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Microsoft Earnings Down As It Prepares Major Product Updates
Marking Microsoft's only second consecutive down quarter ever, the software giant on Thursday reported $13.10 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter -- a decline of 17% from $15.83 billion.
The poor earnings come at a critical time for Microsoft as it prepares to roll out updates to nearly every one of its major products in fiscal year 2010. The Redmond-based company shocked the industry last quarter when it reported a 6% year-over-year revenue decrease, from $14.45 billion down to $13.65 billion -- its first-ever year-over-year revenue decline.
On Thursday, Microsoft reported net income of $3.05 billion, or 34 cents a share, for its fourth quarter, which ended June 30 -- down sharply from the $4.30 billion, or 46 cents a share, it earned in the fourth quarter a year ago.
"Our business continued to be negatively impacted by weakness in the global PC and server markets," said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft.
For the full year, Microsoft posted a 3% decline in revenue to $58.44 billion, along with an 18% fall in net income to $14.57 billion.
This time last year, Microsoft reported fourth-quarter 2008 revenue of $15.84 billion, and $60.42 billion for the entire fiscal year -- an 18% increase over the year before.
Microsoft's troubles are being attributed to the continued global recession and resulting poor PC sales. Gartner Research recently reported that worldwide PC shipments decreased 5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2009.
"While economic conditions presented challenges this year, we maintained our focus on delivering customer satisfaction and providing solutions to our customers to save money," said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. "I am very excited by the wave of product and services innovations being delivered in this next fiscal year."
Microsoft is preparing to launch new products such as Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010.
Microsoft also recently debuted its own Bing search engine, and has reportedly reengaged Yahoo in talks to form a search partnership.
To weather the unprecedented downturn, Microsoft announced the first job cuts in its history in January, eliminating some 5,000 positions.
Looking ahead, Liddell was cautiously optimistic. "We generally expect the economic conditions to continue," he said regarding the short-term. Looking at 2010, he added, "We see the potential for improvement."


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SDK Makes NFC App Designing Easier
Identiv's uCreate software developers kit includes an app, sample tags and an education platform to help companies build Near Field Communication into their own apps.
RFID Robot Dog Reads Inventory Counts
Auburn University's RFID Lab is testing Boston Dynamics' Mac robot as a companion for busy employees that would count stock with a UHF reader, direct them to products as they pick orders, fetch goods and carry out other assistive tasks.
2021 USC Marshall Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit is a Must-Attend Event
When the 2021 USC Marshall Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit convenes next month, humanitarian supply chains and the challenges of current epidemics are certain to be addressed…along with tough lessons learned.
Fostering a Strong 3PL Partnership is Key for Competitive Advantage
Increasingly, shippers are accusing the 3PL community of profiteering. This is quite a shift from the goodwill expressed by shippers toward their 3PLs just a short time ago as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Locus Robotics Acquires Waypoint Robotics
The acquisition will expand the use cases for the warehouse robotics automation industry, according to Locus.

domain: news


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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that grease-proofing materials containing certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are no longer being sold for use in food packaging in the U.S., including pet food bags.
Manufacturers use thousands of PFAS, in products ranging from pet food bags to ammunition, climbing ropes, guitar strings and artificial turf. On pet food bags, PFAS can help the bags resist moisture and lipids, such as fats and oils. PFAS are also used in the production process of some pet food containers.
Along with their ubiquity, the problem arises from how slowly PFAS break down in the environment and in animals’ bodies. People and animals absorb PFAS, and the chemicals remain in their bodies for many years, if not life. Scientists have identified health risks from some PFAS, although not necessarily those used on pet food packages. Those risks included increased testicular and kidney cancer risk and infertility.
In November 2022, the Environmental Working Group published a report stating that a laboratory working for the group had identified PFAS on 11 packages from seven pet food brands, but not in the pet foods themselves.
FDA evaluation of PFAS use
Adapted from a press release:
Currently, the FDA has authorized certain PFAS for limited use in cookware, food packaging and food processing equipment. FDA’s announcement marks the fulfillment of a voluntary commitment by manufacturers to not sell food contact substances containing certain PFAS intended for use as grease-proofing agents in the U.S.
In 2020, the FDA engaged companies to cease sales of grease-proofing substances that contain certain types of PFAS following the agency’s post-market safety assessment. The research FDA scientists conducted and published played a part in helping the agency obtain commitments from manufacturers to voluntarily phase out the use of these substances containing PFAS in paper and paperboard food packaging products.


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Electronic Arts has confirmed that follow-up titles to popular franchises Need for Speed and Battlefield are currently in development.
Speaking at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference, EA COO John Pleasants revealed that a new entry in the Need for Speed franchise is currently under development by Burnout Paradise maker Criterion Games.
"We've taken the Burnout team and combined it with our Need for Speed franchise," said Pleasants at the conference, according to G4. "So we now have that in our favor because that Burnout team is probably one of the more online-centric and notably high-quality game developers that we have out at Criterion."
Pleasants also revealed that developer DICE is confirmed to be working on Battlefield 3, which is still early in development.
"I've had the luxury of looking at Battlefield 3 over at DICE in Sweden and was highly impressed by the way the team is working on that product," said Pleasants. "Of course, that's not [coming out] in the fiscal year, but that is a product that is looking very good."


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UNIVEG UK was again pleased to have a stand at this year’s National Fruit Show, which took place at the Kent County Showground on the 19th and 20th October 2016.
This year’s stand took on a new look as it was branded as ‘Greenyard Fresh’, the new name for UNIVEG that will fully come into being from January 2017. Display stands bearing the UNIVEG UK and EWT names and logo’s still featured on the stand in order to promote the transition from the old company names to the new.
The National Fruit Show is a key networking event in the UK top fruit calendar, it aims promotes the British fruit industry, from grower’s varietal developments to the latest in machinery innovation. Suppliers and service providers to the fruit industry also exhibited at the event.
This year’s National Fruit Show was a success with future plans already being laid out for the 2017 event, where our stand will be fully branded as ‘Greenyard Fresh UK Ltd’


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Bungie's latest title received its first Raid this week, and a fireteam has beaten it in record time.
20th Century Fox have confirmed the anti-hero is to receive his own movie.
The studio stop accepting user generated songs.
Physical copies of Minecraft PS4 edition coming up next month.
The new MOBA-style FPS from Gearbox Software has further details and gameplay footage revealed.
Finally a game trailer that goes into thorough detail about everything coming up in a game.
EA's cops and robbers themed Battlefield title receives a new trailer for one of its multiplayer modes, and some tips for playing it.
Ridley Scott and Ford both reported to be making positive noises
Check out the artistic new online 2D RPG coming to Vita and iOS devices
J.J. Abrams and Zack Snyder continue playing with their viral videos.


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ChatGPT is AI’s Facebook moment. Don’t fall for it this time.
GPT-4, arguably the most powerful AI model ever, has just been released. The expectation was that this was going to be massive. OpenAI’s announcement does not focus on model size, but on capabilities. They seem impressive, and GPT-4 is purportedly being used at the likes of Stripe and Morgan Stanley. The question i posed just before […]Read More →


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For those that don’t know, Hatsune Miku is a massively famous pop-culture sensation in her home country of Japan. She’s also virtual. This hasn’t stopped her from having a series of popular games, thousands of songs, packed live shows, and even her own store.
Fans of music games and Japanese pop will finally be able to carry the world’s most popular virtual singer around in their pockets this March when Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f is released for PlayStation Vita. Published by SEGA and developed by Crypton Future Media, this rhythm game first hit the PS Vita in Japan in August 2012, followed by a PlayStation 3 port that received a worldwide release last year.
The news was posted on Sony’s PlayStation Blog where it was revealed that the game will arrive on the PlayStation Network with over 30 songs and new trophies separate from last years PS3 version. It was also announced that there would be a number of DLC packs available alongside the games launch including the Snow Miku 2013 content, an Extra Character Modules Pack, and an Extra Songs pack. The exact release date is yet to be announced.
A sequel, titled Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd, is due to be released in Japan in Spring 2014 for PS3 and Vita. Currently there is no news of a release outside of Japan. When asked about the possibility of the sequel being released, Sega’s Brand Manager Aaron Webber has stated that for now Sega is focused on getting the first Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f out for PS Vita owners.


text: Canada’s wireless penetration rate reached 67 per cent in 2009, according to new data from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). The CWTA’s 2009 data say approximately 22.8 million Canadians subscribe to wireless phone services, up 6.2 per cent from 2008. However the rate of new subscribers decreased 14.9 per cent from 2008, to 1.37 million. According to the CWTA, 75 per cent of Canadian households have access to a wireless phone, and half of all phone connections are wireless. Among the 2009 stats, the CWTA reported that: Bell noted 373,000 new additions, an increase of 6.3 per cent from 2008; MTS saw a drop in new subscribers, down 41.2 per cent from 2008; SaskTel also saw a drop of 67.4 per cent; Telus’ new subscriber rate decreased 27.6 per cent to 406,000 from 2008; and Rogers noted a decrease of 9.1 per cent to 552,000 new subscribers in 2008.


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Vegetarian Louise Davies hadn’t eaten meat for 45 years until recently.
A McDonald’s customer in England felt “betrayed” after she bit into a vegetarian burger that contained a chicken fillet.
Louise Davies wanted to treat her 11-year-old daughter who had just broken up for school holidays, little did she know she was in for an awful shock.
Davies said she “immediately” vomited and couldn’t eat for the next 12 hours.
The 50-year-old said she hadn’t eaten meat for 45 years but instantly recognised the taste of chicken.
“I immediately was


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A lingerie startup in Waltham has been keeping a low profile, even after raising more than $3 million in venture capital. Peach is quietly assembling a network of commissioned sales agents around the country — the company calls them “stylists” — who will help market the company’s line of bras, underwear, and hosiery. Peach’s emphasis is on better-fitting lingerie, and the stylists will do measurements in customers’ homes and their own, CEO Janet Kraus said.
Peach isn’t exactly a new company; it’s a reinvention of a 2004 vintage startup called Zyrra, which sold $98 bras that were custom-crafted, based on a woman’s exact measurements. Zyrra won $50,000 in the very first MassChallenge startup competition in 2010, and raised roughly $1 million from individual investors. (I covered the company in 2009.)
Kraus was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School who had a seat on Zyrra’s board. “I watched and helped as certain things were really working, and others weren’t working as well,” she says.
One big issue: customers didn’t like waiting six to 10 weeks for their custom-made bras. In 2013, Kraus signed on as CEO, with Zyrra co-founder Derek Ohly staying on as chief operating officer.
They developed the Peach brand, expanded the company’s product offerings to things like tank tops and sleepwear, and stopped producing the made-to-order bras. Peach stylists still visit customer’s homes or hold office hours in their own homes to take measurements. Then, Kraus said, when customers re-order products from the website, they can access their stored sizes.
The company’s target market, Kraus said, are women over 30 who “look at Victoria’s Secret and say, ‘It’s awesome that Heidi Klum is 41 and looks like that, but who really does?'” She adds that many moms “put shopping for this category of clothing below getting a root canal.”
Kraus said that the company has been recruiting stylists around the country. “We’re at about 100 stylists in 20 states,” she said. Peach has also begun holding promotional events in cities where it has clusters of stylists. The events take place in hotels or country clubs, and they offer fittings for Peach products along with manicures and massages. Kraus says the company may do its first one in Boston this May or June.
Scott Kirsner writes the Innovation Economy column every Sunday in the Boston Globe, in which he tracks entrepreneurship, investment, and big company activities around New England.
Follow Scott on Twitter - Facebook - Google+


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INDIANAPOLIS -- Marsh Supermarkets here has raised the bar for its food court program at a new store.
While the chain has incorporated food courts at several of its stores already, at its new 60,000-square-foot unit in Muncie, Ind. the food-service strategy is more clearly defined than before, said industry observers familiar with Marsh.
Officials at Marsh declined to comment on the food court at the new store. Other sources, however, said the store brings a number of new elements to the chain's food court design, such as a distinctly designed entrance, store brand-named pizza and grill stations, more open production and additional space devoted to self-service salads and prepared foods.
Just inside the store's entrance, a huge multicolored archway with a carnival-like appearance funnels customers into the fresh food aisle. The first elements they see are "Garnet's Grill" on the left and "Antonio's Pizzeria" on the right, both brand names created by Marsh.
In a statement released upon the grand opening Nov. 8, Marsh officials said the grill is named for Garnet Marsh, mother of Don Marsh, the 88-unit chain's chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. In one other store, the food court area is called Garnet's Cafe, said a store-level source at Marsh.
Marsh's Pie Shop, a long-time program at the chain, has been brought forward at the new store to link it with other food court elements. In the Muncie store, the pie shop is adjacent to the pizzeria.
In other Marsh units, both the pizzeria and the pie shop are incorporated in the in-store bakery, which is typically near the back of the store, at the end of the fresh food aisle.
The revamped pizza program features open production and added variety. Associates can be seen hand-tossing dough and chopping fresh ingredients for toppings. In other stores, where the pizza program is part of the bakery, production is behind the scenes.
The assortment of pizzas at older Marsh stores is limited to about six basic varieties. At the Muncie unit, Antonio's Pizzeria features a slate of 25 different varieties including some exotic flavors.
Eggplant-artichoke pizza and steak pizza caught the eye of a local observer who talked to SN. The topping for the steak pizza appears to be thin slices of London broil, the observer added. Prices range from $6.49 for a cheese pizza to $8.99 for the more upscale varieties. Pizza is sold by the slice as well as by the whole pie. Take-home-and-bake, chilled pizzas also are available.
Marsh's Pie Shop also features open production. Associates are visible as they slice fresh fruits for the pies just behind the counter; the department produces handmade pies with fresh ingredients.
Garnet's Grill is designated by an orange-red neon sign. It has an open-flame grill and a menu that includes hamburgers, cheese burgers, Cajun grilled chicken sandwiches and salads, and Philly cheese-steak sandwiches. Panini sandwiches have been added to the grill's menu at this store. A Chinese food program, which is also available at other Marsh stores, is incorporated in the grill program.
A rotisserie seen behind the grill counter twirls turkey breasts and slabs of ribs as well as rotisserie chickens. A hot food bar, a long-time mainstay of Marsh Supermarkets, is part of the food court here. So is seating for approximately 60 to 70, about halfway back along the wall, at tables and chairs and booths.
A made-to-order sandwich station follows the hot food bar against the wall. Next comes a self-service, three-tiered, refrigerated case, approximately 12 feet long that holds prepackaged sides and entrees produced in Marsh's central commissary. Sandwiches and salads -- packed in-store, according to a store-level source -- also occupy part of the case. The length of case appears to be at least half as long as similar displays in other Marsh units, the local observer told SN.
The store is in a residential area with middle-to-upper income levels; within a few miles, the area turns abruptly rural. Some office buildings are in the area, however, and according to the local observer, the store probably also draws shoppers from nearby Ball State University.


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"For 2016, we did something completely different, but it is still simple.'
Kylie Jenner makes a statement by wearing blue lipstick.
Pirelli is changing its winning formula for all the right reasons.
Get ready to see a new side of the tennis superstar.
Well, that escalated quickly.
Serena Williams looks strong and beautiful on the cover of New York Magazine's fashion issue.
A winner on and off the courts!
Check out that fierce gaze! Serena Williams exudes power and intensity on the April cover of Vogue. Shot by legendary photographer
We're big fans of Serena Williams -- not only is she a tennis phenom, she's pretty much revolutionized style both on the


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It was just before Christmas of 2007 that Amazon introduced the Kindle and began selling e-books. Two and a half years later, in July, 2010, the company announced that it was selling more e-books than hardcovers. Six months after that, it said that e-book sales had overtaken paperback sales.
"Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly – we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years," Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said in a statement.
In part the company credits its Kindle with Special Offers (an advertising-supported version of the e-reader which sells for $114) with speeding the rise of its e-book sales. The low-priced device is "already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the US," according to Amazon.
Outside of Amazon, how fast are e-book sales growing? According to Barnes & Noble executive Marc Parrish, 2013 will be the tipping point. In other words, traditional book retailers have only two years in which to adapt to an e-book-centric industry.
Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's Books editor.


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manga Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources
Legal | Disney on Tuesday asked a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss a two-year-old lawsuit by Stan Lee Media claiming the copyright to such Marvel superheroes as Spider-Man, the Avengers and the X-Men. A lawyer for Stan Lee Media, which no longer connected to its namesake, argued a federal judge in Colorado erred last year in dismissing the 2012 complaint, but Disney countered that the copyright claims have been addressed time and again by the courts. “This is their seventh bite of a rotten apple,” Disney attorney Jim Quinn said after the hearing. The three-judge panel hasn’t issued its decision. [The Associated Press]
Manga | The finale of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto, which will run in an upcoming issue of Shonen Jump (both the Japanese and the North American editions), will be two chapters long, with the second appearing in full color, the manga magazine announced. Naruto was at one time the bestselling graphic novel in the United States and is still one of the top selling manga in the country. [Anime News Network]
Awards | Alexis Deacon has won the 2014 Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize for “The River,” “a luscious, tangled, whispering kind of story” that earned him £1,000 (about $1,611 U.S.). The runners-up were Fionnuala Doran’s “Countess Markievicz” and Beth Dawson’s “After Life.” The short-story competition has been held annually since 2007 by London’s Comica Festival, publisher Jonathan Cape and The Observer newspaper. [The Observer]
Publishing | Mark Peters spotlights Archie Comics’ recent transformation from staid to startling, with titles like Afterlife With Archie and the new Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. [Salon]
Awards | The winners of the first Kirkus Prize were announced last night, and Roz Chast took top honors in the nonfiction category for her graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Chast is also a finalist for the National Book Award, marking the first time a graphic novel has been nominated in one of the adult categories. [The Washington Post]
Legal | A Turkish court acquitted cartoonist Musa Kart on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stemming from a cartoon Kart drew last year portraying the then-prime minister as complicit in covering up government corruption. “Yes, I drew it [the cartoon] but I did not mean to insult,” Kart said. “I just wanted to show the facts. Indeed, I think that we are inside a cartoon right now. Because I am in the suspect’s seat while charges were dropped against all the suspects [involved in two major graft scandals]. I need to say that this is funny.” If convicted, Kart could have faced nearly a decade in prison. [Today's Zaman]
Digital comics | The digital comics publisher Thrillbent has launched its own iPad app, which allows users to read Thrillbent comics and also load in their own comics in PDF, CBR and CBZ formats via Dropbox. [iTunes]
Publishing | Diamond Comic Distributors is dropping the price of its monthly Previews catalog from $4.50 to $3.99 with the January issue (in stores Dec. 24). That, as the company notes, is “the average price of a standard monthly comic book.” [PreviewsWorld]
Publishing | Dark Horse plans to publish the historical graphic novel Nanjing: The Burning City, by Ethan Young (Tails). [The Beat]
The photo above isn’t from a comic convention or even a new Apple release, but rather the debut over the weekend in Japan of the Jordan X Slam Dunk Collection. More than 300 people reportedly lined up to get their hands on the collaboration between Nike and manga artist Takehiko Inoue.
The collection includes the limited-edition Air Jordan VI ($250), Jordan Super.Fly 3 ($185), two T-shirts and a hat, all featuring Inoue’s artwork and other nods to the bestselling basketball manga (for instance, protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi’s school and jersey number).
Jordan X Slam Dunk launches everywhere else in the world on Nov. 1.
Every once in a while, a Pokémon emerges that makes you reconsider the notion of catching them all. After all, not every one of them is as cuddly as Pikachu, and some of them are just plain disturbing.
Consider the Banette, a grudge-holding doll-like Pokémon possessed by “pure hatred.” That’s troubling enough, but now consider the Banette as drawn by Junji Ito, the wonderfully twisted mind behind such horror manga Tomie, Uzumaki and Gyo.
For Halloween, the Pokémon Company is teaming with the horror master for “Kowapoke,” or “Scarypoke,” a seasonal promotion on the company’s website trumpeted with Ito’s Banette illustration, which can be downloaded as a free wallpaper or purchased as a T-shirt. More content is on the way.
Publishing | DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee talk about the state of the comics market, DC’s upcoming move from New York City to Burbank, the growing female audience and more. “There’s also a diversification within the audience itself the past couple of years,” Lee observed. “You’ve seen more women, more female readers, in general. When we launched Batgirl and Gotham Academy, those books struck a different note, different tonality, and that was in large part due to editor Mark Doyle bringing these projects together with different kinds of creators. It was our way of broadening the base of the Batman family of books but doing it in a different way to attract a different audience. I think it speaks well to the future that we’re not just going to strike the same note looking for the same customer. [...] You can’t necessarily rely on the same continuity, the same core hardcore comics-driven material; you have to diversify, broaden your net and bring in different voices to the company.” [ICv2]
Nike has unveiled its full Jordan X Slam Dunk Collection, inspired by Takehiko Inoue’s bestselling basketball manga.
The all-red upper of the limited-edition Air Jordan VI ($250) features imagery highlighting moments from the series, paying tribute to protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi’s “personal growth and on-court talent.” The Jordan Super.Fly 3 ($185), meanwhile, is described as “the canvas for the new sketches of the Slam Dunk world. The all-black upper provides the perfect backdrop to showcase the continued on-court legacy of Sakuragi. Even the shoebox serves as an additional platform to tell Sakuragi’s continued story.”
Manga lovers planning a trip to Tokyo may soon be able to stay at lodgings designed specifically for them.
According to Nikkei, the Tokyo company Slow Curve plans to buy leases for condominiums and apartments in the city’s Akihabara, Ikebukuro and Nakano neighborhoods, and stock them with as many as 2,000 manga.
Crime | A man was spotted on security video last week at New York Comic Con stealing a one-of-a-kind, 20-inch Dunny figure hand-painted by by Jon-Paul Kaiser valued at $2,000, plus two other items, from the Clutter Magazine booth. [DNAinfo New York]
Legal | Chinese cartoonist Wang Liming, who uses the pen name “Biantai Lajiao” (Perverted Chili Pepper), has applied for a visa to remain in Japan, saying he’s afraid to return to China. Liming’s account on the Chinese social media site Weibo, where he published his cartoons, was shut down in August, and the People’s Daily newspaper has called him a traitor and accused him of being pro-Japan. Last year, he was arrested and held overnight on charges of “suspicion of causing a disturbance.” “China’s situation surrounding freedom of speech has worsened during these six months,” Wang said in an interview. “I have no idea where the borderline is (between what is permissible and what is not anymore).” [The Asahi Shimbun]
Cosplay | Visiting New York Comic Con, Andrea Romano takes a look at the world of cosplay, the issue of sexual harassment — one person notes it’s certainly not exclusive to cosplay, observing, “There’s harassment when a woman is just wearing a crop top on the street” — and efforts being made to stop it. Convention organizers placed their new anti-harassment policy front and center this year, and it seems to have helped: There were just eight reported incidents of sexual harassment during the four-day event. [Mashable]
Conventions | Fensterman talks at greater length about NYCC’s anti-harassment measures in this article, which contrasts the comics scene with what’s going on in the gaming world. [Time]
Legal | The Japanese publisher Square Enix has filed a counterclaim against SNK Playmore, asking Osaka District Court to rule that its manga Hi Score Girl doesn’t infringe on copyrights held by the video game company. Earlier this year, SNK brought criminal copyright violation charges against Square Enix after learning Hi Score Girl contains more than 100 unauthorized images of characters from SNK Playmore games. The manga has been put on hold because of the dispute. [Anime News Network]
Conventions | Who’s buying, and how much are they spending, at conventions? Rob Salkowitz mines the numbers from a recent Eventbrite poll of convention-goers to get some answers: Most people spend between $100 and $500 per person; cosplayers actually spend a bit more than average; and women shell out more money at conventions, while men spend more online. [ICv2]
Hajime Isayama’s manga Attack on Titan is as popular as it is gory, with enormous creatures that devour humans in the same way we might dig into a bucket of KFC — only with a lot more indiscriminate bone-crunching. Needless to say, those probably aren’t the kind of images you want to plaster throughout the Tokyo subway.
So what do you do if you’re tasked with promoting an art exhibit at a Tokyo museum devoted to Attack on Titan? Well, Rocket News24 reports the designers cleverly avoided complaints about graphic imagery by covering the unfortunate humans on each of the posters with a photo of fast food — pizza, burgers, fried chicken and the like. I suppose there’s an argument to be made those are even more horrific than the originals.
Conventions | Ahead of New York Comic Con, George Gene Gustines shares producer Michael Uslan’s program from a 1964 comics gathering in New York City; it actually was released after the show, and includes some thoughts on how things could be improved, mainly by shifting the focus from buying and selling comics to bringing in creators so the fans could meet them personally. Nonetheless, Steve Ditko was there, and the list of registered participants included George R.R. Martin. [The New York Times]
Creators | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa talks about taking Sabrina the Teenage Witch to the dark side in her new series, a Riverdale horror story in the same vein as Afterlife With Archie. In this case, rather than zombies, Aguirre-Sacasa is drawing inspiration from the 1960s film Rosemary’s Baby. [Hero Complex]
Awards | The finalists for the inaugural Kirkus Prize literary awards include two graphic novels: Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? is one of six nominees in the Nonfiction category, and Cece Bell’s El Deafo is one of the picks for the Young Readers award. The winners in all three categories, who will receive $50,000 each, will be announced during a ceremony held Oct. 23 in Austin, Texas. [The Washington Post]
Manga | A prequel to Osamu Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy manga is in the works for the Japanese magazine Monthly Hero’s. Tezuka’s son, Makoto Tezuka, is supervising the production of the story, which focuses on the time before the “birth” of the iconic robot boy. [Anime News Network]


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Anticipating difficult bargaining with Safeway and Giant Foods, the union has launched a website, occupygiantandsafeway.org, to build public support for its cause. The contract expires March 31.
Among supermarkets, Giant is ranked No. 1 in the Baltimore-Washington region and Safeway is No. 2. Together, they have 58 percent of the supermarket business, according to Food World's 2011 market report. But when other retailers that sell groceries, such as Wal-Mart and Target, are factored in the share drops to 35 percent, according to Food World.
Safeway's president and the CEO of Giant's Netherlands-based parent company made millions last year, McNutt said.
"So the issue isn't whether Giant and Safeway can afford to agree on a good contract that keeps you solidly in the middle class and improves your economic standing. We know they can," McNutt said in the speech.
Harry Burton, negotiator and spokesman for the supermarket chains, said Tuesday: "We will get through this. This is not a fight with our employees and their union."
Local 400 last struck in 1973.


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Startup conference replaces lost FedEx revenue with anonymous sponsors
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While the loss of a corporate sponsorship from FedEx Corp. has given Everywhereelse.co: The Startup Conference some extra (and slightly unwelcome) publicity, the conference has reportedly replaced that sponsorship with help from other local, but anonymous, companies.
FedEx announced it was bowing out as a sponsor and pulled its scheduled speakers because of a planned appearance and discussion by Damien Echols, a central figure in the West Memphis Three murder case.
Kyle Sandler, Nibletz’s co-founder and conference coordinator, said as of Friday morning, the conference raised the money it needed from local business leaders to make up the difference. Sandler would not divulge the value of the FedEx sponsorship or how much revenue it had replaced.
“Because of the political climate, none of them wanted to be named,” Sandler said.
Everywhereelse.co is expected to draw an estimated 1,800 entrepreneurs from around the United States and countries including Israel, Hungary, Romania and Buenos Aires. The event is being held at the Memphis Cook Convention Center
Jim Sposto, CEO and co-founder of Xtrant, a local software design and development company and one of Everywhereelse.co’s original sponsors, said the conference is an important step in maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit of Memphis.
“When we heard that FedEx had pulled their sponsorship we realized that not only could it hurt small startups like Xtrant who are depending on this conference to get in front of investors and launch our products, but if Everywherelse.co didn’t happen, it would hurt Memphis’ reputation as center for entrepreneurial innovation,” Sposto said. “This conference had to happen.“
Ticket information for Everywhereelse.co can be found here.
Michael Sheffield covers bioscience and biotechnology; manufacturing; tourism and hospitality; and sports business. Contact him at email@example.com.
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Facebook – the second Internet
With Facebook apparently constructing a network that chiefly focuses on the interactions of its over 500 million users, some Internet watchers are of the opinion that the social network is challenging Google’s supremacy by aiming to bring about a radically-different approach pertaining to the online activities of people.
Compared to Google, which delivers search results on the basis of algorithms which take the users’ Web history into account, Facebook boasts a much richer level of personalization based on the users’ own “likes” as well as the suggestions of Facebook friends.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who calls the social network’s interactions-centered concept as the “social graph”, said during an interview with the “60 Minutes” CBS show: “I think what we've found is that when you can use products with your friends and your family and the people you care about they tend to be more engaging.”
Picking up on Zuckerberg’s favorite phrase, Lou Kerner, a social media analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that the “social graph” is incredibly broad as it includes what users do, what they like, the people they know and their likes, as well as the companies that users interact with.
Talking to AFP, Kerner said that, in his opinion, Facebook is essentially the ‘second Internet’, which probably is more valuable than the first because of the reason that the users are all interconnected on it.
Famed microbiologist Dr. Mark Wainberg, who played...Read More
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The Valencia Orange Refresher is being discontinued in early July, a Starbucks barista confirmed to Business Insider.
The lightly caffeinated drink contains orange peel, cardamom, jasmine, and apricot. It's served over ice with an orange slice.
People are apparently addicted to the drink, and they are freaking out on Twitter over Starbucks' plans to axe it.
There's also an online petition begging the company to save the beverage, reports Seattle attorney Melody Overton on her blog, StarbucksMelody.com. Starbucks customers have been successful in the past with similar campaigns to bring back canceled items.
"Why is it that they have to cancel a drink that is loved dearly by so many Starbucks fans, when clearly they can afford it?" the petition asks. "Corporate claims they will replace the Refresher with another drink, which we all know will never compare."
Hundreds of fans on Twitter say they are shocked by the company's decision and find no reason to go to Starbucks anymore.
—Paige Brown (@pgingdrfaggot_) June 29, 2015
—Shelby Pratt (@shelbypratt) June 29, 2015
—Hope (@clivesgirl) June 28, 2015
—Madison Cooper (@madi_son_3612) June 28, 2015
—Amber Neva Brown (@ambernevabrown) June 29, 2015
—Kristen Galaudet (@kngalaudet10) June 29, 2015
—Laura (@Laura15Cali) June 28, 2015
—Brendan Quinones (@bquin19) June 26, 2015
—Adriene Davidson (@AdrieneDavidson) June 25, 2015
—Steph B-More (@StephBMore) June 25, 2015


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TEXT OF COMMENTARY
Scott Jagow: The two food stories of the past year have been prices and the environmental impact of food production. One of our commentators, Will Wilkinson, just moved from Washington, D.C. to America’s heartland, Iowa. The “eat local” movement he discovered there got him thinking.
Will Wilkinson: The food co-op in my new hometown offers buttons, bags, and newsletters coaxing customers to “eat local.” The deli counter helpfully enumerates the “food miles” of the various goods on offer. That’s the distance traveled from farm to market. The New Oxford American Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” for 2007 was, yes, “locavore.”
Local food is often better-tasting and more nutritious. That’s a pretty good reason to pay more for it. Maybe you want to support small local farms. Go ahead, if that’s your bag. But don’t think going local does much to reduce your carbon footprint. And it shouldn’t do much to ease your conscience.
How far your food travels matters a lot less than what kind of food it is, or how it was produced. According to a recent study out of Carnegie Mellon University, the distance traveled by the average American’s dinner rose about 25 percent from 1997 to 2004, due to increasing global trade. But carbon emissions from food transport saw only a 5 percent bump, thanks to the efficiencies of vast cargo container ships.
A tomato raised in a heated greenhouse next door can be more carbon-intensive than one shipped halfway across the globe. And cows spew a lot more greenhouse gas than hens, or kumquats, so eating just a bit less beef can do more carbon-wise than going completely local. It’s complicated.
But one thing is clear enough: the farmers in Mexico, China, and Brazil, who produce a lot of the imported food Americans eat, are poorer than the farmers here in Iowa. A lot poorer. The corollary of “eat local” is “don’t eat Mexican,” so to speak. But the way poor people get less poor is to do business with people who have a lot of money, like us. If the local stuff is mouthwatering, you might as well pony up. But if your salad is made with Mexican lettuce, savor your righteousness.
Jagow: Will Wilkinson is a research fellow at the Cato Institute.
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text: A UK study released Tuesday reports that coffee consumption results in lower rates of chronic liver disease. Coffee drinkers report lower and less serious rates of chronic liver disease (CLD), a new UK-based Biobank study found. The study was published on Tuesday in BMC, a collection of peer-reviewed medicine, science and technology journals. Among lower and middle-income countries, CLD is causing increased morbidity and mortality rates, the study found. The study included data on 494,585 coffee consumers aged 40-69 along with hospital, death, and cancer rates. The participants were mostly from urban areas and were examined across the Biobank hospital network.


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Posted in: Forecasts,
by Patrick DeHaan on Jan 6, 2010 10:53 AM
12:16pm update: In a sign of how speculation is fueling things, wholesale prices have swung to the upside after trading lower following the release of the DOE Report. There isn't much news to push prices higher, but a large amount of speculative trading continues to propel oil prices higher.
Finally! The DOE report issued just minutes ago finally gave some breathing room for consumers who have seen gasoline prices spike in the last few days. The news of large increases in gasoline and oil inventories should be enough to send wholesale prices lower, but beware- retail prices still have catching up to do.
The DOE report today showed that crude oil inventories rose 1.3 million barrels while gasoline inventories rose 3.7 million barrels. The majority of the increase came as supplies in the Gulf grew over three million barrels. Crude oil supplies in Cushing, OK, the delivery point for NYMEX contracts, rose to a new record, but was partially offset by a drop west of the Rockies. (READ MORE!)
Refinery utilization again dipped below 80%, even factoring in refinery closures. It's becoming obvious that with these lower numbers, refiners are finding it difficult to make a reliable margin. We may see more refinery shut downs soon unless crack spreads (margin of turning oil into gasoline and distillate) improve.
The DOE reported that the amount of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve sits at over 726 million barrels this week, no change from the previous week, but 25 million barrels higher than a year ago, a comfortable improvement.
The more cautious piece of the report continues to be higher demand. During much of the fall, overall oil demand was under 19 million barrels per day, sometimes as low as 18.2 million barrels per day. Demand has improved since then to an average 19.2 million barrels per day, an increase compared to last year. Gasoline demand is relatively flat while jet fuel demand is up. Distillate demand is also rebounding, off just 1% over last year, but sources tell me that real numbers may indicate diesel demand has yet to show a significant improvement.
What this means for your bottom line is this: retail gasoline prices still have catching up to do. Wholesale prices have skyrocketed over 25-cents in some areas, while retail prices have climbed just single digits. Today's DOE report may lead to losses in wholesale prices, which could translate into retail gasoline prices putting on the brakes in their rally in the next week or so. I expect the U.S. average to be closer to $2.75-$2.80 in the next week while Canada may come closer to 103c/L-107c/L.
The cheapest gasoline likely will be found in isolated areas of the Midwest and Northeast, as wholesale costs there are trading below that of other areas, such as the West Coast and Gulf States.


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European venture capital firm Balderton Capital has led a $7m Series B investment round for GoCardless, a payments platform providing online direct debit services. Existing investors Accel Partners and Passion Capital also participated in the funding round.
Launched in London in February 2012, GoCardless is the UK’s largest direct debit provider. The company, which has focused on serving subscription services and B2B businesses, is now processing over $200m of transactions per year, having grown by 700 per cent in 2013.
GoCardless will use this latest funding to build out its proposition for enterprise customers and expand its engineering team.
Tim Bunting, general partner at Balderton Capital, said, “GoCardless is an exceptional team with the potential to radically improve the way payments are done for businesses. For us, the most distinguishing feature was the feedback from their existing customers, who stressed that the technology they have developed, and the technical team they have built, is world class. We believe this technological advantage, the scalability of the GoCardless model and size of the market it operates in will allow GoCardless to play an important role in the future of online payments.”
Bunting will join existing investor Sven Schmidt from Accel on the GoCardless Board. Robert Dighero from Passion Capital also remains on the Board as an observer.
Based in London, Balderton manages more than $2.1bn. Its current portfolio includes innovative companies such as 3D Hubs, Globoforce, Kobalt, Natural Motion, Openet Scytl, Talend, The Hut Group, Wonga, Wooga and WorldStores.
Copyright © 2014 AltAssets


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In a 44-3 vote on both bills, the council decided to keep the cap in place for 90 days after restaurants open at full capacity. That amounts to an extension without a deadline, since restaurants cannot right now hold indoor dining at even a partial capacity, with state and city lawmakers refusing to offer a timeline of when that will change.
The law also grants certain exceptions to the cap, a small win for delivery apps who opposed the bill and lobbies against it.
“I hope GrubHub got a clear message today,” said Mark Gjonaj, Bronx Councilman and chair of the Small Business committee, which voted unanimously on the bills earlier Thursday. “Their business model continues to thrive under COVID, while restaurants continue to need our help.”


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Keel Laid For HAL's New Pinnacle-Class Ship, Ryndam
Anna Kroupina, Open Jaw
Block laid at Ryndam Keel Laying.
Holland America Line celebrated the keel laying of its new 2,668-passengerRyndamon 21NOV at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy, marking the official beginning of construction.
The Pinnacle Class ship is scheduled for delivery in MAY 2021.
“The keel laying is an important construction milestone because it marks the moment when we can really start to watch the ship take shape and progress toward its launch in 18 months,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “AddingRyndamto our fleet will provide a new canvas for us to share our brand and enable us to show the world to even more cruisers.”
As the third in the series,Ryndamwill feature Pinnacle Class amenities and innovations including the 270-degree surround screen World Stage, Rudi’s Sel de Mer, Grand Dutch Cafe, Lincoln Center Stage, B.B. King’s Blues Club and Rolling Stone Rock Room.
The ship’s design will be created by leading hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany and designer and architect Bjørn Storbraaten.
This is the 17th ship constructed for Holland America Line by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, which most recently built Pinnacle sister shipNieuw Statendam.
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.


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Led by a criminal prosecution against a supplement marketer who was tied to an outbreak of hepatitis, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its federal counterparts on Tuesday announced sweeping actions to “stem the tide of unlawful dietary supplements being sold to consumers nationwide."
A DOJ official announced an indictment against USPlabs and several of its executives.
USPlabs LLC falsified documents to evade regulatory agencies, doctored labeling and marketing materials, and made misrepresentations to persuade retailers to sell its products, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, during a press conference in Washington. With names such as OxyElite Pro, Jack3d and OxyElite Pro New Formula, USPlabs brought home hundreds of millions of dollars, Mizer said.
“The defendants promised the FDA and the public that they would stop distributing the product at issue, but they did not," he said. “Instead, they undertook a surreptitious all-hands-on deck to distribute as much of the product as they could."
According to the 11-count indictment that was unsealed Tuesday, USPlabs informed some of its retailers and wholesalers that it used natural plant extracts in Jack3d and OxyElite Pro, but the company was actually using a synthetic stimulant made in a Chinese chemical factory.
Charges were also brought against supplement maker S.K. Laboratories, an executive with Anaheim, California-based S.K. Laboratories, and a Nebraska-based consultant who worked with USPlabs.
The DOJ held out USPlabs as the poster child for unlawful activity that has increasingly attracted the attention of industry critics, federal regulators and state law-enforcement officials. Such unlawful activity has included the lacing of “supplements" with pharmaceutical drugs and other unlawful ingredients, as well as unsubstantiated claims that such products can treat Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and other diseases.
“This joint agency effort is a testament to our commitment to protecting consumers from potentially unsafe dietary supplements and products falsely marketed as dietary supplements," said Howard Sklamberg, FDA’s deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy, in a statement. “The criminal charges against USPlabs should serve as notice to industry that if products are a threat to public health, the FDA will exercise its full authority under the law to protect Americans and bring justice."
It has been a busy year for FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs. In a news release Tuesday, the agency announced that a yearlong sweep produced civil injunctions and criminal actions against 117 distributors or manufacturers of dietary supplements and spiked products that are falsely marketed as dietary supplements. During the press conference Tuesday, the FTC and U.S. Postal Inspection Service also announced enforcement actions against supplement companies.
Industry trade associations expressed support for the federal agencies’ enforcement activities.
“These actions should serve as a strong warning to any company selling products in the dietary supplement space that if you’re going to engage in illegal activity, you’re going to pay the price," said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), in a statement.
The Natural Products Association said in a statement: “We have long called on the government to prosecute illegal activity to the full extent of the law, and today’s action demonstrates the government’s vast power to regulate this industry. We welcome the coordination and collaboration of the other agencies involved, and offer to work with them and others to continue educating the public about the benefits of proper dietary supplement usage."
Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, said the enforcement actions “are appropriately focused on companies alleged to have acted in contravention to the established laws that are in place to ensure informed consumer access to safe dietary supplements."
Mizer, the DOJ official, “accurately identified enforcement and education as the most effective steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk of criminals looking to defraud dietary supplement consumers by selling unlawful products," McGuffin added in a statement.
Loren Israelsen, president of the United Natural Products Alliance, characterized the press conference as “welcome and overdue" and he expressed appreciation “to see the breadth of agencies represented."
“UNPA and responsible industry have long urged regulators to take decisive action against noncompliant products, as were highlighted today," he said in a statement. “The clear message for industry, Congress, the media and consumers is that there is broad authority held by various agencies to regulate dietary supplements."
USPlabs was tied to an outbreak of hepatitis that may have affected nearly 100 people in more than a dozen states.
“With one product, the defendants allegedly recognized that the substance could potentially cause ‘liver toxicity,’" Mizer said, referencing the indictment’s allegation related to a Chinese herb known as cynanchum auriculatum. “Yet without conducting a single test to determine whether that substance was safe, they went ahead and sold it, working from the baseless assumption that they weren’t using enough of the substance in their products to cause problems."
Texas-based USPlabs has been on FDA’s radar for years, starting in 2010 when consumers as young as adolescents began lodging complaints that they were suffering adverse reactions from USPlabs’ products, according to public records. The company was later one of several supplement marketers that received a warning letter from FDA in connection with a potentially dangerous ingredient known as DMAA.
“USP Labs and its principles embarked on an unmistakable course of conduct where, starting at least with DMAA, they imported numerous shipments of substances intended for human consumption using false and fraudulent COAs [certificates of analysis], and other false and fraudulent documentation and labeling," the indictment alleged.
As Natural Products Insider reported in January, it was a matter of public record that USPlabs was under criminal investigation. The probe dating back to at least 2013—and disclosure that federal authorities raided USPlabs’ facilities—begged the question of whether the company would face formal charges. Tuesday’s unsealing of the indictment answered that question.
“The allegations against USPlabs and its operators should serve as a wake-up call to the supplement industry," Mizer said. “The unmistakable message is that the Department of Justice and its partners will be vigilant when it comes to the health and safety of the American public. Fighting illegal activity in the dietary supplement industry is a high priority on our consumer protection agenda."
S.K. Laboratories, USPlabs and Peter Barton Hutt, a lawyer in Washington who has represented USPlabs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During the press conference, J. Reilly Dolan, acting deputy director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, said as part of the joint sweep, FTC filed a lawsuit in federal district court against Boca Raton, Florida-based Sunrise Nutraceuticals LLC. The suit was aimed to stop the dietary supplement marketer from making misleading claims that its herbal product Elimidrol—a “concoction of vitamins, minerals and herbs"—helped treat or cure people of opiate addiction.
“As alleged in the FTC complaint, they did not have the science to back up that claim," Dolan said.
“We are pleased to participate as part of our ongoing consumer protection mission to combat deceptive and unfair marketing practices in connections with dietary supplements," he continued. “Many [supplements] deliver what they have promised, but some are nothing more than 21st century snake oil."
Sunrise Nutraceuticals issued a statement to Natural Products Insider in response to FTC’s announcement.
“The FTC takes the position that such claims must be backed by pharmaceutical-level clinical trials," the company said. “Sunrise Nutraceuticals admits no wrongdoing, but at this time is cooperating with the FTC and has chosen to discontinue its claims regarding symptoms of opiate withdrawal."
“The FTC has taken no issue with the safety of the ingredients in Elimidrol or claims that Elimidrol promotes everyday comfort, calmness, positive mood, and restful sleep with herbs, amino acids, minerals, and other supporting nutrients," the company added in an emailed statement.
Dolan also announced two FTC case settlements, including injunctive and monetary relief, against marketers of weight-loss dietary supplements using unsupported claims of rapid weight loss based on fake experts and bogus science. He said one case was a “classic weight-loss scam" by several defendants—Health Nutrition Products LLC, Global Access Management Systems, Classic Productions and its owner Crystal Ewing, as well as four other executives and officers—who made claims that three products, W8-B-Gone, CITRI-SLIM 4, and Quick & Easy, can trigger a fat meltdown leading to weight loss of five pounds in four days with one pill or 20 pounds in 16 days with four pills.
FTC has made available both the original complaint and amended complaint. Per the settlement, the defendants had to admit liability and are enjoined from selling weight-loss programs, products and services. While one defendant, Ricki Black (former director of Global Access Management Systems), had her US$1.6 million judgment suspended, the remaining defendants faced a non-suspended judgment of $2.7 million.
The other weight-loss case settlement involved a company that Dolan said capitalized on the green coffee bean extract trend directly after the ingredient was featured on the Dr. Oz Show. The complaint, originally filed in May 2014, named defendants Nicholas Congleton, Paul Pascual, Bryan Walsh and the companies they manage—NPB Advertising, Inc., also doing business as Pure Green Coffee; Nationwide Ventures, LLC; Olympus Advertising, Inc.; JMD Advertising, Inc.; and Signature Group, LLC. FTC charged the defendants with making false and unsubstantiated advertising claims, as well as fake news sites. They also failed to disclose consumers in testimonials received the product for free and were paid, according to the agency.
As part of the settlement, the defendants are barred from deceptive acts and practices cited in the complaint, and they face a $30.0-million judgment that is suspended pending a $160,800 payment, the sale of certain assets and the turnover of about $155,760 lent by the defendants to a third party.
Natural Products Insider could not immediately find contact information for the companies referenced in the FTC settlements.
“People looking for a dietary supplement to improve their health have to wade through a swamp of misleading ads," said Jessica Rich, director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. “Be skeptical of ads for supplements that claim to cure diseases, reverse the signs of aging, or cause weight loss without diet or exercise."
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) was also a partner in the DOJ sweep of dietary supplements. Gary Barksdale, acting deputy chief inspector at USPIS, announced during the press conference that search warrants were served in Florida, Massachusetts and California. He said postal inspectors seized evidence of mail fraud and food and drug fraud.
“Despite legitimate medical breakthroughs, scammers continue to peddle worthless pills, oils and ointments promising miracles and defrauding the public," said Barksdale, who noted it is the mission of the USPIS to defend against those using the system to break the law. “Working with law enforcement, we hope to protect the American consumer by keeping these scams at bay through a multi-pronged approach of prevention, education and prosecution."
Associate editorial director, Natural Products Insider, Informa Markets Health and Nutrition
Josh Long directs the online news, feature and op-ed coverage at Natural Products Insider, which targets the health and wellness industry. He has been reporting on developments in the dietary supplement industry for over a decade, with a focus on regulatory issues, including at the Food and Drug Administration.
Josh majored in journalism and graduated from Arizona State University the same year "Jake the Snake" Plummer led the Sun Devils to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also holds a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, was admitted in 2008 to practice law in the state of Colorado and spent a year clerking for a state district court judge.
Over more than a quarter century, he’s written on various topics for newspapers and business-to-business publications – from the Yavapai in Arizona and a controversial plan for a nuclear-waste incinerator in Idaho to nuanced issues, including FDA enforcement of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
Since the late 1990s, his articles have been published in a variety of media, including but not limited to, the Cape Cod Times (in Massachusetts), Sedona Red Rock News (in Arizona), Denver Post (in Colorado), Casper Star-Tribune (in Wyoming), now-defunct Jackson Hole Guide (in Wyoming), Colorado Lawyer (published by the Colorado Bar Association) and Nutrition Business Journal.
Steve Myers is a graduate of the English program at Arizona State University. He first entered the natural products industry and Virgo Publishing in 1997, right out of college, but escaped the searing Arizona heat by relocating to the East Coast. He left Informa Markets in 2022, after a formidable career focused on financial, regulatory and quality control issues, in addition to writing stories ranging research results to manufacturing. In his final years with the company, he spearheaded the editorial direction of Natural Products Insider.
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The sale of reusable carrier bags in Scarborough retailer Proudfoot Group’s stores has raised £2,500 for Scarborough Gymnastics Academy, which will help fund new equipment for its members. The funds were raised by customers purchasing reusable shopping bags in Proudfoot’s four supermarkets, based in Newby, Eastfield, Seamer and Manham Hill, over the last three months.
Proudfoot stores have been raising money for local good causes via the sale of reusable bags since 2015 and the latest donation means the retailer has donated more than £75,000 in funds raised to charities and other community groups in the area. In addition, Proudfoot stores have supported over 200 local causes with more than £125,000 in donations raised through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally charity to date.
Scarborough Gymnastics Academy provides a safe, child-friendly environment in which members can participate in gymnastics activities under the guidance of qualified coaches. Evy Walker, a coach at Scarborough Gymnastics Academy, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Proudfoot for their generosity and support of Scarborough Gymnastics Academy through the Proudfoot carrier bag charitable donation.
“The kind donation given to the club with the support from the local community is greatly appreciated and will be a huge benefit to the club. We will purchase some exciting new equipment which will benefit the current and future members taking part in the sport for many years to come.”


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My personal highlights from being at the Cycle Show 27th - 30th September 2018
In an era of political division and economic uncertainty, it’s often difficult to escape the feeling of isolation in day-to-day life. Thankfully, across the country each morning and afternoon, a different kind of community gathers.
As many cycling retailers and suppliers will tell you, the current period can be a tricky one to keep cyclists on the road, and persuade commuters off the trains and back onto two wheels.
Here are 10 reasons why encouraging employees to cycle to work is good for business.
We are delighted to announce that we have now launched our nationwide health and wellbeing initiative, which will aim to encourage more people riding to work than ever before. Free2Cycle is live!
Brett Dawson, former CEO of Dimension Data has just been announced as our new Chairman, bringing to the table more than 20 years worth of leadership experience.
There is a new business model in the mix that modernises the traditional payment process so that the end consumer does not end up paying for anything. Free2Cycle provides employees, regardless of income, with a free bike that is earned through pedal power.
Cycling’s proven health benefits - both physical and mental - is a popular topic of discussion within the national press, with new statistics constantly emerging on how cycling short distances regularly can further improve general health and wellbeing. The most recent study, showing that ‘pedal power’ can help heart disease and cancer, is enough to motivate the masses to mount their bikes and do something about the state of health in the UK.


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It may be a legal product in the proper quantities in some states, but a shipment of high grade marijuana from California, which was discovered in Maryland has landed 28-year-old Harold Morris and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Sherrie Miller, in some big trouble.
"We believe the majority of it was sent via parcel---either through Fed Ex carriers or U.S. Mail," said Captain Lee Dunbar of the Harford County Task Force of the 249 pounds of marijuana seized from a storage facility on Pulaski Highway in Joppa, Maryland.
He places the street value at a million dollars, but because of its high quality, it could be three times that much.
"On the low end, we believe that the organization was selling them, putting them out on the street at close to $3,000 per pound and then selling them for approximately $350 an ounce," said Dunbar.
Agents also seized $185,000 in cash, and at the couple's home, tucked back in the woods off of Mountain Road, they confiscated a wealth of high-ticket items they believe were purchased with drug money.
"A Mercedes Benz C300, a Jaguar XF sedan, a Toyota Highlander," said Dunbar, “Also seized were a BMW motorcycle, several flat screen televisions, high value jewelry and watches, two Honda personal watercraft and two large ATVs along with a dirt bike."
It appears to have been a luxurious lifestyle fueled by selling marijuana, in spite of the couple's outward appearances.
"This gentleman, I believe at one point and time, was receiving money for unemployment so you can see how, a lot of times, they will work the system," said Dunbar.
Both of the suspects were released on $50,000 bond, and police say if and when they're convicted, they can expect diminishing sentences, since laws to legalize or to decriminalize marijuana have left judges and lawmakers backing off on imposing tougher penalties.


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Last-minute shoppers crowd Sacramento mall
Time is running out: There are just days left before Christmas and the dash to get everyone checked off your shopping list has begun.
Malls in Northern California are hoping to cash in on the last-minute Christmas rush with an extended schedule.
"Unfortunately, I decided to do everything last-minute this year and so just like everybody else, I'm crowding the malls trying to get everything before it all sells out," El Dorado Hills resident Simone Carter said..
"There's a lot of people who are frustrated because there's not a lot of stuff,” North Highlands resident Cecelia Slaughter said. “Everything is just going by so fast, so everybody is just trying to get out of here and get what they want.”
Shoppers recommended arriving early because you won't have to deal with limited parking issues and crowded stores.
Arden Fair Mall will close Saturday and Sunday at 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve, it will close at 6 p.m.
The Galleria in Roseville has the exact same hours, except it will close at 10 p.m. Sunday.


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| Jul 3, 2014
| 11:53 AM
No vehicle elicits greater feelings of freedom, adventure and patriotism like the Jeep.
Two Jeeps in particular, a 1976 CJ-5 and a 2002 Jeep Liberty, wear their patriotic hearts on their galvanized sleeves. Painted in American flags, the Stars and...
| Jun 10, 2014
| 5:04 PM
Texas Gov. Rick Perry drove a Tesla Motors electric car past the state Capitol Tuesday afternoon, sending a not-very-subtle message that he’s in a rush to woo Chief Executive Elon Musk to build a $4 billion-plus battery factory in the Lone Star...
| Jul 13, 2014
Developers haven't built a new power plant of any significance in Maryland for over a decade — one reason the state imports more electricity than almost any other in the country, racking up extra charges for consumers.
But change is coming.
| Jun 18, 2014
| 4:26 PM
The Huntington Beach City Council took a defiant stance against a major water retailer Monday as Poseidon's controversial desalination project again took center stage.
Until now, the city had opted to pay to be informed about studies conducted in...
| Jun 10, 2014
| 8:04 PM
Driving an electric Tesla Model S sedan, the governor of Texas whisked into the state capital of California on Tuesday with a not-subtle message that he wants to keep nabbing businesses from the Golden State.
Although in the state for a series of...
| Jul 12, 2014
| 7:00 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown has quietly approved a potential property tax break for electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. in hopes of enticing the high-tech, Palo Alto company to build a giant battery factory in California.
The potential savings is buried in...
| Jul 11, 2014
| 9:50 PM
Another glorious Golden State summer is upon us. San Joaquin Valley peaches are at their height and rolling in to farmers markets from Silver Lake to Mar Vista. Alice Waters' foragers are plucking Napa zucchini blossoms for the chefs at Berkeley's Chez...
| Jul 7, 2014
| 7:13 PM
When the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced last year an ambitious groundwater treatment program for the contaminated San Fernando Basin, the agency had its eyes on a state water bond for crucial funding to get the project built.
| Jul 10, 2014
| 2:11 PM
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a California chemical engineer to 15 years in prison and fined him $28 million after his rare economic-espionage conviction for selling China the technology that creates a white pigment.
U.S. District Judge...
| Jun 18, 2014
| 5:54 PM
One of the three units at Grayson Power Plant that burns landfill gas from Scholl Canyon into energy used by Glendale Water & Power customers has been in a constant state of disrepair since a part broke in May, and as a result, the City Council this...
| Jun 24, 2014
| 4:21 PM
The owner of a planned power plant in Fairfield faces millions of dollars in fines and has been ordered to halt construction because company officials didn't buy enough emissions credits to offset air pollution the facility is expected to emit,...


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What do an Audi R8 and a Lamborghini Gallardo have in common? No, itâ€™s not the universal price tag. They were both on hand to help Michelin test its new Pilot Super Sport Tyre on its recent UK launch.
Michelin isnâ€™t denying that its new top-end tyre is really only for use in top-end cars. The latest tyre development is indeed designed to adorn the rims of some of the most glamorous cars on offer today.
But donâ€™t think this tyre doesnâ€™t earn its keep, thereâ€™s some clever technology at work here too.
Michelin statistics say that compared to their last high-end tyre, the Pilot Sport 2, the new Super Sport gives 50 percent more track mileage, boosting the expected range to almost 400 track miles.
The company expects drivers looking to shave that precious few seconds from their favourite track to be the first in line for the Super Sport but they also expect regular motorists to benefit as well.
The tyre boasts impressive credentials; its technology was developed over the course of 13 consecutive Le Mans victories.


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The one thing we can be sure of is that technology is ever-changing. Every day there are new things being discovered, and old versions falling extinct. There is always something on the brink of becoming mainstream.
For example, if you consider the smartwatch, two years ago it was a prototype and one of the most talked-about devices at the time. Now, these smart watches are slowly leaking into daily life.
The Internet of Things – IoT, is an emerging technology that offers some of the greatest opportunities for new businesses and ventures. Up next, we’re going to tell you more about the emerging technologies you should save for.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink
This has been the talk of the town for some time now. It is a coin-sized computer chip that can be placed in your brain. This is the idea of billionaire entrepreneur – Elon Musk.
This was tested on a pig, whereby the chip was in its brain for two months. Neuralink tests have shown an early step toward the goal of curing human diseases with the implant. This was co-founded by Tesla Inc. and Space X.
It has thousands of electrodes that can work in the most complex of human organs so it can help in curing neurological conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and spinal cord injuries.
If this brain tech actually comes to fruition, it could be one of the greatest inventions in human history
5G promises to make your virtual experiences faster and more interactive. Although this is said to have launched world wide, many countries are yet to see the 5G network at work.
This is a network that has the ability to manipulate, move, and analyze data on various wireless platforms.
It is likely to roll out fully in the coming years, and it shall be able to drive the development of complex apps that can solve problems and increase the growth of industries.
This development will also enable businesses to impact the world at levels that very few technologies actually do today.
This tech allows organizations to create a NoOps IT environment that can be abstracted and automated from the underlying infrastructure, thus reducing operational costs.
This will allow businesses to invest in developing new capabilities and add more value.
This one has been seen already with Google Glass, but that was simply just the beginning of this technological invention. Now, despite getting plenty of controversy and press, Google Glass is a fairly new and young product.
Sometime in the future, Google will be releasing a new consumer version level of the Google Glass at a much cheaper price. It is likely that competitors will release their own as well.
There are so many things getting automated of late, and this means that almost everything that was done manually will be automated. A good example is adding contacts to your phone or your email.
With smart data, all of that will come to an end. For example, a company like RelateIQ has already been working on turning your relationship management into an automated thing.
That includes building a list of contacts automatically based on things such as your emailing inbox and your current contact lists, and messages.
A time shall come when you shall not need to ask someone their name in order to create their contact profile. This you shall do automatically.
If you love technology, you should start preparing for these new technological inventions and keep some money aside if you want to be one of the first to dive in.


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RadioShack Gets $835 Million Financing Amid Net LossChris Burritt
RadioShack Corp. posted a seventh straight quarterly net loss and said it received commitments for $835 million in new five-year financing to boost liquidity amid a turnaround effort.
The consumer-electronics retailer’s net loss widened to $112.4 million, or $1.11 a share, in the three months through Sept. 30, trailing the average loss of 37 cents anticipated by analysts. RadioShack said in a statement that it ended the fiscal third quarter with total liquidity of $613 million.
Chief Executive Officer Joe Magnacca had sought new financing to give vendors the confidence to supply him with exclusive products to distinguish RadioShack’s offerings from rivals’ merchandise. The retailer’s sales have declined as it lost customers to Best Buy Co. and Amazon.com Inc. and a stockpile of unwanted inventory forced it to sell merchandise at steep discounts.
The results “do not provide much reason for optimism,” Anthony Chukumba, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in New York, wrote today in a note. He recommends holding the shares and said the new financing gives the company “adequate liquidity to make it through the upcoming holiday selling season and attempt to execute” Magnacca’s turnaround plan.
RadioShack’s gross margin narrowed to 30.1 percent from 38 percent a year earlier.
The shares sank 18 percent to $2.89 at the close in New York for the biggest decline since July 25, 2012. The stock has gained 36 percent this year, compared with a 23 percent advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
The new financing will comprise $585 million in a new asset-based lending facility and a $250 million secured term loan, RadioShack said. The lenders include GE Capital, Salus Capital Partners LLC, CIT Group Inc. and RBS Citizens NA. It will provide $175 million in additional liquidity, the company said.
RadioShack continues to have “ample liquidity,” with the new financing giving “us the time we need to complete our work” including remodeling stores, Magnacca told analysts today on a conference call. The financing was arranged at competitive rates, interim Chief Financial Officer Holly Etlin said.
The company also today said it named Paul Rutenis chief merchandising officer. Rutenis, who previously served as senior vice president for the home division at J.C. Penney Co., will be in charge of improving assortments of name brands and private brands in stores. Janet Fox, a former Under Armour Inc. senior vice president, joined RadioShack as senior vice president for global sourcing.
During the quarter, the retailer accelerated its effort to reduce slow-selling and duplicate merchandise, leading to an increase in costs of goods sold. A year earlier, the company posted a loss of $47.1 million, or 47 cents a share.
At the heart of Magnacca’s turnaround strategy is “Let’s Play!” -- an effort to make the retailer “a neighborhood technology playground.” Prototype stores have a cleaner look, a change from the tangled collection of cables, cords, adapters and batteries that many customers associate with RadioShack. Magnacca plans to reduce the number of stocked items at stores to 3,000 from 4,000.
Earlier this year, Magnacca, RadioShack’s fourth CEO in three years, hired turnaround adviser AlixPartners LLP where interim CFO Etlin is a managing director.
RadioShack began life in 1921 as a Boston-based mail-order retailer serving radio officers aboard ships and amateur ham operators. It opened the first U.S. audio showroom in 1947 and sold the first mass-produced personal computer, the TRS-80, in 1977.
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The majority of smaller businesses in the UK don’t understand how common environmental terms such as ‘net zero’, ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon footprint’ apply to their businesses, according to new research commissioned by the British Business Bank.
The opinion survey of 1,000 senior decision makers in smaller businesses found more than half (54%) believe the language, terminology and information around carbon emissions reduction are ‘overly complex’.
Over three in five (61%) say they would find more information and advice about taking action to measure and reduce their business’ carbon emissions helpful, with over half (53%) of those wanting advice on measuring their business’ carbon footprint and a similar proportion (51%) wanting information to help work out if reducing carbon emissions makes financial sense for their business.
By helping decipher some of the terminology around decarbonisation the British Business Bank hopes to show smaller businesses that simple, incremental changes, such as switching off equipment when not in use can make a difference in their net zero transition.
Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed don’t know where to get information on reducing their carbon emissions and how best to approach related commercial or financial opportunities.
The British Business Bank’s #GreenToGrow campaign, launching today, aims to demystify and alert smaller businesses to the commercial benefits of investing in decarbonisation.
Resources include a new ‘Green Decoder’, an online guide co-created with Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University to help smaller businesses decipher the terminology surrounding decarbonisation.
The British Business Bank’s online Finance Hub also provides a series of guides and information about sustainability issues and how smaller businesses can start their journey towards net zero.
‘Carbon jargon’ terms misunderstood by businesses include:
- Greenhouse gas emissions: 87% of businesses did not have a full understanding of the term and what it meant for their business
- Decarbonisation: 78%
- Net zero: 74%
- Carbon neutral: 69%
- Carbon footprint: 59%
Shanika Amarasekara, Chief Impact Officer, British Business Bank, said: “Smaller businesses are far too often put off by the overcomplex ‘carbon jargon’ that comes with reducing emissions. By helping decipher some of the terminology around decarbonisation the British Business Bank hopes to show smaller businesses that simple, incremental changes, such as switching off equipment when not in use can make a difference in their net zero transition.
“This will become an increasingly important businesses requirement. Given that many consumers now consider sustainability when they make a purchase, by becoming greener, smaller businesses can enhance their competitive edge and expand their customer base.
“Our new mission at the Bank is to continue to drive sustainable growth across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. This new #GreenToGrow campaign will help more businesses find the information they need to move toward transition.”
Smaller businesses are key to our economy and have significant carbon emissions impact.
Dr Muhammad Mazhar, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, commented: “Smaller businesses are key to our economy and have significant carbon emissions impact.
“They can act as agents for change to meet the UK government’s net zero targets. Most smaller businesses are at the initial stage of their carbon management journey and will benefit from the support provided through the British Business Bank’s #GreenToGrow campaign. Smaller businesses have been overlooked in the past and this is changing. The business case for carbon management is stronger than ever and smaller businesses have an opportunity to act now to remain competitive.”
The British Business Bank’s Smaller businesses and the transition to net zero report, published in October 2021, found that smaller businesses account for around half (50%) of total emissions from UK businesses.


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Above image courtesy of The Sunday Post
This past weekend I was delighted to be featured in The Sunday Post as part of the newspaper’s look at female jewellery designers that making headway in an industry once dominated by males.
The story came on the back of statistics being released that showed that college jewellery making courses are often being made up of classes entirely full of females.
Like I said in the interview for the piece, I really do feel part of something special. Since starting up Jessica Florence Jewellery in 2012, it’s been such a great experience to see so many people interested in the brand.
Whether that is following us on Twitter and Facebook through to coming up to our stalls at wedding and jewellery fayres through to placing orders time and time again, it’s fantastic that there are so many people out there that supporting small start-up jewellery businesses like ours.
Ultimately though, it’s been great to put my creativity to such good use in creating the brand.
This latest media coverage is the second time in recent months that Jessica Florence Jewellery has featured prominently in a Sunday newspaper and the third piece of high profile coverage since April.
Already 2015 been a fantastic year for Jessica Florence Jewellery. We have been very busy at wedding fayres across the Dumfries and Galloway region, have our new website up and running and have received a great deal of interest in our pieces, particularly when it comes to our ability to create bespoke jewellery.
In May, the Scotland on Sunday’s ‘Spectrum’ magazine ran a two page feature in which Company Director Paula Gibson talked about the inspiration of her family on creating the jewellery business. From the company name being inspired by the name of her maternal grandmother and her sister through to her paternal grandmother, Mollie, leaving Paula a jewellery box of trinkets, the Jessica Florence Jewellery brand has a lot of personal meaning for Paula.
The previous month, Jessica Florence Jewellery was featured in the April edition of Scottish Wedding Directory magazine: a publication regarded as the ultimate go-to guide for brides getting married in Scotland.
That edition of the magazine showcased a Jessica Florence Jewellery collection that is inspired by the way frost crystallises and forms clusters on delicate cobwebs and grasses in the meadows of the Scottish countryside.


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- FedEx Freight has furloughed an undisclosed number of employees in what the company called "a difficult decision." A FedEx statement emailed to Transport Dive said the temporary furlough was "to align our workforce with current operational and business needs ... We will continue to evaluate the environment and bring back furloughed employees as business circumstances allow."
- FedEx officials said the action was because of the economic impact of COVID-19, and was necessary "to protect the financial stability of the company for the long-term benefit of our workforce, customers and shareholders. ... We do not take actions like this lightly."
- FedEx Freight employees affected by the furlough will continue receiving health benefits for four months while maintaining eligibility for expanded state and federal unemployment benefits under the federal stimulus bill, FedEx said.
The announcement by FedEx comes less than a month after its earnings call, in which it highlighted how well FedEx Freight had done for its third fiscal quarter, ended Feb. 29. Income from FedEx's LTL and big and bulky delivery segment grew 16% year over year in that quarter.
The FexEx Freight segment makes up less than 10% of FedEx employees, with 45,000 employees at 370 services centers. FedEx Freight has more than 25,000 vehicles and averages 105,000 daily shipments, according to its website. The segment made $7.6 billion in fiscal year 2019.
But the coronavirus crisis is spreading economic misery far and wide, and quickly. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg earlier this month was for a second-quarter jobless rate of 12.6%. Some economists believe the figure could jump to 20% this month, according to Bloomberg.
That likely means jobs once thought safe, even during the shutdowns and slowdowns, are not.
The Wall Street Journal reported a second wave of layoffs and furloughs has hit groups of workers who have been working from home: corporate attorneys, government workers and business-service workers. Transport Dive sister publication Restaurant Dive reported on Thursday that Yelp, a review website, laid off 35% of its staff because so many restaurants have suspended operations.
Fleets had a vigorous response to the crisis in its early stages, as consumers stripped shelves of hand sanitizer, tissue paper, paper towels, medicines, and some fresh foods. But given so many factories are idled and restaurants closed, some fleets have begun to notice business waning.
"Increases in March were based on exceptional demand from shippers through March 22, at which point the market turned dramatically," Peggy Dorf, DAT Solutions senior analyst, said Friday. "Consumers and supply chains began to adjust to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the urgency to replenish inventory and secure available capacity on the spot market fell significantly."
The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 1.5 for the week ending April 5, down from 2.8 the previous week. The national average reefer load-to-truck ratio fell to 2.6, down from 4.9 the previous week, DAT reported.
FedEx declined to share its memo to workers from CEO Fred Smith, and did not disclose the exact number of employees to be furloughed. The furlough follows the decision of Smith to cut his salary for six months, from $115,402 per month to $10,728 per month, effective April 1.


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MRA Marketing is one of the UK's leading PR and Marketing agencies serving the construction, building material and home improvement industries.
25 Oct 2021
MRA Research, the construction industry research specialist, is on the shortlist for an award at this year’s Construction Marketing Awards (CMAs).
Posted in Articles, Awards, Building Industry Events, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Civil Engineering, Concrete, Cement, Admixtures, Hard Landscaping & Walkways, Innovations & New Products, Landscaping, Posts, Research & Materials Testing
25 Mar 2021
The second Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report shows specialist plumbing & heating merchants’ sales in January were down 5.0% on January 2020.
Posted in Articles, Bathrooms & Toilets, Bathrooms, Bedrooms & Washrooms, Building Associations & Institutes, Building Industry News, Building Products & Structures, Building Services, Drainage, Facility Management & Building Services, Interiors, news, Pipes, Pipes & Fittings, Plumbing, Posts, Research & Materials Testing
23 Oct 2020
Full-service agency MRA Marketing has been shortlisted for 15 awards across 10 categories in this year’s prestigious Construction Marketing Awards (CMAs).
30 Jan 2020
Full service PR and marketing agency MRA Marketing has taken the No.1 spot in the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA) Agency League, for the fifth time in six years.
18 Oct 2019
Full-service agency MRA Marketing has been shortlisted for nine awards in this year’s prestigious Construction Marketing Awards (CMA).
14 May 2019
MRA Research, the specialist research division of MRA Marketing, asked building and home improvement product suppliers what they thought the impact of Brexit would be.
15 Apr 2019
MRA Research recently conducted a survey, whereby merchants, suppliers and other construction industry stakeholders were asked about their views on Brexit.
20 Mar 2019
MRA Research has extended its team with the recent appointment of a new Research Development Manager, Anna Eriksson.
20 Dec 2018
Full service PR and marketing agency MRA Marketing has claimed the number one spot in the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA) Agency League – incredibly, for the fourth time in five years.
10 Dec 2018
MRA Marketing, the full-service marketing agency specialising in the construction and home improvement markets, has launched a new website dedicated to its specialist research division, MRA Research.
23 Oct 2018
Full-service agency MRA Marketing has been shortlisted for four awards in this year’s prestigious Construction Marketing Awards (CMA).
20 Apr 2018
MRA Marketing and Brisant Secure have bagged the 2018 Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Award for Innovation – New Product/Service in April.
4 Dec 2017
MRA Marketing have remarkable reason to celebrate, as they scooped a record FIVE award wins at the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA), including the prestigious Agency of the Year.
1 Nov 2017
Residence Collection has recently expanded its fleet with the addition of a new 18 tonne lorry for the delivery of Residence 7.
20 Oct 2017
MRA Marketing has been shortlisted for 13 awards in this year’s Construction Marketing Awards.
9 May 2017
Lucia Di Stazio, Managing Director of MRA Marketing, has been shortlisted in two categories for the Institute of Directors (IoD) South West Awards.
14 Feb 2017
The Builders Merchant Building Index has been shortlisted for an award at the national Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) Marketing Excellence Awards.
27 Jan 2017
MRA Marketing is a finalist in four categories at the national Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) ‘Marketing Excellence Awards’.
25 Jan 2017
Full service PR and Marketing agency MRA Marketing has taken the No.1 spot in the Construction Marketing Awards (CMA) Agency League, for the third time.
9 Dec 2016
MRA Marketing was announced the winner of both the ‘Strategic Planning & Management’ and ‘Best Product Launch’ categories at the Construction Marketing Awards.
18 Oct 2016
MRA Marketing has been nominated for 17 awards at this year’s Construction Marketing Awards (CMAs).
30 Aug 2016
The CPA, an industry body that represents UK manufacturers and distributors of construction products, has welcomed MRA Marketing as its newest Associate.
19 Aug 2016
Lucia Di Stazio has been named Managing Director of MRA Marketing, as the company embarks on a new period of growth.
5 Apr 2016
MRA Marketing has appointed Jane Evans to its board of Directors and promoted Nadia Hall to Associate Director.
15 Dec 2015
MRA Marketing has been commended for its work with Deceuninck at the CMAs; it has collected the 2015 prize for Strategic Planning & Management.
11 Mar 2015
18 Dec 2014
12 Feb 2014
Posted in Articles