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Spin-offs are great sources of underfollowed investments. They also tend to outperform the broader market--the Claymore Beacon Spin-Off ETF has outperformed the S&P 500 by over 100 percentage points over the last five years. One of the more underrated spin-offs is Kraft Foods Group (UNKNOWN:KRFT.DL).
An underrated spin-off that offers an impressive dividend
Although it kept the "Kraft" name, Kraft Foods Group is still a spin-off. Back in 2012, Kraft Foods spun-off its North American grocery foods segment, which is now Kraft Foods Group. The remaining part of Kraft is now known as Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ).
Kraft Foods Group is the fourth largest food and beverage company in North America, behind the likes of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Its key brands include Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Planters, and JELL-O. Oscar Mayer and Kraft generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue each. Another 25 brands generate annual revenue of between $100 million and $1 billion each.
One key area for growth
Kraft Foods Group sells its products to the largest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). These sales account for over 25% of Kraft Food's revenues. A strong Wal-Mart is good for Kraft Foods, thus the fact that Wal-Mart is looking to attract more customers is a big positive for Kraft.
First, the retail giant is getting into the organics business. It will now offer Wild Oats brand products in its stores. This should help attract new customers who should incidentally buy some of Kraft's products.
Another key growth area for Wal-Mart is its plan to open smaller stores. This will make Wal-Mart accessible to more people and get Kraft's products in front of more shoppers. It plans to open up to 300 of these smaller stores, which it dubs Neighborhood Markets, this year. Over the same period it only plans to open 115 supercenters.
Kraft Foods Group is also increasing its exposure to millennials, who are one of the largest growing shopper bases. The millennials are also focused on convenience, which is what the Neighborhood Market stores provide. Kraft has introduced new health-focused products to capture the health-conscious consumer. These include Planters NUT-rition and Oscar Mayer Selects.
Kraft doesn't have much abroad, as it gets around 15% of its revenues from outside the U.S. This is the one downside to Kraft as the company does lack exposure to some of the faster-growing emerging markets. Thus, it's relying more on its partners in the U.S.
How Kraft's shares stack up
When we compare Kraft Foods Group to its major peers, it's cheaper and pays a much higher dividend. Kraft Foods Group's dividend yield is 3.7%. Mondelez's yield is 1.6%, PepsiCo's is 2.7% and Coca-Cola's is 3%. Kraft Foods Group's dividend yield is actually well above the industry average of 2.2%. Kraft trades at a P/E of 12.4, which is well below the food-processing industry's average P/E of 25. Meanwhile, Mondelez is trading with a P/E above the industry average at 27.
Toward the end of last year, Kraft increased its dividend payment by 5% and authorized a brand new share buyback program for $3 billion. This is just under 10% of the company's market cap and it is the first buyback program since the spin-off. Buybacks should be a great way for the company to put its $1.7 billion in cash (or around 5% of its market cap) to work.
Kraft Foods is one of the more overlooked dividend investments. It has a strong portfolio of brands that will support its current dividend, but new product introductions could drive its growth even higher. Although the foods business isn't quite as sexy as some high-growth tech names, Kraft Foods Group is still a solid investment for investors looking for a relatively high dividend yield.


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Google Introduces Extension Enabling Brands to Add Images to Search Ads
Google, today, announce the beta launch of an extension that will allow businesses to add images alongside AdWords search ads. Up until now, Google's search ads have been text only.
Noting that one in sex searches on Google provide results with images, the search giant concludes people want a richer experience and images will do just that. However, the beauty of Google has always been its bare bones simplicity.
While it would seem images could clutter the simplicity of Google search result ads, it does not seem the site will be overrun with silly marketing imagery. On the Inside AdWords blog today, Ad Formats Product Manager Awaneesh Verma wrote, "Image extensions will show in some cases when we determine that a search is likely for visual content. For example, it is more likely that your image extensions will show for a query like luxury car designs than locations of nearby car dealerships."
Image extensions are only running in English. Brands interested in checking out the option can contact their account manager or fill out this form.

domain: news


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An estimated 32 million Americans have food allergies—a figure that has nearly doubled in the last 10 years. And, for many college students, dining on campus is the first time they are eating unfamiliar goods in a new environment outside the family home. They may find themselves exposed to foods they have never come across before.
Kevin Grant, executive chef of upper campus, points out that one in four first-time allergic reactions happens outside the home in a restaurant or food service setting.
“Someone may never have known they were allergic to something and the first time they've ever had that ingredient is in our dining facility,” Grant said. “We have to be prepared for that, and we have to know what's in our food.”
With this in mind, all IC food services staff—from chefs and managers to servers and dishwashers—took allergy training and certification offered by leading food allergy training specialist AllerTrain over the 2022 winter break.
Topics covered included the top allergy causing foods, gluten-free training, and proper food prep, with the aim of enabling IC dining staff to better serve those with special dietary needs, avoid food allergy-related incidents, recognize when someone is having an allergic reaction, and know how to respond if those reactions occur.
Sessions were led by Grant, who has a decade’s experience working in allergy accommodations, has been trained in AllerTrain for many years, and became certified as an AllerTrain trainer 2018.
Managers and supervisors took a more in-depth course while others took AllerTrain Lite.
Grant believes strongly that it is the responsibility of the food provider to protect consumers—and that a chef should never serve a meal without knowing all its contents.
“We are in the hospitality business,” he says. “Our concern is always our customer first.”
Nine common foods — known as “The Big 9” — are identified by the FDA as the cause of around 90% of all allergic reactions: wheat/gluten, fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame, which was added to the list by the FDA in April 2021, but is not required to be labelled until January 1, 2023. IC is, however, already including it.


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Dunelm Q4 sales soar following Woldstores acquisition
British homewares retailer has announced an 8.5% increase in sales for the financial year ended 1 July, as an exceptionally good performance in the fourth quarter was able to offset weakness in the third quarter.
The company, which has 152 superstores across the UK, said in a trading update on Monday that revenue for the fourth quarter rose strongly by almost 18% to £240.0m, boosted by the Worldstores acquisition.
Dunelm bought UK online shopping group Worldstores and its two subsidiaries, Kiddicare and Achica out of administration for £8.5m in November last year. The move helped the retailer enhance its position in the booming homewares market and offer a much broader range of products with an easier shopping experience.
The Worldstores addition was significant, as total revenue for the fourth quarter, excluding Worldstores, was up by just 6.7%. On a like-for-like basis, total sales increased by 3.8%
"The Worldstores acquisition will provide a massive leap forward to our online and store offer that we think our customers will love. The integration is going well and we are confident in the benefits it will generate. With around 20% of our sales now generated online, we believe that we have arrived as a significant e-commerce player in homewares,” said chief executive John Browett.
"We've seen a good quarter of trade with positive like-for-like sales growth and a very strong online performance. Encouragingly, we continue to take market share.”
The company’s underlying performance was achieved despite sales falling by 7% over the Easter period, and by 2.2% on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter.
The company expects pre-exceptional profit before tax for the full year to be in the range of £109.0m - £111.0m.
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Issue OverviewComputer Weekly - 29 July 2014
In this week’s Computer Weekly, in a highly-regulated sector such as financial services, enabling staff mobility is a challenge – we hear from IT leaders that have made it work. We ask why small businesses are so poorly prepared for cyber attacks. And we examine the key storage technologies in the Openstack cloud platform. Read the issue now. Access >>>
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Arctic University warms classrooms with waste datacentre heat
by Archana Venkatraman
Tromso-based university uses liquid-cooled HPC systems to keep students warm by recycling excess datacentre heat, saving €1.7m
Why businesses need brilliant social media
by Adam Gray
Social media is tturning out to be arguably the biggest disruptive challenge business has to face
- Arctic University warms classrooms with waste datacentre heat by Archana Venkatraman
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The future of Moore's Law at 50
In this week's Computer Weekly, Moore's Law – the seminal forecast by Intel founder Gordon Moore that oversees technology development – is 50 years ...
No more excuses: VDI is ready!
There are a lot of reasons to avoid implementing VDI. Access this e-guide with advice from desktop virtualisation expert Brian Madden who directly ...
Taking stock of e-commerce systems
In this week's Computer Weekly, the first of our three-part buyer's guide to next generation e-commerce looks at managing inventory in multi-channel ...


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Bitcoin price bounces back. The cryptos’ utility debate continues between bulls and bears
Bitcoin was up 2%, trading at $57,207, driven by the enthusiasm among traders amid news that the US lawmakers won’t ban cryptos.
The recent rally was driven by a couple of events that took place in the past week. Tuesday, October 5, the US Bank – the fifth largest retail bank in the country, revealed that its cryptocurrency custody service is available to fund managers. Also, on Tuesday, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron tweeted that AMC theatres will start accepting dogecoin, along with other cryptos – bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, bitcoin cash - as payment for gift cards.
Moreover, Bloomberg reported that the Biden Administration was considering an executive order that would direct federal agencies to study and offer recommendations on the crypto market. The order would clarify the responsibilities of agencies such as the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the National Science Foundation and national securities agencies.
Despite the positive measures favoring cryptos, the opinions are still divided. The bears point out that few consumers and companies will want to work with such unstable currency and that bitcoin proved to be a vehicle for speculation.
On the other hand, bulls note that the digital asset is a hedge against inflation and a store of value, protecting investors against declines in other markets.
Bitcoin added 27% in the past month, but it is still below the $64,863 exchange rate reported in April.
Sources: Bloomberg.com, cnbc.com, thestreet.com
Users/readers should not rely solely on the information presented herewith and should do their own research/analysis by also reading the actual underlying research. The content herewith is generic and does not take into consideration individual personal circumstances, investment experience or current financial situation.
Therefore, Key Way Investments Ltd shall not accept any responsibility for any losses of traders due to the use and the content of the information presented herein. Past performance and forecasts are not reliable indicators of future results.


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Earlier we reported that Thana Serndha kootam shoot will resume on September 25th after the FEFSI strike. Suriya fans are waiting for his next release. But due to so many reasons the movie is getting delayed and it was unknown when the movie will be released.
While there were some reports stating that he would make some interesting announcement, it became huge. The director has unveiled the entire release plans of Suriya-Keerthy Suresh starrer Thaana Serndha Koottam.
The second single track will be released in audio stores in October followed by Teaser in November with complete album and trailer in December. Then, worldwide release of Thaana Serndha Koottam will be on the festive occasion of Pongal (i.e) January 14 2018.
Usually fans go crazy and worship their movie stars like ‘GODS’. While many actors do enjoy such privilege, few happen to be a much exceptional personality. But here is something hat that gets beyond your imagination. The Pre-release promotional event of Suriya starrer Thaana Serndha Koottam was ...see moreRead full story
The Pongal festive fever is already on in Tamil Nadu and people are getting excited about the festival. The year starts big with lots of top releases that were expected over a long time. Thaana Serndha Kootam comes along on this Pongal Suriya starrer and is directed by Vignesh Shivn and produced ...see moreRead full story
During the promotional event of Thaana Serndha Koottam, everyone in the team were so happy to share a wonderful journey and moreover, everyone were in astonishment by Vignesh Shivn’s patience and cool-headed nature. Speaking during the occasion, Suriya and K.E. Gnanavel Raja mentioned saying that...see moreRead full story


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Demonetisation spoils gold appetite, demand falls
The impact of demonetisation continued through January and February with some pick-up in demand during Akshay Tritiya.
Tanishq sees 50% growth this Akshay Tritiya
“The year (April 2017-Mar 18) started off for the division with a great Akshay Tritiya as well as...
Demand for gold jewellery falls around 30% in run-up to Diwali
Demand for the yellow metal in India, as indicated by the World Gold Council, ...
Rock vs paper: Who will win this Akshay Tritiya
Some analysts say the current tranche of sovereign gold bonds, launched on April 24, could be a more attractive proposition for the investing community.
NSE to extend trade in gold ETFs, sovereign gold bond on Dhanteras
The exchange will also conduct muhurat trading session on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan on October 19 from 1830 hours to 1930 hours, NSE said in a notice.
Dhanteras: BSE extends trade in gold ETFs, Sovereign Gold Bond
Besides, the exchange will conduct muhurat trading session on account of Diwali Laxmi Pujan on October 19 from 1830 hrs to 1930 hrs, the BSE said in a notice.
Jewellers expect 20-30% increase in sales this Diwali
The market sentiment has become positive after government decided to do away with KYC requirement for cash purchase of gold of Rs 50,000.
Penchant for gold jewellery remains unfazed on Akshaya Tritiya
With changing times, people are visibly shifting their focus towards diamond jewellery having gold as the base metal.
Bet on gold with a long-term horizon, say experts
The investment demand has been a real indicator of how gold prices will behave in the longer run.
Paytm sees 100% month-on-month growth in gold purchases
Paytm has sold around 100 kg of digital gold through its wallet application since its launch on Akshay Tritiya this year.
Spot gold prices plunge 0.94% to Rs 28,800 per 10 gm
In the international market, gold prices on Tuesday were near three-week lows.
Weekly commodity wrap: Gold inches up, base metals rise
Analysts said that gold firmed as forecast-beating euro zone inflation boosted euro against dollar.
How much return will you earn from gold?
ET Wealth takes you through four scenarios to show how an investment of Rs 1 lakh can be affected over five years as prices vary.
Looking to buy gold on Akshaya Tritiya? Here are 6 ways
Before investing in gold, get clarity as to why you need to invest in gold, is it for marriage purpose or for pure investment?
Gold price: Find all the latest trends and news about the yellow metal
“We expect gold prices to trade lower," said Angel Commodities.


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Riley and Rowan mentioned in Law360 article about dispute over Honda franchise territory
Francis X. “Trip” Riley, III and Michael Rowan, respectively, a partner and an associate in Saul Ewing’s Commercial Litigation Practice, are mentioned as the attorneys representing All Star Motors LLC, a party in a case where the plaintiff, a competing Honda dealership, attempted to re-litigate and bring Federal RICO and common law causes of action related to a prior state court action whereby American Honda’s grant of a franchise to All Star was upheld.
The article reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a District Court’s order dismissing the competing Honda dealership’s complaint which sought to collaterally attack the prior state court’s judgment which affirmed American Honda’s right to grant All Star the Honda franchise.
To read the complete article, click here.


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Apple Maps Vehicles to Begin Surveying Belgium and the Netherlands
Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Belgium and the Netherlands during June, according to a list of locations maintained on Apple's website.
The data collected will be used to improve Apple Maps and to expand its Look Around feature, which remains limited to a handful of U.S. cities. Introduced in iOS 13, Look Around is similar to Google's Street View, providing a street-level view of supported locations with high-resolution 3D imagery that can be zoomed and panned.
One advantage of Look Around over Street View is smoother panning when moving around the map for a more immersive experience. As with Street View, Apple blurs faces and license plates in all of the 3D imagery that it makes available.
Apple Maps vehicles have also surveyed parts of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Portugal, Croatia, Japan, Andorra, and Puerto Rico since data collection began in 2015. In some areas where streets are not easily accessible, Apple uses employees wearing a backpack system to collect data.
Top Rated Comments
O wait... it is just a start. That means it will take another decade or so before the result will be available...
The pace of technology these days is overwhelming...


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LOS ANGELES, Jul 18, 2009 / FW/ — There is still at least 40 days of summer left and there is still time to achieve bikini confidence thanks to the NIVEA ‘Good-Bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge’.
A four-week, holistic program combining fitness, nutrition, style and NIVEA’s Good-bye Cellulite skincare products “Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge,” is designed to help women visibly reduce the appearance of cellulite, get in shape and radiate bikini confidence.
Now, with beach season in full-throttle, NIVEA Good-bye Cellulite is partnering with Challenge expert and celebrity swimsuit designer Shay Todd to present her Miami fashion show and with MTV’s “It’s On with Alexa Chung” to reward one lucky winner with a chance to attend the show as an on-air correspondent for MTV.
A Busy Bikini Summer
These activities bookend a busy bikini season for NIVEA’s “Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge.” Kicking off in April, the brand hosted a Miami beach-side event where the largest gathering of bikini-clad celebrants formed a human alphabet to spell out the word “NIVEA.”
The following month, NIVEA and celebrity swimsuit designer Shay Todd hosted a Memorial Day Weekend backyard Bikini Bash in Malibu, CA. Featuring celebrity guests including Challenge participant Kim Kardashian, the event further encouraged women to say goodbye to their cellulite this summer
Now, NIVEA is showing women how to achieve their best bikini style by partnering with Shay Todd for the designer’s Fashion Show in Miami.
“Here in the heart of Miami at the Shay Todd Fashion Show, we’ve teamed up with NIVEA and we’re celebrating the NIVEA ‘Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge,'” said Shay Todd. “I’m surrounded by ladies who are proudly showing off their Shay Todd swimsuits with the added confidence that only comes from being bikini-ready.”
During the show, an MTV contest winner (who herself has completed the NIVEA “Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini” Challenge) will show her confidence by attending the show and serving as an on-air correspondent from the Miami event. The contest was sponsored by NIVEA Goodbye Cellulite in conjunction with MTV’s “It’s On With Alexa Chung.”
For more information on the NIVEA “Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge” please visit www.NIVEAusa.com/bikini or for details on the MTV “It’s On With Alexa Chung” contest go to http://casting.mtv.com/shows/nivea-good-bye-cellulite-hello-bikini-challenge.


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| Apr 17, 2014
| 4:49 PM
After 70 years in business, Ernie Jr.’s Taco House will close for the last time on Saturday and many lifelong fans are flocking to the eatery this week for their last chance to munch on its Mexican fare.
The restaurant has been a family business...
| Apr 11, 2014
| 4:49 PM
The Glendale Galleria, which underwent a major renovation that was unveiled last fall, is gearing up to offer a slew of new stores and eateries in the coming months and news about what will take over the former Nordstrom space could come as early as May....
| Mar 26, 2014
| 10:31 AM
While the majority of residents on a portion of West Lexington Drive would like permitted parking for 24 hours on a street often clogged by vehicles driven by both residents and customers of nearby businesses, they didn’t get their wish following...
| Mar 19, 2014
As part of their 75th anniversary celebration, members and guests of the Oakmont League spent a day in "Italy" even if it was a ballroom in the Glendale Hilton decorated with crepe paper touches of red, white and green — the colors of the Italian...
| May 14, 2014
| 2:49 PM
Urban Spoon lists 49 “restaurants” in La Cañada Flintridge. Who knew there were so many fine dining establishments, complete with waiters service, menus and little flower arrangements on the table?
Actually, there aren’t.
Both of our...
| May 7, 2014
| 1:39 PM
A couple of weekend's ago I slipped away to visit daughter Heather and her children, Catherine and Ryan.
Catherine and Ryan were both in a play called "The David Show" at their church. The play was adorably clever and it gave each child a moment in...
| May 12, 2014
| 11:15 AM
Walking into Seasoning Alley is a little like walking into a sunrise. Bright orange and yellow paint coat the walls and prints of big red poppies lift your spirits. An open floor plan feels more open with two bay windows big enough to house three tables....
| Jul 9, 2014
| 7:02 PM
With some businesses moving on and others moving in, Montrose’s main business district is getting a makeover this summer.
A few weeks ago, Three Drunken Goats, a tapas and wine bar, closed its doors, surprising neighboring businesses and Honolulu...
| Jun 25, 2014
| 5:04 PM
There’s no doubt that when La Cañadans get hungry, Foothill Boulevard is where they head. The main route in town is where businesses rule, where there is no shortage of dining options, corporate or homespun.
At 1044 Foothill, just west of Chevy...
| Jun 17, 2014
| 4:58 PM
A downtown Glendale building damaged in a fire in May 2013 was recently demolished, prompting the owners of the restaurant and retail stores that once called the two-story site their home to make differing choices about their businesses’ future....
| Jun 5, 2014
| 7:28 PM
For neighbors of Phoenicia, a popular Lebanese restaurant owned by a city commissioner, the eatery's large-scale expansion has caused noise and parking headaches, but their biggest complaint lately has been the appearance of special treatment.
| Mar 12, 2013
| 1:25 PM
A quick show of hands here: How many SoCal cities have a resident Cuban restaurant? Not many, eh? Well, Glendale stands tall in this regard. Mambo’s Café, at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Western Avenue, serves lunch and dinner, with live...


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While more Americans are moving online for the mortgage process, a new survey shows that there is still hope for banks to not lose their customer to third parties.
Don Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic, told HousingWire earlier this year that this will be a big year for moving the mortgage market online.
“Currently, our biggest opportunity is going to be ‘riding’ the eWave. This means that we will be material in transitioning increasingly greater numbers of our customers to an eEnvironment that is highly regulated and highly competitive. Customers are unique and one size doesn’t fit all. It will be a time of great learning for everyone in this market --- everyone,” said Iannitti.
Meanwhile, according to the new survey from Accenture (ACN), while consumers overwhelmingly (86%) trust banks over other types of providers with their data, they shop elsewhere for more sophisticated, high-margin products. For example, only 48% get mortgages from their primary bank.
The survey is based on an online survey of 4,004 bank customers in North America conducted for Accenture by Market Knowledge Online between Jan. 19 through Jan. 26. Approximately 70% of the respondents (2,803) were in the United States and 30% (1,201) were in Canada.
“Consumers’ perception of their banking relationship as transactional and not advice-driven is growing at a rapid pace,” said Dave Edmondson, senior managing director of Accenture’s North America banking practice.
“Banks run the risk that consumers increasingly view them as a utility — a service for basic financial transactions — and not as the first choice for seeking financial advice," he said.
So how can you help keep ahold of your mortgage customers?
"Banks need to become more relevant to customers’ everyday lives, including recommending suitable products and services, whether these options come from the bank or third parties,” Edmondson advises.
The survey found that consumers shop around and choose sources other than their primary bank for high-margin products. For example, the majority of consumers said they went to other sources to purchase auto loans (70%), brokerage accounts (61%), registered retirement accounts (53%), financial advice (52%) and home mortgage loans (52%).
However, bank users are not trying to leave their banks in the dust.
Consumers would be interested in several additional services from their banks, including: discounts for purchases (54%); proactive bill-pay services (53%); product recommendations (52%); end-to-end assistance with car buying, such as help with negotiating a loan and providing vehicle recommendations (49%); and buying a home (46%).
And with these additional services, 27% say it would motivate them to apply for a mortgage with their current bank, even if it didn’t offer the most favorable rates.


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- Butterfly Equity will acquire Qdoba from Apollo Global Management for an undisclosed sum, Butterfly announced Tuesday. Butterfly will merge Qdoba with Modern Restaurant Concepts. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter.
- Modern Restaurant Concepts, which consists of fast casual brands Lemonade and Modern Market Eatery, will reach approximately 800 units as a result of the deal. Qdoba’s nearly 750 units will account for the vast majority of the company’s unit count.
- Apollo Global Management was rumored to be considering a sale of Qdoba in 2019, less than two years after acquiring the Mexican fast casual chain from Jack in the Box. Butterfly’s acquisition suggests some companies are still willing to acquire new brands to build out their platforms, despite market uncertainty.
Qdoba’s franchise model could help build on MRC’s expansion goals. Modern Market recently signed a multi-unit franchise deal, the first for the brand, adding 40 units across seven states, according to the press release. Qdoba has extensive franchising experience — 450 of its roughly 750 locations are franchised, and it has about 300 franchise restaurants in its development pipeline to open over the next five years. MRC management believes the three brands have the potential for over 3,000 combined units.
“QDOBA is an iconic brand whose reach will help us bring Modern Market and Lemonade to new consumers and franchisees around the country, particularly as we begin our own franchising journey,” Rob McColgan, CEO of MRC, said.
In addition to its experience with franchising, Qdoba has built up its digital assets this year. In February, the chain renovated its loyalty program into a two-tiered offering, in which customers who visit the chain more than 12 times in one year gain access to more extensive loyalty benefits. In June, Qdoba debuted a queso-focused virtual brand, Pure Gold by Qdoba, which is available through third-party apps in a small number of markets.
Despite falling real gross domestic product, high inflation and flat personal consumption — which have triggered fears of a recession in the last few months — restaurant acquisitions have continued. In July, Ampex Brands, Au Bon Pain’s parent company, bought Bellagreen. In the same month, Denny’s also finalized the $82.5 million acquisition of Keke’s Breakfast Cafe and Gala Capital Partners purchased Dunn Brothers Coffee.
This flurry of acquisitions shows companies are looking to build out platforms consisting of multiple, complimentary brands. Fat Brands, for example, acquired eight brands in 2021, and is now looking to grow its systemwide unit count by 900 units over the next five years.


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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will leave in a week on a trade trip to Singapore and Japan – her first international travel in more than two years.
Ardern and Trade Minister Damien O'Connor will travel on the Royal Air NZ Force Boeing 757 with a 13-strong business delegation for the six-day-long trip.
It is the first of several trips Ardern is planning this year after two years of Covid-19 measures halted the usually busy international agenda of Prime Ministers – she has signalled she will also travel to the US, Europe and the UK as the usual leaders' round of international summits start to kick off again.
As well as regional security issues in the Pacific, Ardern said a key focus of the trip was to reinforce that New Zealand has now reopened its borders, and promote business and trade.
"It's just over two years since Covid-19 hit New Zealand's shores, prompting us to close the borders to protect lives and livelihoods. Now we must continue to reconnect with the world and I look forward to supporting our businesses across a range of sectors, and seeing my political counterparts in person," Jacinda Ardern said.
In Singapore, Ardern will meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and call on President Halimah Yacob.
In Japan, she will meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the first time - he became Prime MInister in October 2021.
It is the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and New Zealand this year and Ardern said global and regional security issues will be a focus of those talks. That is likely to include measures being taken in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and concerns about China's influence in the Indo-Pacific and reports over its security deal with the Solomon Islands.
Ardern said the two countries are among New Zealand's closest Indo-Pacific partners and her message would be clear - "New Zealand is open for business."
The business delegation with Ardern will include representatives from the dairy, food and beverage, technology, tourism and renewable energy sectors.
"I will be highlighting New Zealand's reopening for tourism and education, as well as supporting our businesses as they rebuild and grow connections with partners and customers in these two significant markets," Ardern said.
The Singapore trip will also include a visit to a major port to discuss supply chains and talks with aviation sector leaders.
Both Japan and Singapore are among the CPTPP trade grouping and trade minister Damien O'Connor said such key markets were critical as New Zealand reconnected with the world.
Japan is New Zealand's fourth-largest trading partner and major exports include horticulture, dairy and meat. Two-way trade totalled $8.34 billion to the year ended December 2021.
Singapore is the fifth largest with a total of $6.56b in two-way trade over the same period.
The delegation will leave New Zealand on April 18 and return on April 24.


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Scooter’s Coffee is planning a convenient drive-thru spot in Anna. The latest addition to the quick-service coffee franchise will be located at 1440 W White St., Anna, TX 75409, according to a recent project filing.
The new building kiosk will be about 700-square-feet and include drive-thru service. Construction is expected to wrap up in late February 2024, but there is no official word on when the new Scooter’s Coffee will begin serving customers. The project filing lists the tenant as Jesse Koontz, who is a franchisee with the Omaha, Nebraska-based brand.
Scooter’s Coffee specializes in artisan espresso drinks, fruit smoothies, and pastries including Cake Bites, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches. The menu also includes the brand’s signature drink, the Caramelicious, plus hot and iced teas.
Scooter’s Coffee was founded in 1998 by Don and Linda Eckles in Bellevue, Nebraska. It now has more than 600 stores across nearly 30 states with other locations in the works. The Scooter’s Coffee Brand Promise, “Amazing People, Amazing Drinks…Amazingly Fast!” reflects its commitment to its customers.


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UPDATE: The campaign has ended with great success. Thank you to everyone for your overwhelming kindness and compassion.
Help Support Incarcerated People During COVID-19!
You can help protect people inside Arizona’s state prisons by contributing to the ReFraming Justice (RFJ) Mutual Aid Project, providing incarcerated people across the state with much-needed supplies to help keep themselves safe from COVID-19, and making all of our communities – on the inside and out – safer.
According to CDC guidelines, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) should “ensure that sufficient stocks of hygiene supplies, cleaning supplies, PPE, and medical supplies (consistent with the healthcare capabilities of the facility) are on hand and available, and have a plan in place to restock as needed if COVID-19 transmission occurs within the facility.” However, AFSC-Arizona has received reports from those inside, their loved ones, and ADC staff that the department is failing to provide such items to people who are incarcerated, or keep these important supplies stocked throughout the state.
The Virus is on the Move
Jimmy Jenkins of NPR affiliate KJZZ-Phoenix has created a tool to track cases of COVID-19 in Arizona’s state prisons. As the virus spreads, the delivery of this much-needed aid will be all the more urgent.
What the RFJ Mutual Aid Project Provides for Incarcerated Loved Ones:
- Paper towels
- Toilet paper
- Bar soap
- Feminine hygiene products
How Donated Items Make Their Way Inside:
Our RFJ team has been in regular contact with ADC staff to confirm that there is a need, and that community donations would be the best way to get these items into the hands of the incarcerated.
Accordingly, AFSC-AZ has set up an Amazon Wish List of items you can purchase online. Your donated purchases will be shipped to our team and we will hand deliver them to ADC for delivery to prisons across the state.
AFSC-AZ acknowledges Amazon’s problematic history in collaborating with companies like Palantir, who directly profit off of the surveillance, detention, and deportation of our migrant brothers and sisters. At present, we are hindered by the limited types of products ADC will accept and the few platforms that allow wide-participation that maintains social-distancing safety practices. We will continue to explore more ethical platform options over the course of this campaign. Suggestions of alternatives are always appreciated.
How AFSC-AZ Tracks Donated Items:
ADC will store items at its headquarters in Phoenix until ready for transport to other facilities. AFSC-Arizona will collect all available documentation indicating that your mutual aid donations were received.
Please join us in getting these supplies to our loved ones inside.
Browse our supply list and purchase on Amazon. We’ll make sure your donated supplies get to ADC.


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Zooey Deschanel is the latest celebrity to appear in an Apple commercial as her quirky self.
"Today we're dancing."
5 innovations in radiology that could impact everything from the Zika virus to dermatology
More "Digital Industry Insider" »
A new technology is being developed using just 1% of the finite resource needed for traditional MRIs
Available on iOS or Android


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24 January 2013 02:18 [Source: ICIS news]
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korea’s LG Chem has bought 75,000 tonnes of spot naphtha for delivery in the first half of March at higher premiums on the back of tightening regional supply, traders said on Thursday.
LG Chem bought two cargoes for delivery to Daesan at a premium of $18-19/tonne (€13.50-14.25/tonne) to Japan quotes CFR (cost & freight) over a 30-day pricing period, they added.
The company bought one cargo for delivery to Yeosu at a premium of $11.50/tonne to Japan quotes CFR over a 45-day pricing period, traders said.
The premiums were buoyed by sharply lower Indian exports as well as the postponement of deep-sea naphtha deliveries from Europe, traders said.
($1 = €0.75)
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Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ - Free Report) recently unveiled a host of new storage solutions. The new HP Converged Systems and HP Converged Storage will be able to increase data center capacity to meet the growing demand for cloud services.
The latest products such as HP ConvergedSystem for Virtualization, HP ConvergedSystem 300 for Vertica and HP ConvergedSystem 100 for hosted desktops will add to H-P’s converged infrastructure portfolio. Moreover, H-P's Converged suites bring together servers, storage and networking products to manage data centers from a common platform.
Additionally, the converged platform has been designed to make data center handling simpler, more flexible, efficient and cost effective. Going forward, the new product launches will push H-P further toward the high-margin enterprise storage space, thereby cutting its dependence on the PC market. Moreover the offering will provide enhanced performance and secure connectivity.
In today's technology-driven world, data centers are one of the most desirable growth areas. According to a recent survey by Gartner, data capacity in the next five years will grow more than 800% and we believe that H-P is doing very well in this category. Moreover, with advanced offerings, H-P’s Converged portfolio will be able to attract new clients.
We also believe that the new offering will help H-P to simplify the complexity associated with the management of IT assets and consumer electronics, in accordance with environmental and data security regulations.
Apart from this, H-P also recently announced the availability of a free version of HP StoreVirtual Virtual Storage Appliance (VSA) with the purchase of HP ProLiant Generation8 (Gen8) servers. The package is targeted at small and medium business (SMB) owners as it helps to reduce complexities, protect privacy, reduces data loss and accelerates data transfer.
H-P remains focused on shifting its focus from its PC-centric business to the high-margin server, storage and cloud computing space. The back-to-back launches of a new BPO (business process outsourcing) solution, a host of desktop printers, two media players and the Moonshot server in the past few months indicate that H-P’s plans are well on track.
However, increasing competition from companies like Accenture plc (ACN - Free Report) , IBM Corp. (IBM - Free Report) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL - Free Report) coupled with continuing macroeconomic challenges and tepid IT spending will pose challenges, going forward.
Currently, H-P has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).


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Mail art meets NFTs for all in the ‘MoMA Postcard’ programme
New York museum invites online audience to make and own non-fungible tokens communally on the blockchain in 15-person groups
Crypto winter is here—and NFT artist royalties are under threat
As sales plummet, crypto traders are pushing for larger profits on NFT resales, with four marketplaces no longer honouring secondary sales royalties
Artist Gabriel Massan uses video game world-building and the blockchain to reimagine the meaning of 'Third World'
The Brazilian digital artist is creating a multi-level collaborative game as part of the Serpentine Galleries' Artist Worlds programme, and minting tokens with the Tezos Ecosystem blockchain
Tezos blockchain's foundation launches £1m fund to collect NFTs by African and Asian artists
Misan Harriman, the first Black photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover, has been entrusted with the collection—which launches as cryptocurrency markets plummet in value


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Mac Otakara heard of "talk" from manufacturers attending the event about a switch to USB-C.
This is not the first time we've heard of Apple's plans to adopt USB-C instead of Lightning's iPad Pro models, which would bridge the gap between mobile devices and computer.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who often accurately predicts Apple's plans, said in September that Apple's 201
Mac Otakara So says the manufacturers at the event were showing off a photo of the 2018 iPad Pro that was first shared on Slashleaks last week.
The iPad Pro model will be 7 inches wide (178.52mm) and 9.7 inches tall (247.64mm), while the larger model will be 8.5 inches wide (215mm) and 11 inches tall (280.66mm). Both models could have been measured at 6mm around all sides, and at least one model may be as thin as 5.9mm.
Apple's new iPad Pro models are rumored to feature a TrueDepth camera system for Face ID and no Home button. Apple is planning to hold in Brooklyn, New York.


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For the first half of 2014, it seemed like the only chain that performed well was Chipotle, and everybody else was just sort-of limping along, hoping for better weather or better employment or better anything.
But things seemed to turn around in the third quarter. Maybe it was lower gas prices. Maybe rising employment levels are finally getting consumers to go out more often like various surveys say they want to. One way or the other, it seems like a number of concepts found the trick to getting more customers in the door.
That said, improvement in the period was hardly broad-based, and many concepts still saw a decline in customers.
Yet for the most part, there were more winners in the quarter. Most restaurant chains (and business segments) that we track at Nations Restaurant News had positive sales during their late summer periods, ending either in August or September. And ultra-strong sales were far more common. In other words: Chipotle wasn’t so alone.
Here are the period’s winners and losers. Same-store sales are in the U.S., unless otherwise noted.
Pizza chains: Not long ago, more than a few observers wondered whether consumers had somehow lost their appetite for pizza. Boy was that wrong. All but one pizza chain reported positive same-store sales in the late summer. Both Domino’s (7.7 percent) and Papa John’s (7.4 percent) reported strong same-store sales in their fiscal third quarters. Even Pizza Inn enjoyed (4.6 percent) enjoyed a good quarter. Only Pizza Hut (down 2 percent in the U.S.) struggled. And, by the way, the one fast-casual pizza concept we have numbers for is going gangbusters: Pie Five Pizza Co.’s same-store sales were up 17 percent in the company’s fiscal first quarter, ending September 28.
Chicken: Another item once thought headed for the restaurant scrap heap was bone-in chicken, but several concepts are selling plenty of it. El Pollo Loco (up 7.9 percent), Popeyes (7.2 percent) and Pollo Tropical (5.9 percent) are all performing well. Even KFC in the U.S., which has been struggling for years, was up 2 percent in the period. No wonder Charlotte-based chicken chain Bojangles is considering an IPO.
Breakfast: People really like to eat in the mornings. Consider McDonald’s, which struggled to a 3.3-percent same-store sales decline in its fiscal third quarter. Despite that, its breakfast business actually improved. Interest in breakfast is helping to boost the fortunes of family dining chains such as IHOP, Denny’s and Cracker Barrel. Likewise, chains that sell coffee like Starbucks (5 percent) and Dunkin’ Donuts (2 percent) and the U.S. business at Tim Hortons (6.8 percent). Guess this is why Taco Bell started selling waffle tacos.
Steak: Consumers are apparently shrugging off high beef costs, at least when they eat out. Most concepts specializing in steak have had strong quarters. Outback Steakhouse (4.8 percent) Capital Grille (3.9 percent) LongHorn Steakhouse (2.8 percent) Del Frisco’s (6.5 percent) Ruth’s Chris Steak House (4.8 percent) and Texas Roadhouse (5.9 percent) are all luring diners.
Chipotle: 19.8 percent same-store sales growth in the third quarter.
Latin American fare: Apparently, Chipotle isn’t taking all of the customers. Qdoba (7.7 percent) as well as the aforementioned El Pollo Loco and Pollo Tropical plus Chuy’s (3 percent) and Taco Bell (3 percent) show consumers enjoy a little spice.
McDonald’s: Much has been made of the chain’s sales decline this year. Less is made of this: That decline is a massive opportunity for the chain’s competitors. Not only does McDonald’s enjoy $2.6 million average unit volumes, it has more pure locations than any restaurant chain domestically but Subway. It’s safe to say that much of the above winners’ sales came at McDonald’s expense.
Asia: Think consumers in China aren’t worried about western brands right now? Look at these numbers: Yum Brands’ China same-store sales fell 14 percent. McDonald’s sales in its Asia-Pacific/Middle East/Africa division fell 9.9 percent (and likely much worse in China). And while Papa John’s didn’t report its China numbers, company executives said during their quarterly earnings call that they had to close eight units in that country and suggested that China is “a challenge.” Western brands in China have been hurt after a subsidiary of a U.S. company allegedly repackaged expired meat.
Italian: Pasta-centric chains have definitely been struggling of late. Noodles & Company has been struggling, but its same-store sales growth improved to 1.7 percent in the third quarter. But others aren’t so lucky. Olive Garden’s same-store sales fell 1.3 percent for its fiscal first quarter ending August 24. Macaroni Grill’s third-quarter same-store sales fell 8.5 percent. Bravo! Cucina Italiana (down 6.7 percent), Brio Tuscan Grille (down 5.2 percent) and Carrabba’s Italian Grill (down 1.2 percent) have all struggled. One potential reason? Diners cutting back on gluten are avoiding pasta.


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Trop50, the new drink from Tropicana, recently rolled out a campaign aimed at keeping people on track when it comes to New Year's resolutions.
The campaign has played out on Twitter and encourages people to tweet the resolution they’re about to break by using the hashtag #ResolutionRescue.
As soon as someone tweets to the hashtag an automated system prepares a video that includes the tweet, the user’s profile picture and an animated response from Trop50.
The personalised video is then tweeted to the user.
The activity has been supported by ads in the Metro, ads on Metro.co.uk and Mail Online, as well as specially illustrated sponsored tweets, banners and a content partnership with Mail Online.
The campaign was developed by Tropicana’s digital shop Agency Republic, which recently merged with Critical Mass and took on the Critical Mass UK name.


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Microsoft’s US Classroom Monopoly Play
Microsoft’s Classroom Monopoly Play
By Scoop US Technology Correspondent Bruce Schillington
Only a company like Microsoft could be attacked for offering kids free computers. But that was what happened when the company announced recently that it would donate up to $1bn worth of computers and software to more than 12,500 schools in the US.
Microsoft made the offer in November in an attempt to head off more than 100 class action lawsuits that accuse the company of “price-gouging”. But soon the company found itself in hot water, harangued from commentators who said the company was simply trying to sew up the one market it doesn’t already dominate: education.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple - which has traditionally done well in schools - was one of the first to express disgust. "We're baffled that a settlement imposed against Microsoft for breaking the law should allow, even encourage, them to unfairly make inroads into education — one of the few markets left where they don't have monopoly power," he said in a statement. Apple has a reason to be concerned: its share of the education market (elementary and secondary schools) has fallen from 47 to 26 per cent in recent years.
The normally placid New York Times was also scathing: “Microsoft competitors who have suffered from the monopolist's unlawful behavior would stand to suffer more from the settlement,” it said in an editorial.
Matthew Szulik, CEO of Red Hat, a leading provider of Linux software, added something similar. “While we applaud Microsoft for raising the idea of helping poorer schools as part of the penalty phase of their conviction for monopolistic practices, we do not think that the remedy should be a mechanism by which Microsoft can further extend its monopoly,” he said.
As part of its complaint, Red Hat made an offer to counter Microsoft’s proposal. It offered “open-source software to every school district in the United States free of charge, encouraging Microsoft to redirect the money it would have spent on software into purchasing more hardware for the 14,000 poorest school districts. Under the Red Hat proposal, by removing Microsoft's higher-priced software from the settlement equation, Microsoft could provide the school districts with many more computers--greatly extending the benefits Microsoft seeks to provide school districts with their proposed settlement.” Red Hat claimed that the proposal would “increase the number of computers available.. from 200,000 to more than one million, and would increase the number of systems per school from approximately 14 to at least 70.”
Not bad – but no cigar. Microsoft has rejected the offer.
To be sure, Microsoft’s offer wasn’t charity; it was a shrewd business decision. You wouldn’t expect anything less from this brilliant company. The offer would not only settle the lawsuits, it would also do little to affect the company’s bottom line, and would even make the company look generous.
And after all, business is business. Microsoft is only doing what any other company worth its salt would do: It is winning. While its competitors are whining, it is getting with its mission to dominate everything from PCs and mobiles to e-commerce and cable TV. As it has done a thousand times before, it is simply reacting to market opportunities – in this case, one that most people thought was supposed to be a slap on the wrist.
And, surely, Apple is just as bad - as my friend Ralph Weedonovski, president of timiCom.com, points out. “Microsoft is a very powerful global corporation intent on world domination - and the schools thing is a very cynical attempt to sew up the US schools sector. However Apple are reported to be just as evil in the Naomi Klein Book No Logo - on exactly the same issue - luring schools into using Apples...”
But the latest debacle does illustrate a long-term PR problem for the company: namely, that whatever it does, Microsoft will always be hated more than it is loved. Even while its share was rising this month, and even as it released a fancy new operating system, an innovative gaming console, and was finally settling a swath of crippling of lawsuits. Even then, plenty of people – from techies, to Mac-users, to designers, to governments (e.g. the Chinese who want wants businesses to use Linux rather than Windows) – continue to despise the company.
To be sure, the Mac-PC debate is stale, as Ralph says. “I find the whole Mac/PC debate kind of irrelevant too - there are different kinds of people who want different things from their computing experience.. The nerds will always buy PCs and the trendy designers and journos will probably always buy Macs. Good for them.”
And yet there is something about the company that leaves a bad taste (as Steve Jobs might say). There is something about Microsoft that is unseemly, that proves Orwell right, that makes modernity seem more threatening that it should.
My friend Andrew, also of timiCom, says: “Get over it”. But I’d rather go along with Ant, another friend, who says there is a better way. “Out there, beyond the grey buttons and the ‘Please restart your computer’ notices, there is a land where you are free to write whatever code you want and where you don't have to pay money to someone just for an operating system and for a lot of software that came with it that you don't want,” he writes. “You can join them. You just have to dare to dream...”


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StageCorporate Minority | Alive
Last Raised$1M | 9 yrs ago
Multiship is a Russia-based e-commerce logistics company. MultiShip allows Russian online stores to arrange deliveries to more than 40,000 Russian towns and cities using any of its partner delivery services, which include Axiomus, B2Cpl, Boxberry, CDEK, Maxima Express, PickPoint, Qiwi Post and Pony Express.
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Supply Chain & Logistics Tech
Companies offering technology-driven solutions that serve the supply chain & logistics space (e.g. shipping, inventory mgmt, last mile, trucking).
Latest Multiship News
Jul 1, 2022
Austal USA Awarded $3.3 Billion Multiship Contract for U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter Austal USA Awarded $3.3 Billion Multiship Contract for U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter The OPC program is the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority as it will recapitalize the aging endurance cutters. (Austal USA) Austal USA was awarded a contract with a potential value of $3.3 billion for the detail design and construction of up to 11 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The award marks Austal USA’s first USCG acquisition program and follows the company’s recent win of their first competitive steel shipbuilding contract, the U.S. Navy’s Auxiliary Floating Drydock Medium (AFDM). The OPC program is the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority as it will recapitalize the aging endurance cutters and provide a capability bridge between the service’s national security cutters which operate in the open ocean and the fast response cutters which operate closer to shore. Austal USA will construct the OPC using its proven ship manufacturing processes and innovative production methods that incorporate lean manufacturing principles, modular construction, and moving assembly lines in the company’s new state-of-the-art enclosed steel production facility. “The Austal USA team is excited to support the U.S. Coast Guard using our new steel panel line to manufacture and deliver ships highly capable of performing their critical homeland security and defense missions,” Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. “This contract award is the result of our continued investment in our people and our facilities. We are honored the Coast Guard has selected our team of shipbuilders to deliver its most important acquisition program. We are also thrilled for our community and our tremendous supplier base as this program will provide our shipbuilding team the backlog and stability for continued growth.” The 360-foot OPCs will provide the majority of offshore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet and will be capable of conducting a variety of missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue. With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups and serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska. Through continual capital investments, Austal USA has expanded its capability and capacity to enable concurrent production of aluminum and steel-hulled ships. Austal USA is currently constructing the U.S. Navy’s Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, Expeditionary Fast Transport, and is under contract for the construction of Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships and an Auxiliary Floating Drydock Medium. This unique production capability positions Austal USA to meet the growing demands of the U.S. Navy and USCG. Tags
Multiship Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Where is Multiship's headquarters?
Multiship's headquarters is located at y Ul. Novokuznetsk, 33/1, Moscow.
What is Multiship's latest funding round?
Multiship's latest funding round is Corporate Minority.
How much did Multiship raise?
Multiship raised a total of $1M.
Who are the investors of Multiship?
Investors of Multiship include Yandex.
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The much awaited Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017, received the president’s assent on 3 January 2018 and was notified in the Official Gazette on 9 February and 7 May 2018.
The 2017 act was based on suggestions of the Companies Law Committee, constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), in its report dated 1 February 2016, with the aim to strengthen corporate governance and ease doing business in the country, in the wake of concerns raised by various stakeholders on account of implementation of the Companies Act, 2013, which was enacted to align Indian company law with company laws globally.
Sections 61 and 62 of the 2017 act brought about key amendments to sections 185 and 186 of the 2013 act, dealing with loans to directors and loans and investments by companies, and their corresponding rules. The legal framework on this has been a matter of much debate, despite the issuance of several clarifications and amendments on the provisions under sections 185 and 186 in view of concerns that rules may have been overriding the 2013 act. Before the 2017 act, companies had been struggling with structuring lending transactions backed by credit support, collateral or a guarantee from a parent company or a group company due to the restrictions contained in these provisions.
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SNG & Partners has offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore and Doha. Soumyajit Mitra is a principal associate and Kawaljeet Kaur is an associate.
One Bazaar Lane, Bengali Market
New Delhi – 110001
Tel: +91 11 4358 2000
Fax: +91 11 4358 2033


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In response to the latest travel ban introduced by the US President, a group of Toronto chefs have banded together to throw a pro-immigration food event called the '6ix Banned Nations Dinner.'
The 6ix Banned Nations Dinner is a ticketed dinner that honors the cuisine of the six nations affected by the US President's latest order. Headed up by Chef Hemant Bhagwani of Toronto's Indian Street Food Co., the dinner will showcase foods from Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Iran, Syria and Yemen -- plus additional dishes from Iraq. Those attending can expect to dine on everything from Somalian samosas and Sudanese shawarma to Iranian chicken and Yemeni honey cake.
Not only does the dinner uses food to send a powerful message about "inclusion, acceptance and love," but $20 from each ticket will be used to fund programs directed by YMCA Immigrant Services.


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Colo., July 23, 2007 — A new line of Beef Value Cuts – this time fabricated from the beef chuck roll – is slated for a 2008 rollout, according to the checkoff-funded Beef Innovations Group (BIG), which is coordinating research and marketing efforts to expand the value cuts program.
BIG expects at least four new cuts from the chuck roll to debut in foodservice and retail channels in 2008. The new cuts include tender steaks for grilling, an affordable elegant roast for dry roasting, boneless country-style ribs and a fully cooked sumptuous roast. The new cuts represent the “next frontier” in the value cuts program that began in the late 1990s with the checkoff's groundbreaking muscle profiling research. Expanding the value cuts line is among the checkoff-funded tools aimed at reaching the industry's Long Range Plan goal to increase beef demand another 10 percent by 2010.
“Optimizing the chuck roll should be great for consumers, operators and retailers, processors, packers, steak cutters and beef producers,” said Tom Hotz, an Iowa beef producer and chairman of the Joint New Products and Culinary Initiatives Committee.
“Consumers will get new and economical steaks and roasts bursting with great beef flavor, and that's positive news for producers. Cattle-Fax estimates that the first group of value cuts, led by the Flat Iron and the Petite Tender, added $50 to $60 a head to the value of the chuck, so we know from experience how popular products can affect our bottom line,” he added.
“We expect these flavorful cuts to offer versatility and value, work well with high volume cooking and present increased profit opportunities for producers, packers, processors, retailers and foodservice operators,” said Ellen Gibson, executive director of the checkoff-funded new-product initiatives. “The chuck roll also lends itself well to home-style and ethnic dishes.”
The first round of value cuts has experienced dramatic growth in both foodservice and retail channels. To date, cuts like the Flat Iron, Petite Tender and Ranch Steak have been menued in about 20,000 U.S. restaurants and sold in some 9,900 grocery stores across the country.
BIG is a team of culinary professionals, food scientists, marketing, operations and research experts working together to inspire beef and veal product innovation and facilitate success by providing information, insights, ideas, science and tools to the beef industry. Visit www.beefinnovationsgroup.com for more information.


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News from our International Businesses
Allianz Czech Republic releases another successful mobile application: “Na cesty s Kolbabou” (On the Road with Kolbaba)Dec 18, 2013 –
The latest app from Allianz Czech Republic combines loads of useful travel advice from Czech travel writer and photographer Jiri Kolbaba with a quick link to Allianz Direct travel insurance.
New benefits added to standard healthcare plans of World Wide CareDec 18, 2013 –
International private medical insurer Allianz Worldwide Care has announced new benefits for its standard healthcare plans. Group and individual clients will benefit from increased healthcare coverage in a number of areas, including genetic testing, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, prescribed drugs, palliative care, and long term care.
Genialloyd receives highest marks from Italian consumer association AltroconsumoNov 06, 2013 –
A recent poll of Italian car insurance customers ranked Genialloyd first in customer satisfaction. The poll asked respondents to evaluate insurance providers on items like price, helpfulness/directness in responding to claims, and overall satisfaction.
Fenix Directo sponsors Tweets Awards 2013 and offers deep discount via its social media channelsOct 22, 2013 –
The company joined the celebration of this year’s Internet Day by focusing on social media. As Spain's pioneer in online car insurance, Fénix Directo uses a number of Web 2.0 tools to stay connected to clients and their needs.


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ARMA International recently released a statement reminding companies to be on the lookout for long-term data storage solutions that overpromise and under-deliver.
Sony showed off a couple of new drones that will become available from its Aerosense joint venture, including one that comes equipped with a lens-type camera and another that can fly up to 106 mph, according to reports.
With an obvious nod to difficult work environments, Sony's new Xperia M5, unveiled on Monday, is waterproof and dust resistant.
Sony will team with robotics company ZMP to create a drone joint venture named Aerosense. The goal is to build products focused on image capture as well as cloud-based data processing.
Sony is cutting 975 positions at its mobile operations in Sweden, according to a report by local Swedish media cited by TechCrunch.
FireEye president Kevin Mandia, whose company was called in by Sony to do incident response after last year's unprecedented hack, is convinced that North Korea was responsible for the attack, even though he's aware there are doubters out there.
Centrify is unveiling a new cloud-based service to help businesses manage privileged accounts in a way the company said could prevent attacks like those that targeted Sony and Anthem.
Huntsman, a subsidiary of Australian IT security company Tier-3, Thursday announced its entrance to the U.S. market where it hopes to challenge entrenched security and event management competitors. Huntsman unveiled new tech squarely positioned to capitalize on a trend seeing C-level execs demand more actionable insight regarding IT threats.
The Open Interconnect Consortium and the AllSeen Alliance are both generating traction in a quest to become the primary IoT standard.
Was Sony partly responsible for its recent security breach that resulted in the capture of hoards of sensitive data?


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Mobile advertising has been having a substantial bearing on the purchasing decisions of some 48% of consumers according to InMobi’s recent UK study. It’s further evidence that the good people of this unitary state are actively adopting m-commerce as a purchasing platform.
Developed with the help of OnDevice Research, the UK Mobile Media Consumption Report for Q2 2012 discovered the British to be keen users of their mobile phones. They spend an average of two and a half hours a day on their device. The UK was also ranked first in terms of media with users consuming nine hours a day.
M-commerce becoming the norm?
Consumers are definitely warming to the fact they’re mobile has the potential to be a virtual shop window. A remarkable 20% of respondents are willing to spend over £20 on mobile purchases. The early adopter demographic is said to be driving the m-commerce sector, though, with 26% willing to spend as much as £50 on purchases.
The research by InMobi also divulged how there has been an increase of 9% on Q4 2011’s figure for the percentage of consumers who’ve used m-commerce, which now stands at 63%. Digging a little deeper into categories reveals that 47% buy digital goods, 34% physical goods, 26% pay bills and 21% purchase services.
Head of UK Sales at InMobi, Lee Blyth, believes mobile can now stand shoulder to shoulder with media channels such as television. “These results demonstrate that mobile advertising is finally, rightfully, taking its place alongside traditional content such as online and TV when it comes to directly influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions,” he said.


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U.S. factory orders increased in December even though companies trimmed their orders for goods that signal investment plans.
Factory orders rose 1.8 percent in December compared with November, when orders had fallen 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Monday.
But demand for core capital goods, a category considered a proxy for business investment plans, dipped 0.3 percent in December following strong gains of 3.3 percent in November and 3 percent in October.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, rose 4.3 percent, slightly below the 4.6 percent estimated in a preliminary report. The increase reflected strong gains for military and civilian aircraft.
Orders for non-durable goods such as petroleum products, chemicals and paper, declined 0.3 percent in December after a 1 percent drop in November. The weakness reflected declines in petroleum products, a drop that was related to declines in energy prices during the month.
For the year, total factory orders rose 3 percent to $5.66 trillion. This reflected a slowing in the manufacturing sector following an 11.8 percent rise in orders in 2011. Demand for investment goods fell 0.3 percent to $759.4 billion.
For December, orders for commercial airplanes rose 10.1 percent and demand for military aircraft jumped 56.4 percent. Orders for vehicles and parts dropped 1.2 percent. Demand for machinery fell 1.1 percent but orders for computers and electronics rose 4.1 percent.
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- How to solve Disneyland's stroller problem


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Shares of Baidu (BIDU 3.56%) recently fell after the company posted mixed third-quarter earnings and guidance that missed analyst expectations. However, there was also a lot of confusion about Baidu's numbers -- the sales miss was minor, and many media reports misunderstood or ignored the reasons for the lower sales guidance. Let's take a look at what happened and why Baidu's dip actually represents a great buying opportunity for investors.
Its strongest sales growth in five quarters
Baidu's revenue rose 29% annually to 23.5 billion yuan ($3.53 billion) during the quarter, representing its strongest year-over-year growth in five quarters. However, analysts had been expecting slightly higher revenues of 23.6 billion ($3.56 billion).
Yet Baidu's key businesses were firing on all cylinders. Online marketing revenues rose 22% annually to 20.1 billion yuan ($3.02 billion). Its number of active online marketing customers slipped 7% annually to 486,000 (up 3% sequentially), but that slight decline was easily offset by a 31% annual jump in revenues per online customer -- which hit 40,900 yuan ($6,147) during the quarter.
73% of Baidu's revenues came from mobile platforms during the quarter, up from 64% a year ago. Daily and monthly active users on Mobile Baidu rose 2% annually, while daily time spent on the app rose 15% sequentially. Its video platform iQiyi reached 78 million and 160 million daily active users on PC and mobile devices respectively, with total minutes spent on the platform surging almost 30% annually.
On the bottom line, Baidu's non-GAAP net income rose 163% annually to 9.1 billion yuan ($1.36 billion), or $3.89 per ADS -- which crushed expectations by $1.85 per share. Its GAAP-adjusted net income rose 156% to 7.9 billion yuan ($1.2 billion).
All these figures indicate that Baidu's core business remains healthy, and fears about a slowdown or Tencent's (TCEHY 2.46%) WeChat ecosystem disrupting Baidu's market are overblown.
But then the media missed the conference call...
Baidu's minor top line miss wasn't the main reason the stock fell -- it was the company's guidance for the fourth quarter. The company expects its sales to hit 22.2 billion to 23.4 billion yuan ($3.35-$3.53 billion) for the quarter, which represents 22%-29% year-over-year growth. Analysts had been expecting about 36% growth.
That miss looks bad, but many media outlets didn't explain the reasons for the lower guidance, which were revealed during the conference call. The first reason was the divestments of its food delivery service, Baidu Deliveries, and the discontinuation of some mobile games. Those businesses were unloaded to streamline Baidu's core business and enable it to invest more heavily in next-gen technologies like AI, smart devices, and driverless cars to counter ecosystem rivals like Tencent.
The second big impact was the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which met between Oct. 18 and 24. To show its "respect" during these televised broadcasts, iQiyi "adopted a self-restriction to not show hot series" -- which will temporarily reduce the platform's revenues by about 700 million yuan ($106 million) sequentially.
Baidu states that if those impacts are excluded, its third quarter revenues would have risen 26% annually (vs. the reported 29%), and its fourth quarter revenues would grow 25%-34%. That growth would still miss analyst expectations, but it indicates that the growth of Baidu's core business is still accelerating.
Be greedy when others are fearful...
In this context, the sell-off of Baidu -- which knocked the stock down about 13% from its all-time highs -- clearly represents a buying opportunity instead of a selling one. Baidu is generating double-digit sales growth and triple-digit earnings growth, yet still trades at just 28 times next year's earnings.
Baidu still controls about 80% of China's search market, making it one of the safest plays on China's growing economy, rising middle class, and higher Internet penetration rates. Therefore, I believe that the current misunderstandings about Baidu make it a great long-term buy at current prices.


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Worldwide IT spending is set to drop this year, with analyst firm Gartner forecast a decline of .5% for 2016.
Gartner expects global IT spending to total US$3.49 trillion in 2016, down fro $3.5 trillion over 2015. The figure is down from previous forecasts of 0.5% growth last quarter, a change Gartner says is mainly due to currency fluctuations.
"There is an undercurrent of economic uncertainty that is driving organisations to tighten their belts, and IT spending is one of the casualties," explains John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.
"At the same time, the need to invest in IT to support digital business is more urgent than ever,” he says. ”Business leaders know that they need to become digital businesses or face irrelevance in a digital world. To make that happen, leaders are engaging in tough cost optimisation efforts in some areas to fund digital business in others.
"As an example, the savings from legacy system optimisation and enhancements are being redirected to fund digital initiatives. It's about doing more with the same funds," says. Lovelock.
"Typically, less than 10% of organisations are in cost optimisation or cost cutting mode. However, the need to spend on digital business initiatives in a time when revenue growth does not support runaway IT budgets is forcing more organisations to optimise as a first step,” he explains.
“Business processes, as well as IT, are undergoing optimisation — digital business requires both. However, many CIOs are reluctant to raise this possibility, given the cultural and political barriers to optimising business costs,” Lovelock says.
Lovelock says the most evident results of these optimisation efforts are in the switches in spending between assets and services.
"Most traditional IT now has a 'digital service twin' — license software has cloud software, servers have Infrastructure as a Service, and cellular voice has VoLTE," he says.
“Things that once had to be purchased as an asset can now be delivered as a service. Most digital service twin offerings change the spending pattern from a large upfront payment to a smaller reoccurring monthly amount. This means that the same level of activity has a very different annual spend,” he says.
Overall, IT spending results vary greatly by region, according to Gartner's forecast.
The largest region for total IT spend in 2016 remains North America, with US$1.23 trillion. However, the fastest-growing region is Emerging Asia Pacific, with 2016 constant-currency growth of 5.9%.
Overall, the global growth rate for 2016 is virtually unchanged; however, there are a few material changes in the market sector forecasts. China, Brazil, Russia and Western Europe all play prominent roles in the revisions by segment, being responsible for up to 0.2% of the global update, as these countries and regions have had economic expectations worsen in the last six months. However, Lovelock says there are many market-driven changes that are worth paying attention to, as they signal that these markets are in transition.
According to the forecast, the device market (PCs, ultramobiles, mobile phones, tablets and printers) is forecast to decline 3.7% in 2016. The smartphone market is approaching global saturation, slowing growth. The PC and ultramobile markets are expected to decline.
The underlying reasons are a combination of factors and are geography-specific, and the worsening economic conditions in many countries only serve to amplify the impact of these factors. Data Center systems' spending is projected to reach $175 billion in 2016, a 2.1% increase from 2015. This top-level relative stability masks some changes within the segments; enterprise network equipment had a stronger-than-anticipated 2015 as a result of network upgrades, and this is expected to carry on into 2016, Gartner says.
The external-controller-based storage segment continues to suffer from ongoing challenges. In the server segment, demand from hyperscale buyers is expected to reduce in 2016, particularly in regions that are suffering from economic challenges, such as Eurasia. The mainframe refresh, which benefited the market in 2015, is expected to abate in 2016, also inhibiting the overall growth figures. According to the forecast, global enterprise software spending is on pace to total $321 billion, a 4.2% increase from 2015. The operating system forecast has been downgraded, reflecting Gartner's expectation for further delays in the adoption of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. However, it is the key emerging markets, particularly Latin America, which face escalating political and economic challenges that are responsible for the slow growth, Lovelock says.
“Organisations in those regions must balance cost cutting with growth opportunities during times of economic concern.


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UK viewers can pay online through their television set for the first time, following a new partnership between PayPal and Capablue.
The alliance means that viewers with TVs with video-on-demand agency Capablue’s Connected platform can pay for video on demand and other premium TV content and services using a Paypal PIN-protected system.
“This is the first time that transactions on connected devices have been enabled which will mean that users can provide a much wider range of products and services,” said Tom Cape, managing director of Capablue.
Cameron McLean, general manager for merchant services at PayPal UK, said: “PayPal on the Connected platform will allow viewers a next generation experience on their connection device. This partnership with Capablue gives the users of multiple connected devices a faster, safer and more cost-effective way to send and receive the smaller payments typically associated with online content.”
Our view: This announcement is about small payments for TV content – but retailers will be noting with interest that payment is now a reality through TV screens, and wondering how soon it will be a reality for those selling other products and services.


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Australian Internet Provider 'Optus' Exposed Customer Data via API: Includes 4.2M Users' Passport and Driver’s License Numbers
A "senior figure" inside Optus said that an API for an Optus customer identity database was opened to a test network that "happened to have internet access."
The Australian Government requires internet providers to collect personal information of all users.
In total, 11.2 million sensitive customer records were compromised.
Early Saturday, a person going by the nickname "Optusdata" published two samples of the purported stolen data on a well-known data leak forum. The attacker writes that Optus can prevent the sale of the data to other cybercriminals if it pays $1 million in the Monero cryptocurrency.
Optusdata writes that Optus has one week to pay, otherwise the data will be available for sale in parcels.
The two released data samples contain around 100 records and include data fields such as name, email address, physical address, passport number, driver's license number, birthdate, whether a person owns their home or not, and more. The data covers current and former Optus customers.
The ABC quoted a "senior figure" inside Optus who said that an API for an Optus customer identity database was opened to a test network that "happened to have internet access."
Optusdata wrote in a message: "No authenticate needed. That is bad access control. All open to internet for any one to use."


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The automaker Volkswagen AG is going to pay a hefty bill after a cargo ship carrying around 4,000 luxury vehicles caught fire near Portugal’s Azores Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, last week.
The risk-modeling company Russell Group has estimated that the German manufacturer stands to lose at least $155 million (around €135 million), which is nearly 40% of the value of the cars that the vessel was carrying.
There were Porsches, Audis, Bentleys and Lamborghinis – all Volkswagen brands – with an estimated value of $405 million, according to the firm. The total value of goods on board is roughly $438 million.
The fire started on Friday, February 18 inside the hold of the Felicity Ace, which had departed from Emden in Germany 10 days earlier and was due to arrive in Davisville (Rhode Island) on February 23. The 22 members of the crew were rescued from the vessel.
Ship manager Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd said on its webpage that two heavy tugboats had arrived from Gibraltar and were spraying water on the burning ship to cool the hull. Two more rescue ships were expected to arrive at the scene on Wednesday and one more on February 26 to help put out the fire on a vessel that is approximately the size of three soccer pitches.
The Felicity Ace is still adrift in the Atlantic Ocean and the fire had not been completely put out yet by Tuesday afternoon, but according to Mitsui there were no oil leaks and the ship remains stable. The company also said it is cooperating with rescue teams and local authorities to find an “early solution” to the incident.
Russell Group’s estimates are based on the assumption that none of the vehicles will be recoverable. Although no information has emerged on how many cars of each brand were on board, The New York Times has reported that there were 1,100 Porsches and 189 Bentleys.


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State of Funding: Women Entrepreneurs
A quick glance at the numbers would tell you women business owners (WBO) are doing fine. The latest stats available (note: these are pre-COVID numbers) from the National Women’s Business Council show in 2019, women-owned nearly 13 million businesses in the United States (about 42% of all companies), employing 9.4 million workers and generating $1.9 trillion in annual revenue.
But look a little deeper, and the numbers tell a different story. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, from February to April 2020, the number of female-owned businesses dropped 25%. And only 10% of businesses owned by women have employees.
Since this is National Women’s Small Business Month, let’s take a look at the state of women-owned businesses.
Women Entrepreneurs are Stressed…
According to the just-released 2021 Women Business Owner Spotlight from Bank of America, 90% of women small business owners say the COVID-19 pandemic has added stress to their business lives and created “disproportionate challenges” this year. These added stressors led to half the business owners surveyed changing their approach to employee wellness and benefits. Top changes include:
- 61% of the WBO enacted a more flexible work schedule
- 45% allow employees to work remotely
- 23% increased the number of paid time off/vacation days
- 19% offered more paid sick days
To keep their employees on board during the pandemic, but perhaps adding to the stress, 48% of the women entrepreneurs cut their own pay.
…But They’re Also Optimistic
Despite the stress, the WBO expect their revenues to grow over the next year (61% compared to 31% last year). In addition, 57% expect their local economies to improve (compared to 32% last year), and 50% think the national economy will get better as well (vs. 28% in 2020).
Access to capital remains an issue for women business owners. In its just-released survey, Groupon reports that 54% of women entrepreneurs say they’re held to a different standard than their male counterparts when accessing capital.
Last year Sharon Miller, the President of Small Business at Bank of America, told me, “Women think they have to have it perfectly right before they go to the bank. Many men come in without even having a concept. Women need to get [to the bank] sooner. Don’t wait until it’s perfect. Go now so you can get advice from professionals and learn what you will need to do to get funding. It’s never going to be perfect. Don’t be afraid to come in.”
And research from the Kauffman Foundation shows women-owned startups pay higher interest rates and take on more collateral than similar businesses owned by men.
Gender Funding Gap
For women seeking venture capital, the financial reality is even gloomier. According to a report from Babson College released last year, Catalyzing Change in Equity Investing: Disruptive Models for Financing Women’s Entrepreneurship Diana International Impact Report, of the $130 billion venture capital funds invested, companies with a female CEO got less than 3% of the funding. And less than 0.2% of all VC funding went to women of color. While these numbers remain sadly steady, according to a report from Crunchbase, startups with all-female founding teams received 2.4% in 2020 of VC investment dollars and about the same for the first few months of 2021.
The gender funding gap is an important issue. Without equal access to capital, women business owners do not have equal opportunities to grow, innovate, or scale, limiting their ability to succeed. This is a contributing factor to why so few women-owned businesses earn more than $1 million annually.
A report from Bank of America and Babson College, Beyond the Bucks: Growth Strategies of Successful Women Entrepreneurs, which is part of a more extensive research collaboration between Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) and Bank of America Private Bank, says women need to create “alternate paths to success for themselves.”
Lakshmi Balachandra, Ph.D., assistant professor, entrepreneurship at Babson College and the principal researcher on the project, says you can “turn the challenges into opportunities” by “building on your skills and strengths.”
The report recommends entrepreneurial women:
- Explore various capital alternatives
- Develop a sustainable and talented workforce
- Buy from women-owned businesses
- Be a mentor, seek a mentor
- Join or create new networks
There are several VC firms led by women or with a solid record of investing in women-owned businesses. Find them. They “should not be the only options, but they should be priorities.” Two companies that invest in women-led companies are 37 Angels and Belle Capital. In addition, 37 Angels compiled a list of lending resources specifically for female entrepreneurs.
There are numerous resources women business owners can turn to. You can compare how your small business is doing with other companies in your state or across the country in the newly-released Small Business Revenue Index from Kabbage.
In partnership with Seneca Women, Bank of America just launched the Bank of America Access to Capital Directory. This platform helps educate women-owned businesses to “navigate the capital landscape and identify potential sources of funding, such as equity, debt, and grant capital.”
In the Women Business Owner Spotlight report, 24% of the women business owners said that mentors were beneficial for helping guide through the past year. And Bank of America’s Sharon Miller recently told me she “encouraged women business owners to make it a priority to build a strong network of peers and mentors. A strong network provides women with an opportunity to connect and share both common and novel experiences, which is immensely helpful—especially for women entrepreneurs looking to get their feet off the ground and grow their businesses. In addition, a solid network can unlock access to resources, expertise, and unexpected opportunities, all of which can help women thrive.”
And, of course, women business owners or startups can turn to SCORE to help guide them. I don’t usually get personal here, but SCORE mentors helped my company navigate a recent sale of our website. We couldn’t have done it without them. So, seriously, get a SCORE mentor today.


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Schlanger Law Group Obtains First Published Decision Nationwide Holding That Victims Of Imposter Scams Are Entitled To Protection Under Federal Consumer Protection Statute
The number of reported financial imposter scams, fraud, and identity theft cases is rising at an alarming rate. The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network study indicated 325,000 fraudulent acts in 2001, but that number jumped to more than 4.72 million incidents last year.
Keep in mind, the FTC’s study only gathers data about the fraud situations that consumers report. The actual number of illegal acts is undoubtedly much higher.
How Imposter Scams Harm Consumers
In 2020, almost 500,000 imposter scams resulted in nearly $1.2 billion stolen from consumers victimized with new and more ingenious cons. Many scenarios involved criminals impersonating customer service representatives to obtain account data and fraudulently stealing from the victim’s financial account.
Some victims are fighting back.
The Schlanger Law Group recently brought a lawsuit against Capital One, N.A. on behalf of one such consumer. Our client simply wanted to transfer money from his account at Capital One to a friend through a mobile app. When the transfer didn’t work, our client contacted the app’s online customer service phone number.
Thinking he was speaking with a legitimate customer service representative, our client provided information to complete the transfer. However, the other person on the call was an imposter who used the information to make several unauthorized transfers. Once our client realized his problem, he contacted Capital One to file a report.
Financial Institutions Must Respond to Fraud Situations
At first, Capital One refunded the money that was stolen from the account, however, it later reversed the refund and claimed our client was responsible for the activity. As a result, we filed a complaint alleging Capital One had violated the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) along with New York’s general business laws.
The complaint included two EFTA arguments:
- When Capital One reversed the refund it violated the EFTA section that limits a consumer’s liability (and loss) for unauthorized transfers to $50, and
- The EFTA requires financial institutions to investigate alleged fraudulent transfers but Capital One did not.
In response, Capital One filed a motion to dismiss the complaint claiming:
- The transfers from our client’s account were not unauthorized, and
- Our client waited too long to report the transfer to limit his losses.
The U.S. District Court analyzed the relevant law and ruled that our client’s situation was an unauthorized transfer because it was initiated by a person who obtained access to the account through fraud. Also, since our client notified Capital One the day after the fraud occurred, he was protected by the EFTA section that limited his losses to $50.
In the court’s published opinion, the first of record to apply the EFTA to imposter scams, Capital One’s request to dismiss the case was denied and we now have the chance to present evidence and demand statutory damages, out-of-pocket damages, attorneys fees, and possibly punitive damages.
We Fight For Consumers Facing Imposter Scams
The team at Schlanger Law Group has extensive experience bringing claims in state and federal court on behalf of class action groups and individual consumers victimized by fraud, identity theft, inaccurate credit reporting, unauthorized bank transactions, and imposter scams. We’ll take on the big financial institutions that don’t protect consumers against fraud and unauthorized transfers.


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Watching live streams of people playing video games has proved to be one of the unexpected hits of the internet age, with more than 100 million people tuning into it every month through the platform Twitch. Now, two entrepreneurs are attempting to capitalise on this trend with a site dedicated to the live-streaming of an even more improbable spectator sport: coding.
The original concept co-founders Jamie Green and Michael Garbade had for Livecoding.tv was as an educational tool, though it has since proved popular as a platform for users to compete against other coders, as well as watch fellow programmers comb through lines of code. Having launched just over six months ago, Livecoding.tv is already churning out 700 hours of video a day from a userbase of more than 60,000 registered members.
"It is an online peer-to-peer platform to help people learn how to code," said Green. "If you want to stream on Livecoding.tv, it's a great way to share your code, grow your skills and build your reputation. You can even earn some side income.
"As a viewer, you can interact with experienced developers, see how they solve real problems and build real products. On Livecoding.tv you'll see much cleverer developers building much more interesting things than I could ever possibly build."
The company has already raised funding from European Union seed grant initiative European Pioneers and current plans to monetise the business involve paid-for classes on advanced topics and other issues that people learning to code might have.
Livecoding.tv's recent surge in popularity also earned Green and Garbade a place on Y Combinator's start-up accelerator programme, where they hope to attract the interest of investors on Thursday (20 August).


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PS4 gamers have a lot to look forward to
PS4 users are set to receive some exclusive features when GTA 5 hits shelves next week.
The Playstation 4's Dualshock light bar will flash red and blue when a player is chased by the police, while tapping the touchpad will switch between first and third person viewpoints.
Phone calls and Police chatter will be emitted by the DualShock 4's speaker and there will be new options to change radio stations and weapons with the touchpad.
People who buy the game on the PC meanwhile will have the chance to play in 4k quality, while Xbox One and PS4 will boast 1080p/30fps.
The developers behind epic space shooter Destiny have promised a range of new changes to the popular new franchise, and have also revealed some of the tweaks they hope to release in the coming weeks.
Bungie Weekly Update opened with a raft of plans ready for deployment, including channels to talk to matchmade teammates and new ways to preview items before you spend Glimmer.
"We’re inbound with several bundles of joy in our hold," the November post read.
"They’ll land in the weeks to come. Some of them will give everyone new things to do and earn. Some of them will prepare the world you’ve conquered for some new arrivals, and push the boundaries.
Michael Condrey has hinted new changes are coming soon for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and insisted fan feedback was being implemented to make the in-game experience better.
"Our team has been working hard on improvements to the game. We’ve also had our ears to the ground, listening to your feedback," Condrey explained in a COD blogpost.
"Our commitment to continuing to support the game and community is as strong as ever, and we have the whole team focused on making the experience the best it can be.
"There’s an update in the works that includes a number of polish items, fixes, and community requested changes.


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Poundworld are the latest High Street retailer in trouble. A rescue deal has fallen through putting many stores and jobs at risk.
Any back up plan would still likely see mass closures.
They have stores in Lewisham, Bexleyheath and Dartford.
Other chains in trouble
Mothercare recently announced the closure of stores in Bexleyheath, Eltham and Bromley.
Orpington was also at risk if landlords did not agree to reductions, and it appears they may not agree.
There’s also Homebase. After a disastrous takeover by Australian firm Bunnings, losses grew and it has just been sold for £1. Closures are expected at many store sites to stablise losses.
Homebase have a site in Kidbrooke near the railway station. A likely candidate for a residential tower?