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SALT: A look back and a look ahead
Two major issues dominated the conversation around state and local tax in 2019, according to Jamie Yesnowitz and the team at Grant Thornton’s SALT National Tax Office: the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. in June 2018. They’ll both continue to have a major influence in 2020.
“In fact, the top two spots, and four of the top seven spots [for 2019] deal with the states’ response to Wayfair,” said Yesnowitz, a GT principal and SALT practice and National Tax Office leader. This year’s list ranked the top SALT stories of the previous year in order of importance:
1. Rapid post-Wayfair implementation of sales tax nexus. “Wayfair has spurred all but two states to adopt laws establishing sales tax economic nexus provisions for remote sellers, and those two states, Florida and Missouri, have pending legislation for this,” Yesnowitz commented. “But not all state sales tax nexus laws are alike. Remote sellers face plenty of challenges attempting to comply with these laws, where cost and transaction thresholds can vary depending on the state.”
2. The extension of Wayfair to income tax nexus. “With economic nexus a nearly foregone conclusion in nearly all states for sales and use tax purposes, states have begun shifting their sights on the applicability of Wayfair to income taxes,” Yesnowitz said. “Sellers should be aware that Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts now impose a gross receipts tax on out-of-state sellers, with similar legislation being considered in Texas. Businesses operating in multiple states may need to conduct a complex sale sourcing analysis to determine how best to source their own sales, especially where services and intangibles are concerned.”
3. Continued state reaction to the TCJA. “For the second straight year, states’ reaction to the TCJA continued to receive major attention in state legislatures and by state taxing authorities,” Yesnowitz said. “The two primary issues considered this past year were the treatment of international tax provisions and the disallowance of the interest expense deduction.”
4. The rise of pass-through entity tax regimes. The limitation on the SALT deduction prompted a number of states to propose “workarounds,” many of which have already been disallowed by the IRS. Mandatory and elective pass-through regimes are intended to shift the tax from the owner to the entity at the federal level. A number of states have adopted some form of this workaround. “To date, the IRS has not ruled on whether these laws will stand,” Yesnowitz cautioned.
5. The U.S. Supreme Court decides Kaestner Trust. The court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that North Carolina could not tax the trust’s undistributed income based solely on the residence of a contingent beneficiary in the state. “Trusts paying North Carolina taxes on undistributed trust income based only on the presence of in-state beneficiaries should have their tax obligations re-examined,” said Yesnowitz. “Even trusts in similar circumstances in other states could be bound by this ruling.”
6. Widespread adoption of marketplace facilitator nexus provisions. Although the adoption of sales tax economic nexus legislation was initially focused on remote retailers after Wayfair, many states have interpreted the decision broadly enough to apply to marketplace providers or facilitators, according to Yesnowitz. “Forty states have enacted laws interpreting the Wayfair decision as applying to marketplace providers whose online marketplaces serve as a forum for retailers to market and sell products and services,” he said.
7. Adoption of sales tax economic nexus standards by local taxing authorities. “A number of states allow home-rule authority to local jurisdictions,” Yesnowitz said. “Some of these local jurisdictions imposed sales and use taxes for remote sellers following the Wayfair decision ... But businesses should be aware that because Wayfair addressed a state law, there is no guarantee this authority will be recognized for municipalities, if challenged.”
8. Further adoption of marketplace sourcing. “During 2019, a number of states engaged in legislative activity concerning apportionment of income and the adoption of market-based sourcing for sales other than sales of tangible personal property,” Yesnowitz observed. “Six states adopted market-based sourcing rules for services, but they vary on how and where they are applied.”
9. Combined reporting expanded and clarified. “Compared with market-based sourcing, efforts to shift from separate to combined reporting for affiliated corporations slowed, with New Mexico the only state to pass such legislation,” said Yesnowitz. “Kentucky and New Jersey passed laws or adopted guidance with the intent of ‘cleaning up’ uncertainties in the method.”
10. Adoption of the Oregon CAT. “After years of failed legislative and referendum efforts, Oregon finally joined the growing list of states imposing entity-level commercial activity tax,” said Yesnowitz.
Looking at 2020
For 2020, SALT National Tax Office directors Chuck Jones and Lori Stolly and manager Patrick Skeehan offered these predictions:
- Federal tax reform. States will continue to react to the TCJA changes, especially the IRC Section 163(j) interest deduction limitation and the GILTI provisions, according to Jones. ”Specifically, at least three states will decide to decouple from the IRC Sec. 163(j) interest deduction limitations; and at least four states will clarify apportionment treatment of GILTI,” he predicted.
- Wayfair. “In 2019, we saw continued adoption (and the beginning of adjustment) of Wayfair-like nexus standards with respect to remote sellers and marketplace facilitators,” commented Skeehan, “During 2020, this trend will continue marching forward with: enactment of marketplace provider standards in at least three additional states; enactment of changes to marketplace facilitator/provider laws to achieve further uniformity in at least three additional states (in line with Multistate Tax Commission/National Conference of State Legislatures standards); and removal of transactional thresholds from sales tax economic nexus standards in at least three additional states.”
- Income tax economic nexus. “At least four more states will adopt an economic nexus threshold for income taxes via legislation, regulation or administrative action,” Skeehan forecasted.
- Additional PTE taxes. “At least three additional states will enact legislation establishing optional [pass-through entity] taxes as a workaround to the $10,000 SALT deduction limitation,” said Jones.
- U.S. Supreme Court litigation. “In 2019, the Utah Supreme Court rejected a Utah District Court’s determination that the state’s treatment of foreign business income violated the foreign commerce clause, citing the U.S. Supreme Court Wynne decision. During 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court will grant certiorari to hear the Steiner dispute,” said Stolly.
- Illinois constitutional amendment referendum. “Voters will not approve a graduated personal income tax at the November 2020 election,” predicted Jones.
- Reclassification of workers from independent contractors to employees. “At least two states will enact independent contractor reclassification laws as a means to address ride-sharing business practices,” said Skeehan.
- Market-based sourcing. Sales factor sourcing uncertainty will return as a point of focus, predicted Stolly: “At least two significant decisions addressing the calculation of market-based sourcing will be released in 2020.”
- Income tax rate reductions tied to revenue. “At least two states will legislatively adopt income tax rate reductions tied to state revenue measures,” said Stolly.
- Gross receipts taxes. While many states are enjoying economic prosperity, some are not, Stolly indicated: “In an effort to raise revenue, at least one state will follow Oregon’s lead and adopt a gross receipts tax.”


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The latest news is that the autonomous Apple Car is due in 2025. Apple is working hard on this, but not everything will go as planned.
The Apple Car, also known as Project Titan, has been making a lot of noise lately. A lot of information and rumors have just been published in the American and German press, which is enough for us to sum up what we know so far. its marketing is scheduled for 2025.
Arrival scheduled for 2025 thanks to Lamborghini?
This date, 2025, has already been announced in the past, not by an American company, but through various rumors. German media Automobilwoche goes through with it again and thinks he, too, knows that the Apple Car will see the light of day in three years. Nothing new under the sun? This was not counting other information released this summer!
First is the arrival of Luigi Taraborrell. expert with 20 years experience at Lamborghini. Now he will be responsible for the chassis part and the behavior of the Apple Car on the road, according to information from very serious media. Bloomberg. The latter confirms Apple’s desire to lift the veil on its autonomous and electric car.” later in the decade “.
Apple has filed 248 patent applications!
The second piece of information is the staggering number of patent applications Apple has filed in recent years for cars. Asian mediaNikkei went to dig into the patents published by Tim Cook’s firm. Since 2000, Apple has released 248 automotive related patents. In the lot, of course, there are patents related to the iPhone, the CarPlay system and Apple Maps. But not only.
Thus, we find 18% of patents relating to autonomous driving, 6% of patents relating to doors, seats, windows and lighting, and 4% of patents relating to subject matter. traction batteries and heating control. The largest share (36%) of patents relates to communications and navigation and therefore does not necessarily concern the Apple Car itself.
Specifically, Apple has filed patent applications relating to driving comfort regarding seats and suspension. But also using V2X technology ( vehicle to everything or vehicle to everything in French), which brings together all the methods that allow cars to communicate with each other, as well as with connected objects and, therefore, with the Internet of things. The best example is the Audi Traffic Light Information feature, which allows you to communicate with traffic lights.
A real Apple car, electric and autonomous
If these patents are to be believed, Apple would really like to build its own car, and not offer other manufacturers a software platform for autonomous cars, as some rumors suggest. Thus, Apple will go against Google, which, for its part, wants to create not a car, but simply autonomous driving technology with its company Waymo.
The patents also confirm thatApple is actively working on autonomous drivingin practice, not just on paper. In particular, she asked for permission to do it in traffic jams on American highways.
If most of the patents related to communications were originally obtained in cooperation with Intel, now they have forgotten about the American founder. Which is not surprising if you know that Apple is now designing its processors with Apple M1 and M2 chips. What to imagine what they will ubiquitous future autonomous cars from the Apple brand.
Apple Project Titan seems to be in good shape, but long media article Informationon Apple Car highlights a very important issue that the engineers currently working on the project are facing. A few months ago, an Apple Car, driving autonomously on an open road, almost knocked downrunner. The engineer behind the wheel was able to regain control in time and press the brake pedal to avoid an accident.
The journalist managed to find out through sources inside Apple that the project had a serious problem. Apple Car will have no problem following the roads mapped by the Plans teams, but once the car dares to veer off the beaten track, she kept asking the driver to take control.
A car without a steering wheel or pedal by 2025?
We also learn that Apple will attempt to convey an inappropriate request: the ability to drive a car on American roads completely devoid of pedals and a steering wheel. Apple’s autonomous and electric vehicle will be shaped like a Volkswagen Beetle (with a rounded roof), inside which four passengers will face each other across two rows of seats.
It looks like Apple still has a long way to go before it can sell its car, electric and autonomous vehicle. However, we do know Apple’s strike force with huge amounts of money and several thousand employees working on the Titan project. But don’t forget that Apple is also known for canceling products at the last minute, whether they’re announced like the AirPower or not like the Mac Pro M1.
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Autonomous vehicles, for example, will be able to navigate roads autonomously in real time using environmental mapping data as well as high-resolution cameras and Lidar sensors. This level of automation could dramatically reduce the number of car accidents due to https://newsblock.today/ driver error. Quantum computers use qubits instead of binary digits used by traditional ‘classical’ computers. This means that they can process multiple data points at once, allowing them to solve problems far more quickly than traditional computers ever could.
- For one, blockchain is still a relatively new technology, and there isn’t a lot of case law yet to guide businesses on how to use it responsibly.
- As the community manager for web3 project, I am responsible for building and maintaining an engaged community of users, developers, and stakeholders.
- In this already complicated dynamic, attempting to improve sustainability makes it crucial to understand and devise ways to seek surging transparency in supply chains.
- Blockchain is fundamentally a technology of trust, blockchain has trust, openness, and transparency built into its design, its benefits are wide-ranging and impact multiple Sustainable Development Goals .
- Women in developing nations often bear the brunt of the fashion industry’s most brutal demands.
In 1992, Haber, Stornetta, and Dave Bayer incorporated Merkle trees into the design, which improved its efficiency by allowing several document certificates to be collected into one block. Under their company Surety, their document certificate hashes have been published in The New York Times every week since 1995. As the community manager for web3 project, I am responsible for building and maintaining an engaged community of users, developers, and stakeholders. I facilitate communication and collaboration through online forums, social media, and events. My goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community and ensure that project remains responsive to their needs and feedback. I am excited to be part of this innovative project and am committed to supporting community as we advance web3 technology.
The challenge is many resource-crunched development projects, especially in developing countries, still collect field data by hand, which can lead to inaccuracies, mistakes and fraud. With a blockchain, such data can be collected and reported in a secure, transparent and verifiable manner. Data transparency and immutability are the two aspects of blockhain technology that are most attractive to the https://newsblock.today/bitcoin-verdes-new-project-aims-to-promote-bitcoin-cash-node-diversity/ supply chain management industry. Consumers generally are becoming aware of the need for ethical and sustainable production. As a consequence, they are demanding for companies to be transparent in terms of where the products come from and who made them. Technologies like AI-driven chatbots, 5G networks, and digital twins will revolutionize the way we interact with our environment and each other.
Opportunities for Sustainable Investing-The Time has Come!
Cardano’s native ADA token has long been in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. 3-D printing has already been used in a wide range of industries, from aerospace components and prosthetic devices to cell culture scaffolds for bioengineering applications. 3-D and 4-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing or AM, is becoming increasingly popular for its ability to create high-quality prototypes quickly and cost-effectively. Businesses will be able to use predictive analytics to understand customer behavior better and make informed decisions about marketing campaigns, product development, pricing strategies, and more. Innovations such as nanowire batteries, self-healing materials, and nanoscale sensors are just some of the ways that nanomaterials will revolutionize technological advances in 2023.
We can see that artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and quantum computing will be the main drivers of innovation in the upcoming year. The potential applications are vast, and they will transform the way we interact with our devices, communicate, and even conduct business. As a result, businesses should pay special attention to these trends and prepare for their implementation. The green technology industry has seen an influx of investment in the past few years, with advancements being made in areas such as electric vehicles, renewable energy sources, and sustainable practices for manufacturing products. Additionally, government initiatives have been implemented in some countries that incentivize businesses to invest more money into green technologies. This means that more resources are available for research and development, leading to new innovations being introduced each year that can make our lives even more eco-friendly than before.
Council gives final green light to corporate sustainability reporting directive
His company is using blockchain technology to create a permanent record of every stage of production. Fashion brands are increasingly keen to tout their green credentials, but with clothes production often involving complex global supply chains they can’t always guarantee environmentally friendly materials are being used. As the cofounder and CEO of a software development firm with a vision to explore new ways to innovate, I plunged into blockchain a couple of years ago.
Checking if the site connection is secure
Banks are interested in this technology not least because it has the potential to speed up back office settlement systems. Moreover, as the blockchain industry has reached early maturity institutional appreciation has grown that it is, practically speaking, the infrastructure of a whole new financial industry, with all the implications which that entails. In 2016, venture capital investment for blockchain-related projects was weakening in the USA but increasing in China. An advantage to an open, permissionless, or public, blockchain network is that guarding against bad actors is not required and no access control is needed. This means that applications can be added to the network without the approval or trust of others, using the blockchain as a transport layer.
They work with companies who wish to prove their impact with data of their supply chain using blockchain technology. As companies begin to adopt this technology for their operations, they will need to consider specific business requirements that are unique to their industry or organization. This may include deploying smart contracts or using distributed ledger technology for secure document storage and access control. Companies must also ensure that their systems are compliant with applicable regulations and laws when it comes to privacy and data security. These examples demonstrate that the technological dimension of blockchain-based solutions is relatively well established and ready for implementation, while the development of enabling and supporting regulatory and market mechanisms is lagging. Additionally, since the P2P market supports bottom-up and decentralized structures, incumbents, building business models around centralized systems, face challenges adapting to the changes.


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This NodeJS SDK enables server-side payment gateway capabilities in applications. Remita offers access to merchants, including schools, churches, service providers and the Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) available on Remita to purchase and subscribe to their various products and services.
After beta testing for almost a year, the Facebook Credits API is finally being opened to all developers. Before beta testing the service had been in very limited alpha testing for over six months before that. On July 1st, more than two years after the social networking site started working on the system, all Facebook-based games that process payments will be required to use only Facebook Credits. The 350 applications granted early access already account for 70% of such transactions. Facebook credits can be purchased by users at a rate of $0.10 each (with an additional 10 free when buying 100) and redeemed by application developers for $0.07, leaving Facebook with the balance.


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A $16 McDonald's meal in Idaho has become an unexpected flashpoint in discussions about the American economy's health, transcending its status as a mere fast-food purchase to spark widespread debate on social media platforms and news outlets.
The TikTok Moment That Echoed Economic Concerns
Late last year, a TikTok video captured significant attention, featuring a customer in Idaho who paid $16.10 for a burger, large fries, and a drink at McDonald’s. The video struck a chord, turning a simple fast-food purchase into a symbol of larger economic concerns.
The customer's expression of disbelief over the price, acknowledging factors like labor shortages and wage increases, has resonated with many. Even a year after its posting, the video continues to circulate on platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, and in publications like the New York Post and Newsmax.
This incident has become a talking point, reflecting broader anxieties about the state of the American economy. It poses a challenge for Democratic political strategists and economists who are trying to convey a message of economic stability and growth.
Fast Food Prices in Perspective
While it’s true that fast food prices have risen in recent years, the increase isn't as steep as the viral TikTok video suggests. The burger featured wasn’t a standard McDonald’s menu item but a special “smoky” double quarter-pounder with bacon and cheese – a limited-time offering typical in the fast-food industry, where businesses operate on narrow profit margins.
According to the Economist, the average Big Mac in America was priced at $5.58 this summer, marking an increase of about 75 cents since January 2020, just before the pandemic began. However, McDonald's pricing is not uniform across the country due to the majority of its U.S.
restaurants being independently owned. This results in significant regional price variations, such as in Darien, Connecticut, where a Big Mac combo meal can cost around $18, as reported by CBS News and personally experienced by many travelers on I-95.
The $16 meal at McDonald's in Idaho thus emerges as more than just an instance of sticker shock; it reflects the complexities of pricing in a fluctuating economy and the power of social media to amplify personal experiences into wider economic narratives.


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Latest generation of Apple's iPhone smartphone five allegedly release this year. Numerous rumors have circulated about what the iPhone 5. Recent rumors say the iPhone 5 will have a curved or concave screen.
The news was conveyed by the media in Taiwan-based DigiTimes citing sources involved. If this is true, pointed out there will be significant design changes in the iPhone 5 than previous generations.
Concave screen on the smartphone is not new. Google Smartphone Samsung Nexus S besutan which was widely circulated on the market first to adopt this kind of screen.
iPhone 5 predicted attend this year, but to different predictions launch schedule. Some parties claim mid year, some estimates in September ahead of the holiday season.
IPhone also predicted 5 will adopt dual-core processor and 8-megapixel camera. Similarly, as reported by Geek, Tuesday (05/24/2011).


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Byron Bay distillery saves hundreds of kegs of beer from being tipped down the drain during the coronavirus lockdown by turning it into a new spirit
- An Australian distillery turned beer into liquor to save it being thrown out
- 25 million schooners of beer was forecast to be thrown out during COVID-19
- Cape Byron Distillery used the waste product to make a new liquor
- They had more than a swimming pool of beer they turned into moonshine
An Australian distillery has turned beer into liquor to save it from being thrown out during the COVID-19 lockdown.
When the pandemic hit, pubs across Australia were given the crushing news 25 million schooners of beer would need to be thrown out.
But a Byron Bay liquor company decided to turn some of that beer into a new spirit to prevent the liquid gold being washed down the drain.
Cape Byron Distillery Co-Founder Eddie Brook (pictured with partner Sophia Fryer) decided to turn beer into liquor after hearing it would be washed down the drain due to the COVID-19 lockdown
Cape Byron Distillery Co-Founder Eddie Brook said they faced an uncertain future when coronavirus first hit.
‘COVID has effected everyone in so many ways,’ he said.
‘At the beginning of the pandemic, life looked a little dull, hand sanitiser trumped alcohol sales, and the word ‘pivot’ made its way into daily business chat.
They used Stone & Wood’s Pacific Ale and distilled it twice into a liquor called ‘Pacific Moonshine’
‘With heavy uncertainty, the hospitality industry cleared their cool rooms, emptied their bars and locked their doors until further notice.’
But the owners refused to let the beer industry face such a tough blow, and decided to make use of it.
‘Initially, one idea was to attempt distilling the beer to create hand sanitiser and then the idea of distilling Pacific Ale evolved into the peculiar idea of making a ‘beer spirit,’ he said.
When nearby business Stone & Wood brewery bought back kegs which were unable to be sold around the country they had enough beer to fill a swimming pool.
They joined forces to create ‘Pacific Moonshine’ merging the unused kegs of Stone & Wood beer and turning it into a liquor.
The Pacific Ale was transported up the road to the distillery where the beer was distilled twice to create a spirit not dissimilar to the production of single malt whisky.
But if saving beer from being washed away wasn’t enough the owners decided to use the funds raised through sales to put back into the community.
But Co-founder for Cape Byron Distillery Eddie Brook (pictured with partner Sophia Fryer) turned a swimming pool worth of beer into a hard spirit
When venues closed their doors in March due to lockdown measures kegs were drained and washed out until pubs faced the possibility of reopening
For every bottle sold a portion of the sales will be put into the Grained Foundation, a not-for-profit also based in the Northern Rivers.
When venues closed their doors in March due to lockdown measures kegs were drained and washed out until pubs faced the possibility of reopening.
Leading brewer Lion was forced to pour about about 90,000 kegs or about 4.5million litres of beer out at their waste water treatment plants at Tooheys and XXXX breweries.


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How poultry processors can beat COVID-19, plastic threats
Among the most pressing issues for poultry processors is maintaining productivity while working with COVID-19 restrictions and reducing their environmental impact through plastic reduction.
Poultry processors, like other food producers, face numerous challenges, but there are two in particular that currently are of deep concern among both producers and consumers – COVID-19 and waste plastics.
COVID-19 has seen how poultry processing plants function undergo significant change. Employees must now use additional…


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AUSTIN, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a global branded food company, announced today that James N. Sheehan has advanced to executive vice president and chief financial officer. The advancement was effective January 29, 2019. Sheehan previously held the role of senior vice president and chief financial officer for the company. As executive vice president and chief financial officer for Hormel Foods, Sheehan oversees the company’s financial enterprise including accounting, information technology, internal audit, investor relations, corporate tax and treasury.
“With more than forty years of experience, Jim is highly regarded in the industry for his strategic financial leadership and his deep knowledge of the markets, industries and Hormel Foods businesses,” said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, Hormel Foods. “He is focused on elevating Hormel Foods financial and technology systems to reflect the changing dynamics in the greater food industry and will be pivotal in accelerating our growth in the future. Congratulations to Jim on his well-deserved advancement.”
Sheehan’s career with Hormel Foods began in 1978 in accounting. Over the years, he held various management and leadership positions in accounting and finance for the company. In 1998, he became the president of Hormel Financial Services and a year later became treasurer. He advanced to vice president and controller in 2000. He was named chief accounting officer in May 2016 and assumed the role of senior vice president and chief financial officer in October 2016.
Sheehan is involved in numerous professional and nonprofit organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Missouri Western State University and is a graduate of the Minnesota Executive Program at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
About Hormel Foods – Inspired People. Inspired Food.™
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 75 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY®, SPAM®, Hormel® Natural Choice®, Applegate®, Justin’s®, Columbus®, Wholly Guacamole®, Hormel® Black Label® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the tenth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future – Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ – focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.


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GARNER – Like most retail executives, Barry Partlo is closely watching the daily sales numbers at his seven Agri Supply Co. farm and garden supply stores. He is hoping the economy will turn around soon and bring back his large-volume customers.
But Partlo is keeping an optimistic outlook with plans to build a new headquarters campus in Garner as soon as retail sales growth looks more stable again.
Partlo, president of Garner-based Agri Supply and wholesaler Direct Distributors Inc., paid almost $1.2 million in mid-March for eight acres of commercial land on Jones Sausage Road in Garner. He plans to build a two-story, 23,800-square-foot office building to house the corporate staff of the two companies.
It may be another two years before construction begins, he says, but the expansion has been needed for several years.
“It’s probably been in my mind for 20 years ... but in the current economic climate, we don’t need to go into the expense of building a new office building,” he says. His corporate staff currently works out of a former funeral home on Vandora Springs Road where the company has operated for some 30 years.
Garner Planning Director Brad Bass says the town council has approved the zoning and site plans for Agri Supply’s new office building, which will be located in a part of town where officials would like to see more commercial development.
“We see it as a positive signal that someone is interested in completing a project out there and reinvesting in north Garner,” Bass says.
He adds that Partlo also hinted to town leaders that more buildings may be added to the site in the future. “We approved the first building, but it could become a campus-type project if (Partlo) wants to move in that direction,” Bass says.
Agri Supply, which stocks more than 26,000 items ranging from farm machine implements and shop tools to cast iron cookware and tractor toys, employs about 100 people in Garner between its corporate office and its 125,000-square-foot retail store on U.S. 70.
The company employs another 285 full-time employees at its mail-order warehouse in the Johnston County town of Micro and six additional retail stores in Greenville, N.C., South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia.
Partlo says the company has not resorted to layoffs, though he has frozen some open positions.
“We’re doing fine, but of course, we’d like to see things better,” he says, adding that sales are down from the previous year. Partlo would not disclose current revenue numbers. The family-owned company generated more than $80 million in sales in 2006.
By comparison, Tractor Supply Co., the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the U.S. and a major rival of Agri Supply, reported fourth-quarter 2008 net sales of $799.5 million, a 10.5 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2007. Same store sales for the quarter increased 1.3 percent compared to the 3.8 percent gain recorded in the previous year.


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In the wake of states and counties passing legislation banning the sale of certain children’s products, the Toy Industry Association (TIA) is calling for a federal approach that would establish a consistent, nationwide approach to chemicals regulation that would preempt state laws.
Last Thursday, nearly 1,300 leaders from the toy and baby products industries came together at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City to celebrate the 2015 Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund Gala. During the evening, $4.6 million was raised for the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys “R” Us Inc., to aid in its mission to keep children safe and help them in times of need. The event was hosted by comedian Martin Short and featured a performance by Lenny Kravitz.
Burger King restaurants and DHX Brands will team up for a global promotion for DHX’s boys’ action property, Slugterra. Burger King restaurants will feature Slugterra alongside Lalaloopsy toys in Kids’ Meals globally throughout May. Guests will have four different Slugterra toys to choose from and collect during the month.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates’ monthly Global Port Tracker, import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is returning to normal levels as officials prepare to count votes on ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement that ended months of uncertainty.
Wonder Workshop has appointed Raghu Sethuraman as COO and Ned Ward as vice president of marketing. Sethuraman will lead global operations, finance, customer service, and reseller partner organizations. He brings more than 16 years of leadership experience to Wonder Workshop from fast growing global e-commerce, supply chain, manufacturing, finance, and customer service organizations including Amazon.
Leslie Ferraro has been named president, Disney Consumer Products, effective immediately. A 16-year Disney veteran, she most recently served as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ executive vice president, global marketing, sales and travel operations, where she was responsible for leading the marketing and sales teams in developing numerous highly successful consumer campaigns worldwide.


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In 2017, a total of 225 firms make it onto our 33rd annual ranking of America’s largest private companies. Taken as a group, these companies have combined revenues of $1.57 trillion, down 3% from last year, and employ 4.7 million people, up from 4.5 million in 2016.
The top of the 2017 is full of familiar faces.
have a lock on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Cargill sits at top of the list for the 10th consecutive year. Revenues grew a modest 2% in 2017 to $109.7 billion. Cargill has missed the No. 1 rank only twice since the first private companies list was published in 1985. Koch Industries comes it at No. 2. Revenues for this year’s list don’t reflect the acquisition of
(ranked No. 67 last year’s private companies list.) Koch Industries acquired the Michigan-based glass company in February 2017.
Rounding out the top 5 are grocery chain
(No. 3) and two of the three accounting firms on the list.
is ranked fourth and PricewaterhouseCoopers is fifth. Albertsons filed for an IPO in 2015, a few months after it completed its acquisition of publicly-traded
, but has put those plans on hold.
jumps up one to No. 6. The Virginia-based company, best known for its candy business, announced in January that it would acquire animal hospital chain VCA in a deal worth $9.1 billion. When this deal is complete, the company’s pet care business will make up over 50% of revenues. Mars owns pet brands such as Pedigree, Wiskas and Royal Canin.
is the highest ranked company to drop off the list. Last year the Texas-based computer company was ranked fourth. Dell completed its merger with
Corporation in September 2016 and began trading as
Along with Dell, there are eight other companies from the 2016 list that didn’t qualify this year. Trucking company
went public via an initial public offering in April 2017.
International Data Group
, the media company behind technology magazines such as PCWolrd and MacWorld, was bought by a Chinese conglomerate earlier this year. Companies don’t qualify for the list for a few reasons; revenues drop below $2 billion, the company is no longer private or foreign ownership.
Uber debuts on the list at No. 52, one of 11 newcomers to the list. It’s the first tech unicorn to rank on our private company list.
was a contender for this list back in 2010 but its revenues didn’t cross the $2 billion threshold while it was still a private company. The ride-sharing company’s potential IPO seems uncertain considering the recent scandals. CEO Travis Kalanick announced in June that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence.
In addition to Uber, notable newcomers include home security company
(No. 114) and restaurant chain
The 2017 list of largest private companies includes only firms with revenue greater than $2 billion. Revenues are through the end of the most recent fiscal year. Most of the companies on our list have no plans to change their private status. Many businesses like the freedom from quarterly earnings expectations and reduced obligations to Sarbanes-Oxley reporting requirements. (Private companies with publicly traded debt must file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.)
In addition to our $2 billion revenue requirement, the companies on our list have either too few shareholders to be required to file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or have shares whose ownership is restricted to some group, such as employees or family members. We exclude foreign companies, companies that don’t pay income tax (like Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority), mutually owned companies (like State Farm Insurance), cooperatives (like Central Grocers), companies with fewer than 100 employees, and companies that are more than 50% owned by another public, private or foreign company. We also leave out companies whose primary business is auto dealerships or real estate investment and/or management. Whenever possible, our revenue figures for each company exclude sales of publicly traded subsidiaries.
Our data sources include voluntary disclosures by companies, Securities and Exchange Commission filing, and estimates from Forbes researchers and outside sources.
See the full list here.
Photo Research: Merrilee Barton
Research: Susan Radlauer
Product Development: Dmitri Slavinsky, Ariana Santana
Producer: Kristin Stoller


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Today, the startup sector in India seems to be bleeding due to business disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic.
Subhashis Kar, Founder & CEO, Techbooze
Covid-19 is the biggest challenge that India’s nascent tech startup ecosystem has faced, says Subhashis Kar, founder and CEO of Techbooze Consultancy Services, an open forum, service-based enterprise that acts as a bridge between startups and investors, filling the information gap between the two sides. It facilitates 360-degree support for startup funding— analysing the current position of the startup, creating investment plans, pitch decks, go-to-market strategy, and a lot more. Kar talks to Sudhir Chowdhary on his venture’s strategy to support startups during this difficult phase.Excerpts:
What is your broad strategy to support startups? Techbooze Consultancy is an open forum and a service-based enterprise, headquartered in India with operations across the globe. Our mission is to improve the quality and standard of the startup ecosystem and provide professional services, by creating a forum based on working with trust. We are facilitating investment rounds for both established and newly emerging companies while offering 360-degree support for start-up funding—right from understanding the current stage of a startup, whether it needs seed round or angel funding; creating investment plans, pitch decks, go-to-market strategy, and a lot more.
Today, the startup sector in India seems to be bleeding due to business disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic. We have been witnessing a massive decline in revenues. Most of the startups have halted operations temporarily or permanently, according to a recent survey by Nasscom.
In these trying times, Techbooze is investing heavily in the Indian startup ecosystem post the recent capital raise by its global investors. With the latest funding, we will be disrupting the traditional functioning of the startups. We are investing in startups from any domain—there is no specific inclination towards a vertical, the only criterion is its business model —profitability and scalability. Some good seed-stage startups are out there who lack the right guidance and resources.
What kind of startups are you supporting during this pandemic situation? We operate across 53 nations. We have been successful in funding over 150 startups across the globe. During the pandemic situation, we are not only nurturing startups in India but across the world as well. We are supporting them in all of their stages while offering 360-degree support for startup funding. The latest funding is for Byju’s, Playco, Ynsect and others.
The government is putting a lot of emphasis on startups and localised innovation today. How do you see this? When you have support from the government, it becomes easier for investors to pitch in. It brings massive trust and builds confidence in the ecosystem. But when we see the other part, say regulations or compliance, it acts as a hindrance resulting in businesses suffering exponentially. With support, it becomes easy for the investors to invest resulting in a flourishing business. The Startup India campaign and easing of investment norms by RBI recently has opened up avenues for global investors to invest in India.
What kinds of challenges are being faced by tech startups in India? When it comes to challenges, the list seems to be endless but the big challenges are—financial resources/investment prospects, regulations, supporting infrastructure, market awareness, inadequacy of the talent pool, right mentor, lack of marketing strategies.


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Lite Breeze, Inc., a San Diego based corporation specializing in athletic clothing and sports team uniforms under its brand name IN THE ZONE, has sued Britney Spears for trademark violation for $10 million in connection with her use of “In the Zone” for her latest CD title and other marketing purposes:
- The lawsuit was filed in February, 2004; however Ms. Spears did not accept service of the legal papers until May, 2004. Although Lite Breeze has been in communication with Ms. Spears’ attorney since February, Ms. Spears refused to give her attorney the authority to accept service of the legal papers. Ms. Spears avoided numerous attempts to serve her the legal papers over the past several months. Finally, Ms. Spears agreed to accept service of the papers if Lite Breeze agreed to postpone the taking of her deposition for six months. Ms. Spears and the other defendants must file their answers to the allegations by June 14, 2004.
Since receiving a cease and desist letter from Lite Breeze requesting that Ms. Spears and the other defendants stop using its IN THE ZONE trademark, the Spears camp has allegedly pulled from sale all t-shirts using the IN THE ZONE trademark. Additionally, Lite Breeze suspects that the name of Ms. Spears’ current worldwide concert tour was changed from “Britney Spears In The Zone 2004 Tour” to “The Onyx Hotel Tour” after the defendants discovered Lite Breeze’s trademark.
….Rodd Garner, President of Lite Breeze, said “We have spent over 12 years building name recognition and brand loyalty with the IN THE ZONE and THE ZONE trademark. IN THE ZONE is as wholesome and All-American as hotdogs and apple pie. We are associated with sporting and musical events throughout the country. By releasing her CD entitled “In The Zone” and its promotional tour, now entitled “The Oynx Hotel Tour”, Ms. Spears has taken Lite Breeze’s brand and equated it with what Rolling Stone Magazine has stated ‘offers strip-club, 1-900 sex, accommodating and hollow.'”
- Mr. Garner stated that the public is likely to be confused about the origin of goods associated with the IN THE ZONE trademark. Either the public will believe that Lite Breeze has licensed Ms. Spears’ use of the trademark or the public will believe the opposite – that Ms. Spears owns the rights to IN THE ZONE and that Lite Breeze has received a license from Ms. Spears. Either option is unacceptable to Mr. Garner who has made clear that the image presented by Ms. Spears in connection with her unauthorized use of trademark is aimed at the same demographic as IN THE ZONE’s customers and her use of the mark does not represent the values, morals and ethics of IN THE ZONE and Lite Breeze.
Ms. Spears’ unauthorized use of the trademark is in direct contradiction to her 2002 public service announcements warning people against music piracy and theft of intellectual property. In those announcements, Ms. Spears stated that downloading music from the Internet is the same as going into a CD store and stealing the CD.
And a hypocrite too.
- Additionally, the defendants may be required to pay three times any judgment awarded if the Court determines that Ms. Spears’ use of the IN THE ZONE trademark was willful. When Lite Breeze filed the lawsuit, it estimated that damages would be $10 million. Since that time, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, Signatures Network, has publicly stated that the first leg of Ms. Spears most recent concert tour has sales figures of more the $30 million. Ms. Spears is beginning the second leg of her U.S. concert tour on June 22, 2004 in Hartford, Connecticut. Accordingly, the damages sought in the lawsuit may be much higher than Lite Breeze originally estimated. [Music Industry News Network]
Hmm, I would think Britney’s avoidance of this is a pretty good sign that she’s in deep doodoo on this – could be very expensive.


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Researchers at Purdue University and the University of Virginia have designed peelable electronic films that can be cut and pasted onto any object, offering new sensing capabilities to everything from toy blocks to unmanned aircraft.
"We could customize a sensor, stick it onto a drone, and send the drone to dangerous areas to detect gas leaks, for example," said Chi Hwan Lee, Purdue assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, in a recent press release.
Using a new fabrication technique, called “transfer printing,” Lee and his colleagues created a kind of electronic sticker that supports new Internet of Things applications, such as turning an ordinary flower pot into one that senses temperature and light changes.
“This technology enables sticker-like thin-film sensors or electronics which can be simply pasted onto a surface or substrate of interest, which would be highly valuable in the ubiquitous IoT sensing applications,” Lee told Tech Briefs. “It can endow any surface with desired sensing capability or electronic functionalities.”
The researchers demonstrated capabilities on various objects in a paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Most of today’s traditional electronic circuits are built individually atop a flat and rigid silicon wafer. The wafer substrate, however, must frequently be replaced when undergoing the high temperatures and chemical etching required to remove an IC.
Lee’s “transfer printing” method uses just a single wafer to fabricate a high quantity of thin films holding electronic circuits.
A ductile metal layer, like nickel, is inserted between the electronic film and the silicon wafer, making the separation possible in water. No high temperatures or chemicals required.
“You can potentially build any kind of thin-film sensors on conventional wafers by using traditional fabrication methods, and then this technology can physically separate the functional layer from the wafer,” said Lee.
The functional device rests on temporary reusable tape. The thin-film electronics can then be trimmed and pasted onto any surface, providing electronic features to a variety of objects, including whiteboards, building windows, and desks.
“The physical peeling of high-performance industrial-grade thin-film sensors or electronics from the fabrication native wafer is novel and valuable because the peeled thin-film device can be used anywhere and anyplace,” said Lee.
Where do you see these peelable thin-film devices being used? Share your comments and questions below.


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Bob Marley is about to become the face of a new marijuana blend dubbed Marley Natural.
It’s no secret a big part of Bob Marley image is about smoking weed and over the years the plant has become entrenched in Rastafarian culture.
But now Bob Marley estate has signed a deal to licensed the reggae legend’s name and likeness for the Marley Natural brand of marijuana.
Private equity group Privateer Holdings is the company behind the premium brand of Marijuana. They have already secured a 60,000-square-foot property on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where they will grow the strains of “heirloom Jamaican cannabis” that Bob Marley use to smoke.
“This is what the end of prohibition looks like,” Brendan Kennedy, the CEO of Privateer Holdings, told NBC News. “Bob Marley started to push for legalization more than 50 years ago. We’re going to help him finish it.”
This marks the Marley family’s first move into Marijuana. They have already been pushing coffee, electronics, energy drink and other consumer goods using Bob Marley’s image.
“It just seems natural that Daddy should be part of this conversation,” said Cedella Marley, Bob’s eldest daughter who is now 47. “As Daddy would say, ‘make way for the positive day.’”
“Herb is for the healing of the nation; herb is for the meditation; herb is for the higher vibrations,” Rohan Marley added.
According to Forbes magazine, Bob Marley is the 9th top earning dead celebrities. His estate raked in $20 million over the last year.
The new Marijuana products will include “loose packed” buds, oils or concentrate. So there will be no ready to smoke joints, at least not yet.


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Manufacturing companies in India signalled an increase in output during July amid reports of growing new orders. That said, the pace of expansion was the slowest in the past eight months.
New orders continued to rise but at the weakest rate since last November as new export orders fell for the first time since October 2011. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the global economic slowdown affected export markets, leading to weaker demand. Moreover, dollar appreciation was mentioned as a driver behind falling export business.
Job creation was recorded at manufacturing firms in India during July. The rate of increase was only modest, and eased since June. Panellists reportedly recruited more labour in line with higher production. Meanwhile, the volume of work-in-hand (but not yet completed) fell moderately. This was the first contraction in backlogs of work recorded since September 2011.
Manufacturing firms in India signalled rising charges during July. Output price inflation has persisted in the sector for 35 successive months. However, the rate of increase during July slowed from the reading in the previous month. Input costs also rose and, in line with charges, at a slower pace than June. Respondents stated that factory gate prices were increased to reflect rising fuel, labour and raw material costs. Additionally, dollar appreciation was mentioned as a factor leading to rising charges.
Post-production inventories were accumulated in July, but at a slight pace. Panellists reportedly accumulated stocks of finished goods as demand was weaker-than-anticipated. Meanwhile, pre-production inventories were broadly unchanged.
Quantity of purchases in the Indian manufacturing sector increased moderately, with the pace of increase being the slowest since September 2011. Manufacturers stated that input buying rose in line with increasing new orders.
Average lead times were little moved from June with the majority (96%) of manufacturers reporting that vendor performance was unchanged. Moreover, the index posted below its long-run average.


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If you’re wondering what travel post-COVID-19 will look like—Where is travel heading? What are the trends? Who is booking now as some destinations and hotels slowly reopen?—we have some answers for you.
Yesterday, Recommend participated in a town hall session with members of ASTA’s board of directors,
Zane Kerby, ASTA president and CEO, noted that he spoke to ASTA’s outside research team, which is surveying consumers every two weeks, and he says they reinforced the idea that many consumers have stronger concerns about societal issues right now than they do about their own personal economic decisions. Adding that “though that may cause them to avoid travel to large cities in the near term, many are exhausted by the quarantine and restless to get out and see the world.”
So what are these consumers planning and who are they?
“On the corporate side, they’re itching to go, it’s starting slower than I thought,” said Dave Hershberger, ASTA board chair and president of Prestige Travel Leaders, Inc. “I initially thought corporate would be the first ones back into travel. On the vacation side, boy there’s pent-up demand and pent-up interest. We’re getting so many requests, [we’re] not doing many bookings, but we’ve gotten a lot of requests.” He added that people call saying they want to go to Hawaii as soon as possible or to the Dominican Republic. “There’s a lot of interest right now and I think as soon as we get some help from the CDC, I think we will see a real burst of travel again,” he said.
Denise Jackson, ASTA corporate advisory council, and president and CEO of Balboa Travel, Inc., noted that most of her business comes from corporate meetings & incentives. “On the meetings side,” she said, “large meetings have cancelled for the obvious reasons. We’re seeing more of a demand for virtual meetings. We’ve had to recreate that area overall. We’ve entered into new partnerships with virtual technology companies to be able to create the technology beyond Zoom and Go To meetings for more of an experience type. For our corporate customers, we’ve spent a lot of time providing COVID information for them. And we’ve created a desk just for them that is getting information out. That seems to be the biggest piece—a lot of questions and information we’re providing on the account management side. They’re really trying to determine beyond their essential travelers that have to go, what liabilities are still in place.”
Jackson added that, “They’re frustrated over international travel and when Level Fours will go down, and how the schedules with airlines will play into that. It’s not just the CDC saying ‘go,’ but when are the airlines going to have capacity and the ability with the schedules to get them where they need to go. It’s all suppliers that have to play in to make sure that we can get out there on the road.” She added that customers are asking, “’Are restaurants open? Are hotels up to speed?’ It’s not just about is a hotel clean. It’s the surrounding area…what’s going to be open? Is there a car, is there Uber? What services are available? We’re working on a regular basis with communication and it’s a higher demand than ever before.
“Bottom line is our customers are still there; they haven’t left us. They’re just not traveling. They’re anxious to go. The question is just if international is going to go before domestic. And, I think Dave is right, we felt that some of the corporate travel will go before the leisure travel, but the leisure is definitely coming back to us and starting to book,” she said.
Jackson added that she’s hearing more families wanting to travel together than before. “But that also presents a problem because it has to do with whether they can all go together and where can they go. We’re starting to see the sales out there. I saw today a Crystal Cruise [offer] that was an amazing price in the Caribbean that I’d never seen before. The deals are there, but it’s the question, ‘Am I going to get stuck on a ship? Am I going to be able to take the entire family? Can we all sit down for dinner at the same time? Are we going to have to keep social distance?’ We’re having to become the experts. All our travel advisors are dealing with the same thing out there, but every one wants to book and get going.”
Marc Casto, vice chair and secretary for ASTA board of directors and senior v.p. of FCM Travel Solutions USA, added, “For us, leisure travel is definitely leading the way out of this. I agree with Denise, this is a chicken or the egg situation. Which will open up first? Is it going to be the traveler demand? Is it the regulations? Is it airline capacity? All of those have to work in tandem. But, I believe that the critical element is that the traveler interest has to resurface and that’s going to open the doors for things to come.”
Who is Looking to Travel?
Casto noted that FCM Travel Solutions is noticing an increase in search activity on their website or e-commerce platforms. He said, “So people are back looking, obviously at very diminished levels, but any kind of positive trend, is a positive trend.
“There are two different segments that are starting to show some positive growth. The first is the destination group, specifically the wedding market,” he said. “Apparently, being pent-up for the last couple of months has been very good for the wedding industry. The other side is our student universe—focused on student travel—we’ve actually hit some critical transaction numbers just this last week,” said Casto. Adding that, “Millennials themselves have been showing more of an interest to get on the road than other demographics. They’re certain to push the envelope a little further, as they always do, and will push the envelope a little further in the travel area and they’re starting to open up some new destinations for us.”
Supply & Demand?
“Let’s talk a little more about demand,” Kerby noted. “Bringing a plane back into the sky is a challenge. It’s not a snap your fingers and it happens tomorrow. There are a lot of things that need to be calibrated to bring a plane back, plus any plane that’s been sitting for more than 30 days has to go through a recertification program with the FAA, so do pilots. So the idea of demand returning with air is a real challenge, and I think we might see some lag there.”
Jackson responded, pointing out that if a vaccine is found and the CDC puts measures in place, we’ll start seeing a flow again. Adding that, “I think what customers are struggling with is that companies are struggling over when to send their employees and the possibility of contacting COVID, or it being fatal, and the liability for that. They want to be sure that their employee is safe, and that all the suppliers along the way are ready and able to get them across the country if necessary in the best possible way.
“Some of what we’re hearing from the airlines is about avoiding the middle seat, and if you’re not comfortable you can cancel. But, what we’re all not educated on is, if you cancel that middle seat, you might not get on the flight for two weeks. That’s not going to work in the corporate environment for those of us who are selling corporate travel. You’ll miss your meeting. It has got to be up and running and make sense,” she added.
“The unknown is the problem. A vaccine would be extremely helpful because then that takes everything out of the equation,” continued Jackson. “The problem is we can’t really plan, because we don’t know. We’re seeing positive numbers, they’re not great numbers, but we are able to see positive numbers.”
Jackson recalled that as a board they were asked where they thought we would be in June. “I don’t think any one of us got it right,” she said.
Is Social Distancing Enough?
Kerby asked the group if they had a sense of if measures put forth by the CDC and social distancing would be enough for travelers
Casto said, “I would say those are all necessary components. But, in and of themselves, they’re not sufficient. We need some liability reform associated with this. California is now on a presumption stage. Where, if you get COVID, you’re presumed to have gotten it in your workplace. That’s going to impact the return to work strategies for many different companies. And the ability and willingness for people to travel for business purposes. So we need some of these regulatory components to be addressed to encourage a more positive environment for economic return,” adding that, “The steps that ASTA has been taking for this is very beneficial. Not just for the corporate travelers, but also for any of those who engage with them.”
What is the New Travel Trend?
“Will the pandemic cause permanent shifts in travel demand on the leisure side, asked Kerby, “Will RVs replace Paris and the pyramids?”
“No,” said Hershberger. “I don’t think so, but I think there will be a growing demand for domestic trips—one of my favorite destinations to travel to is any one of the 62 national parks. I think for the short-term, the domestic will far outpace international. But there’s nothing like seeing the pyramids, there’s nothing like seeing the Louvre. The National Parks are great, and there’s a lot to see in the United States, but there’s something about going to another culture that changes you. It broadens your horizons, it really changes how you view the world when you travel internationally. I don’t think that’s going to be a major change.”
Casto added, “If people wanted to travel just to see sites, save thousands of dollars, go to Google and type in pyramids, and you see all the pyramids and photos from every angle much better than any photo you can possibly take. But that doesn’t satisfy anything. That doesn’t address what it is or the why we travel
“It’s going to be diminished for the present, but it will come back. There’s no question it will come back. People need to see the world; people need to connect; people need to experience. That’s a hard wiring in our DNA as the need for water, the need for sun, to get our vitamin D and anything else; it will resume.”
What are Employees doing?
As far as how these business leaders are managing their current work environment, Jackson said she took advantage of one of the PPP Loans and brought back all of her staff. “We didn’t have a lot of transactions for them to go through so we focused on training, which we do regularly anyway. Most of our agents are virtual anyway. We had some tech projects they worked on. Our agents know how to use technology, but they don’t know how to build it, or why they’re supposed to use it. We educated them on a lot of the technology the agents are using. We created a COVID desk and redeployed agents on that. The sales team did presentations for them so they could see what the sales presentations were like. And, we did some community service with senior citizen groups where they sang opera and broadway for them. And, we had them hone in on any certifications they needed to do.”
“Training has been very important,” added Hershberger. “We now have time to do things we didn’t have time for back in February. Do things make sense? Can we clean something up? We’ve looked into a lot of our operations. Because of the PPP, I have people working with about 10 percent of the workload. We have a lot of time to be a little more creative,” he noted. “A little more time to think about things. We’re reaching out to past customers, not to sell them on anything right now, but to see how they’re doing. Let them know we’re going to be here for you at the end of this.”
Jackson added, “I encourage you to go to those customers willing to give you time, and give you insight on what they’re looking for and what you can do differently. It’s amazing the intel you’re getting that you can bring back to your business, and make decisions that otherwise you may have gone in the wrong direction. It’s enabled us to make a plan moving forward, because if you talk to enough customers, you’re hearing the same thing over and over. Because they have learned to live in a new model, and we need to be prepared for that—not what we think is the new model, but what they think is the new model, because they’re going to pay us at the end of the day.”


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Musk’s company, Tesla, has a patent for an electric piano that it says it has been developing for more than 30 years.
The patent, filed in October, describes a design for a piano that is similar to a traditional electric piano.
The piano, which Musk calls a “hybrid” or “interconnected piano,” would have two pianos, one made of wood and the other made of a rubber-like material.
The rubber-made piano would be connected to a speaker that would control the sound of the two pianoms.
Musk says he is currently working on the design, but that the patent should be approved “immediately.”
He says the patent is still in the planning stage, but he thinks it will be ready by the end of the year.
Musks patent describes the piano as “one piece of wood with a rubber soundboard and rubber-type surface, a speaker, and a battery compartment.
The battery compartment can be placed anywhere on the surface of the wood.”
The patent is just the latest example of Musk’s innovative patent filings, as he is constantly tinkering with new ideas.
He also created a new car with a motor, called a “Hyperloop.”
Musk also patented an idea for a car that would be driven by a self-driving electric vehicle.
The company was able to sell 1,000 vehicles, according to a report from Reuters.


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As costs rise, Individuals are more and more discovering new methods to make ends meet.
However with some crucial purchases, corresponding to groceries, there are fewer choices that do not contain taking over debt.
That makes the choice to pay later — by corporations corresponding to Klarna, Zip, Zilch, Affirm and Afterpay — look more and more enticing.
Extra from Private Finance:
Most shoppers underestimate month-to-month subscription prices
These steps may also help you sort out hectic bank card debt
Individuals now much less prone to tip generously for takeout
About two-thirds of shoppers have fearful up to now month about affording groceries because of the rise of inflation, a latest LendingTree survey discovered.
On the similar time, Zip stated it notched 95% development in U.S. grocery purchases, in line with The New York Occasions. Klarna reported that greater than half of the highest 100 gadgets its app customers at the moment are shopping for are grocery or home items.
“The truth that there’s a lot of Individuals that merely cannot afford to purchase meals highlights the desperation that this financial local weather creates,” stated Marshall Lux, a fellow on the Mossavar-Rahmani Middle for Enterprise and Authorities on the Harvard Kennedy College.
“As soon as individuals begin stretching out grocery funds it reveals the peak of non-public desperation,” Lux added.
Though inflation, total, started to ease final month together with gasoline costs, meals prices climbed 1.1% in July, bringing the year-over-year achieve to 10.9%, in line with the most recent Client Value Index figures.
The food-at-home index, a measure of value modifications on the grocery retailer, notched the biggest 12-month enhance since 1979.
Utilizing BNPL might imply individuals ‘overextend themselves’
“For somebody who has the flexibility to pay, that is an interest-free mortgage,” Lux stated.
Nevertheless, BNPL’s fast development is pushed primarily by youthful shoppers, with two-thirds of BNPL debtors thought-about subprime, Lux famous, which makes them particularly weak to financial shocks or a doable recession.
“Within the best-case situation, this may allow individuals to hold on or, within the worst case, overextend themselves,” he stated.
Additional, the extra BNPL accounts open directly, the extra susceptible shoppers grow to be to overspending, missed or late funds and poor credit score historical past, different analysis reveals.
Typically, for those who miss a cost there could possibly be late charges, deferred curiosity or different penalties, relying on the lender. (CNBC’s Choose has a full roundup of charges, annual share charges, whether or not a credit score examine is carried out, and if the supplier studies to the credit score scoring corporations, wherein case a late cost might additionally ding your credit score rating.)
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.


text: What are you talking about? There are plenty of companies making money off of selling Android devices. Google isn't one of them because Google doesn't manufacture phones or charge for Android. Consumers get the iPhone for the OS/interface. The underlying hardware is largely irrelevant. What this data tells us is that consumers are embracing a smartphone OS outside of the iPhone. Apple isn't capturing the same level of market/mind share domination as it had with the iPod. The space will get even more exciting when Microsoft releases what looks to be a solid OS in Windows Phone 7. Ultimately, this is a market that will be commoditized. Android is FREE and a viable competitor. Microsoft is a commoditizer and will charge peanuts for its plaform. If there's one thing that Microsoft does right, it is to claw its way back into a market people forgot about it in. The premium that Apple charges for its platform/phone will be eroded over the next few years.


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Report: US diesel sales are up by 25 percent according to study
The Diesel Technology Forum, HybridCars.com, and Baum & Associates conducted a recent study. And in that study, they found that Americans are taking the diesel passenger car concept a little more seriously as sales are reportedly up by 25 percent since last year.
With the current rate, the study predicts that the market share of total diesels could double by 2018 as the concept of better fuel economy without a loss in power is more accepted. So far, 46 diesel passenger car models are offered in the US, between 27 cars and SUVs. That said, diesel engines aren’t left for full-size pickups and commercial vehicles, thankfully.
For the press release on the study, check it out after the jump.
U.S. Clean Diesel Car Sales Increase 25% in 2014; Overall U.S. Car Market is Up 4%
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — U.S. clean diesel car sales have increased 25 percent during the first six months of 2014 while the overall U.S. car market has increased by 4.2 percent, according to data compiled by Hybrid Cars.com and Baum and Associates.
The 2014 clean diesel sales total includes six months of consecutive sales increases, including double digit increases in March (+ 39.5%), April (+ 60.4%) and May (+26.8%). June 2014 was the 43rd monthly increase in clean diesel sales in the past 47 months, with 31 of those months registering double-digit increases.
2014 Clean Diesel & Hybrid Car Sales
Vs. 2013 Monthly Sales
*(Diesel car and SUV markets only – does not include light duty pickup trucks or vans.)
(Source: Hybrid Cars.com and Baum and Associates)
“Sustained and mostly double-digit increases in sales each month over a four year period prove that U.S. consumers are embracing the benefits of clean diesel technology and its proven, high fuel efficiency, great driving performance, and long-term value,” said Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum.
“The consistently positive sales trends for clean diesel are particularly noteworthy since they have occurred over a recessionary economic period when diesel fuel prices have trended upward, and consumers have many more fuel efficient vehicle choices than ever before. Today, the clean diesel choices include 27 cars and SUVs, nine vans and 10 pickup trucks. We expect that number to nearly double in the next 18 months, and we expect that more models in more brands will only generate higher sales in the future.
“While diesel cars and pickup trucks make up only three percent of the overall U.S. vehicle market, most analysts predict continued growth in the U.S., with many believing the diesel market will double by 2018.”
The Hybrid Cars.com/Baum and Associates sales information follows data compiled by IHS Automotive for the Diesel Technology Forum released last month that showed clean diesel vehicle registrations (cars, SUVS, vans and pickups) had increased by 30 percent from 2010 through 2013.
Link to press release: http://www.dieselforum.org/news/california-texas-and-florida-lead-u-s-in-high-mileage-diesel-and-hybrid-passenger-vehicles
Diesels Have 30% Better Fuel Efficiency Than Gasoline Vehicles
Schaeffer said Americans are seeking more fuel efficient cars and are learning that clean diesel vehicles are about 30 percent more fuel efficient that gasoline equivalents. In addition, he said the new federal fuel efficiency standards that will require a 54.5 mpg average by 2025 will also boost clean diesel auto sales, as auto manufacturers introduce more diesels in the U.S. to help meet these standards.
To see a list of all clean diesel cars and pickups available in the U.S., a list of all the new diesels coming to the U.S. market, and fuel efficiency data go here:
Diesel Technology Forum – http://www.dieselforum.org/
Hybrid Cars.com – http://www.hybridcars.com/june-2014-dashboard/
Baum and Associates – http://www.baum-assoc.com/Pages/default.aspx
Leaders in clean diesel vehicles:
Cummins – http://www.cummins.com/cmi/
Chrysler (Jeep, Ram Trucks) – http://www.chryslergroupllc.com/Pages/Home.aspx
Daimler (Mercedes Benz) – http://www.daimler.com/
Ford – http://www.ford.com/
General Motors (GMC/Chevrolet) – http://www.gm.com/
Mazda – http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayHomepage.action
Volkswagen Group (Audi, Porsche, VW) – http://www.vw.com/
ABOUT THE DIESEL TECHNOLOGY FORUM
The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit national organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology, and working with policymakers and other stakeholders on common solutions. Forum members are leaders in clean diesel technology. For more information visit www.dieselforum.org.
For the latest insights and information from the leaders in clean diesel technology, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @DieselTechForum, or YouTube @DieselTechForum and connect with us on LinkedIn.


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Protesting shoppers dump food plastic at Bath Tesco tills
A supermarket near Bath has come under a coordinated "plastic attack" by shoppers fed up with the excess packaging on groceries.
Up to 25 customers at Tesco in Keynsham ripped the plastic packaging off their shopping and left it at the tills.
Tony Mitchell, who organised the protest, said: "We had scissors and stripped the things we'd bought of plastic; we filled three huge trolleys with plastic."
Tesco has been approached for comment but has yet to respond.


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Vivo is one of the most common names in the smartphone market for making products of every price range. This company initiated building its new office in Shenzhen, China. They planned to make this as their headquarter in the future and at the site, it alone spend 180 million USD.
The new office will of a 32 story building and scheduled to complete it by 2025. The responsibility to make this project is given to NBBJ, a US architectural firm. This firm has the records of designing the Samsung’s Silicon Vally campus as well as the Amazon Spheres in Seattle.
The under-construction building will give shelter to the company’s flagship store, keep 5,800 employees, and also there will be indoor gardens on every floor.
To boost the construction work and the financial fluency, Vivo gets the support of Tencent Holdings and ByteDance as a major investor. Among them, Tencent already contributed 1.2 billion USD to the campus and Vivo itself spends 1.3 billion Yuan on it. This amount is equivalent to 182 million USD.
“What we’ve seen now is part of a natural life cycle of these companies where they’ve outgrown their current facilities, and they need new ones to operationally support their growing global each. It’s increasingly rare in the US for companies to build their individual headquarters campus, and you still see it in Asia.” – Robert Mankin, NBBJ official.
Do Check Out 👇🏼


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Don’t OD on cheese
Yes, cheese is all kinds of creamy goodness, and we’d never tell you to eat your pizza without it. However, that doesn’t mean it’s OK to order a pizza with cheese stuffed into every possible nook and cranny. Stick with a single layer of cheese on top of the pizza, though, and it can actually be good for you. That’s because getting a bit of extra calcium every day may actually help keep you lean. According to a study in the journal Obesity Research, men and women who cut calories but added dairy foods high in calcium to their diet lost 70% more weight over 24 months than people who only dieted.
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A man bit off more than he could chew when he munched into his beef and onion pie and found a “cow’s tooth”.
Adam Young, a dad and part-time weatherman, was left disgusted after making the discovery in the Fray Bentos pie, which he had purchased from a corner store in Kent.
Describing the moment, he said it was like “crunching a stone”.
“But when I spat it out onto my plate I could see it was a tooth,” he said.
“The first thing I did was double-check my own teeth, but they were all intact.
“I’ve looked on the internet and I think it might be from a young cow. I certainly didn’t expect to find anything like that in my pie.”
Adam said he immediately alerted the food company in case more of the pies needed to be recalled.
He added: “I wanted to warn them in case they needed to take all their other tins off the shelves.
“I don’t want anyone else finding a tooth. They might choke on it and die.
“I was thinking of putting it under my pillow to see what the tooth fairy might bring me, but from now on, I’m sticking with salads.”
A spokeswoman for Fray Bentos, which makes the pies, said: “Quality is extremely important to us and we take all customer concerns seriously.
“We can confirm that we have been in contact with Mr Young and have requested that some details along with the foreign object be sent to us to ensure we can investigate this matter thoroughly.”
Baxters Food Group, which makes the pies, said local sourcing was a key ingredient in their “recipe for success”.
It was not the first time that a customer has found a tooth, with one woman from Scotland reported to have found one in 2012.
In April, it was reported that the Fray Bentos Just Chicken pies had to be taken off the shelves because they might have contained small bits of plastic.


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Rome has been fighting a losing battle with waste for many years. The city is home to three million people and does not operate its own waste incineration plant. Its authorities have previously been struggling with the issue more than they have actually been coping with it. People living in Rome, for instance, were in the past called upon to help keep the streets clean by installing home-composting systems on their balconies. Despite being charged the second highest waste-disposal rates in the country after Naples.
Now a new campaign has been launched to help keep at least some drinks bottles off the streets. The idea is for passengers to be given the opportunity to pay for their tickets with plastic bottles at selected underground railway stations.
BOTTLE RECYCLING FOR MOBILITY
They hope to turn plastic bottles into a recyclable resource with a value and thus help solve the waste problem in the Eternal City. Machines have been taking back plastic bottles with volumes ranging between 0.25 and two litres at three underground-railway stations in Rome since the end of July 2019. In return for the bottles, a smartphone app issues credits to passengers, which they can then use to purchase tickets for the underground railway and buses.
Five cents are paid for every bottle returned. Travellers in Rome are able to purchase a standard €1.50 ticket for 30 bottles. The city and – above all – its mayor Virginia Raggi want to tackle the serious challenges that waste presents them with in the city.
Plastics as currency
The 12-month test project that Atac – Rome’s public transport company – has launched under the heading of ‘Ricicli+Viaggi’ is not the first of its kind. Tickets are also being issued in return for bottles in Istanbul, Beijing, Sidney and Surabay in Indonesia. That means, as Paolo Simoni, who heads the transport company, said at the launch of the project, that crypto currencies are now being followed by plastic currencies.


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The Fashion Retailer’s Latest Innovation on Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon Features the Music Icon for an Enhanced User Experience with a New Collection of Digital and Physical Items
LOS ANGELES, March 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — To commemorate the one-year anniversary of Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon on Roblox, Pacsun has partnered with music icon and Hip-Hop pioneer, Slick Rick, to offer its community an exclusive virtual experience. Known for his legendary storytelling and fashion sense, Slick Rick brings his unique flair to the immersive experience, uniting the legacy of Hip Hop with the modern metaverse.
“Collaborating with Roblox and Pacsun is a true honor. Together, we’re bridging generations, telling stories, pushing boundaries, and creating a vibrant virtual world where music intersects with technology, AI, and fashion. It’s a groundbreaking partnership that embodies the spirit of innovation and creativity that hip hop has always championed and a testament to the lasting impact and evolution of the culture,” said Slick Rick.
“Our digital community has been instrumental in shaping our presence on Roblox, and we wanted to bring them something special to celebrate the inaugural anniversary of Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon,” said Richard Cox, VP of Men’s and Global Partnerships at Pacsun. “By integrating one of our fundamental pillars – music – into the fabric of our celebration and teaming up with a multi platinum artist Slick Rick, an icon synonymous with music, culture and fashion, we’re delivering a fresh and exciting experience inside the virtual world and beyond.”
In this immersive collaboration, users have the opportunity to interact with Slick Rick’s 3-D NPC digital avatar to earn exclusive digital items and rewards inspired by his iconic accessories. From a crown to an eye patch and a flying saucer watch, users can enhance their in-experience look and customize their avatars with Slick Rick’s signature style.
In addition to the virtual experience, Pacsun and Slick Rick co-created a four-piece collection of limited-edition merchandise, giving users access to real-life clothing from the collaboration at Pacsun stores and online, building on the brand’s previous strides to integrate in-store shopping elements into its virtual offerings. The collection builds on the latest digital expression trends reflected in Roblox’s research where the majority of Gen Z say they are likely to consider a popular brand in the physical world once they try on or wear their item on their avatars virtually and 43% looking for fashion brands to offer “twinning” items they can wear both on their physical selves and their avatars.
In the ever-evolving landscape of Roblox, Pacsun has proven to be a fashion trailblazer, experiencing phenomenal growth by merging fashion, technology, and community, with a large community of over 60K+ monthly active users and 11M+ visits overall to its highly successful Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon, an experience that pays tribute to Pacsun’s Southern California roots and aligns with the platform’s most popular and successful genre. The collaboration with Slick Rick serves as a catalyst for Pacsun’s exponential growth on Roblox, showcasing the brand’s ability to leverage the power of the platform to showcase its identity and commemorate significant cultural moments and figures in innovative ways. Pacsun remains committed to bridging the gap between the virtual and physical worlds, offering users an experience that reflects the spirit and creativity of collaboration, demonstrating its forward-thinking approach and ability to adapt.
Within Roblox’s top 2,500 experiences, Pacsun stands out as a benchmark for daily active users, new user acquisitions, and user engagement, surpassing the average among branded experiences on the platform and user expectations, while captivating the community with its unique and enticing virtual content.
Images of the merchandise and Roblox can be accessed here.
Originally published at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pacsun-celebrates-anniversary-on-roblox-with-slick-rick-collaboration-and-exclusive-merchandise-302102007.html
Some images courtesy of https://pixabay.com