pledged to develop recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025, becoming the first global packaging company to directly address the major environmental issue with capability, scale and reach.
According to the company, it also committed to significantly increase its use of recycled materials and driving consistently more recycling of packaging around the world.
This move joins with 10 leading brands and retail companies that made the same commitment, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF).
“Our aspiration is to be the leading global packaging company,” said Ron Delia, Amcor’s chief executive officer.
“That means winning on behalf of the environment, customers, consumers, shareholders and our people at the same time, in ways that differentiate Amcor and generate growth.”
EMF estimates that the companies together influence more than six-million metric tons of plastic packaging each year.
Packaging is vital to assuring the safety and effectiveness of an extensive range of food, beverage, medical, pharmaceutical, household and personal care products.
It also significantly limits the enormous environmental implications from food and other product waste.
Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rob Opsomer of EMF said that Amcor’s pledge is notable.
“Amcor being the first global packaging company to commit to working toward 100-percent recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025 is an important milestone towards creating a circular economy for plastics,” said Mr. Opsomer, who leads EMF’s Systemic Initiatives.
“The company’s commitment and expertise will be instrumental in supporting the growing group of brands and retailers that have set similar targets for them.”
The U.K.-based EMF’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to a circular economy, in which plastics and other resources are used over and over.
Amcor is the only packaging company among core partners to EMF and the foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative.
Mr. Opsomer also called on other companies “to follow Amcor’s lead.”
However, some of the biggest challenges to recyclable and reusable packaging remain, said Amcor’s Mr. Delia, and will be overcome through leadership and innovation, in partnership with customers, suppliers, government agencies, NGOs and others.
“The people who make up our global team are inspired by ambitious goals,” he said.
“They are capable, creative, and committed to building a great business and making a difference.”


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MUMBAI: Global cues coupled with heavy buying by stockists helped gold to climb more steps on its journey towards north here at the bullion market on Monday.
Standard gold and ornaments gained Rs 15 each to Rs 12,025 and Rs 11,875 per 10 gram respectively. Sovereign was unchanged at Rs 9,925 per piece of eight gram.
Yellow metal gained in the global markets as surging crude oil prices raised concerns of high inflation, which boosted demand for the precious metal as a safe haven during such crisis, analysts said.
Jewellery fabricators buying to meet the fresh demand for the coming marriage season also led to the increase in gold prices, they said.
On the other hand, silver prices eased on reduced off take amid fresh stocks released in the market by stockists.
Silver ready fell by Rs 20 to Rs 23,700 per kg. However, silver weekly based delivery rose by Rs 42 to Rs 23,210 per kg as speculators still expecting the prices of the precious metal might pick up.
Silver coins continued to be asked at previous level of Rs 26,600 for buying and Rs 26,700 for selling of 100 pieces


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Last year consumers were besieged by dire economic news, yet they also received some good tidings — the promise of credit card reform. This year may prove to be a banner year for consumers as well, at least if Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has anything to say about it.
Hometown: New York City (born in Greensboro, N.C.)
Education: Greensboro College
- Appointed Chair of the Joint Economic Committee in the 111th Congress, the first woman to hold that position.
- Elected to the House of Representatives in 1993.
- Former co-chair of the Women’s Caucus and advocate for women’s and family issues.
- Senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
- Chair of the Financial Institution and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee.
- Authored the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008 and 2009.
- Author of “Rumors of our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women’s Lives Aren’t Getting Any Easier” published May 2008.
In February 2008, she introduced the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008 to the House of Representatives. In September, the bill passed in the House but never made it out of the Senate. In December, regulators, including the Federal Reserve, passed a series of rules to crack down on credit issuer abuses and to strengthen consumer rights.
According to Rep. Maloney, legislation is still needed to protect consumers in a lasting and comprehensive way.
To that end, on Jan. 15, 2009, she introduced a revamped Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights to the House of Representatives in the 111th session of Congress. The bill aims to further strengthen consumer rights and speed up the protections due to take hold in 2010.
The congresswoman took some time out of her hectic schedule to share her thoughts about this bill with Bankrate.
|What led you to author the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights?|
I believe in the basic principle that a deal is a deal. However, too often in the credit card industry, consumers have found themselves on the short end of the stick, stuck with contracts that could change at any time and for any reason.
In a hope to return to basic fairness, I wrote the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights.
This bill levels the playing field for consumers by protecting them from arbitrary rate increases on their existing balances and ends the most abusive practices currently implemented by the industry.
|Why did Congress drag its heels in implementing reforms that protect consumers?|
While the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights failed to be enacted into law last year, we were successful in passing it in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 312 to 112.
In the end, I believe other issues in the larger economy took the spotlight away from the needed attention required to pass this legislation in the Senate.
How is it that the credit card industry has gotten away with abusive practices for so many years?
I believe that there has been a general attitude that through competition and the free market system, much of the financial world would regulate itself.
What we have found in the credit card industry, based upon consolidation of the industry and the complexity of consumer disclosures, is that many of these practices became unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive. When that happens, it is up to the government to fix the market failure.
|Why must consumers wait until July 2010 before the rule changes?|
Consumers will have these protections much sooner if I have anything to do with it.
I am planning on reintroducing legislation to move up the implementation date from July 2010, to three months after the passage of my bill.
With new regulations set to go in place in 2010, why is further action needed on credit card reform?
|First, legislative action is needed to speed up implementation.|
Second, regulation does not carry the same force of law that legislation does. It is too easy to change regulation, whereas legislation has much more staying power.
In light of the recent regulations to the credit card industry enacted by the Federal Reserve, et al., how does the 2009 version of the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights differ from the previous version introduced last summer?
I reintroduced the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights in the 111th Congress; it is H.R. 627. The core of my legislation matches perfectly with the newly implemented regulation, but gives it the force of law and speeds up the effective date.
In a few areas, we are able to improve on the legislation by giving consumers more protections, such as banning cards to people under the age of 18 and allowing consumers to set hard caps on their credit limit to prevent them from going over the limit.
Credit card companies have argued that now is exactly the wrong time to impose more rules on them and that consumers will actually suffer as a result, with less available credit and higher interest rates. Do you think there could be unintended consequences of regulating the credit card industry?
It seems like almost every day we see a story about responsible, good consumers, people who have always paid their bill on time and have never gone over their limit, getting hit with higher interest rates on their existing balance.
These are the same consumers who have seen hundreds of billions of their taxpaying dollars going to the same banks issuing these cards.
I would argue that these are the exact times we need to be protecting consumers.
Whenever you have the Federal Reserve coming out and labeling practices unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive, you know that it is time to act and protect consumers from these practices.
Another important consumer cause you’ve championed is that of overdraft protection. As anyone who’s unwittingly racked up $100 or more in fees due to overdraft protection knows, overdraft protection is a very dangerous and expensive form of credit. What are some of the more egregious aspects of bank overdraft protection programs targeted by the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices Act?
One of my biggest concerns is that consumers too often are saddled with large overdraft fees without ever knowing that they have been enrolled in an overdraft program and sometimes without the ability to opt out.
My legislation on overdraft fees will give consumers the notice and choice they need to make informed decisions about the fees they are likely to incur on their banking transactions.


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In the age of e-commerce, the superstore is fighting for relevance. A competitive edge is only maintainable when business leaders know how to refine processes with the infusion of the right technology.
PhonePe was acquired by Flipkart three years ago, has now become one of the critical standalone businesses for the latter, with over 30 million monthly transacting consumers.
The payments firm says that there is 100% jump in number of women using its platform, with bulk of transactions originating in tier-two and three cities.
The latest Reserve Bank of India data shows that the number of PoS terminals remained plateaued at 2.9 million between September and November 2017.
Total digital transactions top 1.1 billion for January 2018 against 1 Billion in December 2017.
The bank surveyed 1,522 MSMEs to understand their digital payments trends and willingness to adopt new payment means.
The company will be launching other verticals over the coming months to diversify business.
With BHIM transactions, the customer will be charged just four to five paisa per transaction, whereas in other transactions like cards and wallets, the service charge is much higher.
While Budget 2016 had hiked the service tax by 0.5 per cent to 15 per cent, all eyes will be on Budget 2017 to see if there will be any further increase in it.
By simply installing the following apps, an individual can tide over the ongoing cash crunch caused by demonetisation.
The company has registered a 700% increase in overall traffic and 1000% growth in the amount of money added to the Paytm account over the last couple of days, a statement said.
PayPal said the rebate would help improve merchant economics in the cut-throat e-commerce environment.
Traditionally, a seller and buyer on Quikr, after agreeing to a price on the platform, had to physically meet and exchange cash to conclude the transaction.
FreeCharge has indigenously developed an alternative to the SMS based one-time-password and has already filed a patent for the technology.
It is touted to reduce payment process time to about a fifth without having to enter the CVV or OTP numbers each time.
The new platform is projected to facilitate transactions worth 3.5 billion Pounds (Rs 35,266.5 crore) over the next five years.
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