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Verma has played various leadership and consulting roles at global financial services firms like BOA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and BNY Mellon...
JPMorgan funds are among We Co.’s largest shareholders, trailing only SoftBank Group Corp., the company’s co-founders and venture capital giant Benchmark Capital.
Networki2i, Airtel's Mauritius subsidiary, will be the official borrower and is expected to issue the bonds
The development comes at a time when the NPCI, which manages the UPI, has discussed capping market share of players at 33% on the fast-growing network
From Goldman Sachs to Infosys, Flipkart, Samsung, RPG Group, Mahindra Group, and Godrej Group; India Inc prepares a life without plastic
In sync with govt’s movement, cos have started taking measures to scale down use of single-use plastics for office-use products, cafeterias
TGI Friday has a new parent; its Indian partner sells the stake to Singapore’s Universal Success Enterprises
Brand will continue even after-sale to Universal Success
This comes after chief financial officer Madhur Deora was also elevated to president last week
Backed by Sequoia Capital, Mumbai-based Rebel Foods in July received a $125 million injection from Coatue Management, Goldman Sachs, the Indonesian delivery service Gojek and others
The new cards mark the latest step in Grab's big push into the financial services sector
Economic uncertainty forces clients to bring down technology costs and curb additional spending
Ingka group is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise system, representing 90% of total IKEA retail sales through 367 stores in 30 markets including India
In his new role, Aluru will be leading the strategic financing and partnerships for Zoomcar, in addition to corporate strategy and driving P&L efficiency
The advertising group has faced difficulties in the US, Australia and New Zealand
Chandra confident ZEE stake sale will happen within Sept 30 deadline, expects non-binding term sheets by first week of May
She joins Kross with more than 18 years of rich and diverse experience in production and creative
The new round is expected to value the company at $400 million.
Looks to use funds for expansion of its verticals including hospitality, facilities management & business centres.
The company aims to touch a GMV of USD 1 billion by March 2021 as it scales up its operations across metros and tier I and II cities.
Avalara offers tax compliance automation as a service. It recently acquired Indix's artificial intelligence platform for an undisclosed sum.
Gupte will join as President, Boeing India, from the aircraft maker's wholly-owned subsidiary Boeing Capital Corporation
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AXA Gulf offers 15pc discount on motor premium
Manama, July 10, 2014
AXA Insurance Gulf is offering a 15 per cent discount on 4x4 insurance premiums during the holy month of Ramadan.
The offer, extended to customers as part of the AXA Ramadan Motor Campaign, is a result of the company’s research which has revealed a need for special insurance solutions and offering added choice for 4x4 customers, said a statement.
Stephen Wagstaff, country manager, AXA Bahrain, said: “Today, car insurance is under price pressure and becomes more and more a commodity notably driven by the internet offers. However, customers should not get lost and should still look for products that fit their needs.
“They should not sacrifice the quality of service when buying car insurance as they might regret it at the time of a claim. Premium brands such as AXA, now has great value for money offers while not sacrificing the quality of service. Based on customer feedback and expectations, AXA Gulf has responded to this demand by providing 4x4 owners’ value-for-money product.”
AXA Gulf is also providing substantial additional attributes – international service standards, unique brand and product features and multi-access options for customers. - TradeArabia News Service

domain: news


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Since lockdown, there’s been a surge in demand for dogs. The new trend is for people to get adorable puppies imported from overseas although there are growing concerns as to the safety and amount of furry friends being imported into the UK.
This issue is about to be debated in parliament as the foreign designer dog farming has become a massive issue in the United Kingdom.
Instagram accounts advertise their puppies who are sometimes raised in awful conditions and detached from their mothers too early.
What is the Ban Puppy Imports Petition?
- Ban puppy imports is a petition created to stop puppies from being imported from overseas. The petition was created by dog-lover Lucy Parkinson and has over 106,700 signatures.
This desperation for puppies means they’re being sourced from irresponsible breeders. Puppy farming has become a problem as when bought from overseas the puppies can’t be seen interacting with their mother and litter.
Instead, they are couriered in cruel conditions and usually have problems following this trauma.
BBC Breakfast’s #banpuppyimports
This morning, August 11th, BBC Breakfast interviewed TV vet Mark Abraham to find out about the hashtag that has taken Twitter by storm #banpuppyimports. The hashtag trended on Twitter to help raise awareness for the petition and get more signs.
Earlier this year Lucy’s Law was passed in England, which saw the end of third-party puppy sales as buyers now have to purchase animals directly from the breeder.
This was a 10-year campaign which is finally in place, but now people are sourcing animals from overseas the #banpuppyimports petition has been raised.
The petition was inspired by Love island couple Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Furry, Molly-Mae was gifted a four and a half-month-old Pomeranian for her 21st birthday as a gift from her boyfriend.
The puppy brought over to the U.K from Russia was called ‘Mr Chai’ and died just six days after it arrived.
The petition is asking the government to raise the age to six months before puppies can be transported, therefore puppies will be less desirable and puppy farming won’t be in high demand as it is unethical and immoral.


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The enthusiasm of Abarth to embrace electrification can not be faulted. Where so many makers appear determined only to extol battery-powered worthiness, Abarth is seemingly determined to focus on the entertainment potential of EVs. A laudable aim, given how dreary things have been thus far. This new 600e aims to pick up exactly where the 500e started off, ramping up the excitement of the EV hot hatch, now with five doors and more power. Like it? Abarth is undoubtedly proud: “Ready, exciting, muscular, and aggressive, its first picture instantly reveals the “evil” essence of the Abarth 600e’. Punchy.
As announced with the testing pics, this 600e will get 240hp, a chunky uptick from the 500’s 153hp; Abarth reckons that makes this car ‘fiercely competitive and powerful.’ The oddly doctored image suggests this new car could be four-wheel drive, though the mention of a mechanical limited-slip diff - hardware that 'guarantees excellent driving stability, improved handling, and traction’ - would imply just a driven front axle. The most fun hatches are FWD anyway, and that sort of power certainly has the potential to entertain.
Those front wheels are 20 inches in diameter (so this Abarth may not be quite as compact as first thought), with tyres from Hankook for ‘maximum grip and excellent racing dynamics in all kinds of conditions.’ The colour, seen here for the first time, is called Hypnotic Purple. Abarth has also confirmed that, as with the 500e, the 600e will launch with a Scorpionissima limited edition. Again, there will be 1,949 units available.
There’s plenty more to be divulged, of course, and we’re told to ‘stay tuned’ for that. But this seems like an auspicious start for Abarth’s Mini rival, brimming with all the attitude and power that has made its hot hatches so popular over the past decade and a half. More news as we have it.


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Lani Telian, Department of Public Health
With the cold weather on its way and the Farmers’ Market season coming to an end,
fresh produce is limited—and expensive—in Massachusetts. That means many of us will be looking at frozen and canned foods as alternatives to fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are some tips to keep in mind while going through the grocery aisle:
• Canned foods may be higher in sugar or sodium, so look for fruits canned in their own juice and vegetables without added salt. You may also rinse canned vegetables with water to remove excess salt.
• Choose frozen plain vegetables or those made with low-fat sauces to control fat and calories, and remember to check the label for added sugar or salt.
There are so many things you can do with frozen or canned vegetables and fruits, and many times snacks and meals that use frozen fruits or vegetables can be prepared a lot quicker! Frozen broccoli comes all chopped up, so that’s one less step you need to take when you make a healthy version of Chicken Broccoli and Ziti! Also, frozen berries can be added to non-fat vanilla yogurt to make one of the quickest, most satisfying breakfasts you can make for yourself.
Weekly Flu Report, February 5, 2016 posted on Feb 5
The latest weekly flu report shows that flu rates rose again in Massachusetts during the past 7 days. It’s absolutely not too late to get a flu shot if you haven’t already. As a matter of fact, we can expect flu to continue to circulate in …Continue Reading Weekly Flu Report, February 5, 2016
Year of the Monkey posted on Feb 2
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday of the Chinese calendar. It is usually celebrated for 15 days and is a time to reunite with family, feast on good food and relax from work. As a Chinese American, it is important to me …Continue Reading Year of the Monkey
Tips for Surviving the Winter Blahs posted on Feb 2
Winter can be a hard time for many of us. The days are shorter, darkness sets in early, and oh yeah, it’s freezing out there! The change in seasons wreaks havoc on many people. Some people feel more tired, sad, or anxious when there are …Continue Reading Tips for Surviving the Winter Blahs


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Taiwan's PCB manufacturers
expect the shift to high-density interconnect (HDI) boards (HDI PCB)
to help raise the ASPs of notebook PCBs, and are looking forward to the upcoming launch of ultra-thin notebooks based on Intel's CULV (consumer ultra low votage) CPUs.
Upcoming notebooks incorporating CULV CPUs are expected to spur demand for HDI boards, said the makers, adding that rising shipments of the high-ASP segment will be able to drive up notebook PCB prices and stabilize the ideal price range.
Citing company sources, market watchers estimate PCB Manufacturer HitechPCB Technology will see the sales contribution from HDI boards grow to 6% this year from 3% in 2008.
PCB Manufacturing--HITECHPCB has also scheduled to kick off its initial shipments for CULV-based notebooks in the second quarter, and its utilization rate of HDI PCB boards (with a monthly capacity of around 100,000 square feet) has been pushed up signficantly, the watchers said.
High density PCB, High Density Interconnect PCBs (HDI PCBs), HDI board, HDI PCB, micro via PCB, blind via PCB, buried vias PCB, Mobile main board, High density printed circuit board (PCB), High density board, China PCB manufacturer----Hitech Circuits Co., Limited
Hitechpcb Contact way:


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At present, Volkswagen is division of the Open Automotive Alliance
that expects to bring Android into cars in the near future.
that's right, this space is so dynamic that in the ensuing six months, Google has announced the Open Automotive Alliance
-- a consortium of OEMs dedicated to building a standard (based around Android, of course) that will exist in all automobiles of the future.
The companies, with semiconductor firm Nvidia, announced the formation of the Open Automotive Alliance
(OAA), an industry group "committed to bringing the Android platform to cars starting in 2014," according to a statement.


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Government Schemes Current Affairs - 2020
Union Government has launched Pharma Jan Samadhan scheme, for redressal of grievances of consumers related to drug pricing and availability of medicines.
It was launched by Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar in New Delhi.
About Pharma Jan Samadhan scheme
- The scheme is a web-enabled system created by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
- It seeks to serve as a robust E-governance tool for protection of interests of consumers through effective implementation of the price of drugs.
- The scheme will provide consumers with an online facility to redress their complaints related to over-pricing of medicines, non-availability of medicines and refusal of supply for sale of any medicine without good and sufficient reason.
- After receiving the complaint, NPPA will initiate action on any complaint within 48 hrs.
- The scheme also seeks to create awareness among the people and act as a deterrent against black-marketing, spurious medicines and inflated cost of drugs by creating phama-literacy initiative.
Tags: Current Affairs 2016 • e-governance • Government Schemes
Union government has announced that India’s literacy rate has risen to 72.98%. It was informed by Union Minister Human Resource Development (HRD) Smriti Irani while replying to the supplementaries in the Lok Sabha.
Union governments reply informed that
- As per population census 2011, the number of illiterates have declined to 28.27 crore from 30.41 crore in 2011 in the country.
- Country’s literacy rate has risen to 72.98 per cent in 2011 compared to 64.84 per cent in 2001.
- The literacy rate in the country has risen after launching of flagship schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001-02, enforcement of the Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 and Saakshar Bharat programme.
Government also informed that under the centrally sponsored scheme- Saakshar Bharat for Adult Education and Skill Development, the promotion of adult literacy with special focus on women, SCs, STs, minorities and other disadvantaged groups was undertaken in rural areas of 410 districts.
The Saakshar Bharat Scheme’s objective is to raise the literacy level to 80 per cent and reduce the gender gap by the end of XII Five Year plan i.e. by the end of 2017.


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The year opened with turmoil in oil prices, scarcity of foreign currency and Nigerian Naira hitting an all-time low of 300:1 against the United States dollar, and still falling in the parallel markets. Economy is known to be the demand and supply of goods and services across different countries in an inter-exchange system around the world. Nigeria economy is dependent on its trade activities in the global market.
If we can build a robust support around Made in Nigeria goods as an economic driver is going to foster a decline in demand for foreign goods, as Nigerian consumers will source locally for its goods and increase revenue generated from exported goods. This makes more available cash flow within the Nigeria economy. The effect of this, it will not only redirect financial resources to the ‘makers’ but it will give them more impetus to continuously produce and improve their production methods. This leads to demand for more skilled labour to help in production and ultimately creates employment at different sphere of the Nigeria industrial sector.
Members of the apex chambers of the legislature recently visited the Aba trade fair to give their support to a group of industrious Nigerians who have been manufacturing under the most inconvenient circumstances for decades and have gone unnoticed. BBCAfrica.com took notice of Nigerians reaction on twitter, also a Twitter user even sparked a much needed conversation when that twitter user admonished the lawmakers not only to take fancy images with the locally manufactured products BUT BUY THEM AND USE THEM.
The argument that made-in-Nigeria goods are of poor quality is simply because we are not patronizing the manufacturers enough, give them room to make it better. Even China, that is the Mecca or manufacturing today has had its fair share of quality fails – but consistency, support from the Chinese government and eventually, patronage from the world has led them to become one of the largest global economies to date. There is no gainsaying that an increase in commercial activity in the manufacturing and agro-production sector will not only attract more foreign investment into the country, at the micro-level, it will make us a more self-sustaining society and less dependent on imported products from other societies.
My belief is if Nigerians can switch from “American movies” to nollywood, From foreign Hip-hop to Nigerian party jamz, It is infinitely possible to buy Made in Nigeria.
How cokodeal.com intends to help promote made in Nigeria goods.
Cokodeal.com is an ecommerce platform for made in Nigeria goods, the technique employed is to sign up businesses producing in commercial quantity, SMEs, manufacturers and exporters through their umbrella body ; MAN, NEPC, BOI, NEXIM, NASSI etc. Register detailed information of each business and its product on cokodeal.com platform.
Cokodeal.com website is highly optimized which makes it easy for buyers to find offering when searched online easily. Cokodeal understand the art of storytelling, as we use it as a tool to write about, name for example; Nigeria textile industry and share online, this creates a new perspective and picture to the global audience about our unique fabrics.
Lastly cokodeal.com is promoted across West Africa countries and other region through the internet, also through campaigns, trade expos and exhibition. This helps foreigners to understand the availability of a product, in what quantity and where it is located in Nigeria.
How is cokodeal.com different from other platform?
It is solely focused on local production; manufactured goods and agro products, as we do not sell any imported item.
Secondly, it is designed in a multi-platform system that allow businesses in other African country to create their product listing in an interface that is attuned to their country without need for local domain name, it’s all interlinked within cokodeal. Which allows the ultimate goal of intra-Africa trade possible, as buyers from other African countries can find Nigeria products and source for more of it.
Why people should patronise cokodeal.com
Cokodeal.com is synonymous with locally made goods and services, as a wholesale marketplace when you patronise cokodeal.com you are simply building the nation and improving live of its citizens. As the company is a bridge between indigenous businesses and interested buyers. Cokodeal.com makes it easy for individuals and enterprises to source for goods and locate businesses easily within the nation.
More also, it is a secured platform with all activities on the site being monitored to save any transactional risk using the messaging tools and other trade tools created on the platform. Lastly cokodeal does not stop the buyer and seller from meeting each other backdoors, but at their own transactional risk as this could help seller create a lifetime customer.
Challenges in the online ecommerce space
To mention a few; Unprofitability, Card payment processing, Logistics, distrust, cost of internet broadband, literacy level, product quality assurance and clarity on ecommerce focus.
We have to understand some of the challenges itemized are prone due to early days of ecommerce and development of our nation. Most foreign ecommerce passed through similar phase. However, the beauty of it is that challenges like this creates opportunities for the budding entrepreneurs to create more local fit solutions to help ameliorate it. We can mention a few, like the virtual card payment processing created by the banks to support ecommerce like Konga, ACE logistics for local efficient delivery and many more to come.
That said, ecommerce should be able to differentiate on product offering uniqueness, not just on price and be more niche focused for consumers to be able to have clarity on which platform to visit depending on item sourced.
Buy Made in Nigeria to save the Naira and the Nation.
For more on twitter @cokodeal #MadeinNigeria #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira


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Founders Fund, the venture-capital firm behind startups like space exploration company SpaceX and data-mining company Palantir Technologies, said it had raised $1 billion for its latest fund.
"We have a clear vision of what the world should look like decades from now, and we seek out entrepreneurs who can partner with us to build toward that future," partner Luke Nosek said in a statement released late Wednesday.
In addition to Nosek, Founders Fund V will be led by partners Ken Howery, Brian Singerman, Peter Thiel, Lauren Gross, Geoff Lewis and Scott Nolan.
Thiel, Nosek and Howery are among those who founded PayPal, later bought by eBay Inc.
Since Founders was launched with a $50 million fund in 2005, it has raised more than $2 billion in a series of increasingly large investment vehicles. Its previous fund, Founders Fund IV, closed at the end of 2011 with $625 million in commitments.
© 2022 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


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In Retail, Debt Is Pressing—So Is Demand for Benefits
Overall, the retail industry is greatly affected by student debt: 49 percent of retail employees CommonBond surveyed carry student debt, which puts it second place out of all industries surveyed (behind only the tech industry). Sixty percent of retail employees surveyed selected student loan benefits as their most-sought-after financial wellness benefit. This was also the second-highest number among industries analyzed, proving that the overall demand for benefits addressing student loan debt is higher than average in the retail industry.
These numbers prove the widespread nature of student debt in retail, and the priority it holds for employees in the industry. In light of them, it's no surprise that 77 percent of retail workers think their employers should take an active role in their financial well-being. The general state of affairs in the industry shows that companies have a great opportunity to address these very pressing concerns.
The Perception Gap
The biggest issue preventing retail organizations from helping their employees tackle their student loan debt is a failure to recognize just how serious the problem is, and how much more needs to be done to address it. Many human resources executives in retail think they're already doing an above-average job of ensuring employees' financial wellness.
Seventy percent of human resources executives in retail that CommonBond surveyed described their companies as ahead of the curve when it comes to benefits offered. By contrast, only 37 percent of retail workers said the same. Not only was this employee benefit satisfaction rate the lowest of any industry CommonBond analyzed, but the gulf between employees' and human resources representatives' opinions was the largest.
These statistics paint a clear picture: not only are retail workers dissatisfied with their benefits, but employers may not be aware of their dissatisfaction.
The Path to Action
Thankfully, there are many human resources executives who understand that benefits programs in the industry are lacking. Ninety-five percent of HR representatives surveyed felt as though their companies should take an active role in their financial well-being, but only 65 percent felt they worked at organizations that already do.
Retail employers who want to expand their benefits offerings have the opportunity to take steps that will help employees' financial well-being in the long run. It is encouraging that so many seem to know this and are planning to take action — for instance, sixty percent of human resources executives surveyed plan on enhancing student loan benefits in the next three years. This will allow them to address a key cause of financial concern.
What's Best for
There is a major opportunity for human resources teams in retail to help their employees with their financial wellness by offering student debt-related benefits. Companies that incorporate such programs will also be taking charge of their own futures by improving talent attraction and retention — 78 percent of workers with debt across all industries said they would be more inclined to accept a job that offered student loan repayment and education benefits, while 85 percent would commit to staying at their current jobs for three years if such benefits were offered.
Addressing the debt that so many employees must carry can be the next step toward updating benefits packages for the retail industry. To learn more about how you can incorporate such a program into your benefits offerings, check out "


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From Mimi to The Drive: Time Inc.’s patchy record with digital verticals
In March 2015, Time Inc. unveiled Mimi, a “social-first” brand that it breathlessly described as the “ultimate destination for all-things beauty” and a “substantial opportunity” to reach millennial women who weren’t reading its stalwart magazines like InStyle and Real Simple. The goal was to get the site upwards of 5 million monthly uniques in a year or two, a former Time Inc. digital executive said.
At the time, Time Inc. was appearing rather long in the tooth compared to digital-first upstarts like BuzzFeed, Refinery29 and Vice, all of which were closing big rounds of venture capital infusions in 2015. For Time Inc., home to legacy brands like Time and Sports Illustrated, growing digitally native brands like Mimi was critical to having both digital cachet and achieving scale to match the BuzzFeeds and Refinerys.
But then reality hit. Mimi never got big enough to compete for ad dollars with digital-only startups, and advertisers shunned it. It depended on existing titles to feed it content and bounced from one sales executive to another. “No one owned it,” a former Time Inc. sales exec lamented. After a year, Mimi ceased to exist as a standalone site and became a vertical of Time Inc.’s fashion behemoth, InStyle.
The experience of Mimi and other digital experiments that followed speak to the challenge facing any legacy publisher trying to modernize. Another launch, home decor site The Snug, like Mimi was folded into a bigger brand, Real Simple. Time Inc. upped its game for The Drive, a vertical for millennial car fiends, and breakfast food site, Extra Crispy. These were started out of The Foundry, Time Inc.’s new branded-content studio based in Brooklyn, and had experienced editorial teams. The Drive came out strong with Volvo, Pennzoil and the BuyPower credit card as sponsors.
But as small launches surrounded by big, entrenched brands and a lack of dedicated salespeople, it was hard for the new properties to attract readers and advertisers. Last summer, Time Inc. reorganized its sales teams around ad categories, not brands, and execs who championed the new launches left, making it even harder for smaller properties to get attention. Of these various sites, only The Drive meets comScore’s minimum size for measurement, hitting just 792,000 uniques in January — a 63 percent decline versus a year earlier (though it’s worth noting that The Drive doesn’t buy traffic to scale fast like a lot of young publications do).
Building new brands in a distributed media era is hard for any publisher, but as a newly public company, Time Inc. had the added challenge of showing growth while managing decline and keeping Wall Street happy — all while making itself attractive to prospective buyers today. That burden first fell to former CEO Joe Ripp, who led the company through its spinoff from Time Warner in 2014. In 2014, the company was heavily print-driven, with only 15 percent of the revenue coming from digital. (It was 29 percent by the end of 2016.)
But the expectations from the top didn’t match the resources put behind the launches, multiple former execs said. While other, venture-backed publishers seemingly could spend with abandon and burn through cash (and other legacy publishers Hearst and Conde Nast, as private companies, could invest without the pressure to meet quarterly demands), Time Inc. had to demonstrate growth to the public markets while trying to manage a core business that was declining. Print and other ad revenue declined 10 percent and subscription revenue, 4 percent, for all of 2015. The challenge for the new experiments was, said the ex-digital exec: “How do you staff these things when your business is declining and you’re dealing with Wall Street?”
John Wagner, group director of published media at PHD, said that initially Time Inc. sold its verticals aggressively, but the attention didn’t last, and they never got enough scale to compete with bigger, better-known brands.
“You have to have the people who can understand it and sell it as a priority and you also have to be able to drive some traffic to it,” Wagner said. “I also didn’t really see any [paid] social promotion around it. They’re made with good intentions and they’re trying to find revenue, but you need the audience and time to develop them, and audience doesn’t happen overnight.”
It didn’t help that the company culture was long organized around operating big magazine brands, not entrepreneurial startups, the former digital exec said.
“There was a lack of understanding about what it takes to build a digital brand,” this person said. “You can’t put two, three people on it.”
Ripp stepped down in September 2016, handing the reins to top sales exec Rich Battista. Battista elevated the company’s digital president Jen Wong to COO.
Under Wong, who came from digital upstart PopSugar, the digital experimentation has continued, but she’s emphasized new digital brands based around broad topics that are designed to draft off Time Inc.’s legacy brands rather than the standalone ones of the past. Thus there’s been Time Health, personal finance brand Coinage and Well Done, a recipe brand made for social media.
Wong said that these newer launches represent a philosophical shift from when the company thought it had to launch new sites in order to reach young audiences. “Our core brands [already] have millennials on them,” she said. “They have a lot of growth left in them.”
Time Inc. has a history of operating like fiefdoms, and in the past, it was hard for small launches to get the big, legacy titles to give them promotional support. Since then, the company has pushed more editorial collaboration with virtual digital “desks” and consolidated brands onto a single CMS, which could give the new launches a better shot at success. The history of the earlier launches notwithstanding, Wong said it’s “absolutely possible” that the newer ones could even become big brands in their own right.
“Could Well Done have a huge amount of social followers that could be as big or bigger than our core brands?” she said. “Yes, we think it will.”
Publishers speak out on the state of the media business at the Digiday Publishing Summit
With the calendar flipping to spring, do publishers feel like the economic conditions are starting to thaw or do they expect the second quarter to be similarly frigid?
How Forbes and The Daily Beast are consolidating diverse revenue streams to create the highest value audience
Forbes and The Daily Beast have shed the silo-model when it comes to how their revenue teams operate.
How BuzzFeed’s Creator Score is grading the impact of its creator network
BuzzFeed's Creator Network is a primary focus in 2023 for the publisher, and its campaign grading tool is being used to prove out its ability to create successful ads.
SponsoredHow critical data pillars will increase brands’ confidence in CTV
Mario Diez, CEO, Peer39 With every quarter, the balance of TV viewership slips away from the traditional linear model and more towards connected TV. Less than half of the adults in the U.S. subscribe to cable or satellite, and fewer than half of the households watched linear TV daily in the second half of 2022. […]
In graphic detail: Google’s Ads Safety Report shows suspect ad activities are on the rise
Google's ad transparency efforts detail how bad actors necessitate further investment.
Media Briefing: Publishers share their biggest challenges and opportunities at the Digiday Publishing Summit
While Q1 ad revenue, sales cycles and payment windows appeared to be equally bad across the media industry, bright spots arose around consumer revenue streams, new tech experimentation and traffic patterns.


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The rapper's latest collaboration with the sneaker brand is inspired by her hometown of New York City.
The digital-focused brand introduces new products every two weeks.
The blockbuster deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
The two outposts have digital services, community-focused elements and other special features.
The athletics apparel brands sued dozens of websites over what they alleged are counterfeit sales of Yeezy…
The new film directed by Kerby Jean-Raymond premiered with support by carnival-style games and a tournament…
WHP Global's name is now added to a short list that includes ABG and several private equity firms.
The Classic Leather Cardi is the latest collaboration between the rapper and the sneaker brand.
Reconnect will heighten interest in the designer's first product launch next year.
President Matt O'Toole expects the sale to be completed by the end of this year.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper was inspired by her daughter Kulture for the line.
The rapper took inspiration from the 90s and her summertime visits to Coney Island for the collection.
The sneaker giant released its impact report hours after Adidas reported its most recent earnings.
While trumpeting a new five-year strategy, Adidas said little about the sales process for its troubled Reebok…
There have been a series of senior executives changing jobs recently.


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Concept cars, also called prototypes, are showcased at auto shows to test media and public interest. The idea began in 1938 with the Buick Y-Job, a specialty vehicle presented as a vision of how future cars might look in 20 years.
The idea of forecasting the automotive future stuck.
Nearly 85 years later the practice remains, including during the LA Auto Show. Its 10-day run, the show’s first edition since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ends today at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Themes presented in concepts change. Sometimes a one-off creation is so bizarre its only job is to attract attention. Sometimes, concepts are nearly identical to the production vehicle about to debut.
Table of Contents
Concept Cars: Will they be made?
Overridingly, concepts at this year’s event were electric vehicles or EVs. It was the dominant thread of the first major international auto show in two years. Among the speculative offerings, none are predicted to for publicly available until at least next fall and as far off as 2025.
Like the much-touted Byton, a concept that debuted with Rivian in 2018, some of the concepts will never be made. The high-performance sedan, promoted as a competitor of Tesla, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
VinFast, the first “mainstream” manufacturer from Vietnam with plans to distributors two sport utility vehicles in the United States, had the largest presence of the pending EVs this year.
Concept cars: VinFast has big plans
From its unveiling on the opening day of the auto show to a lavish evening reception and extended show presence, VinFast made a committed effort.
According to its marketing, VinFast in Vietnamese stands for “Style, Safety, Creativity, Pioneer.” It touts its vehicles as “the product of our inspiration to launch a distinctive, world-class automotive brand with Vietnam and demonstrates the ability of the Vietnamese people to skillfully implement cutting-edge technology.”
Like other pending vehicles, VinFast has no definitive production plans or pricing for its SUV crossovers, the e35 and e36. Both are designed by Italy’s famed Pininfarina.
Two other new names to the EV marketplace are Canoo and Mullen. The former was promoted as an autonomous “Lifestyle Vehicle.” Its marketing material reads in part: “Fully electric, highly versatile and offering more utility, inside and outside for city explorers, businesses, families and adventurers.”
Concept cars: Can you Canoo?
The Canoo, also touted as a “Loft on Wheels,” is scheduled for late 2022. It’s named the Canoo, according to a company spokesman, because it resembles an upside-down canoe. Its front end and rear look interchangeable.
Based in Los Angeles, Canoo declares: “There is no need for electric vehicles to look like traditional cars, yet today they still do. Canoo plans to change that.” It did.
Canoo said its first vehicle will have “the exterior footprint of a compact car, with the interior space of a large SUV.”
Mullen, based in Brea, is promoted as the first “Pure Electric SUV Crossover.” The Five has an estimated range of 325 miles, it’s electronically limited to 155 miles per hour and with an estimated 0-6 mph of 3.2 seconds. It’s not predicted to be manufactured until 2024 and will be sold in kiosks called “Lounge Point.”
Concept cars: New stuff galore
The Hyundai Seven was arguably the most unique concept at the show. While the Canoo was promoted as a loft, the Seven is better defined as a futuristic lounge. It has sterilization light stations, newfangled ambient lighting and an upscale interior best-suited for an interior design magazine layout.
And then, there was the Edison Future. Its two luxury concepts were combinations of utilitarian, off-road, futuristic SUVs.
Plushly attired and replete with technology overload and 35-inch wheels, the maybe cars of the future could have been cast as automotive stars of Mad Max movies.
Concepts cars are forever fictitious, marginally feasible or have enduring futures about to unfold. They’re simultaneously fun and ridiculous. Their time has come, or not.
Article Last Updated: November 29, 2021.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to this site, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and a monthly auto review column for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, James has co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast since 2017.


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David Wang, Senior VP at Radeon Technologies Group has confirmed AMD is committed to launching new graphics products every year.
AMD’s new/old roadmap
There are no changes to the roadmap. AMD will launch Vega 7nm this year with Navi coming next. Both upcoming architectures will get 7nm treatment. AMD has not unveiled the codename of ‘next-gen’ architecture based on 7nm+ architecture coming after Navi though.
AMD Radeon Instinct Vega 7nm
A public demonstration of 7nm Vega took place at the Computex press event. It has not given us too much information. The slide has confirmed though that 32GB version of 7nm Vega will be available.
Gaming 7nm GPU
Lisa Su confirmed 7nm GPUs will enter graphics card market. This ultimately ends the speculation on what will happen after Vega.
Vega architecture is probably here to stay, for at least another year. The Instinct variant will be available in the second half of this year. No word about 7nm Radeon RX availability though.


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Canadian Mobile Device Preferences in 2012 Show RIM Losing Market Share
Technology is thriving in Canada. A study conducted by Ipsos Reid showed steady growth in the smartphone, tablet and eReader industries, up 13 per cent, 66 per cent and 43 per cent respectively. But what brands have Canada’s preference? Apple, BlackBerry, Kobo and more are vying for the Canadian market, hoping to control the market for better profit margins.
Smarphone ownership in Canada, which was 24 per cent in Jan 2011, was up to 34 per cent penetration of the market by August 2011, said those surveyed. Brand-wise, there were clear shifts seen in the market.
“Clear shifts in brand preference appear when we look at the brands of devices consumers are currently using,” says Mary Beth Barbour, Senior Vice President with Ipsos Reid, “And looking forward, it appears that the brand race will continue to heat up.”
Leading the smartphone market are Apple and RIM’s BlackBerry. Over the last twelve months, though, the survey found that BlackBerry’s market penetration has lessened—from 41 per cent to 33 per cent, while Apple gained in Canada—from 23 per cent to 28 per cent—while Android also saw increases from 26 per cent to 31 per cent.
“Based on the brands under consideration by those in the market to buy or replace their Smartphone in the next year, we anticipate that these shifts in brand penetration will continue,” adds Barbour. “Intentions to acquire a BlackBerry have declined by nearly one-third when compared to this time last year. Interest in Apple continues on a slight incline, while Android handsets are poised to pick up the lions-share of RIM’s losses, thanks in no small part to Samsung for which purchase intent has increased by 50% over the past 12 month period.”
RIM additionally lost out Canadian brand preference and popularity. In comparison to January 2011 where 58 per cent of respondents stated they intended to purchase a BlackBerry, 2012’s results found only 40 per cent had those intentions.
When it comes to Tablet purchases, the Apple iPad controls the market at 78 per cent.
“Following a disappointing entry to the market, RIM continues to attempt to gain traction in the market with its PlayBook, but Canadians remain wary and consideration of this brand for future Tablet purchasers holds steady at 22% - up one point from 2011,” adds Barbour. “Samsung, however, has potential for a breakaway. Though current penetration is modest at 8%, consideration of this brand by those looking to buy or replace their Tablet in the next year has increased by 81%, standing at only 14% in January 2011 rising to 26% in January 2012.”
SEE RELATED STORIES FROM THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK:
eReader purchases reflected a growth in popularity in Canada. Although last year, the Kobo, Amazon and Sony brands were all about even in the market, 2012 shows that Kobo has become a clear forerunner with 46 per cent penetration. Although, the Amazon Kindle still potentially has room for growth as consumers are still intending to purchase the eReader brand.
“What is more interesting is that with 53% of respondents intending to buy a Kindle, the Amazon product is more likely than Kobo to be a part of the consideration set of prospective buyers than the Kobo, now at 42%,” adds Barbour. “Though intentions do not necessarily translate into sales, the January 2012 wave of Mobil-ology shows that a battle of the brands may be in the works if Amazon is able to improve conversion.”


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What do PopSugar, President Barack Obama, and Jimmy Kimmel all have in common? They've all had video content published exclusively to Facebook, foregoing the normal YouTube upload. As predicted by Mixpo's survey, more and more publishers are turning to Facebook for video content debuts rather than YouTube. According to one expert, this is due to the rise in importance of fan engagement. This change may be in fact driven by Facebook itself, though. According to Adweek several publishers are reporting Facebook is "aggressively" seeking for exclusive content. It seems that the content platform wars continue.
Big Name Publishers Are Turning to Facebook Instead of YouTube
- Written by Adweek - Michelle Castillo


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Wednesday, June 1, 2011
One of the big books of the summer
This book has already danced around the interwebs for the past few months and became big news by hitting #1 on Amazon months before its fall release date. Akashic bumped the date up and we now have the book.
Cover your sensitive eyes and ears because Adam Mansbach's book is here.


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Wednesday, the Suncrest Towne Center Kroger in Morgantown celebrated the completion of its remodeling project.
As part of the renovation, the 81,000 square foot store now features an old gold and blue Mountaineer color scheme throughout the store. A newly expanded Mountaineer Headquarters will offer apparel, housewares and tailgate supplies.
Some other updates include a Starbucks kiosk, and a growler bar. Additionally, the store will feature more hot food options, like Mexican street food and the Chicken Company.
The store manager said the company is thankful for the gracious customers who have been patient throughout the construction.
“It’s been almost a nine-month, $5.1 million investment in the Morgantown area and they have been tremendous to us and very loyal. We did this all for them and we’re just glad to have, to be able to have this behind us and let them be able to do their shopping,” said Terry Lucas, store manager.
As a result of the remodel, the Suncrest Towne Center Kroger created 40 new jobs and employs approximately 240 associates.


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Civilization VI is a fantastic and highly addictive game for those who have actually understood the core gameplay concept. Unlike any other RPG or other strategy games, this one mingles the best of monopoly, city building and management on a whole new level.
For the first time in years, Civilization VI has been discounted to a massive $30 which is the cheapest the game has ever become. The sale is now live on Amazon.com as part of the Black Friday deals and more titles are expected to be discounted this week as the biggest digital, retail sales time of the year lands.
While the Amazon version claims it to be a Mac edition, it has been confirmed by buyers that it is indeed a Steam code that you could purchase and redeem on your PC so as to start playing a title that will offer endless hours of gameplay testing your strategic thinking skills.


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AT&T Inc. said on March 11 it will replace or buy about 15,000 vehicles that run on alternative fuels, according to Reuters.
AT&T will spend $565 million over 10 years to stock its corporate fleet with cars and other alternative-fuel vehicles. AT&T says the investment would be the biggest of its kind by a U.S. company, significantly lowering the company's fuel costs.
About 8,000 of the vehicles will be work vans or technician trucks to be built by Ford that run on compressed natural gas. About 7,100 other vehicles will be replaced with hybrids and other advanced technology power systems. "Natural gas is cheaper, cleaner and we have plenty of it here domestically," said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.
The hybrids will include a combination of gas-electric and plug-ins, and the trial includes mostly those made by Ford, with some from Toyota Motor Corp, according to Tim Harden, president of supply chain at the company.
T. Boone Pickens, a Texas billionaire oilman who has promoted the use of natural gas, said AT&T's actions "...will be good for their bottom line, the environment and the country."
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PepsiCo has upgraded its full-year forecast after its latest quarterly earnings and revenue beat analyst’s expectations, according to a report by PepsiCo.
- PepsiCo’s earnings per share stood at around $1.79 compared to $1.73 that had been initially estimated by analysts surveyed by Refinitv data.
- The company’s revenue in the third quarter totaled $20.19 billion compared to the expected $19.39 billion.
- Pepsi posted a 3Q net income of $2.22 billion or $1.60 per share, down from $2.29 billion or $1.65 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the food and beverage issued earned $1.79 per share, overcoming the analyst’s estimates of $1.73.
- Net sales at PepsiCo jumped 11.6% to $20.19 billion, beating expectations of $19.39 billion.
- For the fiscal year 2021, the company now projects to deliver nearly 8% organic revenue growth, at nearly 11% core constant currency earnings per share growth, and nearly 12% core EPS growth.
The company continues to expect a one percentage-point foreign exchange translation tailwind to benefit recorded net revenue and core EPS growth depending on current market consensus rates. PEP up +0.19% Pre-market trading


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Latest Manor Royal Press Releases
Survey reveals overwhelming support for BID
A survey conducted following last month's 'sell-out' Know Your Neighbour event at the Sandman Signature Hotel, Crawley has revealed that a huge majority of Manor Royal businesses are supportive of the BID - the business-led partnership set up to enable the companies of Manor Royal to decide on improvements and necessary investment
Of those that responded to the survey, 100 per cent said they were supportive of the Business Improvement District, which was created in June 2013 following a vote by businesses in the area.
You can read the official press release here.


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For Irish internet users it appears that weather and jokes were by far the most sought after applications on portals in 2009, according to telecoms software player FeedHenry.
FeedHenry tracked six million application views on a number of Irish portals, and found that in one month Irish internet users spent eight times more time reading jokes than the next most popular application, best fuel prices. Not surprisingly the weather featured continually amongst the top most popular downloaded applications.
Looking back over 2009, FeedHenry found that while applications such as news were more likely to be downloaded, more time was spent reading jokes.
Irish Internet users spent eight times more time on jokes than on breaking news, or reading sports news. Reading last minute holiday deals took up less than 10pc of the total time spent on jokes.
In contrast with time spent on applications, FeedHenry also looked at what were the most popular downloaded applications.
Not surprisingly the weather featured regularly in the top 10 most popular applications throughout 2009.
Over a four-month period in 2009, the top applications downloaded by Irish internet users included; seven different news widgets, five different sports widgets, four travel widgets (which included weather) and four games and entertainment widgets.
“Application usage was an interesting indicator of Irish lifestyle choices in 2009,” said Barry Downes, CEO, FeedHenry.
“Maybe it’s because of the weather or the economy but, when Irish internet users go online they are preoccupied with downloading weather applications, and the vast majority of time is devoted to reading jokes,” Downes added.
“Similar to an application store, FeedHenry builds personal services portals for companies where customers can go to download a range of applications.
“Users can then take the applications with them wherever they want to go whether that’s to a social networking site or to their mobile phone. The top three applications that users take to their favorite locations for regular use include last minute holiday deals, online dating and best fuel prices apps,” Downes said.
By John Kennedy


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There are probably a million good reasons to live, work and play on the Westside.
In these pages you’ll find more than 600 of them.
The Argonaut’s annual Best of the Westside edition celebrates ingredients of the good life found in our own backyard — world-class shops and restaurants, ever-reliable service providers, recreational opportunities that are the envy of the world and assorted hidden gems.
Best of all, they were picked by you. Thousands of Argonaut readers cast tens of thousands of votes in this year’s readers’ poll, a 67% participation increase over last year.
In addition to the popular vote, editor’s picks highlight some off-the-beaten-path choices that aren’t easily categorized because of just how unique they are. Eat a scorpion at Typhoon, window shop at Obsolete or sing a few bars at Sifted: LA and you’ll know what we mean.
On this special occasion, we’d like to thank our readers for supporting local, independent journalism on the Westside and remind you to also support the local businesses — many of them in the pages of this very issue — that help our communities continue to thrive.
Shop Smart. Buy Local. Go Best.
— Joe Piasecki, managing editor


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Bassett Furniture Industries said it will restate its financial statement for the fiscal year ended November 26, 2005 and amend its quarterly financial information for 2005 and 2006 in the 2006 Annual Report.
The company said the Securities and Exchange Commission had recommended Basset change the way it had accounted for acquisitions of three retail licensee operations in fiscal 2005 and its classification of certain notes receivable activity in the statement of cash flows.
The furniture maker elaborated that when it acquired three retail licensee operations in 2005, it recognized pre-tax charges of $4.2 million to eliminate the gross profit on inventories previously sold to the licensees by Bassett (and subsequently acquired in the acquisitions) and reduce goodwill associated with the acquisitions to a value the company believed was appropriate. The company now says that no charges should have been recognized with the acquisitions.
As a result, the inventories should have been stated at their estimated selling prices less cost of disposal, as directed under Financial Accounting Standards Board Standard No. 141, “Business Combinations,” and the full amount of the goodwill should have been recorded on the balance sheet and allocated among the company’s respective reporting units.
The company said it will increase pre-tax income by $2.5 million in the second quarter and $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2005. It elaborated that the third quarter of 2005 and all quarters subsequent to the three acquisitions will in turn include slight increases to cost of sales and lower pre-tax income amounts to reflect the additional costs of certain of the acquired inventories that have subsequently been sold, the company added.
These retail inventories consist of a mix of floor samples, store accessories, inventory committed for delivery and other inventories held for resale.


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Sneakerheads look no further than Eric Olek‘s latest retail offering in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.
The owner and entrepreneur behind streetwear brand Friday Knights has turned his attention to a sneaker consignment service inside his flagship store.
“I saw a gap in the market, where the limited nature of high profile sneaker releases prevented people from getting their hands on something that they really wanted,” said Olek.
“In addition, Kijiji is flooded with people meeting up to buy and sell sneakers, so why not facilitate that need in a secure environment?”
Home improvement giants like Lowe's and Home Depot are going head to head for sales dominance in Canada
A Richmond, B.C. homeowner is warning that cameras aren’t enough to deter thieves from swiping newly delivered packages from doorsteps.
Manitoba could become the latest province to prevent employers from forcing women to wear high heels.


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The beginning of 2020 is bestowing the enthusiast of blockchain with a massive event, dedicated to the popularization and the advancement of all things crypto. This event will be a perfect platform for the entrepreneurs and visionaries from all over the globe.
Here is our interview with Carmelle Cadet, founder and CEO of EMTECH, a New York City-based fintech startup focused on building financial market infrastructures in emerging markets.
The integration of the Lightning Network offers many potential benefits to Bitfinex users. But what are these benefits and what to expect from the new development going forward?
Blockchain Economy 2020 conference in Istanbul this February is a must-attend event for those interested in crypto, blockchain, and global citizenship.
We chose Kelly Loeffler as the crypto person of the year. Here is why.
Mobile app stores are full of blockchain and cryptocurrency applications. Please take a look at our favorites.
Blockchain technology can help healthcare services tackle the challenges associated with handling sensitive data. Here is how.
Here are three businesses from our list of awesome startups that are demonstrating the enormous potential of blockchain technology to transform every industry. Let’s continue to watch them in 2020.
Blockchain technology can help tackle social issues around the globe. Here are the top five blockchain companies to consider for those interested in social impact.


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The 2010 Ram Heavy-Duty line has received a major facelift along with refinements throughout. Cabs are larger on the midsized...
Like the Charger Pursuit before it, the Dodge Durango can now be configured for everyday use by law enforcement agencies, emergency service crews, and general fleet customers as well.
Read This Article
The 2013 Dodge Dart is set to enter production later this week in Illinois as Chrysler's first vehicle to sit on Fiat underpinnings.
When Chrysler entered its Operation Agreement with the U.S.
Dodge and Motley Crue join forces to promote the 2015 Charger and Challenger, along with the band's 'Final Tour.'


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Top 5 - yesterday
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The Hoogstraten Cooperative reacts to fuss about dumped vegetables
"It is the result of a distorted market situation"
There is a fuss over a meadow in a Belgian protected area called the Brechtse Heide. In recent days, tonnes of tomatoes, bell peppers, and courgettes have been scattered there. These products originated from the Hoogstraten Cooperative. The media got wind of it and published photos of videos of the large numbers of dumped vegetables. Environmental organisations spread images on social media. These show angry, confused people reacting to the situation.
According to the Hoogstraten Cooperative's Director, Gaston Opdekamp, this is an unfortunate situation. It is being spread by the media. "What happened is, in itself, not an unusual situation. It is as a result of a market disruption," he says. "We are sitting with large volumes of unsold products. This is occurring with tomatoes and fruit-vegetables in large part of Western Europe."
"When we have surpluses, we look for other markets. These include animal feed and bio-fermentation facilities. We, however, cannot supply these products in unlimited quantities. What the media did not report was that in the preceding five days, 4 tonnes of these products were given to social welfare organisations", says Gaston.
"People arrived quickly to see a whole heap of tomatoes that had not yet been incorporated into the soil. A couple of evenings ago, the vegetables were completed incorporated under the watchful eye of the Inspectorate. We would prefer healthy foodstuffs rather end up somewhere else. This costs farmers and the sector money. This is our very last resort. This solution does, however, fall within the law", concludes Opdekamp.
For more information:
Hoogstraten - Belgium
+32 (0) 334 002 33
Publication date: 8/10/2018
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First announced back in 2020, Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars has been hotly anticipated for quite some time now, and ahead of its release a little over a month from now, it’s hit a major development milestone behind-the-scenes.
In a recently published Kickstarter update, Sabotage Studio has announced that Sea of Stars has gone gold- or, well, almost. The developer says the game will hit the gold milestone on Friday, which means its master code will be ready, and the final product will be sent out for certification to regulatory bodies around the world. Any work done on the game from that point forward is likely to come in the form of pre-launch or day one patches.
Meanwhile, Sabotage Studio has also announced that Sea of Stars’ demo is also now available for free on PS5 and PS4, after previously having been available on Xbox, Switch, and PC. It will feature the same content as all the other platforms.
Sea of Stars launches on August 29 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It will also be available day one via Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.


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California Gov. Gavin Newsom gave restaurants in seven counties a go-ahead yesterday to resume limited dine-in service, saying establishments elsewhere can follow as soon as their host county demonstrates they’ve met the safety benchmarks set by the state.
But Los Angeles County, the state’s most populous jurisdiction and normally a restaurant hotbed, will not be a part of the group anytime soon. The county’s public health director said Tuesday that Los Angeles and its surrounding areas are still too riddled with the coronavirus to risk opening before mid-August. The director, Barbara Ferrer, held out the possibility of acting sooner if infection statistics should shift suddenly in a positive direction.
Elsewhere, counties can apply for state approval to enter Phase 2 of Newsom’s plan to restart businesses in the state, the nation’s largest restaurant market.
Restaurants, in turn, have to draft a written reopening and operations plan aimed at protecting customers and employees as dine-in service resumes. One staff member has to be designated as the plan’s champion.
The specific safety requirements are consistent with what are becoming the standard obligations for restaurants in states that have OK’d the resumption of on-premise service. Among the few points of diversion are requirements that dishwashers wear additional protective gear such as goggles or face masks to prevent contaminated liquids from splashing into their eyes or mouths. Impermeable aprons are required for anyone working the station.
Sharing headsets and other electronic aids is prohibited unless the devices can be sanitized before switching users.
Tableside flourishes such as tossing Caesar salads or mixing guacamole are expressly forbidden, as are dessert carts. Providing dishes of mints or candies or offering grab-and-go toothpicks is also banned.
Break rooms must be closed.
The guidelines do not include a specific cap on dine-in capacities, as has been routine in other states. Rather, places are encouraged to reconfigure their dine-in areas to keep all parties and employees at least 6 feet apart. Similarly, there is not a limit on the size of a party that can be seated at a table.
Liquor-licensed places that have added the sale of alcoholic beverages to go can continue offering that service.
The seven jurisdictions where restaurants can reopen their dining rooms are the counties of Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Lassen, Nevada, Placer and Shasta.
Not included are Modoc, Yuba and Sutter counties, where local officials gave restaurants a green light to reopen in defiance of Newsom’s statewide shelter-in-place order.
California sported 81,516 restaurants in 2019, according to the National Restaurant Association. Nearly half of those places have closed at least temporarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association says.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.


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A NOVEL dual-sensor microscope camera from Olympus will produce both high-sensitivity monochrome (black and white) images and high-quality colour images, without the need to switch cameras.
The Olympus DP80 has two separate CCD sensors, making it a versatile device which will increase the functionality on a single microscope stand.
The colour sensor can produce 12.5 megapixel images using the ‘pixel-shift’ technique to boost the effective pixel count, and will find applications in brightfield microscopy. The actual sensor yields 1.45 megapixels at 1360×1025 pixels.
The separate monochrome sensor, useful for fluorescence imaging, also yields 1.45 megapixel images.
Olympus America says the DP80 is the only scientific-grade microscope camera currently available that provides this dual-sensor functionality.
“The system is essentially two complete, high-performance parfocal and parcentric cameras in one. It is designed for researchers who previously needed to align two cameras to a dual port, such as scientists acquiring fluorescence images who also need to capture colour brightfield images for publication or reference purposes”, said Peter Mabanglo, product manager for Olympus America.
Colour resolution is enhanced and sharper images are produced thanks to the fine detail processing mode, while in monochrome the camera promises high sensitivity for dim fluorescence images.
In an intriguing statement, Olympus says that even users who currently require only colour imaging can benefit from the DP80 microscope camera. Because it offers the ability to step up to higher-resolution monochrome, users can expand and increase the flexibility and output of their system at any time.
The company reckons the two-in-one camera provides higher performance at lower cost than any combination of competitive cameras offering similar functionality, even before considering the time and cost savings associated with not needing a dual-port adapter.


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How Fit for 55 package will accelerate EV adoption
Among the set of proposals in its Fit for 55 package, the Commission has called for a stricter CO2 emission target for passenger cars and vans in 2030 (55% and 50% below 2021 levels, respectively, compared with 37.5% and 31% previously). By 2035, all new registered passenger cars and vans are to be zero-emission.
If adopted by its Member States, such regulatory certainty will give confidence to businesses to invest in transitioning to zero-emission mobility, be it in production scale-up, or technology research and development. It is worth noting that the share of plug-in electric and battery electric car sales in Europe more than tripled to reach 11.5% in 2020 compared with the previous year, in large part due to the requirement to meet the emission standard of 95gCO2/km.
The 2021 reference level will not be published until 31 October 2022, which will be based on Member States’ 2021 emissions monitoring data, measured using the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), instead of the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test which was used before 2021. Nonetheless, it will be instructive to understand what the percentage reduction means for the emission target in 2030 based on the NEDC emission values and hence the possible fuel type composition required.
The following table shows what the NEDC emission standards for passenger cars and vans would be in 2030 based on the proposed percentage reduction:
To put the 2030 NEDC emission standards in perspective, for the passenger car segment, at 42.8gCO2/km it is equivalent to the average emission of a plug-in electric car in 2020. Whereas for the van segment, 73.5gCO2/km is about 55% less than the average emission of a diesel-engine van, which accounted for around 93% of total fleet in Europe in 2020.
This demands a significant shift in the fuel type composition to include more zero- or low-emission vehicles. While there will be numerous combinations of fuel types to reach the emission standard, it is possible to come up with a plausible combination. ICIS estimates that zero-emission cars, including battery electric and fuel-cell electric, will have to make up at least 50% of market share in 2030, compared with 35% previously. For the van segment, given that in commercial use there is less likely to have concerns over some of the common barriers for electric car uptake in the consumer market, such as charging time and range, hybrids, an in-between option, will likely not gain much market share. ICIS estimates zero-emission vans could reach close to 50% market share by 2030, compared with less than 20% previously.
Meanwhile, complementary measures to steer consumers to switch to zero-emission vehicles were also proposed. In particular, the Commission proposed to revise the Energy Taxation Directive, raising the minimum levels of taxation on motor fuels from 1 January 2023. The minimum energy tax for gasoline and road diesel is to be set at EUR10.75/GJ, compared with EUR359/kilolitre for unleaded petrol and EUR330/kilolitre for gas oil currently, which convert to about EUR10.38/GJ and EUR8.55/GJ, respectively. In addition, a new, separate EU Emission Trading System (ETS) will be set up for fuel distribution for road transport (and buildings) from 2026.
The displacement of gasoline and diesel demand will undoubtedly be significant, though it would not be as drastic as that of the shift in sales away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. There is a large existing fleet of ICE passenger cars and vans that will take time to be retired. On average, only about 5% of total gasoline and diesel cars and vans are scrapped every year.
Given the scenario for 2030 laid out above, and assuming only a changing fleet size and its composition with other variables such as fuel efficiency and vehicle distance remaining constant as 2019, the stricter emissions standard would result in a 21% decline in gasoline demand and 16% decline in diesel demand by cars and vans, compared with 2019 levels. By 2035, when only zero-emission vehicles will be sold, the decline will be 41% and 34% respectively, compared with 2019 levels. In absolute terms, this means around 35m tonnes of gasoline and 44m tonnes of diesel will be displaced by 2035, cumulatively.
This would certainly put many European refiners at risk at a faster rate amid the already challenging environment, with falling demand locally and rising competition from other regions. To illustrate, Europe produced 147m tonnes of gasoline in 2019, and its net exports were around 54m tonnes. Assuming net exports remain constant, gasoline production would need to be cut by 28%, an additional 7% than if emissions standard were not strengthened.
Already about 400kbd of refining capacity in Europe will be closed by end-2021, as tracked by ICIS’s Supply and Demand Database, as refiners have been evaluating their business position and future strategy. More closures may be expected as the overcapacity situation persists. The future with only zero-emission cars and vans on the European roads could very well become a reality much sooner than imagined, especially in terms of business planning cycles. Conventional refining companies will need to prepare well to remain relevant for that future, just as some have already begun the process to reshape their business from being an oil supplier to an energy provider.
By Man Yiu Tse, Senior Analyst, ICIS
This story was originally published on Smart Energy International


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Atlanta, Georgia-based water data company, Aquagenuity, is one of the newest companies featured in the 2021 Atlanta Metro Export Challenge (Atlanta MEC) cohort alongside 11 other companies.
The Atlanta MEC provides small and medium-sized metro Atlanta businesses with funding and tailored mentorship to help develop international business prospects.
Aquagenuity’s mission is to build a future where everyone has access to real-time water quality data to protect their health, especially amidst a water crisis where 7 out of 10 Americans are being impacted by some form of water contamination.
“Aquagenuity is where water meets ingenuity. We are on a water search for water quality,” Doll Avant, founder and CEO of Aquagenuity said. “We heard about Flint, Michigan and their water being contaminated with lead. There are currently 106 million Americans being affected by lead-affected water. Contaminants are building up in our systems, we don’t notice it instantly but over time they can cause a lot of health problems. We provide a platform for people to monitor their local water quality.”
Avant is an inventor, data scientist, graduate of Harvard University, and a TEDx speaker. Her deep knowledge and passion for water equality across the globe has gotten her recognized by Forbes, The New York Times, Reuters, TechCrunch, and WIRED Magazine as the first app to help consumers easily answer the question “What’s In Your Water?” in real-time from smart devices and platforms they already use every day.
“We’re a data company,” Avant said. “We take aggregated data for most public water systems serving 1,000 people or more. We pull data from public utilities as well as any studies done by local universities.”
The health-related water crisis occurring is a global issue and calls for attention in preserving the clean water supply on Earth. According to the United Nations, by 2030 there will be a 40% greater demand for clean water than there is supply on this planet for the first time in human history.
Aquagenuity has developed a user-friendly algorithm that takes the guesswork out of knowing your water quality and allows you to do so in real-time. It is a proprietary algorithm that transforms raw water quality data from disparate sources into a score, from 0-100, which makes it as easy to check hyperlocal water quality as it is to check the weather.
“The algorithm we use is called ‘aquascore,’ it takes analytics and puts it out to consumers that is simple to understand. This data and info should not be for just for people with a science degree when the average person doesn’t know what’s in their water,” Avant said.
Countless small businesses across the world took hard financial hits due to COVID-19, many even going out of business permanently without the proper resources and support needed for survival.
The 2020 MEC businesses innovated new ways to apply program resources when the COVID-19 pandemic halted international travel. Companies employed MEC grants to update their websites toward increasing accessibility and discoverability by international customers, ensure alignment with European data privacy regulations, add certifications and conduct virtual product presentations to international prospects.
“The pandemic really kind of shut us mostly down. [In] March of 2020 we were scheduled to do our global announcement. The connections we made in other countries weren’t able to do that,” Avant said “What we did was scale all the way back and focused on the technology. We hired new team members and doubled down. As we open back up, we are more prepared for a global audience.”
An independent selection committee identified the 12 grant recipients from a highly competitive pool of applicants. Recipient companies represent a wide range of industries, including finance and insurance; information technology; manufacturing; professional, scientific, and technical services; retail trade; and wholesale trade.
Recipient company ownership reflects the vibrant, diverse population of metro Atlanta. Three companies identify as minority-owned, three as women-owned and one as veteran-owned.
The MEC has awarded over $640,000 to more than 100 metro Atlanta businesses spanning their five-year history. One aspect that makes this accomplishment that much sweeter for Avant and Aquagenuity is her lifelong ties to the city of Atlanta.
“I was born and raised in Atlanta so any time I have the chance to get to represent the city I get so excited,” Avant said. “Atlanta is really a great city to drive innovation. It is uniquely blended and offers the same access to global talent, capital and much more of a community feel with people to help you. Atlanta is the best place to build companies that are changing the world.
“This opportunity has come at such a great time for us. This year going into next year we’re expanding our database globally to anyone, anywhere, and it is all brand new,” she continued. “We went to Barcelona before the pandemic and just by speaking as a keynote speaker for five or ten mins had people from all over the world wanting to work with Aquagenuity. The resources from this cohort can implant our mission into countries around the world.”
For the 2021 Atlanta MEC, the Metro Atlanta Chamber assembled the largest group of sponsors and partners in program history — across local, state and federal levels — to support the initiative. Program partners include the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, Decide DeKalb, Delta Air Lines, Georgia District Export Council, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Partnership Gwinnett Select Fulton, Select Cobb and the US Commercial Service.
“Every time people see what we’re doing, they want to get involved,” Avant said. “We have the same water since the planet was created and we can’t solve this water crisis without individuals monitoring their own water.
“We have our Guardians of H20 program where we guide everyday citizens to help raise the status of water quality for all,” she continued. “People can earn badges and other incentives to encourage them to make it more a part of their lifestyle and change the world. With a platform like this, kids are using our test kits in the classrooms and are becoming innovators of the future, leading more kids to think about climate.”
Each company within the cohort receives a reimbursement grant of $5,000 to be spent on activities aimed at fostering international sales growth, specialized trade consulting and travel vouchers provided by Delta Air Lines.
“We’re going to take the funding from the MEC and create a full demo at the next Smart City World Congress,” Avant said. “In addition to me speaking I’ll be able to have a live demo where I will take a sample of water and put it into a filter, the technology is unique because of its scales.”


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It was early days for the airline industry’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) when U.S. authorities gave the new booking protocol their official stamp of approval – with conditions.
The headline for this edition of ‘It Happened This Week’ is: ‘U.S. DOT gives approval of IATA’s NDC but ‘anonymous shopping’ required’
NDC hit a wall of opposition when it was first introduced – and even now, years later, not everyone in the retail travel industry is onboard. While IATA and airlines have long advocated for the adoption of NDC, some in the retail travel sector are concerned the NDC format is too restrictive, and will require a major upheaval with their booking systems.
When this story came out, the U.S. Department of Transportation had just tentatively approved Resolution 787, the foundation document for NDC. But there were stipulations. The DOT accepted new conditions from IATA – as well as the retail travel association known as Open Allies for Airfare Transparency – that no traveller should have provide personal information to receive a fare offer. The organizations also agreed that the NDC standard should remain voluntary.
The first set of NDC official standards was released on Sept. 1 the following year. For better or worse, a new era in air booking technology had begun.
Did the headline appear in Travelweek in 2014, 2018 or 2022?
Fill out the contest form below, with your guess and your email address. We’ll announce the answer and the winner next week, along with the next contest headline. Last week’s headline about the movement to start an agents-only association ran in May 1992. Our winner for Week #12 is Claire Godin from Voyages AquaTerra in Laval, QC. Congratulations Claire!
Every Wednesday in Travelweek Daily, we’re posting an article from Travelweek’s archives, spanning the years 1973 – 2023. Guess the correct year the story ran, and you could win a $50 Amazon gift card. There’s a new headline and a new chance to win every single week.


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The National Milk Producer’s Federation has submitted a petition to the FDA with suggestions for nondairy food labeling. They’re pushing for more transparency in labeling and prompt enforcement against those that break the rules, and insist that they’re not advocating for a “ban” on the use of dairy terms.
NMPF Submits Petition
Nicole Heslip of Brownfield Ag News provided a quick update on the ongoing milk labeling saga. The National Milk Producer’s Federation (NMPF) recently filed a citizen’s petition suggesting that the FDA take action against improper nondairy food labeling. NMPF Executive Vice President Tom Balmer says many products are trying to take advantage of milk’s healthy reputation, and breaking current laws.
“Products that are milk-like or yogurt-like are not actually milk or yogurt and the distinctions are critical to inform decision making by consumers.”
NMPF outlined a labeling solution for the FDA.
Clarifications on Labeling Needed
An article from the Dairy Business news team also covered the story. The NMPF petition was submitted under the FDA’s public comment period that just recently closed. In it, NMPF reinforces current FDA labeling regulations and suggests some clarifications. They argue that more transparency in labeling will reduce consumer harm and confusion over nutritional content.
The petition is available here.
“This petition lays out a constructive solution to the false and misleading labeling practices existing in the marketplace today, and provides clear, truthful and understandable labeling options for marketers of plant-based imitation dairy products.”
“Fast and Loose”
Existing FDA rules state that foods are required to be labeled as “imitation” if they reference a standardized dairy food but do not have the same nutritional value. For products with the same nutritional value, words like “substitute” and “alternative” are to be used.
“Marketers of plant-based foods that are designed to resemble standardized dairy foods actually have several labeling options under current FDA regulations, as we point out in this petition,” Balmer said. “The unfortunate reality today is that many of them are playing fast and loose with the labeling rules to mask their nutritional inferiority to real dairy products.”
Not a Ban
NMPF asks FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb to,
“Take prompt enforcement action against misbranded non-dairy foods that substitute for and resemble reference standardized dairy food(s) (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter), yet are nutritionally inferior to such reference standardized dairy foods.”
Balmer is insistent that NMPF isn’t advocating for bans on the usage of dairy terms.
“It simply relies on proper disclosures that allow for appropriate, truthful, non-misleading messaging. In the end, products that are ‘milk-like’ or ‘yogurt-like’ are not actual milk or yogurt – and the nutritional distinctions are critical to informed consumer decision-making. That’s what our petition is all about.”


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Now interesting update! Yet the legal battle between Apple and Motorola in Germany is making news, Thanks to FOSS Patents.
In a recent article, FOSS Patents pointed out a loophole in German law that was (and is still) forcing taxpayers to pay for part of the court proceedings between Motorola and Apple. Motorola is currently enforcing an injunction against Apple and has deposited money for the injunction as required by law.
Apple is appealing this injunction. The appeal is slowly winding its way through the German court system. When a settlement or judgment is finally reached in the lawsuit, then according to law, Germany owes Motorola interest on the injunction money that was set aside. The government cannot invest this money while it sits, so this interest payment must come from taxpayer money, says FOSS Patents.


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Maize prices have gone up by 18 percent in the month of February 2018, International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) maize market report has revealed.
According to the report, average maize retail price was recorded at K114 per kilogramme (kg). However, despite the price hike recorded over the last two months, retail maize prices are almost K100 per kg lower than in February last year, when the average maize price recorded by Ifpri was K21 0 per kg.
The price of the staple has in recent months been stable on account of oversupply of the commodity on the market with Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe indicating that the country has about 240 000 metric tonnes (MT) in grain reserves and about 190 000 MT in Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation (Admarc) warehouses.
Gondwe said the maize was enough to feed the nation this year.
The oversupply of the commodity consequently pushed down inflation to 7.1 percent in December 2017.
However, the rising maize prices have had a negative impact with inflation slowly inching up by 1 percentage points to 8.1 percent in January.
Grain Traders Association of Malawi (Gtam) president Grace Mijiga Mhango, said while it is expected that maize prices increase between January and March, speculation has negatively impacted pricing despite the availability of maize.


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The HultPrize USIU-Africa chapter hosts social entrepreneurship competition
By HultPrize Club
On March 1, 2023, The HultPrize USIU-Africa chapter held its social entrepreneurship competition that challenges teams of 2 to 5 students to develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. The event was attended by 70 students from 6 institutions.
Each year, the HultPrize focuses on a different theme, and the 2023 challenge is ‘Redesigning Fashion’. The fashion industry is known for its significant environmental impact, including the use of non-renewable resources, high levels of waste, and pollution. The challenge aimed to inspire students to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to transform the fashion industry, reduce waste, and promote social and environmental responsibility.
Distinguished experienced judges consisted of Winny Chepkemoi, the Governance & Gender Specialist at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mr. Kiseli, the Principal Academic Advisor at USIU-Africa, John Kabuu, the Principle officer in Quality Assurance at USIU-Africa, Reynold Mungai, the CEO of Lukhu, a company that addresses sustainable fashion and Winnie Chepchumba, a food systems analyst at the Food and Agriculture Organization at the United Nations (UN) Kenya Country Office. These judges joined the event to listen, critique, and present the winner of the 2023 on-campus competition.
After rigorous rounds of pitching and Q&A sessions with the judges, the final 3 teams were picked and awarded. The winning team ‘Better than Before’, will go on to represent HultPrize USIU-Africa at the Nairobi regional competition that will take place in June. All the teams that participated showcased exemplary dedication, passion, and hard work. They were truly inspiring and presented proof that with creativity and determination, we can make a positive impact in the world and create a better future for all.


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Last Updated on
During its Computex 2022 keynote speech, AMD unveiled the latest update to the AMD Advantage smart technology systems, AMD Smart Access Storage, and a host of new laptops leveraging the tech.
AMD Advantage Smart Access Storage
AMD Smart Access Storage is a new advanced storage capability that taps into Microsoft’s DirectStorage API and AMD’s Smart Access Memory to trim game load times and texture streaming.
Though details are thin, AMD explained that Smart Access Storage ‘gets you out of the load screen and into your gameplay faster than ever’ by delegating asset decompression to Radeon GPUs, avoiding CPU bottlenecks and reducing latency.
From what we’ve heard so far, it’s eerily similar to NVIDIA’s RTX IO technology, itself based on Microsoft’s DirectStorage and promising to offload decompression from the CPU to the GPU. NVIDIA says RTX IO will unlock the full potential of modern SSD bandwidth and, by extension, improve load times and in-game performance.
AMD’s gaming solutions and marketing chief architect, Frank Azor, says more news on Smart Access Storage is on the way in the coming months.
First Ever Corsair Gaming Laptop
AMD also announced that Corsair is launching its first-ever gaming, streaming, and content creation laptop exclusively with AMD Advantage. The Corsair Voyager A1600 is powered by Ryzen 6000-series processors and Radeon RX 6800M graphics tuned to capitalize on the full suite of AMD Advantage technologies.
The Voyager features a 16″ 2560 x 1600 240 Hz WEHD display, full-sized Cherry MX keyboard, Elgato-powered ten-key customizable S-key command buttons, an advanced compact vapor chamber cooling system, 1080p high-fidelity streaming-grade webcam, and up to 64 GB of DDR5 memory.
Customization options will include up to 64GB of DDR5, the choice between a Ryzen 7 6800HS and Ryzen 9 6900HS, and up to 2 TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. The Corsair Voyager launches this summer.
Elsewhere, AMD touched on other upcoming AMD Advantage laptops and how each leverages AMD Advantage to offer desktop-gaming performance on ultra-thin machines. These include the Lenovo Legion 7, ROG Zephyrus G14, Alienware M17 R5, Lenovo Legion Slim 7, and HP Omen 16.


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Forbes recently ran this feature article on how I adapted my keynote speaking business during the pandemic.
The Forbes article is part of a series of pieces by best-selling author Elaine Pofeldt on the trend of Tiny Businesses; microbusinesses making big money—revenue in the high six figures, the seven figures, or beyond. Elaine says;
“Thanks to the explosion of free and low-cost digital tools, better digital payment options, the growth of freelance hubs, the ease of marketing on social media, the growth of online education via courses and masterclasses, and greater acceptance of remote work (which grew by leaps during the COVID-19 pandemic), small businesses can operate with new efficiencies and less startup capital than in years past.”
Tiny businesses, like those operated by keynote speakers, tend to get overlooked in the world of entrepreneurship, where the mindset is often “Go big or go home.” However, they represent a large portion of businesses in the US and the world. Currently, there are 30.7 million small businesses in the US, and of these, 5.3 million have between one and twenty employees. Another 26.4 million are nonemployer firms, meaning they have no paid employees on payroll—the group Elaine covered in her book, The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business.
Elaine’s new book Tiny Business, Big Money can be ordered here.


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In addition to all the new hardware and features that have been unveiled by Microsoft during its Windows 10 media event earlier this week the company has also explained a little more about Microsoft Office 2016.
Microsoft has revealed that users of its Office suite of applications can expect the new Office 16 software that is currently being developed and on schedule to be launched “in the second half of 2015”
Microsoft has explained that it will have more to share with the public and press regards features and pricing for Office 2016 in the coming months. But has revealed more information about its new upcoming Office for Windows 10 applications that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook.
Office for Windows 10 is expected to launch later this year and Microsoft is planning to release a preview of the Office for Windows 10 software in the coming weeks. The new Office for Windows 10 app will be supplied pre-installed for free on smartphones and small tablets running Windows 10 says Microsoft.
In the video below the Office Mechanics weekly YouTube show highlights the upcoming Office for Windows 10 on tablets, with Ben Walters joining Jeremy Chapman to demonstrate the new, touch-optimised Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Together with offering new information on the unique features in Windows 10 such as inking support, Insights and Tell Me.
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text: According to certain reports and several other itemizations, it is understood that Google plans to launch its next-gen Android OS version next month itself. Additionally, this will be juxtaposing with the launch of a new Nexus 4 version. It is construed that the white Nexus 4 is will be obtainable from the Google Play Store on June 10. Furthermore, at this same juncture of time Android 4.3 would also be released. Based on various tidings, it has been reported that the white Nexus 4 possesses similarity in characteristics in comparison to the previous Nexus 4. With reports coming in from various quarters, Android and Me has apparently presented out this information after managing a hands-on on the upcoming revelation. It is presumed that the white Nexus 4 is a carbon copy of the previous Nexus 4 with the only difference being that it will arrive with a different color casing.


text: Lightening those last-minute loads is what rehabilitation specialists suggest for holiday shoppers… especially those who suffer from arthritis and want to lessen aches and pains from shopping fatigue. University of Missouri arthritis specialists say a quick five minute rest for every half hour of shopping can significantly reduce pain and fatigue from shopping. Research Specialist Kathy Donovan Hanson says shopping bags can cause pain to flare up in the hands. She suggests shoppers experiencing stiffness in their hands to slide bags up over their lower arms to cut down on griping fatigue. She says making frequent trips to the car to drop off shopping backs is another way to cut down on the load.


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Intel and other U.S. computer makers and distributors were raided by European Commission and local authorities as part of an investigation into possible antitrust violations.
The commission's escalation came as Intel's smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), was trying to ratchet up pressure on the chipmaker, which has 90 percent of world sales of microprocessors for personal computers that run Microsoft Windows and Linux.
Intel (INTC) confirmed the raids and said that it was cooperating fully with the commission. Sources familiar with the situation said that the raids included Intel's installations in Swindon, England, and in Munich, Germany.
AMD has argued to competition authorities around the world, and recently filed lawsuits alleging that Intel maintains a 90 percent market share by income and 78 percent market share by volume, violating antitrust laws.
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Remote keyboard: Microsoft will offer a wireless keyboard designed for computers running the home entertainment version of the Windows operating system, the company said.
The Microsoft Remote Keyboard, which features a mouse and remote-control functions for operating Windows Media Center PCs, is part of a larger effort by Microsoft (MSFT) to expand its flagship operating system into living rooms as entertainment hubs.
The $100 integrated keyboard, which features backlit keys and buttons for operating TVs and the computer, is the first designed specifically for a Media Center PC.
Microsoft also showed off a keyboard designed for editing and organizing digital photographs on a PC bundled with digital image editing software. It also lists for $100.
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New friends: The staff of the Federal Communications Commission has recommended approval of Sprint's $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the deliberations.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the recommendation has not been made public, said staff members looking into the deal have forwarded their findings to the agency's four commissioners.
Sprint-Nextel would be the third-largest wireless provider in the country after Cingular and Verizon.
The merger would give Sprint (FON) access to Nextel's 15.3 million subscribers, many of whom are business customers who are more profitable than Sprint's base of customers. In all, the new company would have 35 million wireless subscribers and a combined $40 billion in annual revenue.
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Big money in drugs: Shares of Genentech rose a day after the biotechnology company reported its second-quarter profit surged 73 percent, fueled by continued strong drug sales.
This quarter, the company earned $300 million, or 27 cents per share, up from the previous year's $170 million, or 16 cents a share.
The company is now grappling with how to maintain its scientific culture and how to increase its research and development efforts during the company's rapid growth. Earlier this year, Genentech (DNA) surpassed Amgen as the most valuable biotechnology company, as measured by market capitalization.
Profit surged behind sales of one of Genentech's newest cancer-fighting drugs, Avastin. Avastin sales in the United States increased 85 percent to $245 million for the latest quarter, compared to $133 million for the same period last year.
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Compiled by David Cohn. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.