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The Whole30 Program is a popular new diet that advocates cutting all added sugars, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy and several common food additives from your diet for 30 days. Instead, you’ll fill your plate with meat, seafood, eggs, “tons of vegetables,” fruit and healthy fats from oils, nuts and seeds. (If that sounds a lot like some other popular diet programs, you’re not crazy. There’s a good deal of overlap between Whole30, Paleo and FODMAP-excluding diets.)
Follow through with the Whole30, and its creators say the diet will “put an end to unhealthy cravings and habits, restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, and balance your immune system.” Those changes could lead to weight loss, higher energy levels, better sleep, improved focus and mental clarity and even “a sunnier disposition,” they say.
Nutrition experts don’t disagree. There’s no question many, many Americans would feel better if they stripped out added sugars and refined carbs from their diets. Some experts believe sugar is toxic, and it’s been shown to promote inflammation and has been linked to depression. Some of the other foods on the Whole30 list of no-nos have also been linked to inflammation and its associated health harms.
“[Whole 30] is, essentially, an elimination diet,” says Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. By cutting out certain foods or food groups (as Whole30 does) and adding them back in one at a time (something Whole30 is less clear about), you can identify triggers of food sensitivities or allergies and calm their symptoms, from bloating and body aches to fatigue, he says. “It’s a time-honored, clinical approach, and certainly can work.”
So what’s not to like? A lot, say some nutrition experts.
For one thing, the 30-day diet period doesn’t make any sense, says Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. “In a clinical setting, we put patients on these sorts of restrictive diets for three months, because the immune system needs three months to shut off,” he explains. “Thirty days isn’t enough time to turn off systemic inflammation.”
Another problem: Whole30 doesn’t have much regard for an individual’s symptoms or health history. It targets everything, and all at once.
While it’s true that all the foods on the Whole30 naughty list can cause inflammation or other health harms, that’s only the case for small subsets of the population, Fasano says. “For everyone else, cutting some of these foods will have no benefit.”
Removing some of these foods could even have unhealthy consequences. People suffering from fatigue, foggy thinking or some of the other ailments Whole30 claims to remedy may have underlying diseases or existing nutritional shortfalls that an unstructured elimination diet could worsen. Fasano mentions internal bleeding, joint or bone pain, vision issues and constipation as a few risks associated with nutrient shortfalls that could result from attempting the Whole30 plan without a doctor’s supervision. “Also, teenagers who try something like this during a crucial time for growth—that could be very dangerous,” he says.
Other experts agree. “This kind of plan is really for the walking well,” says Dr. Gerard Mullin, director of Johns Hopkins’s Celiac Disease Clinic. While healthy adults probably won’t have issues after 30 days of restrictive eating, someone with a preexisting condition could “crash” on this kind of plan, “meaning they become very weak or very sick,” he says.
This creates a paradox: If you’re healthy, there may be little reason to adopt the Whole30 diet in the first place. If you’re not healthy, the program could help—or it could make you feel worse.
“Cutting sweets and junk food out of the diet isn’t a bad thing, but grains and legumes can be beneficial for gut flora,” Mullin says. “Remove them, and you could shift your microbiome in an unfavorable sense.”
All that aside, the biggest reservation experts have about Whole30 is that the program is murky when it comes to how you should eat once those first 30 days are up. If you feel good, it’s unclear how or when you should start eating some of the foods you cut out. And if you continue to avoid those foods beyond the 30 days, there’s little guidance on how to structure your diet to avoid harmful nutritional shortfalls.
“There is no emphasis here on acquiring a full set of skills for healthy living,” Katz says. “So it’s not even possible to know if the diet that results from this will be healthful.” In this way, he says much of the Whole30 plan is “standard ‘go on a diet’ salesmanship.”
“People are always looking for the Holy Grail diet that will fix all their problems,” Mullin adds. “But if you’re not a sugar junkie and you’re eating healthy, there’s no reason to be on this kind of specialized diet.”
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Cell phone firms' dream demographic: Latinos
Latinos lean more heavily on their mobiles than other ethnic groups, and slow-to-notice companies are getting the message
Published 4:00 am, Sunday, May 4, 2008
The cell phone, with its camera, music player and Web browser, has been likened to a modern day Swiss army knife - but few users routinely take advantage of all its features.
One ethnic group, however, is increasingly relying on the various applications the ubiquitous mobile gadget has to offer. Recent surveys and research indicate that Latinos depend on their cell phones for more services than other ethnic groups, turning to it for messaging, downloading music, surfing the Web and e-mailing.
It is a relationship created out of culture, social preferences and necessity, observers and users say.
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"We've known that culture and ethnicity make a difference in technology use," said Jorge Schement, a communications professor at Penn State University. "What's interesting for cell phone use for Latinos is they bear a larger communication load than Anglos. Things other people do on computers, a lot of Latinos do on cell phones."
Latinos are the second-heaviest users of voice minutes behind African Americans, according to a survey by Nielsen Mobile. But it's the nonvoice usage data that show how strong the link is between Latinos and their cell phones.
According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey released last month, Latinos were the most likely - at 54 percent - to say it would be difficult to give up their cell phone. That compared with 51 percent of African American and 49 percent of white respondents.
The reason appears to be because they're doing more with their cell phones. According to the same survey, on a typical day, Latinos were more likely to use their phone to send or receive a text message, play a mobile game, send or receive e-mail, access the Internet, play music, instant message, or get a map or directions. Fifty-six percent of Latinos said they did at least one of these activities, compared with 50 percent for African Americans and 38 percent for whites.
The numbers are supported by a Forrester Research survey last year that found Latinos were more likely than other users to text, instant or picture message, send e-mail, check the weather, get news or sports updates, research entertainment, check financial accounts and receive stock quotes through their phone. This occurs despite the fact that Latino mobile users have a mean household income of $50,000, compared with $59,000 for non-Latino mobile customers, according to Forrester.
Professor Felipe Korzenny, who leads the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, said Latinos place a higher value on staying in touch with family and friends, who are often spread out around the United States and across the border. He said Latino landline phone bills historically have been higher than average as a result.
That same drive to connect has migrated to the cell phone, with people relying on text messaging, picture messaging and instant messaging to stay in contact.
The cell phone also better serves a more untethered community, especially recent immigrants who value portability over traditional landlines, said Federico Subervi, a journalism and mass communication professor at Texas State University.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinos were the most likely among racial and ethnic groups to have abandoned a landline, with 15.3 percent of adults saying they have cut the cord in favor of a mobile phone.
"If you're a recent immigrant moving up the ladder, getting different jobs in different places, there is higher fee to disconnect and install a landline," Subervi said. "With a cell, you just go down and buy it at the mall or corner shop. It's easier."
The cell phone in some cases is being used as the primary computer for Latinos, serving up e-mail and the Internet, in the process bridging what has been called the digital divide that still exists for some minority and disadvantaged groups.
According to Forrester Research, 84 percent of Latino mobile data users have a computer at home - compared with 90 percent for non-Latinos - and 66 percent of Latino mobile users have broadband access at home compared with 70 percent for other mobile users.
Oscar Escobar, a 28-year-old San Francisco dishwasher who emigrated from El Salvador, said he needs his cell phone to do more than just make calls. On a recent shopping trip at a San Francisco AT&T store, he said he doesn't have a camera, an MP3 player or an Internet-connected computer at home. His next phone, he hopes, will fill that role.
"It's not a matter of money, it's more about what it does," Escobar said. "I'm ready for the next step up for my phone. This phone will be very important for me because I can have my camera, my computer, text messaging, music all in one."
Penn State's Schement believes the lower home connectivity rate is part of the reason why many Latinos are using their phones for more Internet and messaging. It's a more accessible and cheaper on-ramp to the Internet.
For Aida Ramirez, a Sonoma domestic caregiver, the cell phone is a key link between her and her family, many of whom are in Jalisco, Mexico. She said she is constantly picture messaging her family, sending updates on news both mundane and vital. Sometimes, her cell phone bill reaches $300 a month, a price she said she's willing to pay to remain in contact.
Ramirez recently sent her sister pictures of her car following an accident. But she also sent a shot of a leather chair that she thought another sister would like. While she has access to a computer with Internet service at home, Ramirez shares it with her four kids, who are often working on it for school.
"I want my kids, my family to stay close and we do it by phone," said Ramirez, 46. "Using e-mail is good at home, but the kids use the computer and I'm working all day until late. The phone, you can use it anywhere."
Cell phone carriers are aware of the importance mobile phones play in the Latino community and have tailored some of their marketing and sales to tap into this group.
Early on, however, some cell phone executives were unclear on how big the opportunity was, said Hendrik Schouten, director of marketing for the Hispanic segment at AT&T. He said carriers assumed Latino users wanted the cheapest phones and were more likely to use prepaid plans because of limited budgets. But it became clear that wasn't the case when Latinos were among the biggest buyers of the Motorola Razr, which sold for $600 initially before coming down in price. And, he said, 90 percent of Latinos are post-paid subscribers.
"The Hispanic segment is not an afterthought," Shouten said. "They are really powerful mobile users."
AT&T has responded by opening Latino-oriented stores nationwide that offer bilingual sales staffs and information. One such store that opened in San Francisco's Mission District two weeks ago featured an appearance by celebrity Dr. Ana Maria Polo from Telemundo's "Caso Cerrado," who drew a crowd of 5,000 fans.
The carriers have all gone to great lengths to court Latino consumers, often using Latino celebrities like Polo. Sprint-Nextel is sponsoring Colombian pop star Juanes, who has premiered some of his songs for download on Sprint's mobile music store. Verizon Wireless has sponsored singer Shakira's U.S. concert tour in the past. The operators also are creating more mobile services in Spanish to attract consumers, like AT&T's GPS navigation service.
Izaac Mizrahi, director of multicultural marketing for Sprint said Latinos are quick to embrace new technology, seeing in it as way to get ahead in life. The mobile phone as a piece of technology, he said, seems uniquely suited to Latinos.
"Latinos are open to new technology. The marriage of all these wireless services makes it relevant to these consumers," Mizrahi said. "It's a perfect marriage between Hispanics and mobile telephone service."

domain: news


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Nothing ground breaking, but it would appear UK banking consumers are starting to feel the pain of increased online banking security trade-offs, due to UK banks trying to save money by cutting previously acceptable losses from online account fraud.
"One person, one bank: three devices
But despite the evidence that new measures are more than just inconvenient, many banks are pressing ahead. Lloyds, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, RBS and Nationwide Building Society all require customers to use a card reader when amendments are made to standing orders, direct debits or when setting up payments.
"This is called two-factor authentication," said independent bank security expert Dave Whitelegg.
How two-factor authentication works
The idea is that no fraudster can access your account, however much they know about your life, your pets and your mother's maiden name, unless they also physically possesses the device. "It's the same theory as for chip and pin," Whitelegg told MSN.
The biggest worry for banks is phishing attacks, by which fraudsters send emails hoping to get customers to log into cloned bank websites and enter their details, which are then captured and used to empty the real accounts.
"Phishing emails are sent out by the million, so even if 0.1% of recipients fall for them, they are a success," Whitelegg said.
Most such phishing attempts are easy to spot, failing to address the customer by name and littered with bad grammar and mis-spelling. But a new generation are more convincing. They may not only have your name, but much more convincing cloned websites.
Mobile banking: a worrying new frontier
The next frontier in banking fraud is coming with smartphones, which are increasingly enabled for transactions, but which experts say add a new vulnerability.
"They have never been targeted before, so they have never matured with fraud in the same way that PCs have," Whitelegg said.
Sending a text to confirm payment changes, which Santander among others allows, will become less secure if the entire transaction was originated from a stolen mobile.
So who are the people behind online fraud? There is a whole ecosystem out there, with software masterminds writing key logger and phishing programmes and devising convincing copies of bank websites. Then there are communities of hackers and fraudsters who meet online, and buy this software off the shelf, Whitelegg says.
The result is that just a few clever people have seeded a whole crime industry for thousands of criminals who would never have the brains to devise the whole process themselves.
How you can protect yourself
There are no absolutely foolproof ways to avoid data or identity theft but here are a few sensible precautions.
1) Treat your personal data like cash: Don't leave it lying around. Shred unwanted documents, don't disclose financial details or potential answers to security question (eg your mother's maiden name) except on verifiable and encrypted sites.
2) Use reputable anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
3) Never download an attachment from an untrusted source as it may contain viruses.
4) Phishing attempts usually begin with alarming warnings about a breach of your security. Banks never alert their customers this way. Even if you are concerned by an email, either ring your bank, or type in the web address from a bank statement. Never follow a link on the email.
5) Change your email address so it's not identical to your real name as used in any financial accounts, so you can easily spot crude phishing attempts which address you by your email name.
6) If you must write down passwords or security details, disguise them. This is particularly important if they are kept on a computer. Use a long and secure password to 'lock' laptops.
7) When inputting details onto a bank website, don't input them in the same order as the questions appear, and use the mouse rather than tab buttons to move around the screen. This can help foil key loggers and other trojan devices.
8) Go ex-directory: keeping your phone details out of circulation stops most phone-based frauds as well as irritating sales calls.
9) If your bank phones you unexpectedly, protect your interests by asking THEM a security question. Ask what your balance was on the date of your last statement, or a recent transaction that you can check. Banks will not ask for online security codes by phone, so don't give them. If in doubt say you are going to ring them back on the usual customer service number."


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National Women's Soccer League
It’s hard to recall another team owner who subsequently worked as a front office executive for their league, but NWSL Chief Marketing Officer Julie Haddon hasn’t taken the usual path. She grew up as a sports-obsessed kid in suburban Chicago, with a mom who is one of the Cubs’ most tenured season-ticket holders and a father who played in rec softball leagues until he was 79.
Haddon started out working for Score baseball cards and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but ventured into some of most significant early internet startups, with marketing stints at eBay, PayPal and Twitter. An opportunity to produce the first NFL Women’s Summit during Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco led to a five-year stint as senior vice president of the NFL’s media group and senior vice president of brand and consumer marketing. “Working with that much avidity, whether it’s Pez dispensers with eBay or football with the NFL, is any marketer’s dream,” she said.
More recently, Haddon’s been focusing on that other kind of football. After being an investor in her hometown Chicago Red Stars, she is one of a trio of senior executives drafted by NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman as part of a housecleaning after the 2021 player abuse scandal, which resulted in the departure of five head coaches and former league Commissioner Lisa Baird.
Since Haddon came on last August, there have been steady gains in attendance, ratings and franchise fees — now around $50 million for some of the league’s newest teams. A pending media rights deal will be the next measure of the NWSL’s progress.
Beyond attendance, franchise valuation growth and ratings gains, “I’m proud of our brand’s growth,” Haddon said. “It feels like we are building out the future of women’s sports.” — Terry Lefton
Chief Marketing Officer, National Women’s Soccer League
Education: Indiana University, B.A., journalism
Family: Spouse, Edurne; children, Jakob (15) and twins, Gabriel and Olivia (12)
More about Julie
Something that instantly makes my day better: When I am winning in my EPL fantasy league.
Advice to my younger self: Chase your passion like it is the last bus of the night.
If I did not work in sports, I would be … : A writer for “Saturday Night Live.”
I wish more people understood … : That while I’m a big tech nerd, I love to be at the intersection of tech, sports innovation and building compelling consumer experiences.
Biggest career risk: I left eBay and PayPal to go to Twitter when there were less than 15 people and just 800,000 users.
Proudest professional achievement: Rebuilding the staff and our brand.
I wish I’d known at my career’s start: It’s OK to fail.


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The launch of the Vivo X60t Pro in China looks imminent as the smartphone has now been spotted on the 3C certification website. The phone will be part of the existing series, which already includes the Vivo X60, X60 Pro, X60 Pro+ and X60t.
A Vivo phone with the model number V2120A has appeared on the China 3C website and is possibly the Vivo X60t Pro model. The listing has not revealed much information, but it shows that there is a 5G smartphone with 33W fast charging.
Vivo X60t Pro expected features
The specifications of the Vivo X60t Pro are largely under wraps at the moment, but it looks like the phone will be similar to the regular X60t, but with a few tweaks. The device will be a 5G phone and will support 33W fast charging just like the vanilla model. However, it is not yet clear whether there will be the same chipset.
Vivo X60t features and specs
The Vivo X60t has a 6.59-inch FHD + AMOLED display and it features a punch-hole camera. The MediaTek Dimensity 1100 5G chipset, which supports dual SIM standby, powers the Vivo X60t. The processor is combined with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Vivo X60t comes with OriginOS 1.0 based on Android 11.
The Vivo smartphone sports triple rear cameras including a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 13-megapixel portrait lens. There is a 32 megapixel camera on the front of the phone for selfies.
The phone has a 4300 mAh battery and supports 33W fast charging. Some other key features are – an in-display fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and more.
The Vivo X60t Pro may come with similar specs, but with a few changes under the hood.
ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Spotted On Official Website; Launch Imminent?


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M&S top team hit by fresh turmoil as key director announces she's going on maternity leave
Maternity leave: M&S director Laura Wade-Gery
The senior team at embattled Marks & Spencer was plunged into fresh upheaval after a key director announced she would be on maternity leave this autumn and over the crucial Christmas trading period.
Laura Wade-Gery, 50, has been tipped as heir apparent to chief executive Marc Bolland and last year added the entire 800 UK store network to her existing responsibilities as online guru.
Wade-Gery’s four month-long break from M&S (down 1p at 533p) – starting on September 1 – was deemed so significant that the company informed the stock market news service in a statement.
She will return to the business in early January.
Wade-Gery’s lieutenants Sacha Berendji, director of retail, and David Walmsley, director of M&S.com, will report directly to Bolland.
New finance director Helen Weir will be responsible for the distribution of items bought on the website during this period.
Weir, along with new clothing boss Steve Rowe, are also seen as possible contenders for Bolland’s job when he eventually moves on.
M&S has seen a string of recent departures with former clothing director Steve Dixon leaving suddenly, and last week Frances Russell, head of womenswear, also parted company with the firm.
Wade-Gery, an Oxford history graduate, joined M&S from Tesco where she ran the online business.
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"The Chinese side has repeatedly emphasized that the only correct way to solve the trade dispute between China and the United States is through talk and consultation on the basis of equity, integrity and mutual respect", spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing.
"So the question about whether or when to have a discussion is very importantly in their ballpark", Ross told CNBC.
Premier Li Keqiang's comments add to Beijing's effort to portray itself as a defender of global trade and multilateralism in the face of complaints by Washington and other trading partners about industry policies they say violate its market-opening commitments.
It is true, as Mr Ross noted earlier in his CNBC interview, that the administration has thus far devised such tariffs to minimize sticker shock on retail store shelves for U.S. customers.
"China wants to come over and talk".
Next year, though, those products will nearly certainly grow noticeably more expensive.
By imposing taxes on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, President Donald Trump has intensified a battle of wills between the world's two largest economies - and the outcome is far from certain.
China's No. 2 leader appealed Wednesday for support for free trade and promised to improve conditions for foreign companies following tit-for-tat US and Chinese tariff hikes in an escalating battle over Beijing's technology policy.
Tariffs are ultimately a tax on businesses and consumers, and with each new round, the administration is bringing them closer to home for the typical American. "In the aggregate, household budgets will feel the impact".
The new tariffs could also sidetrack trade talks in Washington, D.C., set for next week between US and Chinese officials.
3,9% en agosto, la más alta del año — Inflación indómita
Los bienes tuvieron una variación de 3,2%, mientras que los servicios tuvieron una variación de 5% con respecto al mes anterior. Con el nuevo dato de agosto, el incremento de precios ya acumula un crecimiento interanual del 34,4%.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his speech as he and China's President Xi Jinping meet business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2017.
Things have gone downhill from there.
But what's clear is that the latest fight in the escalating trade war is likely, one way or another, to affect consumers, companies, markets, the economy and the political landscape.
The latest set of US tariffs will go into effect on Monday.
Those measures could have a big effect on all Minnesotans. A wide variety of fish, including sea bass and sturgeon, as well as nuts, fruit, vegetables, rice and cereal did not escape the Trump administration's tariffs.
The White House warned Monday that it would respond to any retaliation from Beijing with yet more tariffs on roughly $267 billion of Chinese exports. Such a move would mean that roughly all USA imports of Chinese goods - worth about $505 billion a year ago - would be subjected to tariffs.
To understand why, you have to look at the two major challenges facing China. "We'll see what happens".
Banks said that he hears "every single day" from businesses anxious about the trade war's effects on prices and markets.
The administration is giving USA businesses a chance to adjust and look for alternative supply chains by delaying an increase of the tariff to 25% until next year, two senior administration officials who declined to be identified told reporters by conference call on Monday.
That said, Trump being Trump, he may just as well respond to electoral humiliation by doubling down on his trade war. The calm reaction has some investors saying the markets had already priced in 10 percent tariffs and that it could've been worse. "There are many other moving parts and the rising dollar is offsetting some of the effects". Some analysts anticipate an economic partition reminiscent of the globe-splitting divide between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II.


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The pub sector overpays by £500 million in business rates each year
Businesses in England are required to pay a tax to their local council based on the value of the property that they occupy – these are called business rates. In 2017 40% of pubs were handed an increase in their business rates bill – the result of which is that many have had to put up their prices for consumers to cover their rates increases, or in some cases close for good.
Pubs currently pay 2.8% of the business rates bill but only account for 0.5% of total business turnover, which is an overpayment of around £500 million by the sector each year.
The good news is that the Government has announced a discount of up to 50% for 2022/23, and is undertaking a full review of the business rates system. CAMRA has been calling for this since 2017 and we are campaigning to ensure that this review addresses the ways in which pubs are unfairly burdened.
CAMRA is also committed to working towards a fairer rates system for pubs and clubs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Supporting innovative change
Until 2022, installing technologies like solar panels, heat recovery systems, or certain types of battery bank were counted as improvements that increased the value of a property – meaning businesses would face a tax hike for their use.
A simple change to business rates legislation, called for by CAMRA, was all that was needed to allow licensees and producers to adopt these solutions without the burden of a higher tax bill.
This type of technology is now exempt from business rates calculations, making it more financially accessible for pubs, social clubs, brewers, and cider makers to invest in clean energy.


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Facebook shares are trading over 5% lower in pre-market activity, ahead of the US market open Friday. The declines follows an announcement from Mark Zuckerberg stating the social media platform will make business and brand posts on the news feed less prominent.
By 1410 BST, Facebook shares were 5.31% lower in pre-market activity. The Facebook stock also fell Thursday. However, if the pre-market drop is reflected in the opening move, Facebook is poised to see its value slump.
Zuckerberg shifts focus to well-being
Following Facebook CEO Zuckerberg’s goals for 2018 to ‘fix Facebook’, he announced he was changing the way the news feed shows posts to users. Instead of having a large amount business and brand related posts, the social media site will now ensure more personal posts are visible.
“We've gotten feedback from our community that public content -- posts from businesses, brands and media -- is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other,” Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page.
“We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren’t just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being. So we've studied this trend carefully…research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being,” Zuckerberg’s post states.
Zuckerberg ends his post by admitting that some measure of engagement will fall. However, he adds he expects the time spent on Facebook to “be more valuable.”
Public, community-related posts to be promoted
The move isn’t expected to affect advertising on the site. And, while it does suggest that more personal posts from friends will be considered ‘top news’ on users’ feeds, Zuckerberg’s post also details that community related posts will feature more highly.
“As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media,” Zuckerberg said. “And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard -- it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.”


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We've looked at what is on-demnd warehousing. Now we look at why switch to the model.
A lot of pros, not many cons. We explore the reasons why companies are adopting on-demand warehousing.
Stowga has been invited to speak at the WIRED Retail 2017, on Oct 11, 2017, at Kings Place London.
What does 3PL mean is a commonly asked question in the logistics industry.
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday phenomenon in the UK has resulted in a massive spike in retail sales in Q4 and this seasonal spike is most visible in the toy retail space.
"What on earth is this guy talking about??"


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Jaguar is in the news this time, and plans a game changer by coming up with a 3 series rival. This is one featured product to roll out from Jaguar, as this vehicle will be for the mass market which means taking on the Mercedes Benz C-class, Audi A4 and also the BMW 3 series. This new vehicle is speculated to be named as Jaguar XS and could hit factory floors by the year 2016. This mass market car, would be bringing in Jaguar’s legacy and traits to conquer the Germans and aimed at a new breed of people wanting a unique statement.
The engine could be shared which is currently powering the Land Rover Evoque, but with a few more extra additions and subtractions to compliment emission standards and keeping a good gas mileage on the cards. The speculations are going up, but the vehicle would only be traced in 2016 to further speculate more.


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From the Environmental Defense Fund:
“California is a special place with world famous beaches, majestic scenery, rare wildlife and abundant recreational activities. We now have the opportunity to protect California’s environment by reducing our use of harmful plastic bags.
The Plastic Bag Litter Reduction Act AB 2058 is currently stalled in the California Senate. This historic bill would reduce the use of plastic bags throughout the state. Please send an email today <http://action.edf.org/campaign/CA_plasticbags> —urge your state senator to support this important bill.
Senate leaders need to bring this bill forward for a vote before the California legislative session closes at the end of August.
Each year Californians use 19 billion plastic bags. Those bags end up in landfills—where it takes up to 1000 years from them to decompose—or in the ocean, where they cause severe harm to wildlife. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, birds and marine mammals die each year from ingesting plastic bags. And plastic bags are made from petroleum, contributing to global warming.
Plastics are also harmful to human life because they never fully break down in the environment and end up as toxins that threaten human health. AB 2058 would change all that. It would encourage Californians to take reusable bags to grocery stores and allow for them to purchase a plastic bag when needed. It would also set standards for retailers to recycle plastic bags.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. So simple and yet it stands at risk of being shelved in the California Senate. Please do your part today – send an urgent action alert <http://action.edf.org/campaign/CA_plasticbags> to the California Senate. Tell them not to “bag” AB 2058.”
C’mon people – get off your lazy butts and take a friggin canvas bag with you to the store!! Or carry your box of cereal in your own 2 hands!! I hate it when I see 1 or 2 items get bagged when they could easily be carried out sans plastic!!
Plastics are making their way into our food chain and even showing up in womens’ breast milk for pete’s sake!!!


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HTC Says Adverts Are Coming To BlinkFeed (You’ll Be Able To Opt Out)
HTC’s response to Flipboard never made its way to other devices like we were promised in March of last year, and after today’s news I am glad of that fact.
HTC announced on their blog today that they were adding a fun new update to their news reader app. According to Android Police, HTC is going to be running a pilot program in the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, and China.
The adverts are going to be inserted between the content you actually want to read, rather than as a a pop-up or banner, and could include ads supplied by partners like Yahoo, Twitter, and Appia. HTC also plans to spam you with promotions for new accessories for your mobile device or new HTC devices. As you can see in the screenshot at right, HTC’s advert features the Re camera and includes an Buy Now button.
HTC says this program is just a test, and they’re also promising that they will implement a way for
targets subjects users to opt out. So with luck this program won’t be going anywhere. The company’s general lack of smartphone sales might also kill this program, which is a shame because HTC could really use the boost to the bottom line (they’re not selling very many devices).
Becki June 17, 2015 um 9:09 am
Considering I have Blink Feed turned off anyway, this shouldn’t be a problem. Far as I’m concerned it is only a battery-killer.


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Blog: A test of spirit
Chris Brook-Carter | 13 July 2005
In the end it has been a lesson in patience. Perhaps, though, after four year’s of deal-mongering, collapsed talks, threats of legal action and bureaucratic mismanagement, the greatest lesson to be learnt from the sale of Polmos Bialystok is, think twice before entering into talks with state-run enterprises.
We have a certain amount of affection for the Bialystok sale story here, because it is almost as old as just-drinks is. In fact, the first reference of efforts to privatise Poland’s second largest vodka producer in our archives is on 31 May 2001. And, incredibly, that was a story suggesting talks over the second effort to sell the business were close to collapse.
Since then, Allied Domecq, Vin & Sprit, Bols, Pernod Ricard, Eckes and Belvedere have all been seen at one time or another as front runners to claim victory in the number of bidding processes that have taken place.
In the end, a company that was barely around when all this began, Central European Distribution Corporation (CEDC), has today (12 July) all but sewn things up. CEDC is to acquire a 61% stake in Polmos Bialystok for PLN 1.06 billion (US$312m), according to a share purchase agreement with the Polish Treasury Ministry.
In return for its patience and money – other players are thought to have balked in the past at the high asking price - it gets what so many companies before it have failed to acquire or just given up on, a leading slice in one of the most powerful vodka markets in the world.
International interest in the Polish vodka market is fuelled by both the potential in exports and a local market of 39m traditional vodka drinkers. Bialystok not only owns two of the most important brands in all of that, Zubrowka and Absolwent, but a sizeable share of those 39m consumers.
All that said, the deal is not finalised yet, and it would take a brave man - or one who had imbibed a few too many Zubrowka – to bet against another twist in this tale. Leading CEDC rival Sobieski Dystrybucja has already charged the Treasury with handling the sale incorrectly and filed a notification with the prosecutor’s office to that effect. This story has time to run yet.
Heineken is known for its flashy adverts. Now the brewer has given the star treatment to a new recruitment drive with a glamorous and highly-persuasive ad that, quite frankly, had the staff here at...
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Better-than-expected quarterly deliveries demonstrated the success of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s strategy to increase volumes through discounts, causing Tesla (TSLA.O) shares to increase by roughly 7% on Monday.
Due to the day’s advances, the market capitalization of the largest US electric vehicle maker increased by about $57 billion to $887 billion.
At $277, The stock has more than quadrupled in value so far this year and is well over analyst price estimates, prompting several brokerages to express concern that margins will suffer as a result of the aggressive discounting spree.
Rivian Automotive (RIVEN.O), an electric vehicle manufacturer based in Irvine, California, beat market expectations for second-quarter deliveries on Monday, despite having a difficult time ramping up production due to supply chain difficulties for months.
The stock ended the holiday-shortened session up 17.4%, reaching its highest level in more than four months.
Tesla’s Impressive Q2 Deliveries Surge By 83% Year-On-Year
According to analysts, Rivian may be able to gain market share in a competitive market if demand remains steady and efforts are made to address supply chain issues by building an internal drive unit.
Tesla delivered 466,140 automobiles between April and June, an increase of 10% from the previous quarter and 83% from a year earlier thanks to price reductions.
Additionally, the difference between the number of automobiles Tesla makes and delivers decreased from 17,933 in the first quarter to 13,560 in the second.
The stock’s median price objective is $210, or roughly 20% less than its most recent closing price. Tesla has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 62.9, which is far higher than Ford’s (F.N) 8.82 and close to Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O) 62.66.
In the first quarter, the company had a total gross margin of 19.3%. On July 19, when the company released its second-quarter financial results, Wall Street anticipated the metric to fall to 18.6%.


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A now-defunct national jewelry company has agreed to pay millions in refunds to settle allegations it cheated military families across the country with illegal financing and sales practices for overpriced jewelry, in a settlement announced by the Federal Trade Commission and 18 state attorneys general.
Two of its stores were located on military bases: Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Benning, Georgia.
The company, Harris Originals, based in Hauppage, New York, has agreed to pay $13 million in refunds to 46,204 service members who paid for lifetime protection plans and to stop collecting $21 million in outstanding debt owed by 13,426 service members.
The settlement agreement was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and is pending approval by the court.
In addition, Harris Originals, also known as Harris Jewelry, must provide refunds for overpayments and contact the credit reporting agencies to request removal of negative credit entries. The company must complete the shutdown of its operations once the requirements of the agreement are met.
Service members and veterans who entered into a financing loan starting in January 2014 will be eligible for restitution to the extent they paid for these lifetime protection plans. They’ll receive an email and letter in the mail notifying them of their eligibility; then those customers must apply for their refund.
The 18-state settlement agreement was co-led by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General’s office. Each of the company’s 19 retail stores around the country is separately incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Harris Originals of New York.
Harris Jewelry set up 19 retail stores around the country, including those in exchange malls at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Benning, Georgia, according to court documents.
The other stores were located near military bases in shopping malls with many military customers or at kiosks in airports serving military bases, according to court documents.
The company sold military-themed gifts, jewelry and watches, and nearly all of its sales were made on credit, financed by the company. The stores were located near bases of all branches of service, from Hawaii to San Diego, to San Antonio, to Jacksonville, North Carolina.
The company closed its stores in April 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company will not reopen the stores, Harris Jewelry officials said, in a statement provided to Military Times.
Harris Jewelry neither admits nor denies any of the allegations, according to the proposed settlement agreement. The settlement “resolves these matters in the best interest of all its stakeholders,” company officials stated.
The statement noted its “proud 60-plus-year history serving active duty military personnel, retirees, reservists, National Guard and their families.”
Service members bought jewelry ranging in price from $1,000 to $3,300, according to court documents.
“The company used deceptive marketing tactics to lure active-duty service members to their financing program, falsely claiming that investing in this program would improve service members’ credit scores,” according to the New York Attorney General’s Office. “Instead, service members were tricked into obtaining high-interest loans on overpriced, poor-quality jewelry that saddled them with thousands of dollars of debt and worsened their credit.”
Authorities also allege the company misrepresented that the protection plan was required to finance purchases, failed to provide written disclosures failed to provide oral disclosures at the time of sale as required by the Military Lending Act.
The store at Fort Bliss, Texas, operated from June 2015 to April 2021. The Fort Benning, Georgia, store operated from May 2017 to April 2021, said Julie Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. The jewelry stores operated as concessionaires.
When considering whether a company can establish concession operations with AAFES, officials consider solvency of the business, customer demand, service levels and alignment with Department of Defense contracting and regulations and U.S. law, Mitchell said.
The Harris Jewelry website states it will notify customers that they may be eligible for refunds of the lifetime protection plans — and that the company no longer has to honor those plans.
The site also states that the company isn’t accepting any more payments on loans and that all remaining balances have been written off. They’ve also requested that the three credit bureaus remove all previously reported negative credit entries.
All this is required of the company as part of the settlement agreement.
According to court documents, Harris Jewelry violated federal laws, including the Military Lending Act, “by targeting active duty service members at retail stores across the country and making misleading, false, and unsubstantiated representations that defendants’ retail installment contracts financing the purchase of military-themed gifts, jewelry and watches would improve service members’ credit history.”
“Defendants target their advertising, sales pitch, merchandise, pricing and financing at active duty service members,” alleged the complaint.
The central theme of Harris Jewelry’s sales pitch “is that purchasing from them on credit will, regardless of service members’ credit history or subsequent borrowing or payment activity, improve service members’ credit scores, setting service members up to save thousands of dollars on car loans and obtain military promotions,” the complaint alleges. “Defendants’ representations, however, are misleading, false or unsubstantiated.”
Authorities also alleged that the company used charity pleas as a marketing tactic “to dupe service members into high-priced, deceptive in-house contracts for vastly overpriced jewelry,” according to the New York attorney general’s announcement.
Troops were given varying and conflicting information the amount of money that would be donated to charity.
The states involved in the legal action were California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansa, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
AAFES was not involved in any of the investigations, Mitchell said. However, the Federal Trade Commission announcement stated the FTC and the states “are grateful for the Department of Defense’s coordination and support on this matter.”
The Department of Defense “appreciates the work of the FTC and other partners in protecting service members and their families from such harmful practices and in securing appropriate remedies,” Gilbert R. Cisneros, DoD under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement provided to the FTC. “We believe these efforts contribute to service members’ overall financial well-being and readiness.”
Customers with questions, or those who believe they are eligible for restitution but haven’t been notified, can contact the New York State Attorney General’s Office at (315) 523-6080.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.


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Retail pot shops will be allowed to operate in Ontario as of April 1, 2019, but the provincial government is leaving it up to individual municipalities to decide whether they want to opt in or out of having those stores in their jurisdictions.
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Canada since Oct. 17.
Anthony Di Monte, the city’s general manager of emergency and protective services, said staff are arguing private pot shops should be allowed in Ottawa because doing so would “deter” residents from purchasing weed through the black market. Acquiring cannabis from “a source that’s guaranteed” is also “a better option” from a public health perspective, he said.
Money also factored into staff’s recommendation, according to Di Monte. The stores present economic development opportunities because they will create jobs, he said, adding it’s possible more customers might flock to Ottawa from across the river if Quebec hikes the minimum age to consume cannabis to 21.
On top of that, if it opts in to the stores, the municipality will get access to provincial funding to help with related costs like policing, with the possibility of sharing profits with the province down the road, the city manager said.
The staff recommendation also pointed to public opinion. While the input the city received from residents showed a split in how people feel about the private stores, Di Monte said a closer look at the comments revealed a wider consensus among consumers of marijuana, many of whom reportedly said they would prefer to purchase cannabis from a retail store, rather than through an online store.
The staff recommendation was included in a larger report on federal and provincial cannabis laws tabled at city council on Wednesday, the first meeting of council’s 2018-2022 term.
Councillors will debate the staff report at a special council meeting scheduled for next Thursday, Dec. 13. Members of the public can register to speak on the issue at next week’s meeting.
Ottawa City Council has to decide whether to opt in or out of retail cannabis stores by Jan. 22, 2019. If a municipality chooses to opts out, it can only reverse that decision one time – but it can’t backtrack once it opts in.
During the recent municipal election campaign, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson committed to supporting private cannabis stores in the city. He told reporters he thinks the reasons Di Monte presented to council to back staff’s pro-pot store stance are “legitimate.”
“At the end of the day, I think we can argue until the cows come home about whether it’s the right thing to do or not,” Watson told reporters after council’s meeting. “It is legal to possess cannabis and we should be in the business of providing storefronts for that.”
As it stands now, the municipality would have very limited involvement in the retail cannabis store system, which Watson hopes to change. The province has given responsibility for licensing and regulating the pot stores to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO); the provincial Crown agency will decide who gets to operate the stores and where the shops would be located.
The Ontario government hasn’t set any limits on the number of licences the AGCO can award, but it has said stores must be located at least 150 metres away from schools. After the commission receives an application for a shop in Ottawa, the city will get a 15-day period to comment on the request.
Watson has said he’s been writing and speaking to provincial ministers and MPPs in an effort to convince them that municipalities should be given more authority to control the pot stores’ location and increase their minimum distance from schools. While he said those efforts haven’t yet borne fruit, Watson said he’ll “continue to work on that.”
EKOS poll finds split among residents on pot stores, city survey finds strong majority in favour
The staff report to council suggested a significant number of residents in Ottawa support the city opening its doors to retail cannabis stories but that a divide still exists.
The city commissioned EKOS Research to survey Ottawa residents for their opinions on whether there should be private pot shops in the national capital.
The poll — which surveyed 803 residents, according to the EKOS report — found that 48 per cent said they supported having retail brick-and-mortar stores in the city, while 43 per cent reported they were opposed to the idea and seven per cent said they were undecided.
Among supporters of legalization, however, support for pot shops climbed to 78 per cent. The EKOS report said the poll’s margin of error was within 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The City of Ottawa also conducted an online survey as part of its public consultation process on cannabis stores. The survey received nearly 24,000 responses, according to the city’s report; just under 16,000 of those were tied to people or IP addresses within Ottawa.
Of those 15,888 respondents, about 78 per cent said they strongly or somewhat support having private pot shops in Ottawa. Meanwhile, approximately 20 per cent of the online survey respondents said they are opposed to the stores.
While Di Monte said the response prompted by the online survey was the “largest” the city had ever seen, he warned that “pressure groups” could affect the results.
Until April, Ontarians 19 years of age and older can only purchase legal weed through the online Ontario Cannabis Store.


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Chad Emerson President and CEO of Huntsville’s Downtown Huntsville Inc and KC Conway Director of Research and Corporate Engagement at the Alabama Center for Real Estate and Chief Economist at the CCIM Institute will speak at the International Council of Shopping Center’s 2018 Gulf South Conference in New Orleans February 28 – March 2.
The conference will shine a light on the positive outlook for retail development and the economy in the Gulf South, discuss the future look of downtown development in the southeast and explore potential real estate opportunities under the new tax guidelines.
Emerson will serve as a panelist on ICSC’s Downtown Development Discussion alongside Mary Helmer (President Main Street Consultants), Andrew Rothfeder (President Studer Properties), and Kurt Weigel (President and CEO Downtown Development District of New Orleans).
He and the other panelists will share tactics on creating synergy between local government and existing and emerging downtown retailers.
“In Alabama, sales tax is a large part of cities’ budgets so successful retail is a win-win for the public and the private side. One way that cities can encourage retail success is by allowing flexibility and innovation where the private space and the public space meet. This includes outdoor dining, signage, facade design and the like. Attractive retail exteriors can help attract customers in a big way,” says Emerson.
Emerson continues proffering that it is important to rely on empirical data when making efforts to expand a downtown’s retail presence.
“Don’t recruit retail on a hunch or based on what you think would be cool. Instead, approach it strategically from an empirical perspective that measures real demand. A downtown may ‘want’ a certain type of retailer but, if there is not a proven demand for that retail type, even if you can recruit them to open, they are unlikely to succeed,” says Emerson.
Later that afternoon KC Conway will serve as the keynote speaker, detailing and analyzing new, innovative development trends across the country.
Conway will pay special attention to unconventional mixed use concepts that combine conventional retail and multifamily mixed use with contemporary industries such as logistics and fulfillment.
“Mesquite, Texas recently designed one of the most innovative mixed-use projects by including a logistics component in the mix. FedEx opened a $100 million, 365,000-square-foot logistics and fulfillment facility in an old mall. The development is driving retail back to the area and housing a select few in the same quarters. Jobs drive retail, so it’s only logical to start moving hot industries like logistics and fulfillment into these mixed-use spaces,” says Conway.
Emerson and Conway will share their insight with conference attendees on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at The Roosevelt in New Orleans. For more information about the conference visit:


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It’s October, which means retail stores are currently awash in orange and black—and just as much pink. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, companies across industries are placing pink ribbons on their products and promising to donate a portion of the profits to support breast cancer awareness and research.
A worthy cause? No doubt.
A great cause marketing opportunity for your brand? Not necessarily.
While there’s no doubt that pink products and awareness campaigns are designed and executed by companies with good intentions, some brands risk participating in the cause only to come off as inauthentic, bandwagoning, or hypocritical.
Many breast cancer patients and researchers are actually getting tired of Pinktober. As Anne Rochon Ford, codirector of the National Network on Environments and Women’s Health, put it in an open letter:
An unimaginable array of pink-colored consumer items (some of them laced with carcinogenic compounds) call out to us from all directions. This morning on my way to work I was struck (metaphorically speaking) by a fully pink taxi cab covered in Awareness Month messages. For those of us involved in women’s health who have advocated for a focus on prevention and getting at the cause of breast cancer, as well as for many women who are living with the disease, this can be a most cringe-worthy time.
The problem here isn’t with the cause; it’s with the irrelevant (or even contradictory) relationships many brands have with the cause.
Brands that have nothing to do with women’s health suddenly seem to care (at least about this one disease)—but only in October. Far worse are companies that produce unhealthy products, yet attempt to win consumers’ hearts (and money) by pinking up their brands.
There’s even a term for these inauthentic efforts. Pinkwashing is when a company or organization promotes a pink-ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures, or sells products linked to the disease or an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.
Consumers and the media may be ambivalent about irrelevant cause-related marketing, but they get downright annoyed with pinkwashing. Many brands have learned this the hard way in recent years. KFC’s Buckets for the Cure campaign and Baker Hughes’ pink drill bits both garnered far more criticism than goodwill. Automobile manufacturers and cosmetics companies—particularly those associated with the Look Good Feel Better program—have also come under fire for pinkwashing.
Should KFC stop selling fried foods because they’re unhealthy? Should carmakers stop selling vehicles because they emit air pollutants? Please, no. I love that “finger-lickin’ good” chicken, and I don’t love walking.
Should these brands stop partnering with charities to raise money or awareness for great causes? Of course not. It’s a powerful way to connect with their audiences while also doing some good in the world. But not every cause is a good fit for every brand.
Why is relevance so important? And how can you find the right causes to showcase your brand?
Consumers aren’t just impressed when companies support worthy causes. They expect it. Eighty percent of global consumers believe business should play a role in addressing societal issues, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer.
And people are willing to reward brands that live up to these expectations. Nielsen reported that 55 percent of global consumers will pay more for products and services offered by companies that make a positive social and environmental impact, and a study by Cone Communications found that 90 percent of US consumers would switch brands to one associated with a cause.
But adding pink stickers to your products or throwing money at a seemingly random charity isn’t enough to get people’s attention or make real connections with your audience.
Nicola Brown shared data that illustrates this point in her Content Standard article, “The Psychology Behind Successful Cause Marketing.” She wrote:
A recent study in the Journal of Business Research reveals some important psychological dimensions to successful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives (like cause-related marketing campaigns) … It’s not enough for brands and companies to engage in CSR; that CSR needs to be perceived as authentic … Researchers found that the perceived fit of brand and cause and the actual impact of the company’s actions were two of the most important factors in whether or not consumers perceived the CSR efforts as authentic.
How can you find a relevant cause to support? By doing some serious creative thinking about what matters—to your company and your customers.
Relevance is subjective. The goal is to associate your brand with a cause. So it logically follows that the cause should have some connection to what people associate with your brand. But that could mean a lot of things.
For example, consider how the following key characteristics of your brand might help you identify a relevant cause to support:
The most obvious brand identifier is your product or service. Start by asking yourself (and your team) which organization or cause would benefit most if you donated whatever it is that you sell.
Sometimes the answer is pretty straightforward, like TOMS donating shoes to people who need shoes. Other times the answer might require a little creative thinking about how your product is used. For example, Dawn donates dish soap to help conservation organizations rescue animals affected by oil pollution. The 30-year-old campaign, Dawn Helps Save Wildlife, raises awareness for wildlife preservation (and the Dawn brand) with TV commercials, social media campaigns, and stories from volunteers who work with birds and marine animals in need of a life-saving bath.
Product relevance is a great starting point, but you might also broaden your view and think about what matters in your industry.
Walgreens’ Get a Shot, Give a Shot campaign is a great example of health-care-related philanthropy. Through its partnership with the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign, Walgreens donates one life-saving vaccine to a child in a developing country for every vaccine customers get at its pharmacies.
Walgreens promotes the campaign via TV commercials, social media, and a Get a Shot, Give a Shot web page, which features compelling data about the global need for vaccinations and a video showing what people in these communities will go through to get shots for their children.
So far, Walgreens has provided 15 million vaccinations worldwide.
You don’t have to donate products, services, or even money to support a great cause. In some cases, information can be even more valuable.
As an insurance company, Nationwide knows a great deal about accidents—how they happen and how they could have been prevented. So, the company partnered with the American Red Cross to educate parents about the number-one cause of childhood death: accidental injury.
The remarkably robust Make Safe Happen website features videos and articles with tips to help parents make their homes and yards safer for children. Users can search for safety information by children’s ages, by location in the home, or by risk type. The brand also offers an app and in-person events focused on child safety.
Helping kids stay out of harm’s way—now that’s a worthy cause.
People want to do business with companies that value what they value. What better way to prove your corporate mission is more than lip service than by putting your time and money where your mouth is?
For example, Massage Envy claims that everyone at its franchises is “passionate in their support of your commitment to total body care.” To prove it, the company partners with the National Arthritis Foundation.
Winner of the Cause Marketing Forum’s 2016 Halo Award for “Best Transactional Campaign,” Massage Envy’s Healing Hands for Arthritis is an annual day-long event where the company donates $10 from every massage and facial, as well as 10 percent of retail sales, to the organization. Each Massage Envy location personalizes the event by thinking up creative ways to raise even more money, including bake sales and raffles. The company also engages its social media followers with information about arthritis and how massage can help alleviate the pain it causes.
Over the past few years, the partnership has raised more than $4 million for the Arthritis Foundation, while also boosting Massage Envy’s sales on both services and products.
Home is where the heart is—which is why supporting local causes can be a powerful way to endear your company to consumers. This is even true for national brands. While a product may be sold across the country, or even the world, supporting communities where you have a vested interest and a strong relationship with the locals helps to ensure your efforts come across as an authentic desire to help.
In “The Evolution of Content Marketing,” Skyword’s Keith MacKenzie shared a powerful example of local cause-related marketing. In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Boston Beer—maker of Samuel Adams—trademarked a Boston Strong beer, for which 100 percent of the profits were donated to support victims of the tragic events. The company even invited other brewers to use the Boston Strong trademark, so long as they also donated their profits.
The campaign worked out well for Boston Beer. As Keith wrote, “Samuel Adams’ long-time reputation as one of Boston’s major brewers and an advocate for the city meant it already built a strong loyalty with its following; hence, its Boston Strong trademark was welcomed with open arms.”
But other brands that offered Boston Strong products weren’t met with the same reception. Keith explained:
The flip side is appearing to jump on the bandwagon and coming off as a crass opportunist. While Boston Beer enjoyed considerable attention for its goodwill of donating all Boston Strong-related profits, other corporations furrowed many a forehead with their pledges of 6.17 percent (Mehuna Coffee in Tewksbury, MA) and 20 percent (Chowdaheadz in Woburn, MA) of Boston Strong-related profits to charity. The argument was that, despite being local, these companies were still profiting from tragedy.
This cautionary tale brings us back to breast cancer awareness campaigns. Cause marketing, like any other form of marketing, works best when it’s original, memorable, and authentic. And for many brands, pink-ribbon marketing isn’t any of those things.
That’s not to say companies shouldn’t raise money for breast cancer research. But if you’re looking to really get involved with a cause—to make it synonymous with your brand and to make a real difference—you might try looking a little closer to home.


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Magic Valley, an Australian food tech company, is marking a new era in cultivated meat production with its expansion into a state-of-the-art pilot facility at Co-Labs in Melbourne. This move represents a significant stride since their announcement of successfully cultivating lamb in September 2022.
Strategic Growth and Innovation
Following their lamb breakthrough, Magic Valley released pork and beef prototypes. In July, they collaborated with Biocellion SPC to enhance bioreactor designs, underlining their commitment to revolutionizing food production. CEO Paul Bevan views this expansion as a strategic milestone, boosting the company's global presence. The new facility, equipped to scale up to 3000-litre bioreactors, will enable an annual production of up to 150,000kg of sustainable meat alternatives.
Collaborative Efforts Towards Sustainable Future
Co-Labs, founded by Andrew Gray and Samuel Wines, is dedicated to fostering bio-inspired design and innovation towards a circular regenerative economy. Gray expressed enthusiasm for Magic Valley's growth and the shared vision for a sustainable future. Partnering with Co-Labs aligns with Magic Valley’s ethos of environmentally responsible, ethical meat production. This collaboration will accelerate cultivated meat capabilities, promote innovation, and improve efficiency.
Driving Positive Change in the Food Industry
Magic Valley plans to continue working with experts and researchers to refine production processes, ensuring high-quality, tasty products with a reduced environmental footprint. This expansion signifies Magic Valley's dedication to transforming the food industry and marks a new chapter in their journey to provide sustainable meat products to consumers.
Magic Valley's innovative approach and expansion at the Co-Labs facility in Melbourne underscore the dynamic shifts occurring in the food industry, paving the way for more sustainable and ethical food production methods.


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Lionsgate films for China’s iQIYI
October 12, 2015
Lionsgate has signed a long-term output deal for a number of high-profile Lionsgate and third-party feature films with China’s largest comprehensive online video platform iQIYI.
The agreement covers SVoD and TVoD rights for films streaming on iQIYI’s platforms, which possess over 500 million unique users. iQIYI will have an exclusive SVoD and TVoD window for Lionsgate theatrical titles covered under the agreement, and iQIYI will enable broadcasting of these titles and make a major promotional commitment on their platform for them. The package comprises Lionsgate franchises The Hunger Games and the Divergent series.
“We’re thrilled to partner with iQIYI, a major game changer and one of the largest and fastest-growing digital platforms in China,” said Lionsgate Executive Vice President of International Sales Wendy Reeds. “They will provide a quality showcase for our slate of high-profile event movies, and our agreement underscores our commitment to innovation and leadership in delivering premium content to online audiences around the world.”


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The tech giant has made a submission to the Australian government in response to in the country that it says are "dangerously ambiguous" and have the potential to compromise security, safety and privacy for millions of people -- not just in Australia, but around the world.
The Australian parliament is currently considering new encryption laws that would require tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, WhatsApp and more to provide access to encrypted communications to law enforcement for policing crime.
The so-called "Assistance and Access Bill" sets out three levels of assistance that companies can be called on to provide to police and national security agencies. These range from "voluntary assistance" all the way up to a notice issued by the attorney general requiring tech companies to "build a new capability" in hardware or software to allow access to encrypted communications.
Australia's conservative federal government has insisted that the laws would not require tech companies to build so-called "back doors" into encrypted communications.
But Apple has slammed the bill, saying it is too broad, that the wording is "dangerously ambiguous," and that it would create "unprecedented" powers for law enforcement without appropriate judicial oversight, including the ability to intercept encrypted communications and "eavesdrop" on people in real time.
Apple also says the proposed Australian laws could force the company to break the laws of other jurisdictions such as the US and Europe, and compromise the privacy of users around the world.
"Some suggest that… access to encrypted data could be created just for only those sworn to uphold the public good," Apple wrote in its submission. "That is a false premise. Encryption is simply math. Any process that weakens the mathematical models that protect user data for anyone will by extension weaken the protections for everyone.
"It would be wrong to weaken security for millions of law-abiding customers in order to investigate the very few who pose a threat."
Apple joined the chorus of other security and privacy experts calling the bill "vague," saying that it fails on basic terms to outline how law enforcement would access encrypted data and under what circumstances.
As a result, the company says key elements of the law rely on the government's "subjective" understanding of "technical complexities." In short, that the government could force a tech company to break encryption, even if security experts, academics and the companies themselves believe that is "dangerous and irresponsible."
Perhaps most alarming is Apple's contention that the laws would create "unprecedented" power for Australia's top spy agency ASIO to order tech companies to build capabilities into their systems to intercept encrypted communications -- changes that would "allow the government to eavesdrop on their customers."
It's not the first time Apple has come out strongly in defence of encryption. In 2016, the company iPhone owned by a terrorist suspect in the San Bernadino shooting case. In that case, Apple fought back against the FBI's requests to break encryption, with CEOover access to the
While the FBI might be a long way from the Australian Parliament, Apple is once again using strong language in its bid to stop any encroachment on the privacy of its users.
Whether it's an iPhone in California or a device in Australia, Apple's message is clear: Weakening encryption for anyone "puts everyone at risk."
Security: Stay up-to-date on the latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and all those cybersecurity issues that keep you up at night.
Apple: See what's up with the tech giant as it releases new iPhones and more.


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Dolphin on Wednesday announced a new browser application for Android, which aims to protect the user’s privacy while browsing the web, essentially becoming a “Snapchat of browsing.” Called Dolphin Zero, this first ephemeral mobile browser will automatically delete personal data on the mobile device when exiting the application, including browsing history, cache, passwords, cookies and anything else saved on the device, preventing advertisers from tracking users in the process.
“With web security being such a salient issue right now, people are feeling less and less confident that companies are respecting user privacy,” Dolphin’s vice president Edith Yeung said. “Even though it’s impossible to go completely untracked on the mobile web, we have done everything to make a new product that goes beyond anything that you will find in the market right now. With Dolphin Zero, we do everything in our power to make the browsing experience your own.”
The company says that Dolphin Zero is “actively going out of the way to never collect, store or share any of the information” including form data, browser history, passwords, cached data and files, favicons, input data, user address book, cookies and location information. Additionally, Dolphin has partnered up with DuckDuckGo, which is the default search engine on the browser, and includes Do Not Track support.
In addition to Dolphin Zero, a different Android app has been recently updated with features that prevent advertisers from tracking mobile devices users, AVG’s PrivacyFix.
The Dolphin Zero browser is available as a free download from the Google Play Store, and will work on devices running Android 2.2 or later.
Announcing Dolphin Zero, The First Ephemeral Mobile Browser
The “Snapchat of Browsing” Makes Surfing the Mobile Web The Most Private Experience Available
SAN FRANCISCO – December 18, 2013 — As consumers become increasingly concerned with being tracked online by advertising companies and web publishers, one of the world’s leading third-party browsers, Dolphin, today released a new product that lets anyone browse the internet securely. Dolphin Zero, a streamlined mobile browser for Android, brings peace of mind to smartphone users who wish to keep their personal information as safe as possible, by automatically deleting data including browsing history, cache, passwords and cookies that are otherwise saved on the device
The prevalence of so-called “ephemeral” messaging services, like Snapchat, points to consumers’ increasing desire for privacy on the web. However, many browsers are compromising privacy in exchange for information used for targeted advertising – most of which is gained without appropriate consent from a user, even in private browsing modes.
Dolphin Zero on the other hand, is a streamlined version of its award-winning browser that gives the users complete control over the information they are browsing. The stripped-down feature set and single-screen capability maximizes the browser’s ability to protect users’ privacy by automatically deleting any information and data when the user exits the browser. Dolphin has partnered with other companies devoted to privacy – DuckDuckGo as the default search engine, for example – to make sure any integrated services comply with Dolphin’s mission of offering an ephemeral experience.
Download the Android app today on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.zero
“We are excited to be the default search engine in Dolphin Zero,” said Gabriel Weinberg, CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo. “It is encouraging to see companies like Dolphin making privacy a primary focus, and I’m glad DuckDuckGo can be a part of it”.
Unlike traditional private browsing modes, Dolphin has gone one step further and developed an entirely new product dedicated to privacy. Dolphin Zero goes the extra mile by including Do Not Track support, and actively going out of the way to never collect, store or share any of the information, such as:
● Form Data
● Browser History
● Cached Data and Files
● Input Data
● User Address Book
● Location Information
“With web security being such a salient issue right now, people are feeling less and less confident that companies are respecting user privacy,” said Dolphin’s VP Edith Yeung. “Even though it’s impossible to go completely untracked on the mobile web, we have done everything to make a new product that goes beyond anything that you will find in the market right now. With Dolphin Zero, we do everything in our power to make the browsing experience your own.
To download the Dolphin Zero app for Android from Google Play, please visit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.zero
Dolphin is the most popular third-party browser on Android and iOS and only gesture and voice enabled browser available today. Developed by MoboTap, a mobile technology company committed to improving the way people experience the mobile web through their smartphone devices, Dolphin has been downloaded over 80 million times across Android and iOS phones and tablets. MoboTap is led by an international team of proven engineers and entrepreneurs and backed by leading venture capitalist firm Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners and Qualcomm.


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First, we heard that the former chair of the Federal Reserve couldn’t get a mortgage. Then we learned that one of the most powerful economic figures in the world makes less money than at least 113 of her underlings.
Now we find out that President of the United States had his credit card declined.
At an event at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today, President Obama said a New York restaurant rejected his card last month. But it wasn’t because he maxed out his credit (or so he says).
“I guess I don’t use it enough, so they thought there was some fraud going on,” Obama said. “I was trying to explain to the waitress, no, I really think that I’ve been paying my bills.”
The President made his remarks while signing an executive order to improve security features on government credit cards. “Even I’m affected by this,” Obama joked.
Luckily, Michelle picked up the tab.
Read on for more help with common credit woes:
- How do I fix a suspicious charge on my credit or debit card?
- What should I do if I have been a victim of a data breach?
- Should I pay for credit monitoring?
- How can I dispute errors in my credit report?
- The one thing you should do to protect yourself from identity theft
- Money’s Best Credit Cards


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Facebook is growing like a weed in Pakistan. In fact, the social networking service just broke the 9 million user mark — an especially impressive feat considering it only reached 8 million users earlier this year. One million users in half a year isn't bad, and it suggests that Facebook could cross the 10 million user threshold in the country before the end of this calendar year. But if you want to know more — a lot more — about Facebook in Pakistan, check out this excellent infographic from the folks at Third World Strategy.
Image courtesy of Third World Strategy
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This article originally published at Tech in Asia here


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On April 28th, the European Union and Mexico concluded the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new trade agreement. The trade agreements comprises of the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets which enables a high level of predictability and transparency in the public procurement processes. With this, the EU and Mexico can advance to the signature and ratification of this agreement in line with their respective rules and procedures. Mexico is the EU’s number one trade partner in Latin America with bilateral trade in goods worth €66 billion and trade in services worth another €19 billion (respectively 2019 and 2018 data). EU goods exports exceed €39 billion a year. EU-Mexico trade in goods has more than tripled since the entry into force of the original agreement in 2001. Consequently, modernizing the previous trade agreement is aimed at boosting the already strong growth of trade relations between both jurisdictions.
Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan said:
“While most of our efforts have been focused lately on tackling the coronavirus crisis, we have also been working to advance our open and fair trade agenda, which continues to be very important. Openness, partnerships and cooperation will be even more essential as we rebuild our economies after this pandemic. I am very pleased, therefore, that together with our Mexican partners, we share similar views and that our continued work could now come to fruition. Today’s agreement is clear evidence of our shared commitment to advance our agenda of partnership and cooperation. This agreement – once in force – will help both the EU and Mexico to support our respective economies and boost employment.”
What are the Contents of the new Trade Agreement?
Under the new EU-Mexico agreement:
- Practically all trade in goods between the EU and Mexico will be duty-free.
- The agreement also now includes progressive rules on sustainable development, such as a commitment to effectively implementing the Paris Climate Agreement.
- It is also the first time that the EU agrees with a Latin American country on issues concerning investment protection.
- Simpler customs procedures will further help boost exports.
The broader Global Agreement, of which the trade agreement is an integral part, also covers the protection of human rights, as well as chapters on political and development cooperation. It will also be the very first EU trade agreement to include provisions to fight corruption, with measures to act against bribery and money laundering.
How is the Agreement embedded in EU-Mexico Trade Relations?
The trade agreement is part of the aforementioned broader Global Agreement, which sets the framework for the EU’s relationship with Mexico and covers issues of broader shared interest that go beyond trade, including political issues, climate change and human rights. Mexico was the first country in Latin America to sign a Global Agreement with the EU in 1997. The EU and Mexico started the negotiations for this new, modernized agreement in May 2016. They reached an agreement in principle two years later, in April 2018, leaving for further discussion some outstanding technical issues which are now fully agreed on.
When will the new Agreement enter into force?
The legal revision of the agreement is now being finalized. Once the process is concluded, the agreement will be translated into all EU languages. Following the translations, the Commission proposal will be transmitted for signature and conclusion to the Council and European Parliament. Respectively, Mexico has to advance the agreement to the signature and ratification process in line with its domestic rules and procedures.
These regulatory changes could affect your business with view to customizing or support of your ERP/SAP system. Please contact us to learn about possible necessary reactions to the changes – we are happy to assist you!


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MIT business grad students kicking tires nationally
Students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are preparing their annual Tech Trek to explore the cultures at companies including Apple Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and MGM, the Boston Herald reports.
The paper quotes students saying they want to see not just what campus recruiters say about companies, but how employees work with each other in various settings.
The Herald also quotes a student saying companies are recruiting "heavily" this year.
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American spending accounts for nearly 70% of the U.S. economy every year. The United States Federal Reserve categorizes our spending as non-discretionary and discretionary. Essentials such as food, medicine, housing, and clothing are all considered non-discretionary, while everything else we buy for leisure and entertainment falls into the other category. In the final quarter of 2019, consumers spent $13.4 trillion, leaving the economy vibrant and ecstatic about what 2020 could bring.
Then, everything changed.
As the coronavirus swept through China and spread worldwide, governments began to shut down non-essential businesses and required people to stay indoors. Millions of us have had to transition from working at the office to working from home and schooling our children at home while limiting our public exposure. So how has this affected our spending? Are we spending more now that we’re at home, or are we spending less? Let’s take a look.
Being locked inside and without the normal social contact we’re used to has caused an increase in anxiety and depression for many. This has led to an increase in impulse online buying, a.k.a. retail therapy. Millions of us feel out of control, and shopping online gives us back some of that control. This is perhaps the reason for increased orders from Amazon, online clothing retailers, and grocery stores nationwide.
The influx of online spending has led to slower delivery times and a warehouse crisis. In fact, Amazon has struggled to keep up and is looking at hiring thousands of new delivery drivers, packers, and warehouse workers to help with the increase in orders.
In the early days of quarantine and social distancing, people bought up supplies in bulk, leaving grocery store shelves bare. Supplies like toilet paper, cases of water, Clorox wipes, and hand sanitizer flew off the shelves. This led to grocery stores being forced to limit the number of each items consumers could buy during a trip, yet shelves remained bare and are still bare in some areas of the country.
Hoarding supplies during a natural disaster is nothing new. Still, we generally don’t see this unless there is a blizzard warning, a hurricane along the gulf, or following a tornado when water supplies may be cut off. Never before have we seen people hoard things and buy so many groceries in a matter of weeks than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carts full of meat, milk, bread, frozen dinners, and pizzas left the stores as people embraced for the impact of the coronavirus. Indeed, buying habits changed drastically and continue to shift with no end in sight.
Buying Material Goods
Remember that discretionary spending we discussed previously? Here is where social distancing can impact our buying habits. Psychology Today says anxiety over social distancing and our mortality “promotes materialistic values and decisions.” This can lead to buying luxury goods and brands to make themselves feel better and generate a sense of wealth during a crisis.
While an expensive Alfa Romeo sedan or carrying a $10,000 Hermes Birkin bag might not have a functional purpose in a time of need, it provides a sense of security for those who can afford to be brand loyal. For this buying behavior, it’s not all about what the product does but rather what it signifies and means to the consumer.
How People are Buying
Now that retail stores and malls have shut down for the foreseeable future, people are turning to mobile apps and online shopping platforms to fulfill their needs. While this may not have the same social affect as going to the store, it’s helping people practice social distancing and flattening the curve of the spread of COVID-19.
Restaurants are also taking advantage of mobile apps such as UberEats, GrubHub, and DoorDash. These platforms have allowed food and beverage facilities to remain open and keep serving their communities. As essential businesses, they can continue to provide customer carry-out and delivery services.
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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels


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London: Though Facebook and Twitter may be popular with millions of Britons, but the social networking websites have not made it to the “ten wonders of the web” list.
Instead Google, eBay, Susan Boyle, British web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and YouTube make the list of the most significant moments in Internet history.
Research by website Kelkoo found that Britons credit cyberspace stalwarts Tim Berners-Lee and JCR Licklider as the top two most significant icons in Internet history.
As the brain behind the first ever Internet browser, Berners-Lee claimed the top spot with almost one in five voters.
Second was Licklider`s creation of an “intergalactic network” which marked the birth of the World Wide Web in 1962.
Significantly, the launch of Facebook in 2004, heralding the dawn of the social media age could manage to reach only 11th place.
“With the next big groundbreaking development in the evolution of the internet round the corner, we aimed to showcase the most significant and innovative moments in its history so far,” the Sun quoted Chris Simpson, marketing director of Kelkoo, who quizzed 1,000 people, as saying.
“The video charts the entire chronicle of online milestones - from the birth of the founder of online shopping, Michael Aldrich, 70 years ago, to the dot com crash in 2001 to the rise of internet behemoths YouTube and Google - and of course not forgetting viral singing sensation Susan Boyle,” added Simpson.