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Uhuru to lead business bigwigs on Nigeria trip
The team, led by Equity CEO James Mwangi, will accompany President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday for a three-day state visit to Nigeria.
“Members consist of high profile businessmen who already have running interests in West Africa, or those with very high potential to tap into the huge market,” said the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) in statement.
Other members of the committee are Ms Betty Maina of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Mr Bharat Thakrar of Scangroup Ltd, and Ms Jillian of the Organisation of Women in International Trade (OWIT).
Yet others include Ms Lucy Muchoki of Kenya Agribusiness and Agri-industry Alliance, Mr Samuel Kiruthu of Cellulant Corporation, Ms Gina Din Kariuki of CAMAC Energy, Mr James Mureu of KNCCI and Mr Paul Ndungu of CMC Motors Group.
Among the deals they expect to seal during the visit is the fast tracking of business licences, possibility of setting up alternative trade dispute mechanisms, and special trading status in targeted sectors.
The committee was picked following a bilateral trade agreement between Kenya and Nigeria last year.
The Kenyan government made an agreement with Nigeria that it would nominate 10 members who would sit in a joint council to negotiate favourable terms of business.
According to KNCCI’s national chairperson Kiprono Kittony, the visit is reciprocal of the one made by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to Kenya eight months ago.
“President Jonathan led a powerful delegation to Kenya that got the continent’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, interested in investing in the cement industry,” said Mr Kittony.
“As Kenya’s trade chamber, we are part of this mission to hype trade deals that will attract more wealth to the country.”
Addressing the team yesterday KNCCI CEO Charles Mbogori said Kenya is looking to attract Nigeria’s massive capital.
“Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with over 150 million people. It offers a big market for our products and services,” he said.


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Costa Rica is set to host the 5th annual P3 (Planet, People, Peace) conference September 23-25, 2015 in San Jose. The event, organized by Costa Rica’s National Ecotourism and Sustainable Chamber (CANAECO) and sponsored by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) gathers national and international leaders who share their experiences, knowledge and best practices with the goal of promoting and growing the sustainable tourism industry.
This year’s conference will focus on addressing issues including social development through tourism, climate change adaptation, water management, innovation and competitiveness in tourism.
The conference will host over 300 invited guests including dignitaries, media, industry sponsors and public institutions such as the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) and Costa Rica Institute for Water and Sewage.
“The goal is for world leaders in sustainability to share strategies for the development of better practices, cases, challenges and opportunities that will benefit not only the tourism industry, but also businesses from other sectors,” said Diego González, President of CANAECO.
This edition will feature exhibitors from the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), as well as experts in business development, sustainable tourism, and water and energy management from Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, El Salvador, Jordan, Sweden, Uruguay, England and the United States.
The event has also been declared a national event of tourist and cultural interest by the ICT and Costa Rica Ministry of Culture.
“As a world leader in sustainable tourism, we are deeply committed to constantly striving to be in the forefront of the latest programs and developments that support our planet and improve the experience for travelers who visit Costa Rica,” said Alejandro Castro Alfaro, director of marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board. “P3 provides us with this perfect forum to discuss challenges, share solutions, innovations and raise the bar even higher in the industry.”
Costa Rica is known for its public and private investment in sustainable tourism. Due to the ICT’s promotional work in key tourism markets, over 300 companies, including hotels, restaurants and tour operators, receive the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST).
These businesses demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through proper waste management, rational use of resources, environmental protection, respect for local culture, and their contribution to the development of communities.
Sustainable tourism: a tool for fighting poverty and promoting development
Ban Ki -Moon, General Secretary to the United Nations, stressed that the tourism industry, the world's largest service provider and one of its major economic players, is particularly well placed to promote environmental sustainability and combat climate change through its relationship with energy.
"The UNWTO expressed that tourism is one of the 11 key sectors that can promote the transition to a green economy. Tourists’ decisions highly influenced by sustainability considerations,” said González.
In 1997, Costa Rica cemented its dedication to a sustainable tourism model with the development of the CST program. The model is recognized by the UNWTO and is studied by governments in many countries.
"As an accredited leader in sustainable tourism we have the responsibility to motivate leaders, implement innovative ideas and projects, and inspire a generation to gain a greater commitment to sustainability at the individual and social level,” said Castro Alfaro. “P3 is an integral part of our strategy."

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Bryson businesses unite
There is power in numbers, and businesses in Bryson City are ready to join forces to have their voices heard.
With guidance from the Swain County Chamber of Commerce, merchants are working to form a Bryson City Downtown Merchants Association.
Ben King, owner of Bryson City Outdoors, has only had his retail business open on Main Street for three weeks, but he’s ready to jump in and be a part of the community. He plans on serving on the board and hopes others will step up as well.
“I want to help transform our downtown and start to work together,” he said.
Chamber Director Karen Wilmot said two merchants meetings have been held so far to try to garner support — only six merchants attended the first meeting, but the number grew to more than 20 at the second.
“I think it will lead to better communication,” Wilmot said.
Brad Walker, chamber board member and chairman of the Swain County Tourism Development Authority, hopes bringing all the merchants together to work toward common goals will further help move the town in a positive direction.
The association’s mission will be to plan downtown events, collectively advertise the businesses, beautify the town and address downtown parking concerns. The merchants association can also have a unified voice when discussing downtown issues before the town government.
“We need another voice in the town for them,” Walker said. “The merchants are one of the most important things in this town.”
Wilmot said the association wouldn’t be restricted to businesses right downtown — she said any business in the area could become a member and participate. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.
King said there are several improvements that could be made in Bryson City if the merchants all worked together to make it happen.
“One of my biggest goals is I would like to see some of the buildings downtown refurbished to make shops more welcoming to guests,” he said.
King would also like for the merchants to think about what other types of businesses would draw people into town and how to get them here. As a business owner offering kayak rentals and outdoor equipment, King thinks the Tuckasegee River should be better utilized in the downtown area. Having a point of entry into the river downtown would be a tourist draw.
“The river is a great asset we don’t utilize enough,” King said.
The merchants are currently meeting at 8 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month at the chamber office. Walker said the group would cast ballots at the next meeting May 7 to appoint a chairman and officers so the group can officially get started. As for funding, he said the TDA and chamber could hopefully help them get grants for beautification and special events.
Jennifer Simon with Charles Heath Art Studio and Gallery on Everett Street said she also planned to be an active member with the association. She would like to see the merchants plan special events to get more people downtown and to coordinate more consistent operating hours.
“I think everyone can be on the same page and work together,” she said. “There’s strength in numbers — as a group we really could help Bryson City evolve even further.”


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The financial trouble of electronics retailer Best Buy has been widely covered (by myself included!), so it was no surprise when the company announced they would be closing stores. What did come as a surprise was the announcement that they plan to open 100 Best Buy Mobile stores. In the latest edition of Retail Rap, I take a look at the company’s shift in focus and the monumental task it may be.
Fresh off the resignation of CEO Brian Dunn and the revelation that the company lost a not-so- insignificant sum of $1.7 billion last quarter, Best Buy’s recent announcement to close 50 stores by the end of 2012 probably didn’t come as a surprise to anyone in our industry. What may have been surprising to some — myself included — is their plan to roll out 100 Best Buy Mobile stores.
Check out the full article from my recurring column, Retail Rap, at Chain Store Age.


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Welcome to Shipped Monthly!
GMT’s Shipped Monthly unboxes the latest Parcel and LTL industry news each month! Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates right from your Inbox.
The survey for the annual GMT Parcel Benchmark Report is now open! Invitations to participate in the survey are delivered via email to your inbox. If you haven’t received your invitation – or if you would like to pass your invitation to another employee in your company – please let us know by completing this form.
What is the GMT Parcel Benchmark Report? The GMT Benchmark Report is a performance indicator report designed to help Parcel shippers identify the industry best practices and trends that will move the needle for their Parcel networks. Learn more about the report.
The 2020 Peak Season is behind us, and two things remain certain for shippers already operating in 2021: 1) E-Commerce is a priority focus for Parcel and LTL carriers; and 2) peak surcharges aren’t just for peak season anymore. Check out our review of returning 2021 surcharges and their YOY differences.
Parcel Carrier News
FedEx announces continued positive quarterly earnings for 2Q 2021, refers to surcharge “new normal”, and highlights cross operational efforts and technology investments – specifically with E-Commerce in mind. Still, investors unsure of meaning behind lower FedEx Ground margin.
- FedEx announces positive 2Q 2021 earnings.
- Leadership Quote: “I’m very pleased with our second quarter performance. Second quarter adjusted operating income increased 121% year-over-year, primarily due to international priority volume growth of 32%, continued strong demand for U.S. residential delivery, pricing initiatives, operating margin improvements across all our transportation segments, and a $70 million benefit from a reduction in aviation excise taxes provided by the CARES Act.”
- Notable Highlights
- Consolidated Revenue: $20.6B (+19% YOY)
- Operating Margin: 7.1% (390 bp YOY)
- Net Income: $1.23B (+119% YOY)
- Earning Per Share: $4.55 (+114% YOY)
- FedEx Express
- Revenue: $1.3B
- Operating Margin: 9.1% (+500 BPS YOY)
- Operating Profit: $943M
- FedEx Ground
- Operating Margin: 7.5% (+110 BPS YOY)
- FedEx Freight
- Operating Margin: 13% (high growth attributed to revenue quality and aligning cost to volumes).
- While addressing a 10% YOY (from 57% to 67%) jump in U.S. domestic residential packages, FedEx referred to peak surcharges as “the new normal for our industry,” and indicated this would be a particular pricing strategy for E-Commerce. FedEx’s post-peak surcharges have also been announced and go into effect Jan. 18, 2021. See the surcharges.
- Speaking to FedEx Ground capacity and lead time, the carrier was careful to note that 25-30% of FedEx Ground packages arrive a day early, with Ground packages spending an average of 2.4 transit days in their network. FedEx also noted its continued cross operational efforts, moving more than 10 million packages from FedEx Express into the FedEx Ground system because of FedEx Ground’s lower cost day-definite system. President and COO, Rajesh Subramaniam noted that FedEx Freight also played a role in FedEx Ground, “they’ve driven 40 million miles, up 80% year-over-year. There were 1.5 million packages that Freight has delivered, these hard to handle packages up more than 435%.”
- Future Predictions
- FedEx anticipates E-Commerce package volume will grow to 111 million packages per day by 2026. The carrier further addressed it’s E-Commerce focus while noting its acquisition of ShopRunner would allow them to have data visibility into their brands, seeing upstream earlier, and increasing logistics optimization in their effort to “transform the end-to-end e-commerce experience”.
- FedEx continues to seek facility expansion and technology solutions to speed up FedEx Ground network. While speaking on continued efforts to wield technology as a capacity solution during the Q2 earnings call, FedEx highlighted its 2021 strategy for automated satellite sorting facilities. “Our focus is going to be on much smaller automated satellites and stations, our regional sortation facilities, which, if you’re not aware, sort about 12,000 to 15,000 packages an hour,” said FedEx Ground President and CEO, Henry J. Maier, “They tend to be inbound only so that we can process direct loaded volume from large retailers… you should think about overnight mainly… [they] serve as a relief valve for spillover sortation at peak.”
- Despite positive earnings and record breaking numbers across the company, FedEx Ground margin results disappoint Wall Street analysts. With 2021’s dependence on (and growth of) E-Commerce, as well as significant investments made by the carrier to its network to improve B2C and residential deliveries, investors and analysts alike had hoped to see FedEx Ground’s operating margin be doubled its actual 7.5%. Investors notably expressed concerns that FedEx appears to lack “clarity and confidence around Ground’s margin trajectory”. While addressing investor concerns, FedEx Ground’s President and CEO, Henry J. Maier, noted unusual and “higher-than-normal operating expenses” driven by COVID-19, such as pulling peak payments forward for independent contractors and delayed facility expansion and construction investments. Maier reiterated the carrier’s focus on working with customers to more accurately predict and forecast volume needs.
UPS ranked #1 On-Time Deliver amongst the Big Three, while preparing for wave of predicted 8.75M returns and continues hiring healthcare logistics employees beyond 100,000+ seasonal employees.
- UPS sells UPS Freight to TFI International Inc. In a Monday morning press release, UPS announced plans to sell UPS Freight to TFI International Inc. as part of an effort to “to be even more laser-focused on the core parts of our business that drive the greatest value for our customers.” The move is cited as part of the carrier’s “better not bigger” strategy. Throughout 2020, freight notably played a growing role with E-Commerce, so many curious eyes watch to see how the carrier will navigate this new freight strategy.
- UPS deemed #1 in delivering 2020 Peak Season holiday packages on time, with an estimated 85%+ on-time delivery rate. USPS notably trailed behind, with many speculating on the carrier’s bogged down network as FedEx and UPS turned shippers away once assigned maximum allocations were met. Together, the Big 2 almost reached an 80% on-time delivery rate, while collectively the three carriers had a 71.5% on-time delivery rate.
- Following an unprecedented 2020 Peak Season, UPS announced anticipation of 8.75M returns during the first week of January. The carrier estimated that it would see a 23% YOY growth in returns traffic during the first week alone. Interestingly, UPS also anticipated that this high volume would be somewhat evenly distributed throughout the week (vs. clustered into specific days), possibly even as return volumes remained high through the middle of the month.
- A strong returns strategy is paramount to maintaining your network’s health – don’t miss our rundown of the five return policies we love – and why we love them!
- With 100,000+ seasonal employees already hired, UPS continues to add new employees as it begins globally distributing COVID-19 vaccines. GlobalData reports that the carrier’s new hiring focus is strategically dedicated to healthcare logistics, seeking employees in North America, Europe, and APAC regions while notably “expanding and building new facilities in Hungary, the UK, and China.” GlobalData predicts that the carrier’s healthcare-focused hiring trend will continue further into 2021 as new COVID-19 vaccine candidates receive approval, as well as possible new virus strain mutations and variations.
GRI & Surcharges
- FedEx announced that on January 18th they will continue applying some of their Peak Surcharges beyond the traditional peak period “until further notice,” including the Peak Oversize Charge, Peak Additional Handling Surcharge and the Peak Surcharge for SmartPost.
- In the 2021 FedEx Service Guide, page 127, requests for FedEx Ground Call Tags through FedEx Customer Service will be discontinued effective January 31, 2021.
- UPS Canada
- UPS Canada published their 2021 Rate Guide effective 12/27/2020.
- UPS announced that beginning January 17th some of their peak surcharges would continue “until further notice,” including the peak surcharge applied to Ground Residential and SurePost packages, and the peak surcharge for both additional handling and large packages.
- The 2021 UPS Service Guide and the 2021 UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service are available for download.
- Regarding hazardous materials, as of January 1, 2021, the ORM-D classification is no longer valid.
- The UPS Puerto Rico Rate and Service Guide was published on December 28, 2020 and became effective on that date.
- How do these COVID-19 related surcharges and rate changes compare to before the 2020 Peak Holiday Season? See our 2021 Guide to COVID-19 Surcharges and Rate Changes for a YOY look at what’s different.
LTL Carrier News
- Transportation Insight looks at the year ahead for the LTL industry and finds a trajectory familiar to the Parcel industry. The LTL industry continues to follow a similar path to the Parcel industry, with LTL carriers relying on new surcharges to combat growing capacity constraints, as well as turning some customers or volume away in efforts to maintain capacity and solve rising delivery delays. As in the Parcel industry, contract bargaining has swung largely in favor of the carriers, while LTL shippers are required to seek creative solutions to an increasingly complex and costly landscape.
- Also like the Parcel industry, both the LTL industry and LTL carriers are expected to see record revenue numbers, likely driven by new carrier pricing strategies. As previously mentioned by FedEx in their 2Q 2021 earnings call, LTL is playing a significant role in retail and E-Commerce, and LTL carriers – who have been grappling with capacity concerns since the start of the pandemic – are taking note and raising rates. Satish Jindel, Principal of SJ Consulting, notes “retail is going to be a bigger sector of LTL. Those who don’t pay attention will fight over smaller pieces of the LTL market. You can’t operate in the retail sector with the same attitude as industrial freight.” This is an important distinction when you consider how different retail shipments are from traditional freight shipments. These lighter shipments often “cube out before weighing out”, with preferences for in-store delivery methods over traditional docks.
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Wednesday, 6 May, 2020
The dairy industry is the UK’s largest farming sector, with milk accounting for around 17% of total agricultural output in 2018. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the industry has faced challenges of excess milk, falling prices and reduced demand from the hospitality sector.
The upcoming Dairy Farmers Coronavirus Hardship Fund will enable farmers in England to access funding to help them overcome the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The new funding will support farmers, who together continue to produce over 40 million litres of milk every day, and have seen decreased demand for their products as bars, restaurants and cafes have had to close.
While many farmers have already rerouted their milk supplies to retailers and supermarkets, which have seen increased demand in recent weeks, this scheme aims to give farmers in the greatest need the financial assurance to ensure they can remain operational, sustain production capacity and continue to meet animal welfare demands at this time.
Eligible farmers will be entitled to up to £10,000 each, to cover 70% of their lost income during April and May.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said:
'Our dairy industry plays a crucial role in feeding our nation and we are doing all we can to ensure they are properly supported during this time.
'We've already relaxed competition laws so dairy farmers can work together through the toughest months, but recognise there is more to be done.
'We will continue to stand alongside our dairy farmers through this difficult period.'
The scheme is yet to open. More detail will be issued in due course.
More information about this funding opportunity and the application process is available on the GRANTfinder funding information platform. GRANTfinder provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on funding news. To find out more about how GRANTfinder can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.


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11 Aug How will the new Facebook Video Tab Impact YouTube?
There’s a massive battle in the ad world right now as TV viewers continue to decline. In days past, the easiest and most efficient way to reach a large audience at scale was to spend dollars on TV ads. There were several players in the space including TV networks, cable conglomerates and shows themselves working to convince the advertisers that they were the right place to spend their TV ad spend dollars. One thing was always certain though, TV would get the majority of advertising dollars spent.
Obviously, times have changed and the internet is garnering more eyeballs and attention than ever before. This led to the introduction of several new ad types, mostly banner ads, that were similar to what you would see in a magazine or in a newspaper. As internet speeds grew faster and broadband became more ubiquitous in US households, younger generations started to consume more and more of their video content online in some form. The most common form that comes to mind is usually Netflix. Since Netflix’s business model is solely driven on subscription revenue, this takes away a lot of the advertising opportunities that would have been available for brands trying to reach this audience in video.
Other than Netflix, younger consumers are consuming video content online in other forms as well, mostly on YouTube. At its inception, YouTube was used for people to upload content to share with others. This medium was open to anyone and initially I had predicted that because any Tom, Dick or Harry with a cheap Flipcam could upload content, it would be a cesspool of junk (mixed with pirated commercial videos.) To an extent, my prediction was correct – but one thing I didn’t see coming is the number of very passionate and talented people who would look to YouTube to start their own channel talking about their passions or educating others. In the early days of YouTube, there was really zero incentive to do this other than for the fun of love of doing it since there was no organized way to monetize these videos.
Let’s fast forward to 2017. YouTube is the #2 most used search engine, second only to Google itself. There is so much helpful content on YouTube that people are using it to find solutions to their problems instead of looking up a text-based solution in main search. Google has cleaned up the platform so while people can still share less-than-well-produced content, the likelihood of pirated content staying on the platform long is minimal. Additionally, the platform has a streamlined advertising platform for publishers to monetize their work and the following that they have built up over the years.
Video is an expensive file type to host and serve to end customers. This begs the question how and why YouTube / Google is able to do this for free. The answer is twofold. YouTube is using their ad platform to serve banner ads, sponsored video suggestions on the video pages and video results pages and is also serving video ads before (and sometimes in the middle of) a video play. Even with all of this, it’s possible that it’s still not a profitable endeavour for Google, which brings us to their second set of intentions.
As mentioned earlier, eyeballs that were previously spent on TV are rapidly dwindling and shifting their attention to video content online. To date, YouTube is the #1 player when it comes to attracting these eyeballs and they are going to do everything they can to maintain their early dominance in the space so as TV ad dollars continue to shift to online video platforms, they will be the #1 player. However, they have to sleep with one eye open as Facebook is quickly realizing the lucrative opportunity that YouTube sees with video inventory.
In the past year, Facebook has attempted to become a more prominent player in the video view competition by giving a massive advantage in their news feed algorithm to video content. As a result, when people or pages would post video, this content would reach more of their friends or followers than any other post type normally would because Facebook wanted to demonstrate to investors that they could quickly become a top player in capturing video views eyeballs. In fact, they even went so far as to quietly offer better deals on ads businesses were running if they ran the ad as a piece of video content to further bolster these numbers.
One major concern I always had for Facebook in their attempt to become a larger player in this space is that to find video content, you had to already be following the page that put it out or have that piece shared with you by a friend. How would they become the player YouTube built themselves up to be if there was no home base to search for or discover the video content that is so valuable to their future?
Facebook answered that question this week, at least on their mobile apps by adding a “Watch” tab for some users. The app takes the angle of allowing its 2 billion monthly users to discover videos that their friends like. In addition, Facebook is going to offer the ability to watch live sports content and tune in to content from major partners such as MLB, A&E and National Geographic. While this is a limited test release, Facebook intends to release this to all users in the coming weeks as well.
Facebook has 2 billion users per month opening it up to take advantage of its social networking capabilities. By comparison, YouTube only has 1 billion monthly users, but they are there solely for the video content and established vloggers, YouTube influencers, etc. This is Facebook’s first warning shot over the bow that they intend to use this new hub to garner the video-focused consumers that are already on their platform for social networking purposes. If they are able to start delivering serious views on their content this just may be enough to court these influencers over. To date, most influencers who have their following on YouTube have some kind of presence on Facebook where they point their followers to go to YouTube to see their latest video. This new approach may lead to more of these influencers syndicating their content onto Facebook at the very least and, potentially in time, jumping ship from YouTube if Facebook can offer them more views and better advertising payouts.
There are many doubts that this product will deliver as well as Facebook is hoping and touting that it will. First of all, there is always the ever present risk that the influencers with the large followings will not move over from YouTube to Facebook. Another concern that Re/Code raises is will videos on Facebook be included in Google search results the way YouTube videos are? Much to the chagrin of anti-trust regulators, we have seen time and time again that Google is incredibly protective of their search result pages in any way where they show results from Google products above organic listings. With Google as the #1 largest search engine funneling traffic to its partner property YouTube, why would they give Facebook an opportunity to garner market share at their expense?


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Last week, JCK announced the six recipients of its 18th annual Industry Fund, a series of grants that are awarded to individuals, groups or associations whose work benefits the overall industry. In 2016, these value of these awards topped over $293,000.
Specifically, the fund grants awards to projects and initiatives that: improve the consumer’s view of the jewellery industry, aid industry organizations in addressing serious problems, and/or assisting internal organizations and associations to develop training materials.
This year’s winners include Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), Diamond Council of America (DCA), Jewelers of America (JA), Jewelers Security Alliance (JSA), Jewelers Vigilance Canada Inc. (JVC Canada), and Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC).
“We are pleased to stand behind the initiatives of this year’s JCK Industry Fund recipients,” says Yancy Weinrich, senior vice-president of JCK. “This group is at the forefront of addressing current challenges for the jewellery industry including security, protection, consumer confidence and education. Their approach not only addresses these critical needs but also prepares the industry for the future by educating the next generation of consumers and industry professionals.”
The Industry Fund Advisory Committee, which consists of JCK representatives, retailers and manufacturers, selects the fund recipients. Submissions of applications for the 2017 grants will begin in October. For more information, click here.
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It was a crazy week, with the secretive Bitcoin creator supposedly outed, details of 280,000+ payment cards tied to Sally Beauty purchases discovered for sale online and a new Facebook clickjacking campaign that preys on the curious, so let’s get down to it shall we? Here are your weeks biggest security stories:
Newsweek Article Claims To Unveil Bitcoin Creator, Rest of World Disagrees
Is he or is he not the Bitcoin creator? That’s the question the world has been asking ever since Newsweek published an article last week by Leah McGrath Goodman that claimed to have unmasked the notoriously secretive Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto as Dorian Nakamoto, a 64-year-old father of six living in Temple City, California.
“I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it,” Goodman reports Nakamoto said to her on his doorstep, presumably speaking about Bitcoin. “It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”
Doubts have been raised by critics who noted stark differences between the Nakamoto that Goodman spoke with and the Nakamoto who has written on his cryptocurrency. In a strange story that’s only turned stranger with the release of new information, the Dorian Nakamoto whom Goodman had pinpointed as the Bitcoin creator has turned around and said he had never even heard of Bitcoin prior to being contacted for the Newsweek story. He told the Associated Press that he believed Goodman had been asking about his work on other projects.
A group of Bitcoin supporters have taken a different approach, one of protecting Dorian Nakamoto, whether he’s the Bitcoin creator or not. The subreddit r/Bitcoin has been raising donations for Nakamoto, which organizer Andreas Antonopoulos explained as “I have no idea if this person is Satoshi, though it seems increasingly unlikely. However, it doesn’t matter either way. If this person is Satoshi, then the funds are a small ‘thanks’ and won’t make much of a difference,” if the Newsweek Nakamoto is indeed the Bitcoin Nakamoto. “However, if this person is not Satoshi, then these funds will serve as a ‘sorry for what happened to you’,” Antonopoulos continued.
Read more about Goodman’s encounter with (a) Dorian Nakamoto here.
Breach of the Week: Sally Beauty…Possibly
International specialty retailer Sally Beauty was most likely hit by a credit card breach that occurred between late February and early March. The data of 282,000 stolen credit and debit cards were discovered for sale in an underground black market store and the common point of purchase, or CPP, is Sally Beauty stores.
The CPP in fifteen cards tested by financial institutions contacted by Brian Krebs was Sally Beauty, but in a statement to their investors, Sally Beauty responded that they do not believe the payment information found on the black market came from their systems:
“Recently, our systems detected an attempted intrusion into our network, and we believe we promptly mitigated potential issues arising from this intrusion. As a result of our ongoing investigation, which included assistance from a top-tier security firm, we have no reason to believe there has been any loss of credit card or consumer data. We will continue to investigate and actively monitor this situation.”
Continue reading here.
Facebook Clickjacking Scam Promises ‘Naked Videos’, Hits 2 Million Victims
The most recent Facebook malware scam to pop up takes advantage of our natural curiosity in a maliciously clever way. This particular clickjacking campaign entices Facebook users to click on a video claiming to show a particular friends’ naked video. After clicking, you’d get redirected to a site that looks like YouTube prompting you to download the latest version of Adobe Flash.
The hackers first try to install the malware when someone first gets to the malicious web page. If your anti-virus detects it, they try to get you again with the fake Adobe Flash download. Those that hit ‘download’ actually install a Trojan which then steals your pictures. The clickjacking ‘virus’ continues as your photos get used to spread the scam on your Facebook profile and timeline. The scam has already hit 2 million curious people.
Clickjacking is one of the most common scams used on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, simply because they’re so easy to fall for. It can be difficult to tell when someone’s account has been hacked, and hackers are constantly getting better. Protect yourselves by using a strong anti-virus…and by using common sense on the internet.
Read more about the latest Facebook scam here.


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FP StaffAug 01, 2022 17:45:38 IST
The rumours around the Apple car simply won’t seem to end. It seems that the Cupertino-based tech giant is one step closer to achieving that ever-elusive goal of developing and launching their own car.
Apple has recently hired one of Lamborghini’s top executives to help them design and develop their own car. The executive, Luigi Taraborrelli, has worked with the Italian supercar giant for over 21 years and had overseen the development of some of Lamborghini’s most iconic cars.
By the time he left Lamborghini, Taraborrelli was in charge of leading the development of chassis and vehicle dynamics. He seems to have left Lamborghini in May 2022 and will be joining Apple soon.
During his tenure at the company, Taraborrelli worked on the Lamborghini Urus, one of the best-selling Lamborghinis of all time, and arguably one of the most selling high-performance SUVs of the last couple of years.
He also oversaw the development of the Huracan Coupé, Performante and Aventador Coupé, among others. He also worked on a few limited series projects such as the Lamborghini Sterrato, as well as the Sesto Elemento. He was also closely associated with Asterion concept car. During his tenure he not only oversaw Lamborghini’s chassis development but also areas such as handling, suspensions, steering, brakes and rims, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Apple’s Car project, also called Project Titan has been in the news since the early 2010s and has had its ups and downs since being officially launched in 2014. The project has been repeatedly delayed and the company even reduced the team’s size at one point.
Over the years, a number of key personnel have joined and left the company, including several members from Ford and Tesla. The Apple project includes hundreds of former engineers from Tesla and other car companies, including Rivian Automotive Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, Volvo Car AB and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. It also has former senior design executives on staff from Tesla, McLaren, Porsche, Aston Martin, and BMW.


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MIAMI — OneUnited Bank will host a series of free and open-to-the-public consumer finance summer workshops at various bank branches until Aug. 26.
The two-hour workshops will be presented by OneUnited Bank managers as part of the bank’s effort to improve financial literacy.
“When consumers are informed and knowledgeable – everyone benefits: the bank, the customer and local businesses,” said Teri Williams, president & CEO, OneUnited Bank. “It’s important to note, these workshops are open to anyone. You do not have to be a OneUnited Bank customer to attend.”
The free Smart Money workshops run from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 12; 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12; and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Miami branch, 3275 NW 79th St., Miami.
To register, please visit oneunited.com/workshop


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Starbucks Corp., the nation’s largest coffee shop chain, will invest $25 million into a startup company that developed a mobile payment system for use with smartphones, Bloomberg reports.
Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz will join the board of San Francisco-based Square Inc. which makes a device that plugs into a phone or tablet and can be used to read a credit card strip. Square was started in 2009 by Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey. Square’s software lets merchants accept electronic payments through their own hardware making it easier for customers to purchase a latte.
Seattle-based Starbucks operates 23 drive-thru coffee shop locations in San Antonio.


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The numbers from Cyber Monday are starting to trickle into ChannelAdvisor (NYSE: ECOM), and they’re good compared to 2012.
Cyber Monday - the Monday after Thanksgiving promoted by retailers as a day for exceptional online bargains - happens in December this year. That means the numbers won’t go toward November quotas.
According to ChannelAdvisor, numbers are up from last year.
“Overall it looks like Cyber Monday is on track to be up over 30 percent compared to last year from a SSS basis,” writes ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo.
He’s talking about the numbers from midnight to 10:30 a.m. - numbers he’ll soon update. SSS stands for Same Store Sales.
The reports measure the relative performance of various online channels such as eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) through which online retailers sell merchandise. The reports are intended to help ChannelAdvisor customers make educated decisions about which channels they use.
For a full look of how e-retailers have been performing this holiday shopping season, click here.
ChannelAdvisor develops software that helps e-retailers manage different channels.


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|OThree Media and Rock & Republic team up to Support Brittany Snow's Charitable Movement, Love is Louder|
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0Three Media and Rock & Republic have teamed up to promote Brittany Snow's charitable endeavor "Love is Louder" and create a T-shirt that will be sold at Rock & Republic's online and retail outlets and unveiled at an in-store event on February 15th, 2011, a portion of proceeds will benefit Love is Louder and The Jed Foundation. In an effort to create a unified voice and turn up the volume to promote love over bullying all are encouraged to express themselves through art.
From now until January 20th 2011, 0ThreeMedia and Rock & Republic will be accepting submissions for an exclusive Love is Louder design to appear on a T-Shirt created by Rock & Republic. "This is truly an amazing opportunity for youth across the country to raise their voices and make a difference. I am so proud to be a part of this project, and have the utmost respect for teens brave enough to be who they are, and all those who support them," said Thom Vest, CEO of 0Three Media. Love is Louder's creator and front-woman Brittany Snow will pick the winning design, which will be unveiled at the Rock & Republic Valentines event to support Love is Louder at their store located at 105 South Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA.
The event is scheduled for February 15th 2011 from 7:30 - 9:30 and will feature a DJ, open bar, Hors d'oeuvres and VIP gift bags. This is an unparalleled opportunity to speak out against bullying and support those that feel mistreated or alone.. "Rock & Republic is proud to be hosting this event to help raise the volume on the message that no matter what; love is stronger than hate and that by supporting one another we can make a difference," exclaimed Michael Ball, CEO and Creative Director for Rock & Republic.
"I so feel fortunate to be working with Rock & Republic who clearly understands how important this cause is. It is so exciting to have the opportunity to create an event that will humanize this amazing charity and allow these kids voices to be heard," said Crystal Ortiz, Senior Events Coordinator for 0Three Media


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Nidhogg 2 developer Messhof has released a new trailer showing off some more of the highly-anticipated sequel’s combat, while also confirming the game’s release date.
Nidhogg 2, which was announced back at the start of the year -in April- will be releasing on PSN and Steam on August the 15th, according to the new trailer.
Nidhogg, for those unaware, was a local multiplayer game originally released back in 2015. It combined bright lurid colours and a simplistic, stickman artstyle with deadly, quick combat. In many ways the game channeled the original Prince of Persia’s unforgiving, height based company, albeit with just a single hit spelling the end of your character.
While the game’s fast, lethal combat remains a core focus, the change from stickmen on almost neon lands and backdrops to what we are here remains the biggest contrast between the two. The new, goofy-looking characters and strange creatures which populate the background are a stark change, but one that fits the ludicrous nature of the game to a tee – after all, why would a game where teams dual to the death for an audience before being consumed by a giant worm be populated with chunky meathead humans? It’s and alien concept in and alien land, and it fits excellently.
If you are interested in reading more on the reasoning behind the changes then the developer released a blog on the subject over on the PlayStation Blog.
Nighogg 2 will launch on PC & PS4 on the 15th of August.


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154,911 registered members
Food flavours breast milk
[Posted: Fri 25/07/2008 by Olivia Fens www.irishhealth.com]
The flavours of food eaten by nursing mothers can be found in breast milk, according to a new study.
The study asked 18 lactating mothers to provide a sample of breast milk before they ate capsules containing caraway seed, menthol, banana and liquorice flavours and after.
While the different flavours took different times to appear in the breast milk, all the flavours did appear. The four flavours had all disappeared from the women’s breast milk eight hours after they ate the capsules.
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark said this result shows that breastfeeding is nature’s way of introducing a baby to new flavours before they start eating solid foods.
The Denmark study found that while concentrations of the caraway and liquorice flavours peaked two hours after the mother ate them, the banana flavour could only be detected in the milk during the first hour after consumption. Menthol was present for between two and eight hours after consumption.
The study added that mothers of bottle-fed infants should not despair. Babies who aren’t breastfed should have different brands of formula from time to time, as each brand has a unique taste.
The study was published in the New Scientist magazine.
|To join the discussion, register by clicking here|


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Despite a relatively low attendance of 9,000 registered visitors at AWFS Vegas, many exhibitors and attendees said they found much to be commended at this year’s biennial show, including strong buying interest in the new technology and supplies on display.
In addition to domestic buyers, show management reported that Guatemala and Mexico were the two must active international delegations with regards to purchasing. For the first time, Iraq and Mongolia also sent a delegation of buyers.
In turn, many of the estimated 600 exhibitors reported better-than-expected sales leads. "We saw better quality prospects and have already closed on some new business," said Cami Waner of The Collins Co.
"The show was excellent for us," agreed Brent East, Thermwood Corp. "Both the number and quality of buyers were much better than I anticipated."
"The show was much better than we expected," said Mike Serwa of Vortex Tool. "We came in hopes of gaining market share so that when things turn around we'll be a few steps ahead of our competition."
In addition to the new products on display, several new initiatives, including the Green Desk and smartSHOP, also garnered interest among attendees. A strong lineup of educational seminars and programs included a presentation on "Leveraging the Digital World to Grow Your Business -- Strategies and Tactics," by Tom Denison, vice president of Vance Marketing Solutions, a division of Vance Publishing, publisher of Wood & Wood Products, Custom Woodworking Business and CLOSETS magazines.
During the show, seven companies received the Sequoia Award in recognition for their production innovation and leadership in the green movement. They were:
A number of exhibitors also demonstrated their commitment to the environment and community through donation of product and equipment. They include:
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.


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An excellent article in Stuff looking at the full life carbon emissions of electric cars vs petrol cars. They found:
The total life cycle emissions from a fossil-fuelled car and an electric car in Australia were 333gCO2/km and 273gCO2/km, respectively. That is, using average grid electricity, EVs come out about 18 per cent better in terms of their carbon footprint.
So in Australia using an electric car doesn’t result in zero emissions. It results in a modest but useful decrease of 18%.
Likewise, electric cars in New Zealand work out a lot better than fossil-fuelled cars in terms of emissions, with life-cycle emissions at about 333gCO2/km for fossil-fuelled cars and 128gCO2/km for electric cars. In New Zealand, EVs perform about 62 per cent better than fossil cars in carbon footprint terms.
In NZ the reduction is much greater – 62%. We are fortunate to have so much electricity come from renewables.
But it is worth noting that a 62% reduction is not 100%. Electric cars still produce significant carbon emissions. So when activists demand zero emissions, they are actually calling for electric cars to be banned also.


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The government is cracking down on touts using automated software to bulk buy tickets for top events.
A new law will aim to make it harder for touts to use robots (known as ‘bots’) to buy tickets, which they sell for a premium on secondary ticketing sites.
Plans to ban touts from using bots’ to dodge security measures and snap up more tickets than allowed by event organisers will this week be laid in Parliament, paving the way for the measures to come into force.
Computer software allows touts to dodge security measures put in place by websites, which often set a maximum on the number of tickets you can buy to a single event.
Touts who buy up in-demand tickets can then sell them on for thousands of pounds more than their face value.
Now a new law will make it an offence to do this, with touts who shirk the rules facing an unlimited fine.
Margot James, minister for digital and the creative industries, says everyone should have the chance to see concerts or events at a fair price, adding that the new law will give consumer greater protection and make the ticket market more transparent.
Adam Webb, campaign manager at FanFair Alliance, which campaigns against industrial-scale online ticket touting, says: “This new legislation is important. By reducing the means of dedicated touts to bulk-harvest tickets, the government can help to recalibrate the live music market and give fans a better opportunity to buy tickets at a price the artist sets.”
Michael Dugher, chief executive of UK Music, which campaigns on behalf of musicians, adds: “Music fans have been fleeced for far too long. This new law is an important step to ensure transparency in the resale ticket market. We need the law to be fully enforced to protect music fans from being ripped off.”
The government had already brought in new rules requiring ticket resellers to provide more information about tickets they are selling on to fans. Sellers must supply any unique ticket numbers to the buyer, so they can identify the seating or standing area of the ticket.
Consumer minister Andrew Griffiths says: “All too often people are left feeling ripped off when the ticket [they have bought from a resale website] doesn’t match expectations.”
The implementation of the new law comes just days after the launch of the Fair Ticketing Alliance, set up by a group of UK ticket brokers.
Its chairman, Stephen Lee, says: “The ticketing market is currently failing to address the needs of live entertainment fans in the UK. We believe responsible operators should be free to re-sell tickets without unfair restrictions but should be properly licensed and comply with the highest ethical standards.”


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Credit: Amelie Philibert | University of Montreal
Smooth, foamy, water repellent: these characteristics are highly sought after in beauty products. But to achieve these qualities, manufacturers sometimes use ingredients that contain fluoride, including potentially dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
A research team from Carleton University and the University of Montreal has just released analytical results demonstrating that some cosmetics and personal care products labeled as containing fluorinated components also contain PFAS, and that these “eternal chemicals” do not necessarily appear in the list. ‘list of ingredients.
“Although the most worrying PFASs are no longer used in many beauty products, in some cases they have been replaced by other classes of PFAS whose consequences on health and the environment remain unknown,” points out Sébastien Sauvé, professor in the Department of Chemistry from the University of Montreal and co-author of the study.
A recent study found that cosmetics in the United States and Canada still contain these substances, but it was unknown if these compounds were found in personal care products such as lotions, body washes, shampoos and shaving creams.
Professor Amy Rand, of Carleton University, and her colleagues then wanted to examine a variety of beauty products that listed fluoride components in their formulations for the presence of PFAS.
In 2020 and 2021, the team purchased 38 of these brand-name beauty products sold in Canadian stores and online that contained organofluorine compounds and tested them for older types of PFAS.
Present in the container, but not always in the ingredients list
All samples had measurable levels of PFAS, but some of the compounds detected were not listed as ingredients in the products. Levels found in personal care products were generally lower than in cosmetics. The team found that two foundations, labeled with terms similar to water repellent, had high levels of PFAS. In one, these compounds were even in the thousands of parts per million, a level that exceeds Canada’s proposed PFAS regulations.
More than 200 types of PFAS in the daily beauty ritual of Canadians
Going beyond their analyses, the team selected a subset of purchased items whose analysis revealed more than 200 other PFASs, including emerging classes that are displacing older compounds.
An emerging class—monohydrogen-substituted perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids—was found in 30% of products in the subset in proportions ranging from less than one part per billion to hundreds. During this analysis, the research team also discovered a variety of structurally different PFASs that did not appear to be related to the PFASs originally added to the products, which could be the result of product aging or contamination with impurities in the raw materials.
These findings highlight the diversity of PFASs and their known presence in some cosmetics and personal care products currently sold in Canada. However, more work is needed to understand where unexpected PFAS come from.
About this study
The article “Targeted and Suspicious Screening for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Personal Care and Cosmetic Products,” by Keegan J. Harris, Gabriel Munoz, Vivian Woo, Sébastien Sauvé, and Amy A. Rand, was published on 30 September 2022 under review Environmental sciences and technologies of the American Chemical Society. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02660.
The study was funded by Discovery Grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the John R. Evans Leaders Fund from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Research Fund of the Quebec – Nature and technologies.


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WEF report: More plastic than fish in oceans by 2050
Jan 20, London: A report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) said that the world's oceans may have more plastic debris than fish by the year 2050.
According to a report produced by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said that currently, 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year - the equivalent of a dump truck of plastic rubbish every minute.
The study, released on Tuesday, found that a whopping 32 percent of all plastic packaging escapes collection systems and finds its way into natural ecosystems, including the oceans.
At current rates, that will have grown to two trucks a minute by 2030, and four a minute by 2050 - by which time, by weight, there will be as much plastic in the oceans as fish, media reports said.
Dianna Cohen, CEO of the Plastic Pollution Coalition said, "One of the biggest problems [to] focus on is single use and disposable plastic."
Based on interviews with more than 180 experts in the field, the report found that most plastic packaging is used only once before being discarded.
Cohen called on governments to take steps to prevent further plastic waste by forcing producers to take back the plastic used in packaging.
The Oslo Times


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BANGKOK, THAILAND — According to government officials, Thailand has officially declassified low-level cannabis and hemp extracts from the official list of narcotics.
The key term here is low level — essentially, any cannabis- or hemp-derived product with less than 0.2% THC. Previously, such cannabis extracts had been classified as Category 5 narcotics, where possession could earn you up to 15 years in prison and a hefty fine.
Thailand’s move to update the legality of cannabis extracts aligns with the country’s goal of developing cutting edge medicinal cannabis products. As a matter of fact, medicinal use of cannabis was legalized in 2018.
Currently, cannabis production is limited to a small handful of licensed domestic producers with little to no competition. That said, the government is looking at the possibility of an independent business being able to apply for a cannabis license.
Recreational use of cannabis extracts and products in general still remains completely illegal in Thailand. Thus, access to cannabis extracts remains tightly regulated and requires proper approval from one’s physician.
Last month, for the first time ever, 10,000 bottles of cannabis oil were delivered to patients across Thailand. Thailand’s decision to change the legal environment has spurred international investment interest since 2018.
U.S.-based cannabidiol (CBD) producer C-Beyond Health Inc. has shown great optimism in Thailand’s budding cannabis market by already investing in 400 acres of land on Thai soil for hemp production. Even venture capital firms have displayed interest in Thailand’s cannabis industry.
Thailand sits in a pretty good position as of today. The country has begun laying the groundwork for a fruitful and successful cannabis market by legalizing the medicinal use of cannabis as well as generating foreign investment interest.
Only time will tell if Thailand will be able to build a cannabis market like we have here in the United States.
Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Nir Elias


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PORTSMOUTH — Redhook Ale Brewery on Friday will unveil its special tribute beer to Ben Harris, a brewery employee who was killed when a keg exploded in April.
The classic cream ale-style beer called Ben Harris Beer is described by company officials as "the type of beer Ben would have wanted to drink."
"Ben Harris was an incredible man. He was a longtime member of the Redhook family, a friend to all of us and a beer lover through and through," said Alex Kopf, Redhook senior brewer. "We chose to brew a cream ale for Ben to represent not only the type of beer he loved, but also the man he was: a fun-loving, hard-working family man. There's nothing we'd like more than to be enjoying this beer with Ben, and we hope that the community will join us in honoring his legacy and celebrating his life by raising a pint."
After Friday's tapping, Redhook Brewery plans to make the tribute brew available on draught nationally over the next several weeks and months, officials said.
Starting this fall, the brewery plans to bottle Ben Harris Beer and distribute it in the New England markets of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
Additionally, Redhook plans to make the bottled beer available in Ben's home state of Pennsylvania.
Harris, 26, of Newington, was killed April 24 when a keg exploded while he was cleaning it. Harris had learned just before his death that he was going to be a father.
Investigations into Harris' death continue. Results of an investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration have yet to be released. Craft Brew Alliance, the parent company of Redhook, has hired an independent investigator to probe the cause of the accident.
A preliminary investigation into the accident shows Harris was in the process of emptying the keg with pressurized air when it blew apart at the seams. The plastic keg was not owned by Redhook or any Craft Brew-affiliated breweries, the company said.
The special release party will take place from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Redhook Brewery located at 1 Redhook Way. It is expected to feature a special toast to Harris.
All proceeds from Ben Harris Beer sold during the event will benefit the Ben Harris Fund. After the July 20 tapping, Redhook will donate $1 to the Ben Harris Fund for every pint of Ben Harris Beer sold at the Cataqua Pub.


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Facebook App for BlackBerry Update – Version 10.2.2
A Facebook app for BlackBerry update is now available, taking the latest version to v10.2.2.
The Facebook app for BlackBerry update provides a range of new features to further enhance users’ experience when using the app.
New features of the Facebook app for BlackBerry update include:
- The ability for users to share updates from a friend or page on their wall, a friend’s wall, a group, a list or a message. A new range of options now display, allowing users to select which method of sharing they would prefer.
- New messaging capabilities, including the ability to add a friend to a group chat. The Facebook app for BlackBerry update also allows users to see when a group message has been read by a recipient.
- New video capabilities have also been added, including the ability to watch videos in landscape mode.
- The ability to delete posts or status updates directly from the Facebook app.
The Facebook app for BlackBerry update is available to download from BlackBerry World now.
The new Facebook app for BlackBerry update comes following a previous update to the BlackBerry app, v10.2.1, which provided additional new features for users. They will all be included in this update. The new features included:
- Newsfeed Enhancements – When users are viewing their newsfeed, they can now click on the app’s sidebar to be taken to the top of the newsfeed, reducing the need to scroll constantly to be taken to the latest updates.
- Administration Improvements for Managing Pages – The page administration section boasts a completely new look and feel and the functionality has now been greatly increased to provide a better user experience. With the Facebook app for BlackBerry update, users can now post updates direct from the app, see all check-ins at their venue, view the number of likes on a page and also who is talking about this.
- Enhanced Imaging Capabilities – Uploading profile and cover photos have sometimes been problematic for users, however users now have the ability to set profile and cover photographs from their device’s photo album or from any album on Facebook via a few simple steps.
"The latest The Chronicles of Cellular! http://paper.li/cellsolNE/1312385754?edition_id=c2cc3a40-8361-11e7-ac42-0cc47a0d1605 Thanks to @Sunshine_Fund @entforum #o2priority #technology
about 3 hours ago
"The latest The Chronicles of Cellular! http://paper.li/cellsolNE/1312385754?edition_id=981a9bd0-8298-11e7-ac42-0cc47a0d1605 Thanks to @WebAppUK #technology #andrewjames
4:35 PM Aug 16th
Cellular Solutions are an integrated business communications company, specialising in business software.Find Out More


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CST Brands spikes Corner Stores' food with Sriracha
CST Brands Inc., operator of the Corner Stores convenience store chain, is heating things up this summer.
After igniting positive customer reaction when it made Sriracha Asian-style hot sauce available as a condiment for hot dogs, tacos and sandwiches, the San Antonio-based company now is perking up a pair of its baked-in-store items with the brand.
CST recently rolled out its Sriracha Club Puff Pie, a flaky puff pastry filled with hot ham, turkey, roast beef, pepper jack cheese and sriracha. It also introduced the Sweet, Salty & Spicy Whoopie Pie, a spongy sandwich cake with chocolate icing spiked with Sriracha and topped with salty pretzel bits.
"We're looking to offer flavors that people want, not just something that's on trend right now," said Richard Poye, CST's director of food service. "People clearly like Sriracha, and even if you haven't tried it before, it's easy to understand. You can look at the bottle and tell it's a hot sauce."
Perhaps adding to the sauce's fiery mystique, Texas officials tried to lure its maker, Huy Fong Foods, to San Antonio after residents of the Los Angeles suburb where the company is located complained about the spicy smells drifting from its factory. But the controversy simmered down in May and Huy Fong stayed put.
CST's Sweet, Salty & Spicy Whoopie Pies are only available this summer, but the Sriracha Club and a Seasoned Pulled Pork Puff Pie with roasted red peppers will be permanent fixtures at Corner Stores, Poye says.
The pies are among a growing number of items CST workers bake in-house at larger Corner Stores, along with tortillas, cookies, cinnamon rolls and doughnuts.
Sanford Nowlin covers energy/utilities, transportation/aviation and manufacturing.
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GoNabit partners with Visa
Visa card holders can benefit from exclusive rewards and deals on the group buying site
UAE-based group buying website, GoNabit has partnered with Visa to provide customers with dedicated Visa Days designed to reward cardholder spend.
The second and fourth Thursday of each month will now be designated Visa Days on GoNabit and shoppers using Visa cards to purchase deals on these days will receive special deals and rewards such as AED30 in store credit to their GoNabit account or special two-for-one deals.
"Visa Days brings another layer of rewards to our nabber community. Visa cardholders can now earn a sizeable amount of store credit in addition to the GoNabit REDpoints and referral credit available to all our shoppers. Our Visa partnership will also increase our nabber database as Visa cardholders will be attracted to not only our great deals but also the additional Visa Days benefits which are exclusively theirs," said Dan Stuart, CEO and co-founder of GoNabit.com
According to GoNabit, Visa is also aiming to strengthen online shopping in the Middle East and one of the objectives of the partnership is to provide secure transactions and peace-of-mind for customers.
"We are always looking to create unique and rewarding experiences for Visa credit and Visa debit cardholders and are pleased with the addition of special Visa Days on GoNabit.com. Giving Visa cardholders double the benefits when they shop on the site is a great way for us to reward people for using their Visa cards," said Maysara Ghadban Traboulsi, head of Marketing Communications Middle East for Visa.
GoNabit says the purchasing power of its consumer-base is also appealing to Visa, with 38% of its customers earning $5,333 or above, according to recent research carried out by GoNabit and YouGov Siraj.
"The concept of group buying, as experienced on GoNabit.com, has helped spark innovation in e-commerce in the region, and the choice and benefits it offers shoppers has a natural synergy with Visa. As one of the worlds most preferred forms of online electronic payment, Visa is trusted by consumers worldwide when it comes to paying for goods and services online and has a proven track record of delivering rewarding, value added experiences for cardholders," said Ghadban Traboulsi.
The next Visa Day is Thursday 28 April 2011.


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Time Inc. is close to hammering out a deal that will open up Life Magazine retail stores nationwide to market the photos that once graced the pages of America’s most famous magazine title.
Source tell Media Ink that Time is talking with Media Arts Group, a publicly traded company in San Jose, Calif., which markets the lithographs of painter Thomas Kinkade in mall stores across America.
Unlike the People magazine museum and TV studio, which was shot down as too costly earlier this year, this one has a good chance of getting the OK, since it is essentially a licensing and royalty arrangement, sources said.
Sources say a deal could be only weeks away.
Life has some of the most memorable photos in the history of journalism, now gathering dust in the archives of the Time & Life building in New York.
Among the gems is the classic Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of a sailor smooching with a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day, Aug. 14, 1945 to mark the end of World War II. Also in the collection: Carl Mydans’ photo of General Douglas MacArthur wading ashore at Lindgayen Gulf in the Philippines Islands in January 1945 – keeping the “I shall return” promise he made three years earlier when he had to leave.
Also among the classics: a 1960 Hank Walker showing presidential candidate John F. Kennedy huddling with his brother Robert.
Kinkade, a co-founder of Media Arts, which had revenue of $138 million in 2000, seems to have a knack for marketing to Middle America. There are an estimated 10 million Kinkade pictures hanging in American homes. He bills himself as the “John Grisham of the art world” – shunned by the critics but wildly popular with the public.
Currently, the chain has nearly 400 independently owned and operated stores nationwide.
The Life deal would mark Media Arts first move into marketing of photography as art work. Neither Kinkade nor Media Arts CEO Craig Fleming could be reached for comment at presstime. Time executives confirmed that they are working on a retail deal with an undisclosed suitor – but declined to divulge the identity.
“Perfect Storm” author Sebastian Junger, who played a major role in the real-life adventure craze that is still gripping the book world, hasn’t tackled a book since the mega bestseller hit in 1997.
While he remains one of the most prolific magazine writers, sources close to the writer say he is finally getting ready to roll again. “He is researching another full-length book,” said Starling Lawrence, the editor-in-chief of W.W. Norton. “It will be non-fiction, non-adventure travel. I think it will be a surprise to everyone.”
The news comes as “Fire,” – a collection of feature articles from his real-life adventure and danger stories from war-torn zones around the world – moves into final edit before an October release in hardcover. HarperCollins, which like The Post is owned by News Corp., has the paperback rights.
The title is the original 89-page piece about forest fires in the West in the early ’90s, but the remainder is made up of previously published articles.
So far, Junger seems to be taking pains to keep the next book project under wraps. There is no contract and no proposal making the rounds.
Junger prefers to operate out of the limelight. It is now publishing legend how “The Perfect Storm” grew from an article in Outside.
Junger was in Europe while the proposal was originally being shopped by agent Stuart Kirchevsky. At a recent gathering sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors, Junger said he almost hoped the article would not get picked up by a book publisher. “I wasn’t sure there was enough there to make it into a book,” he confessed to the ASME crowd recently.
His advance from Norton was said to be only about $30,000 and he turned in the manuscript a year late. “There was no pressure,” he said. “Nobody knew who I was.”
Since then, he has been writing from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone for Vanity Fair, National Geographic Adventurer and Outside. But he has not done another full length book.
Agent Kirchevsky is also keeping a lid on his clients next move. “He’s contemplating a couple of things.”
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FDA Releases Rules To Strengthen Safety Of Food Supply
UPDATED: 4:50 p.m. Looking for a little weekend reading? The Food and Drug Administration has just the thing. On Friday, the agency released two proposed rules designed to boost the safety of the nation's food supply, encompassing hundreds of pages.
One rule covers operations at fruit and vegetable farms, focusing on those foods that we eat raw and have been the subject of several recent recalls, like leafy greens, tomatoes, melons, herbs, green onions and berries. They would require worker safety training, handwashing, clean water and monitoring the presence of animals in the field that could spread illness.
Produce accounted for about 42 percent of all foodborne illness in 2010, according to the FDA.
The other proposed rule would require food processors to develop and follow detailed plans for preventing contamination of their products.
"The rules go very directly to preventing the types of outbreaks we have seen," said Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner for foods, at a noon press conference.
The move comes after a series of high-profile recalls, including cantaloupes in 2011 that killed 33 people. A recall involving salmonella in peanut products this past September eventually led to the shutdown of a Sunland Inc. facility for nearly a month. The company makes peanut butter and other related items for several major national brands, including Trader Joe's. And there have been a string of E. coli-related recalls this year involving Canadian beef.
The rules were issued two years after president Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law, giving the Food and Drug Administration broader power to require food facilities to develop food safety plans and new authority to recall tainted food.
The United Fresh Produce Association welcomed the rules. David Gombas, the group's food safety expert, says that many big vegetable growers already are required by food retailers to follow similar safety procedures — but a single national standard would be a big improvement.
Safety advocates, for their part, are applauding the rules in general. Eric Olson, director of Food Programs for the Pew Charitable Trust, called them "the first major overhaul of our food safety controls since the Great Depression." Some, though, are concerned that the FDA is not asking vegetable producers to carry out extensive — and expensive — testing of their products to detect harmful bacteria.
Congress exempted the smallest farms — those that sell less than $500,000 of produce each year and deliver most of it to local consumers — from these regulations. But many small farmers are still worried that they will, in fact, have to follow the new rules, raising their costs.
Back when the bill was signed, consumer groups, many food manufacturers and public health advocates were hopeful that the Obama administration would move swiftly to put new rules in place to prevent foodborne illnesses.
But the regulations reportedly sat at the government's regulatory review office for months. This prompted two nonprofits, the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Environmental Health, to file a lawsuit against the agency, alleging "unreasonably delayed regulations." FDA recently asked a federal court to dismiss the suit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 48 million Americans are sickened by tainted food, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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BASKING RIDGE, N.J., March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 80 percent of all businesses fail their interim PCI compliance assessment, leaving them vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to Verizon's 2015 PCI Compliance Report, released today (March 12). With more than two-thirds of all purchases made with payment cards and $20 trillion in credit card transactions expected for 2015, security has become a top priority for organizations that accept credit cards.
In its fourth annual installment, Verizon's 2015 report examines the state of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance and its correlation to data breaches among global organizations in the financial services, retail, and travel and hospitality industries, among other sectors.
Verizon's cybersecurity research has consistently found that since 2009 organizations suffering a data breach showed lower than normal compliance with a number of PCI DSS controls.
By reducing the likelihood of being breached, companies can better manage their brand, ensure consumer trust and potentially avoid hefty fees. In fact, 69 percent of all consumers are less inclined to do business with a breached organization.
"Today's cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing," said Rodolphe Simonetti, managing director, professional services for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. "Compliance at a point in time isn't sufficient to protect data. Putting the focus on making compliance sustainable is key. It must be a part of day-to-day activities within an organization's greater security strategy."
Key 2015 PCI Findings Overview
This year's findings indicate that only 29 percent of companies are still fully PCI DSS-compliant less than a year after being validated. While annual compliance and ongoing control standard maintenance remains low, there is a bright spot in the 2015 report.
Almost twice as many companies were validated as compliant during their interim compliance review in 2014 as compared with 2013.
According to Simonetti, "The three key areas where organizations fall out of compliance are: regularly testing security systems, maintaining secure systems and protecting stored data. Of all the data breaches studied, Verizon's findings clearly show that not a single company was fully PCI DSS-compliant at the time of the breach."
Additional key findings from the report include:
- Between 2013 and 2014, compliance increased for 11 of the 12 PCI DSS controls or, in other words, 60 percent of companies assessed in 2014 were compliant with any given Requirement.
- The average increase in compliance was 18 percentage points.
- The biggest jump in compliance was in authenticating access (Requirement 8).
- The only area where compliance fell was testing security systems (Requirement 11), from 40 percent to 33 percent.
Another troubling trend from this year's report is that data security is still inadequate, said Simonetti. The volume and scale of data breaches in the past 12 months is proof that current security techniques are not stopping attackers — in many cases they aren't even slowing them down. PCI DSS compliance must be viewed as part of a comprehensive information security and risk-management strategy. A PCI DSS assessment can uncover important security gaps that should be fixed, but it is not a guarantee that the data is safe from a cyberattack.
2015 PCI Compliance Report From Verizon Enterprise Solutions
This year's report covers three years of data and includes the results from PCI assessments conducted by Verizon's team of PCI Qualified Security Assessors for Fortune 500 and large multinational firms in more than 30 countries.
In the report, Verizon offers an in-depth analysis of each of the 12 PCI requirements, including a look at compliance against the 3.0 standard, with an eye toward the soon-to-be-released 3.1 standard.
The 2015 report also includes details of how and where companies fall out of compliance once achieved, and recommendations on how to make compliance easier, featuring actionable recommendations for enterprises that want to stay PCI compliant.
Similar to Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report series, the PCI report is based on actual casework and is the only report of its kind in the industry. The report series analyzes PCI DSS assessment data, with a specific focus on the financial services (30 percent), retail (26 percent) and hospitality (15 percent) industries across the Americas (55 percent), Europe (23 percent) and the Asia-Pacific region (22 percent).
The 2015 PCI report can be downloaded at http://vz.to/PCIR15X .
Verizon Enterprise Solutions creates global connections that generate growth, drive business innovation and move society forward. With industry-specific solutions provided over the company's secure mobility, cloud, strategic networking and advanced communications platforms -- Verizon helps open new opportunities around the world for innovation, investment and business transformation. Visit www.verizonenterprise.com to learn more.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 108 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. A Dow 30 company with more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 177,300. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.
VERIZON ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS ONLINE NEWS CENTER: News releases, blog posts, media contacts and other information are available in Verizon Enterprise Solutions' online News Center at http://www.verizonenterprise.com/about/news. News from Verizon Enterprise Solutions is also available through an RSS feed at http://www.verizonenterprise.com/rss-options/.


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Birch water serum? Homegrown skincare business takes root in Yukon
Yukon Innovation Prize winners started selling products online in November — and soon sold out
Joanne Sherrard's fledgling business is literally homegrown — the raw material for her skincare line grows right outside her door in Dawson City, Yukon.
"We just we tap the birch trees actually in my backyard, and we then use that birch water to create a birch bio-ferment," Sherrard explained.
In November, she and her business partner Elise McCormick launched Aurum Skincare online, selling "calming" birch serum and birch masks — topical skincare products pitched as "soothing nourishment for dehydrated and reactive skin."
"Birch water has been used for a long time for people to drink, and has great hydrating properties in it," Sherrard said.
"We wanted to emphasize that hydrating capacity."
In 2017, Sherrard and McCormick pitched their idea as a candidate for the Yukon Innovation Prize — an annual award geared towards a certain area of innovation. The theme that year was health and wellness.
"We thought, 'Well this was kind of meant to be, let's try and see what happens,'" Sherrard recalled. "We felt that it was a timely opportunity."
They were right — their idea won the $60,000 prize, and Sherrard said the money allowed them to get their business off the ground much faster than they otherwise would have.
"It allowed us to test for shelf stability, it allowed us to bring on board a design team to help us with the packaging, to allow us to bring into production something that we wanted to share with other Yukoners and Canadians," Sherrard said.
It didn't take long for their first batch of products to sell out. According to their website, all products are on backorder.
"We sold out in about a month, which we really hadn't anticipated but was very exciting."
Sherrard said they're happy keeping the business small for now, but that could change.
"Depending on how many trees that you tap [for birch water], you could really expand the business — depending on what it was that we were wanting to do," she said.
"I do feel that there is opportunity for growth."
- MORE NORTH NEWS | Yukon 'cowboy at heart' Bill Thomson dies at age 97
- MORE NORTH NEWS | Alaska Highway no road to recovery for Yukon caribou herd
With files from Claudiane Samson/Radio-Canada


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Plans for Roanoke’s first downtown grocery store at Sixteen West are humming along, as are plans for a cafe and a wood-fired pizza restaurant.
The Sixteen West development on Church Avenue (most recently the Downtown Sports Club) is already home to Carilion’s RAC Xpress, Core Chiropractic and Wellness Center, and eight one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The grocery store, cafe and restaurant are expected to open this spring, said Amelia Glaser. She and her business partner, Mark Linson, are opening the businesses.
Glaser, of Salem, described the grocery store as a specialty cheese shop that will also carry fresh, local produce and dry bulk items as well as staples such as bread and Homestead Creamery milk. The grocery store will have a salad bar and offer meals to go, Glaser said. The store is named S&W Market after the S&W Cafeteria that used to be in the Church Avenue building.
Glaser is a self-described cheese specialist who’s worked at Fresh Market and Ukrops. She said she’s always wanted to bring a specialty cheese shop to downtown Roanoke, and the grocery store provided an opportunity to do that.
Cafe 16, will serve Floyd County’s Red Rooster coffee, as well as tea, smoothies, pastries and breakfast foods, Glaser said. To-go items, such as wraps, will also be available.
The restaurant, Cork and Crust, will feature tapas and wood-fired pizzas, as well as wine and craft beers.
We previously reported that Comfort Cuisine, a Roanoke catering company, was opening the grocery store. Phone numbers for the business and business owner are disconnected. Several of the businesses listed as pick up points on Comfort Cuisine’s website told me they haven’t seen the owners in months. If I find out more I’ll post an update.
Update 2:45 p.m.: John Garland, who developed Sixteen West, told me in an email today that Comfort Cuisine is no longer in business.


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Mobile – Again.
Yes, as I have stated before in my last blog post, thoughts on mobile marketing, and I will say again – This market isn’t going away, but will only get bigger and better! In my last post, I described and provided an overview from my perspective, the mobile market, its potential, user trends, and where I anticipated it heading. In this post, I’ll look at how one of the biggest players might get taken down a peg.
Who is now perceived to be the big bad guy? Google. It’s not Microsoft, nope, they were able to capitalize and get what they wanted from Yahoo. Wow, really, there are benefits of not being number 1! Now it is Google that is in the hot seat. The skinny is that Google wants to own the biggest mobile ad network, AdMob. It is simple, Google understands the power, value, direction, potential, reach, or any other adjective a marketer can use to describe its value proposition of why they want it so bad.
Problem is, the FTC thinks this might make Google too big.
Since the announcement, there has been a ton of press based around some of the specifics of the HUGE business deal. Google is definitely working closely with FTC so they can eventually wrap this thing up, put a pretty bow on it and call it a “beta”.
Google’s position when the deal was announced was, “we don’t see any regulatory issues with this deal, because the rapidly growing mobile advertising space is highly competitive with more than a dozen mobile ad networks.” – Google
Google is complying and they obviously feel the market has many players that can compete and own a piece of the pie.
Within the mobile ad-network market, and even though Google appears to be the bad guy amongst this new frontier of advertising, there is definitely a “sleeper,” Apple. Is it just buzz, or does this hip digital organization have an ad network plan of their own, with Quattro Wireless, but are they going to make a similar announcement? How will this pivot the outcome of the due diligence that the FTC is doing currently on the Google – AdMob deal? I guess we will find out very soon, as it is rumored that Apple has plans announce this week!
I think that this deal could be extremely positive for the industry. The mobile market is still young and growing. Google is fortunate to be in a place where they can take risk with opportunity and try and make something of it. Google has proven that it is a leader and develops great products. The anti-trust issue is always an issue; however there are other competitors that will challenge what Google is on the verge of. What else could we see? Is it possible that we could hear of other big announcements coming from competitors like Third Screen Media, Jumptap, or even the MSN Ad Network?
Agencies and advertisers hang on tight! Let’s get through this, let them play ball, and then advertisers can really start exploring these new vehicles and opportunities in mobile advertising! Eventually, after the dust settles, this space will move forward, it’s going to move FAST and it will be led by some of the industry super stars, regardless of the organization they are affiliated with.


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On June 29, 2015, Nortek Security & Control LLC, a Nortek Inc. company, acquired mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) and telehealth business assets from privately held Numera Inc.
Headquartered in Seattle, Numera creates mobile PERS products and cloud-based software platforms that enable providers and healthcare-related companies to create new safety and health monitoring services for their customers. These services extend beyond PERS to the healthy aging, chronic condition management and post-acute care markets. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Numera.
Numera Libris, a mobile PERS solution, integrates safety and health monitoring capabilities in one wearable mobile device. Libris features instant hands-free communication, automated fall detection, location services and two-way voice communication, and it is designed to operate virtually anywhere.
“Acquiring this business is an important technology initiative for our Security & Control Solutions segment,” said Michael J. Clarke, Nortek president and CEO. “Combining Numera’s mobile PERS technologies with Nortek’s traditional PERS and on-premises security and home automation offerings will position us at the forefront of today’s aging-in-place technology trends. It also provides us with a point of entry and the opportunity to lead in an evolving, fast-growing market, as well as the potential to realize top-line synergies by cross selling between Nortek’s existing home security and PERS dealer networks and Numera’s impressive client base.”
“The markets for premises and personal security are converging, and our dealers are looking to suppliers to address this convergence,” said Michael O’Neal, president of Nortek Security & Control. “Nortek is firmly established as a leading supplier of traditional PERS solutions within the home, and Numera’s mobile platforms provide seniors and those with special needs with personal security whether at home or away. In addition, Numera’s health status monitoring capabilities target the rapidly emerging telehealth market, making the transaction an even more exciting opportunity for us.”
“Numera brings a customer base Nortek didn’t have,” said Duane Paulson, senior vice president of product and market development, Nortek. “I’ve talked with several customers since the acquisition, and the feedback has been universally positive. Not just our current customers, but also our perspective customers are as much if not more interested in the aging in place and health and wellness solutions as they are in home control and security solutions; we see those things converging. Numera brings a certain customer group to us as part of the deal that we as Nortek simply didn’t have before.”
“Numera was founded around patient management and telehealth related services, generally targeted at certain chronic diseases,” said Numera CEO Tim Smokoff. “About four years ago we got interested in the confluence of personal emergency safety response, which was largely private pay, integrated with telehealth related services as a means of helping seniors live healthier longer. What we were looking to do was create a solution — not just a device itself, but really a cloud-based offering that had applicability to family members and professional health workers for the engagement and interaction with those seniors. This marriage blending Numera’s health and wellness solution expertise with Nortek’s market-leading smart control offerings positions the company to take full advantage of this rapidly growing market opportunity.”
Paulson said having the some common customers is one of the synergies that make the two a good fit. “More people in the security industry want to offer these types of services as a way to increase RMR. Numera’s cloud-based solution is a good fit with Nortek’s finance and international reach.
Paulson said Nortek purchased certain assets from Numera, not a business. He added that Nortek will use the Numera brand as its flagship brand in health and wellness base.
“More and more security providers are looking to get into PERS,” said Smokoff. “Our goals are offering a broader portfolio applicable to a younger demographic and developing a network effect to family members to capture and retain that relationship longer.”
Visit www.nortekcontrol.com for information.


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There have been a few Firefox OS developer phones floating around but now, Mozilla has announced the first official Firefox OS handset at Mobile World Congress: The ZTE Open.
It's not a high-powered guy, packing a Cortex A5 processor, and a 3.5-inch display. It's like a glance into Android's past. Information beyond that is a bit lacking at the moment, but more is sure to come out during Mozilla's live press conference and as MWC powers on. And hey, it's a start.
The ZTE Open isn't alone though. Acatel also has a phone coming out for the new OS, the One Touch Fire. Like the Open, the One Touch Fire is a pretty basic phone with 3.5-inch screen, a 1GHz processor, 512MB storage (plus a 2GB SD card) and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It's due for a June launch in Latin America and Europe.
In addition to the ZTE Open, and Acatel One Touch Fire, Mozilla is promising a roll-out of additional Snapdragon-powered phones from manufacturers Huawei and LG, in markets that include Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. Announcements about additional markets are on the way. And the US? According to CEO Gary Kovacs there are plans in the works, and you can expect and arrival sometime in 2014. [Engadget, Mozilla, The Verge]


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Activision has revealed that the next movie-based mission for 007 Legends comes from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
The mission takes James Bond to the Swiss Alps as players make their way through a downhill ski chase and cable car encounter.
Announced earlier this year, 007 Legends features missions spanning six different movies from the franchise's history, including upcoming release Skyfall.
007 Legends will tie together the famous movie missions with a brand new overarching story.
It also contains four-person, split-screen multiplayer, and sees the return of the MI6 Ops missions, which made their debut in GoldenEye 007: Reloaded.
The game is being developed by Eurocom, the team behind the recent GoldenEye 007: Reloaded release.
007 Legends will release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC from October 16 in North America and October 19 in Europe.
Watch the debut trailer for 007 Legends below:


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16 December 2018
Visiongain has launched a new pharma report Global Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market Report : Biologics, Non-Biologics, NSAIDs, sDMARDs and Others.
Demand for RA drugs is on the rise, particularly in developing countries. The TNF inhibitors, which have dominated the market so successfully, are now coming to the end of their patents, opening the way for new biologics and biosimilars to compete for their share of the market. Following the launch of Xeljanz there are other oral DMARDs in development which could potentially undermine the role of the biologics. Changes in the next few years will be critical in determining the future treatment for RA.
The lead analyst of the report commented "one factor driving growth in this market is the discovery of new molecules that are involved in the disease process, hence, new strategies for treating the disease. Molecules such as TNFα, interleukin 6, interleukin 1, and janus kinase have all enabled the development of new treatments to target these molecules.
There are also several restraints on the RA drugs market which discourage the introduction of new drugs. One of these is the increasing pressure from governments to reduce the size of healthcare budgets and restrict the price of drugs. There are also drives to encourage physicians to prescribe generics and biosimilars rather than branded products, and to increase the percentage of patients who receive such products from year to year."
Leading companies featured in the report include AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BMS, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, UCB
Notes for Editors
If you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, please send an e-mail to email@example.com or call her on +44 (0) 207 336 6100
Visiongain is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative independent media companies in Europe. Based in London, UK, Visiongain produces a host of business-to-business reports cusing on the automotive, aviation, chemicals, cyber, defence, energy, food & drink, materials, packaging, pharmaceutical and utilities sectors.
Visiongain publishes reports produced by analysts who are qualified experts in their field. Visiongain has firmly established itself as the first port of call for the business professional who needs independent, high-quality, original material to rely and depend on.
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