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Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
- There’s a hidden message in Chick-fil-A‘s logo.
- Chick-fil-A’s founder Truett Cathy invented the brand’s name based on the phrase "chicken fillet."
- The decision to capitalize the "A" was a conscious choice on Cathy’s part, an attempt to represent "top quality."
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
There’s a hidden message in Chick-fil-A’s logo.
When Truett Cathy was coming up with the name for his iconic chicken sandwich in the early 1960s, he decided to play on the phrase "chicken fillet."
"I began to reflect on the product, which was the best part of the chicken — a boneless breast," Cathy writes in his book, "Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People."
He continued: "It occurred to me that the best cut of beef is a fillet; why not call ours a chicken fillet? Or chick fillet? Or Chick-fil-A?"
The decision to capitalize the "A" was a conscious choice on Cathy’s part, an attempt to represent "top quality."
Cathy registered the "Chick-fil-A" name in 1963.
While Chick-fil-A has evolved over the years, the capitalized "A" has remained consistent. The chicken chain grew sales by 16.7% in 2018, reaching about $10.5 billion and becoming the third-largest restaurant chain in the US.
- These are America’s favorite fast-food chains, from Chick-fil-A to In-N-Out
- Sneaker makers like Nike and Adidas are facing a dilemma as resale is on its way to becoming a $6 billion business
- Lowe’s is laying off store workers across the country as it pivots to third-party vendors


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CINCINNATI, Ohio — According to the 2017 North American Camping Report conducted by Kampgrounds of America (KOA), 75 million American households are active campers, and there is an increased percentage of American campers who are younger and more diverse.
With the increase in the percentage of younger campers, an additional surging trend that can currently be seen in the RV industry is the number of owners and consumers who are searching for, and requesting information on “green RVs,” writes blogger Krista Atkins Nutter for Green Cincinnati News.
Most people assume that given the large, boxy nature of these homes on wheels, that they certainly can’t be green or environmentally sensitive. However, for the past several years, RV shoppers have seen the emergence of a program called Certified Green by TRA Certification Inc.
Read the full blog at Green Cincinnati News.

domain: news


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Today you’re going to hear the story of BYKKO and it’s founder Monica Zarafu.
Born in Romania, Monica moved to Australia in two thousand and ten. Motivated by a need to mitigate the threat of climate change, and seeing the mass adoption of bicycles in parts of Europe, Monica is aiming to do more than build a successful business. With the lofty ambition of reshaping the way we think about transport in Australia, Monica has been working hundred hour plus weeks to build BYKKO as a proof of concept, with the hopes that an electric bike sharing model could be adopted by governments and used as part of integrated public transport systems. But before we dig into the details of how Monica believes electric bike sharing can change transport in Australia, first we need to go back to day one, and learn about the research Monica undertook which ultimately led her to believe that, as she says, “bikes are the future”.


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The scare about sewing needles in strawberries first identified in Australia has spread to New Zealand.
Officials with Countdown, a supermarket in New Zealand, said needles were found in a punnet of strawberries from Western Australia, which was bought in one of its supermarkets in Auckland. The Choice brand of strawberries was sold nationwide last week. There have been no reports of illness or injury.
The supermarket, which is owned by Woolworths, withdrew Choice strawberries from sale at Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice supermarkets while it investigates with suppliers. Affected strawberries had not previously been implicated or withdrawn in Australia.
Countdown advised customers to cut up any Australian strawberries before eating them and said the issue does not affect any from New Zealand. The supermarket also stopped importing Australian strawberries.
Tougher penalties to deal with acts of food contamination were approved this past week by the Australian Parliament.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the move sends a strong signal to those who put the safety of individuals and livelihoods of farmers at risk that their actions will be dealt with severely.
“Of particular concern has been the rapid escalation in copy-cat offences and hoaxes. This behavior is not a joke. It is not funny. It is a serious criminal offence which the Morrison Government, and now the whole Australian Parliament has denounced. As a consequence of this bill offenders will face serious consequences,” he said.
Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, described tampering with strawberries as a “shocking and cowardly thing to do”.
The government announced AU $1 million (U. S. $730,000) to make more food safety officials available to increase detection, fast track recalls and assist the strawberry industry to rebuild confidence.
The maximum penalty for contaminating, threatening to and making false statements about contamination of goods has been increased from 10 to 15 years.
The Queensland Government and Government of Western Australia have both offered an AU$100,000 (US$73,000) reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
The New South Wales Police Force warned there are serious penalties associated with deliberate fruit contamination.
An investigation, led by Queensland Health, was launched on Sept. 12 to investigate reports of contaminated strawberries from the Australian state.
Contamination affects three brands of strawberries – Berry Obsession, Berry Licious and Donnybrook – which were sold across Australia and have since been recalled or withdrawn from sale. Oasis, Delightful Strawberries and Love Berry brands, initially suspected to be included, are not implicated and have not been withdrawn from the market.
NSW Police Force has received more than 20 reports of contaminated strawberries, which have been seized for forensic examination.
Other reports of potential contamination impacting different strawberry brands have been received, consumers are advised they are safe to eat but the fruit should be cut before consuming.
Police have also received reports of contamination of other types of fruit, including a banana and an apple, which are being treated as isolated incidents.
Queensland Police Service deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the investigation is focused on credible contaminations to the three brands but inquiries continue into other potential reports.
“All reports of contaminations are being fully investigated. I want to be really clear – we will take action against anybody providing false claims or pranking, including children. I’m urging all parents to talk to their children about the severity of making false claims, or sticking needles in fruit as a hoax – you’re messing with the industry’s livelihood and wasting police resources. It’s ridiculous – stop playing games with people’s lives.”
Gollschewski added anyone found deliberately contaminating food could go to prison and penalties could be greater if criminal acts cause injuries of a serious and or permanent nature.
Dr. Jeanette Young, Queensland’s chief health officer, said advice is to continue eating strawberries but they should be cut up before eating.
“We are working closely with our local and interstate counterparts as the investigation continues and are committed to keeping the public informed as this progresses.”
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries acting deputy director-general Bernadette Ditchfield said industry needs the support of government and the community.
“We’re working with industry to provide as much support as possible including financial assistance, and workplace and wellbeing programs to help growers through this difficult time. They are a big part of the agriculture industry in Queensland, with up to 60 million punnets of strawberries produced from Queensland farms each season,” she said.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)


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Nigeria spends $6bn yearly on vehicle importation” width=”239″ height=”152″ />Nigeria is spending not less than $6 billion annually in importing vehicles. The emergence of new auto policy has drastically reduced the amount of money Nigeria is spending on imported vehicles since January.
It was learnt that the country spends $6 billion annually to ferry both used and new vehicles into the country According to the Minister of Trade and Investments, Olusegun Aganga, some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had also dropped 30 per cent.
Also, South Africa’s National Association of Automobile Manufacturers’ Director, Mr Nico Vermeulen, has said that vehicle exports by some South Africanbased manufacturers to Nigeria was affected by the introduction of duties on new car imports.
He however, said it was difficult to quantify the impact. Aganga added that global brands including Nissan and Peugeot, among others, were driving partnerships and capacity expansion in the country’s auto sector, adding that with the current fall of oil price, it had become imperative that Nigeria should not continue to import what could be produced here locally.
The minister said that Nigeria had joined the league of global car manufacturers, saying that the vehicles produced by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, in Nnewi, Anambra State, were made up of about 70 per cent locally sourced contents. Customs duties Before now, Customs duties paid for the categories of vehicle include: Cars 30 per cent, bus 15 per cent, trucks 30 per cent and completely knocked down vehicles, five per cent.
Other taxes are the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS), one per cent, National Automotive Council, two per cent, VAT five per cent and ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme. Those who formerly paid 20 per cent duty and two per cent levy on new cars now pay 35 per cent duty and another 35 per cent levy, bringing the total tariff to 70 per cent.
Because of this, the Vice President of Operations at General Motors South Africa (GMSA), Mr Ian Nicholls, explained that the new regulations and higher vehicle import duties in Nigeria had made automotive companies to shift their attention to Nigeria by establishing assembly plants in order to compete effectively.
South Africa’s strategy Nicholls noted that vehicle manufacturers with production facilities in South Africa are considering establishing an assembly plant in Nigeria. The Vice President stressed that General Motors would have to rethink its plans in Nigeria.
“We have to look, along with our distributors there, what the opportunities are to do something locally. But we haven’t made a decision to do something in Nigeria.”
Also, the former South African minister of trade and industry and of public enterprises, Alec Erwin, was a technical adviser to the Nigeria Automotive Council and had contributed to the creation of the strategic framework for the development of the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP). Nicholls said that Nigeria’s automotive plan defined what semi-knocked-down (SKD) assembly must comprise, which means that it was not a case of merely taking the “wheels off and that’s it.”
The challenge But he said that the biggest challenge in Nigeria was that the country did not have any existing automotive component supplier base. “The challenge is going to be how you set up an SKD assembly facility that makes financial sense without any local value added, except labour. By its very nature, SKD just adds on to the cost of a vehicle,” he said.
Nicholls stressed that Nigeria has a population of about 160 million people and a new car market of about 50,000 units a year, but the market for used cars and grey vehicle imports was about 450,000 units a year. “If you control the used car and grey import market, you could have a significant industry in Nigeria, so it is something you just can’t ignore,” he said.
Competition Nigeria emerged last year as a potential competitor to South Africa for foreign direct investment by global multinational vehicle manufacturers when the Renault-Nissan alliance and West African conglomerate, Stallion Group, announced their intention to jointly launch vehicle assembly in Nigeria and indicated there was potential to develop the plant into a major manufacturing hub for Nissan in Africa. Also, a maritime economist and Executive Director of ABN Consults, Mr Harrison Agada, noted that there was a huge gap between demand and local capacity.
He explained that local production capacity of automobiles by all the assembly plants in the country today stands at a pathetic 45,000 units per annum while demand stands at 800,000 units per annum.
However, Nissan South Africa’s managing director, Mike Whitfield, who is responsible for the sub-Saharan Africa region, including South Africa and Nigeria, stressed last year that it did not pose any threat to the domestic motor industry and was an opportunity for co-operation and complementation.


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NEW YORK — An image of an Adolf Hitler doll didn’t just make Jim Riswold pause, it set him in motion on his first public art project.
For “Göring’s Lunch,” which closes this week at the Augen Gallery in Portland, Ore., Riswold positioned toy figures of the Führer, Italy’s Benito Mussolini and other eyebrow-raising characters next to such unlikely bystanders as an oversized rag doll and then photographed them. A miniature Stalin is pictured next to a plastic doghouse, and a diminutive Erwin Rommel is captured in a tiny toy sandbox.
“It’s become an explanation of hubris, which, unfortunately, is still a well-worn fault that a lot of people in this world have,” Riswold said.
As a 21-year Wieden & Kennedy vet and one of the firm’s creative directors, he is not one to shy away from controversy, especially in his agency work for Nike. His personal favorites — “Spike and Mike,” Charles Barkley’s “I’m Not a Role Model” and “Bo Knows” — were among the athletic giant’s most talked-about campaigns.
“So I was no stranger to controversy,” Riswold said. “I was playing with athletes before I switched to playing with dictators.”
In remission from leukemia and on medical leave, Riswold said once he was diagnosed about four years ago, he had a shorthand list of creative projects that didn’t end with someone’s logo. “Göring’s Lunch” started as a project after he and his son stumbled upon a catalogue image of the Hitler doll. “I don’t think ‘outraged’ is the right word, but it struck my curiosity that such an object was displayed as a toy.”
In his own work, Riswold has been influenced by a variety of artists but never by “heavy-handed” art. He started collecting Andy Warhol’s prints as a high schooler, much to the chagrin of his parents. “He wasn’t dead then, so they were cheap,” he explained.
A self-described 98-pound weakling whose childhood nickname was “Pipsqueak,” Riswold related to Warhol “because he was an outsider. Plus, I was losing my hair and I wondered what I would look like in a silver wig.”Riswold said he has also long been a fan of lensman David Levinthal, whose early work includes photos of toy soldiers. Levinthal collaborated with his Yale classmate, “Doonesbury” comic strip creator Garry Trudeau, for that project.
As for “Göring’s Lunch,” the artist insisted it is up to gallery goers to draw their own conclusions, but he realizes he is dealing with a highly sensitive subject.
“I understand that some people are upset by the subject matter or they feel the subject matter should not be satirized,” he said. “It’s up to them to interpret. They can learn a valuable lesson in history that should not be forgotten. But it is up to them to interpret it.”
The Hallie Board Museum in Salem, Ore., is considering hosting “Göring’s Lunch,” and Riswold’s friend, Brad Cloepfil, founder of Allied Works Architecture, is shopping it around to New York galleries.
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews
@prada is introducing a new project at its men’s fall 2018 show this Sunday: “Prada Invites.” The fashion house invited four celebrated creative minds – @ronanaerwanbouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, @herzogdemeuron and @rem.koolhaas – to each create a unique item with its iconic nylon material. The designs will be unveiled on the runway show, which will take place at the company’s warehouse in Viale Ortles 25. #wwdfashion #mfwm (📷: @martinocarrera)
@kering_official is spinning off its stake in puma in an effort to focus on its luxury brands, the brand operator announced yesterday. “We are proud to have supported the turnaround of Puma, which now has unrivaled capabilities to take full advantage of the specific dynamics of its global markets and is poised to achieve substantial growth,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive officer and chairman. Artémis will become a “long-term strategic shareholder” of Puma with a 29 percent stake. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
The fashion world mourns for celebrated street style photographer, Nabile Quenum, who died at age 32 in Paris.
Quenum, creator of the fashion blog “J’ai Perdu Ma Veste,” was a fashion week fixture, and regularly shot for New York magazine’s The Cut, among other outlets, and brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Adidas. He was also actively involved in the #NoFreePhotos initiative, which kicked off in the fall. Read more about Quenum in @kbsmoke's story on WWD.com. #wwdnews
@verwanggang and @maisonladuree have teamed up on a dessert collab called Vera Wang Pour Ladurée. The collection, which launched this week, features a specialty macaroon, as well as a wedding cake inspired by one of the designer’s gowns. “I could not imagine a more delicate or sophisticated creation to grace any couple’s celebration,” said Wang. #wwdfashion


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Hey guys, need a divorce? Just SMS it, in select countries nowhere near you. : PacketVideo's new developer group ... wireless bowling ... a sex toy promo ... and more, in this week's Unwired News. By Elisa Batista.
MP3s make music easy to listen to on the PC. The popular music files also work with nearly every media player on the market. The problem is -- other than consumers -- nobody wants to use the format. By Brad King.
Napster's legal docket is a little lighter after the file-trading service settles a suit filed by Metallica and Dr. Dre.
The jurist tells company officials in a closed-door meeting that they won't be allowed to do business until its filtering technology is 100-percent effective.
The next step in digital music may be developing celestial jukeboxes that consumers can access in their homes, on personal digital assistants and on any other device that connects to the Internet. Brad King reports from the MP3 Summit in San Diego.
A California murder trial takes an interesting turn after a Verizon Communications engineer testifies. WAP beats its bad rap in Europe.... A glitch causes NTT DoCoMo to recall 100,000 of its i-mode phones.... and more, in this week's Unwired News. By Elisa Batista.
So, AT&T Wireless is its own company. What are its chances for survival? Analysts give it a good shot. By Elisa Batista.
An auction of wireless licenses that will enable high-speed connections to handhelds will not occur in September as planned, the FCC says.
Can't catch Elliott Murphy and the Stormy Mondays on their two-week Italian tour? They're uploading the entire experience with their Handspring PDA for your multimedia pleasure. By Michelle Delio.
Creditors might show mercy to Metricom, but that may not be enough for the high-speed wireless provider to bounce back from its downward spiral. By Elisa Batista.


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Inflow Technologies’ tie up with 39 vendor companies, an extensive tech portfolio, and a services play, are great value propositions for enterprise channels, says its President and CEO, Byju Pillai. At the end of 2013, Inflow Technologies bought its JV partner’s equity.
This lead to a delay of seven to eight months in vendor alliances for Inflow Technologies. But the company, with industry veteran Byju Pillai as its President and CEO, was able to overcome this challenge.
The company bounced back, thanks to Pillai’s entrepreneurial skills and his team’s effort to end 2014 with revenues of Rs 540 crore. “The temporary delay impacted the channel perception and the brand equity to an extent. But we had a 30 percent growth, and more importantly, a profitable one over the past year, through our alliances with 39 vendor companies,” says Pillai. Its run was so good that Pillai says each month was profitable for the company.
The revenue numbers include India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, with India contributing 97 percent of the revenues. “We strengthened operations in Sri Lanka last year by adding new staff and more channel partners. We expect non-India revenues to grow more, especially in Sri Lanka,” says Pillai.
The Bangalore-headquartered company, with over 190 employees executed business through 700 channel partners last fiscal. Pan India focus was increased through addition of offices in Ahmedabad and Pune. “There are more business avenues opening up in Gujarat and Maharashtra. We strengthened the operations across the offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and other cities,” he says.


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TORONTO — Amazon will open a new fulfillment centre in Caledon, Ont. to pick, pack and ship books, electronics and toys.
The Seattle-based e-commerce company says the centre will create more than 800 full-time jobs.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
The one-million square foot centre will be Amazon’s sixth facility in Ontario and ninth in Canada.
Amazon to open new fulfillment centre in Ottawa, creating 600 full-time jobs
How Amazon could push Vancouver’s high-flying housing prices even higher
Amazon to add 3,000 new jobs in Vancouver in tech hub expansion
The centre is expected to be built by the end of 2019 and, along with its future Ottawa facility, will bring more than 1,400 jobs to the province.
The announcement came as Amazon is hunting for a home for its second North American headquarters, dubbed HQ2.
Toronto is the lone Canadian city still in contention to house the headquarters, whose location the company said it will announce sometime this year.


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MetroPCS.com has added a new mid-range Android Smartphone to its offering – the rebranded Samsung DROID Charge i.e. Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G. As the name suggests, the device would enable you to surf internet on MetroPCS’ super-fast LTE network. Other than that, it’s got a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, 1 GHz processor, an 8-megapixel rear shooter with LED Flash, 1.3-megapixel front facing camera and comes along with a 16 GB microSD card. You’d be able to watch Live TV on this phone using Dyle TV application – but this feature won’t be available in all countries. As of now, the device’s been priced at $460 (without contract, you just need to pay for what you use!); interested in getting yourself an old yet decent Android phone – hit the buy now link below.
Buy Now / MetroPCS
Via / Phandroid


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Faster Aptitude 0.5.2
Debian's Daniel Burrows has released a new version of the Aptitude standard package manager that ratchets up performance of the dependency solver, among other things.
Burrows has been working for a while on the performance issue of the Aptitude dependency solver and was showing some progress the beginning of March.
daniel@emurlahn:~/programming/aptitude/post-lenny$ time /usr/bin/aptitude -sy safe-upgrade | tail --lines 3
daniel@emurlahn:~/programming/aptitude/post-lenny$ time ./src/aptitude -sy safe-upgrade | tail --lines 3
The newly accelerated solver is now one of the features of Aptitude 0.5.2.
Burrows also wrote a new graphical frontend for the resolver. A complete list of the Aptitude 0.5.2 changes are in the product release notes.
The new Aptitude is in Debian's experimental branch and alternatively available for download at the Debian packages site. Burrows warns in the release notes that the software is still an unstable development release to be enjoyed with the usual caution.
Founder of ownCloud launches the Nextcloud project.
Will The Machine change the way future programmers think about memory?
The new Torus distributed storage system is available under an open source license on GitHub
Juries decides Google’s use of Java APIs Was Fair Use
But if you are not using the latest Linux kernel, your system is insecure.
Home routers will give room for custom firmware but still comply with FCC rules
Frank Karlitschek will continue to lead the open source ownCloud project
“Xenial Xerus” comes with a new packages format and several improvements for the enterprise.
Linux users can now download and install the Windows code editor
New initiative will address security and interoperability concerns around container technology.


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Madison Heights, Michigan-based Galco Industrial Electronics, Inc. has acquired Zesco, Inc., a regional automation solutions provider located in Brecksville, Ohio.
Galco, which is described as an “eCommerce-driven, MRO-focused distributor of industrial and commercial electrical and electronic control, automation and motion, lighting, and power transmission products,” announced the deal Jan. 27. Financial details were not disclosed.
Zesco specializes in the drives, motion control and automation industry and serves customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
“The acquisition of Zesco further positions Galco as a global leader in the industrial automation and motion control industry,” said Allison Sabia, President and CEO of Galco. “Zesco’s expertise and experience with the world’s top brands in industrial automation combined with Galco’s extensive offering in the industry is a win-win for their customers and ours.”
MDM’s M&A Virtual Summit, to be held Feb. 21-22, has something to offer for any distributor on the dealmaking spectrum. We’ll cover the current state of M&A; how to maximize valuation; integration do’s and don’ts; ESOPs; the culture side of the M&A process; and more. Get details and register here.


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Tag Search: ios
Microsoft recently updated Office 365 for iOS and Mac to enhance user experience. Office apps are now better integrated into the Apple ecosystem, which means iPhone, iPad, and Mac users can expect a more seamless experience when creating, accessing, or storing Office documents.
10 years after the first iPhone was announced, Apple's keynote addresses are still global events. This year's slate of fall releases included a lot more than incremental updates to the company's flagship device. Regardless of whether your next Apple purchase is coming out of a personal or company budget, you'll want to know what's new.
When smartphones first outsold PCs in 2010, people no longer have to put up with slow and bulky computers to do business. This comes as no surprise why many stashed their aged PCs away. But there are ways to breathe new life into your ancient laptop and computer, so if you haven't trashed them, it's time to plug them in.
Apple is planning to improve its cloud services by bringing together its various teams who work on projects like iCloud, Siri, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, Apple Music and Apple News into one campus. The involved personnel are expected to relocate to the current company's Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, California, rather than to the second location that is under construction. Read on to learn more about Apple's new service improvement plans.
Apple recently introduced iPhone 7 to the market, and the smartphone experience is expected to improve yet again. The phone intensely focuses on the most crucial features that iPhone users deem important, and it looks every bit as prevailing as its predecessors. Continue reading to learn the new features of iPhone 7.
From its drastically improved lock screen to GIF integration into your keyboard, the iOS platform has iPhone and iPad owners chomping at the bit for the latest iteration. Despite the completely open beta, Apple opted to shroud the official release in secrecy -- until now. Along with an update on the mobile platform's rollout was clarification about which devices will be eligible for the update -- keep reading to find out what they are.


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Will McDonald's customers wait for the new quarter pounder?
Every second counts in the fast-food business. McDonald's drive-through speeds already lag those of some major competitors, according to one widely watched survey.
Snapdeal woos customers with 'Dhamaka Sale'
In its two-day mega sale on May 11-12, Snapdeal will offer up to 70 per cent discount on categori...
PSU banks fare poorly on customer service levels
RBL Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Yes Bank, Citibank and HSBC have emerged as the top five ...
Now, telcos offer insurance, backup to retain customers
Industry experts say such offers are aimed at increasing stickiness of subscribers at a time when telcos are battling brutal price competition post the entry of Reliance Jio.
Government seeks to impose customs duty on Kindle
In 2015, Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited subscription service in India that allowed customers to read a wide genre of books for a monthly fee of Rs 199.
Banks now bank on fintech companies for more customers
Apart from increasing their customer bases and market shares, leveraging the tech innovation of startup partners has helped banks improve their operations and reducing costs.
Uber races past Ola in stickiness among customers
Ola customers use the application just 2.5-3.5 times a month, which is 1.5 times lower than Uber's 3.9-4.9 times a month.
Netflix to hire hundreds for new Amsterdam customer hub
Netflix said Thursday that the first new series, "Dogs of Berlin,'' will be written, produced and shot in Germany and will launch in 2018.
Kathrein opens first customer experience centre in Bengaluru
“The location in Bengaluru is very important for our future growth in the significant APAC region,” said Anton Kathrein, CEO of the Kathrein Group.
Airtel advertisement misleading, differentiating customers: Reliance Jio
Under the said plans, Airtel is offering unlimited local and STD calls along with 1 GB of mobile internet per day for 70 days to customers with 4G handsets and 4G SIM.
DGCA certifies customer training center of Pratt & Whitney
The certification means that the training center is now approved to give training sessions on V2500-A5 engines.
Jio performs well, but still a second option for customers
Jio has, in fact, been rated highest on call rates, data pack charges and internet speeds compared to incumbent carriers, according to a study.
GST: Central Board of Excise and Customs to soon notify new procedural framework
A detailed directive would be issued soon for the field, explaining the rate schedule of the Integrated GST, which will be levied on imports.
Only 12 banks score 'high' in rendering best customer services
Of the 12 banks rated 'high', only one public sector lender, IDBI Bank, featured in the list and the rest were private and foreign banks.
GST: CBEC set to be Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
The CBEC has got government approval to reorganise the existing Central Excise and Service Tax field formations according to the requirements of the pan-India GST regime.


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A delegation led by Sohar Port and Freezone Chairman HE Sultan Bin Salim Bin Said Al Habsi from Oman met Shri Vallabh Pittie Group (SVP), one of the largest manufacturers of cotton yarn in India and a global leader in the sector on Saturday in Jaipur, India.
The free zone authorities on Sunday signed an agreement to establish a new $300million plant in Sohar Freezone to manufacture a wide range of cotton yarn, to be operated as SV Pittie Sohar Textiles FZC-LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bombay listed SVP Global Ventures Ltd. The facility is expected to start commercial operations in late 2019.
Abdullah Humaid Al Mamary, Chairman of Bank Sohar, together with Acting-CEO Sasi Kumar and other senior officials from the bank, were also part of the delegation. Bank Sohar has been awarded the syndication mandate to fund the entire project in two phases. An agreement to this effect was entered into with SVP Group. The bank has currently underwritten phase-one debt, to achieve financial closure. On successful completion of phase-one, the bank plans to syndicate a term debt for phase-two, along with a share of phase-one debt, to interested lenders.
Sasi Kumar said that they are honored to be the finance partner for a project of this magnitude that is expected to have a significant impact on the development of the region. It demonstrates their commitment to collaborate as a one-stop financial services provider catering to the diverse needs of individuals and large corporate customers.
The plant will import 100,000 metric tons of cotton fiber annually through SOHAR Port, with around 50% coming from the United States and the remainder split between Australia and India. The plant will produce around 75,000 tons of finished yarn each year, which will be exported back through the Port to China and other global markets including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Portugal and Turkey.
Chirag Pittie, SVP Groupâ€™s Managing Director said that with over two-hundred years experience in the textile business, their company has a highly skilled and experienced management team with a strong focus on automation and technology. They source best-in-class machinery from leading global companies to ensure the highest levels of productivity and efficiency.
SOHAR Freezone CEO, Jamal Aziz, summed up stated that todayâ€™s agreements showcase the great things they can offer to investors in SOHAR Freezone: the safest haven in the Middle East for foreign direct investment combined with high levels of government support; project financing with an Omani bank; 100% foreign ownership; our optimal location and seamless connectivity to key global markets through their adjacent port; highly competitive land and energy rates; and a young, well educated local workforce. Taken together, this is a sure fire recipe for business success.â€ â€” SG
The new SVP facility will be the first step in establishing a fully-fledged textile cluster in SOHAR Freezone. The thriving industrial eco-system providing thousands of new jobs for local community would fuel downstream investments in knitting, weaving, spinning and fabric manufacturing.
A weekly report covering market and price information on the entire chain of polyester along with online access to daily polyester chain prices.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in individual products including polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, and cotton.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in the individual country's natural and manmade fiber/filament industries.
Countries Served Worldwide


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Today, Jerry McNerney, a US Representative, sent a letter to AMD, ARM, and Intel asking for a briefing regarding the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities and the handling of the companies regarding the matter.
McNerney is a California representative and member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He stated: “I am looking to better understand the nature of these critical vulnerabilities, the danger they pose to consumers and what steps your companies plan to take to protect consumers.”
Earlier this month, the security flaws of Meltdown and Spectre were brought to the attention of everyone, and a number of companies have already released patches to address the said exploits. Intel, which has pledged to patch all recent chips by the end of January, is currently facing a number of lawsuits due to the bugs.
Along with asking for a briefing, Representative McNerney also prepared a handful of issues that the companies should soon be able to address. Those include questions regarding how the consumers will be affected by Spectre and Meltdown when the companies first discovered them, if there is any evidence that the said vulnerabilities have been exploited, and how the companies are making sure that the new chips will be secure.
“The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities are glaring signs that we must take cybersecurity more seriously,” McNerney said. “The warning signs keep piling on, yet cybersecurity practices continue to lag far behind.”


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Major Cities Report
Victoria Real Estate Market Adapts to Changing Policy Landscape
A total of 545 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this February, 19.3 per cent fewer than the 675 properties sold in February last year. The sales of condominiums were down 15.5 per cent from last year in February with 174 units sold. Single family homes were 24.4 per cent down from the year previous, with 260 sold this February.
Home Buyers Were Less Active in February
Metro Vancouver* home sales dipped below the long-term historical average in February.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 2,207 in February 2018, a nine per cent decrease from the 2,424 sales recorded in February 2017, and a 21.4 per cent increase compared to January 2018 when 1,818 homes sold.
Calgary Housing Market Prices Hold, but Sales Fall
Sales totaled 1.094 units in February, 18 per cent below last yearâ€™s activity. Easing sales occurred across all property types this month, which outpaced the sales growth that occurred in January. After the first two months of the year, sales activity remains well below longer-term averages.
Unit Sales and Average Prices Increase for Spring Market
Unit sales and average prices increased for the spring market compared to January 2018
Year over year single family homes unit sales decreased 4.21%, condo sales decreased 4.92% and duplex/rowhouses sales decreased 7.32%.
As We Move Further Into the Spring and Summer Months, Growth Increases and Selling Prices are Expected to Pick Up
Toronto Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORSÂ® reported 5,175 residential transactions through TREB’s MLSÂ® System in February 2018. This result was down 34.9 percent compared to the record 7,955 sales reported in February 2017.


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Server-based gaming specialist Betstone has now been involved in the Mexican market for over six years and had a significant presence at ELA 2012.
“This is one of our oldest markets and we have a continually growing client base here,” said marketing manager Eileen Stephens. “Our first day at the show has been really good.” The company had some key products at ELA, including Thunderstruck II, the sequel to Thunderstruck, and appropriately costumed characters were present on the stand. “This game will be released to operators in the coming weeks,” Stephens told InterGaming. Also, the company’s management software , the XGS System, was receiving excellent feedback from Mexican operators. “The key thing about the system is that it is completely modular and the operator can customise the offering to their business,” said Stephens. “The XGS System provides a complete set of management tools from cash management to monitoring and real-time reporting to floor analysis. XGS Marketing, with its player tracking and loyalty features enables operators to create customised marketing campaigns for their players.” The software provides the opportunity for operators of all sizes to avail themselves of sophisticated management software. The system is completely cloud-based, enabling operators access to powerful intelligence without the expense of large IT investments. In the next few months there will be further new products coming down the line. “We are very excited about these developments. We have already informed operators about them and the reaction has been extremely positive,” said Stephens. “The next few months are going to be very busy for us.” All these products will be suitable for global markets as well as Mexico. BetStone also works with operators across other regions in Latin America, Asia and Europe. “The South American market is growing significantly and with changing regulation across the gaming industry, the region offers great potential,” said Stephens.


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Organisers of SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 report that, for the first time, 12 halls will be occupied instead of 11. About 100,000m2 of stand space has been booked so far by companies wishing to showcase their products and systems, innovations and trends in the field of electrical automation. This figure is already up on this time last year. In total more than 1300 companies from Germany and abroad are expected.
The trend topics at SPS/IPC/Drives 2011 are as follows:
- Energy efficiency
- Industrial identification
- Safety and security
Products and systems relevant to these themes will be on display at the exhibition, and they will also be the subjects for many of the forum and conference presentations and discussions.
As with 2010, the joint stand 'wireless in automation' will offer visitors the chance to gain a broad overview of the sector. The ZVEI and VDMA exhibition forums will provide contributions from exhibitors, publishing houses and trade associations.
SPS/IPC/Drives 2011 takes place from 22–24 November 2011 in Nuremberg. Registration is already open and an up-to-date exhibitor list and other information can be found at www.mesago.de/sps.


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Around half of the cherry crop in Kashmir was lost to the unsavory weather in the spring. However a rise in the prices brought growers some respite. Nisar Ahmad Khan reports
Kashmir’s cherry production witnessed a decline this year due to hail, heavy rains and huge temperature variations in spring. Cherry exports to mainland markets have also gone down drastically.
Riyaz Ahmad Rather, a fruit and vegetable commission and forwarding agent, said, “This year’s production is less than 50 per cent of that of the previous year.”
The widening gap between demand and supply has escalated the prices of the fruit.
According to the state’s Horticulture Planning and Marketing Corporation, this year the rate for one kilogram cherry box of Mishri variety ranged from Rs 90 to 190 and one kg of Makhmali variety fetched between Rs 85 and 140. In 2010 the average rate for both the verities was Rs 100 to110.
The growers, however, are making losses even with the comparatively higher prices of cherry. “The losses (of cherry producers) could not be compensated even if the current rates of cherry are doubled,” Rather said.
The rise in prices may be saving the growers to some extent but is playing hard on the local food processing companies. Abdul Wahid, who runs a fruit processing and marketing unit, says, “I have already invested huge amount of money but due to hike in prices (of cherry), I am unable to buy at such rate.”
Most of the local cherry trade is transacted at the Parimpoora Wholesale Vegetable Market, where the rates are fixed by bidding.
The local fruit processing companies want the department of horticulture to intervene and save them from losses.
“This year the growers have been directly approached by the dealers outside the state, who have kept their agents here. The agents in collusion with local dealers, who have monopoly in the Parimpora market fix rates which benefit them,” Wahid said.
But why should a grower sell his produce at a discount, even if it is to the local industry, said a commission and forwarding agent at the wholesale market, not wishing to be named.
“How could a fruit grower sell his produce at low rates to the local processing unit holders, if he is getting a good amount from someone?” said, Riyaz Ahmad.
Mishri is the most sought after variety of cherry in Indian markets followed by Awwal Number, Makhmali and Cherry Double. Most of the cherry produce is consumed in New Delhi, which accounts for 70 per cent of Kashmir’s cherry exports. Mumbai is the second biggest market for Kashmiri cherries and there too demand has been always good. Apart from these Kashmir cherry is also sold in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Amritsar.
Deputy Director Planning Central, Horticulture Planning and Marketing, A R Wazir, says that so far out of the 741 metric tonnes of cherries harvested this year, 237 metric tonnes have been consumed locally and 504 metric tons have been sent to different cities in India.
“We are sending our fruit to almost all the big cities through air, train and road transport. So far we have fixed the rate for air transport from rupees 27 to 33 per kg to different locations across India. Also the train transport charges from Jammu to Mumbai and other cities range between rupees 400 to 450 per quintal,” he said.
Kashmir is mostly grown in Tangmarg, Harwan, Gandrbal and Shopian areas in Kashmir. Wazir says a production of 11429 metric tons of cherry was recorded in 2010 as 3437 hectares of land was under cherry production.
Fruits like cherry have small shelf life and after harvest are to be pre-cooled, stored, packed and carried under refrigeration to the terminal market. But only a small amount of the fruit is transported under controlled conditions, may a times leading to its spoilage.
The fruit growers say that every year they have to suffer losses for lack of cold storage.
“A portion of our production gets rotten because of the hot climate. Many times we have appealed the government to set up cold storage facility, but till now nothing substantial has been done in this regard.” Bashir Ahmad a fruit grower from Harwan said.
The government says that they are in the process of setting up cold storages. “We have finalized the proposals for setting up cold storage at important locations including, Parimpora, Anantnag, Sopore, Handawara, Narwal and Akhnoor,” deputy director Wazir said.
A crop insurance scheme could have proved a hedge for the growers against the vagaries of weather or other factors that lead to spoiling of the produce.
Deputy director of horticulture department, Bipan Pandita says that government is seriously thinking about putting a crop insurance mechanism in place. “After consultations with experts and banking sector some better scheme is expected which will be in favor of the fruit growers,” he said.


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AN HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch venture and financial technology firm R3 said separately yesterday that they had created ways of using blockchain technology to simplify trade finance processes.
The two banks said they had joined with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to emulate a letter of credit transaction. Letters of credit are one of the most widely used ways to reduce risk between importers and exporters, helping guarantee more than US$2 trillion worth of transactions, but the process creates a large paper trail and is time consuming.
R3 said more than 15 of its consortium member banks have also designed self-executing transaction agreements, known as smart contracts, on R3’s distributed ledger platform to process accounts receivable purchase transactions, known as invoice financing or factoring, and LOC transactions.
For more on this story visit the following link: Blockchain tech to ease trade finance
Source: Shanghai Daily


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United Parcel's most recent trend suggests a bullish bias. One trading opportunity on United Parcel is a Bull Put Spread using a strike $99.00 short put and a strike $94.00 long put offers a potential 28.21% return on risk over the next 17 calendar days. Maximum profit would be generated if the Bull Put Spread were to expire worthless, which would occur if the stock were above $99.00 by expiration. The full premium credit of $1.10 would be kept by the premium seller. The risk of $3.90 would be incurred if the stock dropped below the $94.00 long put strike price.
The 5-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the short-term momentum for United Parcel is bullish and the probability of a rise in share price is higher if the stock starts trending.
The 20-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the medium-term momentum for United Parcel is bullish.
The RSI indicator is at 65.66 level which suggests that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold at this time.
To learn how to execute such a strategy while accounting for risk and reward in the context of smart portfolio management, and see how to trade live with a successful professional trader, view more here
LATEST NEWS for United Parcel
Hedge Funds Have Never Been This Bullish On United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)
Fri, 29 May 2020 16:23:47 +0000
In this article you are going to find out whether hedge funds think United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is a good investment right now. We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research on a given stock. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus […]
UPS Slaps ‘Peak' Surcharge On Amazon, Walmart, Others, As Delivery Requests Balloon Post Lockdown Ease
Fri, 29 May 2020 08:38:58 +0000
United Parcel Services Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is imposing an additional fee for delivery requests from e-commerce companies that is common during peak seasons, Reuters reported Thursday.The move will come into effect on May 31 and apply to “large, high-volume shippers and companies that send oversized items,” according to Reuters.Major UPS clients include Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), and all these companies are likely to be affected by the latest policy.The e-commerce companies have seen a sudden rise in business as authorities across the United States lifted the lockdowns and the companies are planning to restart deliveries of non-essential items.Delivery services like UPS, or rival FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), typically impose these surcharges during the holiday season shopping surge.UPS and FedEx are also set to benefit from Amazon reportedly suspending its delivery service for third-party sellers on its platform starting June 1.UPS Price Action UPS shares closed 0.1% higher at $99.72 on Thursday and were mostly unchanged in the after-hours session.See more from Benzinga * FedEX, UPS Shares Surge As Amazon To Suspend Delivery Service For Third-Party Sellers Due To Increased Demand(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
UPS adds ‘peak' surcharge amid coronavirus fueled delivery spike
Fri, 29 May 2020 02:24:12 +0000
United Parcel Service Inc on May 31 will slap surcharges on U.S. e-commerce companies that have flooded its delivery network with shipments of everything from packaged food to patio furniture since the coronavirus took hold in March. Such fees are common during the winter holiday season, when package volumes more than double. This round follows stay-at-home orders to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus.
United Parcel Service (UPS) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Thu, 28 May 2020 21:50:09 +0000
United Parcel Service (UPS) closed the most recent trading day at $99.72, moving +0.1% from the previous trading session.
CVS, Nuro to test driverless prescription delivery in Houston area
Thu, 28 May 2020 18:53:34 +0000
CVS Health Corp and unmanned vehicle delivery Nuro in June will start testing a service that drops prescriptions and other essentials free of charge to some customers in the Houston area, the companies said on Thursday. CVS and other companies are experimenting with myriad ways to serve customers who may be reluctant or unable to visit stores due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has fueled demand for home delivery of everything from groceries and medicine to patio furniture and gardening supplies. Mountain View, California-based Nuro said in a blog post that the service in Houston will launch with its autonomous Prius fleet and then switch in subsequent months to R2, its low-speed, custom-built delivery bot.
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text: Marketing Book with obscene title becomes viral marketing phenomenon Thanks to a Facebook post, a book with the F-bomb in the title is No. 2 on Amazon’s bestsellers list—and it doesn’t come out until June. By Kevin Allen@kevin_j_allenMay 17, 2011 SHARE Mansbach wrote on his Facebook wall last June: “Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, Go the F**k to Sleep.” He was joking at the time, but eventually penned the book and sold a publisher on the idea. Now the book is No. 2 on Amazon’s bestsellers list. Originally, it was scheduled to hit bookshelves in October, but the release date was pushed forward to June. The buzz can be attributed to a leaked PDF of the 32-page book, which has also been optioned by Fox 2000 as a movie. Meanwhile, The New York Times featured the story a couple weeks ago. To read the full story, log in. Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content. Sign up today Already a member? Log in here. Learn more about Ragan Insider.


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Earlier in the year a new indie developer by the name of Reload Studios revealed its first every virtual reality (VR) title in the form of World War Toons, a first-person shooter. Though seen running on the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD), the developer has remaind quiet on which platforms the title will actually support. That’s changed today as Reload Studios has confirmed that World War Toons is coming to Project Morpheus.
The news was confirmed during Sony Computer Entertainment’s (SCE’s) E3 press conference today. World War Toons featured as part of a section that revealed a number of new titles coming to the PlayStation 4’s HMD. The title itself is a World War II-era multiplayer shooter with a cartoon-esque art style in which players face off in deathmatch based experiences.
Project Morpheus itself boasts a 1080p OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. VRFocus will continue to follow the title closely, reporting back with the latest updates on it.


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It’s the time of year when international design and architecture exhibits start to unveil new projects to consumers. However, this year will be different than any other for this community with the growing fears towards the coronavirus. It follows after health officials worldwide are beginning to prepare themselves for this global pandemic, with the rate of the infection becoming worse with each passing day. Considering that China is one of the most prominent markets for architecture and design communities, it’s expected that the overwhelming percentage of these events will be terminated.
Three locations have seen significant outbreaks of the coronavirus, with the People’s Republic of China being the largest. Next is South Korea, who have entered similar quarantine protocols like the PRC. The final outbreak location is located in Italy throughout the Northern Lombardy Region. One of the most notable venues cancelled in the Italian Region includes the “Salone Del Mobile”, which is considered the most prominent furniture trade show worldwide.
The Shocking Venues Not Cancelled
The 2020 Milan Fashion Week hasn’t been cancelled, but the event has been forcibly altered in multiple ways. It follows after increasing travel restrictions for international designers, models and consumers. Typically more than two thousand individuals arrive in Milan from the United States for the fashion week, with 2020 having only a select handful coming.
Staff members travelling from known outbreak destinations will be forced into self-quarantine, meaning their projects and clothing lines must be showcased through advertised video. It should be noted that even though Milan hasn’t cancelled their fashion week, both Shanghai and Beijing shut down their respective clothing venues.
Another event that shockingly wasn’t cancelled is the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale, which is slated to begin in May 2020. It was expected that this venue would be terminated with the growing outbreak throughout Italy, with health officials warning the public that the coronavirus will become worse before becoming better.
It should be noted that not even organized event in Italy hasn’t been stubborn and refused to shut down. The Venice Carnival was terminated last week after the Veneto Region became the second province in Italy to have the coronavirus outbreak. Now the biggest question looms over well-known events ending from the COVID-19 Virus, with that being the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Sporting analysts believe it’s inevitable.


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Buy Weed Online in New Jersey
Voters in the Garden State approved recreational marijuana legalization in November 2020 and on Thursday 12 dispensaries open for business. New Jersey officially began selling legal weed to anyone over 21 years old from medical marijuana dispensaries across the state. Under New Jersey’s new laws, recreational cannabis customers can legally buy marijuana online per sale for smoking; or concentrates, resins or oils; edible items, vapes and more. Recreational marijuana is now available in New Jersey from THC Bulk Supplies we deliver toall New Jersey top shelf weed and products.


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SoftBank mobile unit makes tepid debut on Tokyo market
TOKYO, Kyodo - SoftBank Group Corp.'s mobile phone unit debuted Wednesday on the Tokyo stock market, with its opening price falling short of its initial offering price of 1,500 yen ($13.3) in Japan's biggest initial public offering.
Shares of SoftBank Corp. opened at 1,463 yen on the first day of trading on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 2.5 percent below the IPO price, amid concerns over the outlook for the mobile phone unit due to repeated requests by the government to lower service fees and intensifying competition.
The market capitalization of the mobile phone service operator is estimated at 7,003.5 billion yen based on the opening price, the highest on the Tokyo bourse since Japan Post Holdings Co.'s listing in 2015 with a market valuation of 7.34 trillion yen.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. logged Japan's largest ever market capitalization based on the opening price in 1987 at 24.96 trillion yen.
SoftBank Group raised 2.65 trillion yen by offering 1.76 billion shares, or a 36.85 percent stake, it held in the mobile phone unit in Japan's largest-ever IPO.
The parent company is shifting its focus to investment in global tech start-ups such as semiconductor designer ARM Holdings and graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp. through its nearly $100 billion Saudi-backed Vision Fund.
"I would like to use the money raised through the IPO for additional investments in the Vision Fund and to pay back debt," SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said at a press conference last month.
SoftBank Group and its subsidiaries owed as much as about 18 trillion yen in total as of September this year, weighing on the share price of the telecommunication and investment giant, brokers said.
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. will become the fourth major mobile phone carrier in October 2019 joining the three current dominant operators NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Corp. (Kyodo)


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The US Federal Trade Commission released comments October 2nd on proposed regulations governing retail health clinics in Massachusetts. Here's a bit from the FTC's press release:
The FTC staff comments state that such clinics might expand access to basic health care services for certain consumers and might spur price or quality competition with more traditional clinics or physician practices. Therefore, DPH's proposal to permit them is commendable. The comments also state that the agency's proposal of regulatory flexibility "might be especially helpful in an emerging market, as health care providers explore different ways to deliver basic care on a competitive basis." At the same time, however, the comments state that the proposed requirement that all LSC advertising be pre-approved by the DPH "may be overly restrictive," and recommends that it be struck from the regulations.


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- Bloomberg•14 hours ago
Mylan NV engaged in a campaign to squash a rival to its EpiPen allergy treatment and artificially inflate the price of the drug to maintain a market monopoly, French drugmaker Sanofi said in a lawsuit ...
- TheStreet.com•14 hours ago
French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi on Monday filed a lawsuit against U.S. company Mylan.
- Reuters•15 hours ago
France's Sanofi SA on Monday sued Mylan NV, accusing the pharmaceutical company of engaging in illegal conduct to squelch competition to its EpiPen allergy treatment, which has been at the center of a public debate over drug prices. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, Sanofi said Mylan caused it to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales by erecting barriers to U.S. consumers' access to and use of a rival product, Auvi-Q.
SNY : Summary for Sanofi American Depositary Shar - Yahoo Finance
NYSE - NYSE Delayed Price. Currency in USD
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|Day's Range||45.72 - 46.16|
|52 Week Range||36.81 - 46.16|
Trade prices are not sourced from all markets
|PE Ratio (TTM)||23.75|
|Dividend & Yield||1.58 (3.46%)|
|1y Target Est||N/A|


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Heated competition at Vienna airport could cause dramatic “fares war”
IAG, the parent company of British Airways, has prepared a summer surprise for the airline market. 19 days before the start of its operation, they have announced the launch of a new low-cost carrier based at Vienna Airport.
Four Vienna-based 210-seat Airbus A321s will eventually fly to 14 destinations across Europe, including Gatwick and Palma from 17 July.
Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive, said: “We are launching this new short-haul subsidiary to provide Austrian consumers with more flight choices across Europe. These flights will be branded as Level to build upon the huge success of our new long-haul low-cost operation.”
Being based at Vienna airport, the new budget-airline could heat up the competition as the airport is home to Ryanair’s subsidiary Niki, launched by Niki Lauda, and easyJet.
The travel editor of the Independent, Simon Calder, has even called the situation as a space for “fares war”.
“We will serve the Austrian market with low-cost, reliable flights and will initially create around 200 new jobs at our Vienna base,” Walsh added.
“Customers can check-in online or at the airport and take one hand baggage item onboard for free. They can choose to pay for additional items, such as checked luggage, from a menu of options designed to suit a variety of budgets and needs. There will also be a large selection of food and drink which can be purchased on board.”


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, chief marketing officer at OpFunds
] devotes a lot of her time thinking about the advisors who sell OpFunds products.
"Advisors have a lot going on in their lives today, if I can make their sales process easier and better relate to their customers, that's what I want to do. That is what I look to do every day," she recently told MFWire
Case in point, OpFunds' latest ad campaign, launched earlier this month
, titled Growth.Income.Protection
The campaign, which was developed with the ad agency Havas Worldwide
is meant to help advisors "change the conversation" with investors, according to Willis.
"When advisors have these conversations with their clients, these talks are more about needs and then on how the advisor can deliver solutions to help with these needs," she said.
For example, in some of the ads, there is a grid that outlines OpFunds products along the three different need categories outlined in the campaign's title: Growth, Income and Protection. Willis says this grid helps investors understand how the different products are aligned to their needs.
"Some products may address only one component, while others may address two or even all three of these needs. With the grid, it is made clear," she said. "Investors looking at this have been telling us and their advisors that 'this makes things so much clearer. I do understand now where all of these products meet my individual needs.'"
Simplicity in advertising may sound like, um,…a simple goal, but Willis says that it's a concept that clients are yearning for. And achieving it is harder than it sounds.
Investors have so many things coming at them today. They have to be much more self reliant. People are living longer. You can't rely on social security any more. People are living longer. What are they going to do to make that income generating part? The markets are not necessarily delivering the returns they once did. That makes the whole investing conundrum a bigger issue that it was maybe for our grandparents. The campaign that we launched is really for simplifying that for the investor. Trying to focus it into the three needs of growth, income and protection. You now have a broader array of products for delivering on that. It's important to make sure that people understand how the products are aligned to these needs.
campaign follows on the momentum of another campaign, Globalize Your Thinking
, launched by OpFunds two years ago and also masterminded by Willis.
Willis, who has been with OpFunds for four years, said that the first campaign came about from a realization that she and her colleagues had about common investor perceptions about global markets.
"What we came to see was that there was a need for Americans to think more broadly about their investing strategies. They tended not to think outside of just the United States," she said.
One of the primary messages of the Globalize Your Thinking
campaign was "don't just invest in a country, invest in a company that would benefit from the growth trends happening around the world."
"It ran for two years," she said. "It was extremely successful."
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Who pulled more sales on Thanksgiving weekend? In this short and colorful data sheet, we break down which retailers got the most traffic, transactions and conversions on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Has Groupon's ship sailed? With its IPO pending, the group-buying leader has seen traffic decline nearly 50 percent since its peak in the second week of June. That's according to new Hitwise data, excluding mobile and app specific traffic.
The popularity of flash-sale websites with limited time and inventory offerings has grown exponentially over the past two years. Online shoppers’ love for the thrill of snagging designer clothing, home décor, travel and even wine has caused visits to the category to increase 368 percent in July 2011 as compared to the same month two years ago and 109 percent one year ago.
As we prepare for the 2011 holiday season, online and offline data confirm what we already know: consumers willingness to spend this year is up in the air.
Over the past three weeks, there's been a spate of discussion in the search engine marketplace about the reduced quality of Google's natural search results. The discussion has centered around two key issues:
Daily-deal websites are growing in popularity, as bargain-hungry holiday shoppers look for fun and easy-to-give items. Groupon is the most popular of the bunch, accounting for 79 percent of all U.S. group-buying site visits according to Hitwise and comScore.
Part two of this series examines what impact social media will have on retail going forward. In particular, opportunities to bridge online and offline customer experiences in order to seamlessly integrate multiple touchpoints and selling channels are identified.
In the final installment of this three-part series on how multichannel merchants should adjust their marketing budgets to account for an influx of Web traffic and buyers, this week I continue with my list of online programs that make sense to invest your resources in.


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Unemployment is low, and consumer confidence is high. But no matter how well the overall economy is doing, Americans are still focused on saving money.
Recent research from the National Retail Federation shows that the preference for value affects where consumers shop and what they buy.
A survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults found that 89% regularly shop at various types of discount retailers. Of those, 58% reported shopping at dollar stores; 50% shop at off-price stores like Ross or T.J. Maxx and discount grocers like Aldi or Lidl; 44% visit outlet stores; and 36% shop at thrift stores.
“Looking for the best price is a habit that cuts across almost every demographic,” NRF vice president for research development and industry analysis Mark Mathews said. “Regardless of income or generation, virtually everyone wants a bargain, whether it’s for everyday necessities or big-ticket splurges. Even those who can afford to shop elsewhere love finding a ‘steal,’ and it’s a habit that’s here to stay.”
The NRF’s “Consumer View” report noted that off-price and discount shopping took off during the recession. But even eight years into an economic recovery, those habits remain entrenched.
The survey found that discount shopping options appeal to consumers across age and income groups. Among those making under $50,000 a year, 89% say they shop at various discount retailers. The same is true for 88% of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 and 90% of those making more than $100,000. The ranks of bargain shoppers also include 93% of Millennials and members of Generation Z who are over the age of 18. Among the survey respondents who identified themselves as bargain shoppers, 47% were men and 53% were women.
Clothing was identified as the product consumers are most likely to purchase at bargain retailers, cited by 75% of those surveyed. Other top categories favored by bargain hunters are groceries (71%), home decor and furnishings (62%), personal care and beauty products (60%), and electronics (52%).
The survey also found that 43% of consumers visit a discount grocer weekly, and 66% go to a dollar store at least twice a month. In addition, 63% say they are buying more items on sale than they did five years ago.
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When will it end? Supply chain issues and inflation keep driving costs higher
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Whether it’s getting work done on your car or finishing a home improvement project, it will have a larger impact on your wallet. The impacts of supply chain problems and inflation continue to ripple across our economy.
Challenges brought on by the pandemic are continuing to drive up costs across the board, leaving many businesses to wonder when things will change.
“There’s really no crystal ball at this point as to when things are going to go back to normal,” said Ray Kaigle, who owns Kaigle’s Service Center in Burlington.
He says in recent months, his crew has had to pay higher prices to get parts in-house.
“Some of the pricing has gone up 20%. I used to almost be able to almost quote brake jobs for Hondas and Subarus and stuff, but now I have to call and make sure of what’s available and check the pricing on it,” he said.
Kaigle says they’ve had to wait weeks to get parts delivered, oftentimes putting the shop at the mercy of the shipping industry.
“The red lift, they put nine of those in a container in China and ship them here and it used to cost $5,000 or $6,000. Now, it’s like $32,000. I have cables ordered for this and they’ve been on order for six months,” Kaigle said.
It’s not just the automotive industry; those that rely on the construction industry are dealing with similar challenges.
“We have thousands of people that want this bar open, but whether it’s weather or supply chain issues, it just drags that out longer than what we want,” said Jason Hanny, the general manager at Shore Acres in North Hero.
Construction is underway for a new lakeside bar on the property but increasing construction costs haven’t made it easy.
“We don’t get the profits that we want to have coming out of the gate, so we just stretch it out. It’s math. We have our expectation on the three-year mark, but OK, now it’s going to be the five-year mark. What are you going to do? There’s really nothing you can do,” Hanny said.
Jim Bradley of Hayward Design Build is the contractor on the project. He says 1,000 board feet of lumber before the pandemic cost $300-$400, but now it’s right around $1,000.
“When they realize, ‘Oh my gosh, I thought I could get this done for $750,000 but this hugely expensive house is going to be $1.5 million.’ They say that’s not in the budget and they just go elsewhere,” Bradley said. “Usually, they don’t do the project is what happens. People’s expectations on what it costs to build a home have not metered up to where costs are today.”
Bradley says there is no way of knowing when the market will return to normal. He says they have had to work with clients to come up with cost-effective alternatives like different windows or seeing if one part of the project can wait until the supplies are more widely available.
Copyright 2022 WCAX. All rights reserved.


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Last summer, the partnership between Sony and Deviation Games was officially established for the creation of an exclusive PlayStation that has not yet been fully updated and, over the last few hours, has emerged thanks to the founder of the software house some details
The official YouTube channel of Deviation Games has in fact welcomed a new film during the evening in which also intervenes one of the founders of the company, namely Jason Blundell. The video in question is nothing more than a virtual walk with the developers, who during the film chat with the community about what they are doing and who did in 2021. One of the most interesting details emerging from this content is the exclusive PlayStation, since thanks to the words of Blundell we can find that the game has not yet entered production, a development phase that will only start next year. It is likely that it will take a long time before Sony and Deviation Games reveal something more to the public. What is curious is another sentence, however, since according to the developer it will be impossible not to recognize what game is looking at a screenshot. It would appear that the title belongs to a successful IP.
For those who did not know, Jason Blundell is a veteran of the video game industry and has collaborated for years with Treyarch: it is in fact one of the main faces that have given life to the Zombies mode of Call of Duty,


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T-Mobile USA will begin selling the iPhone 5 on April 12, letting customers buy the Apple device via an installment plan that dispenses with the industry’s typical long-term contracts.
Qualifying buyers can get the phone for $99.99 down, plus monthly payments of $20 for 24 months, T-Mobile said today at an event in New York. These monthly payments come on top of charges for phone service, which starts at $50 per month for unlimited calls and 500 megabytes of data.
The approach, part of what T-Mobile calls its “un-carrier” strategy, is a break from the practice of subsidizing smartphones in return for two-year contracts. By not relying on heavy phone discounts, T-Mobile says it can offer less burdensome terms and lower service prices.
“We’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience,” T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere said in a statement.
The company is trying to stand out from Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., the industry’s two largest competitors, which sell smartphones below cost to lock customers into contracts. T- Mobile, ranked fourth, is counting on the plan to reverse a customer exodus and win back customers. The company, owned by German phone carrier Deutsche Telekom AG, lost 2.1 million subscribers last year.
T-Mobile also is playing catch-up with its larger rivals in rolling out a network with long-term evolution, or LTE, technology. The company said today that it has begun offering the speedier standard in seven areas: Baltimore; Houston; Kansas City, Missouri; Las Vegas; Phoenix; San Jose, California; and Washington. Verizon, meanwhile, has LTE in more than 485 cities.
To help it compete, T-Mobile has a deal pending to combine with the fifth-largest carrier, MetroPCS Communications Inc. MetroPCS shareholders will vote on the merger on April 12.
In January, Legere said that offering the iPhone -- the top-selling smartphone in the U.S. -- will help end customer losses in 2014. T-Mobile is the last major U.S. carrier to begin selling the phone, following AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel Corp.


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Hundreds attend Tallcorn grand opening
“Amazed” was Cynthia Lee’s succinct, yet ebullient reaction after a tour at the Tallcorn Towers Tuesday afternoon.
Lee served as project manager for CommonBond, the St. Paul-based company which purchased the building from B.O. Bryngelson of Marshalltown in 2012 and invested $11 million dollars into the historic site.
Lee joined hundreds of Marshalltown area residents who turned out to visit at a public open house from noon to 2 p.m. hosted by CommonBond.
“They did a terrific job,” said Steve Sutherland of Marshalltown, who was inspecting the newly remodeled ballroom. “They used to have a bar in this room that was quite popular years ago.”
Sutherland was especially pleased that Frerichs Construction Co. of St. Paul, the general contractor, hired a local contractor, Delos Steward to do the plastering work in the stately room.
“These windows and chandeliers are spectacular,” Sutherland said.
One visitor inspecting the ballroom and other sections of the ground floor was Byrngelson.
“I like what they have done here,” he said.
Bryngelson said he thought CommonBond’s initiative to provide retail space on the Main Street side was a good idea.
“They (CommonBond) will bring it back just like it used to be,” he said. “It is a very nice enhancement.”
Michelle Drummer, of Marshalltown, a sales associate with CBRE Hubbell Commercial, was actively promoting the retail space to visitors. The company is marketing the space and there are several interested parties, Drummer said. “The interest picked up significantly when the windows were installed and the room finished,” she said.
While the ballroom and retail space attracted much attention, it will the building’s 49 apartments which will provide the return on CommonBond’s investment.
“There are 42 one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom apartments,” said Laura Frost of CommonBond, who was one of several staff conducting tours of apartments.
Visible are the original tile floor and some doors, installed years ago when the building was a shining star in the Eppley Hotel of Omaha, Neb. chain of 18.
Preservation guidelines were applied to interior and exterior improvements, including windows, and the stately ballroom-banquet room. But modern conveniences dominate, with each apartment having its own heating and cooling unit, new kitchen cabinets and modern bathroom fixtures.
Additionally, the building features a computer lab, laundry room, an arts and crafts facility, and a secure, 24/7 fitness facility.
Tuesday’s grand opening under CommonBond took place nearly 86 years after the Eppley Hotel Chain held a grand opening for the Hotel Tallcorn in October 1928, in the same ballroom admired by Tuesday’s visitors.
“The Tallcorn will be a real asset to the community,” Sutherland said.


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- Amazon is set to report its third quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, but all eyes will be on guidance.
- The third quarter is expected to be one filled with COVID-19 related safety investments and expansion of its fulfillment capacity, which could put a dent into profits.
- But fourth quarter guidance surrounding its October Prime Day event and the holiday shopping season should have a sizable impact on the direction of Amazon's stock price.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Amazon will release its third quarter earnings report after the market close on Thursday, with all eyes glued to its fourth quarter guidance.
While the third quarter is expected to be market by higher costs driven by COVID-19 related investments and fulfillment capacity expansion, its current quarter is poised to reap those benefits.
Fourth quarter guidance will be closely watched as it will include for the first time ever both results from Amazon's once-a-year sales event, Prime Day, as well as the holiday shopping season.
The results and outlook should give a read into how the consumer is holding up amid the COVID-19 pandemic and sharpest economic decline since the Great Depression.
Here's what four Wall Street analysts expect from Amazon's third quarter earnings report.
1. Goldman Sachs
Price Target: $4,200
"We expect Amazon to report Q3 results above consensus expectations on revenue and profitability given continued retail outperformance, particularly in North America, and ongoing growth in both the higher margin AWS and advertising businesses. We expect Q4 guidance to come in above consensus for both revenue and operating income as the company sees the combined impact of the current pandemic on the seasonal demand of Q4 and scales newer infrastructure/delivery initiatives," Goldman said.
"We believe the market continues to underestimate the long-term value of the Amazon platform as the leader in both the movement of retail online and compute into the cloud. Therefore, we continue to believe Amazon represents the best risk/reward in the Internet sector," Goldman concluded.
2. Bank of America
Price Target: $3,560
Bank of America laid out the bull and bear case for Amazon's third quarter earnings report.
Bull case: "Less deceleration than expected as penetration remains elevated, with 4Q revenue guidance also ahead of Street on Prime Day shift to 4Q."
Bear case: "Rev[enue] deceleration exceeds projections as offline retailers gained ground in 3Q, and AWS margins miss, fueling concerns that longer-term deals are being done at lower margins."
In terms of the conference call, BofA will be watching the following: "1) Potential 4Q deceleration given conservatism offset by Prime Day; 2) AWS commentary with possible near-term economic impact on workloads and new spending; 3) Impact of expansive fulfillment and logistics capacity build out on 4Q unit growth and margins."
"We see Amazon as well positioned for Holiday 2020 with the product mix more balanced, enhanced logistics capacity, and 100k new fulfillment employees. With the stock up 74% YTD (vs. S&P up 5%), expectations are high, and we think Street focus will be on expected duration of demand uptick, progress in consumables, ability to cut costs when trends normalize, Prime member adds, and advertising progress," BofA concluded.
3. Deutsche Bank
Price Target: $4,050
"We remain bullish on Amazon and look for elevated growth to continue through the holiday season as retail foot traffic remains depressed, more fulfillment center capacity comes online, and the company benefits from significant owned last mile delivery capability with [Amazon Logistics]," Deutsche Bank said.
The firm forecasts a slowdown in growth for AWS to 27.4%, but thinks "near-term results here are less meaningful given our work suggests that the pandemic is causing enterprises to ultimately plan to move more to the cloud over the medium term, setting the stage for re-acceleration in AWS revenue growth in 2021."
Deutsche Bank sees upside potential to its $5.0 billion operating income estimate, with $3.4 billion coming from AWS and another $1.6B from the retail segment.
Price Target: $3,500
Stifel expects Amazon to continue posting strong growth as retail spend shifts to online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue growth of 33% year-over-year in the third quarter is expected by Stifel, along with an operating margin of 5.3%, which is ahead of consensus estimates.
Stifel highlights that Amazon is anticipated to have invested $2 billion in COVID-19 related initiatives as well as ramped up investment in fulfillment capacity to support stronger volume ahead of the holiday season.
"This quarter, Amazon faces a more difficult compare given the record Prime Day in the prior year along with a number of one-time items that elevated 3Q:19 revenue. Third party eCommerce sales figures from Adobe pointed to deceleration in July as offline stores reopened, with further slowing into Labor Day, though eCommerce sales remain well above pre-COVID levels," Stifel said.
"The backdrop for eCommerce remains favorable as we enter the holiday season and we believe Amazon should remain a core holding," Stifel concluded.
Read more: Bank of America's restaurant analyst told us the 7 stocks that will likely thrive as frigid winter weather rocks the industry — and broke down the factors that may hurt certain popular destinations


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HLAA applauds the FCC’s release of its Public Notice on hearing aid compatible wireless phones. The issues the FCC raises are of vital importance to people with hearing loss who depend on wireless phones, particularly in an emergency.
HLAA has long sought 100% access to wireless phones. People with hearing loss should not be left behind: we should not have to struggle to find a phone or use a phone that works well with our own hearing devices. It’s critical that everyone is able to make a phone call on their own wireless device as easily and successfully as they take a picture. Ensuring that all phones are compatible with hearing aids goes a long way to achieve that goal.
See the FCC's public notice at http://www.fcc.gov/document/


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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb. 10 /CNW/ - Major US grocery chain Whole Foods Market today announced that it will no longer buy transportation fuel linked to Canada's Tar Sands and has already switched suppliers in favour of a less dirty fuel source. Bed Bath & Beyond, a home accessories retailer, also released a new policy encouraging transportation providers to avoid high impact fuels such as those from refineries using Tar Sands.
These are the first corporate responses to ForestEthics United States-based Tar Sands campaign, which launched six months ago with a letter to Fortune 500 companies warning that continued use of transportation fuels from Canada's Tar Sands puts their brands at risk.
"Here is a clear sign that corporate America is starting to turn its back on dirty oil from the Tar Sands," said Nikki Skuce of ForestEthics, a North American environmental group known for convincing Victoria's Secret to stop sourcing its paper from Canada's endangered forests. "This is yet another example of the world embracing cleaner energy while Canada is expanding, investing in and heavily promoting Tar Sands oil."
Whole Foods, which has hundreds of outlets across the United States, was able to track its supply chain for transportation fuels and found Tar Sands oil was being used in its fuel supply. The total vehicle miles driven by Whole Foods' internal fleet each year is approximately 21,615,000. Fuel moved to a new Tar Sands free supplier accounts for about 10 per cent of that amount.
"The issue here is that major US retailers want to do right by their increasingly green-minded consumers and protect their brands," added Skuce.
According to Whole Foods' new policy, "Whole Foods Market is committed to working towards the elimination where possible of its use of fuels produced by refineries that use feedstock from Canada's Tar Sands. This decision has already led to a change in the fuel Whole Foods Market uses for one of its distribution centers."
According to Bed Bath & Beyond's new policy, "Of current and particular concern, in light of this policy statement and these objectives, are fuels produced by refineries taking feedstocks from the Canadian Tar Sands. Fuels from these refineries are deemed to have higher than normal GHG footprints and environmental and social impacts. We will be following up with our service providers on this issue, through our bid process and those that we have update meetings with to continue to remind them of our position and concern."
SOURCE ForestEthics Advocacy
For further information: For further information: Nikki Skuce, ForestEthics, (250) 877-7762


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In a restyle being referred to as “transformational,” the 2018 RLX is set to debut during the prestigious Monterey Automotive Week, August 15-19 on the Monterey Peninsula. The overall goal of the redesign, according to Acura Vice President and General Manager Jon Ikeda, was “creating road presence and styling that better reflect underlying performance capabilities of the vehicle,” and as Acura’s best-performing sedan to date, the 2018 RLX spares no expense when it comes to delivering power, luxury, and performance unlike any of its contemporaries.
With a new look punctuated by Acura’s signature diamond pentagon grill, combined with a few nods to the NSX, the new RLX aims to deliver a top-of-the-line luxury sports sedan experience unparalleled in today’s market. Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive™, technology shared with the NSX, blends seamlessly with the 377-horsepower V-6 engine, which features three electric motors in addition to Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ for instant acceleration and dynamic handling. The Sport Hybrid’s 310-horsepower variant will come included with a new 10-speed Automatic Transmission, creating a more sophisticated driving experience than other vehicles in the segment.
A host of new features and tech compliment the impressive performance of the RLX, including Traffic Jam Assist, an Acura first. Through the implementation of Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Traffic Jam Assist is able to determine an appropriate following distance in relation to the car in front of it, while simultaneously maintaining lane precision and consistency. Once placed in tandem with the other driver assistive technologies included in AcuraWatch™, like Road Departure Mitigation, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Keep Assist, the new RLX helps to reduce driver stress and anxiety like never before.
As if class-leading space and comfort weren’t enough, the new RLX ups the ante on stylized luxury as well, offering standard features that include Surround View Camera, ventilated and heated front seats, a premium Krell Audio System, and more. Additionally, the RLX will feature three new exterior colors, two new premium paint offerings (Brilliant Red Metallic and Majestic Black Pearl), and a new Espresso interior option, providing a sophisticated compliment to the high contrast piping and stitching present throughout the cabin of the RLX.
The 2018 Acura RLX will be featured at multiple events throughout Monterey Automotive Week including the Carmel-By-The Sea Concours on the Avenue on Tuesday, August 15 and The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, on Friday, August 18. While no exact sale date has been determined, expect to see the new 2018 RLX in dealerships in November of this year.


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By Jeremy Greenfield, Editorial Director, Digital Book World, @JDGsaid
Joining the iPad, Kindle Fire and others, Kobo will sell its Vox tablet in bricks-and-mortar retail stores in the U.S.
The Vox, a seven-inch full-color tablet computer running Google Android, will join Kobo e-reader products on the shelves of major U.S. retailer Best Buy, the company announced today.
Toronto-based Kobo debuted the Vox in the U.S. in late October. Though it shipped nearly two weeks before its biggest competitor, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, it was dogged by user complaints on Twitter and elsewhere.
In November, Kobo was acquired by Japanese firm, Rakuten, a company Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis called “the Amazon of Japan.” In an interview with Digital Book World, Serbinis hinted that the Vox would become for Rakuten what the Fire is for Amazon: an entire retail store in the hands of consumers.
Best Buy had 1,105 stores in the U.S. at the end of the company’s third quarter 2012, ending November 26 2011, according to its latest SEC quarterly filing. In addition to the Vox, Best Buy also sells Apple’s iPad, the Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color and others.
Write to Jeremy Greenfield


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Agency's investigation will include questions about whether patent assertion entities coordinate their lawsuits, The New York Times reports.
The civil liberties group claims AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint aren't doing enough to protect users' private data because they're not sending out timely Android security updates.
Agency awards $50,000 in cash prizes as it turns to the private sector for help eradicating long-running annoyance of the technology era.
The agency says that when celebrity tweeters want to promote something, they have to follow some new guidelines -- or else.
HTC agrees to settle a complaint filed against it for its allegedly lax security practices that may have put millions of smartphone users at risk.
One-day event isn't intended to produce new regulations, but instead highlight "emerging mobile security threats and trends."
The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission steps down after a 4-year tenure of tackling online privacy issues and anticompetitive behavior.
Get started with Apple Pay
Here are some tips and tricks on how to spend money with your iPhone 6.


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You can’t buy a lot for $4—maybe a cup of coffee or muffin. But at about a dozen Walmart stores across the South, $4 will get employees a visit to a nurse practitioner at an in-store clinic. It’s part of a new primary care program that Walmart is testing in three states.
Eric Klein leads the healthcare team at the national law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton. He says Walmart could actually come out ahead in the big picture.
“You have to look at the entire cost,” he says. “It’s not just the $4 copay, it’s the entire cost.”
Klein says if employees go to an on-site clinic owned by Walmart, the company could save money on doctor visits and insurance premiums. Cutting out the middle men could bring down the cost of Walmart’s insurance plans.
Dr. Harris Berman, the dean of the medical school at Tufts University, agrees.
“If the employees are getting it done here for $4, it won’t show up in their insurance bill,” he says.
With more than a million employees and their dependents on the Walmart health plan, the program could help shape the primary care market if it goes nationwide.
Jennifer LaPerre, Walmart’s senior director of health and wellness, says the company has a “unique opportunity” to help provide lower-cost care. LaPerre says the $4 figure is also part of Walmart’s branding strategy, in keeping with the $4 generic drug program that it launched in 2006.
Klein says Walmart also wins by having clinics just steps away from the checkout lines.
“By taking better care of their employees they actually get better results economically,” Klein says. “Less absenteeism, and that’s a real cost savings over time.”
Walmart is piloting the idea for now; planning to open about a dozen clinics by the end of the year in Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina. LaPerre says Walmart is choosing stores in areas with high rates of chronic disease and a shortage of primary care doctors.
If the concept works, Walmart may take it nationwide.
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Growth in Kenya to Plunge to 1.5%
The World Bank is forecasting a slow economic growth of 1.5 percent this year in Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy persist.
Assuming that the pandemic is contained, it is predicted that the economic growth would rebound to around 5.6 percent. However, the lingering locust invasion, potential for a drought and lingering weather-related issues such as the floods affecting 29 counties pose as reservations to the Bank’s predictions.
The Bank’s predictions and reservations come just a day after the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection projected Kenya’s growth to 2.5 percent this year, down from the 5.4 percent recorded last year.
The pandemic has slashed the demand for Kenya’s agricultural exports, brought the tourism sector to its knees and is expected to not greatly benefit from remittance inflows.
The Agriculture ministry has launched KSh1.5-billion programme to protect tea and coffee farmers from exploitation and to safeguard the sectors.
The programme targets eight counties that account for 70 percent of the country’s coffee exports and is funded in part by the World Bank.