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Maggot debridement treatment effective for diabetes wounds: research
Maggot debridement treatment is tremendously effective for diabetes wounds, researchers from Hawaii have suggested.
Under the Maggot debridement treatment, live insects are placed into the wounds of the patients.
A team of researchers from Kaiser Hospital and the University of Hawaii claimed that they applied maggot debridement approach to treat 37 diabetic patients, all of whom had been suffering from peripheral vascular disease and refractory wounds for up to five years.
Researchers led by Dr Lawrence Eron applied 50 to 100 maggots to the wounds for two days. They repeated the act an average of five times.
Seventy-eight per cent of patents (21 patents) were found with more than 75 per cent closure of diabetes wounds.
Speaking on the effectiveness of Maggot debridement treatment for diabetes wounds, Dr Eron said, "One of the potential improvements we can make in their treatment is to use a technique, such as maggot debridement therapy, to effectively debride infected or dead tissue to allow their wounds to heal."
The findings were revealed the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy (ICAAC) this week in Chicago.
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Saudi Arabian entertainment and hospitality company Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co (Alhokair) has signed master franchises with global sandwich shop chain Subway and Lebanese baker and patisserie Secrets.
In a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) Alhokair said the new agreements are in line with its strategy to transition to a lifestyle retailer while expanding its food and beverage (F&B) portfolio.
Under the agreement, the company said it will capitalise on the existing 210 Subway restaurants in the kingdom, and plans to expand aggressively, adding a further 145 stores within six years.
The company will also introduce the Lebanese bakery brand Secrets to the kingdom.
“Alhokair’s immediate plans for the new brand range from opening physical stores complemented by a delivery leg, adding a catering service, and vertically integrating it with its existing brands specifically coffee shops,” the statement said.
“The new franchise acquisitions are aligned with the company’s commitment to an omnichannel approach and digitalisation strategy, with a focus on scalability, multi-format outlets and swift adaptability to online sales.”
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by
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© ZAWYA 2021

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Danish duo TooManyLeftHands (that’s Martin Nick and Anders Kanstrup to the uninitiated) are back right now with a brand new single. It’s ‘Cold Heart’, and is the follow-up single to the big n’ banging ‘Can’t Get To You‘ that we featured on here last year. There are a lot of dance tracks around at the moment that are aping a formula in an attempt to fit into a certain sound and style that’s currently popular. And so it’s getting harder and harder to become excited about many tunes in the genre that are being released. So when a dance track comes along that doesn’t fall into line with 90% of other producers, it’s refreshing. And to be applauded. ‘Cold Heart’ is such a track. A classic uplifting house tune that’s been crafted well – and not just to fit into a mould. Thus, check it out;
You can find ‘Cold Heart’ on our Best New Dance playlist.


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Apple is among big companies asked to sever ties with China amid allegations that Uyghur Muslims are being exploited and used as forced labor by suppliers. A new campaign has been put in place to highlight the problem and call for change (via BBC News).
Brands in a hurry to leave the Uyghur region
“We call on brands and retailers to leave the Uyghur region at all levels of their supply chain, from cotton to finished products, to prevent the use of forced labor by Uyghurs and other groups in other facilities,” and to end relations with suppliers supporting the forced labor system, “the activists” call to action bed. “Brands and retailers must take each of these steps in order to meet their corporate responsibility obligations to respect human rights as defined in international principles such as the United Nations Guiding Principles. relating to business and human rights. ”
Nike is another major brand coming under the pressure of the campaign. A recent Australian strategic policy report has again highlighted these fears. Apple has always denied that forced labor is exploited at any of its factories and insists it is monitoring the situation closely. “We have not found any evidence of forced labor on Apple’s production lines and plan to continue monitoring,” a company statement said.


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eLocal grew revenue 45% with Twilio
Time to read: 3 minutes
Rapid innovation is the secret behind eLocal’s success. Since launching in 2007, the company has been profitable and growing every year, most recently adding a call center in suburban Philadelphia to deliver high-quality, sales-ready leads to home service and legal professionals. The call center, powered by Twilio, has been so effective that plans are already underway to double its size and add staff to handle the growing volume of calls.
Acquiring high-quality, sales-ready leads
“Our priority is lead quality, and our goal is to have our customers’ phones ring with real business,” said Rob Di Marco, chief technology officer at eLocal.
The attention to lead quality is getting results. In 2015, eLocal increased its revenue by over 45% as it continues to help more and more consumers find professionals who can fix that leaky sink or help with an important legal issue.
Each month the number of customer calls increases, but eLocal doesn’t depend on volume alone. The company’s success hinges on responding fast to business opportunities and supporting new ideas and services created by business development.
“Twilio allows us to be very flexible and scale as our business grows,” said Di Marco. “Our business advantage is our speed and ability to move quickly to a problem. That’s the advantage of Twilio—it’s easy to get started and it’s easy to change things.”
A calling strategy for rapid responses
eLocal quickly developed a solution based on Twilio that allowed call center managers to create IVR campaigns and connect live leads with the right home service and legal professionals. It started with Twilio Voice for advanced call control and Twilio Client, so that its dozens of agents could work from a web interface.
“We whipped up a well-functioning prototype with Twilio Voice in about a day and the call center agents were using a production version within a week,” said David Roberts, the lead software developer at eLocal. “It’s one thing to pitch an idea to management, and it’s something else to show them how it’s working.”
The ability to adapt technology swiftly to capture new business opportunities is critical for a fast-growing business like eLocal.
“Twilio lets me be in the ‘yes’ business, instead of always having to say ‘no’ to new ideas. With Twilio, the timeline to put new features into production is measured in hours, not days.”
Follow the money
eLocal has a successful track record for adapting the business to realize new revenue. “Rapid innovation has been the hallmark of our business, and turning new ideas into a new product quickly is a big focus for us,” said Di Marco.
In the early days of eLocal, the company served as an online directory. Online ads, search engine marketing, and web-based forms brought in plenty of active buyers. But as conversions from online and email channels began to taper off, eLocal changed course and turned to the phone to identify and further qualify the leads from online and offline channels. “Initially we were very email form lead focused and we morphed to being call focused,” said Di Marco. “We’re not afraid of change.”
With the new emphasis on calls, speed became a priority. “We actively pursue every lead because in home services and legal, people need answers fast. People don’t have long-term plumber problems,” said Di Marco. “It’s a two-hour window.” To add even more pressure, the leads have to be good. “If our partners don’t like our leads, they don’t pay for them,” he said.
The call center is vital to eLocal’s ability to match its highly qualified leads with a motivated, appropriate professional. eLocal added Twilio TaskRouter so it could route calls based on agents’ skillsets, availability, and other factors, and still be able to quickly pivot the agents’ workloads as the business demanded.
“We wanted to be more dynamic in routing calls, so we could prioritize calls. It’s working for us and makes us excited about TaskRouter,” said Di Marco.
In the future, eLocal wants to reward providers who respond quickly. With Twilio call tracking, it can track the responsiveness of the professionals, and factor that metric into how leads are distributed to its customers. “We’re looking at how well our customers are doing responding to the leads and letting that be a factor in how we route them,” said Di Marco.
Strong growth ahead
Agility and flexibility have kept eLocal ahead of its competitors and the company intends to continue to use those qualities to its advantage.
“Twilio allows us to be very flexible and scale as our business grows. Our business advantage is our speed and ability to move quickly to a problem. That’s the advantage of Twilio—it’s easy to get started and it’s easy to change things.”
“We’re opportunistic. We look for opportunities and when we find them we go at them hard and fast,” said Di Marco. “Twilio makes it possible for us to go after opportunities and monetize them.”


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Apple and Google/Motorola Mobility have agreed to a settlement and will dismiss pending patent litigation between the two companies, according to a court filing referenced by Reuters.
As part of the settlement, Apple and Google have agreed to work together „in some areas of patent reform“. Apple and Google have been in patent disputes for years. This particular settlement does not include a patent cross-licensing agreement, which is sometimes included in patent settlements.
Apple still has numerous patent lawsuits in the works against a vast array of companies, most notably Samsung. Earlier this year, Google announced it was selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion.In a joint statement, the companies said the settlement does not include a cross license to their respective patents. „Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform,“ the statement said.
This article – Apple and Google/Motorola Agree to Settle Patent Litigation, Work Together on Patent Reform


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China's rush to the Internet is slowing, with the country adding only 14.4 million new Internet users in the first half of 2014, the lowest half-year growth in eight years.
China Internet Network Information Center
China's Internet on early Sunday morning suffered a major distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that briefly disrupted and slowed access to sites in the .cn domain.
China's Internet populace grew to 591 million by the end of June, as more new users in the country relied on handsets to go online, according to a non-profit research group.
China's Internet population reached 564 million at the end of December, an increase of 26 million over the past six months, according to a non-profit research group in the country.
China added 27 million Internet users over the last six months, bringing the total number to 485 million, but the growth of China's Internet population continues to slow, according to official statistics released on Tuesday.
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At the recent 49th Annual Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST) Convention in Brisbane, most leading Australian food and agribusiness industry experts agreed that while innovation is the key to ensuring a viable future for the food and agribusiness industry, the concern around foreign investment is impacting markets and hindering the collaboration. The … Continue reading Drop the ‘xenophobic’ attitude to trade says AIFST
An economic analysis on ABS export figures released this week shows nearly 300 new manufacturers begin exporting during 2014 – 2015, and lower exchange rates appear to be helping overall.
Australia gained a so-called seat at the table in April to be a part of the conversation on the next industrial revolution. Brent Balinski spoke to the AMGC’s managing director Jens Goennemann about where to next, and why it’s crucial to be involved.
Imported Toyota HiLux sales have led the way for Toyota Australia, which managed an increase of 22 per cent in net profit after tax for the year ending March 31.
Argon has introduced its 21.3-inch rugged display, designed for command and control applications where maximum viewable surface area is needed in the smallest mounting possible. The ARD21 has a small bezel size, flexible mounting configurations, configurable I/O and universal AC/DC power supply. This makes it a suitable solution for mission critical applications. The product’s display … Continue reading New rugged display
The use of very large lithium-ion battery packs has become increasingly common, much more so than it was ten years ago. For example, on ships where there were once no such batteries, there are now lithium-ion banks of 1-5MWh. Autonomous underwater vehicles, mining trucks and buses are also now sporting batteries of up to 350kWh. … Continue reading Growing use of very large lithium-ion batteries
Much is written about the benefits of technology transfers, but very little on ‘how-to’. Alan Johnson highlights some options. Most Australian manufacturers incorporate a high level of technology into the products they produce, plus in the processes they use to produce these products. And like it or not, this trend is only going to increase … Continue reading Getting new smarts
Former World Bank president and top US diplomat Robert Zoellick is warning Australia’s business leaders not to “bet the house” when it comes to China. Zoellick said he first sensed complacency about China from Australia’s business leaders when he was here last year to celebrate 10 years of the US-Australia trade agreement, a deal he himself … Continue reading Don’t bet the house (or much else) on China warns US diplomat
Any new technology is bound to have its share of challenges and barriers — for example the initial security concerns around cloud computing — and the Internet of Things (IoT) is no different. With smart devices adding billions of new access points into enterprise systems and communicating with the network, IoT security will be key. A number … Continue reading IoT and security: Hype, hysteria or cause for concern?
Manny Stuhl, co-owner of Australian toy manufacturer Moose Toys, has won a prestigious global award for entrepreneurship. Toy News and others report that Stuhl, the executive chairman of Moose – which he runs with his wife and stepson – beat an international field of 55 to win the Ernst and Young World Entrepreneur of the … Continue reading Boss of Australian toy manufacturer wins global entrepreneur award
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to export to 48 countries around the world, Frosty Boy CEO Dirk Pretorius will tell you that it takes diligence, thorough research and automation of business practices to achieve this feat. “The team at Frosty Boy has worked really hard to get where we are today. Through research … Continue reading Food manufacturer keeps local workers competitive
KordaMentha Restructuring has said it welcomes the South Australian Government’s $50 million contribution to help secure the future of Arrium’s OneWhyalla business. Administrator Mark Mentha said the decision will go a long way towards assisting the town’s steelworks and mining operations. “It’s a great response to what has been an unbelievably strong display of unity … Continue reading Administrators welcomes SA Government investment in Whyalla, but wants more
Success isn’t about just making things for a domestic market. Brent Balinski spoke to Michael Grogan, who recently finished up as CEO of Sutton Tools, about going global, and why the industry’s future is a bright one.
Can Australia still make steel? Brent Balinski spoke to metals expert Professor Geoff Brooks from Swinburne University about the industry’s difficulties, where it can excel, and the competition it faces. Australia’s last two major steelmaking sites have had to fight for their lives in the last year, and it is safe to say the local steel … Continue reading Little future in Australia focussing on garden variety steel
Our manufacturing sector is misunderstood, according to the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council. Brent Balinski asked the group’s chairman John Pollaers about why this is, and why it matters. This week is, among other things, National Manufacturing Week: as good a time as ever to consider the public’s opinion of the industry. The Australian Advanced Manufacturing … Continue reading Addressing manufacturing’s image problem
The food and agricultural sectors have filled 11 positions in a list of the nation’s top 20 industries by growth in exports over the five years through 2015-16. IBISWorld compiled the list against the backdrop of Australia’s recently-signed free trade agreements. According to IBISWorld, the top 20 exporting industries by growth in merchandise exports, excluding … Continue reading Food sector prominent in latest export growth figures
Adelaide company Hegs Australia is preparing to increase capacity as well as send a shipment of its product to China. The Advertiser reports that Hegs, which makes an Australian-designed variety of clothes peg, currently makes around 80,000 individual pegs a day. This month it is doubling capacity, and currently has its product made at six … Continue reading Export market grows for SA’s Hegs
Australian businesses are set to benefit as the Export Council of Australia (ECA) launches an unprecedented international trade skills development program and the latest Australian Export Handbook (21st Edition), Australia’s only authoritative reference on international trade. Backing the country’s aggressive trade agenda, the case for trade development in Australia has never been stronger. The ECA … Continue reading Offshore trading requires skills development to succeed
The opposition will today announce a national interest test policy for new gas projects or expansions, claiming that Australia is the only developed nation on earth that allows exporters dictate the terms of LNG production and sale. The Australian Financial Review reportsthat shadow treasurer Chris Bowen will announce the policy during a visit to an … Continue reading Labor to announce national interest test for gas developments
Chinese steel production has surged in response to a jump in prices, but capacity levels are concerning and some are tipping a correction soon. Bloomberg reports that output for April was up 0.5 per cent compared to last year, reaching 69.42 million metric tons, according to National Bureau of Statistics. Averaged out by production day, … Continue reading Chinese steel production surges on price jump


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Scott Cawthon, the father of Five Nights at Freddy’s game, is working on a new edition called Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location which is set to be officially released in October 2016. The game is known as another installment of the famous horror series and this could be a present that the game developer wants to bring to his fans, the loyal supporters of FNaF games. FNaF Sister Location promises to be another successful horror adventure game. Scott Cawthon already uploaded the first trailer of Sister Location one month ago, and the video received so many good feedbacks from the fans. The trailer did bring something obsessed to the players, and most of them felt creepy when seeing the terrible images of the animatronics, dolls, and other creatures.
The first trailer of FNaF Sister Location
There you go! The first trailer of the new edition uploaded by Scott Cawthon has partly revealed several terrible scenes, especially the creepy animatronics and dolls. With this trailer, the game already takes the fear of players to a higher level when those horrible animatronics turn up in the video turn by turn.
The game developer uploaded a teaser image for this Sister Location on April 23rd, 2016, with the title Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location, along with a creepy face of a clown. After that, he announced that the name of that clown was Circs Baby. Then, the initial trailer of this new game was officially uploaded by the game creator, exposing many creepy and terrible images of animatronics, with a brand new location on May 21st, 2016. The trailer said that the game would be launched in the fall. Then a new teaser image came out on June 17th, 2016 showing the players a new mangled up character, and its name is Ennard, along with a creepy sentence “There is a little of me in every body”. A new teaser image was already launched at scottgames.com on July 9th, 2016, and it consists of up to 7 small animatronics and all of them are called Bidybads. There was a text there too, “Don’t hold it against us” taken from the trailer. After that, another teaser was launched on July 21st, 2016 with the text “Get back on your stage, now”. You can catch sight of four Balloras or four Minireenas at the back in various positions if you light up the image There were several players who guessed that the Funtime Foxy is an animatronic that is kind of similar to Mangle, maybe both of them have something in common. In the reflection of Funtime Foxy, you probably even catch sight of the Puppet, but there are still other theories claiming that it’s not completely true. At first, the release date of this Sister Location was set to be released sooner than October, but then, it was changed to October 2016. And, there was an official page for the game, featuring these full sentences “Welcome to Circus Baby’s Pizza World, where family fun and interactivity go beyond anything you’ve seen at those *other* pizza places! Now hiring: Late night technician. Must enjoy cramped spaces and be comfortable around active machinery. Not responsible for death or dismemberment.” So, it’s obvious to know that this is the second Pizzeria offering many services and foods to the customers. It’s an entertaining place for all adults, children, families, and couples to go and enjoy interesting activities done by animatronics.
To sum up, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location is worth an expectation! It will surely bring more fears, more creepy challenges to all players. Let’s keep calm and wait for it to be officially released in October.


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Mohegan Sun has confirmed that it’s looking at starting up a free-play online gaming industry site and seeking deals with a number of online firms. TheDay carries quotes from Chuck Bunnell, the Mohegan Tribe’s chief of staff. He said they “have had and continue to have” talks with certain online gaming industry firms. Bunnell also said, “I think the entire industry is looking at what’s happening in Europe and in the U.S. as it tries to craft legislation to clearly legalize Internet gaming.”
Being on the East Coast obviously means that they don’t know where Asia is. We don’t want to say that much of the private gambling industry isn’t looking at the USA because the “entire industry” is having a sideways glance over the pond every now and then. Although, while the public gaming firms are fixing their gaze on Europe, everyone on the private side is making the wise decision to focus on Asia, the world’s largest market for the entire gambling industry.
The owners of Foxwoods, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, are also rumored to be in talks with companies regarding a similar site. Boy do they need it. The casino business’ results showed that slot revenue has dropped off by 5% to $53.2million compared with the same period last year. Total handle also decreased by 7.9% as Foxwoods President and CEO Scott C. Butera got the excuses at the ready…and here they are…
“Despite the persistent weakness in the economy, we are generating slot revenue this year at about the same pace as 2010 when US business seemed to be gaining momentum.”
One idea for them to generate a bit more cash on the side? Invest in some dirty slots. They’re like normal ones but with a few hidden “extras” (wink wink). Well they’re going to have to do something to stem the tide of Bostonians heading back home to gamble.
Florida has consulted both Vegas and Atlantic City in order to make sure their gaming industry regulations are as watertight as possible. The authors of the bill would bring three $2billion resorts style casinos to Miami-Dade and Broward. It would mean that the structure being two-tiered will allow separation between the gaming commission and the enforcement division.
Las Vegas Sands and Genting are two companies expected to set up shop in Florida, Sands lobbyist Nick Iarossi stating, “We want something at least as comprehensive as the Nevada regulatory law. We wouldn’t want to put billions of dollars of capital at risk in an environment that wasn’t heavily regulated.”
It’s expected that it will be filed later this week and hope is that it will get further than the Dolphins so far this season. Note to legislature: whatever your wife tells you, Bush isn’t good.


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The company’s goal is to gradually eliminate magnetic tapes by 2023
Mastercard has recently announced that it will phase out the magnetic stripes on its debit and credit card, starting from 2024, while contactless payments continue to rise.
The company stated that the magnetic stripe will not be used on newly issued Mastercard credit or debit cards in Europe by 2024, while banks in the United States will no longer be required to issue magnetic stripe cards by 2027. From 2029, the magnetic stripe will not be used on any new card, to be completely removed by 2033.
Chip-and-pin and the new biometric cards which require fingerprints offer greater security according to Mastercard. The company says it will be the first payment network to phase out the magnetic stripe technology, which dates back to the 1960s.
“It’s time to fully embrace these best-in-class capabilities, which ensure consumers can pay simply, swiftly, and with peace of mind,” says Ajay Bhalla, president of Mastercard’s Cyber & Intelligence business. “What’s best for consumers is what’s best for everyone in the ecosystem.”
“The merchant community looks forward to a day when requirements to support the magnetic stripe and the burden to protect data merchants really don’t need are eliminated,” says John Drechny, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group, which represents more than 165 U.S. merchants. “We applaud Mastercard for taking this next step to help to strengthen payment security and protect merchants and consumers from risk. We’d like to see others in the industry move in this direction.”
The contactless era
In the first quarter of 2021, Mastercard saw 1 billion more contactless transactions compared to the same period in 2020, while 45% of all in-person checkout transactions globally were contactless in the second quarter of 2021.
The magnetic stripe technology was introduced in the early 1960s by IBM to help bank institutions to encrypt card information and verify their owners. But in the 1990s the global standard EMV chip was developed and provided an alternative option for card holders’ data to be safely stored on small integrated circuit chips embedded in the cards. This new feature gradually began to gain ground and today the EMV technology is used to 85% of card transactions worldwide.
It is interesting, however, that the US has not adopted EMV chips to the same extent as the rest of the world. Last year, the percentage of personal card transactions using the technology in the US was about 73% despite efforts to be boosted.
EMV technology is constantly evolving and now offers greater security in card transactions. Mastercard invests in EMV, now more than ever, and has developed new quantum-resistant specifications for contactless payments. The firm claims that this will protect cardholders and merchants from fraud attacks.
Due to the pandemic, contactless payments recorded a historic rise as the consumers tried to avoid touching as many items as possible, including card terminals. However, many analysts and experts estimate that a new era of contactless transactions is consolidating, creating a completely new landscape of shopping and interpersonal contacts, even after the end of the pandemic.
“True progress also means retiring technologies that no longer meet our needs,” says Howard Hammond, executive vice president and head of consumer banking at Fifth Third Bank. “The way we shop, pay, and interact is changing, and we are meeting these evolving needs with smarter and more secure experiences.”


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Jim Cramer, the Mad Money host on CNBC media company, has revealed that he recently paid off a mortgage using profits generated from his Bitcoin investments. On Thursday, April 15, Cramer disclosed that he paid off his mortgage the day before by selling half of his Bitcoin investments.
Cramer stated on CNBC’s Squawk on the street: “From the chart, I may be the only natural seller, but it was so great to pay off a mortgage.”
He further added: “It was like, kind of, phony money paying for real money. I now own a house—lock, stock, and barrel—because I bought this currency. I think I won!”
He stated that he purchased a significant amount of Bitcoin when the price was at around $12,000. Yesterday on April 15, Bitcoin price was selling at $64,829.
Cramer appeared to suggest that he followed investment advice he normally gives to his viewers: “Trimming positions to take profits after seeing considerable gains.” He said that he had sold half of his Bitcoin holdings.
Cramer has been a vocal supporter of Bitcoin for a while now. In February, he talked about his motivation for owning Bitcoin describing the crypto as “an alternative to a cash position, where you make absolutely nothing.” He therefore mentioned that it would be “almost irresponsible” not to include Bitcoin in a portfolio.
Last month, Cramer stated that he made more money from his investments in Bitcoin than what has on gold.
Although Cramer did not specify exactly how much money he generated from his Bitcoin sales, in other interviews, he stated that he invested $500,000 in Bitcoin after he faced frustrations with gold. That could put his profits from yesterday’s sales at over $1 million.
Why Bitcoin Is A Good Thing
Bitcoin continues to gain more and more authority as more investors are allocating part of their cash into the cryptocurrency. Most prominent entrepreneurs have adopted the alternative store of value. Michael Saylor, the founder and CEO of MicroStrategy software firm, was the first ever institutional investor to bet on Bitcoin. Jack Dorsey’s Square became the second to invest in the crypto asset and among other investors, Tesla became the biggest.
Many investors together with Saylor are borrowing money at low-interest rates to purchase even more Bitcoins. The reason is that Bitcoin is a relatively safe bet.
Recently, Saylor hosted a seminar for institutional investors to help them understand the benefits of purchasing and holding onto Bitcoin when reflected in the current conditions of the economy. The economy is unstable and with inflation and decreasing buying power of fiat money, investors see Bitcoin as the solution.
Image source: Shutterstock


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Schumer commits to making some progress on cannabis this year
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pledged to get “something” achieved on the cannabis reform file “this year” by taking a bipartisan approach, per Marijuana Moment.
The message, which Schumer conveyed during a speech he made after introducing the bill last Thursday, may be that any legislation that passes will be narrower in scope than he hoped.
“I’ve had many productive conversations with my Republican and Democratic colleagues about cannabis reform,” he said. “And I look forward to working with members from both sides of the aisle to secure support for this bill.”
Enjoy Cannabis Daily each morning at 7 a.m.
The ins-and-outs of New York’s incoming cannabis retail licences
New York-based attorney Jeffrey Hoffman shared the nitty-gritty details on cannabis licensing in the state, where sales are likely to launch later this year, per Syracuse.com.
- Applicants for conditional adult-use retail dispensary licences will have a four week-window to prepare their applications, with two weeks’ warning before the portal opens
- Depending on the store location, it will cost an estimated USD $600,000 to USD $1.2 to build a store
- Flagship stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn could cost up to USD $2 million to construct
- That means the USD $200 million earmarked to support successful applicants could support around 200 dispensaries
- Registered medical cannabis organizations will have to wait until the initial conditional licencees, who are those who have been impacted by prohibition, are up-and-running
- For the time being, no cannabis will be produced out-of-state
Lastly, smaller banks are servicing the cannabis industry. “I do wish that our Congress would get with the program and just deschedule cannabis … because that would address all kinds of problems,” Hoffman said. “We could get all the folks that are federally incarcerated for cannabis offenses out of jail, banking would no longer be a problem, 280E would go away, etc. But until we do it, you are going to need to work with these banks that you know have seen the light and are willing to do the extra work that’s necessary to bank cannabis.”
For the first time, Colorado may not set a sales record
Colorado’s cannabis sales have declined in 2022, according to the state’s Department of Revenue tax records, reports KDVR.
By the numbers
- Medical and adult-use cannabis sales skyrocketed by 25% in 2020
- Total sales peaked at USD $2.2 billion in 2021
- In June, Colorado brought in about USD $27.7 million in taxes
Even with slower sales, tax revenue is still in line with 2020’s impressive numbers, and higher than any records set before the pandemic.
BYE BYE IMC
IM Cannabis could be delisted from NASDAQ
NASDAQ has warned IM Cannabis (IMC), which has operations in Israel, Canada, and Germany, that it could be delisted from the stock exchange unless its price rebounds above $1, per BusinessCann.
The company launched a secondary listing on the exchange in March at about $10. Earlier this year, CEO Oren Shuster said that the company’s focus was moving away from M&A and toward organic growth.
IMC has until Jan. 9, 2023 to regain compliance.


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The top three owners of vineyard land in Sonoma County — Jackson Family Wines, E&J Gallo and Silverado Premium Properties — largely began their buying sprees in the 1980s, when vineyards cost half the price of what they sell for today.
Their demand for premium grapes would help drive up land prices as they targeted top vineyards and undeveloped land to plant new vines.
Today, the three companies own about 8,800 acres planted to grapes, according to a Press Democrat analysis of county property tax records. The vineyards, buildings and equipment on that land have an assessed value of $436 million, although the actual market value is likely far higher.
Their vision of the future — and their access to capital — drove an expansion that has helped turn Sonoma County into a global brand.
The county's largest vineyard owner, Jackson Family Wines, was a fraction of its current size when founder Jess Jackson set off on a vineyard buying spree in the mid-1980s. At the time, his flagship brand, Kendall-Jackson, was selling about 54,000 cases of wine a year — about 1 percent of what it sells today, said Jon Fredrikson, a longtime wine industry analyst and consultant.
Jackson assembled a team, including Fredrikson, that sent a mass mailing to large vineyard owners in Sonoma County asking whether they'd like to sell their properties.
"At one point — this is crazy — I wrote to every vineyard owner that owned more than 100 acres in Sonoma County, and we had a tremendous number that came back," Fredrikson recalled.
"We became so active that we were kind of like a captive agent for Jess, just finding properties, and he had a whole organization of people that were constantly reviewing deals and buying, buying, buying. The prices were right, and he was able to get financing, and Kendall-Jackson was growing. And it took a lot of guts to do that, because the '80s were rough times."
Jess Jackson, who led Jackson Family Wines with his wife, Barbara Banke, until his death in 2011, fashioned a strategy that would leave his company with 3,230 acres of planted vineyard land in Sonoma County today. His vineyards can be found throughout the Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Bennett Valley and more.
Jackson loved to plant on hillsides, and the company continues to pursue those properties. Its recent acquisitions have been at elevations as high as 2,000 to 2,500 feet, said Hugh Reimers, chief operating officer for Jackson Family Wines.
"We definitely like mountains, and Barbara is following on with that philosophy," Reimers said.
Aside from a brief interview with Reimers, Jackson Family Wines declined repeated requests for interviews for this story.
E&J Gallo Winery, which owns about 3,170 planted acres in Sonoma County, began buying grapes here nearly 80 years ago to funnel into its wine production based in Modesto. Grape growers appreciated Gallo as a major buyer, but often bristled at the low prices the company offered for grapes.
"Ernest (Gallo) himself was reluctant, really didn't see the growth in premium wines the way Jess did," Fredrikson said. "So it was a slower start. And then as opportunities arose, they bought more vineyards."
The company planted roots in Sonoma County in 1977 when it purchased Frei Brothers Winery and its 200 acres of land, followed by acquisitions of apple orchards and ranches that it converted to vineyards in the 1980s.


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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – On today’s edition of Rob Black’s Winners & Losers, financial expert Rob Black talks with KRON4’s James Fletcher about stocks, Bank of America, and Call of Duty.
S&P 500 hits record after Trump tweets: Stocks jumped to all-time highs on Thursday after President Trump tweeted the U.S. and China were getting closer to a trade deal.
Bank of America to pay app users: Bank of America says it will deposit $15 into the accounts of customers if they try mobile check deposit, transfer money and use mobile bill pay by Jan. 17.
“Call of Duty” racks up revenue: The latest game has racked up nearly $100 million in global player spending.
Latest News Headlines:
- Senate approves rules for Trump impeachment trial
- ‘I’m fired up’: 49ers’ great Jerry Rice gearing up for Super Bowl in Miami
- Car ban on Market Street in San Francisco begins next week
- 49ers’ Dee Ford heads to Super Bowl to face former team
- Vallejo releases surveillance video showing deadly shooting involving off-duty Richmond police officer


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DALLAS, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scott Brand is pleased to announce Coldwater Elementary School in Oxford, Ala., has been selected as the Grand Prize winner in the Scott Shared Values Box Tops for Education Sweepstakes. The school will be awarded 250,000 eBoxTops—valued at $25,000—from Scott Brand, to be used toward educational needs.
"Our community of students, staff and teachers are excited to have been awarded this donation, and are looking forward to putting the dollars into action for our school," said Michael Maniscalo, principal of Coldwater Elementary. "The donation will be used to further enhance our Coldwater Healthy Kids Initiative. We will use the donation to build a running track for our Coldwater Elementary Running Club and enhance our Outdoor Classroom."
Scott Brand launched the national sweepstakes last October on Scottbrand.com to celebrate its partnership with Box Tops for Education, a school earnings program that helps schools with grades K through 8 earn cash by clipping Box Tops coupons from participating brands. Those who selected the offer on ScottBrand.com earned five eBoxTops and were automatically entered for a chance to win the 250,000 eBoxTops grand prize for their designated school.
"We are thrilled to bring this donation to Coldwater Elementary and play a part in helping with their Healthy Kids Initiative," said Jared Mackrory, brand manager for Scott Brand. "Through our partnership with Box Tops for Education, we have donated more than $3 million to schools throughout the nation since 2006. The Scott Brand takes pride in sharing its value and this partnership is a great way for us to provide lasting impact to our consumers and their communities."
Paying it Forward
In addition to its donation to Coldwater Elementary, Scott Brand has also designated Southwestern Middle School in Lafayette, Ind., to receive a matched donation of $25,000. Scott Brand selected Southwestern to receive this donation because it experienced significant damage following a tornado that hit this past November, and is looking to re-open in August 2014. The $25,000 will be presented to Southwestern Middle School by Scott Brand later this spring.
The Scott Shared Values Box Tops for Education Sweepstakes is the latest offer from the Scott Shared Values program, which provides consumers with access to special values toward Scott bath tissue and paper towels, as well as exclusive deals from top brands, like Snapfish, DSW, Fantastic Sam's and more. To learn about the Scott Shared Values program, visit Scottbrand.com.
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the Company's 142-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.


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The status symbol for today’s man would appear to be his cell phone. When answering the phrase, “The first thing people notice about me,” 61% of men surveyed in over a dozen countries by the mobile video and media company Vuclip said they believed people noticed what type of phone they owned. Others said their car, watch, or clothing.
Women also ranked the phone highest of any of the traditional status items but to a much lesser degree: 38% of women (but 82% of those under the age of 18) believed others noticed their phones first.
The cell phone has taken an interesting path, from its origins as a “rich man’s toy” in the 1990s to its near ubiquitous use in emerging and developed economies today. But if the phone is now so common, why do so many believe it’s what catches people’s eyes first?
Well, for one thing, upscale phones are increasingly becoming an attainable luxury for the new middle class in countries like China, where people often decorate their phones with trinkets, post photographs of them online, and debate intensely on blogs about different brands and models. China’s smartphone market is expected to hit 460 million by 2017.
Among wealthier Chinese, other status symbols take the place of cell phones. According to another survey released this month by the design company Frog, only 16% of Chinese earning between 50,000 and 90,000 yuan a year ($9,652-$14,478) named their phone as their most prized possession. Among the wealthier, those making above 260,000 yuan, the proportion was smaller, at 12%; for them, cars are a far bigger source of pride, perhaps because they’re much likelier to have one.


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Mylan launches Advair generic at 70% discount in US
Mylan has launched its generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s respiratory blockbuster, Advair, at a 70% discount compared with the original drug.
Cheaper competition to off-patent Advair has been delayed for years in the US as generic firms struggled to overcome the FDA’s stringent approach to copies of drug-device combination products.
The main patent on Advair (fluticasone+salmeterol) expired as long ago as 2010, while the patent on GSK’s Diskus inhaler expired in 2016.
But Mylan became the first of a group of potential competitors to get generics approved last month, and has followed this with a keenly-priced launch.
GSK said in its fourth quarter results briefing last week that it expects profits to be down by around £800 million this year as a result of the generic competition.
All three strengths of the competitor branded as Wixela Inhub will be offered at a wholesale cost of 70% less than Advair Diskus and 67% less than GSK’s authorised generic version, which launched last week.
The wholesale acquisition costs of Wixela Inhub 100 mcg/50 mcg, 250 mcg/50 mcg and 500 mcg/50 mcg strengths are $93.71, $116.44 and $153.14, respectively.
However Mylan noted that the wholesale price does not necessarily reflect that paid by consumers, pharmacies, or third-party payers.
Mylan will also offer patient services to provide training and education about the treatment and device.
Wixela Inhub is indicated for the twice daily treatment of asthma in patients age four and older not adequately controlled on long-term asthma medications or whose disease warrants initiation of treatment with both inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists.
It is also approved for maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the reduction of COPD exacerbations in patients with a history of exacerbations. It is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm.
Mylan’s chief commercial officer Tony Mauro said the company had “numerous discussions” with customers about its launch strategy.
He added: “We trust that by launching Wixela Inhub at a significantly discounted list price, we will demonstrate the savings that generics can deliver for patients through reduced out-of-pocket costs, as well as the US healthcare system overall.”
Novartis’ Sandoz generics arm, and Hikma have tried unsuccessfully to get copies approved, and the regulator had rejectedMylan’s generic last summer.
Sandoz does not expect to launch its version until next year, and Hikma and partner Vectura require a further trial to get their drug past the FDA.
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With a body like a plane, rotors like a quadcopter, and a launch that may give users the urge to yell out a NASA countdown, the latest camera drone from AeroVironment is an oddball that boasts an impressive 45-minute flight capability.
Earlier this month, AeroVironment, a company that has been providing military-grade solutions for more than 25 years, launched its latest commercial drone, the Quantix. While quadcopters can take off without a “runway,” most are limited to around 20 minutes of flight time before the battery runs out of juice. Drones that look more like an airplane than a helicopter tend to be more efficient thanks to their aerodynamic body style, but they require more space to both take off and land.
The Quantix uses a mix of both — the drone takes off with the nose pointed to the sky while using the quadcopter rotors. Once airborne, however, that nose tips forward and the drone continues to fly, using the wings to increase efficiency.
Unlike most drones, instead of flying with a joystick, the user draws a map on the screen. The program then takes the user through a preflight checklist, and, once ready, the drone takes off and covers that area. The user can stop the drone’s predetermined flight path by telling it to land or return to the takeoff location.
The drone is equipped with both a standard 1-inch camera sensor, as well as a multispectral camera for analytic programs.
Designed for commercial uses including agriculture and surveys, the Quantix is paired with a software that uses algorithms to provide more data than just the imagery from the drone’s built-in cameras, including growth assessments of farm fields, as well as assessments of man-made structures like bridges and railways.
The drone’s hybrid design allows the system to cover 400 acres, or 40 linear miles, on one charge, according to the manufacturer. It can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
While there’s no word on a price yet, AeroVironment expects the commercial drone to ship in the spring of 2017.
- The Insta360 Sphere is a virtual invisibility cloak for drones
- This drone-like ‘flying car’ has just taken a step toward commercialization
- Autel’s EVO Lite and Nano drones are primed to compete with DJI’s best
- Enabot’s new roving camera is like Star Wars’ BB-8 for the home
- DJI’s newest drone appears in unboxing video before official launch


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FIFA is dethroned for the first time in 10 years as Hogwarts Legacy sells more physical copies in 2023 in the UK, but overall sales are down.
It’s safe to say that Hogwarts Legacy has exceeded expectations, with sales of over £684,910,000 – 256% more than publisher Warner Bros. predicted – just a couple of months after release.
Hogwarts Legacy is arguably the best Harry Potter game of all time, even without the chosen one in it, and 2023 was clearly the right time to release a new one from the Harry Potter universe.
Hogwarts Legacy’s boxed sales came mostly for the PlayStation 5, accounting for more than half of its sales in 2023, followed by PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (it was only released on the Switch in November).
In total 12.6million boxed copies of games were sold in total in 2023, according to GamesIndustry.biz, via GfK.
Though that number might sound high, it’s actually a 5% drop of physical game sales from 2022, despite 2023 being a year full of great video games.
Hogwarts Legacy fittingly ended the year as the number one selling boxed game on GfK’s Boxed charts too, ahead of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 2017’s Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
This is unusual as EA Sports FC, previously known as FIFA, have dominated the boxed charts, being the top physical game each year since 2013.
The game that dethroned the football simulator before Hogwarts Legacy, in 2013, was smash hit GTA 5.
Even though Hogwarts Legacy launched in February and favourites EA Sports FC 24 and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 were released in September and November respectively, this is still an impressive feat considering the global popularity of the latter two.
Considering how well Hogwarts Legacy has been received, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if news about a new game in its universe came to light at some point.
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Unhealthy food and beverage brands encourage TikTok users to market their products to them – effectively turning them into “brand ambassadors” – as well as using their own accounts for promotional activity, find a rating of video content posted on the social media platform and published in an open access magazine Global Health BMJ.
Given TikTok’s popularity with children, the findings underscore the need for policies that protect them from the harmful impact of this type of marketing on social media, the researchers insist.
Researchers say children are being exposed to a huge amount of unhealthy foods – which are high in salt, sugar and fat – to internet marketing. Evidence suggests that this exposure ultimately affects food preferences, purchasing, orders, and consumption.
TikTok users create, post, watch and interact with short videos. Since its global release, TikTok’s popularity has grown rapidly: the number of monthly active users globally has increased from 55 million in January 2018 to one billion in September 2021.
It is popular with children: more than a third of its daily users in the United States are said to be 14 or younger.
However, no study has yet looked at the impact of unhealthy food marketing on TikTok, despite calls for attention to the platform’s health effects, the researchers say.
In an effort to bridge this knowledge gap, researchers evaluated the content of all videos posted on the accounts of 16 leading food and non-alcoholic beverage brands – based on global brand engagement as of June 30, 2021.
The content and sentiments of a sample of relevant user-generated content, which was created in response to branded hashtag challenges instigated by these brands, were also evaluated.
About 539 videos were posted on 16 accounts listed, with 3% (17) posted in 2019 (the first year of publication), 37% (198) in 2020, and 60% (324) in the first six months of 2021. Four Accounts that have not posted any videos.
The number of followers of the listed accounts ranged from 14 to 1.6 million. The videos had an average of 63,400 views, 5,829 likes, 157 comments, and 36 shares per video.
The most popular marketing strategies were brands (87% of videos), product images (85%), engagement (31%), and celebrities/influencers (25%).
The post included instigating branded hashtag challenges that encouraged the creation of user-generated content featuring branded products, videos, and/or branded effects, such as posters, filters, or special effects displaying the brand.
Total group views of user-generated content from individual challenges ranged from 12.7 million to 107.9 billion. Out of a sample of 626 brand-related videos created in response to these challenges, 96% featured videos, 68% product images, and 41% branded influences.
Most portrayed a positive (73%) or neutral/unclear feeling (25%), with a few depicting a negative feeling (3%).
This is an observational study, so it cannot prove a causal relationship. The researchers acknowledge that the user-generated content samples may not be representative of a branded hashtag challenge, nor were they able to measure children’s exposure to branded promotional activities or user-generated content.
But they note that “brand activity has increased rapidly – with most videos posted in the six months prior to data collection – and includes instigating branded hashtag challenges that encourage user-generated content featuring branded products or brand-provided videos.” or branded effects.
“An analysis of a sample of user-generated content relevant to the brand that was created in response to these challenges showed that branded hashtag challenges effectively convert users, in the words of TikTok, into “unofficial brand ambassadors.”
While fewer videos were posted by users who seemed to get paid (influencers, for example), they attracted nearly 10 times as many likes per video, on average, as those that weren’t. Paying for it appears to be, and therefore potentially important in spreading the branded hashtag challenges, they point out.
“The large extent of influencer marketing is concerning given that exposure to influencer marketing of unhealthy foods has been shown to increase energy intake (from unhealthy foods and in general),” they wrote.
They also highlighted that the proposed UK legislation would ban all online marketing “paid for” “less healthy food and drinks” from January 2023. But it includes an exemption for ads limited to brands only, and excludes marketing originating from outside the UK, although From the fact that social networking platforms frequently operate across international borders.
They concluded, “Our study demonstrated that TikTok is an emerging source of unhealthy food marketing, including user-generated branding. Given the popularity of TikTok among children, our findings support the need for policies that protect children from the harmful influence of food marketing, Including on social media platforms.
“TikTok’s growing popularity also requires further research into its potential impact on public health and its role as an institutional political actor.”
Three-quarters of social media influencers’ posts about food and drinks are for unhealthy products
Turning users into ‘unofficial brand ambassadors’: Marketing of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic drinks on TikTok, Global Health BMJ (2022). DOI: 10.1136 / bmjgh-2022-009112
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Aspire Global’s Pariplay Ltd, the leading aggregator and content provider, has joined forces with Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (Ainsworth) (ASX: AGI) to distribute its online content exclusively in Latin America through the innovative Fusion™ platform.
The new commercial partnership forms an important part of both Ainsworth’s and Pariplay’s strategic growth plan for LatAm. It is also a further sign of Pariplay’s commitment to providing operator partners with the best possible content through the out-of-the-box Fusion™ solution.
The deal will see Ainsworth partnering with Pariplay for all new online releases in the region, with the world-famous land-based and online games provider making its titles available to players through Pariplay’s aggregation platform.
Fusion™ features thousands of games from the industry’s leading games developers and a suite of back-office conversion and retention tools that enhance player value.
Jason Lim, Ainsworth’s General Manager of Online, said: “Ainsworth is continuing our online growth strategy and this partnership with Pariplay will significantly strengthen our offering and further consolidate our position as a top-tier slot developer in Latin American markets.”
Andrew Maclean, VP of Sales for Pariplay, said: “We are pleased and very excited about the beginning of this alliance. The new opportunities and reach that we will have in a greater number of regulated markets by the hand of a great company like Ainsworth, with experience and knowledge, is encouraging. This event undoubtedly marks the beginning of a very successful and innovative partnership.”


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WILLEMSTAD - On Sunday, January 6, the cruise vessel Norwegian Gem of the cruise company Norwegian Cruise Lines was in Curaçao for the first time. As usual, the captain and crew invited the port authorities, the agent and government officials to attend a ceremony to celebrate the so-called 'inaugural call' being the first visit of the ship to Curaçao.
The ceremony includes the traditional exchange of placards taking place between the ship's Captain and the representatives of the local port and in this case in the presence of Minister Steven Martina of Economic Development and representative of the shipping agent Maduro Shipping, Mr. Albert Elens.
The Norwegian Gem left on December 2 for an 18-day cruise from New York, spent 3 days at sea and the first port to visit was Curaçao with 2233 passengers aboard. Then the trip continues to Aruba, 2 different ports in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, 3 different ports in Mexico to end in Los Angeles.
On the photo: During the placards exchange from left to right Ms. Constance Martina (wife of Minister Martina), Mr. Albert Elens (Director of Maduro Shipping), Captain Fafalios, Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Steven Martina, Ms. Sau Bridgewater Chong (PR official of CPA) and Pharahien Pilgrim (Supervisor Shipping department of Maduro Shipping).


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Mercedes-Benz is looking to unveil an all-electric concept at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. The concept, which will be shown in the form of an SUV, is currently under development at Mercedes’ prototype facility near Stuttgart in Germany.
The eco-friendly concept will provide an insight into the exterior design, interior layout and technicalities of what will be, in fact, Merc’s first all-electric mass produced vehicle. When launched, this new model will go up against the Tesla Model X and an equivalent future model from Audi.
Post its global debut later this year, the concept will be put into production within the next three years. It will be the first of an all-new range of electric vehicles which will also include a luxury sedan, to rival the likes of the Tesla Model S.
Source: Autocar UK


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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Malaysia’s manufacturing activity as measured by the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), dipped for the fourth successive month in October, down to 48.5 from 49.0 in September.
Business research outfit IHS Markit said the PMI — which analyses data from about 400 manufacturers in the country — showed that the sector was being hampered by both the surge in Covid-19 cases and the government’s move in reimposing movement restrictions in October to contain the coronavirus infection.
It added that the slowdown in both output and new orders signified a decline in business optimism.
“The latest reading signalled a modest deterioration in the health of the sector, albeit one that was much less marked than seen at the height of the pandemic,” IHS Markit said in its report released today.
Malaysia recorded some of its highest new daily Covid-19 cases last month in what the Health director-general has called the “third wave” of infections. Its highest incidents in a single day were on October 24, when 1,228 cases were reported.
The government reintroduced the conditional movement control order on Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Selangor — the country's manufacturing hub — on October 14, initially for two weeks but is now extended until November 9.
IHS Markit said Malaysia’s manufacturing output looks to be stagnating amid this resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
“Both new orders and production moderated in October, and to greater extents than in September.
“The extension and reintroduction of restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was reportedly a key factor behind worsening market demand and a scaling back of production,” it said.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, noted that new export orders also fell last month to a greater extent than total new business.
He attributed this drop to disruptions to international demand caused by the pandemic.
“Weaker new order inflows meant that firms were able to deplete their backlogs of work. The resulting reduction in outstanding business was the sharpest since December 2018. A lack of pressure on capacity resulted in a further fall in employment, although the rate of job cuts continued to soften from August's survey record,” he said in a statement accompanying the report.
He noted that businesses have expressed a reluctance to increase their purchases and were holding their existing stocks amid fragile demand.
He also noted that stocks of both purchases and finished goods were depleted in October.
“Although manufacturers remained confident that output will increase over the coming year, optimism fell sharply from September's nine-month high amid rising Covid-19 case numbers and the extension of restrictions. Those respondents that predicted an increase in output hoped that market demand would recover over the next 12 months,” Williamson said.
The Malaysian PMI is compiled from responses to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers.
The PMI dataset features a headline number, which indicates the overall health of an economy, and sub-indices, which provide insights into other key economic drivers such as GDP, inflation, exports, capacity utilisation, employment and inventories.


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GM: Driverless cars mean big savings for ride-hailing service users
SAN FRANCISCO – General Motors plans to roll out a driverless ride-hailing fleet by 2019 that eventually could become a core part of the automaker’s business.
GM executives told investors here Thursday that by 2025, autonomous vehicle cost reductions and increased consumer adoption should combine to drive the price of such transportation down to less than $1 per mile, or about a third of current ride-hailing prices.
Without a driver to pay, profits from autonomous ride-hailing fleets would go directly to whatever companies run them, with the main cost of business being maintenance. Advocates say self-driving cars can drastically cut into not just pollution but also the 40,000 annual road deaths resulting from driver error.
"We're aiming for a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion," GM CEO Mary Barra said.
Aside from the autonomous future, GM executives said the company sees a clear path to profitability through a wide array of electric cars, which so far have yet to take hold with consumers due to a combination of cost and range anxiety.
By gradually reducing the price of EV through battery development, consumers should gradually come around, said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of global product development. “We need to accelerate acceptance of electric vehicles," he said.
Electric vehicles make up about 1% of auto sales. GM's current entry in the pure electric category is the Chevrolet Bolt.
But it is autonomous, or self-driving, technology that can really drive a profitable new business for the storied manufacturer, which in 2016 bought tech start-up Cruise Automation in order to accelerate its self-driving car plans.
“General Motors is sending the message to investors that it is speeding towards an autonomous electric future that will include ride-sharing and will be profitable," said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader.
GM officials said it was the only company building self-driving cars on an assembly line, which is key to ensuring that such a fleet can be built reliably at scale.
"Getting to the point where we can launch this technology is the beginning of the journey; it will rapidly improve from the minute it is launched," said Dan Ammann, president of autonomous vehicle strategy. "There will be a steep and massive learning curve, and the product will massively get better."
But public acceptance of self-driving vehicles should be easier when people see the compelling price difference when it comes to autonomous car ride-hailing.
Ammann put up a slide indicating that today's typical Uber or Lyft ride costs around $2.50 per mile, with 75 cents going back to the company and the rest going to the driver. By the time company costs are paid, each ride ends up requiring a subsidy.
In contrast, by getting rid of the driver all of a $1.50-per-mile ride cost goes back to the company running the self-driving vehicles, which in turn can run constantly much like an airplane is always in use unless it is being serviced. That per-mile cost can eventually drop to less than $1 once economies of scale and consumer adoption are achieved.
Amman also said the ensuing self-driving car network would lead to the "biggest IoT (Internet of Things) network ever," providing unparalleled amounts of data on cars and roadways that also can be monetized to, for example, help government officials in overhauling infrastructure to adapt to the new transportation reality.
Other opportunities for profit will come from an eventual reduction in the cost of both batteries and LiDAR (light detection and ranging systems)sensors, Ammann said.
Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said that although many companies are working on autonomous vehicles, there is an opportunity to grab market share with better tech.
"Software is the differentiated product (with AVs), meaning a company is developing it and if you're sufficiently advanced may not be able to compete," he said. "That's how you can create a gap between AV ride-sharing experiences that can leave us with a competitive advantage."
Vogt said Cruise currently has 180 self-driving Bolts, which will also begin testing in places such as Phoenix and New York. He said that weather, mapping and regulations are among the potential speed bumps for any public AV program.
GM's roadmap throws a gauntlet down to Google-owned Waymo, whose 8-year-old self-driving car program has been aggressively pushing the envelope of autonomous car tech.
Waymo currently is testing a fleet of 100 self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans in the Phoenix area with residents who are using the vehicles often as a replacement for their own cars.
Analysts long have anticipated that the first rollout of consumer-ready self-driving cars would be part of a ride-hailing network and not as privately owned vehicles.
As recently as last month, Cruise was aggressively road-testing Chevrolet Bolt electric cars strapped with a variety of Cruise self-driving radar, camera and LiDAR.
In a recent Medium post announcing the October testing, Vogt said that the hilly city by the bay was ideal for challenging autonomous cars.
"Our vehicles encounter challenging and often absurd situations up to 46 times more often than other places self-driving cars are tested," Vogt wrote. "And while we’re generally drawn to tough problems, we test in SF only because we have to. We believe it’s the fastest path toward deploying self-driving cars at scale."
The news was unveiled at an event so targeted to investors that GM opted to invite only media outlets it felt communicate directly with the financial community. That group included NBC, Bloomberg, Bloomberg TV, Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
GM planned to give the media rides in some of its Cruise AVs later in the day. A few weeks ago, Waymo did the same demo at its private testing facility in central California.
Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter.


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Next week, Anthony’s Cigar Emporium will take delivery of the Tatuaje Drinking Age, an exclusive cigar made for the store’s 21st anniversary.
Pete Johnson of Tatuaje confirmed to halfwheel that the cigar is a 5 1/2 x 54 Nicaraguan puro that uses a sun grown criollo wrapper. Pricing is $10.50 per cigar and the Drinking Age is limited to 300 boxes of 21.
The cigar is the first of five Tatuaje Exclusive Series cigars scheduled for this year. In addition to those five retailer exclusives, Tatuaje will also rerelease two of its previous retailer exclusive cigars, one of which is the Tatuaje M80 for Two Guys Smoke Shop.
Last year, Anthony’s celebrate its 20th anniversary with two cigars—one from La Flor Dominicana and one from My Father.
The Tucson, Ariz.-based store is taking pre-orders via phone (1.844.424.4277).


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Reports on the release date of Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2, the successor to the original Buds Pro, recently began making its round online. Specifically, they’re saying that the earbuds have entered mass production.
The rumour about the earbuds was first posted by Twitter user Max Jambor (@MaxJmb), but fell short of providing any further details in his tweet. Jambor wasn’t the only source to tweet about this, though; SamMobile, as well as Twitter user SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_), claimed that they too, had found online listings for the upcoming accessory. And that the listing was the window the wireless earbuds are expected to go on sale, plus the colours in which they will be available in.
Galaxy Buds Pro 2 / Galaxy Buds 2 Pro (whatever they are called) entered production today!
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) June 11, 2022
Not only that, it was also reported that the Buds Pro 2 may launch earlier than what was initially forecasted. If the rumours are accurate, the earbuds could potentially be released in early July 2022, which is much earlier compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Z Fold4, Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro, all of which are expected to launch in August.
Again, despite its supposedly near launch date, not much is known about the Buds Pro 2. However, many users expect the next generation TWS earbuds to have improved audio quality, improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) performance, longer battery life, as well as newer designs.
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 (marketing name unclear):
Zenith White, Zenith Bora Purple, Zenith Graphite
— SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_) June 12, 2022
As for the earlier mentioned colour options, SnoopyTech says that the Buds Pro 2 should ship out in three colour variants: Zenith White, Zenith Bora Purple, and Zenith Graphite. Again, no further information about the Buds Pro 2 could be found, not even how much they will cost at retail.
At the time of writing, Samsung itself has yet to make any official announcement about the Galaxy Buds Pro 2, and it’s likely that will be the case until the Korean electronics giant holds its second annual Unpacked event this August. In any case, this is still just a rumour, so as usual, season it with the recommended amount of salt.
(Source: Digital Trends, Android Headlines, Sammobile)
Irfan Iskandar contributed to this article.
The post Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 Have Reportedly Entered Mass Production appeared first on Lowyat.NET.


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During the past 10 years, a few small companies have built important tools that helped solve some of the music industry’s biggest dilemmas. In that spirit, the new platforms of Thefuture.fm, Beatport and Legitmix may not offer complete solutions to current problems concerning DJs, remixes and mashups, but they’re a good start.
Entertainment, academia and media leaders have all called for copyright law changes that would enable creativity while decriminalizing the creation of mashups, or tracks built from pieces of other songs. Legal experts including Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig spent much of the last decade calling for a “free culture” that allows creators to “rip, mix and burn” without penalty.
Creativity itself was never the problem, especially when affordable digital editing tools and widespread online distribution services created a flood of illegal mixes. Few barriers stopped amateur DJs from creating cool mashups and then posting them on various websites. Yet rights owners have rarely received compensation when these music files were streamed, downloaded or, in rare cases, purchased. Albums by famed mashup artist Girl Talk, for example, can be bought at several mainstream download stores, though the original music samples used on the recordings haven’t been cleared. (Only one Girl Talk album, “Unstoppable,” is available at iTunes.)
For example, ad-supported platform Thefuture.fm offers a smorgasbord of long-form DJ content by Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, Kaskade and thousands of other artists. To pay legitimate rights holders, Thefuture.fm needed to be able to figure out which songs have been used within each DJ mix uploaded by its users. The solution: Mixscan, a proprietary technology that “fingerprints” each recording in a DJ mix and automatically generates royalty reports for rights owners and performing rights organizations.
What works for dance music can work for other genres. Mixscan also has obvious potential in the monetization of mashups, which use much shorter bits of songs than DJ mixes. Thefuture.fm founder/CEO David Stein says the technology can identify recordings as brief as three seconds, and that Mixscan has evolved into a solution that can live outside his own platform. “We know there are other opportunities to apply this technology,” Stein says.
Other companies are working on their own solutions to place licensed recordings into creative works. Beatport, a 9-year-old electronic dance music download store, and the newer Legitmix have created platforms that help remedy some problems plaguing a genre known for quick adoption of new digital technologies.
Legitmix, which has been on the market since last year, lets DJs create mixes using any tracks purchased from iTunes, Amazon or its own service. Each mix is a unique file that incorporates source tracks chosen by the DJ, so that the consumer purchases both the Legitmix file and source files not already owned. Consequently, Legitmix re-creates the mix on the consumer’s computer. Popular DJs like Philadelphia’s Diplo and the United Kingdom’s Rusko are early adopters.
Similarly, Beatport Mixes, a service launched last month in Denver, allows DJs to create mixes using a catalog of prelicensed tracks acquired from the Beatport download store or Legitmix. A mix cannot exceed 500 megabytes – tracks used are 320kbps MP3s – and each mix costs $5.29, regardless of its length and the number of tracks used.
Beatport also offers a means for non-pros to create legal mashups. Its free iPad app, Mashbox, allows users to build mashups using licensed stems of 100 well-known masters, with new ones added regularly. “It’s not a professional tool,” Beatport executive creative director Clark Warner says. “It’s a way to get into the feeling of remixing.”
The illegality of mashups was first raised in 2004, when artist/producer Danger Mouse rose to prominence with The Grey Album, built from the Beatles’ “White Album” and Jay-Z’s The Black Album. The Beatles’ label, EMI, reacted with legal action that spurred an online protest called Grey Tuesday, in which nearly 200 sites hosted the album for free downloading. The widespread media coverage – much of it appearing in the mainstream press – resulted in a heightened feeling that copyright law granted labels and publishers too much power to restrict creativity and punish creators.
In the heated atmosphere that surrounded The Grey Album and other controversies, licensed mixes and mashups seemed all but impossible. Less than a decade later, however, businesses are showing that Congress need not get involved whenever new technologies upend the old ways of doing things. The market will eventually figure things out.


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Learn the ins, outs, dos and don’ts of creator marketing at Social Media Week Europe this 10–11 October in London. Register for your in-person or virtual pass.
Verizon and GE’s technical development arm are teaming up on a 5G-equipped laboratory design to find new ways to put the next generation of wireless services to use in industrial settings.
The collaboration, which will consist of a test bed at GE’s upstate New York research headquarters, will initially focus on innovating around three staples of the industrial giant’s business: Aviation, healthcare and energy. The move is the latest in a series of similar deals from Verizon built around fleshing out new enterprise markets for 5G, including a collaboration with Honda on autonomous cars and a partnership with IBM around edge computing.


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Ruling opens Apple to customer lawsuits
Publish date: 15 May 2019
Issue Number: 1781
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
While Apple stocks continue to be battered by the US-China trade war, the US Supreme Court has dealt it a further blow by ruling that it can be sued by customers who claim it has too much control over the App Store. Legalbrief reports that the dispute revolved around how the justices would apply a decision the same court made in 1977 to the claims against Apple. In that case, it limited damages for anti-competitive conduct to those directly overcharged. Monday’s decision will allow the lawsuit from consumers who argue that the company has given itself a monopoly over apps on the iPhone. That forced them to pay too much for the apps, they argued. The Independent reports that Apple had tried to stop the case, arguing that it could prove a problem for online sales. The justices, in a 5-4 ruling, upheld a lower court's decision to allow the proposed class action lawsuit to proceed. The plaintiffs said the technology company required apps to be sold through its App Store and extracted an excessive 30% commission on purchases.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's four liberal justices to rule against Apple and wrote the decision. ‘It is undisputed that the iPhone owners bought the apps directly from Apple,’ Kavanaugh wrote, splitting with a district court that previously held the app developers responsible for pricing. A National Review report notes that Kavanaugh took issue with Apple’s defence that it does not have a monopoly because it doesn’t set the retail price for individual apps, pointing out that the fee the company charges developers significantly affects retail pricing. ‘In the retail context, the price charged by a retailer to a consumer is often a result (at least in part) of the price charged by the manufacturer or supplier to the retailer, or of negotiations between the manufacturer or supplier and the retailer,’ Kavanaugh wrote. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the Court’s conservative dissenters, argued that the majority relied on ‘convoluted pass-on theories’ in which damages to the consumer that are actually inflicted by the app developers can be passed on to a third party, namely Apple. The report notes that the ruling simply allows the original lawsuit, brought by a group of iPhone users, to proceed; it does not represent a ruling on the merits of the case.
An ocean away, a widow who wanted access to her late husband’s photographs has won a three-year legal battle against Apple. UK national Rachel Thompson spent thousands of pounds forcing Apple to open the account so she could help her daughter remember her father through images he stored online. A report on the IoL site notes that Thompson’s initial attempts to access her late husband Matt’s account after he took his own life in July 2015 were rebuffed by the company. It said it would only release the 4 500 photos and 900 videos under a court order as Thompson had not specified what access others should or should not have to his account after his death. Thompson said this contrasted with the easy transfer of all her husband’s other assets and ‘dragged out’ the grieving process. Under UK law, the loved ones of people who pass away have no legal right to access information held in the deceased’s online accounts.
In further bad news for Apple, the escalating trade dispute between the US and China could prove damaging to the company and its customers by pushing up the cost of iPhones and driving down the share price. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, the new Trump-imposed tariff of 25% on $200bn of Chinese-made goods could add about $160 to the cost of a Chinese-made iPhone XS, which starts at $999. Apple could shield consumers from the price hike, but on Monday concern over the trade dispute pushed shares down close to 6% to $186, the sharpest decline in its share price since 2013. The Guardian reports that Apple stock is down 11% since the start of the month, placing it officially in what market analysts term ‘correction’ territory. Shipments of iPhones to North America, Apple’s largest market, fell 19% to 14.6m units in the first three months of the year. Tariffs could also affect iPhone sales in China, where Apple commands 7.4% of the market and where it has seen sales drop 25% in the past six months. CNN reports that Apple has been trying to regain its footing in China. In its most recent earnings, released April 30, the company posted revenue of $10.2bn in the country for the first three months of the year, down 21% from a year earlier. On a call to discuss the results, CEO Tim Cook signalled that the worst may be over for sales of the iPhone, its biggest profit generator, as Apple saw 'improved trade dialogue' between China and the US and 'very positive customer response to the pricing actions we've taken in that market'.


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Morrisons has revealed that earnings were cut in half over the past quarter as rising household bills impacted customer spending.
The supermarket group, which was bought by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for £7 billion last year, has revealed it posted adjusted earnings of £177 million over the 13 weeks to July 31, compared with £356 million over the same period last year.
Profitability was impacted by weaker grocery sales in the face of “very subdued” consumer sentiment.
Morrisons said that group like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, fell by 3.1% over the third quarter to £4.78 billion.
Sales for the company’s financial year so far are down 4.9% year-on-year.
Sales were higher once fuel prices are taken into account, following surges in petrol and diesel prices.
The retailer said it is cutting prices among 150 of its most popular items as it seeks to address customer concerns regarding inflation.
David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “It’s clear that the cost-of-living crisis is starting to change customer shopping patterns in many ways.
“The speed, scale and severity of cost and energy price increases, exacerbated by the terrible war in Ukraine, had significant impacts through the quarter, but the market is still growing and the energy price guarantee will ease pressure on consumers.
“We are doing everything we can to keep prices down for customers.
“I want to thank all Morrisons colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication to helping our customers through an exceptionally difficult period for UK consumers.”


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GM Forum 2019 Highlights: Bridging the Skills Gap & Women in Hospitality
While tourism directly accounts for nearly 40% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the Maldives, employment in the tourism sector is dominated by the expatriate workforce. Despite the 45 to 55 quota regulatory requirement ratio for local to expatriate staff, there is a huge gap in reaching this figure, and the number of women working in the sector is very low.
With an expert panel discussion, the fourth edition of the GM forum by Hotelier Maldives addressed this matter. The panel included key industry professionals namely; Mariyam Nooradheen – President of Chefs Guild Maldives, Fathima Shaazleen – the resort manager of Soneva Jani and Neil Shorthouse – the founder and chief executive of Short House Hospitality. The panel was moderated by Mariya Shareef, the resort manager of Summer Island Maldives.
Visit www.hoteliermaldives.com/gmforum/ for more information about the event.


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Pay By Credit or Debit Card & Get Tax Benefits – Govt’s New Plan To Curb Black Money
Indian Govt. is right now facing three severe financial problems which need immediate cure: Encouraging/enforcing more tax payers; Black money flow and circulation of fake/spoiled currencies all over the nation.
In a proposal which can be termed as a masterstroke, Indian Govt. aims to rectify all of these three issues with a single plan: Tax rebates for electronic transactions.
During the last budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, “”One way to curb the flow of black money is to discourage transactions in cash. Now that a majority of Indians has or can have, a RUPAY debit card. I therefore, propose to introduce soon several measure that will incentivize credit or debit card transactions and disincentivize cash transaction”.
It seems that the Finance Ministry has drafted a proposal based on this theory that black money and related issues can be best encountered using electronic transactions.
In a draft proposal for “Facilitating Electronic Transactions”, the ministry has proposed several interesting features and plans, and has sought public opinion on the same which can be submitted before June 29th, 5PM. At the time of writing, 376 comments have already been received.
Some of the plans which can be implemented include:
– BSNL provides an incentive of 1% to customers, in case they pay their bills using electronic medium (Internet banking, Cards). The proposal moots a plan to extend such incentives to all services, both public and private. This will certainly encourage more customers to pay using cash-less facilities.
– Customers can get some major tax benefits if they pay a certain portion of their bills and payments using electronic medium.
– Merchant Discount Rate of MDR is the fee which is charged by bank to merchants for accepting payments using credit/debit cards. As of now, Govt. regulates this charge as 0.75% for transactions upto Rs 2000 and 1% for more than that on Debit Cards. Govt. now proposes to decrease MDR, and thus encourage merchants to use cash-less payment service more frequently.
– Govt. plans to provide merchants with a tax rebate if they report maximum transactions using cash-less mode. As of now, Govt. has proposed that in case a merchant facilitates 50% of all transactions using cards and electronic transactions, then an ‘appropriate tax rebate’ can be extended to that merchant. Similarly, 1-2% of VAT can be reduced if all the transactions reported by the merchant have been cash-less.
– Inter-change fees on debit/credit card transactions can be made uniform all across the nation for a better adaptability and uniformity.
– Govt. also plans to mandate all transactions above Rs 1 Lakh to be done via electronic medium only.
– Some solid fraud prevention methods are also being mentioned in the draft.
You can read all the proposals mooted by the Govt. to encourage electronic payments and transactions here.
National Epayment Gateway: PayGov India
One of the pointers shared in the proposal include establishing a National level Payment platform which can accept revenues, taxes, bill payments, fees, penalties, stamp duties etc, uniformly all over the country.
Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY), along with NSDL Database Management Ltd (NDML) have already started working on the same, and much progress has already been made. Named as PayGov India, this massive online payment gateway can be used by all citizens of India to make every type of payment.
Once fully developed, this would be the largest, integrated payment platform in India, wherein a customer can pay using: Internet banking, debit cards, credit cards, IMPS, eWallets and NEFT/RTGS modes.
PayGov India, along with the proposals for tax rebates for both merchants and customers seems a solid plan; which can not only curb black money, but also net more tax payers and help to stop circulation of fake and/or spoiled currencies.
More information about PayGov India here.


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Manju Mathew, an MBA in marketing, completed publisher training courses from the Oxford Brookes University and New York University. She started with marketing and PR roles before moving on to her current position as a full time writer. Currently living in Dubai, her life as an expat has sharpened her observation skills and flair for writing. She enjoys writing about luxury cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc even if she can only dream of owning them.
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