text:
|Bid||N/A x N/A|
|Ask||N/A x N/A|
|Day's range||108.94 - 111.43|
|52-week range||108.94 - 111.43|
|Beta (5Y monthly)||1.11|
|PE ratio (TTM)||N/A|
|Earnings date||29 Jun 2023|
|Forward dividend & yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y target est||N/A|
Yahoo Finance went hands-on (with white gloves) at Sotheby’s NYC where a set of Michael Jordan’s game-worn shoes are on public exhibition and anticipated to be the object of the next multi-million dollar private sale.
Michael Jordan's championship game-worn shoes are now on public display ahead of a private sale as Sotheby's expands its white-glove treatment to a younger, growing streetwear and modern collectibles segment. The "Dynasty Collection" includes six individual sneakers, originally designed and released by Nike (NKE), that Michael Jordan wore during each of his NBA Finals championship-clinching games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. The exhibition runs through June 7 — coinciding with the 2023 NBA Finals best of 7 series. The coveted memorabilia doesn't have a price tag or seller detail publicly available yet, but estimates suggest just one of the shoes could fetch offers north of $1 million, based on sales of comparable sports collectibles.
BEAVERTON, Ore., June 01, 2023--NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) plans to release its fourth quarter fiscal 2023 financial results on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at approximately 1:15 p.m. PT, following the close of regular stock market trading hours. Following the news release, NIKE, Inc. management will host a conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT to review results.
BEAVERTON, Ore., May 24, 2023--NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) announced senior leadership changes today that will continue to build on its strong momentum and underscore Nike’s commitment to product innovation, serving athletes and unrivaled brand storytelling while driving deeper integration across the business.
Yahoo Finance markets reporter Josh Schafer breaks down the impact of Foot Locker sales on Nike, retail inventory, and how the resale market is impacting the company.
Nike represents more than 70% of Foot Locker's sales and could see downside risk as Foot Locker struggles to grow sales.
Yahoo Finance contributor Remy Blaire reports from the New York Stock Exchange on the top movers this morning including, Apple, UBS raising its rating for DraftKings to buy, and how Nike is fairing following Foot Locker’s earnings report.
Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick and Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi join Yahoo Finance Live to discuss retail earnings reports, the state of the consumer, and retail stocks.
Yahoo Finance Live host Diane King Hall takes a quick look at shares of Nike.
BEAVERTON, Ore., May 09, 2023--NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) today announced Maria Henry has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors.
BEAVERTON, Ore., May 04, 2023--NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.340 per share on the Company’s outstanding Class A and Class B Common Stock payable on July 5, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business June 5, 2023.
The U.S. consumer is giving off weird vibes.
BMO Capital Managing Director & Senior Retail Analyst Simeon Siegel joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss Nike’s direct-to-consumer approach, the footwear manufacturing company’s growing expenses, and the outlook for the company overall.
BEAVERTON, Ore., April 05, 2023--NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) announced a change in its senior executive leadership team (ELT) today. KeJuan Wilkins, Vice President of Enterprise Communications, will become the company’s new Executive Vice President, Chief Communications Officer (CCO). In his new role, Wilkins will lead all global corporate, consumer, and employee communications for NIKE, Inc. He succeeds Nigel Powell, the company’s long-time EVP, Chief Communications Officer, who will retire this sum
Yahoo Finance Live discusses a Piper Sandler Survey on the sneaker culture and its popularity amongst teenagers.
The banking crisis was downgraded a bit this week. So here's what else you should have been watching in markets.
New data from Bank America hints that maybe everything isn't so great with consumers ahead of the spring shopping season.
Lululemon's acquisition of Mirror has been an utter failure.
CIBC today announced the addition of six new Canadian Depositary Receipts ("CDRs"), now listed on the NEO Exchange.
Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon sits down with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi at Shoptalk in Las Vegas to talk about the company's future and the state of the retail consumer. Dillon, who took the helm just under 7 months ago saying "The consumer's been under pressure for a while, even since last summer when inflation started going up,” adding that “our customers are adding this as a category that they want to participate in, but no doubt people are being more choiceful.” In discussing the company's plans to revitalize their business by 2026, Dillon added "2023 is a reset year, but we're investing in the capabilities we need to build the next 50 years of Foot Locker fame."Key Video Moments0:12 Consumer pressures0:27 Sneaker affordability0:51 Foot Locker's 2023 'reset year'
Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon takes Yahoo Finance inside her revival plan for the sneaker retailer.
Stifel Managing Director Jim Duffy joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss Nike earnings, the footwear manufacturing company’s massive inventory problem, supply chain costs, consumer demand, and the outlook for the future of Nike.
Nike (NKE) stock could benefit from the breakup between Adidas and Kanye West, according to one Wall Street analyst. West and Adidas parted ways in October 2022 after multiple public antisemitic comments by the rapper. This ended Adidas' run with West’s popular Yeezy line, leaving the athletic apparel company with significant excess inventory and a moral dilemma over whether or not to offload Yeezy merchandise. If Adidas opts not to sell the merchandise, the company says it could report a loss of $750 million in 2023. The absence of Yeezy leaves a hole in the market for celebrity tie-ups on trendy merchandise, which Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih argues Nike could take over. Nike’s had similar success already, particularly with its Jordan Brand, which accounted for more than $5 billion in revenue during 2022. Nike shares traded lower after the company reported third quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday. Above, Yahoo Finance's Dave Briggs and Seana Smith discuss Nike's latest earnings report and what's next for Nike for after Adidas severed ties with Kanye West.
These are the stocks moving after the bell on Tuesday, March 21.
Yahoo Finance Live anchors Dave Briggs and Seana Smith look back on Tuesday's top headlines and look ahead to tomorrow's Fed rate hike decision.


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The Fortnite controversy that landed both Epic Games and Apple in a pickle is finally going to turn into a high-profile courtroom drama. In separate legal filings last week, Apple and Epic Games listed their chief executive officers as potential witnesses in the antitrust lawsuit that Epic Games dragged Apple into for booting Fortnite from the iOS App Store over “non-compliance” with policies. Over the period of seven months, there have been several developments in the case but the final showdown -- believed to be the fight decider -- will involve the CEOs Tim Cook and Tim Sweeney.
Apart from the CEOs of both Apple and Epic Games, there are going to be other top-level officials from both companies available for the court case. Among them will be the senior vice president at Apple, Craig Federighi and App Store head Phil Schiller -- who was looking after marketing at Apple previously. From Epic Games, there will be vice president Mark Rein in addition to the CEO. And interestingly, this high-profile lawsuit would also involve Facebook’s vice president of gaming, Microsoft’s vice president of Xbox business development, and a good deal of other officials.
In the statement, Apple said, “Our senior executives look forward to sharing with the court the very positive impact the App Store has had on innovation, economies across the world and the customer experience over the last 12 years. We feel confident the case will prove that Epic purposefully breached its agreement solely to increase its revenues, which is what resulted in their removal from the App Store.” But Epic Games, on the other hand, is preparing to get Apple’s version overruled in the court. "The chorus of developers speaking out against Apple and their anticompetitive practices has become louder," Epic Games said in a statement.
The entire feud between Apple and Epic Games stems from the stringent App Store policy that several other big developers have previously contested besides the Fortnite maker. Spotify was among the big names that showed support to Epic Games, voicing against Apple for the 30 per cent fee commission it charges app developers. Time and again, developers have tried to circumvent this policy but have not been successful as expected. Much like how Spotify discontinued its subscription service on its iOS app -- requiring customers to buy subscriptions either from the web version or from an Android phone, Epic Games launched an in-app payment system for Fortnite -- and this very thing did not go well with Apple. After some warnings, Apple kicked Fortnite out of the App Store about seven months back.
The trial is expected to begin on May 3 and would continue for weeks. In addition to in the US, Epic Games has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union against Apple over the App Store policy.

domain: news


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Morgan Stanley named Tesla one of its three top picks for 2023, citing its future growth opportunities.
Despite Tesla’s recent challenges with its stock valuation, many analysts still see the automaker’s stock as an opportunity for value growth. Forbes and the Motley Fool have recently published pieces putting forward similar arguments, while U.S. Congressmen have yet to sell their stock in the company. Now, Morgan Stanley has named Tesla as one of its “Top Picks” for 2023.
CNBC initially reported on Morgan Stanley’s Tesla pick, and the analysts quickly highlighted the investment group’s optimism. Not only did it maintain its price target for Tesla at $330, counter to moves from Goldman Sachs, but Morgan Stanley doubled down, stating, “while we see 2023 as a challenging year for the EV market categorically, we believe Tesla’s gap to competition can widen.”
Some believe Tesla’s inclusion on Morgan Stanley’s list is a questionable choice; as pointed out by CNBC, many are worried about the company’s growth in the near future, particularly relating to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Many investors have argued that Mr. Musk has become too divisive or that he may be dedicating too much time to his newest acquisition, Twitter. And as mentioned above, these concerns were exemplified in Goldman Sach’s most recent Tesla stock price target cut from $305 per share to $235.
Tesla is familiar with the separation of its stock price from more tangible measurements, even Mr. Musk at times claiming that the stock’s price was inflated. However, we may be seeing a disconnect in the opposite direction.
Looking at Tesla’s financials and the company’s future, investors can get a better idea of the condition (and perhaps opportunity) of the stock. Tesla has solid fundamentals; high earnings and profitability, low amounts of debt relative to competitors, and continuous growth in demand for all of its products. Looking at future product offerings offers more good news.
Tesla has yet another opportunity to become a disruptor within the automotive industry with its Semi truck, which it has already started to deliver. The brand’s hotly anticipated Cybertruck is finally coming to fruition, with pre-fabrication work already occurring. And the next generation of the brand’s golden goose, the Model 3, is just on the horizon.
This is not to say that Tesla’s stock success is guaranteed, far from it. As pointed out by numerous market analysts and even Elon Musk himself, the global economy is in a very precarious situation currently, especially as the United States Federal Reserve continues to push interest rates ever-higher to battle climbing inflation. At the same time, supply shortages may only be getting worse instead of better as the tension between the U.S. and China continues to build, leading to numerous tech suppliers facing challenges in producing essential parts.
Instead, Morgan Stanley might be arguing for a healthy dose of cautious optimism. In the short term, it remains pretty evident that many tech stocks could continue to fall. Still, for those willing to hold their position, perhaps until recession worries pass by, they may be in for a fantastic opportunity.
William owns stock in Tesla and index funds that include the stock.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at email@example.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at firstname.lastname@example.org!


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Fewer buyers cared to overbid dramatically for condos in the first quarter of 2017—with a few exceptions when it came to two-level units, or nicely renovated ones in prime locations.
The average condo price for the 524 units reported sold in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was $1,270,736, up slightly from the $1,218,956 average in the first quarter of 2016.
Buyers paid a citywide average of $1,027 per square foot, with 24% of all sales changing hands for all cash.
The good news for condo hunters is that almost half of all sales were $1,000,000 or less. And only 45 condos sold for $2,000,000 or more, including a four-bedroom penthouse at the Four Seasons downtown for which buyers paid $9,000,000.
House-like, bi-level condos consistently attracted overbidding buyers. Why? These properties are the next best thing for buyers preferring single-family homes, particularly in well-established neighborhoods. For example, the two-level, three-bedroom condo at 1183 Dolores listed for $1,695,000 went into contract within three days of coming on the market and sold for $2,050,000. Similarly, the completely detached 521 2nd Avenue in the Inner Richmond was essentially a single-family home that sat at the rear of the lot. Listed for $1,595,000, it quickly sold for $1,975,000.
South of Market, South Beach, Mission Bay and Yerba Buena sales were fairly flat over the past quarter. For the first time in years, buyers paid an average of one percent under asking. However, the price per square foot is still a healthy $1,100.
New construction sales are going strong at more than a dozen buildings around San Francisco. These include such high profile properties at The Rockwell (1688 Pine), 1545 Pine (The Austin), 1450 Franklin, Lumina (201 Folsom), and One Mission Bay. Average prices per square foot generally start at $1,200 and go up from there.


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Amazon will soon be launching another app. But this time it’s not for the sellers on the biggest online marketplace, but for the third apps and developers that give insights to professional Amazon sellers.
Called the Amazon Marketplace app, it will be a portal that unites sellers to tools and software that manage listings, inventory, and orders and get intelligent insight insights into their sales and listings.
The new app store which will be available to sellers through the Amazon Seller Central will include tools to manage listings, decipher advertisements and cater to other needs for the pro sellers. The app store will not be made available to all sellers at once, however, will be unveiled slowly to sellers to ensure a smooth performance.
The new app store will have a way for small and medium-size sellers to grow stronger on Amazon and ensure that they reach the maximum of their shopper audience. For software developers, the new app store is a way to reach their tools to millions of small and big businesses on the Amazon US.
Check out the Amazon Seller App


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A slow clap for Windows 8 and 8.1 as Windows XP is finally toppled
Just as it’s about to be eased out of the door, Windows 8.x has avoided the indignity of ending its time in the limelight lower on the totem pole than Windows XP.
New figures from Net Applications (via CNET) afforded Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 a combined 16.4 per cent share of the computing market, compared with the 14.6 per cent of PCs tracked running Windows X, which first arrived in 2001.
The much-maligned Windows 8 still has 3.6 per cent of the market, while the slightly-better-received Windows 8.1 has now been boosted to 12.8 per cent from the 11.1 per cent, reported back in April.
Naturally, Windows 7 remains on top of the world, with 57.7 per cent share of the PC market, while Mac OS X 10.10 is way back on 4.2 per cent.
Quite mercifully, for all concerned, Windows 8.x will be put out of its misery on June 29, when Microsoft officially releases Windows 10 as a free upgrade.
All users currently running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be entitled to the new software, so the eagerly-anticipated Windows 10 is likely to make a big dent in the market share imminently.
Read more: Windows 8 vs Windows 10: Should you upgrade?
“Today, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 will be available beginning July 29 in 190 markets globally as a free upgrade to customers running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
“Built with help from more than four million people around the world, Windows 10 marks the start of a new era of personal technology, designed to empower people to do great things.”
Have you stuck with Windows XP software while waiting for Windows 10 to arrive? Share your computing plans in the comments section below.


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Smartgyro, the La Spezia, Italy-based gyrostabilizer manufacturer, is expanding, making hires in engineering and marketing and relocating to larger headquarters that will allow the company to ramp up production.
Yanmar Marine-backed Smartgyro added the following staff:
• Felice Grandi, senior mechanical engineer
• Alessandro Breschi, senior software engineer
• Elisa Parri, finance
In addition, former Yanmar global marketing manager Sander Gesink was named marketing director, to be supported in that role by Elena Ratti.
The new facility in La Spezia gives Smartgyro a larger footprint for assembly and testing, as well as expanded office space.
“The expanded Smartgyro team … now contains an incredible amount of talent and industry experience,” CEO Marcel Borsboom said in a statement. “Our engineering department is fully capable of developing our range for the future, and the marketing team led by Sander will focus on the task of communicating the benefits and features of our gyrostabilizers.”
Smartgyro’s current range consists of the SG40, for boats from 50 to 60 feet, and the SG80, for 60- to 70-footers. The company said it plans to expand its line to include units for smaller boats.


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The Indian Premier League (IPL) considered as one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world turned a unicorn since its first year and in its 15th year went on to become a decacorn, a business with its value crossing $10 billion.
IPL's total value in 2008 was over a billion dollars, making it the first unicorn from India, even before companies like Inmobi and Flipkart, said analysis, titled IPL-The Pioneer of Indian Unicorns by D & P Advisory."
Of the earliest set of 100-odd unicorns that exist in India currently like InMobi which turned a unicorn in 2011 and Flipkart in 2012, IPL did so in 2008, making it the oldest of the current set of unicorns.
"This unicorn (IPL) is the most profitable of all the startups out there. The league has been a game-changer for the Indian sports industry, and our analysis highlights its incredible success from the very beginning," said Santosh N, managing partner of D & P Advisory.
IPL's broadcast deal was worth Rs 486 crore in 2008 which has increased to Rs 8,736 crore in 2023.
At $6.2 billion for 2023-2027 cycle, IPL has recorded a three-fold jump from what Walt DisneyStar had paid for the previous 5-year cycle in 2017. For the first time in IPL history, media rights have been spread across broadcasters, breaking the monopoly of one company, said D and P India Advisory's another report.
IPL has brought an unprecedented windfall to cricket, due to lucrative media and sponsorship deals. With two new teams getting bought last year at a combined staggering value of $1.6 billion, the average price tag of a team has seen a 16-fold jump since 2008.
Since inception, the league's value has seen a 90 percent growth and currently stands at $10.9 billion (Rs 87 crore).
Santosh said that the renewed media rights deal was the major contributor towards the substantial jump in IPL's value. In addition, the increase in the number of matches going forward from 74 to 94 over the next cycle, newly signed sponsorship deals at the league level, higher ticket sales and in-stadia revenue were the other contributors to the increase in the IPL ecosystem value.
Title sponsorship rights value increased from 36 crore in 2009 to Rs 577 crore this year. Associate sponsorship rights value has grown from Rs 48 crore to Rs 414 crore.
While the cricketing league has seen significant growth, the advisory firm noted that it has the potential to grow its value further especially in terms of generating more advertising revenue.
During IPL 2022, advertisers paid between Rs 15-18 lakh for a 10 second slot. For digital, it ranged between Rs 199-277 per CPM (cost per mille). These rates appeared to be significantly higher for playoff games and finals. On the other hand, in NFL, the average unit cost for a 10 second ad spot was $160,000 in 2021-22 season2. For Superbowl, the final playoff game of the NFL, advertisers spent more than $6.5 million for a 30 second commercial.
According to a study from Standard Media Index (SMI), the total revenue from NFL ad sales stood at $4.4 billion. Similarly, ad rates in EPL were much higher than IPL. When compared to other leagues, IPL fetches advertising rates that are on the lower end. The ad rates charged are a function of the monetization potential of the viewers which in case of IPL is largely the low to middle income population of India.
If IPL gets a bigger window or broadcasters find ways to better monetise their content, the league can further grow its value. Also, the growing purchasing power of the Indian middle class should help increase ad rates in the future, the report added.
Also, IPL franchises are also more dependent on media rights revenue versus other global league teams. The report said that IPL franchises are expected to earn as much as 70 percent of their total revenue from the central rights that includes pool money from media rights sale and central sponsorships. While this contribution ranges from 45 to 55 percent in case of franchises of other big leagues.
It is important for the teams to look for and activate other revenue streams, like merchandising, which contributes 15 to 20 percent of the revenue generated by football clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the firm said.
Multi-club ownership in cricket is a trend many franchises are following. However, it will be a difficult task given the huge sums of money that will be required by team owners and consent from various stakeholders, most importantly, the apex cricketing body BCCI.
Hence, to maintain their growth momentum, all teams need to continue broadening their footprint, forming relationships, and generating revenue opportunities in different markets, the firm said.


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Eating too much white bread could expand your waistline, US research shows.
White bread leads to expanding waistlines
People who ate whole grain foods, such as brown bread, did not have the same gain in waist size, the scientists at Tufts University in Boston found.
This might be because whole grain foods are higher in fibre which give a feeling of fullness so you eat less, say Professor Katherine Tucker's team.
The study appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers looked at five different diets where one food-type was prominent - healthy food, white bread, alcohol, sweets or meat and potatoes - in 459 healthy men and women.
The people who ate a diet of predominantly white bread saw the biggest increases in their waist measurement.
In a year their girth increased by an average of about a centimetre, which was three times more than people who ate a healthy diet that was high in fibre and whole grain foods such as brown bread.
Professor Tucker said: "Waist circumference was very much associated with this high-refined grains pattern."
White bread is the most commonly consumed food in the UK. We eat an average of three slices a day.
The researchers do not know why high-refined grain foods like white bread increases waist size, but it could be linked to fibre content and how the food is broken down by the body for energy.
Many of the foods in the healthy diet were high in fibre.
Not only do these foods fill you up more quickly, they also have a low glycaemic index (GI), said the researchers.
The GI is a relative measure of how fast a given food raises blood sugar.
It compares foods gram for gram for carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest GI value and blood glucose response is fast and high.
Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly release glucose gradually into the blood stream and have low GI values.
In turn, the level of blood sugar affects the amount of insulin produced by the body which is linked with appetite.
"Many of the foods in the healthy pattern are low in glycaemic load, which evokes a decreased insulin response and therefore decreases hunger and energy intake.
"Those in the white-bread pattern received almost 16% of their daily energy intake from white bread - the food with the highest GI value," said the researchers.
But they said because foods are not eaten in isolation but as part of an overall diet, it might be difficult to extend their findings to people's natural diets.
A spokeswoman from the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Looking at the data, those that ate white bread consumed more calories, more fat and less fibre, than those that ate wholemeal bread, so it is hard to say that white bread is the reason for this weight gain.
"This type of diet may be associated with a more sedentary lifestyle - people who eat wholemeal bread may be more health conscious overall and exercise more.
She said the way people gain weight is by taking in more calories than they burn up, rather than eating specific foods or nutrients.
"We should be basing our diets on starchy carbohydrates (breads, cereals, potatoes and other cereal products) and we should be including wholegrain versions of these foods in the diet as well as refined.
"Consumption of wholegrain foods, such as wholemeal bread, is associated with reduced rates of heart disease, some cancers, type II diabetes and such foods may play a role in weight maintenance."
She said the GI was a very complicated concept.
"White bread has a higher GI than wholemeal bread, and consumption of high GI foods is associated with a quick rise in blood glucose.
"However, high GI foods are not necessarily unhealthy. The GI of a food can be altered by combining it with another food. Consuming white bread with chicken and salad as a sandwich for example would lower the GI of the meal.
"Consumption of all bread and white bread in the UK has been declining since the 1940s. At this same time the prevalence of overweight and obesity has been increasing.
"Obesity is a multifactorial disorder and it is hard to find a reason for the increase in prevalence," she said.


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Who will be the leading metaverse platform? Several big players are in the mix – so let’s take a look at who is calling themselves a ‘metaverse’ and how we can enter these virtual worlds.
The race to the Metaverse
The race to the metaverse has officially commenced. Indeed, there are multiple metaverse platforms emerging in a complex interplay between mainstream gaming, blockchain gaming, NFTs, virtual reality, augmented reality and so much more. One thing is for certain, what we know as the ‘internet’ will never be the same.
Just to be clear – there is no true metaverse yet. As I alluded to in my previous article, there are multiple, virtual, open-world platforms that you can explore online now and many are still being developed.
One day, these online platforms will comprise a seamless metaverse experience. This experience will enable us to take our virtual avatars between worlds and explore freely in an immersive 3D environment – performing all the activities the internet currently allows with added presence.
Think how we explore the internet now so seamlessly or use our mobile smart devices to achieve almost everything via apps – this all took time to achieve and the metaverse will be no different.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and the metaverse needs time. Let’s remember, the word ‘metaverse’ has only recently become a worldwide fascination and a focal point – largely thanks to Facebook and their earth-shaking switch to Meta.
After Zuckerberg’s announcement last November, the metaverse quickly emerged from the shadows to become the destination for tech companies – our future in the digital world.
It has become quite clear that immersive virtual worlds will play a major role in our lives. Indeed, the global metaverse market is forecast to reach $829 billion by 2028, according to a report by Emergen Research.
As of now, we’re watching an enthralling battle take place between some of the best tech companies and developers in the world – so let’s take a closer look at who they are…
Launched in February 2020, Decentraland has a major claim as the first-ever virtual world owned by its users. This was quite a revolutionary idea at the time and it was all made possible by the emerging blockchain technologies.
There are 90,000 parcels of land in Decentraland divided into Estates, Districts, and Plazas. These lands are completely owned via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain and its Polygon sidechain. Upon each parcel of land, an experience can be built and these are called ‘Scenes’.
You can design your Scene with a simple ‘Builder’ – a drag and drop editor or alternatively, there is a more complex coding tool that will give you more freedom in your design.
At the time of writing, the average plot of land is going for around 2-3 ETH ($6-9,000 USD) on the Opensea marketplace. If you think that’s a lot, imagine how much those plots will be worth if Decentraland becomes a thriving digital metropolis filled with brands and millions of visitors every day. They’re not there yet, but they’ve achieved some impressive feats.
For example, Decentraland became a DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organisation) in May 2021 and if you’re a holder of the native currency, the MANA token, you can cast votes on certain suggested changes to the project. In June 2021, Sotheby’s – the world-famous auction house – opened a virtual gallery in Decentraland.
Back to the MANA token, this can be used to buy parcels of land or Estates, wearables for your avatar, and unique names that are for sale. You could also buy an NFT from an art gallery, or perhaps a ticket to a virtual event and you can even gamble in the casino.
To get into Decentraland, you can enter right away as a guest via the website and roam around the land freely. In guest mode, you can explore the creations of those who have already bought plots of land and created ‘Scenes’, including the company Samsung.
To get the full experience in Decentraland, you will need to get a MetaMask crypto wallet, then go to an exchange, sign up, and then buy some Ethereum (Eth) and MANA.
There is much hype surrounding The Sandbox metaverse and for good reason. Firstly, this started as a 2D mobile game in 2012, created by Pixowl, and attracted over 40 million users. Then, they decided to invest in a 3D metaverse, and last year, they raised a staggering $93 million in a funding round led by SoftBank – one of the biggest investment companies in the world and the 6th largest publicly traded company in Japan.
Now, they’re building this 3D virtual world experience under new owners, Animoca Brands, and there is much anticipation for its launch.
There are 166,000 plots of land in The Sandbox and the goal is to build gaming experiences within your Estate, which you can then monetize in a pay-to-play system. You can also monetize your land by renting it out and the land is exclusively yours to own, thanks to NFT smart contracts.
Much like Decentraland, land and digital assets are bought as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain or the Polygon sidechain, using the native SAND token. Hence, entry into The Sandbox requires you to get a crypto wallet, then some ETH and SAND in your wallet. The rewards are ownership over your land and assets, which you, as an owner, are free to trade, sell, rent and gift to others.
Currently, in The Sandbox, there are some notable residents – none more so than Snoop Dog, who has built ‘The Snoopverse’ experience and has already started hosting private events within his Estate. Just days ago he released his latest music video ‘The House I Built’, all made in The Sandbox, and it’s an absolute blast!
Indeed, The Sandbox hasn’t officially opened its gates to the general public yet. They’re in the process of testing and giving limited access to selected residents at the time of writing, but the roadmap is clear: they plan to open The Sandbox, create their own DAO, create real jobs for people in The Sandbox, build a ‘Sand Vegas’ casino, bring The Sandbox back to the mobile phone and finally to consoles like the XBox and the Playstation. Just to name a few!
Finally, the news this year that gaming giants Ubisoft are going to buy an Estate in The Sandbox and create multiple blockchain games within its metaverse only adds fuel to the fire – this hype train is real!
Enter the mainstream gaming kings! This immersive game has literally taken the world by storm and it’s completely free to play. Roblox empowers you to be a gaming developer, much like The Sandbox, and to attract players to your experience.
In Roblox, your game can have its own economy where players spend money to buy items required in your game. If developers make enough ‘Robux’ – the in-game currency – and meet the Roblox guidelines, they can start converting their Robux into real money and thus, monetising their game.
Remember, the way this game differs from The Sandbox and Decentraland is fundamentally, the assets that you buy are not strictly yours to control. This game is not on the decentralized blockchain and thus, as a centralized game, Roblox owns the experiences you create (you will get a split share of earnings if your game performs very well) and the in-game assets. Nevertheless, this game has completely absorbed the mainstream gaming community around the world.
During an epic 2021, the Roblox community grew from 32.6 million daily active users in 2020 to nearly 50 million across 180 countries. At the time of writing, more than 55 million users visit Roblox every day and this shows no sign of slowing down.
The reality is: the on-boarding for Roblox is so simple and you can enter an experience, with your own custom avatar, in a matter of seconds. You simply download the Roblox app and you’re ready to rock and roll.
Indeed, Roblox are riding a wave of momentum after a jaw-dropping 2021. In February this year, The National Football League and Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), announced the launch of ‘NFL Tycoon’ to engage the next generation of NFL football fans in the Metaverse. The NFL will be the first official major sports league to offer a persistent experience on Roblox.
Recently, Roblox and Sony announced that music artist 24kGoldn will perform a virtual concert inside the platform, adding to an illustrious roster of virtual events already accomplished in Roblox, which includes ‘Gucci Garden’, ‘Twenty One Pilots Concert Experience’, ‘KSI Launch Party’, the ‘Fashion Awards 2021’, and ‘Nikeland’.
Make no mistake, Roblox is a prime contender for being a leader in the metaverse era.
Facebook rebranded to Meta last year and announced its intentions to develop a metaverse platform incorporating its $2 billion acquisition in 2014 – the Oculus VR Quest headsets. Meta has invested heavily on building an integrated VR environment for work, play and socializing.
According to its Q4 earnings call, Meta spent approximately $10 billion on the Metaverse in 2021. On the same call, Meta’s platform Horizon Worlds was cited as a “core to our metaverse vision” and the concept for Horizon Worlds is not dissimilar to Roblox and The Sandbox – namely, an immersive 3D world of user-generated experiences.
To date, Meta has launched Horizon Worlds for content creation and its Presence Platform for designing naturalized immersive experiences.
This year, we’re going to see the fruits of that $10 billion metaverse investment emerge, which should shake things up quite a bit in this race to the top.
The Microsoft metaverse is coming and as you can imagine, they’ve got big plans in this space. Firstly, it will begin with Mesh for Microsoft Teams in early 2022, which will revolutionize the way we have virtual meetings.
“Microsoft Mesh enables presence and shared experiences from anywhere – on any device – through mixed reality applications”.
Thus, from Mesh we can expect immersive 3D environments and workplaces to collaborate and connect using our virtual avatars. Soon, we will be able to access these collaborative, immersive spaces using VR, augmented reality (AR) glasses, our desktop, or even mobile device.
You get the feeling that Mesh is merely the tip of the iceberg for Microsoft. In fact, they’ve been making major steps in the gaming world, recently buying the gaming giants Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion. That’s the company that created legendary experiences like ‘World of Warcraft’ and ‘Call of Duty’.
Therefore, with Activision Blizzard on board, they will be tapping into one of the biggest industries on the planet and perhaps we could see a full-scale entry into the metaverse.
After all, games are perhaps the closest thing we have to the metaverse at present, because they allow us to engage in virtual experiences which feel real and where we can connect with millions of others seamlessly.
Games like WOW and Call of Duty connect people through their immersive worlds, provide gripping experiences with their gameplay and if Microsoft can take those aspects and pair them with a strong, secure metaverse, including a functioning economy, we could be witnessing the birth of something spectacular in the metaverse realm.
Choose your metaverse
In truth, there are several other metaverse platforms worthy of a mention, like Cryptovoxels, Somnium Space and Bloktopia. All provide unique experiences and have varying requirements.
Whether you’re sold on the decentralized blockchain metaverse or you prefer things more simple and centralized, there’s a platform for you being built out there.
In the meantime, in these nascent days of the metaverse – happy exploring!


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Today, June 13: Srinagar. The Beopar Mandal Maharaj Gunj is concerned that the rising cost of plane travel to Kashmir is harming local commerce.
According to Beopar Mandal Maharaj Gunj’s president, the rising expense of travel is a major issue for the corporate world. “It’s not just affecting the tourism industry; it’s having ripple effects throughout the economy.”
However, some merchants who need to make purchases travel the four days to Delhi and back by road. This is because they are concerned that the high cost of airline would cut into their profit margin.
He begged the government to do something about the rising expense of travel, which is a serious problem in Kashmir.


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U.S. demand for light vehicles continued to defy mostly weak economic indicators by rising 9 percent in July.
Big sales gains at Japan's and Europe's top automakers--Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen--offset declines at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.
The seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate hit 14.1 million, in line with forecasts.
But July's 9 percent gain trailed analysts' projections as well as the double-digit increases of the two previous months. The industry's sales gain for the year is now 14 percent, down from 15 percent through June.
"Current data suggests that things are a little bit on the soft side compared with earlier in the year," said Jenny Lin, Ford Motor Co.'s senior U.S. economist.
Among major automakers, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, and VW have gained market share this year through July, while GM, Ford and Hyundai-Kia have lost ground. Nissan's share has remained flat.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday it revised its seasonal factors used to determine the monthly calculation of seasonally adjusted sales rates, resulting in a lower SAAR for the first quarter of 2012 and slightly higher rates in the second quarter.
Under the revised figures, the SAAR has topped 14 million units each month this year except for May and January. Previously, May was the only month below 14 million.
Analysts and automakers cite pent-up demand, new models, low interest rates and easing credit terms for the industry's sales gains.
Many consumers are choosing to replace older, less fuel-efficient models, still placing the industry on track to surpass sales of 14 million units in 2012.
"Signs of a housing recovery and good news on consumer confidence and household income should help keep the light-vehicle selling rate in the 14-million range and drive seasonally higher truck sales as we move toward fall," Kurt McNeil, head of U.S. sales operations for GM, said in a statement.
Still, recent reports showing lackluster job creation and persistent worries about the U.S. and European economies, are keeping automakers on alert.
Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, says the forecasting firm's 2012 sales forecast of 14.5 million could be reduced by 150,000 units if the U.S. economy slows further.
"The auto industry is closely watching the sales performance over the next two months as the industry wrestles with a mixed bag of economic signals," Schuster said.
GM and Ford tied their declines in July U.S. sales on falling fleet deliveries.
GM's sales dropped 6 percent last month, with deliveries to retail customers off 3 percent. The company said total fleet deliveries declined 15 percent, including a 41 percent drop in sales to rental customers.
Ford reported a 4 percent drop in sales last month, with retail volume up 2 percent and fleet down 16 percent.
Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Sales, Chrysler Group, Subaru, Nissan North America, and the Volkswagen Group all had double-digit increases.
Toyota recorded a 26 percent increase as it continued to recover from earthquake-related inventory shortages a year ago. The Toyota division, aided by the redesigned Camry, posted a 24 percent increase in July sales, while Lexus shipments jumped 25 percent.
Honda: strong retail demand
American Honda said its July sales surged 45 percent to 116,944 units, with the Honda brand up 46 percent and volume at Acura advancing 36 percent.
John Mendel, American Honda's head of sales, credited "growing inventory" and "strong retail customer demand" for the company's July results.
"Our sales momentum continues to build through the summer," Mendel said in a statement.
Demand for each of the Honda brand's four core models--Accord, Odyssey, CR-V and Civic--soared 47 percent or more compared with July 2011, when earthquake-related shortages dented sales.
Toyota and Honda continued to recover U.S. market share in July.
At GM, sales were down 15 percent at Buick, 9 percent at GMC and 7 percent at Chevrolet. Deliveries rose 21 percent at Cadillac.
GM indicated earlier that sales to rental customers would be down sharply in July because scheduled shipments occurred earlier in the year compared with 2011.
Sales at the Ford Division dropped 4 percent while Lincoln volume dropped 11 percent.
Chrysler rolls on
Chrysler said its sales rose 13 percent--its 28th consecutive monthly gain, with car sales advancing 19 percent and light truck deliveries up 11 percent.
Chrysler brand sales jumped 35 percent, while deliveries increased 15 percent at the Ram brand, 7 percent at Jeep, 6 percent at Dodge and 22 percent at Fiat.
Chrysler said sales of the new Dodge Dart compact hit 772 units in July, the model's first full-month on the U.S. market.
"July was another solid month for Chrysler Group as we again demonstrated our disciplined and methodical approach to growing sales and profits," Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales for Chrysler Group, said in a statement.
Nissan North America posted a 16 percent July gain, aided by a 57 percent increase at the Infiniti luxury unit. Nissan Division sales rose 12 percent.
Volkswagen Group said July sales rose 27 percent at the VW brand and 28 percent at Audi. Subaru was up 16 percent.
The Hyundai-Kia Group, hurt by shortages of key models, said sales rose 5 percent last month, with Kia up 6 percent and Hyundai volume advancing 4 percent. It was the second-smallest monthly sales gain for the automaker since August 2010.
"This is a challenging situation in this hyper-competitive retail environment, so we are looking forward to August with great anticipation," said Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of sales for the Hyundai brand. "Relief is on the way with the first shipments of our all-new Santa Fe ... and improved availability of [the] Veloster Turbo, Elantra GT and Elantra Coupe."
The BMW Group posted a 4 percent gain in July sales, with a 24 percent gain at Mini offsetting a 1 percent dip at the BMW brand. It was the first drop in monthly sales for the BMW brand since May 2010.
Some automakers face tough decisions this summer amid signs that the recent gains in transaction prices are slowing, and incentives and inventories are increasing.
With some companies hiking output, the industry may face more pressure to raise incentives, as well.
"It's a brave moment for the industry," John Krafcik, head of American Hyundai, said last month. "We're at a turning point."
The U.S. auto industry started July with a 58-day supply of cars and light trucks, up from a 52-day supply at the beginning of June.
Average incentives fell 2.7 percent in July to $2,480 from June, TrueCar.com estimates.
Autodata Corp. estimates average industry incentives have climbed 3 percent this year through June to $2,507, compared with $2,437 during the same 2011 period.
Average transaction prices in July rose 1.6 percent to $30,369 compared to a year ago, TrueCar estimated.
TrueCar analyst Jesse Toprak expects average transaction prices to remain above $30,000 for the rest of the year, but some automakers, notably the Detroit 3, may see transaction prices soften, he said.
The outlook for transaction prices will depend on how much automakers have to discount to clear out 2012 models.
Joseph Lichterman contributed to this report


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Details of the refit and refurbishment of Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity have been announced ahead of the relaunch of the ship’s following the acquisition of the brand by A&K Travel Group.
Explora Journey’s first cruise ship Explora I has become the latest cruise ship to be delayed due to constraints in the supply chain.
MSC Cruises will temporarily close its private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, in 2024, in order to accommodate upgrades that form part of the cruise line’s growth plans in North America.
Celestyal Cruises has revealed dining and entertainment experiences aboard its new ship Celestyal Journey, which it purchased from Carnival Corporation earlier this year.
Royal Caribbean International has converted the jazz lounge aboard three of its Oasis class ships into a smokeless casino.
Saudi Arabia’s upcoming cruise ship Manara has arrived in drydock for her conversion from World Dream into the debut cruise liner for AROYA Cruises.
AIDA Cruises is expanding its fining offerings with the addition of a new restaurant serving sustainable, plant-based cuisine.
Utopia of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s upcoming Oasis-class cruise ship, will be deployed in the Caribbean out of Port Canaveral from 2024, offering shorter cruises and a number of firsts for the […]
Costa Cruises has confirmed that it will be offering Doha in Qatar as a homeport, in addition to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, for the 2023/24 cruise season in the Arabian Gulf.
Celebrity Cruises has cancelled four cruises aboard Celerity Apex between October 23rd, 2024, and November 23rd, 2024 so that the ship can go into drydock.
Costa Cruises will be returning to India for the upcoming cruise season, sailing a range of two-, three- and five-day cruises from Mumbai to Cochin, Goa and, for the first time ever, […]
The world’s largest cruise ship Icon of the Seas has departed the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland for the North Sea, where she’ll carry out her sea trials ahead of an expected […]
In a first for the regional cruise sector, Saudi Arabia has announced plans to launch its own homegrown cruise line called AROYA Cruises.
Celebrity Ascent will feature many of the passenger-favourites found across the Edge-class from the Magic Carpet and Rooftop Garden to Eden Restaurant and the Infinity Verandah staterooms, but she’ll also boast a […]
Seabourn and Carnival Cruise Line have announced new dining menus debuting this week on select ships, with plans for further roll out across the fleet.
A total of 162,403 cruise tourists visited Qatar during the 2022/23 cruise season, which runs between December and March, an increase of 184% compared to the previous season.
More than 299,000 cruise passengers visited Turkey between January and May this year, an increase of 114% from a year ago, according to the country’s transportation minister.
Crystal has announced Aurōra, a redesigned spa concept onboard the Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony, ahead of its return to service following the demise of its parent company Genting Hong Kong.
Celebrity Cruises has revealed details about what passengers can expect aboard the cruise line’s newest Edge-class ship Celebrity Ascent, due to launch this November.
Princess Cruises’ new Sphere-class cruise ship Sun Princess will feature a new-to-the-line Park 19 family activity zone, offering nine different experiences for familities and children.


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Lamb Weston has forecast annual sales and profit above estimates, betting on higher prices as well as steady demand for its ready-to-cook french fries and other potato appetisers, sending its shares up 3% in premarket trading.
The food processing group, which is headquartered in Idaho and counts McDonald's among one of its biggest customers, has benefited from raising prices to protect margins from elevated costs and has seen little resistance even as still-high inflation squeezes customer budgets.
In April, Lamb Weston said traffic growth at quick-service restaurants, including burger and chicken restaurant chains, was helping drive demand for its fries.
The company's total net sales surged 47% to $1.70 billion (€1.54 billion) in the fourth quarter ended May 28, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.66 billion (€1.5 billion), according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Its overall average selling prices increased 24%, but volumes fell 10%, due to a slowdown in casual and full-service restaurant traffic and inventory destocking by certain customers in the U.S. retail channel.
Full- Year Expectations
Still, Lamb Weston expects annual net sales between $6.7 billion (€6.05 billion) and $6.9 billion (€6.24 billion), largely above analysts' expectations of $6.79 billion (€6.14 billion).
It also forecast earnings per share between $4.95 and $5.40 for full year 2024, compared with analysts' average expectation of a profit of $5.01.
The upbeat forecast comes at a time when packaged food peers including Conagra Brands and General Mills have forecast dour annual results as higher prices take a toll on demand for their products.


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Uber Technologies Inc. will introduce electric mopeds in Paris in partnership with French startup Cityscoot beginning next month, according to an Oct. 16 release.
The e-mopeds can travel at speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour, the company said. The vehicles are equipped with a protective apron that covers the legs, as well as a transparent tactile pouch to allow users to safely follow their phone's GPS. The e-mopeds also come with a helmet and hairnet.
A warning will be immediately sent to Uber's customer service in case a user falls, the company said. All trips will be covered by Allianz France all-risks insurance, Uber added.
Cityscoot, which runs a fleet of 4,000 e-mopeds, will continue to charge its normal rate of 29 euro cents per minute through the Uber app.


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While the Restaurant Industry was already reeling from the effects of Demonetization, new rulings are posing a severe threat to the future of the restaurants, especially the Delhi restaurants.
Delhi Restaurants in Trouble Following Government Rulings
Connaught Place, which seemed to slowly transition as the city’s party destination, witnessed an unfortunate event where a rooftop caved-in at Block C of the place. This tragic incident has raised multiple concerns about the safety of one of the most popular heritage destinations of Delhi. In the wake of this, The New Delhi Multiple Corporation (NDMC) has sealed rooftop sections of 21 popular restaurants, which followed a face-off between the restaurant owners and the civic authorities. Traders and restaurateurs took the roads to express their disapproval over NDMC’s decision.
The recent incident further fuelled the fury over the ban on vehicles in the Inner Circle and Middle Circle of Connaught Place, to pedestrianize the area. It is also being said that the authorities are trying to create a rift between restaurant owners, shopkeepers and traders, so that their united stands against the pedestrianization breaks.
The latter, on the other hand, is accusing restaurant owners of subverting business practices in order to sustain profits, despite being given several warnings to not use rooftop terraces.
Even Gurgaon has been significantly affected by the Red Tapism. The Supreme Court had directed States and Union Territories to stop the sale of liquor within 500 meters of National and State Highways, as well as on Service Lanes along highways. The famous Cyber Hub, which houses a number of high-end restaurants and pubs, also comes under this direction. However, bar and pub owners of Cyber Hub, which is one of its kind place in India are demanding a clarity on whether the ban is on liquor shops or also for bar and pubs, which will lead to a major revenue and employment loss.
Not just this, the regressive excise policy of Haryana, which bans serving alcohol in open-air has also left a lot of restaurant owners baffled, as the open-air concept of Cyber Hub is perhaps the greatest attraction of the place.
Restaurateurs and traders associated with the concerned areas are raising concerns and disappointment against the impositions on the restaurant industry, and a cordial co-existence of the civic authorities with the restaurant owners seems to be at threat at this time.
Earlier last year, the government had stopped issuing Liquor License to new restaurants that have caused several new establishments to face losses and even shut down.
Already overburdened with taxes, regulations, and licensing procedures, the future of restaurants in the Delhi NCR looks bleak. With growing concerns about public safety and welfare, let us hope the government and businesses cooperate to exist together.
Image Source: Hindustan Times


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Assam too has implemented the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme. With this, the ONORC plan is successfully implemented in all 36 states and Union Territories, making food security portable throughout the country. During the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ONORC plan has significantly contributed to ensuring subsidized foodgrains for National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries, especially migrant beneficiaries. This is a one-of-its-kind citizen-centric initiative in the country, which is swiftly implemented in a short span of time covering about 80 Crore beneficiaries, after being initiated in August 2019, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a statement today.
The objective of this beneficiary centric high-impact program is to empower all NFSA beneficiaries to become AtmaNirbhar for their food security anywhere in the country, through the portability of their existing ration cards enabling them to seamlessly lift their entitled subsidized foodgrains (in part or full) from any Fair Price Shop of their choice. This also enables their family members to lift balance/required amount of foodgrains on the same ration card at their native/ any place from the FPS of their choice.
READ | Maharashtra political crisis latest updates: From Thackeray-Shinde call to BJP keeping close eye
Since its inception in August 2019, about 71 Crore portable transactions (43.6 crores NFSA and 27.8 crore PM-GKAY transactions) have taken place under ONORC, delivering foodgrains equivalent to about Rs 40,000 crore in food subsidy through portability. About 64 crore portable transactions have been recorded during the COVID-19 period itself (from April 2020 till date) delivering foodgrains equivalent to about Rs 36,000 crore in food subsidy through portability. Out of these, 64 crore portable transactions, and 27.8 crore portability transactions were recorded under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which was announced in March 2020 for the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains (rice/wheat) to NFSA beneficiaries to mitigate the Covid induced hardships.
Additionally, as a key indicator, presently a monthly average of about three crores portable transactions are being recorded, delivering the subsidised NFSA and free PMGKAY foodgrains with anywhere flexibility to the beneficiaries. Another dimension under the ONORC plan is the ‘Mera Ration’ mobile application which has been rolled out to take maximum advantage of the ONORC plan. The mobile app is providing a host of useful real time information to the beneficiaries and is available in 13 languages.
One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) is a scheme that will nationalise a beneficiary`s ration card by a process called Aadhaar Seeding. Aadhaar seeding ensures that the beneficiary can pick up her or his entitled foodgrain from any fair price shop in the country. So, if the family migrants from one part of the country to another, their claim to food security remains assured.
READ | Delhi schools to reopen from July 1, Covid spike concern parents


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keyboard_arrow_left Back to Press Releases
LOS ANGELES, CA - 8/24/2016 — As a customer, a press release distribution company's journalistic outreach is not what concerns you the most. What should concern you the most is the amount reach your press release gets from media outlets and how many journalists actually see it and syndicate your news story.
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Other competitors, such as PRWeb, provides a standard press release distribution package at $129 which reaches about 75 media outlets and their premium package at $369 reaches about 150 media outlets. Many described the media outlets as “okay”, and PRWeb does not promise any guarantees on quality nor media outlet syndication.
Another press release distribution service, PR Newswire, offers single press release distribution for $775 and hits approximately 350 media outlets. The media outlet quality is significantly higher than PRWeb, however, they do not succeed Press Release Jet’s premium press release distribution package. On the contrary, many reported that both competitors shared roughly 80% of the same media outlets.
It seems that Press Release Jet and PR Newswire offers the highest quality and quantity in terms of media outlet syndication. The main difference between the two competitors is the huge save of $700 with Press Release Jet! For more information on how to send a press release through Press Release Jet, please visit http://www.pressreleasejet.com.


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With its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software hitting the streets, Consumer Reports (CR) has ranked Tesla’s Autopilot behind General Motors’ Super Cruise technology.
In a study of 17 different vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS), a Tesla Model Y ranked a full 12 points behind a Cadillac CT6.
The tests were conducted this summer on both a closed track and on public roads, where the CT6 scored 69 points out of a possible 100. The Model Y scored 57 points, just 5 points ahead of Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 system.
The biggest difference which put Super Cruise ahead of Autopilot was the driver-facing infrared camera that monitors driver attention in the CT6, reports Reuters.
Tesla has received criticism for no active driver monitoring system in the past, instead relying on driver nags based on the pressure applied to the steering wheel, which can easily be hacked. In a similar study released earlier this month in Europe, NCAP severely penalized a Tesla Model 3 in the “Driver Engagement” category.
A driver monitoring system may be coming soon though based on hints in the source code found recently by Tesla hacker @greentheonly.
This also isn’t the first time CR has ranked Super Cruise ahead of Autopilot. In 2018 while testing just four vehicles with ADAS, the CT6 and Super Cruise once again outranked a Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot.
Here are the full rankings for all vehicles tested, along with the individual scores for each category.


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Pizza Express will close 68 restaurants, putting 1,110 jobs at risk.
The chain said it is planning to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in the “near future” in a bid to push down its rents amid a “significantly more challenging environment” after the coronavirus pandemic.
The chain said the the outcome has “yet to be decided” but it may end in the closure of around 15% of its 449 restaurants in the UK, affecting 1,100 staff.
The company said: “This decision is a very difficult one; however, against the current unprecedented backdrop, Pizza Express believes reducing the size of its estate will help it to protect 9,000 jobs.”
The company closed all its UK restaurants on March 23 after the Government-mandated lockdown.
Andy Pellington, group chief finance officer, said: "While we have had to make some very difficult decisions, none of which has been taken lightly, we are confident in the actions being taken to reduce the level of debt, create a more focused business and improve the operational performance, all of which puts us in a much stronger position.
"We can now plan to invest in both our UK&I and international businesses as well as support our teams as they return to work."
UK and Ireland managing director Zoe Bowley said: "While the financial restructuring is a positive step forward, at the same time we have had to make some really tough decisions. As a result, it is with a heavy heart that we expect to permanently close a proportion of our restaurants, losing valued team members in the process.
"This is incredibly sad for our PizzaExpress family and we will do everything we can to support our teams at this time.
"As we continue to reopen our restaurants for dine-in and delivery, we will successfully navigate the extended period of social distancing expected in the months ahead and, in so doing, protect 9,000 jobs.
"The initial signs from the restaurants that have been reopened have been very encouraging and we hope that our loyal customers continue to support us now more than ever."


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Ipsos Reid debuts new media measurement system
Toronto-based research company Ipsos Reid has introduced a new media measurement system called TouchPoints. The system, already in use in the United Kingdom, is intended to record how Canadians consume all forms of media throughout the day. According to the company, the system also tracks who a participant is with, how they are feeling and what they are doing while consuming media.
The survey makes use of an electronic diary in which participants record activities and media consumption in 30-minute increments. It also includes an online questionnaire about the participant's lifestyle and media habits, as well as "passive capture" of the participant's smartphone usage.
"In a world of shifting media consumption, we need to constantly evolve our measurement techniques," said Joanne Van der Burgt, executive vice-president of Ipsos MediaCT. "TouchPoints will provide the Canadian media industry with data to understand the everyday life of a consumer, and how media fits into their day or week. It will provide insight into the contribution each media has within a campaign, as well as the synergy between the different media brands and channels. The desire to launch this product in Canada has been exceptional. Over the weeks to come, we believe that sufficient support will ensure the launch of this new multimedia research tool."
A number of agencies have signed-on in support of the system, including GroupM, Havas Media, PHD and IPG.


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Okanagan company gets federal funding to develop winery clean tech
An Okanagan-based company is getting federal funding to find new ways to turn wine waste products into new, value-added food sources.
Winecrush announced in a media release this week it has received new funding from Agriculture and Agri Food Canada for research and development toward the company’s new “Marlee” project, a bio-mechanical process it is developing to transform food grade wine derivatives into high performance flavour enhancement ingredients.
Winecrush is taking what was previously waste products normally discarded following the wine making process, and turning that waste into natural food additives.
The company has a new patent pending bio mechanical process to cost effectively upcycle wine making derivatives into a variety of health and food products.
The funding comes from the federal agricultural ministries’ Agriculture and Clean Technology program, which invests in research, development, and adoption of clean technologies leading to the promotion of agricultural based bioproducts.
"We are honoured to receive support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Their ACT program was a perfect fit for our stage of development,” Winecrush president Bill Broddy says in the release. “The Marlee Project is designed to give wineries an effective alternative for the derivatives from the winemaking process, rather than let these food grade materials go to waste.”
Winecrush worked with 10 Okanagan wineries to collect their pomace (grape skins and seeds left after pressing) and lees (sediment).
The pilot program salvaged 150 tonnes of wine waste from the landfill, and avoided the release of 6,500 kilograms of methane.
Stag’s Hollow Winery winemaker Kiera LeFranc says in the release Winecrush’s vision of sustainability and environmental preservation, “seems to be in line with what we are trying to achieve here at Stag’s Hollow WInery.”
The success of the pilot program has Winecrush already planning for the 2021 harvest.
Neither Agriculture Canada nor Winecrush were willing to disclose how much the company received.
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Top 100 law firm, Ward Hadaway, with offices in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle, is celebrating its reappointment to provide legal licensing advice to Co-op Group Food.
Under the renewed agreement, partner Richard Arnot and his team of licensing specialists will advise on all aspects of the law concerning the sale of alcohol across the group’s 2,500+ convenience stores.
The new contract cements a relationship spanning 13 years, and Ward Hadaway will act as the sole provider of legal services in relation to the sale of alcohol from the movement’s licensed premises across England and Wales.
Speaking of the renewed partnership, Ward Hadaway partner Richard Arnot said; “I have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Co-op Group Food for over a decade and during that time, have advised on a broad range of issues relating to licensing law.
“Over the years I have attended over 350 licensing hearings, right across the country, representing Co-op Group Food and its thousands of stores, from Falmouth to Dover, Berwick to Anglesey. It’s staggering that we have made over 20,000 applications, including 1,000 for brand new stores, for the Group.
“My team are specialists when it comes to licensing for the food retail sector and although we’re based in the North of England, we cover the entire breadth of the country. Our culture is aligned with the Co-op’s values, allowing us to understand the approach to business that the movement has. “
Richard advises on all aspects of licensing law. He is a former Regional Director of the British Institute of Innkeepers and a member of the Association of Multiple Licensed Retailers. He has contributed to the Licensing Review, the legal section of The Morning Advertiser and to The Off Licence News.
Concluding, Richard said; “I am delighted Ward Hadaway has been reappointed. It’s a successful partnership that has stood the test of time, and I look forward to many more years working together.”


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NEWS RELEASE (Boone) – Fareway CEO Reynolds W. Cramer recently announced corporate promotions, including the following officer promotions:
Senior Vice President – Campus Operations
Aaron Irlbeck joined Fareway in June of 1992. Aaron’s career with Fareway began as a part-time employee at the Carroll, Iowa location, followed by stops in Storm Lake, Iowa and Urbandale, Iowa, where he was promoted to assistant store manager. In 2005, Aaron was promoted to a buying position in Fareway’s corporate office in Boone, Iowa, and held various management roles within the buying department before being promoted to senior vice president in 2018. In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president of digital commerce, leading eCommerce sales and the online shopping team.
Vice President – eCommerce Operations
John started working for Fareway in May of 1990, in Boone. He also worked in the Spirit Lake, Iowa store during the summer months while in high school. From 1993 to 1996, John worked in the meat department in both locations as well.
He transferred to work at the Iowa City West location in 1996, followed by transferring to open the North Liberty, Iowa location. John was then transferred to Storm Lake, Iowa in 2000, where he became assistant grocery manager. John went on to be the assistant grocery manager in Manchester and Spencer, Iowa. He then became grocery manager in the Urbandale, Iowa location in 2005.
John became a corporate supervisor in 2012, overseeing a variety of stores in each region he has covered. He has been involved in the development and launch of Fareway’s eCommerce program and was elected to retail vice president in February of 2021.
Regional Vice President
Chad began his career with Fareway in 1991 as a carryout in Webster City, Iowa. Upon graduation from Webster City High School in 1993, Chad attended Iowa Central Community College. He graduated in 1995 with a degree in food marketing management and was transferred to Cedar Rapids, Iowa one year later. He worked full-time in Cedar Rapids and eventually Moline, Illinois. Chad was promoted to assistant manager in 2000 at the Altoona, Iowa location, and that promotion was followed by two more moves, including Spencer and Oskaloosa, Iowa. Several years in Oskaloosa led Chad to an opportunity to be promoted to store manager of the Omaha West Fareway store. After nine years in Omaha, Chad was able to move into a Regional Supervisor role at Fareway.
“These officers are important members of our team, having been instrumental in supporting and executing Fareway’s strategy. They contribute greatly to our core and expanding operations, and will be important to our continued success,” said Fareway CEO Reynolds W. Cramer. “We are excited to identify, foster, develop, and grow talent at Fareway; and Aaron, John, and Chad are three excellent examples of that.”
The individuals listed above assume their new titles effective immediately.


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Earlier this week, Wards Auto released its list of the 10 Best Engines and Powertrain Systems of the past year. And as expected, electrification is becoming more and more important in this annual list.
The Wards Auto list is limited to all-new or seriously revised engines. The 2021 winners are also eligible for the list. Wards Auto adds that only three of them accepted the invitation.
Wards Auto’s Top 10 list is in its twenty-eighth year, the list that takes into account power, noise and vibration management, fuel efficiency, and new integrated technology.
The site mentions that 29 new models were tested and of these, 17 were equipped with electrified engines, including 11 pure electrics, four plug-in hybrids, and two hybrids.
As for the more “traditional” internal combustion engines (i.e. without any electrification), the list included seven 4-cylinders, two 6-cylinders, two V8s, and one 3-cylinder engine. What’s more, only two of these gasoline engines were normally aspirated, compared to eight turbocharged and two supercharged.
From the 2021 list, only the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe powertrain is back on the list in 2022, a rare occurrence in the list’s history.
In fact, here is the list of winning powertrains for 2022:
Acura Integra A-SPEC 1.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder.
Ford F-150 Lightning Electric motors
GMC Hummer EV Electric motors
Hyundai IONIQ 5 Electric motors
Lucid Air Electric motors
Mercedes-Benz AMG EQS Electric motors
Nissan Rogue 3-cylinder turbo 1.5-liter
Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with plug-in hybrid system
Jeep Grand Wagoneer 3.0-litre inline 6-cylinder
Toyota Tundra i-FORCE MAX 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 with hybrid system


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Direct Line Group announces the creation of a new Chief Customer Office and Chief Commercial Office
Direct Line Group announced the creation of a Chief Customer Office and Chief Commercial Office to lead the Group’s brand, customer and trading strategies.
Kate Syred, current Managing Director of Household, Partnerships, Data, Pricing and Underwriting will develop the new Chief Customer Office by bringing together data and insight expertise to lead the Group’s brand and customer strategy. As customer behaviour continues to evolve the Chief Customer Office will be tasked with using data, market insight and the Group’s well-known insurance brands to deepen customer relationships.
Current Managing Director of Commercial, Jon Greenwood, will lead the new Chief Commercial Office which will oversee the Group’s trading areas: Motor, Household, Commercial and Rescue. By aligning trading strategies the new role will further enhance the Group’s ability to identify and respond quickly to market trends and drive commercial opportunities.
Direct Line Group have also announced that after over a decade with the Group, Mark Evans has decided to move on from his role as Managing Director for Marketing and Digital in order to pursue a portfolio career including non-executive director opportunities, executive coaching, and continuing his charity activities. Mark will remain with the Group for the remainder of the year to support the embedding of marketing within the new structure.
“In the highly competitive world of insurance our high retention rates speak to customer satisfaction, but we remain focused on using data, the latest market insight and brand strategy to maximise trading opportunities and deepen customer relationships. We are proud of our brands and their reputation for providing customers with quality insurance. Kate’s commercial insight and relentless focus on customer will help in our new Chief Customer Office as we continue to deliver great products and fantastic customer journeys. Jon’s success in our Commercial business will be used to oversee all of our trading areas in a new Chief Commercial Office so we can identify and respond quickly in highly competitive markets and drive commercial opportunities.” – CEO Penny James.


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The district court of Gurgaon has restrained Telenor from participating or negotiating in the 2G spectrum auction through any other entity other than its joint venture Uninor, giving another setback to the Norwegian company's efforts to break free of its Indian partner Unitech, CNBC-TV18 reports.
The order prohibits Telenor, which holds a majority stake in Uninor, from partnering with any Indian company at the 2G auctions, the report said.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had, on Tuesday, dismissed an appeal against the order.
Meanwhile, reports quoting Sigve Brekke, managing director of Uninor, said the company was looking for a new Indian partner to share 26 per cent of the joint venture equity. The prospective partner, however, will not have any role in running the telecom firm's operations, he said.
''We are not looking for anyone who is looking at being involved in operations,'' Brekke said, adding that Telenor will hold the remaining 74 per cent stake. "The new partner will definitely not be a telecom or real-estate company,'' he said.
Brekke said Uninor was studying details of the 2G auction terms and a decision will be taken after clarifying on the partner issue.


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Visa Announces Support for Apple Pay in Hong Kong
Offering customers an easy and secure way to pay
Visa, a leading global payments technology company, announced that starting from today eligible Visa cardholders in Hong Kong will be able to use Apple Pay and begin to make purchases at selected merchants. This transforms mobile payments with another easy, secure and private way to pay that is fast and convenient.
“In Hong Kong contactless payments have become a necessity for everyday life, consumers and retailers realize the greater convenience and faster checkouts for busy people on the go. Visa is proud to support its financial institution partners in Hong Kong with the acceptance of Apple Pay, bringing the Hongkongers a secure and convenient way to pay.” said Caroline Ada, Country Manager, Visa Hong Kong and Macau.
According to Visa’s study1 , Hong Kong people are willing to try new ways of payment with 77 per cent of respondents saying that they are likely to try out or adopt new ways of paying. Moreover, 78 per cent said that they will use smartphone as the device for making everyday payments.
With the mobile security measures like tokenization built into Apple Pay, cardholders can be assured that they are protected. When you use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.
Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by credit and debit cards. Visa cardholders can make purchases by holding their devices in front of a contactless reader and placing their fingertip on the Touch ID to authorize the payment. In participating stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE and Apple Watch.
Online shopping in apps accepting Apple Pay is simple, without needing to repeatedly fill out lengthy account forms or type in shipping and billing information. When paying for goods and services within apps, Apple Pay is compatible with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro.
1YouGov conducted an online survey with 750 Hong Kong respondents in September 2015
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.


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Chinese internet giant Alibaba has slashed its stake in SenseTime (商汤科技), a Chinese artificial intelligence software company, amid a rebound in the latter’s Hong Kong shares, tech media Pandaily reported on November 15.
According to the equity disclosure of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), Alibaba sold 80 million shares of SenseTime at an average price of HK$1.8190 ($0.23) per share, and its shareholding ratio has dropped to 8.74%.
On December 30, 2021, SenseTime was listed on the HKEx. Its share price once reached HK$9.7. As of November 15, 2022, however, its share price was HK$1.71 with a market value of HK$57.232 billion ($7.304 billion).
SenseTime is now facing great challenges in achieving revenue. According to the company’s financial report, in the first half of 2022, its revenue was RMB1.415 billion ($200.8 million), down 14.3% year-on-year, and the adjusted net loss increased by 264.9% to RMB2.564 billion.
Revenue from the firm’s smart business and smart city business sectors, which are its core strengths, declined to varying degrees in the first half of this year, with the former falling by 12% and the latter falling by 45%. Although the performance of smart life and smart cars increased to some extent in the first half of the year, their contribution to the overall performance was limited due to their small proportion of revenue.
On the other hand, costs for SenseTime remain high in all aspects. Its financial report showed that the R&D investment increased by 14.88% over the previous year, and its sales and other costs also continued to grow. At the same time, its net impairment loss of financial assets and contract assets doubled year-on-year, said the Pandaily report.
The challenges are not unique to SenseTime, as persistent financial loss is one of the biggest problems facing many AI unicorns.
Many Chinese AI companies like Cambricon, CloudWalk Technology and Deep Glint, which have been publically listed, also suffered huge losses.
Pandaily listed out related cases: In the first half of 2022, Cambricon lost 622 million yuan, CloudWalk lost 325 million yuan, and Deep Glint lost 12.56 million yuan. For Deep Glint, its loss has been largely reduced compared with the loss of 56.01 million yuan in the same period last year, but its challenge to sustain itself and successive years of losses have caused the market to worry about its prospects. The same goes for Megvii and CloudWalk Technology, which have both been recording losses.
Pandaily: Chinese PV silicon wafer giant TCL Zhonghuan acquires chip startup Xinxin Semiconductor01-23 22:43
Reuters: Foxconn is fined for unauthorised investment China’s chip firm Tsinghua Unigroup01-20 16:43
Chinese optical quantum chip startup TuringQ completes Series A round of funding01-20 13:44


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The Agriculture Division authorised the manufacturing and sale of laboratory-grown meat for the primary time on Wednesday, clearing the way in which for 2 California corporations to promote hen produced from animal cells.
It should doubtless be years earlier than consumers should buy lab-produced meat in grocery shops. However the authorities’s resolution will ultimately enable the sale of lab-produced meat throughout state strains after passing federal inspections.
The choice is a milestone for corporations making cell-grown meat, together with customers searching for options to chickens bred in a manufacturing unit farm and slaughtered.
Supporters of different proteins together with the businesses that sought federal approval — Upside Meals and Good Meat — celebrated the information as pivotal for the meat business and the broader meals system at a second of rising concern concerning the environmental affect of meat manufacturing and its remedy of animals.
“This approval will basically change how meat makes it to our desk,” Dr. Uma Valeti, the chief govt and founding father of Upside Meals, stated in an announcement. “It’s a large step ahead in the direction of a extra sustainable future — one which preserves alternative and life.”
The choice will make the US the second nation on the earth, after Singapore, to authorize the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat. Bruce Friedrich, the president of the Good Meals Institute, a nonprofit centered on cell- and plant-based meat, stated U.S. approval was a crucial step for the business, including that “the world does look to the US’ meals security approval system, and now numerous governments will observe.”
Supporters of cultivated meat say the product has higher outcomes for the atmosphere, meals security and animal welfare. However skeptics are cautious of scientific and security dangers and say the purported environmental advantages are unproven. Difficulties stay over how you can improve the product for mass consumption.
About 100 corporations worldwide, together with dozens in the US, give attention to the manufacturing of cultivated meat, in accordance with Mr. Friedrich. The business was valued at about $247 million in 2022, in accordance with the market analysis agency Grand View Analysis, and will develop to $25 billion by 2030, the consulting agency McKinsey & Firm projected.
Lab-grown meat begins with cells taken from an animal. These cells are then fed water and salt and vitamins like amino acids, nutritional vitamins and minerals. The cells then multiply in massive tanks referred to as cultivators or bioreactors. When harvested, the product is basically minced meat, which is then shaped into patties, sausage or fillets. The meat comprises no bones, feathers, beaks or hooves and doesn’t have to be slaughtered.
Upside Meals and Good Meats declined to elaborate on their present manufacturing capability, however Dr. Valeti stated final 12 months that the corporate will ultimately develop to “tens of thousands and thousands of kilos of product.”
That’s hen feed in contrast with the 350 million tons of meat consumed world wide — a quantity that’s solely anticipated to develop.
Each corporations will start promoting hen to American customers by way of accomplice eating places: Upside Meals at Bar Crenn in San Francisco, and Good Meat at an undisclosed location operated by the chef José Andrés in Washington. The mannequin permits each client schooling and suggestions, spokesmen for the businesses stated.
After the preliminary trial run, each corporations additionally anticipate scaling up manufacturing and increasing to different varieties of meat. (Beef, with its larger fats content material and extra advanced taste, is more durable to copy.)
Nonetheless, questions linger over the regulatory framework round cultivated meat and client attitudes towards the merchandise.
Many cattlemen and agriculture teams have cried foul over calling the lab-grown selection “meat” and have been lobbying legislators to safeguard the phrase. The Meals Security and Inspection Service, the Agriculture Division company tasked with inspecting situations at processing amenities, remains to be drafting rules on how meals merchandise derived from animal cells must be labeled. For now, the 2 California corporations will name their merchandise “cell cultivated hen,” a label that the company authorised final week.
Semantic and client opinion battles apart, Mr. Friedrich warned that the cultivated meat merchandise, after they ultimately hit grocery cabinets, will probably be costly in contrast with typical sausages and patties — much like how renewable vitality was initially costlier than oil and fuel.
Nonetheless, he’s assured that “cultivated meat will promote itself.”


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Crazy food mashups relished by tastes buds of Bengalureans
With a street vendor inventing hot masala dosae with cold vanilla ice cream, the food world is up in arms about this creation.
A hot crispy dosae, a spiced potato palya stuffing, and some chutney and sambar by the side. For any Bengalurean, this is a match made in heaven. It's a classic combination that many devour irrespective of the time of day. However, there’s a new version of the masala dosae trending on social media - one with ice cream. And Bengalureans are furious about this unusual mash up.
This social media innovation that has gone viral has a street vendor mashing the masala dosae on a cold stone with vanilla ice cream and converting it into a brand new flavour. Naveen Suresh, food blogger known as bangaloreepicure, is popular for recommending street vendors across the city, but he can’t seem to grasp the idea of this combo.
He says, "It's ridiculous! The combination is so weird. We've always had fusion food available but this is just disrespecting the humble dosae." He points out that a crepe is probably a better choice to add ice cream to.
"Crepe is already sweet and toppings can be added along with any flavour of ice cream. Maybe using that on a cold stone to recreate a new version of ice cream makes sense. Masala dosae, on the other hand, is a savoury dish and to convert it into a sweet one like this is unacceptable," adds Suresh, who has tried a similar combo on RV Road. "I swore not to try it again," he says.
A hotspot among Bengalureans is Vidyarthi Bhavan in Basavanagudi. Owner Arun Adiga, upon hearing about the masala dosae trend, had one thing to say, "Yuck". "There's a lot of innovations happening in the food industry. It's a good thing to experiment because people do tend to get bored with the same thing all the time. But what's the point if it doesn’t taste good?" he wonders.
Adiga says that changing the temperature of the food it's meant to be in takes away from its originality. "I strongly feel that some things should not be experimented with or it will turn into a mess. Masala dosae is meant to be had hot out of the tawa and not as a cold dish," he opines.
Rishabh Waykole recalls how he stopped scrolling Instagram when he saw the ice cream video. "As someone who enjoys some yummy masala dosae, this was horrifying to watch and know that people are actually purchasing it. Then again, I think people are trying it out to get more views on social media than actually eating it," he says, adding that items like gulab jamun bajji, rooh afza chai, Maggi chai and sev ice cream are other "disgusting" combinations being tried out. "This abomination needs to stop," he says.
Strange food mashups
Gulab Jamun Bajji
Rooh Afza Chai
Rooh Afza Maggi
Sev Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream stuffed in Dosae
Chocolate Sugarcane juice
Momo Ice Cream


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Coronavirus leaves many of Oakland’s mom-and-pop shops struggling for survival
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Eddie’s Drive In Liquors, a convenience store on College Avenue in Oakland, was packed on March 16, the day six Bay Area counties announced stay-home orders.
Adam Johnson, the store’s manager, told me it was the biggest sales day ever at Eddie’s.


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On an August morning, Jared Walhowe, produce specialist for The Food Group Minnesota, commands a 4,800 square-foot “giving garden” on the front lawn of the non-profit’s headquarters in New Hope. A bevy of volunteers — most clad in flannel and caps — hoe, rake, weed, and shovel around him.
The garden’s most striking feature is its high-tunnel greenhouse. Measuring 30 by 48 feet, it’s a steel-frame structure sheathed in polyethylene. Inside, pieces of twine run from soil to roof, encouraging vines to elongate. The polyethylene greenhouse, cheaper to build than a glass one of comparable size, allows The Food Group to extend its growing season and protect crops from pests.
In Hennepin County, Minnesota, 11.5 percent of the population is affected by hunger.
Now in its second summer of cultivation, the giving garden is on track to produce even more fresh produce than the 1,800 pounds it yielded last year. The Food Group hopes that this productive plot inspires corporate campuses and citizens to start their own gardens to feed the hungry.
In Hennepin County, 11.5 percent of the population is affected by hunger. And hunger costs the state of Minnesota $1.6 billion per year in lost productivity, healthcare, hospitalization and more. Yet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 31 percent of food in America is wasted. The Food Group is trying to help.
Launched in 1976, the nonprofit supplies food to most food shelves in Hennepin County and to more than 100 food shelves across Minnesota.
Key to its success is its use of multiple food collection techniques. In addition to its giving garden, for instance, The Food Group accepts donations. And it also uses gleaning — an age-old practice of collecting excess fresh food that would otherwise be wasted — from farms, farmer’s markets, orchards and elsewhere. In 2014, the nonprofit gardened, gleaned and received donations in excess of 250,000 pounds of fresh produce. From January to September 2015, that figure was 199,000.
Walhowe, a 6'6" University of Minnesota-Morris grad, recalls a time when someone asked him if it was okay to donate five tomatoes. “I tell people that there’s no donation too small,” he says.
In addition to using multiple food collection techniques, The Food Group is also unique in its approach to nutrition. “We’re the only food bank, that I know of, with a staff nutritionist,” says Walhowe. That nutritionist is involved in many of the organization’s efforts, including The Food Group’s Fare For All initiative — a program which sells discounted groceries at more than 30 sites across the metro. The meat and produce packs sold at these locations are deliberately designed to be nutritionally-balanced. The Food Group also supplies its food shelf partners with repackaged bulk and fresh spices, helping consumers add flavor to their foods without relying on oils, salts, sugars and fats.
Going forward, The Food Group is committed to exploring news ways to provide the hungry with nutritional food. Walhowe grows excited when he discusses two initiatives in particular — partnering with a local food processor to can fresh produce to feed folks during non-growing seasons and expanding gleaning efforts to additional farms.
The Food Group’s staff and volunteers are similarly enthused about the nonprofit’s current and future initiatives.
From the end of a row of ripening peppers, Mickey Foley looks up from under his wide-brimmed sun hat and smiles. “No one should go hungry and everyone should have access to healthy food that’s free of chemicals,” says the 37-year-old freelance writer who volunteers in the giving garden.
Out in the plot, Haley Diem is picking green beans, her cap pulled down against the sun’s glare. She has a bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from Augsburg College and has championed sustainable agriculture her whole career. Right now, she’s an independent contractor for The Food Group’s Fresh Produce Programs. “It’s incredibly satisfying to harvest fresh food directly from the earth and transport it the same day to those who need it,” Diem says. “The work we do is important for local families. And on a larger scale, we are helping to alleviate national health and food security concerns.”
Fare For All sites are community-supported and are open to everyone. Cash, credit/debit cards and EBT are accepted. Find a location.