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Seven in 10 women have set aside money in their budget just to afford feminine hygiene products, new research suggests.
A survey of 2,000 American women found that although respondents reserve an average of $30 per month for sanitary pads, tampons and other related products, 47% “always” or “often” go over budget.
Women in the Northeast reported having the hardest time affording feminine hygiene products, with 82% having to set aside extra money.
Members of the arts and entertainment industry were most likely to struggle with paying for these products (95%), while 78% of education professionals echoed this sentiment.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Premom, the survey also found that 73% believe these essential items should be accessible at all costs.
Respondents think feminine hygiene products should especially be free of cost in high schools (39%), medical facilities (38%) and public restrooms (35%).
Another issue women face is lack of accessibility, with 46% saying they have trouble finding feminine hygiene products in stores.
Half of women in the Southeast said their convenience store doesn’t always carry these products, while just over half in the Northeast said that finding these products in department stores and drugstores can be difficult.
On average, women have to travel around six miles to secure the feminine hygiene products they need, and 83% stock up while they’re at the store to avoid another trip back.
That may be why seven in 10 said they always have feminine hygiene products at the ready, regardless of whether or not they need any themselves.
“Our results show that most women believe that access to affordable menstrual products is a basic necessity. With today's technological advancements in FemTech, women have the ability to better understand their menstrual cycle patterns so they could be more empowered taking care of their health," said Sherry Liu, founder and CEO for Premom. "Educating women on the importance of tracking their cycles and consistently committing to do so can help adequately prepare them for fertility health care even with limited access to resources.”
More than two-thirds think it’s unfair that they have to pay for feminine hygiene products.
About half of all respondents believe federal and state governments should be responsible for providing free feminine hygiene products, with 45% saying the onus should be on doctors’ offices, hospitals and health clinics.
And nearly two-thirds believe that feminine hygiene products should be covered by health insurance.
"Period equity isn’t only financial. As a physician, I have significant concerns about related health issues, as attempting to use unapproved alternatives or extend the life of period products can potentially cause serious infections," said Dr. Patti Haebe, Chief Medical Advisor for Premom.
WHERE SHOULD FREE PERIOD PRODUCTS BE AVAILABLE?
- High schools - 39%
- Doctors’ offices, hospitals and health clinics - 38%
- Middle schools - 36%
- Public restrooms - 35%
- Colleges - 34%
- Prisons - 33%
- Airports - 31%
- Hotels - 30%
- Restaurants and cafes - 29%
- Event halls - 29%
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Science Policy & Governance found that: "Period poverty has negative impacts on physical and mental health, as well as long term decreased productivity in educational and professional outcomes."
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The former Lucky restaurant in Harriston will now become Skylynn Boutique come April.
The clothing boutique store announced over social media they will be opening in town.
The site which is still under construction and transformation is expected to ready to go and open up in the spring.
Owners posting over social media say they are excited in the new journey and expansion.
Updates will continue to be provided over social media.

domain: news


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Over the years, large companies have created sub-brands in order to tap into previously unexplored markets. Oppo is no stranger to this, being the parent company to OnePlus. But now it looks like the company is ready to spawn another offshoot called Realme.
While there aren't a lot of details surrounding the company, it looks like it will be launching a new smartphone in a matter of weeks. The first handset will be called the Realme 1 and will have quite a unique design when it comes to its rear. The variant pictured will be known as the Diamond Black variant.
According to the Amazon India website, this will be a device crafted for the youth and will have plenty of support with over 500 service centers, presumably located in India, offering repair services, with most taking only an hour's time. The Realme 1 will be an Amazon exclusive.
As for now, we will have to be patient. But luckily, we won't have to wait long, as the Realme1 is slated to arrive on May 15.
Source: Realme (Twitter), Amazon India
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Four of our top Executives on how VO is coping with Covid-19, keeping in contact with our customers, and how it is changing the future of work.
It is a time of great and rapid change in the industry, and the ongoing situation with Covid-19 is only making that more obvious. In some instances it has thrown an accelerant on changes that were already underway, such as the move to remote workflows in post production and live events. In other areas it has put the brakes on to a startling degree, with production halted around the world and only tentatively starting to pick up again now under strict controls.
In all this though, people are still watching television — and more of it than ever! — companies still need their services maintained to high SLAs, and the video pirates are still active and content needs protecting. In other words, while business is not exactly continuing as normal, far from it, it is continuing.
We spoke to four of our top Executives, the people in charge of VO’s solutions in different sectors of the industry, to find out what the impacts of Covid-19 have been in different areas and how VO is rising to the challenge.
Rony Gihan - Executive VP, Customer Delivery
Rony Gihan is our EVP, Customer Delivery, and as such faced some immediate challenges once the lockdowns started rolling out in Europe and beyond. VO’s Operation Centres maintain round the clock monitoring of our services and it was important to ensure business continuity could be maintained as staff and customers started to work from home.
“Working to ensure we could provide 24/7, Level 1 support from home was a challenge,” he says. “Not only were we continuing our usual support services, but we were also requested to keep working on activities such as integration and validation with our partners remotely; something we were used to doing side by side at customer facilities.”
Network issues had to be overcome, especially when it came to connecting into customers’ backend networks from the VO teams’ homes, but the fact that these were sorted out successfully and business continues leads Gihan to see it as part of the new normal.
“We will see more and more services running from home,” he says. “E-commerce and teleworking will challenge the necessity for office space.”
He sees other implications too, notably an increasing digitisation of many aspects of everyday life and big boost for 5G
“As people see that high quality connectivity is a basic necessity during confinement every operator will look now to go into 5G,” he says.
Arnaud Alvarez, Executive VP, Global Sales
“Our challenge is not just our challenge, but the challenge for all of our customers, prospects or partners,” says Arnaud Alvarez, VO’s Executive VP, Global Sales about the Covid-19 pandemic. “Consequently, the entire industry’s first challenge was to re-invent or invent a new way of working, keeping in mind we are all committed to maintain the same level of business continuity. This was our first communication to our customers when the crisis started.”
Alvarez concedes that VO is in a lucky position compared to many in the industry in that its core business is software and thus is not directly impacted by the many hardware issues — components shortage, goods transportation and more — that have been a supply chain problem for many other companies.
For sales, video conferencing has become as prevalent a tool as it has elsewhere in the industry.
“By nature a sales person is not supposed to stay at home so we had to quickly digest this new way of working and reinvent from scratch how to manage customer relationships, business prospects and qualification, and so on. Digital communication tools and video conferencing apps will never replace a human interaction, and there is no doubt that we are currently all missing the ability to create intimacy and/or maintain it for existing customers.
“This is why we have regular (daily) contacts between our team, and also with our contacts from the industry, partners, prospects and customers on a regular basis,” he continues. “This is definitively one of the keys to being stronger when this crisis is over.”
What is heartening to hear is that business for VO has not ground to a halt at all, but has continued, even accelerated, during the pandemic.
“We are replying to many RFx and still identifying new leads,” comments Alvarez. “It seems our industry is still looking to proceed with vendor selection and expecting we’ll then run at full speed to execute and deliver if selected.”
For the future he sees remote working as becoming an established part of business practice, with many companies seeing it as part of the new normal. Though he cautions that there might have to be a rebuilding of relationships as part of that process.
“Rebuilding trust will be our first challenge and our responsibility as an individual, a manager, a leader, whatever our role in our personal or professional life,” he says. “By keeping this in mind we’ll have to be more customer focused than ever to take on this trust challenge and make it our top priority.”
Philippe Lasry, Executive VP, Solutions Marketing
“The video entertainment industry cannot be treated as a whole,” says Philippe Lasry, VO’s Executive VP, Solutions Marketing. “Covid-19 is a disaster for sport and the theatre industry, whereas it has boosted OTT providers to their highest levels to date. If we look at France, Netflix is ranked in the top 3 brands (with Amazon and La Poste). And this increase of video consumption is not only beneficial to OTT vendors but also to traditional Live TV, with a 37% increase in live consumption, mostly driven by news channels.”
He makes a couple of other important points. First that while spelling trouble for the traditional advertising industry, there are clear opportunities for Targeted Advertising as whole populations take refuge in video consumption. Second, that Pay-TV is clearly losing ground against the agile and ‘de-materialized’ OTT player models.
“A clear conclusion for me is that this puts the concept of the ‘Super Aggregator' as a must have feature for Pay-TV operators,” he says. “The demand is huge and there will be benefit for technology providers which can bring solutions to bear on this User Experience challenge.”
Lasry says that VO has met the challenges that the Covid-19 situation has created with a great deal of success. To begin with, the company has a diverse range of customers that are involved in different areas of the video business, which has helped VO absorb some of the impacts of the crisis
“We also have a very efficient set of fully managed services,” he says. “The excellence of our cloud-based content and anti-piracy offerings — and more! — allow our customers to fully enjoy their services in turn, while a culture of multiple sites across an international environment, with the VO teams given plenty of autonomy within that structure, has mean we’ve been able to operate with almost no loss of efficiency so far.
“There are also opportunities in the current situation such as Targeted TV Advertising, enabling Super Aggregators, anti-piracy watermarking, in which VO has already massively invested. This gives VO customers and employees the knowledge and trust that VO understands the market and always keeps one step ahead.”
Returning to normal life is going to take steps of a different kind. Lasry reckons it will be a long journey, and that one of the things that will emerge in the new normal is a sensitivity to the use of personal data (including very sensitive health data).
“I expect that end users will be more and more demanding on how the personal data and stored and processed and this fully gives credit to VO’s strategy to protect and be compliant with all legal frameworks such as the GDPR,” he says.
But the main thing that he expects will happen will be the unwelcome return of an old foe. Indeed, judging from the high level of activity that VO has maintained at its Anti Piracy Center throughout the crisis, it’s doubtful it ever really went away at all.
“Moreover, when sport events start to come back on screen, there will be a tough fight on video piracy.
“This situation will swiftly need services such as our Anti-Piracy Center and its watermarking technology,” he says. “Luckily, VO is ready to meet that challenge head on and serve its customers and prospects at its very best.”
Cédric Hardouin, Executive VP, R&D
VO has an extremely active R&D department, which is headed up by Cédric Hardouin, and was quickly able to respond when the lockdown orders started coming through..
“Our very first focus was securing the continuity of our customer activities, firstly supporting their run, but also the on-going and coming projects,” he says.
“The good piece of news is that most of the R&D activities can be done from home; we have only one main exception with some activities related to our security products which have to be done only in our secure environment in the office. We have had to solve three main challenges along the way: how to share all the devices that we have in our zoo of mobiles devices, TV sets, STB, etc.? What to do at home with two or three TV sets? It can quickly congest your small flat in Paris! And last, but not least, we have also needed some specific IP configurations for accessing customer networks.”
Other than that, Hardouin says that with teams spread over eight different locations, VO’s R&D effort is very used to remote communications. Software development, for instance, is all undertaken with a distributed source code management system. That means that even if a developer cannot connect for a period, he can go on developing.
“Even if moving to a full virtual co-working is a change of magnitude, there was no need for any change in our mindset,” he says. “Moreover, we were lucky because 99% of our workforce has access to high speed bandwidth at home. All in all it’s had very little impact, and, if impacts there are, they are usually related to the fact that people have to manage their kids at home too!”
Hardouin is one of the growing number of people recognising that there has been a shift in working practises and that remote working is set to become an increasingly accepted part of the business environment long after the pandemic lockdown orders have ceased. He also sees come challenges ahead though.
“Take the on-boarding of newcomers,” he says. “It has been quite easy to move everybody to homeworking with very low impact on our velocity because people know each other. But what about a new employee? How do we create the intimacy with his or her new colleagues? This is what we have to be prepared for.”
He looks to the accelerating rollout of technologies, such as the widescale deployment of 5G and Gigabit fibre networks too help in these matters, to ensure the sort of high-speed communication that such distributed models of work will need for success. And he also sounds a note of caution regarding their use, and an appropriate one too considering VO’s rich heritage in content security.
“All those employees connected from home all together lead to a big threat in term of cyber attack,” he comments, “and that has received special attention from us from Day One.


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Cigarette prices to rise by almost 5% in August
Ljubljana, 7 July - The Finance Ministry has proposed a rise in excise duties on cigarettes that comes with an average 5% increase for a pack of cigarettes. The rise, which is expected to take effect in August, is reckoned to bring in an additional EUR 18 million a year.
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◎有人忘了告訴Taylor Swift，一般的音樂和專輯已不再熱賣。根據Republic Records統計，她離開舊東家Big Machine後的第一張發行專輯《Lover》，銷售破100萬張。
◎Republic Records的創始人兼主席Monte Lipman告訴Variety，對這張專輯的期待是非凡的，預售量在全球迅速接近100萬張。Nielsen Music表示，兩年前Spotify和Apple Music占美國音樂消費總量的54％，如今佔80％。
Someone forgot to tell Taylor Swift that music in general and albums, in particular, don't sell anymore. By Friday's release date, her first post-Big Machine release "Lover" will have sold over 1 million copies, according to new label Republic.
“The anticipation of this album is extraordinary, with pre-sales quickly approaching one million copies globally,” Monte Lipman, founder and chairman of Republic Records, tells Variety.
Two years ago, Spotify and Apple Music accounted for 54% of total US music consumption, according to Nielsen Music. Now, that share is 80%.
Taylor Swift’s 2017 album “Reputation” was the last album to sell a million copies in the U.S. in its opening week.


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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Auto insurance payments are among the list of bills people may not be able to cover this month as many are out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Lori McDonald, a local auto insurance agent with AAA told News 8 they have been flooded with calls from clients worried about not being able to make their monthly payment.
McDonald said they can offer solutions to help lower payments for clients in a financial pinch.
“For example, if there’s a three-car household, maybe they don’t need to drive all three cars,” McDonald said. “They can put one or two (cars) in storage and save themselves on their premium and they’ll still be able to afford their payments.”
Howard Hughey, spokesperson for AAA, says the company has a program to offer flexible payments.
“We understand that many are in difficult circumstances and if they need to discuss their payment options, they can reach out to their agent or by calling 877.288.4546 as we want to support our insureds and members during this unprecedented time,” he said.
To contain COVID-19, AAA is asking its clients to communicate with agents by phone or online during this time.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story had information about payment options provided to News 8 that turned out to be incorrect. The erroneous information has been removed. We regret any confusion.


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Employees of seven liquor and convenient stores on Nassau County's South Shore illegally sold alcohol to minors, police said.
The employees were arrested Friday as part of "Project 21 Operation" and charged with prohibited sale of alcohol to a minor. Each was a desk appearance ticket and are scheduled to appear Dec. 11 in First District Court in Hempstead.
Project 21 Operation is a joint effort between the county police and the Office of Consumer Affairs. During the operation, police observed workers selling alcohol to assisting underage agents at these locations:
• Hess Market Inc., 46 E. Sunrise Hwy., Merrick
• Gian Wine & Liquor, 2067 Merrick Rd., Merrick
• KC Wines & Liquors Inc., 2764 Sunrise Hwy., Bellmore
• Cherrywood Wines Inc., 1152 Wantagh Ave., Wantagh
• Wine Depot of NY Inc., 3978 Jerusalem Ave., Seaford
• Multistar Wines & Liquors Inc., 710 Broadway, N. Massapequa
• DMG Liquors Inc., 15 Hicksville Rd. Massapequa


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As swansongs go, this week's first-quarter trading figures from GUS were far from bad. Sales at Argos, the bedrock of its ARG retail division, outstripped even the group's expectations, while Experian, its financial-services arm, had yet another stellar performance.
Yet GUS failed to excite the City. Never mind Great Universal Stores, the group's full name as was, what GUS really stands for these days is Great Untold Stories. This is one reason why the management has decided to break up the conglomerate. It is spinning off its two arms into two new companies.
The demerger is set for October. Shareholders will receive shares in each company, leaving it up to them whether they hang on or sell out. Given that most analysts regularly ascribe a £11-plus sum-of-the-parts valuation to GUS stock, the hope is that once the traditional conglomerate discount has been eradicated, the shares will soar.
This column has long been a fan of GUS, and rightly so, on the whole. Figures this week showed there were chinks of light in a black high-street cloud. Namely, the 7 per cent rise in like-for-like sales at Argos. Buy.
While much of the consumer-facing media industry is struggling, much of the business-to-business magazine sector is seeing the good times flow. Centaur is feeling so good that it is to put its full-year dividend up by a whopping 76 per cent. Centaur listed at 100p in March 2004. It has not made much progress since then but, with prospects looking rosy, the shares are trading on 15 times 2007 earnings, which makes this a buy.
Following its exit from the troublesome State of Victoria contract, Anite, the technology company, this week turned in full-year results that beat expectations. At £24.7m, profits before tax comfortably beat City forecasts. That spurred the shares, despite revenues of £170m being a touch disappointing. The company is on track to realise further value across its various businesses but the pay-off may take some time. Hold.
Bespak shareholders were given a welcome shot in the arm this week by annual results from the drug-delivery specialist much improved on last year, and above City expectations. At £13.5m, profits before tax and special items were 24 per cent higher in the year to the end of April. Interesting growth prospects may make Bespak the choice of investors looking for a health-care company with a strong yield. Buy.
INTER LINK FOODS
Even Mr Kipling would be forced to concede that his arch-rival among the country's cake-makers, Inter Link Foods, has delivered exceedingly good annual results. The Blackburn-based baker, which supplies Tesco and J Sainsbury, appears to have put May's shock profits warning behind it, unveiling record annual profits for an eighth successive year. Inter Link a rare exception that proves the rule: investors can have their cake and eat it. Buy.
It has taken some time, but Autonomy, the internet infrastructure software company, has finally started to motor. The acquisition of its key rival, Verity, last year propelled the company into a position of clear market leadership. The results will be reported in full on 26 July, but are comfortably ahead of what was reported in the seasonally strong first quarter, when revenue was $56.1m and adjusted pre-tax profit $10.3m. Buy.
With the online gaming industry still booming, its leading supplier of money transfers would appear an odds-on bet. Neteller has enjoyed a stellar run since its stock-market debut in 2004. But there is no such thing as a sure thing. Bad debts in Canada are on the up. So are costs. Margins are thus being squeezed. With bets still being taken on whether an anti-gambling US administration will crack down on internet gaming, Neteller continues to look a risky punt. Avoid.
InterContinental Hotels Group has been a five star investment since it was cut loose from the old Bass brewing empire. The company has been free to pursue its single-minded strategy of selling-off assets to focus on management contracts - this week another seven hotels disappeared in all but name. Given the strength of the group's stock, this column was perhaps too cautious when it recommended just holding the shares a year ago. Buy.
e2v Technologies comprises two divisions: electronic tubes and sensors. Both are high-margin operations. City analysts reckon the scale, complementary skills and earnings enhancement that this week's $140m acquisition of e2v's French peer Atmel Grenoble brings leaves e2v shares looking attractive. Trading at little more than 12 times expected 2007 earnings of 18.5p, they are a buy.
Surfcontrol, a maker of internet filters, was once highly valued, but has struggled. A series of failures led to Patricia Sueltz taking the helm a year ago. She overhauled sales, marketing and distribution while leaving the company's products as they were. Surfcontrol's software, rather than being sold directly to customers, was distributed through re-sellers. Growth returned and billings picked up.But while the shares are cheap, there are doubts about Sueltz's purchase of an e-mail filtration specialist for £20m. Avoid.
The above recommendations are taken from the daily Investment Column
Man is doing what a hedge fund manager's gotta do
Man Group has come a long way in two centuries. From its origins as a Thames-side sugar trader founded by James Man, it has morphed into the world's biggest listed manager of hedge funds.
These are essentially money-making machines, with Man Investments' managers able to utilise a wider range of strategies and markets than traditional long-only rivals in pursuit of higher returns.
That flexibility means the group, led by chief executive Stanley Fink, is forging ahead. Before its annual meeting for shareholders, Man revealed this week that its funds under management grew by $4bn to $54bn over the three months to the end of June. Sales of $5.3bn in that time far outpaced the $1.3bn in the same period last year. The growth of private investment is easily outpacing institutional demand as millionaires scramble into the once-heavily guarded funds.
The shares are trading at about 13.5 times projected 2007 earnings (allowing for performance fees), against traditional fund managers' shares trading at more than 15 times forecast earnings. Should Man Financial be spun off, Man Investments would be trading on less than 12 times projected 2007 earnings. Buy.Reuse content


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Japan's Canon has boosted its full-year profit forecast, saying that a weak yen is offsetting tepid demand for its digital cameras and printers.
The firm now expects a net profit of Y250 billion ($A2.64 billion) this year, up from an earlier 240 billion yen forecast, on slightly lower sales of 3.74 trillion yen.
Canon's also booked a 12.3 per cent rise in net profit to 186.7 billion in the nine months through September, while operating profit rose 8.7 per cent to 265.0 billion yen.
Sales slipped 1.1 per cent from a year ago to 2.67 trillion yen, it says.
"Corporate demand for multifunction printers will likely continue growing at a moderate pace," Canon said in a statement.
"While sales of SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras in Europe and Japan may remain subdued, demand in the United States and China are expected to recover," it added.
Since late 2012, the yen has dropped from around 80 against the US dollar to the 108 level in Monday forex trading.
A cheaper currency helps make Japanese exporters more competitive overseas and inflates their repatriated earnings in yen terms.
Canon and Japanese rivals including Sony and Olympus have seen a big drop in demand for their digital imaging products as camera-equipped smartphone sales boom.


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St Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but it is the one day of the year that makes us acutely aware of being Irish. With this comes plenty of family and friends scattered across the globe with whom we like to share a long-distance chat.
Making a call to your loved ones half way around the world can be expensive.
However, it seems the Irish are cottoning on to the trend of making inexpensive voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls via the web.
The most well-known VoIP client is Skype and not only has it flourished on the desktop but, according to the latest research from mobile network 3 Ireland, we’re also using it on the go through our handsets.
On a daily basis, 3 customers are making more than 7,000 Skype-to-Skype calls. The reason for the popularity of Skype is that, as long as you are within your internet provider’s data package, it is completely free to makes calls from one Skype account to another, or if you are dialling a phone number abroad it is significantly cheaper than ringing from a mobile or landline.
According to 3, its customers are making use of this, too: more than 2,500 Skype calls per day are made from Skype-enabled 3 handsets to phone lines abroad. That’s almost 17,000 minutes of chatter with friends and family in far-flung places! Calls to landlines in Australia, China, the US and the UK are €0.02 per minute, while calling a landline is South Africa is €0.06 and Brazil is €0.05.
“All of our mobile phones come with a Skype client, which enables 3 customers to make free calls and send free instant messages to anyone on Skype, anywhere in the world. Not surprisingly Skype usage on your mobile is very popular on 3, with over three million minutes of Skype chat per month.”
While Skype is ‘baked’ into the interface of some of its social networking-oriented phones such as the INQ1 and the INQ Mini, it can also be installed as a mobile application.
Smarter smart-phone users
As smart phones and internet-connected phones become ubiquitous, consumers are not willing to pay through the nose for phone calls from their mobile phone when they can go through an internet service and include the cost as part of their data package.
Last March, when Skype announced the availability of its ‘lite’ mobile version for the BlackBerry, COO Scott Durchslag said: “We have heard loud and clear that our users want Skype on whichever smart phone they choose to use.” A while later, a Skype iPhone app was added to the App Store. This, says Skype, was the No 1 request amongst users.
Reminder: $2.7m Apps Challenge
Irish software developers who want to create innovative mobile phone apps for a global smart-phone market and vie for their share of a $2.7m prize are reminded that next Thursday, 25 March, Samsung will be holding a Developers’ Day at the Mansion House in Dublin.
By Marie Boran
Topmost photo: The INQ1 and the INQ Mini
Photo below: The Samsung Wave


text: Singapore-based biotechnology startup Shiok Meats recently closed a $4.6 million seed funding round led by Monde Nisson (parent company of plant-based meat brand Quorn) and incubator Y Combinator. Led by biologists Sandhya Sriram and Ka Yi Ling, Shiok aims to disrupt the global shrimp industry with its shrimp made from a small number of animal cells in a laboratory setting. “The taste was really good, very promising,” Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto said of Shiok’s shrimp that it exhibited for the first time at The Disruption in Food and Sustainability Summit on March 29th at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. The company will use funding from this investment round to grow its team, fuel research and development, and scale production with the goal of commercialization in two to three years. In addition to shrimp, Shiok plans to develop crab and lobster to tackle the cruel crustacean industry in the Asia-Pacific region where the Associated Press reports slave labor continues to be a human-rights issue.


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The company announced the recall, categorized as a correction and not a product removal, due to issues associated with earlier software versions of the device.
Katie Hobbins, Managing Editor
March 6, 2024
2 Min Read
bankrx / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
Smiths Medical ASD recently announced the recall of its Medfusion Model 3500 syringe pump due to issues associated with earlier software versions.
The Medfusion Model 3500 syringe pump is designed for precision control of infusion rates and is suitable to use in administering fluids like blood, lipids, drugs, antibiotics, and therapeutic fluids. Accommodating various delivery routes, including arterial, epidural, intravenous, intrathecal, subcutaneous, and enteral, the pump supports delivery modes like continuous, volume/time, mass, body weight, intermittent, and bolus.
Recalled as a correction and not a product removal, the company said the device’s reported issues pertained to earlier software versions. Problems with the software include the potential for a high-priority alarm for delivery during motor not running, the device restarting infusion with incorrect parameters, “screen lock problems, interruptions in bolus or loading dose delivery, incorrect display of bolus/loading dose information, doses falling below the minimum recommended rate, motor rate errors, incorrect recall of last settings, corrupt configurations, auto lock issues, and problems with the toolbox configuration loading dose time values,” according to the recall notice posted by FDA.
When initially notifying the public on Dec. 19, 2023, or the issues in an Urgent Medical Device Correction letter, Smiths Medical requested that customers locate all affected pumps and ensure that all users of the device were aware of the notification and proposed mitigations detailed by the company. Additionally, customers were to confirm that all pumps in use were updated to the most recent Medfusion software, which the company said fixed the issues noted in the recall.
The recall notice disclosed that there is one reported injury and no deaths related to the issue.
This is not the first time the company has been on the wrong end of a recall in recent years in relation to its syringe pumps. In February last year, a similar warning was issued about more than 50,000 Smiths Medical Medfusion 4000 syringe pumps, citing earlier software version issues.
FDA categorized the recalls for both the model 3500 and 4000 as Class I at the beginning of February.
About the Author(s)
Managing Editor, MD+DI
Katie Hobbins is managing editor for MD+DI and joined the team in July 2022. She boasts multiple previous editorial roles in print and multimedia medical journalism, including dermatology, medical aesthetics, and pediatric medicine. She graduated from Cleveland State University in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and promotional communications. She enjoys yoga, hand embroidery, and anything DIY. You can reach her at [email protected].
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That was how Opposition member Kerrie Symmonds described Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy’s ten-point plan to boost the tourism industry.
Symmonds, the Shadow Minister for International Business and Commerce and Trade was swift in his response to Sealy’s press conference this evening.
Speaking to the media at the Opposition’s office immediately after Sealy’s press conference, Sealy said the Barbados Labour Party was disappointed in what the Minister had to say.
“We expected a more meaningful and policy oriented intervention,” he said.
In terms of the $10 million dollar window for the retrofitting of air conditioning and lighting in the hospitality sector, Symmonds said the money was way too small to have an impact.
“The biggest difficulty there is that you are talking about over 85 hotels and you are therefore going to have approximately $120 000 for each, so there is really not a lot of money that you are talking about – nothing significant.
“Beyond that, the question is whether or not the hotels can satisfy the NIS?that there will be a commercial rate of return on that investment. In a real sense it is very similar to what they did with the TIRF ( Tourism Industry Relief Fund) which had too small a fund of $20 million dollars but ended up attracting $80 million dollars in claims. And in terms of the land tax rebate, Symmonds also dismissed that saying easing the burden of land taxes had been “on the cards for a long time.”
He also threw out the five per cent rebate on electricity and water pointing out that there has to be a legal framework within which this can happen.
Full reports in tomorrow’s WEEKEND NATION


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Posted at: 10/26/2013 5:46 PM
You've heard of sculptures made of marble, clay and even sand and butter at the New York State Fair, but how about cans?
On Saturday local engineers and architects took part in the eighth annual "Canstruction" design-build competition at the Bausch and Lomb Wintergarden.
The competition is a contest to see who can build the most unique structure out of cans.Those cans are then donated to area food pantries
Organizers say that it's a fun way to help out others in anticipation to the holiday season.
“This is a great event. You kind of lose sight that it's actually a can drive, because a lot of people like doing it and you get this great exhibit, but in the end it's Foodlink and people who are in need of cans and food and we get a lot of them out of it,” said Ken Glazer, “Canstruction” Rochester president.
This year's theme for "Canstruction" is Hollywood. News10NBC is told it will include exhibits from movies like Jaws, Up, Despicable Me and Back to the Future.
Organizers say were able to donate 32,000 cans of food during last year's event.


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Intelligent application analytics technology will be leveraged to monitor and measure the mobile fan experience during the big game.
Raise your hand if you have a smart thermostat, connected security system, a car that you unlock with your smartphone, or a wearable fitness device. If so, then you are riding the IoT wave!
With mobility in full swing, most organizations are already vulnerable to potential security risks. The security basics of yesterday—policy, encryption, and authentication—no longer cover fundamental security needs. Here are 5 MUST-HAVES every business needs for Enterprise Mobility Management.
While watching the game, fans will also be staring at their tablets and smartphones—which apps will be used most?
Office has further expanded to the "cloud-first, mobile-first" world to include more functionality on non-Windows devices.
That the worldwide smartphone market grew by 27.6% in 2014 is noteworthy, but it also represents a significant slowdown compared to 2013.
A 46% growth rate in iPhone sales even blew the mind of CEO Tim Cook…and that's not the only place the company is showing momentum.
New York institution launches huge mobile initiative to give admins real-time data and 10,000 hot spots to users.
Over 90% of smart glasses will be adopted by business and government.
Ahead of the earnings call, Apple releases figures—"phenomenal results" according to CEO Tim Cook.


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Latest Update: Earlier this year, the South Korean smartphone manufacturing firm launched Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 in India at at a price tag of Rs. 13,990. As for now, the handset price is slashes by Rs. 2000 and now retailing at Rs. 11,990. The mobile phone is available for purchase via the e-commerce major FlipKart. Additionally, you can avail the Flipkart’s exchange offer, one can exchange his/her old device and get an instant discount of up to Rs. 11,0000. The e-commerce website is also offering an extra 5 percent discount on Axis Bank Buzz Credit Cards. The handset is available for purchase in three variants i.e White, Gold, and Black color.
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) which was launched in India earlier this year for Rs 13,990, has now got a price cut of Rs 2,000. The smartphone is now retailing at Rs 11,990 and is available for purchase through Flipkart. To add to this, on availing Flipkart’s exchange offer, one can trade his/her old device for the Samsung the Galaxy J5 (2016) and get an additional discount of up to Rs 11,000. Flipkart is also offering an extra 5 percent discount on Axis Bank Buzz Credit Cards. The above mentioned offers are available on all the variants i.e. White, Gold and Black colours.
India is all set to become the next country to get the new Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 and Galaxy J7 2016 edition smartphones after the Korean giant launched these devices in China and Europe. These new J series smartphones from Samsung come with higher RAM, wider front camera aperture and larger batteries. These new smartphones will start selling on the e-commerce website Flipkart starting midnight, 9th May. In this piece, we check what does the Galaxy J5 (2016) have to offer.Read on to get all the details and information about the Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 price, specs and all other features.
Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 Edition
The Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 comes with a metal frame and the handset will be available in the color variants of – gold, white and pink. The right edge of the handset houses the power button and the left edge has the volume rocker keys. The device has a physical home button on the front between two capacitive touch keys for back and recent apps.
Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 Launch in India, Check Specs and Features
Moving on to the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) specifications and features, on the front, the handset flaunts a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED full HD display on the front that has a 1080p resolution. Under the hood, the new 2016 edition of Galaxy J5 smartphone is powered by a 64-bit Quad-Core Snapdragon 410 processor that is clocked at a speed of 1.2GHz. This processor is further clubbed with 3GB of RAM space and Adreno 306 GPU. Further the handset offers 16GB of internal storage space that can be further expanded upto an extra 128GB using a microSD card.
Galaxy J5 (2016) Images, Launched with 13MP Camera and 3300mAh Battery
In the camera department, the Galaxy J5 2016 from Samsung has a 13MP primary camera on the rear side, which comes clubbed with an LED flash. The stand out feature of the J5 is that the mobile phone comes with an LED flash supporting its 5MP front camera. The smartphone comes running the Android v5.1 Lollipop out of the box and it is fuelled by a 3100mAh battery. The device supports dual SIM usage and also comes with other connectivity features such as 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and GPS.
Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 Full Phone Specifications
|Dimensions||145.8 x 72.3 x 8.1mm|
|Display||5.2-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 1280 x 720 pixels|
|Processor||64-bit Quad-Core Snapdragon 410, 1.2GHz|
|GPU||Adreno 306 GPU|
|Primary Camera||13MP, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash|
|Secondary Camera||5MP, 120-degree wide-angle lens, LED flash|
|Connectivity||4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC|
|OS||Android v5.1 Lollipop|
Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 Price in India
At the time of launch initially, the Korean smartphone manufacturer set the Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 price in India at Rs. 13,990. But as for now, the mobile phone gets the price cut of Rs. 2000 and is available at a price chit of Rs. 11,990. The handset will be available in three color variants including Gold, White and Black. The Galaxy J5 (2016) is exclusively available on Flipkart with a new price tag. For more amazing updates, stay tuned to DLB Gadget.


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The Malaysian-based company Supermax, which was handed a £316 million contract to manufacture nearly 90 million rubber gloves for the NHS at the start of the pandemic, is under Government investigation after concerns that the business uses forced labour at its manufacturing plants. Last month, the U.S. banned Supermax imports after a similar inquiry concluded that modern slavery was involved in the making of rubber gloves. The Guardian has the story.
Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are investigating Supermax, which won a £316 million contract for 88.5 million rubber gloves as the Covid pandemic began to unfold.
Last month the U.S. forbade the Malaysian company from selling its products there after an inquiry found “ample evidence” that it had used forced labour in the manufacture of its rubber gloves. Customs officers were told to seize any disposable gloves made by Supermax as part of a Government order banning the import into the U.S. of any goods made by forced labour.
The U.K. Government has instigated its own inquiry after Jeremy Purvis, a Liberal Democrat peer, demanded scrutiny of Supermax and action to ensure that products made using modern slavery are not used in Britain.
Rubber glove manufacturers in Malaysia have been accused of forcing employees to work long hours, confiscating staff’s passports, paying them derisory sums and ignoring Covid safety protocols in cramped manufacturing sites. Last year Supermax workers claimed they had to work 30 days in a row without a break and had paid high fees in their home countries to get the jobs. The company denied the allegations.
Speaking in the House of Lords on October 21st, a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection adopted its tough stance, Lord Purvis asked the BEIS minister Gerry Grimstone: “Will the minister instruct an urgent inquiry to ensure that we are not using these products, which are a result of modern slavery in Malaysia?”
Lord Grimstone replied: “I will ensure that that particular company is looked at by my officials.”
Asked by the Guardian for details of the inquiry, a Government spokesperson said: “We take allegations of this nature very seriously and we are investigating the claims made against Supermax. We have made strong commitments to eradicate modern slavery from all contracts in the government supply chain.”
The Government made clear that the investigation could lead to Supermax being banned from supplying the NHS. “A proper due diligence process is carried out for all government contracts and our suppliers are required to follow the highest legal and ethical standards. If they fail to do so we will remove them from current and future contracts,” the spokesperson said.


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It has been barely a month since Apple held a press conference to announce the iPhone 6 and future launch of the Apple Watch. Another month and another announcement. This time word comes that Apple will introduce new iPad models, new iMacs, and a new computer operating system. The date for this news conference will be just a week away on October 16.
Come next week, I would also love to hear about improvements to the Apple TV and perhaps some upgraded laptop info. With new products being released, I expect big growth on revenues in Q4 of this year for Apple. Is it time to upgrade the iPhone or iPad, Apple sure hopes so.


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Bentley presents Bentley Cube, its first retail store in the world that will be the pioneer for the rest of the spaces that will be opened in the most important cities.
This store is completely experiential and features all the car brand’s signature details. From a diamond display stand for the exhibition of their cars to the decoration of straight-grained walnutThe new model, a material used in some of the brand’s earliest cars and still one of the most popular veneer choices among today’s customers, is reinvented in a contemporary form language that respects the natural beauty of the material.
Hanjoon Kim, Chief Executive Officer, Charmzone AutomotiveThe opening of the Bentley Cube marks a new chapter for extraordinary customer journeys in Korea, and builds on an important milestone for exclusive customer experiences through the Bentley Seoul Membership program launched last year with the opening of Bentley Tower in Seoul. With the Bentley Cube, Charmzone Automotive will establish Bentley as a leading luxury lifestyle brand in Korea, backed by our experience of being one of the first luxury car brands to enter Korea in 2006, and leading the Korean luxury car market for the past 17 years.”
During the inauguration, customers were able to enjoy the Bentley Batur by Mulliner, the latest bodywork vehicle created by Mulliner. Limited to 18 examples worldwide, the Batur features a new minimalist design language and defines Bentley’ s style in the next era of electric cars.
At the Bentley Cube unveiling event , Bentley unveiled a limited edition Mulliner Collection, designed in collaboration with contemporary artist Ha Tae Im. Limited to a series of Continental GT models, the vehicles in the Mulliner Collection will reflect Ha Tae Im ‘s signature “Band of Color” and the formative rhythmic language of his art. Each vehicle will be accompanied by a unique artwork created by Ha Tae Im to celebrate the limited edition model. This will be an exciting foray as the Mulliner Collection ‘s first project in Korea.


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Investors attending Britain’s first ever food industry investment summit in London have called for government action to transform the way we grow, manufacture and eat food, to tackle Britain’s public health crisis and the food industry’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
The Summit, ’Putting Money on the Menu: How can investors transform the UK food system?’ held yesterday, was organised by The Food Foundation and featured contributions from Richard Walker the executive chairman of Iceland Foods, and leading investment experts from HSBC, BNP Paribas Asset Management and CCLA, Britain’s largest charity investment manager.
Stuart Landrum, head of product and process for the supermarket chain Iceland Foods, delivered a strong message written by Richard Walker, the company’s executive chairman: ‘To achieve societal change, we need to get the whole food industry working together under a strong, clear and consistent government lead,’ he said.
‘When governments do intervene, their actions need to be well thought-through and well-implemented, encouraging consumers to make a positive change to their eating habits rather than just hitting people in their pockets.’
Investors are increasingly concerned about the impact of business as usual as the food system is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Diet, food production and farming methods must change if Britain is to meet its 2030 targets to combat global warming.
More must also be done to reduce incentives for food retailers to sell ever greater volumes of high fat, salt and sugar foods which are fuelling the obesity epidemic.
Many of those present were from the 23 member organisations of the Investor Coalition for Food Policy (the Food Foundation is the secretariat), which has more than £6 trillion in assets under management.
The summit audience was also given outline plans for the government’s Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) – a new initiative to ensure all large food businesses report publicly on metrics which will help determine whether the health, sustainability and animal welfare impacts of the food system are improving.
Other speakers made similar pleas for more decisive political intervention in the food system. “We are only growing a third of the fruit and vegetables in the world that are needed to allow everyone to eat a healthy diet, and about twelve times too much sugar,” said Professor Tim Benton, research director of emerging risks at Chatham House.
“We need to think about how we can work with politicians to get market restructuring right so the incentives are in the right places to make the food that people ought to be eating more available and cheaper and the food they shouldn’t be eating less available and more expensive. That requires a radical change.”
Sophie Lawrence, an expert in sustainable and ethical investment at Rathbone Greenbank Investments and one of the leaders of the investor coalition for food policy, welcomed the establishment of the Food Data Transparency Partnership. “It’s not about increasing the burden on retailers; it’s about getting comparable data so we can make the right decisions as investors, and consumers can have the right information’ she said. “The UK will be leading in this kind of regulation, and we hope there will be a ripple effect.”
“Government regulation creates the right incentives for the right things to happen,” said Anna Taylor executive director of The Food Foundation. ‘That’s the call to action for us. We are delighted with the response to this event and the level of support it has generated. These are forward thinking investors who recognise the risks to their assets, and that business as usual is no longer an option.”


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The second annual Long Island Craft Beer Week, a celebration of local suds, is coming from May 11 to 20.
The 10-day long spectacle will feature events including craft beer tastings, beer dinners, educational programs, an awards gala and a variety of special events at participating bars, breweries, retailers and restaurants island-wide.[dmc-related-post-wp numitems="3" title="Also read"]
Last year’s craft beer week included more than 70 events across Nassau and Suffolk counties.
It is anticipated this year’s festivities will include more than 100 events.
Since last year’s Long Island Craft Beer Week, Long Ireland Beer Co. officially opened their brewery and tasting room in Riverhead, Great South Bay Brewery broke ground in preparation for their new facility in Bay Shore, and two new local breweries opened – Port Jefferson’s Port Jeff Brewing Company and Spider Bite Beer Co. in Holbrook.
Long Island currently has 15 craft breweries and brew pubs.
View a video of last year’s craft beer week below.
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New Issue On The iPhone 6 Plagues Several Users – Front Camera Looses Alignment
Until now, the major contender for the iPhone 6 plagued with the most amount of issues so far has been Apple's iPhone 6 Plus. Being the company's first attempt at a smartphone phablet, many eyes were on the iPhone 6 Plus and how the device would end up delivering the game changing progress that Apple promises its customers. But with its features, the device also came with several problems after its launch.
The iPhone 6 Plus' 'bad luck' started with #bendgate, an issue in which several users of the device started to report that their units were bending out of shape. Soon to follow were reports of the 128 GB variant of the iPhone 6 Plus crashing when a larger number of apps were installed on it. The cause of this issue was reportedly the multi level cell storage on the iPhone 6 Plus.
Several users on online forums are now complaining about a new issue, this time on the smaller sized iPhone 6. According to images posted online, the front camera on the device is facing a rather strange issue. The front camera on the iPhone 6 looses alignment with its housing.
This causes a crescent shaped gap being formed in the place where the front camera is expected to reside on the iPhone 6. And the issue is not limited in nature either, when compared to the iPhone 6 Plus crash reports. More than a handful of users have reported a similar issue with their device. Yet, surprisingly, front camera performance on the iPhone 6 seems to be unaffected by the issue so far.
Another user also claims that Apple is so far unaware about the issue. Users affected by the front camera problem will most probably see their device or the front panel being replaced. Is your iPhone 6 facing a similar issue? Let us know in the comments section.
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Survey to probe business Brexit plans
Businesses are being probed over their plans for managing Brexit.
With the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union now only ten months away, East Midlands Chamber and its Brexit Advisory Group have been urging businesses to begin planning for different scenarios.
So far, there has been no definitive research done to find out how much progress has been made or what organisations are doing to ensure success in a post-Brexit global trading environment. Only last month, the Brexit Advisory Group published a checklist of things businesses should be doing now to best position themselves as the UK transitions out of the EU.
The Chamber’s second Quarterly Economic Survey for the year, which launched on Tuesday 22 May 2018, will probe deeper into what firms have done so far and what they are planning to do in the immediate future. The survey is sponsored by our School of Business.
Chris Hobson, the Chamber’s Director of Policy, said: “With the deadline for the UK to exit the European Union now less than a year away, the Chamber continues to lobby Government to get answers on the issues that will impact businesses of all types.
“Despite continued uncertainty, however, there are things that businesses should be doing now to position themselves to respond to the challenges and opportunities that will arise. Some of the key considerations are detailed in the Chamber’s Business Brexit Checklist.
“This survey will give us our first real insight into what steps businesses in the region are taking to prepare for Brexit. The answers given will help the Chamber’s Brexit Advisory Group understand those areas where businesses may value more support from the Chamber over the coming months and help shape our continued lobbying messages as we work with Government.”
The survey will ask organisations whether they have held high-level meetings to discuss trade beyond Brexit, if they have revised business strategies or investment plans, reviewed export activities, considered future workforce access, looked at the impact of potential border delays and rules of origin certification, changes to tariffs and VAT rules or thought about intellectual property rights.
The Brexit Advisory Group was set up, in partnership with Chamber Strategic Partner RSM - one of the UK’s leading providers of audit, tax and consulting services, to help local firms and other organisations navigate the Brexit process.


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The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in association with the National Board of Revenue on Wednesday organised an introductory event and awareness session on VAT e-Payment System of the NBR.
The NBR launched the online VAT payment system on July 16 and HSBC Bangladesh is one of the pilot banks of the VAT epayment.
HSBC Bangladesh was also the first bank to make a live transaction on this platform.
At the virtual event, HSBC said that businesses and organisations could quickly complete VAT payment through HSBCnet, HSBC’s online platform for corporate entities, according to a press release issued on the day.
Upon completion of a successful transaction, the client will immediately receive an SMS with a VAT challan number and subsequently will receive an email with the challan copy particulars, it said.
Each transaction will be completed near real-time through Real Time Gross Settlement transactions, instead of two to three days which is typical for payments using physical instruments.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, HSBC Bangladesh chief executive officer Md Mahbub ur Rahman, Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman, Unilever Bangladesh CEO and managing director Kedar Lele, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh CEO Rajesh Surana, City Group chairman Fazlur Rahman, Meghna Group chairman Mostofa Kamal, Bangladesh Bank general manger Md Mezbaul Haque, NBR member Mannan Shikder, VAT Online project director Kazi Mostafizur Rahman, Jason WH Tan, managing director, regional head of International Global Liquidity and Cash Management Countries, HSBC Asia Pacific, and Riaz A Choudhury, country head of wholesale banking (interim), HSBC Bangladesh, were present along with other senior officials.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said, ‘The VAT online project is an important initiative of the National board of Revenue as well as the Government of Bangladesh. With the module, the taxpayers will be able to pay their taxes at ease from their homes or any other places in a fully secured manner.’
‘They will no longer need to physically visit the Bangladesh Bank or Sonali Bank to deposit cash or pay orders. VAT authority will be able to gather accurate information on the payments made by the tax payers through the IVAS. The VAT ePayment System will play a critical role in ensuring accountability, transparency and establishing trust between taxpayers and VAT officials, as a result, it will create a businessfriendly environment,’ he said.
Payment Systems Department general manager Md Mezbaul Haque said, ‘Bangladesh Bank is proud to join the National Board of Revenue in this remarkable initiative to digitalise the VAT payment process ensuring that overall VAT payment collection becomes more efficient and convenient for end users. We look forward to continue to collaborate with other regulators, business bodies and banks in this digital journey and also work in areas of policy improvement.’
‘I would like to thank HSBC to be part of this digital journey. As a global bank, I would request HSBC Bangladesh to leverage their global reach and expertise more for the advancement of Bangladesh in the coming days,’ he added.
HSBC Bangladesh CEO Md Mahbub ur Rahman said, ‘We are very proud of our role in delivering Bangladesh’s first online VAT payment solution – a collaboration with the National Board of Revenue and the Bangladesh Bank which will significantly improve the efficiency and security of this critical national revenue stream.’
At HSBC, we want to make banking simpler, faster and better for our customers, and we are committed to continue to play our part in accelerating the digitisation of banking in Bangladesh, Mahbub said.
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Although CBD oil is everywhere, Kentucky hemp companies are still finding it tough to make ends meet. One group of farmers, Furnwood Farm, have sued GenCanna, while Atalo and Elemental Processing have hit big snags. GenCanna is a vertically integrated agriculture technology company specializing in the production of hemp rich in CBD and was the first member of Kentucky’s hemp pilot program. MariMed Hemp, the company’s CBD-focused subsidiary, delivered its first services revenues, the first in a series of sales of hemp seeds to GenCanna Global valued at a total of $25.2 million, with $22.0 million recognized in the second… 7 Point Naturals products are only made with certified, pure CBD materials sourced from GenCanna in Kentucky. All materials from GenCanna can be traced from seed to store. Nejnovější tweety od uživatele Bellator CBD Oil (@BellatorOil). We sell premium hemp oil products. United States The Mayfield factory is planned for storing, drying and extracting CBD, and the company earlier said it would employ more than 80 people. In a statement to LEX 18, GenCanna declined to comment about the lawsuit itself, but said “we are confident in our position with farmers across the Commonwealth and will prevail in this lawsuit.”
Hempworx CBD oil is organic, non-GMO, American seed to soil (grown by GenCanna in Kentucky), is part of a federal pilot program, oil is extracted by the Co2
14 Dec 2018 Vertically integrated, hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) manufacturer GenCanna Global USA Inc. will create 80-plus jobs for Kentuckians with a 12 Nov 2019 GenCanna cultivates hemp plants and processes them into CBD products including oil and powder. Kentucky State Police, the state fire 30 Oct 2019 “We would expect that GenCanna and Kentucky's hemp farmers are with regulations on the safety of CBD products made with hemp flowers. 17 Jul 2019 The Vancouver-based cannabis company said it will distribute GenCanna Global USA's CBD products in certain regulated markets in the US,
GenCanna Global, a prominent Kentucky hemp company, reportedly plans to lay off an unannounced number of employees due to business challenges.
Top CBD Oil Brands listed in Kentucky After decades of prohibition, hemp is at long last legal again in the United States. But problems persist with how law enforcement officials treat the substance. CBD sport drink Kendo ? Click here and visit our Online Shop! Click Here Office of Agriculture Marketing Ryan F. QuarlesIndustrial Hetnp Progratn CommissionerI I I Corporate Drive Frankfon. KY 40601Kentucky Department of Agriculture Phone: (502) 573-0282, opt.
11 Sep 2019 While the GenCanna plant in Graves County has pushed back its opening date, His hemp will be going to GenCanna to be used for CBD oil.
Founded by industry pioneers who champion the world's leading hemp genetics, cannabidiol (CBD) formulations, and groundbreaking legislation, GenCanna™ 19 Dec 2019 CBD, or cannabidiol, is a component of hemp that users claim has a hemp farmers have sued Winchester-based GenCanna this year for 6 Jan 2017 GenCanna Global is a business heavily focused on the agronomic, horticulture, and processing elements of the hemp industry. Research and 14 Dec 2018 Vertically integrated, hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) manufacturer GenCanna Global USA Inc. will create 80-plus jobs for Kentuckians with a


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Toyota said on Friday net profit almost doubled to a record $5.64 billion for the three months to June, and said it was on track to produce over 10 million vehicles worldwide this year.
Toyota Motor vehicles are seen at the company's show room in Tokyo, on May 8, 2013. Toyota said on Friday its net profit soared 93.6 percent in the three months to June and added that it was on track to produce more than 10 million vehicles worldwide this year.
The world's biggest automaker has ramped up its bid to tap emerging markets while key US demand has also been on the upswing, helping Toyota to book ever-increasing profits over the last year.
This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.


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A group of far-right extremists occupied the exhibition opening of a Hungarian fashion designer on Friday, Kettős Mérce blog reported [hu].
The designer in question Koby's new fashion line was first withdrawn [hu] from a Hungarian sports brand shop in January 2014, after nationalist criticism rose against the t-shirt designs featuring some of Hungary's historical figures such as Lajos Kossuth, a leader of the Hungarian revolution of 1848. Photos of Koby's line of t-shirts can be found in a recent Funzine.hu article.
The public debate about Hungary's far-right groups and the far-right party Jobbik has become more tense as the 2014 elections approach, set for April 6. On March 15, the national holiday marking the 1848 revolution, a group of citizens dubbed “Vote against Jobbik” held a protest against-far right extremists in Hungary.


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Portuguese development studio Bigmoon Entertainment has announced that DAKAR 18 will be headed to PS4 and Xbox One next month. Based on the annual Raid Rally in South America, DAKAR 18 aims to be a realistic simulation of the motorsport event.
Included in DAKAR 18 as a pre-order bonus is Ari Vatanen, a Finnish driver who is returning to the event, having won it four times in the past. Vatanen’s Peugot 205 Turbo 16 will be unlocked for those who pre-order the limited physical day one edition of DAKAR 18.
Each year, the DAKAR Rally is organised by the Amaury Sports Organisation and is the biggest cross-country race in the world.
DAKAR 18 Release Date
Included as part of DAKAR 18 are both online and offline modes. While playing online, players will be battling against players from around the world. Playing offline gives players the chance to practice both the navigation and racing skills required to become the champion.
Being a simulation game. Bigmoon has focused on making DAKAR 18 as realistic as possible. Players will be able to race using realistic versions of the cars, bikes, trucks, quads and SxS vehicles used in the DAKAR Rally.
DAKAR 18 will also allow players to play couch-co-op with a split-screen mode.
DAKAR 18 will be available for PS4 and Xbox One on September 11.


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The Fragrance Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2015 Fragrance Foundation Awards (formerly the Fifi Awards), known as the “Oscars of the fragrance industry”.
For each category, the original list of semi-finalists is now whittled down to 5 (or more in case of a tie). The final awards will be presented on June 17.
Perfumer Annie Buzantian will receive this year's Perfumer of the Year Lifetime Achievement award. There are a number of other categories, and you can find all the finalists on the Fragrance Foundation's Twitter.
(via press release)
See also: the Fragrance Awards page.
* Fragrances are generally assigned to a category based on how many stores sell the product.


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It’s an article of faith at Fortune that we provide readers with the best in business journalism, but it’s nice to have that faith corroborated by others from time to time.
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers honored us with six prizes at its annual “Best in Business” awards for 2016 on Friday, a total topped by no-one and matched only by Bloomberg News (an organization with considerably more resources).
In the words of Fortune’s new editor-in-chief, Clifton Leaf, “This extraordinary string of SABEW awards is a recognition not only of our phenomenally talented journalists, but also of the culture these same journalists and their colleagues have created at Fortune—a culture that holds sacred deep and thoughtful storytelling, even as other media brands have abandoned such reporting as old-fashioned, or as somehow inconsistent with the demands of a modern digital audience. In truth, such reporting couldn’t be more essential today.”
The stories honored by the judges were:
Bitter Sweets, by Brian O’Keeffe, which exposed the intransigent problem of child labor in the cocoa industry;
Hot Mess by Erika Fry, which told the the saga of one of the strangest public relations stumbles by a major corporation in memory—after a crisis with Nestlé’s popular Maggi noodles product in India;
Hoaxwagen by Geoffrey Smith and Roger Parloff, which dug deep into the mess of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal;
The Disturbing Decline of Sumner Redstone by Peter Elkind and Marty Jones, which detailed the bizarre and alarming story of the controlling shareholder in CBS and Viacom.
Finance editor Steven Gandel and reporter Phil Wahba, for his consistently excellent reporting on the retail sector, round off the list of laureates. You can find the full list of SABEW’s winners here.
• Dollar Weakens as G20 Flags Trade War Risk
The dollar is continuing to give ground, while global stocks have opened the week lower, after a meeting of G20 finance ministers that failed to dispel the risk of a trade war. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pushed the group into dropping a pledge “to resist all forms of protectionism.” It’s far from clear what that means in concrete terms. However, it suggests very strongly that the U.S. is trying to rewrite the rules of global trade. Mohammed El-Erian points out in Bloomberg this morning that the U.S. is launching this initiative from a position of strength, as the world’s consumer of last resort and issuer of its reserve currency. However, it risks losing its leadership role if others feel so threatened that they then reduce their reliance on both the U.S. and the dollar. Fortune
• The Changing Face of Chinese Brands
An interesting coda to the G20 meeting comes out today in WPP’s list of the 100 most valuable brands in China. Heading it is Tencent, which runs the country’s most popular social network WeChat. Second is Alibaba and third is search engine Baidu. Without wanting to downplay the obvious talent of the people behind them, all three have benefited from either official policy or covert protectionism that have kept U.S. pioneers from establishing their services in the country. Another striking point about the list is that the two fastest-rising names are both in education, specifically in English-language learning. Protecting national champions clearly does not preclude global, and globalist, ambitions. Fortune
• Uber Keeps Losing Executives
Uber is losing more and more senior managers. President Jeff Jones, who joined only six months ago from Target, left with a thinly-veiled swipe at its well-documented governance problems. The prospect of a new chief operating officer crowding his space may also have contributed. In another departure, the New York Times reported that mapping head Brian McClendon, who joined from Google two years ago, is heading back to Kansas to pursue a career in politics. Gary Marcus, head of the AI startup Geometric Intelligence, which Uber bought in December, also left this month, as did Raffi Krikorian, a director in Uber’s struggling self-driving project, and Ed Baker, VP for product and growth. Fortune
• FBI, NSA Heads to Testify On Snooping Claims
FBI head James Comey and NSA director Mike Rogers will testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee as it begins its investigation of Russia’s role in hacks of the Democratic party last year, and of President Trump’s so far unsubstantiated claim that his predecessor Barack Obama authorized a wiretap of Trump Tower. Trump indirectly repeated the claim on Friday at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said he had seen no evidence to support Trump’s claim, while the ranking Democrat Adam Schiff called the claim “patently false.” Fortune
Around the Water Cooler
• Merger Mania in Indian Telecoms
The world’s second-biggest mobile telecoms market, India, is in upheaval. Vodafone and Idea Cellular agreed to merge Monday, creating what will be India’s biggest wireless carrier with almost 400 million subscribers, a 35% market share and a market value of $23 billion. It’s the latest response to a hugely disruptive $25 billion bet on the industry by energy group Reliance, whose new service Jio has racked up 70 million subscribers since launching a loss-leader campaign of free high-speed data and voice calls last year. Two other big providers, Bhati Airtel and Telenor, merged their Indian services last month. Bloomberg
• 7% for the 1%
Median pay for the chief executives of the biggest 100 U.S. companies rose nearly 7% last year to $11.5 million, according to The Wall Street Journal, thanks largely to the strong performance of the stock market, which pumped up the value of equity-linked compensation. Twice as many companies raised CEO pay as cut it, although there were some notable inclusions in the latter category—Apple’s Tim Cook and GE’s Jeff Immelt, to name but two. CEOs will have to work hard to defend the value of those stock awards this year. According to Robert Shiller’s metric of the cyclically-adjusted price-earnings ratio, U.S. equities are at their most expensive in 15 years. WSJ, subscription required
• IBM Ties up With Wanda for China Cloud Business
IBM will hook up with Wang Jianlin’s Wanda Group to sell its Cloud services business in China. The new Wanda Cloud Company will go live in 2018, an IBM spokeswoman said. Wanda is recycling the money it made in real estate through various channels, including movies, sports and, since last year, Internet technology, and a strong local partner will help ensure IBM stays the right side of local rules. Amazon and Microsoft, its two biggest U.S. rivals, already have such partners. On top of that, it will also have to compete with Alibaba. Fortune
• A Beast of a Box-Office Weekend
Whatever the problems at ESPN, Disney has still got it at the box office. Its live action remake of Beauty and the Beast took $170 million at its opening weekend, the highest ever for a U.S. opening in March and $10 million more than its production budget. It’s well set up for a run at the $967 million benchmark for live-action remakes of its own animated classics set by The Jungle Book last year. Elsewhere, Time Warner’s receipts for Kong: Skull Island fell 53% to $29 million, while Blumhouse’s Get Out took another $13.2 million, bringing its total takings to date to $133 million, 30 times its $4.5 million outlays. Fortune


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Say what you want about Mazda, they scored a ton of points in my book with this bit of news.
Apparently, according to multiple reports, someone emailed Mazda about their new RX-Vision Concept. However, it wasn’t a journalist asking for specs or another company asking for info about the car. Nope, it was a person trying to buy the car. According to Reddit, one user decided to email Mazda about purchasing the stunning concept.
Best part, they even received an email back.
Thank you for contacting Mazda Customer Experience Center.
We appreciate your interest in a future Mazda RX model and while we can confirm that Mazda continues to develop rotary engines, we cannot confirm production of a rotary at this point. Rotaries are one of the signature engineering technologies that define Mazda, and we will continue exploring them to see where they may fit for production applications. While mass production is currently on hold, Mazda has never stopped research and development efforts towards the rotary engine.
RX-VISION represents a vision of the future that Mazda hopes to one day make into reality; a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car with exquisite, KODO design-based proportions only Mazda could envision, and powered by the next-generation SKYACTIV-R rotary engine. Although future models and specifications are not available at this time, you will find the most up-to-date information on our current vehicle lines and accessories on our website, www.mazdausa.com. Additionally, our press releases are available on our media website, www.mazdausamedia.com.
Should you have additional questions or feedback, please contact me at the number below and reference your Service request number.
This was, of course, a bit of a pipe dream, but I think that asking a major auto manufacturer for a concept car is surprisingly awesome. I mean, who else to better call car on car companies to make amazing cars than the consumers who want to purchase them, right? This person showed Mazda that there is a market for the new RX-Vision and for their rotary engines.
Let’s hope this further convinces Mazda to make a new RX sooner rather than later.


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Did you know it is possible to get fresh-from-the-dock seafood that’s never been in a warehouse in land-locked Columbus? A one-man operation, Ian Holmes is changing how several Columbus restaurants source their seafood.
From Boston to Central Ohio, Coastal Local Seafood brings “anything that swims” from pier to plate.
Holmes was working as a delivery driver for a bigger seafood company, learning the ins and outs of the business. Order a bunch of seafood. Store it in a warehouse. Sit until ordered, then oldest product out the door first.
“I thought if you could get chefs on board for ordering ahead of time, you could get a fresher product,” Holmes says. “I sell it before I buy it.”
If a chef says he needs 10 pounds of tuna, Holmes calls a dock in Boston and it’s at the restaurant the next day.
“I don’t warehouse anything,” he says.
Twice a week the seafood purveyor places an order and a truck drives from Boston, backs up to Coastal Local’s delivery truck and it’s off to the restaurants. Holmes used to have to dive halfway to the coast to meet the truck, but over the course of a year and a half has earned enough weight that the truck now comes to him.
Collecting about 25 orders a week, Coastal Local Seafood services well-known eateries like Due Amici, Latitude 41, Angry Bear Kitchen, Alana’s and La Tavola. The A&R restaurant group whose portfolio includes The Crest and Market at Italian Village, is Coastal Local’s largest client.
Holmes has built a rapport with his chefs. The number one goal is to provide an A+ product. If it’s not available, it’s not available. The chefs trust that he will substitute with whatever is freshest from the dock.
Coastal Local knows this whole process might not be the cheapest option, but Holmes says it’s balanced out by the fact his seafood won’t be tossed. If a chef gets a delivery on Thursday it’s going to stay good through the weekend if not longer because it’s not already working on a three-day lead time from sitting in a warehouse.
Word of mouth and a marked difference in taste has earned Coastal Local its client list. While on a cold-call visit at a restaurant, a patron at the bar asked if Holmes was with Coastal Local. The diner had recently been to La Tavola, where the he’d heard the restaurant had a new seafood supplier. The patron said it was the best seafood he had ever tasted.
“Most of the people are just blown away at the difference,” Holmes says.
He encourages restaurants to ask for a better product. Chefs don’t have to get their seafood from the same place they get their steaks.
Holmes didn’t expect to become an entrepreneur, but found seafood to be an industry that just struck him.
“Somebody has to be the first to split off and try it,” he says. “It seems to be working so far.”
“I haven’t had one item returned in a year and a half,” Holmes says.
Now that he’s an entrepreneur, Holmes has some ambitious, albeit admittedly far-off dreams that include a retail storefront, more ways to get fresh seafood to individuals, and opening a little oyster bar in Columbus.
For more information, visit coastallocalseafood.com.


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Want to join the conversation?
$PZZA announced expansion plans in Mexico with the signing of a restaurant development agreement with Orquest Foods to build 60 restaurants over the next 8 years. In addition to these 60 stores, Orquest Foods recently purchased 26 Papa John's restaurants in the Mexico City area, which is the site of the company's first international location.
$AAL is giving pay hikes to its employees but investors are sulking.
$APC stock tumbled more than 5.6% after last week's fatal home explosion in Firestone, Colorado prompted the company to close more than 3,000 wells for weeks.
Unicorn Frappuccino. The latest hit from $SBUX. Can't wait to see how this will affect its results.
At what point should $AMZN consider a stock split? $1000 per share seems pretty high.


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Ringier has acquired a minority interest in the Berlin start-up Bot Labs, which was founded in January 2018 by Hubert Burda Media together with Ingo Rübe, the former CTO of the national publishing company at Burda. Bot Labs develops blockchain-based technological innovations for companies and offers cooperative models.
Robin Lingg, head of marketplaces at Ringier, said of the investment: "With the help of Bot Labs, we are aiming to better understand the potential of blockchain technology and to learn how to exploit it for the digital assets in our portfolio. As a digital media company – one that is family owned, like Hubert Burda Media – we need to continue to successfully drive forward Ringier’s digital transformation. In addition to investing in companies, we see investments in enabling technologies as investments into the future of our group".
"Blockchain technology has the disruptive power to eliminate intermediaries. For publishing companies like us, it offers a major opportunity to liberate the connection to our consumers from the clutches of monopolists and to utilise the value created by our content in the digital world for its true purpose: financing high-quality journalism", says board member Philipp Welte, who represents Hubert Burda Media as a shareholder of Bot Labs. "We are therefore delighted that with Ringier, another media company with worldwide renown wants to harness the potential of this new enabling technology for its business".
Founder and CEO of Bot Labs Ingo Rübe explains: "Our open-source and free protocol allows businesses and public authorities to use blockchain and paves the way for countless new business models in virtually all industries".
Blockchain facilitates all kinds of secure transactions, cutting out the middleman. It is a democratic, consumer-friendly and secure technology that has the potential to make all intermediaries redundant and eliminate data misuse and data silos.
Ringier is a member of FIPP.
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As publishers face up to the existential threat posed by Covid-19, the last thing it needs is a self-inflicted wound. Yet, many working in distribution and the inflight sector fear that’s exactly what will happen unless there’s a concerted effort in the industry to debunk the myth that printed magazines are coronavirus super-spreaders.30th Jun 2020 Features
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[Sponsored by UPM Communication Papers] The urgency of climate change is clearly on people’s minds. Increased media coverage has helped stoke public awareness, while the clear need to strengthen the global response to this threat has led to the signing of the Paris Agreement1, which aims, among others, to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C.30th Jun 2020 Insight News
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An engine production facility as well as a research and development centre will built as part of the venture, with a main manufacturing plant expected by 2014.
The work can go ahead after the Chinese government approved a licence for the new partnership.
The company is looking to expand in the China's booming economy, with sales of Jaguars and Land Rover rising by 80 per cent in China so far this year.
More top news
The decline of the world's bee population has been well documented but new research suggests the problems bees face are 'manmade'.
Windy and wet into the weekend but colder nights with a chance of patchy frost and ice in places.
China is the world's biggest market for robotics but with plans to double industry machines by 2020, it could be a threat to human workers.


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Samsung has been long rumored to be working on a foldable display smartphone allegedly called the Galaxy X. The project is no longer under the curtains as the company itself has talked about it at various forums.
DJ Koh, CEO, Samsung mobile division has confirmed the existence of the device at an event at the MWC 2018, even though he refused to offer the expected launch time.
New design patents
As the launch time of the foldable smartphone is inching closer, leaks have started pouring in at a high rate. New patents filed by the company gives us a sneak peek of how the device would shape up.
While these patents might not be the final design of the device, they give us an idea of company's vision towards the future smartphones. This isn't the first time the company has filed for a patent for a foldable display.
The Galaxy X?
Patently Mobile has reported a new design patent filed by Samsung has received a nod from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patents do not reveal any technology, specifications or materials used for the device, leaving us with only diagrams depicting the patented design.
The most intriguing patent among these is a 'foldout' smartphone, similar to the recently released ZTE Axon M. But instead of using two displays like ZTE, Samsung chose to go with one large foldable display.
Besides, there is a patent for a smartphone without any physical key or ports. While the design sounds innovative, only time will tell how practical it actually is.
Samsung has received a patent for a wraparound device which will probably blur the lines between a smartphone and smartwatch.
Will anyone of these patents see the production stage remains to be seen. Companies file many patents that never make it to the production stage, so putting so much hope in any one of these is not advisable.


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Amazon Ceases Selling Kindle Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions
Amazon has announced that it has discontinued selling magazine and newspaper subscriptions via Kindle Newsstand as of March 9th, and will stop delivering current subscriptions by September.
Kindle Newsstand provides Kindle-specific versions of publications that can be read on devices. Amazon has also ceased selling print magazines and newspapers in addition to Kindle Newsstand subscriptions. The company stated that customers could manage their print subscriptions through Amazon until June 5, 2023, following which all customer inquiries would be addressed by the publisher directly.
As per a recent announcement, Amazon will also shut down eight of its Go convenience stores in the US on April 1. The company will close two stores in New York City, two in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco. Amazon has pledged to aid affected employees in securing other positions within the company.


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What would happen if behavioral targeting was regulated?
April 27th | 2009 By
According to this story today in the Wall Street Journal, AT&T is being asked by Congress whether they use behavioral targeting, and there is mounting pressure in Congress to potentially regulate use of data in internet advertising. While I certainly share the concerns around privacy, and I am very jealous of my privacy, this is one of those cases in which legislation aimed at protecting consumers may end up hurting them. I think that today’s consumers expect to be marketed, and assuming that personal information is protected, they actually benefit from having advertising that is relevant to them served to them.


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Indonesia's October inflation rate was well-received by investors. On Friday (01/11), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced that the country's inflation in October 2013 grew 0.09 percent. Easing inflation was mainly due to falling prices of raw foods and clothes. Year-on-year (yoy), however, Indonesia's inflation is still high at 8.32 percent, although showing a moderating trend from 8.40 percent (yoy) in September 2013 and 8.79 percent (yoy) in August 2013. Inflation had skyrocketed after subsidized fuel prices were raised by an average 33 percent in June.
Indonesia's Finance minister, Chatib Basri, stated that the government aims to keep inflation below the nine percent mark by the end of 2013. Year to date, inflation has now reached 7.66 percent after the first ten months of 2013. With only November and December ahead, Basri thinks there is a good chance to keep it below 9 percent. In November, Indonesia traditionally records low inflation. However, December is usually plagued by inflationary pressures brought on by the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
(annual percent change)
¹ Year to date (January-October 2013)
Source: Statistics Indonesia
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) maintains its revised inflation target range of between 9.0 and 9.8 percent. Initially, Bank Indonesia expected inflation to reach between 3.5 and 5.5 percent in 2013, but as prices of subsidized fuels were increased in late-June, it quickly revised its forecast by a couple of percentage points. Now inflation is easing from its peak of 8.79 percent (yoy) in August 2013 to 8.32 percent (yoy) in October 2013, the central bank has room to maintain its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.25 percent for the remainder of the year. In recent months, Bank Indonesia gradually raised its BI rate from 5.75 percent to 7.25 percent in order to curb high inflation as well as to support the depreciating rupiah exchange rate. The rupiah has fallen 17.4 percent against the US dollar in 2013.| Source: Bank Indonesia
With inflation slowly recovering from its shock after the subsidized fuel issue, concerns about Indonesia's trade deficit remain. Although the trade deficit narrowed in the third quarter of 2013 to USD $2.9 billion from USD $3.1 billion in the second quarter, the country recorded another trade deficit of 657.2 million in September 2013, brought on by a deficit in Indonesia's oil and gas sector of USD $1.15 billion.
In order to foster financial and macroeconomic stability, the current account deficit should be kept at a sustainable level. When the Federal Reserve started speculating about an end to its quantitative easing program in May 2013, investors quickly pulled money out from Indonesia as the country shows a number of financial weaknesses. Most importantly, a current account deficit that was at a record high of USD $9.8 billion in the second quarter of 2013 (equivalent to 4.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product), exacerbating the depreciating trend of the rupiah. The current account deficit is expected to decline in the third quarter but will remain high at around USD 8 billion.
The trade deficit emerged as commodity prices plunged in recent years, while domestic demand for imports - supported by the country's robust economic growth - rose. But with a depreciating rupiah exchange rate, imports have become more expensive and thus caused the slowing growth of imports. The value of imports rose one percent to USD $46 billion in the third quarter of 2013 (yoy) but was down 5.9 percent from the second quarter. Exports fell 6.7 percent to USD $43 billion in the third quarter of 2013 (yoy), and were down 5.8 percent from the second quarter.


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Live Nation Australasia has signed up Virgin Australia as its official airline partner.
Live Nation’s Australasian division said Virgin will ensure touring artists and touring personnel “enjoy the best possible travelling experience, working closely with the industry to make touring easier for artists”.
Live Nation Australasia’s other partners include Telstra, National Australia Bank, American Express, Flight Centre, Europcar and Hilton Hotels and Resorts.
It recently expanded its reach in Australia’s festival scene by purchasing a controlling stake in Secret Sounds, which runs two of Australia’s largest music events, Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival.
“Live Nation is looking forward to working with Virgin Australia and its alliance partners to deliver a superior travelling experience for our touring entourages. Virgin Australia share our passion for music and entertainment,” said Roger Field, who recently replaced Michael Coppel as chief executive of Live Nation Australasia.
The partnership also offers Virgin Australia the opportunity to use Live Nation concerts and events within its marketing and brand strategy.
Inese Kingsmill, chief marketing officer of Virgin Australia, said: “With entertainment in our brand’s DNA, we are thrilled to partner with Live Nation and support the unique travel needs of many of the world’s greatest and most exciting artists.
“This new partnership provides Virgin Australia with the opportunity to bring the world’s best live music to Australia for fans to enjoy and the opportunity to create unforgettable brand experiences.”