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When states and countries legalize cannabis, new businesses appear out of nowhere. California legalized recreational marijuana at the very beginning of 2018. Within two weeks, two dozen Los Angeles businesses got approval to sell recreational products. The cannabis industry grows very quickly.
They're hardly the only state to be expanding; the 2018 midterm elections saw Michigan voters elect to legalize recreational marijuana, while Missouri and Utah voted in favor of medical marijuana. Dispensaries keep getting license to sell recreational weed products, necessitating more products from more businesses. It's a growing industry, and people are starting to see that there's money to be made here.
So where does that leave you, the intrigued investor? Well, you have a lot of options. Both directly and indirectly, there are a number of ways you can turn cannabis into one of the more intriguing investments in your portfolio.
If you're wary, you wouldn't be the only one. None of these are recommendations. Cannabis remains illegal federally, and financial resources are limited. In addition, while the industry expands, the initial stocks haven't exploded quite the same way. People looking to make an immediate profit probably won't find it. But if you believe in the potential of cannabis investments and are willing to make long-term investments, here are some of the ways you can do that.
Cannabis Medical Products & Companies
Cannabis stocks are such a new and unusual investment that even compared to your usual investments, there's no such thing as a "safe bet." But should you choose to take a chance, medical marijuana presents you with more options. Far more states have legalized medical than recreational cannabis, and Canada has had medical weed for nearly two decades.
There are some investments that can be found on major stock exchanges both in the U.S. and Canada - for example, GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) , whose CBD-based epilepsy drug Epidiolex was recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). However, many of them exist on over-the-counter exchanges (OTC), where securities and stocks are traded through dealers as opposed to a centralized network like NASDAQ.
Make sure you know where marijuana is legal, whether you plan to invest in medical or other fields of cannabis. Medical marijuana in the U.S. has continued to grow, but being deemed federally illegal has stifled cannabis research, which has hindered the ability for more medical marijuana companies to get FDA approval. As a result, more investment options for medical cannabis are found in Canada.
Canadian Cannabis Companies
Some of these Canadian companies have shown themselves to be intriguing players in the market. OrganiGram (OGRMF) , a licensed producer and grower of medical marijuana, is coming off a strong Q2 as of this writing. As the number of medical cannabis patients in the country grows, so have OrganiGram's sales, in no small part due to their production of cannabis oil.
Canopy Growth Corporation (TWMJF) is another popular option, a Canadian company that not only produces but researches and studies cannabis. It was valued at around $4.35 billion earlier in 2018, and Bank of Montreal helps finance it, giving it a competitive advantage. One of its main competitors, Aurora Cannabis (ACB) , is expanding its number of growth facilities and purchased competitor CanniMed Therapeutics. Recently, it was announced that Aurora had also branched out into Mexico by purchasing Farmacias Magistrales S.A., Mexico's only federally licensed importer of raw materials that include THC.
The first cannabis company to actually trade on a major U.S. exchange was a Canadian company, Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) , which trades on the NASDAQ. Like Aurora, Cronos is doing its share of growing, expanding internationally. What has drawn some people toward it is what has scared others away: volatility. Its decline earlier in the year never stopped it from having random days of jumping up 14%, and it got a nice boost later in 2018 after they received a massive investment from Altria Group (MO) . Another Canadian company, Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC) , recently began trading on NYSE.
Another recent milestone for Canadian marijuana stocks is the emergence of Tilray (TLRY) on the market, becoming the first marijuana company to have an initial public offering. Tilray, which advertises itself as a multi-faceted medical cannabis company, was priced at $17 a share, and quickly rose over 21% in the wake of the IPO. Tilray has ended up becoming not just one of the most intriguing weed stocks on the market, but one of the most intriguing stocks overall thanks to a wild September that at one point saw Tilray shares rise over $200. It has fallen significantly since then, hovering around $100 as of this update.
Unfortunately, with medical cannabis not as widespread here as it is in Canada, the market is a bit lacking. This is why people have sought to find Canadian companies, which are far more plentiful.
Cannabis & CBD Retailers
It's much less common than medicinal, but recreational marijuana has its highest approval rating in the U.S. since that was something surveys tracked. Cannabis is 100% legalized, including recreationally, in nine states and Washington D.C. After months of people wondering when full legalization would come in Canada, the coutnry finally officially legalized recreational cannabis in October of 2018, later than the summer as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially promised.
Medicinal cannabis companies will certainly benefit from the new customers, but it would also require more expenses to keep up with demand. That's important to remember; there's money to be made, but there's money that must be spent too. Not every weed stock is gonna spit out profits just because it gets legalized.
Some companies, though, have been preparing for the event where recreational marijuana is legal and distribution needs to expand, and they may be worth looking into. Scott's Miracle-Gro, Co. (SMG) has acquired multiple companies over the years like General Hydroponics and Sunlight Supply - producers of cannabis growing supplies.
One important company to keep an eye on doesn't have a public stock to trade - yet. MedMen Enterprises is a highly successful retailer of cannabis products, with dispensaries in several states. MedMen has revealed that they plan to go public, and just how they'll be doing it - with a reverse takeover (or RTO) of OutdoorPartner Media Corporation, which is currently unlisted. It may be worth keeping an eye on the details and when they officially go public.
Read more about what CBD is if you want to learn more.
As marijuana stocks become more of a common occurrence, so do marijuana exchange-traded funds (ETF). ETFs allow for trading a number of different securities in one fund, bringing a diverse portfolio. They're tempting, but they are also even newer than cannabis stocks. And if banks are still wary of individual cannabis stocks, they're definitely going to be wary of a fund with multiple.
So stay cautious. Horizons ETFs has a cannabis fund, Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ) is a popular choice that trades previously mentioned companies like Aurora and Canopy Growth. ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ) is a fund that focuses exclusively on pot stocks, while the newer Evolve Marijuana ETF (TSX: SEED) is almost entirely Canadian stocks, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Due to the number of prominent Canadian cannabis producers, the reliance on Canada's companies and economies is thought of as another risk with ETFs. If something happens to Canada's economy, that's a lot of Canadian stocks you'll have crashing at once.
Read more about what cannabis ETFs are if you want to learn more.
Hemp Stock: Industrial Hemp
Looking to get in on the ground floor of cannabis? If you want to invest directly in the production of cannabis, there's actually a way to do that.
Hemp Inc. (HEMP) has been around since 2008 and seeks to be a one-stop shop for hemp production. Growing it, extracting ingredients from it, fiber processing, even selling products made for the maintenance of hemp. The hemp plant may be about to have a big moment, as the Senate is considering an upcoming bill that, if passed, would legalize industrial hemp on a federal level. Currently, hemp is only able to be legally cultivated if it is under a state pilot program or for the purposes of approved academic research.
This bill, the 2018 Farm Bill, has a lot more substance to it besides the hemp legalization, but should it pass this would make products like CBD oil made from hemp federally legal to be manufactured, sold and purchased. If it passes, a company like Hemp Inc. that had been there this whole time working in states with their own laws would probably have an advantage against the competition.
How to Invest in Marijuana Stocks in 2018 - Without the Marijuana
A smart bet when dealing with marijuana investments may be to find a stock where cannabis is just one part of what the company does, or even just relates to it indirectly.
Abbvie Inc. (ABBV) , for example, is generally just a pharmaceutical stock. However, the company also marketed Marinol, an FDA-approved synthetic cannabinoid meant to help nausea and vomiting in cancer and AIDS patients. INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. (INSY) is a pharmaceutical company that got approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for a synthetic cannabis - despite having donated to anti-marijuana advocacy groups in the past.
Remember Canopy Growth? Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) , which produces several successful brands of beer and liquor like Corona, recently bought a 9.9% minority stake in the company. That's certainly an option for those who are interested in cannabis stocks but prefer safer investments and more well-known entities.
Looking to invest in cannabis without investing in cannabis at all? Companies like Kush Bottles (KSHB) may be for you. Kush Bottles doesn't grow, produce, or sell cannabis. They distribute bottles, packages, and supplies for cannabis wholesale to dispensaries, growers, and more. A fast-growing company with solid sales, it's a tangential way to possibly play the cannabis market.
These all, of course, come with shared and unique risks. Cannabis stocks are more volatile than your average stock, and the legality of cannabis is always hard to define exactly. It's a changing world for marijuana, and how you think it will continue to change will determine whether or not you want to invest.


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Face-to-face communication with clients is generally the norm for Japanese companies selling houses, cars and other very expensive items, but the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has seen a shift to online marketing tactics.
Daiwa House Industry Co., for example, has set up a website that allows customers to choose their preferred designs and interiors and offers recommendation from more than 2,000 properties across the country except Okinawa Prefecture.
The company hopes to see strong demand from people in their 20s and 30s, as they are more accustomed to buying items online compared to older generations, and it says it has been overwhelmed by the response so far with a big increase in the number of viewers to its website.
For customers, a detailed explanation of the product and follow-up support in person are important, but the new marketing methods have gradually gained a foothold in the country, with Toyota Motor Corp. being no exception.
Toyota started online sales for all its cars, apart from the Lexus models, late last month.
The service allows customers to select a preferred dealer and get price estimates for their car of choice.
While payment cannot currently be done online, Toyota has said it will even create a system by which customers can do so in the not-so-distant future.
Toyota said it had planned to install the new marketing strategy before the outbreak, and believes usage will only increase as a result of customers being concerned about direct sales negotiations.

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Considering Kylie Jenner just dropped her lip gloss line, we weren't expecting any new products from the makeup mogul for a while.
We were wrong.
Over the weekend, Kylie revealed she was dropping three metallic shades specifically for Coachella. The sparkly shades all have regal names — Reign, King, and Heir — and continue Kylie's legacy of naming products after family members other than Kim.
Kylie didn't announce when the new colors would be dropping, but, um, Coachella kicks off...this weekend, so it must be soon. Good thing Coachella is two weekend now, eh, Kylie?


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Investors are about to find out in which electric vehicle (EV) camp Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) resides. Is it a struggling start-up like Lucid Group that is about to lower its production estimates for the second time this year? Or is it a budding juggernaut that will soon dominate its niche markets like Tesla? The company will likely offer some clues when it reports its second-quarter financial update this Thursday, Aug. 11. Whether the update moves the stock up or down in the short term, investors should be wary of the potential news and proceed deliberately with
any thoughts of investing in Rivian. When Rivian reported its 2021 fourth-quarter and full-year earnings in February 2022, it told investors that it would only be able to produce 25,000 vehicles for the full year even though it already had equipment and processes in place at its Illinois factory to support the production of 50,000. That was due to supply chain constraints that had limited the availability of parts and materials needed for both its R1 platform consumer trucks as well as the electric delivery vehicles (EDVs) ordered by Amazon. Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei "MotleyFool"


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IN NEW YORK, PRICES RISE BY 1.5 PERCENT; January Figure Is Largest Monthly Increase for the Metropolitan Region in Last Five Years Clothing Was an Exception National Rate Is Higher Yet
By EDWARD SCHUMACHER ();
February 23, 1980,
, Section , Page 9, Column , words
The cost of almost everything consumers in the New York metropolitan area buy rose last month, causing the largest seasonally adjusted increase in consumer prices in five years.


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Amaysim, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that runs on the Optus network and has around 500,000 subscribers in Australia, ranked the highest of all the telcos in a customer satisfaction survey of 50,000 Australians, beating the likes of Telstra and Optus itself.
“Awards like this are the best kind of reward for our daily work because they’re decided based on feedback from the people who matter most – our customers,” said amaysim founder and CEO Rolf Hansen
“What makes this award even sweeter is that we’ve won it by simply keeping our heads down and getting on with the business of customer service."
“It seems, based on this news and the fact that we have over half a million customers and not a single long-term contract to lock them in, that people are catching on to the fact that there’s finally a better mobile deal in town.”
Amaysim bills itself as a low cost, flexible carrier where customers can save up to 50% of their phone bill and not deal with lock-in contracts or flag falls.
This award also follows amaysim's recent award for receiving highest overall rating for mobile customer satisfaction in the Telsyte Australian Mobile Services Market Study 2013 – 2017, which ranked the MVNO ahead of all other Australian mobile service providers in areas from pricing through to customer support.
As we reported earlier this month that report also highlighted that 46% of Australians are considering switching their mobile service provider in 2014.
Hansen told iTWire the awards were thanks to amaysim's "ever-expanding online customer service offerings, which help people manage their accounts when and how they want, combining e-commerce with easy-to-use mobile apps and no-nonsense plans where what you see is what you get".
"We never rest and we'll keep trying to improve a little bit here and a little bit there, and if there's one thing that we'll continue to drive it's the online world of amaysim. Last year we launched free same-day delivery to Melbourne and Sydney CBD, and you'll see constant evolution of our ability to serve customers wherever they are," he told iTWire in an interview.
“While price will always be important, Aussies are increasingly confirming our view that if companies don’t have things like customer service and online support sorted out, people will vote with their feet. With handset subsidies on the way out – meaning there’s less attraction for people to sign ridiculous one or two year mobile contracts – the switching movement that gained momentum over the last three years is set to kick into high gear in 2014.”
"In the end, the differentiation of MVNos will not be price, but it'll be user experience. And that's where we're going to invest and work hard."
This latest award is a rare bright spot for MVNOs, which have otherwise had a tough year with Kogan failing spectacularly and Vodafone MVNO Crazy John's pulling out of the market.
Other winners in the Roy Morgan survey included Apple's iPhone for 'handset provider of the year', while Internode took out the prize for 'home Internet service provider of the year.' Bank of the year went to the Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank.


text: In the ongoing press conference in Computex 2013, Asus launched the next version of its highly popular transformer pad with a significantly upgraded set of specifications. Named as Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, the device is the world’s first 10.1 inch tablet powered by Tegra 4 processor. Asus Transformer Pad infinity boasts a 10.1 inch IPS display with an impressive resolution of 2560×1600 pixels. The device runs on Android 4.2.2 and powered by 1.9 GHz Tegra 4 Cortex A15 processor along with GeForce graphics card from Nvidia and 2GB Ram. The beast configuration can very well handle any of the high quality games that exist for Android. Needless to say, it will come with a dock featuring keyboard and touchpad that can be attached to the device turning the tablet into a mini notebook (that’s why its called transformer). There’s no word on the availability and pricing of the device. Asus has started its Press conference at Computex 2013 and is expected to launch some flagship. Stay tuned with us to keep an eye on the upcoming launches.


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Verizon profit edges up 2.8% but shares decline
Verizon Wireless dazzled investors in the third quarter, but not enough to distract them from worries about the wired side of Verizon Communications Inc., where losses of traditional phone customers accelerated, profit margins eroded and costs from a “bet the company” push into cable TV rose.
Verizon’s stock slid after Monday’s third-quarter report, which showed that the company’s net income rose 2.8% to $1.92 billion, or 66 cents a share.
Revenue grew nearly 26% to $23.25 billion, but a big chunk of that increase came from the addition of MCI and its consumer long-distance and corporate telecom businesses, which Verizon acquired during the first quarter.
Verizon Wireless accounted for $9.87 billion of the revenue, up 18.2% from the third quarter of 2005, as its customer base swelled by 1.9 million subscribers to 56.7 million.
The results edged or met most Wall Street forecasts, with the cellular business outperforming expectations on multiple fronts.
But in a conference call with management after the report, analyst questions focused more on Verizon’s deteriorating traditional phone business and its huge investment in replacing copper wires with fiber optic lines to deliver TV and speedier Internet access.
The ongoing loss of residential and business phone lines exceeded expectations, hurting profit margins from that operation. At the end of the quarter, Verizon had nearly 46 million lines in service, down 7.5% from a year earlier.
Verizon disclosed a bigger dent to earnings from the launch of its fiber optic services, called FiOS, in parts of 16 states where the lines have been installed. Executives said it had cost more than expected to acquire certain cable programming.
As a result, FiOS is now expected to reduce 2006’s per-share profit by an additional 2 cents, with the overall costs of upgrading the network, hooking up customers and delivering the services expected to total 31 cents or 32 cents a share.
Verizon shares fell $1.19, or 3.1%, on Monday to $37.65.


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Outlook Uncertain as Businesses Face Unstable Economy
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (June 23, 2016) – The most recent Florida Chamber Foundation Small Business Index Survey shows 22 percent of Florida’s small businesses say government regulations are their top concern, up from 10 percent last quarter. Florida small businesses are particularly concerned with recent changes to Federal overtime regulations.
Economic uncertainty was reported as the second highest concern, with 20 percent of respondents listing it as their top obstacle in hiring new employees. The results also indicate that 27 percent of respondents expect the economy to weaken over the next year, up from 13 percent last quarter. Only 38 percent of respondents reported that their business was better off than six months ago, compared to 46 percent last quarter.
“The overall outlook is less positive than it was in the last quarter, with government regulations appearing as the top issue,” said Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research, Florida Chamber Foundation. “Florida’s small businesses are still concerned about the economy and workforce quality, but the good news is that many small businesses are still planning to hire new employees and plan to make capital investments in the coming year.”
The Florida Chamber’s Small Business Index Survey shows:
- Top Issues Facing Small Businesses:
Government regulations (22 percent)
- Economic Uncertainty (20 percent),
- Workforce Quality (18 percent),
- Taxes (8 percent),
- Access to Capital (7 percent),
- Growth Management Process (7 percent),
- 18 percent listing some other issue as their top concern.
47 percent of respondents indicated that sales were up over the past three months, down from 53 percent in last quarter’s survey.
- 35 percent of respondents employ less than five employees,
- 43 percent of respondents employ 5 to 49 employees,
- 10 percent employ 50-99 employees and
- 12 percent of respondents employ from 100-499 employees.
“Small businesses continue to face a number of challenges, including increased government regulations,” said Debra Harvey, Chair, Florida Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council and President, Ron Jon Surf Shop. “As we work together on the Florida Chamber Small Business Council, we look forward to identifying solutions that support our business community and grow this important economic engine.”
The Florida Chamber’s Small Business Index Survey was conducted electronically June 1, 2016 through June 17, 2016. Click here to view the full report.
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Yes, we know we’ve talked about this set more than four times in the last week. Do you blame us?
On episode 11 of EPIC Radio, Eric Prydz released the full quality rip of his own EPIC 5.0 set from London, and the sound of his few IDs fully articulated is as beautiful as we would have imagined. The two-hour extravaganza features four brand new tracks, plenty of classics given a small new coat of paint for the show, and the newest track from his new-new alias Tonja Holma, who is expected to release on “Pryda Presents” soon.
Check out the whole set below.


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A little bit of controversy can be intriguing, but too much turns consumers off, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Controversial topics can make consumers uncomfortable (since they worry about offending others) and therefore less likely to discuss them. Whether or not consumers are willing to discuss a controversial topic depends on a combination of their level of interest and comfort (or discomfort)," write authors Zoey Chen (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Jonah Berger (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania).
Conventional wisdom has it that controversy generates more buzz, but the authors found that consumers are less likely to discuss controversial topics or brands. And some topics or brands are more controversial than others. For example, brands like Quaker Oats and Hallmark are less controversial than Marlboro and Walmart. And topics like exercise or the weather are less controversial than abortion or same-sex marriage.
The authors analyzed more than 200 articles from a news website (Topix.com) to measure how the controversy level of an article corresponded to the number of comments it received. They found that moderately controversial articles received more comments than articles that were either less or more controversial.
Then, in a series of lab experiments, the authors found that context--such as whether or not people disclose identity and whether they are talking to strangers or friends--affects comfort levels. "When social acceptance is less of a concern (when people are communicating anonymously), or less threatened by the discussion of controversial topics (when communicating with friends), the importance of the discomfort factor is reduced," the authors explain.
Even though consumers may touch on controversial topics with friends (or when they're posting anonymously), companies' attempts to evoke anything more than a moderate level of controversy can backfire and end up generating less buzz.
"While negative attention can sometimes make consumers more interested in a topic, you should avoid evoking more than a moderate level of controversy if you want to generate more word-of-mouth," the authors conclude.


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A first-of-its-kind reuse program to be designed in collaboration with major Canadian grocers and the Government of Canada aims to eliminate single-use plastics as the largest collaborative reuse pilot program in Canada.
The Ottawa-based Circular Innovation Council, a leading national not-for-profit organization focusing on accelerating Canada’s transition toward a circular economy, has launched this innovative reuse initiative to address single use plastic waste in collaboration with major Canadian grocery retailers, including Metro, Sobeys, and Walmart Canada.
Co-funded by participating grocery retailers with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada, this will be the largest collaborative reuse initiative in the country. Starting with the development of a unique reusable food container pilot planned for launch in Ottawa in mid 2024, this national program aims to demonstrate scalable, convenient, and permanent solutions to reducing single use plastic packaging through innovative, collaborative reuse models.
Jo-Anne St. Godard, Executive Director, Circular Innovation Council. Credit: LinkedIn.
“Reuse is a critical pathway to transitioning Canada to a circular economy and to eliminating single use plastics,” said Jo-Anne St. Godard, executive director of Circular Innovation Council. “The cooperation and collaboration between our participating grocery retailers and the Government of Canada is truly unique and demonstrates their commitment to addressing the plastic waste crisis. Canadians have voiced their environmental and cost concerns around the plastic crisis and are wanting innovative solutions.”
As part of the Ottawa pilot program, consumers will have the opportunity to purchase selected food products in reusable containers at participating grocery retailers and other food service locations within the pilot area, the containers will be provided at no cost. Consumers will be able to return the reusable containers through a variety of convenient return options, including neighbourhood drop-off locations. Technology service partner Reusables.com will provide the smart return bins and will be able to track container movements through washing and distribution.
In this unique model, the ownership of the reusable containers will be shared between the grocery retailers and other food service pilot participants in the pilot area. They will work collaboratively, sharing containers, ensuring proper sanitation and food safety requirements are met, and organizing transportation and logistics. This collective shared pool resource model will be a first in Canada for reusable containers at this scale. Learnings from the Ottawa pilot will be used to develop and scale a variety of reuse programs across the city of Ottawa and in other regions across Canada.
“To address the triple crisis of a changing climate, biodiversity loss, and pollution, we must rethink the way we do business. It’s very exciting to see leadership by Circular Innovation Council and participating Canadian grocery retailers as they step forward and work together on reuse solutions to address the plastic waste problem in the food sector. This initiative will drive solutions that are convenient, sustainable, and affordable for Canadians,” said Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
“I am excited the City of Ottawa is partnering in this pilot project. Its success is very achievable as we have seen retailers and consumers quickly adapt from using single-use plastic bags to using reusable bags and boxes to carry their purchases to their home. Reusable containers are a logical next step. We have all made our efforts for recycling plastics, but to make a bigger impact we need to focus on reusing. This is a just step forward to continue our movement towards a circular economy,” said Councillor Shawn Menard, chair of the City of Ottawa’s Environment and Climate Change Committee.
“This is an industry-leading initiative that’s set to revolutionize packaging and we are honoured to provide our technology for ending single-use waste and driving the circular economy. I invite many more food retailers to join this consortium and be part of the solution,” said Jason Hawkins, CEO and co-founder of Reusables.com.
Grocer participation in developing plastic management and reuse solutions
METRO is a network of 983 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics. With annual sales of more than $20 billion, METRO is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario.
“METRO is proud to be part of this innovative pilot project, testing the use of reusable containers in our retail stores. This project aligns with our corporate objective to reduce single-use plastic waste. By developing an efficient reusable solution, we aim to offer our customers a more sustainable way to shop in our stores, without having to compromise the quality or safety of the products they purchase,” said Joe Fusco, senior VP of Metro Operations.
Sobeys Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Sobeys, its franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 131,000 people.
“Sobeys has a goal to make it easier to live plastic waste free. We have the reach and responsibility to explore new and innovative ways to eliminate even more plastics from our supply chain,” said Kristi Lalach, SVP, Legal and Sustainability, Empire Company Limited. “Participating in the design of a program that would give customers a way to reuse containers from the deli and takeaway counters is a step in the right direction for our customers, our communities, and the environment.”
Walmart Canada is part of Walmart Inc., which has grown to become one of the country’s largest employers, with more than 100,000 associates nationwide, working with close to 2,000 Canadian suppliers.
“At Walmart Canada, we’re continually looking for opportunities to push the industry forward when it comes to innovative solutions around plastics reduction,” said John Bayliss, chief operations officer of Walmart Canada. “We’re proud to be part of this unique project that will help to introduce Canadian consumers to collaborative reuse models and is a major step in the right direction towards our packaging goals.”
For further details about this program, visit here.


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Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has agreed to buy 15 million gallons of biodiesel this year… and another 18 million gallons a year for the next four years… to run some of its cruise ships from Seattle-based biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables.
This story in the Seattle Times says Royal Caribbean has four ships based out of the Pacific Northwest port:
“We believe this is the single-largest long-term biodiesel sales contract to an end user in the U.S.,” the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Imperium also said it had reached an agreement to purchase Royal Caribbean Cruises’ 7 percent stake in the Grays Harbor facility.
As you might remember, Imperium is set to open a 100-million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant soon at Grays Harbor, Washington… the largest of its kind in the country.


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UK food and non-alcoholic drink inflation hit a “grim milestone” in September, rising 14.5% year on year, data shows.
After 14 months of consecutive rises the annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages is estimated to be at its highest since April 1980, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The sector made the largest upward contribution to month-on-month increases in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which rose by 10.1% in the 12 months to September 2022, up from 9.9% in August.
Karen Betts, chief executive of industry body Food and Drink Federation, said: “Today marks a grim milestone with food and drink price inflation hitting 14.6%, according to CPIH data, in September, a level not seen since the 1980s.
“Food and drink manufacturers continue to do everything they can to keep product prices down but huge rises in ingredient, raw material, energy and other costs mean they have no choice but to pass some price rises on.
“Recent economic turbulence in the UK has made a difficult operating environment for businesses in our sector worse. Companies urgently need a stable economic outlook and a coherent policy framework to enable them to make investment and other critical decisions that are central to their businesses and to the prosperity of their local communities.”
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Fresh milk saw a 34.5% rise across the 12-month period according to ONS data derived from the Retail Prices Index. Oil and fats were up by 29.1% while butter increased by 27.9%, eggs rose by 23.2%, biscuits and cakes were up 18.8% and bread rose 14.7%.
Coffee and other hot drinks (not including tea) rose by 16.1% in September compared with the same period last year, tea rose by 12.8% and soft drinks rose 11.2%.
It comes as Ireland announced record September inflation levels of 12.4% yesterday. Staples including butter, milk and bread were 28% higher than this time last year.
Food inflation in Germany hit 20% in September, its highest level in three decades according to the federal statistical office.
Data from market research firm Kantar, compiled from home grocery purchasing habits of 30,000 households, estimated grocery price inflation in the UK reached the slightly lower figure of 13.9% in September. The market research firm said the increase – up from 12.4% through August – left grocery inflation at the highest level since it began tracking prices in this way during the 2008 financial crisis.
UK hospitality representatives are calling for business rates relief following the release of the latest inflation figure..
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, said September’s inflation figures could send businesses up to a “cliff-edge” if they are used to set tax changes and rates for next year.
She said: “With hospitality inflation contributing heavily to the overall inflation rate, we now risk an inflationary spiral where our higher costs lead to higher taxes which lead to even higher prices.
“As well as needing to reform the entire business rates system in the long-term, it’s now absolutely critical that business rates relief is extended for vulnerable sectors such as hospitality and that downward revaluations are realised in full.”


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Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said the country's government is developing a contingency plan for its own needs, should the UK and EU fail to reach a free trade agreement following Brexit.
Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday, Varadkar told lawmakers that while he hopes Britain and the EU will secure a customs union partnership and free trade agreement, Ireland has a "fall-back plan". He said...
AUM growth of 19% in first half of 2018
Move to improve access to institutional managers without a retail fund
Launching fund end of 2018
Purchased for undisclosed sum


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It achieved a growth rate of 30.5% during May 2022
«Economy»: 8,095 new trademarks were registered within 5 months
«Economy»: The great activity in brands reflects the global position of the Emirates.
The Ministry of Economy announced the registration of 8,095 new trademarks in the UAE during the first five months of 2022, amid a great diversity of trademarks registered by local and foreign companies, as a result of the country's growing attractiveness as an investment and commercial center in the region and the world.
The trademarks report for the month of May 2022 issued by the ministry showed that 1662 trademarks were registered during May alone, an increase of 30.5% compared to May 2021, which registered 1273 trademarks, which is a strong indication of the acceleration of growth in the economic and commercial sectors in the country, and the strength of the economy. And consolidating the UAE’s position as a major destination for investment, trade and business regionally and globally, after fully recovering from the repercussions of the Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The report pointed out that 1673 trademarks were registered in April 2022, 1610 trademarks in the previous March, and 1,400 trademarks in February, while January 2022 witnessed the registration of 1750 trademarks.
Major sectors The report indicated that the trademarks registered in May 2022 included various commodity and service sectors, and major local, regional and international companies.
The registered sectors included: technology and technical solutions, electronic dealing, health care, medical systems, medicines and medical and surgical devices, as well as the oil, logistics, food, beverages, banking, aviation, space, science, industry, agriculture, fishing and navigation supplies sectors. Marine and boats.
It also included the sectors of restaurant and hotel management, real estate, education, contracting and building materials, trade and financial business, auditing and taxes, cars and spare parts, electronics and phones, asset management, training, consulting and project management, law, gold and jewelry, perfumes and incense, clothing, fabrics and textiles, furniture. And decorative accessories, watches, entertainment, sports services and their equipment.
The momentum witnessed by the trademark sector in the country reflects the continued entry of major international companies into the local market, whether through the opening of regional headquarters in the country, or through agents.
The package of incentives launched by the federal government during the past months has contributed to enhancing the activity of the trademark sector, so that the country maintains its position as the most attractive and competitive investment environment in the region.
This large and growing activity in the trademark sector registered in the state supports the position of the UAE as a regional and global center for major companies that take the state as their preferred headquarters, to produce and manufacture within the state, and in free zones to meet the needs of the local market, and export and re-export to the countries of the world, as well. Its position is supported as a major destination for retail trade and various shopping brands, especially with the high demand for various goods and services in light of the ease of doing business and facilitating the procedures for registering goods and services.
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China Places Limits On the Amount of Time Young People Can Spend Playing Online Games
Yasma Baalbaki, Staff Reporter, The Pawprint
China has placed harsh restrictions and rules regarding the hours young people have access to online games. According to the World Economic Forum: “Online gaming in the country is now only available to people younger than 18 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.”
Referring to a survey from Limelight Networks, it is evident that China is one of the countries with the highest average number of playtime. That is why China decided to take immediate action to ensure anti-addiction policies and overall health and well-being for the future generation.
Furthermore, “I think this is the right policy,” one parent told a New York Times reporter. “It amounts to the state taking care of our kids for us.” On the other hand, based on the World Economic Forum: “Shares of the country’s biggest game company crumpled in response to the harsh rhetoric”. These new rules affect big tech companies as well
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Tag Archives: federal cannabis laws
Sen. Orrin Hatch supports efforts in Utah and elsewhere to study the medicinal effects of marijuana, but condemns the federal..
The Justice Department reminded everyone that marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of Washington and that the federal bankruptcy..
Just as entrepreneurs getting into the retail pot industry need a good lawyer, some of those lawyers might be wise to consult..
WASHINGTON (AP) — Smoked pot? Want to go to war? No problem. (more…)
A Republican senator from a state where marijuana is legal is pushing this week to give cannabis businesses a measure of..
Companies in the marijuana industry can safeguard their brands with three levels of trademark protection – Federal, State or Common..
Obama-era guidance that allows states to legalize marijuana without federal interference remains in effect, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on..
Canada Post, the Canadian crown corporation that is the nation’s main postal service, has said it will start delivering marijuana..
Last November, California voters approved a ballot measure to legalize marijuana. Now, the state’s lawmakers are formally calling on the federal..
The push for recreational marijuana is running strong, while medical marijuana reform has become comparatively stagnant. (more…)
Lawyers going into the marijuana business face potential arrest, disbarment, and even imprisonment. But they’re gambling that the smoke will..
The Cole memorandum pops up frequently in media reports and discussions about the legal marijuana industry. (more…)


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Google and Lenovo are shipping out an update to owners of the Smart Clock this week, one that brings an entirely new alarm ringtone powered by machine learning, fine-tuned automatic brightness, plus a new music recommendation card for accessing playlists.
The big addition is Impromptu, the new alarm ringtone powered by machine learning. Basically, this new alarm fits into its environment, dependent on time of day and local weather. Google offers the example, “If your alarm goes off early in the morning and the weather is less than 50 degrees, you may hear this ringtone.”
To be honest, it might not be as fancy as it sounds, but it’s still neat.
As I mentioned previously, Google and Lenovo are also including a fine-tuned auto brightness feature, new music recommendation card, and owners will also find granular control over how long alarms last (now up to 60 minutes).
Enjoy that update, Smart Clock owners.


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|Benefits of coffee for the heart|
A new study presented at the 71st Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology reveals the benefits of coffee for the heart. Coffee consumption, especially two to three cups daily is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and a longer life. The new analysis refutes the long-held assumption that coffee can be bad for the heart. This research provides assurance that coffee is not linked to heart disease and may actually protect the heart. "Because coffee can speed up the heart rate, some people worry that drinking it may trigger or worsen certain heart problems.
This is where the general medical advice to stop drinking coffee may come from. But our data suggest that daily coffee intake should not be reduced, but rather included as a part of a healthy diet for people with and without heart disease," said Peter M. Kistler, MD in his presentation. Peter M. Kistler, MD is professor and head of arrhythmia research at Alfred Hospital and Baker Heart Institute in Melbourne, Australia. "We found that drinking coffee had a neutral effect, meaning it did not harm—or was associated with benefits for heart health," Kistler continued. Kistler and his team used data from the UK BioBank, a large, prospective database with health information from more than half a million people followed for at least 10 years.
The researchers looked at varying levels of coffee consumption from one cup to more than six cups a day and their association with heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke.
Patients were grouped according to how much coffee they drank each day. Coffee consumption was assessed from a questionnaire filled out after entry into the registry. Overall, they found no effect or, in most cases, a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk after controlling for exercise, alcohol, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which may also play a role in heart health and prolonging life.
For the first study, researchers examined data from 382,535 people without known heart disease to see if coffee drinking played a role in the development of heart disease or stroke during 10 years of follow-up. The average age of the participants was 57 years and half were women. In general, drinking two to three cups of coffee a day was associated with the greatest benefits. Which means a 10-15 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythm problems, or death for any reason.
The risk of stroke or heart-related death was lowest among people who drank one cup of coffee a day. The researchers did observe an association with coffee intake and heart rhythm problems. Maximum benefit was seen among people who drank two to three cups of coffee a day with less benefit seen among those who drank more or less. The second study involved 34,279 people who had some form of cardiovascular disease at baseline.
Intake of two to three cups of coffee a day was associated with a lower chance of death compared to not drinking coffee. Importantly, consuming any amount of coffee was not associated with a higher risk of heart rhythm problems. This includes atrial fibrillation (AFib) or atrial flutter, which Kistler says is often a concern for doctors. Of the 24,111 people included in the analysis who had an arrhythmia at baseline, drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death. For example, people with AFib who drank one cup of coffee a day were nearly 20 percent less likely to die than non-coffee drinkers. Although two to three cups of coffee a day seems to be the most preferred overall, Kistler says that people shouldn't increase their coffee intake, especially if it makes them feel anxious or uncomfortable.
"There are a wide variety of mechanisms by which coffee can reduce mortality and have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease," he said. “Coffee drinkers should feel reassured that they can continue to enjoy coffee even if they have heart disease. Coffee is the most common cognitive enhancer, it wakes you up, makes you mentally sharper and it is a very important component of many daily lives. person."


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Latest News on Google Chromecast
Showing of 0 - 10 from 22 results
Google Chromecast - Total results - 22
Dec 15, 2017
Amazon to start selling Chromecast and Apple TV again on its online storeAlphabet Inc’s Google said last week it would block YouTube from Amazon’s Echo and Fire TV devices.
Apr 19, 2017
Amazon Fire TV Stick vs Google Chromecast 2: Which is the right one for you?The Amazon Fire TV stick faces some competition from Google’s Chromecast 2, which is cheaper, and has been available for a while
Sep 02, 2016
Google is gearing up for a major event on 4 October; expect Pixel phones, a 4K Chromecast and moreVarious sources indicate that Google is gearing up to announce a bunch of new gadgets at an event on 4 October. We’re expecting a couple of phones, a new Chromecast and a lot more.
Aug 01, 2016
Google has sold 30 million Chromecast till dateEver since the launch of the first Chromecast in 2013, Google has managed to sell 30 million units of the streaming device.
Oct 22, 2015
Amazon could cost Google and Apple more than $85 million: ReportAmazon could collectively cost Google and Apple more than $85 million next year according to retail big-data analysis company 1010data.
Oct 12, 2015
Snapdeal Monday Electronic Sale: The deals that caught our attention, including iPhone 6, Mi Pad and more!Festive season is on the way and there is no better way to celebrate it than go shopping. But, keeping in mind the holiday season, several popular e-commerce portals are offering mind-blowing discounts on everything under the sun.
Oct 04, 2015
Amazon to ban sale of Apple TV and Google ChromecastAmazon will stop allowing the sale of Google and Apple video-streaming devices on its site as it focuses on its own Prime Instant Video streaming service.
Sep 30, 2015
Google announces Nexus smartphones, Chromecast and more: What are your thoughts?Finally, Google has launched new Nexus smartphones – the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. In addition, Google also unveiled its first tablet based on the Android operating system dubbed The Pixel C along with two new Chromecast devices.
Jun 06, 2015
Teewe app now available on Windows Phone 8.1 for downloadMango Man, manufacturers of Teewe, has announced the launch of the Teewe app for Windows 8.1. Recently, Mango Man had launched the Teewe 2 dongle that lets you stream media at Rs 2399. It also had an app available on the Google Play Store and App Store.
Apr 02, 2015
Meet Google Chromebit: A candy bar sized, affordable device that turns your TV into a Chrome PCGoogle has unveiled a new type of Chrome device named Chromebit - a Chrome OS-based dongle which packs in most of the features and specifications of the Chromebook. The device is said to be priced below $100.


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Big River Steel says front-and-center on its website that it’s actually a technology company that happens to make steel. As one of the forerunners on Felux, Big River Steel proves this to be true once again as the company embarks in a partnership with Felux to post future production online.
Established in 2014, Big River Steel is based in an area of northeast Arkansas that has been called “steel mill heaven.” The company offers a wide range of products including galvanized, cold- and hot-rolled products, electrical steel, and advanced high strength steel. Big Steel is the creator of the world’s first Flex Mill®, which merges the wide product mix and superior grade capabilities of an integrated mill with the nimbleness and technological advancements of a mini mill.
Predicting future production is always a challenge for any steel company. At Big River Steel, the process for planning production for the following year begins in the fall. In around September 2019, the company began thinking about 2020 production.
“We thought 2020 would be an okay year so we set a goal of having 75% of our production locked up in volume-based contracts,” said Kasandra Lutzko, General Manager, Sales & Administration at Big River Steel. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company had to quickly pivot. “It ended up not working that well because the majority of our contracts were in oil and gas.”
Typically, Big River Steel begins by planning the product with the longest lead time first, in its case, galvanized products. “Let’s say we have 40,000 tons of galvanized planned, but we only have a demand for 35,000 tons,” Lutzko explained. “At that point, we’d shift production of the remaining 5,000 tons into cobalt, and so forth, until we can reach capacity. Contract orders are known while spot orders are not.” The mix depends completely on the market.
Big River Steel turned to Felux to list that extra capacity and potential future production on its innovative platform in an effort to generate growth, secure new customers, and shorten lead times.
Big River Steel has started posting products on Felux, finding the platform a good way to expand its customer base.
“We’ve heard of most of the companies buying on Felux, but for one reason or another, we haven’t sold to them,” Lutzko said. “Felux gives us opportunity to start that relationship with them.” The company has secured sales with some new customers and started conversations and negotiations with others.
Moving forward, Big River Steel is working with Felux on establishing the best way to post future production online. Ideas have ranged from listing high-demand products or ones that the company wanted to move quickly to listing capacity only with availability dates. “We want potential customers to see our continuity of offerings,” Lutzko said. “By listing future production runs, we want them to be confident that they can rely on us.”
The initiative is a high priority for Big River Steel moving forward, and the company will be dedicating two full-time positions to growing its opportunities through Felux.
“We want to expand how we’re using Felux,” Lutzko said. “We have several inside sales people at the top of their game, but they are not quite ready to be outside regional managers. As a result, we are in the process of promoting them, and one of their new responsibilities will be for them to lead and manage our initiatives on Felux. We run very lean here; we essentially have four outside sales staff that sells 1.6 million tons of steel each year. We want to expand Felux and give it the attention it deserves. I really think the partnership with be good for both of us.”


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While there is a lot of buzz around meal kit delivery services like Blue Apron and HelloFresh, trial of such services is relatively low, according to a report from NPD Group released Wednesday.
Around 3% of U.S. adults have tried a meal kit service over the last year, NPD noted, but most of those who try them like them, with two out of three users reporting they were extremely satisfied or very satisfied with the service. While meal kits are priced closer to restaurants than to meals at home, they steal more sales from retail stores than restaurants, the report added.
According to the survey, 66% of meal-kit users says they prepare food at home as an alternative to using a meal kit, while just 22% said they would go to a restaurant.
Saving time is the top reason given for using meal kits, which provide all of the ingredients necessary to prepare a meal, NPD said. Consumers also cite the fact that it makes dinner easier to prepare and that they provide variety in their meals, the study found. The freshness of ingredients and experience is particularly appealing to young adults using the kits.
Price may be a barrier to gaining additional users, NPD noted, saying the average cost per in-home dinner meal is $4 and the average cost per person for a meal kit delivered to the home is $10.
“The outlook for meal kits is uncertain since they’re still in their infancy stages and gaining trial among consumers. One of the main concerns about these services is the cost,” Darren Seifer, NPD Group’s food and beverage industry analyst said in a statement. “That said, there are opportunities for continued growth. For meal kit providers to market around the reasons their customers are satisfied, for manufacturers to get in the kit box, and for foodservice operators to leverage their ability to provide on demand delivery and meal variety.”
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Posts Tagged «PC gaming»
Tetris is 30 years old today: The history of the world’s most successful game June 6, 2014 at 9:53 am
Tetris, the world’s most successful game, is 30 years old today. Thanks to its simple and addictive gameplay, the massive popularity of the original Game Boy and mobile phones, an estimated 170 million copies of Tetris have been sold since its debut in 1984. Not bad for a game that was originally written at the height of the Cold War in the USSR on an Electronica 60 — a rack-mounted computer that lacked the ability to output graphics (the blocks were instead formed out of ASCII characters).
AMD’s new mobile Kaveri APU brings a big performance boost, now almost competitive with Intel in laptops June 4, 2014 at 6:55 am
AMD has unveiled its new mobile Kaveri APUs with significantly higher clock speeds and performance boosts. The new chip should narrow the gap between AMD and Intel in the mobile space and help the smaller company compete more effectively with its rival.
GameWorks FAQ: AMD, Nvidia, and game developers weigh in on the GameWorks controversy June 3, 2014 at 11:57 am
Nvidia’s GameWorks has been a hot topic in the news again, but what do actual game developers think of the program? We asked them — and the answers may surprise you.
GameWorks isn’t integrated directly into Unreal Engine 4 core, says Nvidia and Epic June 2, 2014 at 10:43 am
Nvidia and Epic have both released a report to clarify the degree of GameWorks integration into Unreal Engine 4 and it turns out the links aren’t as tight as we thought.
Valve delays Steam Machines until 2015 – but given how vague the term is, what does that mean? May 28, 2014 at 6:47 am
Valve has announced that it’s Steam Machines, previously scheduled to ship this year, will now slip into 2015. The implication is that the company is still hard at work on its controller design.
Watch Dogs: Analyzing the impact of Nvidia’s GameWorks integration and AMD performance May 27, 2014 at 11:38 am
Forbes has slammed Watch Dogs as the latest example of GameWorks optimization hurting AMD, but the situation appears to be more complicated than that — and it’s not helped by the generally wretched state of the game in general.
Steam In-Home Streaming: At last, you can play PC games on the toilet (video review) May 23, 2014 at 9:41 am
After a few months of closed testing, Valve has released a public beta version of Steam with In-Home Streaming enabled. In-Home Streaming allows you to stream any game from a host PC to a client (a Mac laptop or wimpy Windows netbook, for example). This will eventually be a key feature that allows for cheap, low-power Steam Machines in the living room that can stream games from a more powerful gaming PC. Read on for our hands-on impressions, and a video demo of me streaming Dark Souls 2 to my laptop while sitting on the toilet.
With a $6 million prize fund, Dota 2 is now one of the world’s biggest sports May 21, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Valve’s annual Dota 2 tournament — The International — is now one of world’s biggest sporting events. Thanks to the Valve’s most excellent shepherding of both the game and the 5-versus-5 MOBA genre, an ingenious crowdfunding scheme, and the continuing growth of spectator esports, The International now has a total prize fund of over $6 million. The winning team will take home somewhere in the region of $3 million. To put that into perspective, that’s more than all but the top sports professionals take home in a year. How did Dota 2, which only left beta testing last year, become one of the world’s biggest sports in the world?
Siggraph 2014: Where the world’s top computer graphics experts share their latest research on realistic melting bunnies May 14, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Siggraph 2014, probably the world’s most prestigious computer graphics (CG) convention, is almost upon us — and once again, it’s time to feast our eyes on the various next-gen CG technologies and techniques that are coming down the pipe. As always, Disney Research will be one of the most active participants, presenting a bunch of papers detailing myriad innovative ways of tearing, animating, and melting cute animals, but Microsoft Research and most of the world’s top universities will also be present to demonstrate their latest CG findings.
These Unreal Engine 4 tech demos will make your jaw drop May 7, 2014 at 10:30 am
There’s a lot of competition these days with the likes of Unity and CryEngine, so the team at Epic Games had to double down to make Unreal Engine 4 a force to be reckoned with. As these outstanding tech demos show, we all stand to benefit from the growing market for third-party engines.


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The list of online forex brokers entering the bitcoin market and launching CFDs of the digital currency continues to increase during 2014. Starting with Plus500 and AvaTrade in 2013, along with eToro, FXOpen, and Markets.com and many other smaller firms this year, the newest broker to launch bitcoin trading is InstaForex. Similar to other firms with the exception of FXOPen, InstaForex is offering bitcoin trading as a CFD. As such, the CFD is a synthetic trading product that mimics the price of bitcoins but doesn’t provide actual ownership and delivery of the digital currency. However, as a synthetic product, it offers more flexibility with its trading conditions. As such, InstaForex’s bitcoin CFD comes with up to 25:1 leverage.
A Russian broker, InstaForex has expanded its operations to markets its products around the globe. Among regions where the broker has an active presence is South East Asia, where they market in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Currently, InstaForex operates as an unregulated broker, having dropped its Belize IFSC license last year. At the time of ending its connection with Belize, a representative commented to Forex Magnates that the broker “took a decision to stop licensing in Belize. First of all, the PR Value of license could not match the dynamic growth of the company. Secondly Belize has rather low investment potential and, quite frankly, does not have very high level of regulation and accounting.” They added that there would be additional news on the matter but have yet to provide an update about their regulation.
TrioMarkets Partners with HokoCloud, Expands its Portfolio with Social TradingGo to article >>


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Company further develops Retail Edge solution to deliver the highest grade of PCI-DSS certification and increased control of the branch IT estate
London, UK: 4th October, 2017 — Zynstra, a provider of automated branch IT solutions, has today announced new capabilities to meet the needs of retail customers. These capabilities include Tier 1 PCI-DSS certification to reduce the cost and effort of achieving compliance across in-store IT systems, and has been subject to the most rigorous audit level across Zynstra’s software architecture, engineering practices, and operations center.
Also included are enhanced cloud management capabilities to reduce the time and effort required to deploy new IT services in store, improved security policies and centralized control of in-store IT infrastructure to reduce security risks and increase operational efficiencies across a distributed IT estate.
“The new IT battleground in retail is at the edge, with retailers wanting to utilize the digitization of the physical store for competitive advantage,” said Nick East, CEO, Zynstra.
This is a customer battle to deliver a differentiated experience across all their channels, an automation battle to drive efficiencies, and a now constant security battle to fight off threats. Our new capabilities drive down costs, automates the deployment of new IT across a distributed branch estate, and is certified to the most demanding PCI-DSS audit levels.
In addition to PCI-DSS certification, these developments include new control functionality that empowers centralized IT teams with greater control over virtual machines distributed throughout a store network. Also, simplified cloud management functionality that accelerates in-store server deployment, and new centralized management procedures offer hardened in-store security for the hostile environment that can exist at the edge of the network.
Demand in the retail space is growing for smarter technology solutions in the branch, that can deliver better services to customers with greater efficiency.
“At the same time, too many retailers have legacy technology in their stores with vulnerabilities that create substantial risk,” said East.
“Retail Edge IT is at a tipping point, and demands new, innovative solutions, not the force fit of data center solutions or patched up legacy IT. Zynstra is built from the ground up specifically for the retail edge, delivering centralized control over advanced, virtualized in-store IT, and enabling the fast and efficient roll out of new, innovative customer experience applications. We’re optimized for the challenges of an in-store environment, and designed with both security and compliance at the core. Now with Tier 1 PCI-DSS certification, we are taking this vision even further to ensure our customers can streamline their operations, deliver exceptional experiences and, ultimately, boost their competitive advantage,” concluded East.
Zynstra are partners of Cloud28+, the open community of over 600 IT companies and research institutions, built to accelerate cloud adoption and digital transformation around the globe. It has members located across North America, EMEA, Latin America and Asia. Join free or find out more here.
Zynstra is transforming edge computing at the retail edge. Its Intelligent Infrastructure is specifically designed and built for the retail edge, not the datacenter. It leverages intelligent automation to transform the way thousands of distributed sites are managed.
By choosing Zynstra, the retail edge becomes the source of your competitive advantage in an era where superior customer experience is not only a great-to-have, but a must-have. You establish a lasting platform where new innovative apps and services are tested and launched to delight consumers at the retail edge, all while driving down operational costs and better managing risk.
With its DNA deeply rooted in edge software products, Zynstra provides purpose-built edge infrastructure for the world’s largest, most distributed, innovation-driven enterprises. Zynstra is a strategic partner of HPE in delivering intelligent infrastructure – under the HPE Proliant Easy Connect brand – and has offices in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Zynstra is backed by Octopus Ventures, one of Europe’s leading investors in fast-growth companies, focused on backing unusually talented entrepreneurs


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A revitalized Wizkids was at Gen Con last week showing off some new and upcoming games. Drawing the most attention were a pair of prototypes for two very different, very interesting Star Trek games planned for 2011 release. »8/15/10 8:00am 8/15/10 8:00am
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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- Today's comic by Jen Sorensen is If we policed the U.S. the way we do Afghanistan:
- Some memorably idiotic tweets from 2012:
Consider this your invitation to post your own favorites for the year.
- Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas who started his career in Congress in 1980 as a Democrat and switched to the Republicans in 2004, is now, at 89 the oldest representative ever to serve in the House.
- The year as seen by Weather Underground:
8) The Non-Winter of 2011-2012
"Flowers are sprouting in January in New Hampshire, the Sierra Mountains in California are nearly snow-free, and lakes in much of Michigan still have not frozen. It's 2012, and the new year is ringing in another ridiculously wacky winter for the U.S. In Fargo, North Dakota yesterday, the mercury soared to 55°F, breaking a 1908 record for warmest January day in recorded history. More than 99% of North Dakota had no snow on the ground this morning, and over 95% of the country that normally has snow at this time of year had below-average snow cover." That was the opening of my January 6, 2012 blog post, called "Remarkably dry and warm winter due to record extreme jet stream configuration." The contiguous U.S. saw its 3rd lowest snow cover on record during both winter and spring, and the winter of 2011 - 2012 was the 4th warmest and 24th driest winter in U.S. history, going back to 1895. A primary cause of this warm and snowless winter was the most extreme configuration of the jet stream ever recorded, as measured by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
- Ready to return the stuff you got and hated? A list of return policies from Consumer World may be helpful.
- Mark Zuckererg's sister bellyaches about Facebook photo being reposted to Twitter: Uncool, she says.
- Definitely not uncool space photos of 2012:
A giant of a moon appears before a giant of a planet undergoing seasonal changes in this
natural color view of Titan and Saturn from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
- Gun and ammo sales up: According to the FBI's website, there were 16.8 million background checks for gun ownership through the end of November this year. A deluge of requests for background checks came in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings, which were done with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle based on the AR-15 "plaform," the civilian version of the military M-16:
Brownells, which describes itself as the world's largest firearm accessories supplier, said it had sold more than 3.5 years' worth of magazines in a 72-hour span. Its president, Pete Brownell, wrote an apology to customers on gun-owner forum AR15.com after complaints arose over a delay in orders placed on the company's website.
- 2012 as seen by Dr. Ruth's tweets:
- Holiday sales growth weakest since 2008:
A report that tracks spending on popular holiday goods, the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, said Tuesday that sales in the two months before Christmasincreased 0.7 percent, compared with last year. Many analysts had expected holiday sales to grow 3 to 4 percent.
In 2008, sales declined by between 2 percent and 4 percent as the financial crisis that crested that fall dragged the economy into recession. Last year, by contrast, retail sales in November and December rose between 4 percent and 5 percent, according to ShopperTrak, a separate market research firm. A 4 percent increase is considered a healthy season.
- Guns and gun ownership by country


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Swiss tech startup Unisers raises $14 million to develop tools to detect defects in chip production
Microchips are all around us — in our smartphones, TVs, and in virtually most of the appliances we use today. However, microchip production is one of the most complex and time-consuming processes in manufacturing in the world.
Today, a single microchip contains up to 20 billion transistors. As such, there is no room for errors. However, silicon wafers used in the manufacturing of microchips and chips in electronic devices are known to have defects. A tiny particle that lands on a silicon wafer can cause a chip to malfunction. But the problem may not be discovered until months later, at the end of a production process of thousands of steps.
So detecting these particles early after they contaminate wafers saves money. As microchips perform faster and their circuitry gets tinier, particles of ever smaller dimensions become a major problem. It’s for this reason that Switzerland-based microchip toolmaker startup Unisers is on a mission to develop technology to help chip fabrication customers detect defects in their chip production.
Unisers is developing defect-detecting tools that can tell the source of yield-killer particles on silicon wafers. This technology helps the fab operator to take corrective action in the shortest possible time with the highest confidence level. Unisers’ technology is also aimed at detecting impurities in materials, which is another source of defects.
Today, Unisers announced it has raised $14 million in a funding round led by Intel Capital, with participation from M Ventures, Swisscom Ventures, and RSBG Ventures. During its early stages, Unisers also received awards, grants, and business coaching support from Gebert Ruef Foundation, Venture Kick (First round), Climate KIC, the Innosuisse Core Coaching Program, and private investors.
Unisers will use the funding proceeds to build new-technology demonstrator machines for trials by major chip-fabrication customers. Unisers CEO and co-founder said the new machines would offer a new level of performance in the difficult task of detecting extraneous extremely small particles that ruin chips in production.
“We are the only company which can detect these extremely small, small, smaller than 10 nanometer particles on wafer,” Altun told Reuters.
Unisers was founded on April 11, 2019, as a spin-off of ETH Zurich by Ali Altun (Ph.D.) and Timo Schneider. Before its founding, Unisers CEO Dr. Altun had received the Pioneer Fellowship Grant from ETH Foundation that includes a special entrepreneurship education program organized by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab of ETH Zurich.


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While Jennifer Garner’s natural beauty shines through for her cover of Allure’s September issue, we were struck at the contrast between the stateside cover and its Russian counterpart for the same month.
Irina Shayk fronts the
Even with the rise of the clavicut, thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's Vogue cover shoot, the pixie isn't losing steam any time soon!
After Queen Bey unveiled her ode to Etta James last week, Coco Rocha is in the midst of receiving a
A year after transitioning her hair back to a more natural texture, Oprah Winfrey is celebrating the move with more hair (lots more).
The media mogul fronted the September cover of her eponymous glossy in a 3.5 lbs. (about the size of
Estée Lauder will provide everything you need to look your best in a new glossy... but you won't be able to find it on newsstands or the shelves of your local Barnes and Noble.
The beauty brand has partnered with Hearst Magazines
Kate Moss has become a fashion icon since her start in the ‘90s, inspiring millions of women with not just her style but her beauty as well. While she’s as in demand as she was 20 years ago with campaigns with Versace, Kérastase, and
While we have signature scents that we can’t live without, many forget that (just like your wardrobe) perfumes are meant to change with the seasons. The latest issue of Martha Stewart Living touches on transitional scents as our favorite


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Blog: The Week That Was
Olly Wehring | 23 May 2006
Well, that’s that – at least for another year. The London International Wine and Spirit Fair drew to a close last week, and we here at just-drinks were both glad and sad to see the back of it. Glad because we’d spent the three days hairing around like bluebottles (my legs still ache three days later), yet sad that the opportunity to meet up with the great and the good of the wine and spirits industries, all under one roof, is over for another 12 months. Keep your eyes peeled for stacks of content from the fair in the coming days and weeks – we have some treats for you, believe me.
Now, I know that for many of you out there, our coverage of the Wine and Spirits Fair might not have been of much relevance. Those in soft drinks, water and beer will be quite happy, I’m sure, that we’ll now stop banging on about the event. It seems, though, that some of you have been busying yourselves in the meantime.
The announcement late last week that Anheuser-Busch bought the iconic US beer brand Rolling Rock from InBev woke us with a start after the rigours of the fair. At US$82m, the acquisition certainly wasn’t cheap, and is of concern to some as well. As one analyst said last week, with Budweiser’s market share likely to shrink in the double digits this year, does A-B need another full-calorie domestic brand in a state of secular decline?
The rising popularity of craft and imported beers suggests to many that the US brewer should be swimming with the tide, and not against it.
Could it happen? According to this report, a section of the beer community wants to ditch the word craft. They prefer instead the term “Indie” for brewers they believe follow the enlightened path of t...
The global elite were in Switzerland last week for the World Economic Forum in Davos, the annual corporate huddle for the rich and powerful. The CEO of The Coca-Cola Co, Muhtar Kent, was there too, de...
With The Coca-Cola Co stealing yesterday's limelight with its new united marketing strategy for brand Coke yesterday, a Forbes interview with PepsiCo North America Beverages' new CMO, Seth Kaufman, sl...
It is a bold attempt to regain a measure of control in the ever-spiraling debate about sugar. But will The Coca-Cola Co's new marketing strategy - which for the first time ties all of the Coke family ...
- Aus wine industry pays price for past failures
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- What's in store for Super Bowl 50 - Focus
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- Beam Suntory targets Kenya with Edrington/FIX
- Diageo's Oban Little Bay single malt Scotch - NPD
- Diageo nears wine exit with Acacia sale to Peju
- Global travel retail insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
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- Global Beer Trends 2015 : Global Beer Trends and Long-term Forecasts
- Global Whiskey Market 2016-2020
- Global sparkling wine insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research


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Wednesday, September 2, 2015
DTS Buys iBiquity Digital For $172M
Calabasas-based audio processing technology developer DTS has acquireed iBiquity Digital Corporation, in a deal worth $172M, the company said this morning. iBiquity Digital develops an audio and data broadcasting technology called HD Radio. DTS said the deal will be funded via cash on hand and debt. iBiquity's technology is used to convert AM/FM broadcasting from analog to digital format, and it heavily used by automotive OEMs; DTS said that every one of the 36 major auto brands in the U.S. offers HD Radio on their vehicles, with about 35% of cars now being built with HD Radio as standard equipment. iBiquity was based in Columbia, Maryland, and had 120 employees.


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Cyber Monday content
We found 10 items for the tag: Cyber Monday
Amazon says Cyber Monday best day for sales of Kindle ever, doesn't provide numbers
Nov 27, 2012 9:03 pm
Amazon has a big Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sales of the Kindle family double from last year
Black Friday online spending reaches record-breaking $1.04 billion, what recession?!
Nov 26, 2012 8:31 am
ComScore report - Black Friday online sales reach record $1.04 billion
Exclusive Black Friday Promotions Start Now At ORIGIN PC
Nov 21, 2012 11:53 pm
China's Alibaba rakes in record $3.1 billion in sales during 24-hour e-commerce shopping bonanza
Nov 13, 2012 9:35 am
During the Chinese equivalent to Cyber Monday, Alibaba saw $3.1 billion in sales in just 24 hours
U.S. online holiday spending passes $25 billion, sets new record
Dec 12, 2011 2:27 am
U.S. holiday sales set new record, surpass $25 billion
Mushkin shifting Callisto Deluxe drives super cheap TODAY ONLY!
Nov 29, 2010 5:46 pm
Take advantage of Cyber Monday and treat yourself to a sensational SSD deal.
CyberPower and Newegg.com Announce Killer Deals on Gaming Rigs
Nov 24, 2010 7:34 am
eBay and Amazon Shares rise on Cyber Monday
Dec 1, 2009 10:51 am
Good sign for December sales figures?
Walmart Cyber Monday deals include gaming and netbook bargains
Nov 30, 2009 4:06 pm
Walmart.com offers Cyber Monday bargains
CyberPower Rolls Out 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' Gaming Rigs
Nov 23, 2009 5:14 am


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26 Jun Jellyfish launches comparative shopping website
Madison, Wis. – Following a flurry of discussion in the blogosphere, a new comparison shopping Website that boasts “Robin Hood-like” features has been released in Madison for public beta testing, with a permanent launch expected this fall.
The site, Jellyfish.com, is designed to be more “transparent” and more efficient at linking consumers and sellers than the search engines from Google, Yahoo!, or MSN, and accomplish this by adding a twist on the standard online advertising mechanisms.
Jellyfish promises to share at least half of the advertising revenue generated from each sale with members. With pay-per-click advertising, the servers receive a commission for clicks. When Jellyfish receives a purchase, half of that commission is placed in a member PayPal account or is mailed as a check.
The creators of Jellyfish expect this “value-per-action” model to spur retailers on the site to compete for top search rankings by increasing the amount of cash back provided to end consumers. Consequently, this consumer centric shopping search engine intends to capitalize on the growing “attention economy” of the Internet.
“We think the Jellyfish.com model represents the future of online advertising,” said Mark McGuire, president of Jellyfish. “For advertising to survive in a world where the consumer has ultimate control, it must be directly valuable.”
Membership for the site is free and Jellyfish guarantees no interruptive advertising like banners, sponsored text links, and pop-ups.
Bloggers weigh in
Jellyfish.com was launched with an official companion Jellyfish blog and links to other discussions hosting supportive, questioning, and critical commentary.
“The blogosphere really helps level the playing field and allows interesting ideas to percolate to the surface, regardless of whether those ideas come from Silicon Valley or Madison, Wisconsin,” wrote McGuire in his June 20 blog entry.
Some bloggers are incredulous, or are already familiar with the idea. “This isn’t new,” points out a blogger named Andrew. “Greasypalm.co.uk and others have been doing cashback incentive sites for years.”
“Transparency is the mantra of many new companies trying to unseat incumbents in their respective spheres,” noted Greg Sterling of Screenwerk.
SearchEngineLowDown.com, sponsored by Ask.com, posted an interview with McGuire prior to the release of the beta site in which many of the limitations and features of Jellyfish are discussed along with the challenges of building the site.
“One of the hardest things thus far was finding a good brand. Have you tried to register a domain name lately?” McGuire asked the interviewer.
“The really interesting thing about the Internet in general, and search in particular, is the way attention can be captured, measured, and sold to the highest bidder,” McGuire continued. “We plan to allow the existing advertising system to set a value on buying attention, but we have come up with a new kind of search marketplace where that value will be more equitably allocated among the advertiser, us, and the end consumer.”
• Troy Janisch: Location, location, location: Spots to consider for online ads
• Troy Janisch: Your customer is a search engine
• Naseem Javed: Lord of the Engines
• NameProtect’s watchdog tool keeps eye on search-engine ads


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George Floyd’s loss of life final yr and the next mass protests put the highlight on Black-white inequality in all types, together with the challenges for Black-owned companies.
Since that point, knowledge suggests shoppers have more and more put their cash the place their mouth is, by spending extra at Black-owned companies and eating places.
The query is how a lot can that assist after these companies have been particularly bruised by the pandemic?
On Tuesday, a jury discovered former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin responsible of second-degree unintentional homicide, third-degree homicide and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s loss of life.
Within the reactions to the decision, some observers — together with President Joe Biden — hoped the second could be a turning level in direction of a extra simply future.
‘There’s undoubtedly a extra acutely aware and stronger sense of social fairness.’
Some Black enterprise leaders hope a part of the change is a deeper dedication from clients and companies to maintain Black-owned companies in thoughts after they buy groceries or seek for a brand new service vendor.
“There’s undoubtedly a extra acutely aware and stronger sense of social fairness,” stated Larry Ivory, president and CEO of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce, in addition to the chair of the Nationwide Black Chamber of Commerce.
Some numbers are encouraging. For instance, Yelp
customers turned more and more conscious of who owned the companies they frequented, knowledge exhibits.
From February 2020 to February 2021, searches for Black-owned companies jumped 3,085%, in keeping with data launched this month from the web site that helps shoppers discover and assessment native companies.
The search charge elevated 4,077% for Latino-owned companies, 264% for women-owned companies and 130% for Asian American-owned companies.
‘If ever there’s a time for progress, the time is now.’
Yelp customers have been additionally more and more cognizant of who they have been reviewing. The point out of Black enterprise homeowners in critiques elevated 195% from February 2020 to February 2021. It climbed 76% for girls homeowners and 58% for Latino homeowners.
“Individuals are rallying round small enterprise,” Ivory stated.
However, like a lot through the pandemic, the rebound has been uneven in companies which can be getting again on their toes. In Ivory’s residence state, 30% of Black-owned companies have closed. And different issues persist, like entry to capital, he stated.
However Ivory is hopeful. “If ever there’s a time for progress, the time is now,” he stated.
EatOkra, an app that connects customers with native Black-owned eating places, bakeries, cafes, meals vans, bars and wineries, had a 4,000% enhance in app downloads from the time between Floyd’s Could 25, 2020 loss of life to Chauvin’s responsible verdict. In that point, the app linked greater than 300,000 diners with Black-owned eateries.
“Customers made their voice loud and clear that help of Black-owned companies and eating places was the highest precedence,” stated Anthony Edwards Jr., EatOkra’s co-founder and CEO.
75% of roughly 400 Black-owned small companies stated they noticed an uptick in enterprise between June and the tip of July, in keeping with a survey from Groupon
and the Nationwide Black Chamber of Commerce.
A Groupon spokesman famous that consumer searches for “Black-owned” elevated nearly 400% final yr, in comparison with 2019.
Pandemic dug a deep gap
The surging curiosity is definitely welcome, however the pandemic has dug a deep gap for Black-owned companies and different minority-owned companies.
The variety of lively Black-owned companies fell 41% from February 2020 to April 2020, in keeping with one research trying on the pandemic’s preliminary shockwave. There was a 17% decline for white-owned companies in that point.
It’s stayed tough as 2020 wore on.
92% of Black-owned companies stated they have been experiencing monetary pressure.
Some 67% of Black- and Asian American owned corporations stated they needed to cut back operations final yr, in keeping with an annual Federal Reserve Financial institution survey of corporations owned by individuals of colour; 54% of white-owned corporations reported reductions.
One other 92% of Black-owned companies stated they have been experiencing monetary pressure, which was up from 85% in 2019; 79% of white-owned companies reported monetary difficulties, up from 65% in 2019.
The federal authorities supplied monetary lifelines to companies in its Paycheck Safety Program, which prolonged doubtlessly forgivable loans: 61% of Black-owned corporations acquired PPP cash, versus the 85% of Asian American and 82% of white companies.
Many instances, Ivory stated, that boiled all the way down to the shortage of a earlier banking relationship between the enterprise proprietor candidates and the banks serving because the place to use for the loans.
Relating to getting cash and help for Black communities, Ivory stated steps like charitable donations to organizations are laudable.
However frequenting minority-owned companies and supporting the companies chambers that help them are “the very best return on funding you will get,” he stated.
See additionally: 5 methods to help black-owned companies: ‘It’s not rocket science — individuals simply select to not do it’


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HTC One M10 leak shows new White Design
HTC is skipping MWC 2016 for the most part, or at least the HTC One M10 is. That said, the device has leaked enough to let us know what to expect, and now we’re getting another HTC One M10 to look at while we wait on its release.
Most of the major manufacturers are headed to Barcelona for MWC 2016,and plenty of the smaller ones will be present as well. We’re not sure if HTC will make an appearance, but the HTC One M10 won’t unless they pull a quick one on us. If recent leaks prove true, it may be a good move by the company as the design may not be exactly what fans had hoped for this year. We’ve seen it before, but now we’re getting a look at the HTC One M10 in White.
Evan Blass is a busy individual these days, and he’s back at it again with the HTC One M10. This time around we’re getting a quick peek at the handset in White, and it looks like the Black model previously shown complete with a fingerprint sensor on the home button. The backside could hold a few surprises, but we will have to wait a while to find out.
HTC’s new flagship will be on par with everyone else’s when it comes to power, so they will have to turn to design and features to set them apart if they want to stand out this year. Current rumors point towards a launch in May, and if that’s the case they may have another “off” year considering all the devices that will launch before that time.


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Christmas Extravaganza raises record amount
Our Christmas Extravaganza on Friday 1st December raised a stunning £1938.05 for the school. Friends of Redhill are delighted with the support they received from pupils and the wider community on that evening. There were 26 professional traders selling quality goods and 20 classrooms in use with pupils running stalls and competitions. Even Santa was there and more than 50 children were able to meet him in person. Thank you to everyone who supported the event in any way.
The money raised will be used to buy new equipment and help to improve facilities for the school.


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Home-based F&B businesses look beyond circuit breaker period, some rally to help those affected
SINGAPORE: When home baker Lee Su Fang heard about the tighter COVID-19 "circuit breaker" rules last week, she was already expecting the worst for her business.
The authorities had announced on Apr 21 that the list of what are considered essential services will be trimmed. Shops that sell only beverages, packaged snacks, confectioneries or desserts have had to shut.
READ: From bubble tea runs to getting a haircut: What you can or cannot do under tighter COVID-19 circuit breaker rules
While there was initial confusion over whether home-based food and beverage businesses would be affected, Ms Lee – who runs her five-year-old business Frosted by Fang out of her family’s condominium in Serangoon – said she had already planned to suspend operations, so she would not fall on the wrong side of regulations.
The 24-year-old told CNA on Tuesday (Apr 28) that she stands to lose the income she normally makes a month as a home baker, adding that she will have to rely on her savings to tide her through this period.
Ms Lee said she feels quite lucky because she still lives with her parents, but she feels for those whose home businesses have been affected by the current situation.
Under the rules, home-based businesses – including those in F&B – have to suspend operations online if they require the owner or staff members to leave their homes, or if they require third-party services in the delivery of goods. Customers are also not allowed to collect the goods themselves.
These regulations left some questioning how home-based businesses could operate at all, and why "contactless" deliveries would not be allowed.
At a press conference on Apr 27, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong stressed that these measures are necessary to "decisively" bring down the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore.
“The current rules do not allow for home-based F&B, we’ve made that very clear. But if and when the community numbers do continue to come down, as we said, we are going to review the measures and if the numbers have been brought down, we may very well relax some of the restrictions, ease up on some of these restrictions," he said.
“There will be some sacrifice. It is not easy but we really call on everyone to hunker down on this final stretch at least until May 4."
Some people had raised questions about the implications of the move for home-based businesses which can leverage greater demand around religious festivals such as Ramadan.
Online marketplace B.Halal, which was launched following the cancellation of all Ramadan bazaars this year due to COVID-19, said a number of vendors pulled out after news of the tighter rules.
Its chief executive and founder Muhammad Alkhatib said that the company wants to continue supporting the "little guys", adding it aims to work within the boundaries with its existing vendors.
And setting aside the challenges of the current situation, Mr Muhammad said he is optimistic about B.Halal's long-term operations beyond the circuit breaker period.
Noting the impact of the regulations, Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli appealed for the public to unite in the country's fight against COVID-19.
"If the HBB (home-based business) operators continue their business as usual, they run the risk of being infected or becoming a cluster of COVID-19 cases – more so near Raya, when orders pile up," he wrote on Facebook.
"In this crisis, we must unite if we want to prevent community spread of COVID-19. This involves adjusting and sacrificing for the sake of all, and not letting personal interests dictate our actions. I'm sure the majority of our HBB community understand this."
HELP FOR HOME-BASED BUSINESSES
Meanwhile, some are reaching out to help affected home-based businesses.
In a statement on Monday, the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it was in discussions with the relevant authorities to “try and achieve a solution to this matter”, and called on home-based business operators to share information such as what services they provide and how long they have been in operation to facilitate its discussions.
Crowding platform Ray of Hope, a registered charity, has started a campaign to raise S$50,000, with the aim of providing 100 home bakers with S$500 each to help them tide over this period.
Social media personalities Hafidz Rahman and Zuhairi Idris, who run popular YouTube channel Lepak One Korner, have started a crowdfunding effort to raise S$50,000 and aim to support at least 50 home businesses during the circuit breaker period.
Separately, pop-up F&B retailer Naughty Boyz, which sells macaroni and cheese, has offered its central kitchen to home-based food businesses in need of a workspace.
Although Naughty Boyz has been affected by the circuit breaker, owner Abdul Rashid Mahmood said he wants to do what he can for others, adding that he is thinking of renting two additional kitchen spaces for this purpose.
“When I started my business, we didn’t have anyone to help us,” said the 26-year-old.
READ: Retrenchments and withdrawn job offers - Singapore's labour market shows signs of COVID-19 strain
"Be patient," said Mr Masagos, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
"When things get sufficiently better for our health authorities to advise the lifting of restrictions, we will allow our barbers and HBB to go back to do their business. This can only happen when we all work together."
Editor's note: Details about Frosted by Fang provided by Lee Su Fang have been removed from this article at her request.