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After raising its offer for British food company Premier Foods and being turned down twice, McCormick & Co. has dropped plans to pursue what would have been its largest acquisition ever.
The Sparks-based spice maker said Wednesday that Premier was seeking too high a price, pushing down shares of both companies. McCormick shares slipped 2.2 percent to close at $96.72 each, while Premier's shares plummeted nearly 25 percent to 43 pence (61 cents) per share.
"McCormick has, after careful consideration, concluded that it would not be able to propose a price that would be recommended by the board of Premier Foods while also delivering appropriate returns for McCormick shareholders," McCormick said in its announcement. "Accordingly, McCormick has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Premier Foods."
McCormick said it made the decision after completing a review of Premier, which makes cake mixes, gravy and rice pudding and seasonings primarily for the United Kingdom market, conducted with Premier management "in an open and collaborative spirit."
Premier, which initially resisted cooperation with McCormick, responded by saying it sees a strong future for an independent Premier Foods.
"Premier Foods and its advisers have engaged extensively with McCormick to provide it with the information requested," the company said in a statement. "The board appreciates the open and constructive spirit in which the engagement with McCormick was conducted."
McCormick's withdrawal came after the company had raised its bid March 30 to $2.2 billion, including debt, with a cash offer of 65 pence (94 cents) a share or $774 million. Premier had rebuffed two previous offers of 52 pence per share and 60 pence per share, but under pressure from shareholders indicated it would discuss the latest bid.
During its annual meeting March 30, McCormick's new president and CEO Lawrence E. Kurzius told shareholders he believed the increased offer it had announced that morning would be "well-received."
But he also stressed that the spice and flavorings company would continue looking for both large and small acquisitions that would help expand products and increase scale in existing markets.
Karyl Leggio, a finance professor at Loyola University Maryland, said she was impressed that McCormick's leadership had the discipline to walk away from a deal that would have meant overpaying.
Often, in acquisition bidding, "there is a desire not to lose," she said. "They would up the bid to win. You win, but you've overpaid and the value to shareholders is reduced. They didn't do that. ... It speaks well to the leadership of McCormick and the commitment to shareholder value."
A Premier acquisition would have fit Kurzius' strategy of moving away from going into new markets in favor of extending the brand in existing markets, and finding companies that fit well with others in those market, she said.
But there's still a chance the deal could move forward, she said.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Premier comes back with a lower price," she said. "McCormick has drawn their line. This is what they're are willing to pay. It's up to Premier to accept a lower price or move on."
After rejecting McCormick's second bid last month, Premier had announced that Japanese instant noodle maker Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd. agreed to purchase a roughly 17 percent stake in Premier from an existing shareholder. Premier plans to cooperate formally with Nissin to share products, distribution and know-how.
In its statement Wednesday, Premier said that agreement will "expand Premier foods' range of growth opportunities."
McCormick, with about 10,000 full-time employees worldwide, has been expanding internationally through recent acquisitions, buying complementary food manufacturers in Italy, Poland and China. A new manufacturing plant is underway in Dubai. In 2015, 43 percent of McCormick's sales were in foreign countries.
McCormick officials had expressed interest in Premier because it's products would complement the McCormick's offerings and bring "iconic" brands to the portfolio.


text: Remember when Chicken Soup for the Soul was the go-to book for warm fuzzies when you were seeking readable solace? In 2016, we've got plenty of other good inspirational options. But perhaps the best is yet to come. Pantsuit Nation, the popular Facebook group that began as an online support forum for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and has become its own footnote movement, will soon make the leap from online to IRL — in book form. According to The New York Times, Pantsuit Nation founder Libby Chamberlain will publish a book of the same name with Flatiron Books. The release is reportedly set for May 9. "There are many ways to share stories, and we’ve seen how powerful they can be when simply scrolled through on a Facebook feed," Chamberlain shared in a post on the Pantsuit Nation page December 19. "But I also know that many of us, dare I say most of us, have had moments of profound inspiration and connection while holding a book in our hands." "As many of you have commented, the stories of Pantsuit Nation are worthy of a book," she went on. "The kind of book that will inspire and connect people. I’m so proud to be starting the process of bringing that beautiful idea to life." Chamberlain told the Times that when she kicked off Pantsuit Nation on October 20 of this year, her original goal was to "reclaim the pantsuit as something empowering and revolutionary." It quickly took on a life of its own as group members from all walks of life began sharing their stories with one another, via posts and comment threads. Pantsuit Nation has since begun to function as a community for progressives in the aftermath of Donald Trump's victory — a place to vent, inspire, share, and further the dialog about both the present moment and months and years to come. At time of publishing, Pantsuit Nation boasted nearly four million members. If each and every one purchases the book edition in spring, it won't just be an iconic Facebook group, but also a smash hit publishing story. Who said the heyday of the printed word was behind us?

domain: news


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Berlin Packaging continues to expand in Canada with Cannasupplies acquisition
Transaction expands offering for Canadian cannabis packaging solutions
By: Berlin Packaging Specialist
Date: June 28, 2021
Chicago (June 28, 2021) – Berlin Packaging, the world’s largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier®, announced the acquisition of Cannasupplies, one of Canada’s largest suppliers of packaging solutions for the cannabis industry. The purchase expands Berlin’s product offering for cannabis packaging and adds significant expertise in the Canadian cannabis end-market.
Innovative Cannabis Packaging
Formerly a division of PharmaSystems Inc., a leading supplier of hospital and pharmacy supplies, Cannasupplies has been at the forefront of cannabis packaging since 2014, with innovative packaging solutions for all categories of cannabis products and a deep understanding of the Canadian regulatory framework.
Cannasupplies will operate as a division of Consolidated Bottle Corporation, the Canadian packaging supplier Berlin Packaging acquired in November 2020. Consolidated Bottle provides packaging solutions across multiple end-markets, including personal care, pharmaceutical, food, beverage, and industrial, in addition to cannabis.
Medical and Recreational Cannabis Use
“Acquiring Cannasupplies positions Berlin Packaging to capitalize on the incredible opportunities in this rapidly growing industry, not only in Canada, but across the United States, as more states permit medical and recreational cannabis use,” said Bill Hayes, CEO and President of Berlin Packaging. “Cannasupplies shares our entrepreneurial mindset, our drive for constant growth, and our commitment to compliant packaging solutions for our valued customers.”
“Partnering with Cannasupplies will help us better serve our customers and will advance our business in the Canadian cannabis market,” said Jonathan Rutman, CEO of Consolidated Bottle. “We are uniquely positioned in the Canadian market and this partnership will benefit our customers, our suppliers, and our employees.”
“Cannasupplies has experienced meteoric growth, and our partnership with Berlin Packaging and Consolidated Bottle will accelerate this trajectory as we expand our cannabis packaging footprint across North America,” said Mark Finkelstein, President of Cannasupplies.
Following the acquisition, the company will be known as Cannasupplies, a division of Consolidated Bottle Corporation. All Cannasupplies employees and locations will be retained.


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New Delhi: Cinépolis, India’s 1st international multiplex chain announces the opening of its state-of-art 5-screen multiplex in Bengaluru at Orion East Mall. The multiplex is fourth Cinépolis property in Bengaluru have increased the presence of the company to 23 screen in the city.
With the launch of the new Multiplex in Bengaluru, Cinépolis India stands at 258 screens across 40 cities in India.
Strategically located near MG Road, the 5 screen multiplex has a capacity of 1098 seats. The property is equipped with RealD 3D technology.The state of the art 3-D technology from Real-D® systems is the world’s most widely deployed 3-D technology and offers viewers the most enthralling 3-D movie watching experience. Movie goers can also enjoy benefits of Club Cinépolis, the company’s loyalty programme at the theatre.
Mr. Javier Sotomayor, Managing Director, Cinépolis India, commented, “Bengaluru is the fastest growing metros in the country and has grown exponentially over the decade, making it an important market for the exhibition industry. Our commitment to offer the best cinema experience to movie goers will be reflected at this multiplex in Orion East Mall. We are certain this is will be the preferred destination for movie goers for the customers of East Bengaluru. With this launch we get a step closer to our business targets in India to reach 400 screen by 2017.”
Speaking about the growth plans of Cinépolis, Mr. Ashish Shukla, Director – Expansion, Cinépolis India said, “At Cinépolis, we reckon South India is an important market for our India expansion plan. Majority of our operational property are in this market. We already have three properties in Bengaluru and with this opening we have reached to 23 Screens. We have more than 15 screen planned to be opened in city in couple of years helping in increasing our presence in the country.”
Mr. Devang Sampat, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Cinépolis India, said, “It is our constant endeavour to provide a seamless cinema viewing experience to our patrons. Bengaluru has a wider audience with huge interest in experiencing the world-class cinema. RealD 3D, Club Cinépolis, our loyalty program will be the added USP for this property. With the launch of our new 5 screen property, we are strengthening our presence in Bengaluru. We will be showing Hollywood, Bollywood as well as regional movies at this multiplex.”
The Orion East Mall is developed by one of the leading builders in South India; Brigade Group. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Vishal Mirchandani, CEO – Retail & Commercial, Brigade Enterprises Ltd said; “Brigade Group is delighted with the opening of its Cinepolis multiplex in its second mall – Orion East. Our association with Cinepolis which is one of the world’s leading multiplex operators resonates well with our goal to create landmark new age shopping and entertainment destinations.”


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During an interview at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, Ted Sarandos, the CEO of Netflix, stated that the company has plans to offer a tier of its service that is financed by advertisements.
Netflix has stated that it will be bringing out membership options that are funded by advertisements.
The plans are expected to be implemented by the corporation by the end of this year, according to a report that was previously published in the New York Times.
Netflix At an earnings call, it was reported that the company had over 2 million paying customers.
After all, the ad-supported subscription options that Netflix has been rumoured to be releasing are not a creature of our mind; the business has acknowledged that they will be released shortly. During an interview at the Cannes Lions advertising festival, the CEO of the company, Ted Sarandos, acknowledged that the company intends to introduce an ad-supported tier to its list of offerings. This information was corroborated by The Hollywood Reporter. According to a story that was published by The New York Times in the past, the business has indicated that they want to debut the plans before the end of this year.
The streaming service Netflix is looking for new members desperately. During an earnings call, the firm said that it had around 200,000 paying customers at the time of the announcement. The decline in the number of paid members has stifled the company’s ability to increase its income. That is also one of the reasons why the corporation has let go of close to 300 workers in the span of just over six months. On the other hand, the fact that the ad-supported plans are anticipated to have lower prices makes things somewhat more favourable for the corporation right now.
People who say things like “Hey, Netflix is too costly for me and I don’t mind advertising” are not included in the customer base that we are targeting since “we’ve left a major consumer segment off the table.” Sarandos stated this on Thursday during the Sway podcast presenter Kara Swisher’s appearance on the Cannes Lions stage. “We are adding an ad tier; nevertheless, we will not be bringing advertisements to Netflix in its current form.” We are introducing a paid advertising tier for customers who have expressed interest in paying a reduced fee in exchange for viewing advertisements.
Netflix is the greatest streaming powerhouse at the moment with close to 222 million customers, but the drop in paying subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 has had a significant impact on the corporation. The drop in subscribers has been a significant blow to the firm, and they are currently working hard to recover from it. Not only has it had an effect on the company’s overall operations, but it has also forced a significant number of people to leave their positions at Netflix.
Netflix has reportedly revealed to The Variety that it had “very regrettably let go of 300 people.”
According to the findings of the survey, the majority of job cuts have been incurred in the United States and have taken place across a variety of economic sectors. According to Variety, Netflix currently has 11,000 people working for the company. As a result, the most recent wave of layoffs affected around two percent of the company’s staff.
“While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth,” a spokesperson for Netflix said in a statement on Thursday. “These changes were made so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth.” We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for everything they’ve done for Netflix and we’re doing everything we can to help them weather the storm of this challenging change. Watching Live TV


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The biggest professional networking event of the city LinkedIn Local will be hosted in Guwahati. After hosting a series of 5 successful editions, LinkedIn Local Guwahati, the professional networking event, is back to host the 6th Edition at Guwahati on the 18th of June 2022 at NEDFi House.
The last edition was taken up on a virtual platform due to the then rise in the curve, the 6th edition is hopeful and looking forward to helping build and foster healthier offline professional connections between individuals.
City host Syed Mohsin Raja on the occasion said, “We are glad to bring back LinkedIn local in Guwahati after 2 years, last year we had to convert the event online and before that we hosted the event at Tezpur. This year it is going to be the biggest ever event in comparison to last events.”
LinkedIn Local is a global one-to-one professional meetup concept without any sales pitch that started in Australia.
LinkedIn Local events are organic meetups, licensed by Linkedin and hosted by members all over the world. They provide an opportunity to network, build community, discuss industry trends, and share best practices for using LinkedIn.
Linkedin Local Guwahati is the same event for Guwahati city which started back in 2018. The basic motive of all the LinkedinLocal events worldwide remains the same – connecting people offline and deepening their relationships through professional networking.
The 6th Edition expects a great footfall of more than 70 professionals ranging from entrepreneurs, start-up enthusiasts, and corporate.
Unlike previous editions, this time instead of a central theme there’ll be multiple speakers speaking on their niche which will vary from Startups to Blockchain & Crypto basics to Entrepreneurship.
The registration is open at bit.ly/LLGHYEVENT6 till 13th June 2022.


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Most popular YouTuber in the world is deleting his channel in protest against YouTube – Find out why
With YouTube rising to become the most popular video platform, many youtubers were birthed. Today we have several popular YouTube stars that have been able to attract millions of followers hence generating billions of views and tons of cash.
YouTube’s changes to its algorithm that include new page layout that enables click bait videos to topple subscription content and censorship of popular videos has rattled most popular You Tubers.
Felix Kjellberg aka PewDiePie released a video in which he complained about YouTube’s latest algorithm changes. Other popular youtubers were quick to join him, expressed their disappointments saying it’s a “kick in the face”
“YouTube is killing my channel, But I’m not going to let them win. I know you’re going to think I’m joking, but I’m going to delete my channel once PewDiePie reaches 50 million.” – says Kjellberg in the video.
In a press statement, a spokeswoman from the video company told the BBC "We've done an extensive review and found there have been no decreases in creators' subscriber numbers beyond what normally happens when viewers either unsubscribe from a creator's channel or when YouTube removes spammed subscribers."
YouTube rubbished reports that it has made algorithm changes in recent months.
PewDiePie just made it to the 50 million subscribers mark; we are now anxiously waiting to see if he will proceed to make his threat a reality. If he does so then we could experience popular youtubers revolt against the same platform that made them rich and famous.
According to Forbes report of December 2016, PewDiePie who is Swedish but lives in the UK is the highest earning Youtuber of 2016.I've decided I'm deleting my channel at 50 million.— pewdiepie (@pewdiepie) November 29, 2016
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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Some restaurants in downtown Greensboro will still be able to serve their guests with outdoor seating.
The Greensboro City council made a unanimous 9-0 vote on Tuesday during a virtual meeting to continue the outdoor dining ordinance.
Kris Fuller, Owner of Crafted on Elm Street, said the temporary patio seating allowed her restaurant to gain seating after restaurants and businesses were forced to reduce to 50% capacity set by an executive order from Gov. Roy Cooper during the pandemic.
“Being able to accomplish this…allows all businesses to thrive…when you create an environment that people want to go to that benefits us all. Not just a few. Not just some…it benefits us all,” Fuller said.
“It will be good to have a long-term policy in place for outdoor dining,” Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said.
Permits approved through Tuesday’s ordinance will be good for two years, beginning on the first day of the month following the date of issuance.


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A Salina woman lost her ring valued at several thousand dollars due to an internet scam.
Police Capt. Mike Sweeney tells KSAL News that the woman was attempting to sell a diamond ring on the internet site Craigslist on May 25th when a person named “Justin” said that he was interested in purchasing the ring. The two then set up a payment arrangement through PayPal.
The victim then sent the ring through the mail, however, after several days of receiving no payment, became concerned and contacted authorities on Tuesday.
The address that the woman sent the ring to corresponds with a Malik Moore and a “Shop to Ship” courier business in Miami, Fla.
The victim has yet to receive a payment. The ring is valued at $2,700.
The Salina Police continue to investigate.


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When Lori and Kirk Thibault decided to tap in to the state and local wine market, they did just that — tapped in, literally.
The Thibaults own Ashton Creek Vineyard, a 5,000-case-a-year operation conveniently located between Richmond and Chester on Jefferson Davis Highway.
Open for two years, Ashton Creek offers something few other wineries in the state do: wine on tap. Eight wines are available for tasting on tap (or through bottle sales), including a steel-fermented, oaked-aged and delicious chardonnay; a semi-dry riesling; a spicy chambourcin; and a malbec dominated by black cherry flavors.
The decision to use taps was logical, Lori Thibault said.
“We were doing research on wineries across the country and read that West Coast wineries were adopting wines on tap,” she said. “We thought it was a great idea. It just makes perfect sense.


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There’s a reason why all of the “Dancing with the Stars” contestants look so bright and cheery, and it’s not their fancy outfits.
During a Facebook Live chat on Tuesday, “Dancing” alum Carson Kressley told Page Six that tanning is a mandatory part of each dancer’s weekly routine.
“One of the weird things [about the show] is that you always get a spray tan every week,” the “Queer Eye” star explained. “The first time I went [to the salon] like everyone was walking around in black towels because white towels get all dirty from the spray tan … but I thought it was a weird cult…”
Black towels and orange skin aren’t just a part of the contestants’ weekly regimen, though. According to Kressley, who featured on the show’s 13th season, the pros enhance their looks, as well.
“Everybody like sprays in their abs, a lot of those guys, they aren’t even real, they’re just kind of like sprayed in!”
That’s one way to shave off the ten pounds the camera adds!


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The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) was virtually flat today, gaining 0.26% to 4,959 points.
Although, a number of shares significantly outperformed, and here’s why:
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) rose 5% to $4.06 in a move I’ve attributed to bargain hunting, after recent falls earlier this week that were possibly due to KFC’s parent brand announcing a major revamp of its restaurants and processes. Collins hasn’t yet made comment on the issue either way, although some in the market may have been reassured by the company’s strong financial position, with around $90 million available in funding. Sizzler restaurants continue to be a drag on Collins’ performance, although its KFC restaurants have made a good showing recently and there could be good value in the company even after today’s rises.
Collins Foods shares are up 59% in the past 12 months.
Netcomm Wireless Ltd (ASX: NTC) jumped 8% to $3.18 on no news as investors continue to buy the stock, with recent prices valuing the company at a hefty premium to its most recent earnings. It seems the market is pricing in big growth as the result of a significant contract with a US telco carrier that was announced last year. Netcomm is small enough that new contracts can still result in a material step-change in earnings, and the company could be just at the beginning of its growth story.
Netcomm shares are up 381% in the past 12 months.
Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY) gained 6% to $0.26 on the back of rising oil futures overnight and was matched by complementary rises at fellow producers Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO). Shares took a hit in recent days as a lawsuit against the company was announced, although this looks unlikely to have a significant impact on the company’s prospects. Like other commodity producers, an investment in Senex requires patience as much of the company’s full potential won’t be realised in a subdued market.
Senex Energy shares are down 16% in the past 12 months.
Worleyparsons limited (ASX: WOR) rose 6% to $5.46, following on from a similar rise yesterday and taking the month’s gains to 24%. Shares have experienced a material re-rating in recent weeks, trading as high as $6 in March after hitting a low of $3 in February on the back of volatile commodity prices. It seems as though investors believe the worst could be over for Worleyparsons, which has posted a rough few years as commodity investment has declined.
Worleyparsons shares are down 43% for the year.


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This is from Outside Magazine. I found it informative. More article details by clicking link
First celebrated in chiropractor Douglas Graham’s 2006 book The 80/10/10 Diet, the all-fruit diet has long had a cult following: Steve Jobs, among others, was an adherent. But the endurance world took notice after long-distance runner and fruitarian Michael Arnstein, 36, won last year’s Javelina Jundred ultramarathon and placed third at the USA 50 Mile Road Championships. Other athletes who follow some version of a fruit-heavy diet include USA Masters 50K champion Tim VanOrden and world champion Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, who credits his success to a daily dose of 16 bananas.
“Since I started eating this way,” Arnstein says, “I only get better and better.”
Of course, there are lots of reasons not to jump on the trend. It would cost you almost $200 a day to fuel exclusively with fruit the way Arnstein does. Even scarier: some studies have linked excessive amounts of fructose, plentiful in fruits, to pancreatic cancer—which Jobs died from—and a fruit-only diet can lead to nutritional gaps, including iron, zinc, and B2 deficiencies. But there’s a growing body of evidence that high doses of the right fruits can be an outstanding source of energy—provided they’re not the only source.


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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made waves at the 2021 Met Gala with her quirky yet statement-making dress. The US rep was styled by designer Aurora James for the night.
AOC managed to turn many heads at the 2021 Met Gala.
The 31-year-old politician arrived on the red carpet adorned in a figure-hugging white, off-shoulder dress that had ‘TAX THE RICH’ written on its backside. While the outfit’s strong message was commended by many, others were not so thrilled.
Soon, a discussion about the dress started on Twitter, leaving the users deeply divided with their opinions. Besides the outfit itself, its designer garnered a lot of attention too.
Who is Aurora James?
Aurora is a Canadian fashion designer, who is also the founder of Brother Vellies, a New York-based footwear and accessories company.
Aurora started the brand, which sells handcrafted and sustainable fashion pieces, in 2013. The business’ official website reveals that Brother Vellies was founded with the goal of keeping traditional African design practices alive.
According to the website, the Canadian designer has a background in fashion, journalism, photography, art, music and horticulture. So far, she has amassed close to 200,000 followers on Instagram thanks to her impressive work.
Designer’s net worth explored
Aurora has amassed a huge fortune thanks to her company Brother Vellies. A basic pair of heels on the brand’s website is priced anywhere between $400 and $600. On the other hand, flat sandals are priced between $285 and $615. A designer heel can go up as high as $800 a pair.
Besides owning and running a thriving business, the designer is also the founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, a nonprofit organization created with the goal of helping Black-owned businesses.
AOC’s 2021 Met Gala dress explored
AOC completed her look with a red bag that had ‘TAX THE RICH’ written on it too. The stint left Twitter divided with many pointing to the fact that despite the dress, the Democratic congresswoman attended the event with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kendal Jenner, Megan Fox, J-Lo, Grimes and many other rich, A-list personalities, thus rubbing shoulders with “the rich.”
Others also noted that the price of tickets are up to $35,000 for the Met Gala while the tables are priced at $250,000.


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Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a multi-use mobile robot, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on January 13th, 2020, published on November 7th, 2023, and assigned serial number 11806861.
The Ford Authority Take
Over the past few years, Ford continues to implement robotics into its operations more and more, using them to retool plants, develop safety technology features, and help workers with mobility limitations. The automaker has also filed patents for ideas such as last mile travel routes for robots and a fleet inspection and maintenance robot as it seeks to continue to utilize robots in new and interesting ways moving forward. Now, this newly filed Ford patent for a multi-use mobile robot keeps that trend going, albeit in a slightly different direction.
This multi-use robot could be utilized in a variety of ways, and for a number of purposes. It’s quite a versatile platform, one that could be used to transport either people or cargo thanks to its modular nature, which is designed to hold all sorts of storage devices such as trays, drawers, and other elements. As such, the robots could be used to transport a person around a designated area, or even deliver packages, as the robot is shown being lifted up into a delivery truck, too.
The possibilities here are seemingly endless, as this Ford patent even points out that the robot could be controlled by a person riding in it, behind it, or even autonomously, moving those things around a warehouse or via a last mile delivery service. As such, it’s certainly easy to see this particular Ford patent coming to life, and making the humble robot a bit more versatile for businesses looking to ramp up their productivity.


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After the business recovered from its near-bankruptcy in 2001, Nissan acquired a 15% interest in Renault, bringing its ownership of Nissan to 43.4%. The Renault-Nissan BV (RNBV), a strategic management firm, was established by the Alliance in 2002 to oversee matters such as corporate governance between the two businesses.
Renault and Nissan announce a survival strategy, ruling out a combination.
- According to sources speaking to Reuters, the new plan, which calls for decreasing the alliance’s vehicle ranges by a fifth, pooling manufacturing by region, and utilizing shared designs, is intended to work as a peace treaty.
- At a joint news conference, Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard stated, “We don’t need a merger to be efficient.
After the news board meeting, the Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi executives held a joint press conference at Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, on March 12, 2019.
On Wednesday, Renault, Nissan Motor Co., and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. ruled out a merger in favor of a strategy to more closely coordinate automobile production in order to cut costs and save their strained alliance.
Since Carlos Ghosn, the partnership’s key architect, was arrested, the companies have been heavily damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Ghosn had been pushing for a merger over strong opposition from Nissan.
He also stated that he hoped to make an announcement in the upcoming weeks and that current relations with Germany’s Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, may be strengthened.
Prior to the coronavirus crisis, Renault and Nissan were two of the world’s weakest automakers and lacked a clear strategy for using their alliance to recover and split the cost of investing in new technologies like electric vehicles.
While the two largest automakers, Volkswagen and Toyota, currently function as a single entity, competitors like Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler have been moving ahead with plans to combine expenses and designs.
Following Wednesday’s developments, Renault shares, which had been negatively impacted by the disputes with Nissan and the French automaker’s first loss in ten years, increased by about 20%.
The French government plans to provide Renault 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in state help, but in exchange, it wants Renault to continue producing cars in France.
BASICS OF THE RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE The Renault-Nissan Alliance is the first agreement of its sort between a Japanese and a French firm, each of which was signed on March 27, 1999.
Describe the Alliance.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the largest automotive alliance in the world, was established in 1999 to promote member companies’ profitability and competitiveness.
This distinctive strategy makes use of the leadership advantages of each member firm, combining their abilities, technologies, and skills to speed up innovation, enhance cost-efficiency, and generate value.
Is Nissan severing ties with Renault?
According to a Friday Bloomberg story, Renault may think about reducing its Nissan ownership as part of its efforts to separate its electric vehicle company. In an effort to catch up to competitors like Tesla (TSLA.O) and Volkswagen (VOWG p.DE), the French automaker has been moving forward with plans to divide its electric and combustion-engine operations. View More
On Friday, Renault stated that all alternatives, including a potential public listing in the second half of 2023, were on the table for the separation of the electric car business.
Nissan, Renault’s alliance partner, would need to approve any proposals, according to the company’s finance head Thierry Pieton, who also noted that Nissan was “in the loop” as Renault considered its alternatives.
In Tokyo, Nissan’s stock dropped to 509.8 yen, its lowest level since early March, outperforming an almost 2% decrease in the Nikkei (.N225) index.
The two-decade-old alliance between the automakers, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T), was upended in 2018 when alliance founder Carlos Ghosn was fired amid a financial scandal. Since then, they have promised to combine more funds.
They said in January that they will collaborate more closely to produce electric vehicles. For the following five years, they provided a $26 billion investment plan in detail.
However, the tension in Japan has traditionally stemmed from their unequal relationship. Nissan, which has a 15% non-voting stake in its shareholder, is owned by Renault to the tune of 43.4% of Nissan. Twenty years ago, Renault saved Nissan, but today Renault is the smaller automaker in terms of sales.
David Dolan and Satoshi Sugiyama reported; Bradley Perrett and Muralikumar Anantharaman edited.
Nissan transitioned into Renault when?
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational vehicle manufacturer with its headquarters in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. Its Japanese name is Ri Chan Zi Dong Che Zhu Shi Hui She and its Hepburn name is Nissan Jidosha kabushiki gaisha. Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun are the brands under which the firm distributes its cars. Nismo is the name given to its own line of performance tuning goods, which also includes automobiles. The Nissan zaibatsu, today known as Nissan Group, is the organization’s first predecessor.
Since 1999, Nissan has collaborated with Mitsubishi Motors of Japan and Renault of France as a member of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance (Mitsubishi joined in 2016). Nissan has a 15% non-voting share in Renault as of 2013, while Renault has a voting interest of 43.4% in Nissan. Nissan has owned a 34% controlling interest in Mitsubishi Motors since October 2016.
Nissan ranked after Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford as the world’s sixth-largest carmaker in 2013. The Renault-Nissan Alliance was the fourth-largest automaker in the world when taken as a whole. [Reference needed] The most popular Japanese brand in China, Russia, and Mexico was Nissan.
Nissan sold more than 320,000 all-electric vehicles globally as of April 2018, making it the top EV manufacturer in the world. The Nissan LEAF, which ranks as the second-best-selling electric car globally, just behind the Tesla Model 3, is the most popular model in the automaker’s entirely electric lineup.
Nissan was saved by Renault.
Nissan, a Japanese automaker, was on the edge of bankruptcy in 1999 as a result of massive debt. Nissan formed partnerships with Renault, a French automaker, in order to survive. They were fortunate to endow Nissan with Carlos Ghosn, who not only salvaged the business but also turned a $2.7 billion loss in just three years into a $2.7 billion profit.
Nissan Motor Corporation is a global Japanese automaker with headquarters in Nishi-ku, Yokohama. With in-house performance tuning equipment branded under the Nismo name, the company distributes its automobiles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands. In 2013, Nissan ranked sixth in terms of global vehicle production, behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Ford. Moreover, if the Renault-Nissan Alliance is taken into account, it ranks fourth in the globe.
However, Nissan was on the edge of bankruptcy in 1999 with a staggering $35 billion in debt. Since its automobiles haven’t generated a profit in eight years, Nissan was on the verge of bankruptcy. An organization with a well-known and respected brand in the automotive industry was doomed to extinction.
The struggling Japanese automaker was compelled to seek partnerships. With Daimler-Chrysler out of the picture, Nissan’s sole chance of surviving lay with Renault. Renault acquired a 36.6% equity holding in Nissan in exchange for taking on $5.4 billion of Nissan’s debt. Nissan’s success in North America covered a critical vacuum for Renault, and Nissan’s debt was lowered by Renault’s cash flow.
There were still billions of dollars in debt even after the $5.4 billion. They hired Carlos Ghosn as their new CEO to address the issue and turn the company around.
Businessman Carlos Ghosn was born in Brazil and also holds French and Lebanese citizenship. Before beginning his employment at Renault in 1996, he spent 18 years working as an engineer at Michelin. He gained notoriety by organizing a significant reorganization for the merger with Uniroyal Goodrich Tire. Ghosn became somewhat of a national hero after taking the helm in Nissan’s resuscitation and was depicted as a “Super CEO” in the manga, a style of Japanese comic book. He was shown on a stamp for Lebanon as well. He is a wanted fugitive as of January 2020, yet to every child who had a “Nissan Skyline GT-R” toy vehicle, he is known for preserving an iconic brand.
“Turning around a sinking business with massive debts into one with a few billion dollars in profit requires taking many risks. When it comes to growth, there is a right time and a wrong time. Carlos Ghosn had to accomplish both at once.” -Author
Nissan and Mitsubishi are they merging?
Carlos Ghosn will take over as Mitsubishi and Nissan CEO following Nissan’s completion of its PS1.5 billion acquisition of a majority share in Mitsubishi Motors.
Nissan paid 237 billion yen to acquire a 34% interest in Mitsubishi (around PS1.5 billion).
With Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan, taking over as CEO of both Nissan and Mitsubishi, Nissan becomes the majority shareholder in the failing brand as a result of the transaction. Mitsubishi has joined the Renault-Nissan alliance, and Nissan estimates that when all three are integrated, they would rank among the top three auto manufacturing companies worldwide.
The acquisition of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation by Nissan Motor, both of Japan, has been approved by the European Commission in accordance with the EU Merger Regulation, the Commission announced earlier this month.
Nissan uses Renault engines, right?
Renault presently receives three parts of the Nissan powertrain. Nissan receives four from Renault. Together, they created five engines or transmissions.
Why has Nissan’s quality decreased?
At a time when vehicle sales are at almost record highs, the United States, its second-most important market after China, saw sales decrease 11% in 2019. Analysts and business leaders blame Ghosn heavily for Nissan’s problems.
Is Renault the largest automaker?
The Renault-Nissan partnership is today, for the first time, the largest automaker in the world by volume. In the first half of 2017, it sold 5,268,079 automobiles. In doing so, it outsold Toyota Motor (5,155,591) and Volkswagen of Germany (5,129,000). General Motors, a longtime global leader, came in fourth with over 4.7 million vehicles sold.
The numbers aren’t entirely comparable since, although having substantial cross-shareholdings and sharing marketing and technical resources, Renault and Nissan have different sets of stockholders. In contrast, a single board and a single group of stockholders govern Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors.
For the first time, the addition of Mitsubishi, in which Nissan acquired a controlling 34% stake last year, helped the Franco-Japanese alliance take the lead.
The alliance also claimed sales of 481,151 electric vehicles between the three companies, the most of any organization worldwide. The Mitsubishi Outlander is the most popular plug-in hybrid vehicle in Europe, and Renault’s Zoe and Nissan’s Leaf are the two most popular battery electric vehicles.
How reliable are Renault engines?
Renault was ranked 14th out of 20 in the 2017 Telegraph survey on dependability. According to the research, there were 116 issues for every 100 automobiles, which is more than the industry standard.
Who manufactures Toyota motors?
Toyota Industries produces the engines used in Toyota cars that are sold all over the world. We design and produce environmentally friendly clean diesel engines that balance power output with environmental impact, as well as turbochargers that are crucial to boosting engine output. By doing this, we meet emissions regulations while also enhancing fuel economy, low speed torque, quiet operation, and reliability.
What is the world’s top automobile manufacturer?
Since its founding in 1886, Mercedes-Benz has been advancing technology and outperforming all other automakers in terms of output. This automaker has continually been at the top of the list for car sales and production, raising the bar high for the competition. It has always been asserted and demonstrated that purchasing this brand of automobiles will help them build a bright future. This automaker has always blazed a trail in terms of bringing in a variety of environmentally friendly vehicles while maintaining performance standards.
Each automobile brand differs from the others in terms of the cars on the list. Each brand has a unique specialty that is recognized and appreciated on a worldwide scale. Each of the aforementioned cars is a work of art. It’s interesting to note that modern automakers are more concerned with developing a car technology that would outperform that of rival automakers. All of the aforementioned manufacturers have produced eco-friendly vehicles, so as we advance toward a better future, we are receiving the best.
It’s also encouraging to know that, despite the premium nature of some of these manufacturers, they still produce cars that are still competitively priced, even when taking into account the lifetime cost of insurance or perhaps a lawyer for a car accident. This means that these vehicles are not just ideals to aspire to and admire, but also ones that one might really get to enjoy. Our pride in the automobile industry begins here.


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BRUSSELS—International efforts to tighten pressure on Syria intensified Monday, with the European Union placing new sanctions on Damascus while foreign ministers predicted President Bashar al-Assad was starting to lose his grip on power.
The EU confirmed it was placing an asset freeze and travel ban on 26 people—mainly army, security and intelligence officials. The EU also tightened its arms embargo and targeted three companies including Syria's flagship airline. All three companies are "closely linked to the Assad family," U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
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Is horse racing sexy? The people who run Playboy's Web site are betting on it.
The Manhattan-based company, whose logo design portrays another type of speedy four-legged creature, recently introduced online horse-track betting at its PlayboyRacingUSA.com Web site.
Visitors to the site can bet on any number of live horse races from a host of different tracks-including Belmont and Yonkers Raceway. Leslie Andrews, vice president of marketing for Playboy's Internet gaming division, says visitors to the site will be able to bet on races at as many as 30 different tracks on any given day, depending on where races are held and whether it's legal in the bettor's state.
Last year, Ms. Andrews notes, Americans spent about $14 billion on horse racing. Yet, she adds, there aren't any large brand-name companies offering online betting. "This is a huge, huge business in the U.S.," she says.
Of course, anyone who has passed by a branch of OTB knows that the typical customer doesn't seem particularly Internet savvy. But Ms. Andrews says that "at the track, there's a very different audience. It approximates the mentality of day traders."
Playboy's bet on the ponies is one of several electronic gaming avenues the company is pursuing. Playboy already offers online sports fantasy leagues and later this year plans to introduce online casino gambling.
And yes, there is a bunny involved. All of the betting sites feature Deanna, the Betting Bunny, a bottle blonde who also happens to be a former centerfold.
PAYOFFS, DESPITE LAYOFFS
tIt's been a year since New York City's Economic Development Corp. signed a tax abatement deal with a dot-com. But, the agency says, the seven tech companies that have signed 15-year deals with the city since 1998 are fulfilling their growth obligations. In other words, the city has not lost any money on new media companies-at least not yet.
Despite massive layoffs in Silicon Alley, the seven companies-DoubleClick, NextVenue, StarMedia Network, Digitas, About.com, Oxygen Media and Jupiter Communications-have promised the EDC that when they file their semiannual employment reports later this month, they will still be eligible for tax breaks based on their head counts.
The EDC's deals with dot-coms are contingent on whether the companies increase their staffs. Moreover, benefits are meted out in the year after a position is added, so the benefit is realized when the company has earned it. By contrast, the city offers abatements to non-Internet companies aimed at retaining current employees as well as adding new ones.
"These deals reflect the fact that many of the companies had significant growth potential. But if they didn't grow, the city was not out money simply by doing the deal," says Michael Carey, president of the EDC.
However, the EDC is not passively waiting for companies to file their employment reports, due in January and August. The compliance department monitors news reports and follows up with a call if a company announces layoffs.
Oxygen Media Inc., a high-profile cable television and Web site aimed at women, for example, laid off about 10% of its workforce earlier this year.
Still, the EDC has determined that Oxygen Media has 200 or so more employees in New York than it did when it got its EDC deal in 2000. DoubleClick Inc., an online advertising firm, was the first dot-com in 1998 to get such a deal, and it, too, has reduced the size of its staff since then. But the cuts did not outweigh the additions the company made.
"Some of these companies may have grown quicker than they projected or than we anticipated," says Mr. Carey. If a firm falls below certain growth targets, the EDC simply cuts off the benefit stream.
SCALING UP SALARIES
tIn spite of thousands of dot-com layoffs, many companies are still willing to pony up big bucks for those with Internet-related job skills, according to a new survey by Buck Consultants. The Manhattan-based consulting firm found that total compensation for Internet employees rose by between 6% and 8% in 2001, compared with 5% for all other jobs.
"Good Web site talent is still in demand, and that puts pressure on compensation," says David Leach, national director for compensation consulting at Buck.
For its sixth annual Web salary study, the firm looked at 40 different positions at 245 companies nationwide. The firms include both Internet startups and Internet divisions of large companies, Mr. Leach notes.
But the study also found that many of the perks that used to be associated with dot-com jobs, including stock options and signing bonuses, are a lot less common these days. For example, only 25% of those surveyed say they award retention bonuses, compared with 35% last year. The number of firms that dole out broad-based stock options fell to 36% from 41% a year earlier.


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Three of the biggest equipment manufacturers in the golf industry have confirmed they will be at the London Golf Show – and more are expected to follow suit.
US manufacturers Cleveland, Nike and Wilson will be present to showcase their latest ranges and for visitors to try the clubs before they buy. In addition, Nike is sponsoring the longest drive competition and will provide a prize of a driver for both the men’s and ladies’ competitions each day. And Cleveland will be bringing along its tour truck and will be the official supplier of wedges for the ever-popular chipping green.
The three companies number some of the world’s best professionals among their tour staffs including Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, David Toms, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Michelle Wie, Trevor Immelman, Padraig Harrington, Jesper Parnevik and David Howell. Small wonder then that their equipment will prove such an attraction.
Andy Barwell, the London Golf Show’s marketing director, said, “Once again the manufacturers have backed the London Golf Show by buying space at the event to showcase their products. The opportunity to try out the equipment, while receiving advice and help from the manufacturers themselves, is a huge boon to golfers. Their presence at the show and on the driving range adds yet another exciting dimension to the event.”
The London Golf Show 2007 returns to ExCeL from 26-29 April with Europe’s largest golf retail store courtesy of the UK’s no1 retailer, american golf; a 30-bay driving range; the chance to go head-to-head on the chipping green with celebrities; the opportunity to sink a 100ft putt; the iconic floating green; myriad game-improvement gadgets; a fashion show; plus a much bigger area dedicated to junior golf with free coaching, fun and games and prizes. What’s more, two juniors go free with every paying adult…
London Golf Show www.londongolfshow.com


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It’s hard to believe that retailers still can’t seem to get women’s clothing sizes right. How many times have you been one size in one shop and a size twice as large in another? Too many, probably. Fast fashion has created an unhelpful ‘one size fits all’ attitude – news flash, women’s bodies aren’t all the same! Those particularly neglected by fashion retailers are women who require a larger size or are plus-size.
The average UK woman’s clothing size is a 16, but we all know how our size can fluctuate depending on factors like brand, style and desired fit. Well, the fashion experts at WeThrift have developed the Inclusive Index to help break down where you’re most likely to find the right size for you.
The WeThrift team analysed over 100 of the most popular fast-fashion, mid-price and premium stores available in the UK, to reveal which retailers have the most inclusive plus-size clothing…
The most inclusive retailers for plus-size clothing
It might surprise you to learn that online bargain brand Shein had the most plus-size items available, taking the top spot as most inclusive retailer in the UK. Shein has an impressive 88,850 plus-size options, with sizes ranging from UK 6-26.
Online retailer SilkFred came in second place with 15,900 plus-size options available across their 800 independent retailers. Former high street hero (but still available online) Debenhams followed behind in third place, with 14,762 options available. In fact, Debenhams really excelled with its clothing range starting from a UK 4 and going up to a size 40.
The least inclusive retailers
Shopping can feel like a real chore when you’re on the hunt for inclusive sizing options. It turns out retailers Pull & Bear and All Saints don’t even sell plus-size clothing! This shocking insight makes them both the least inclusive retailers in the UK, with their biggest size stretching only to a UK 14.
Skater style brand Vans only had one plus-size option stocked on its official website, that starts from a UK 6 and goes to a 16.
When it comes to supermarket clothing ranges, George at Asda was deemed the best with 2,445 plus size options available over a size 16. Sainsbury’s came in second place with 1,837 items. Morrisons and Tesco came in third and fourth place, with significantly fewer items.
WeThrift went a step further by comparing a standard UK size 16 across all of the retailers they analysed. They found that between the smallest and largest measurements, bust measurements differed by 9.7cm, waist measurements by 12.5cm, and hip measurements by 13cm.
The most consistent brand for the smallest measurements was Urban Outfitters. What’s even more shocking is that the measurements for a UK 16 at Urban Outfitters are smaller than a size 14 in retailers like New Look, ASOS and Missguided.
Now you know which retailers to head to first!


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A Domino’s worker can’t stop cracking up after a ridiculous order came in.
Each batch is freshly baked by a family-owned business in New York City.
He might have saved a woman’s life.
A pizza delivery customer is going viral for on TikTok for her “cringey” behavior.
A TikTok user is going viral after sharing the unusual way a pizza restaurant decided to serve up his pepperoni pizza.
Seamless will let you order a side of “positive reinforcement” with your pizza.
Derlin Newey, an 89-year-old Papa John’s worker, got the tip of a lifetime thanks to TikTok.
A takeout customer is stirring a massive debate after sharing their controversial pizza order online.


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Africa’s largest telecommunication network, MTN Nigeria could be looking forward to the release of September internet subscribers number with trepidation as its dominance of the space hangs in the balance. The company saw more than half a million subscribers leave in the month of August 2019. The telecom’s 40 percent market share also dropped to 37.2 percent in the same period.
The data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that MTN lost 667,245 subscribers to drop to 51,602,025 in August compared with 52,269,270 which it got in July. It is the second time the company is bleeding subscriber numbers this year. The first time was in June where it lost 178,103. It went on to gain a paltry 14,353 in July only to lose more than half a million in August.
It should be noted that total internet subscriber numbers in Nigeria also declined by about 100,000 which may suggest that the problem cuts across the market.
However, 9Mobile is the only other network that is seeing pushback from internet subscribers. The network has struggled to recover since June when more than 1 million subscribers left its platform.
In the same period, Airtel has solidified its position as the second-largest network in the country while Globacom which it displaced tries to catch up. Unlike MTN, Airtel has not lost its momentum in 2019 and gone an eight-month growth streak. In July when MTN attempted recovery with 14,353 subscribers in June, Airtel gained 428,012 subscribers.
Nevertheless, MTN may not be giving up its market lead any time soon – unless the telco decides to leave Nigeria tomorrow morning – as its margin it’s still too wide for the in-form Airtel to catch up with.
There is however no doubt that it has serious issues to address in order to prevent the decline from becoming a trend.
One of the loopholes it might need to revisit is consumer complaints. Although the NCC’s data on complaints stopped in the first quarter of 2018, complaints about MTN’s data service were the highest for many quarters.
At the top of the list of complaints about data is the longevity of the bundles.
MTN has the cheapest data plans in Nigeria and its network is relatively more stable than its competitors. Following the launch of its 4G services in July, the company had moved to slash its data bundles and offered a 100 percent bonus to customers who switched to 4G for the first four months. Bundles made available include 25MB for N50, 350MB for N300 and N500 for 2GB.
Despite the cheap data bundles, customers continued to complain that they barely get anything done with the data they buy before they are forced to go for another one.
“MTN network has gotten slower but the data consumption has gotten faster,” Mahmoud Takuro, a customer of the network said on social media.
Another customer by the name Onyefulu Mercy Ukamaka wrote on social media.
“MTN be killing me with their data consumption. Subscribed for 1.5 gigabytes yesterday. Now they are saying my data has exhausted.”
According to data from MTN, browsing activities such as shopping online and news updates consumes 1MB per 1 minute. Opening and posting on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc takes 4MB of data per 1 minute. To send and receive 1 email without attachment a user will need to part with 20KB while an email with an attachment takes out 300KB.
By that calculation, 60 minutes of opening and posting on social media takes away about 260MB. Data from Statista showed that the average user spends between 136 minutes and 142 minutes on social media.
In a social media response to a customer’s complaint, MTN also explained that the improved speed over 3G and 4G actually affects the data depletion rate.
In other words, more speed means more data consumed faster. But MTN cannot afford to continue to bleed subscribers as it plans for a future in a very capital intensive mobile money space in Nigeria. It needs as many subscribers as it can get to sustain the new business.


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Delaware and Florida are home to the highest rates of attempted credit card fraud, while Alaskans are the most likely to have their card details used fraudsters, according to a new report.
Sift Science, a San Francisco-based company that provides anti-fraud software to online businesses including Airbnb, Wayfair and Kickstarter, analyzed 1.3 million card transactions on more than 6,000 sites to determine where fraud is most common.
"Online fraud is a widespread problem that impacts every single state in the U.S.," Sift Science CEO Jason Tan, told BuzzFeed News. "But the maps also indicate there's more to the story. Fraud rates differ from state to state, and when we dig into the data, we can uncover important patterns about exactly where and how fraud occurs."
The company's software scores transactions based on their likelihood of being fraudulent, providing the data to clients who then decide whether to approve or deny them. On average, about 10% of transactions are typically flagged for potential fraud, said the company.
Based on the shipping address listed by the buyer, and the billing address of the cards being used, the company says these are the states where scammers — and their victims — are most concentrated.
The South — with Florida in the lead — dominates as the region home to the highest rates of fraud attempts.
Every southern state made it to the company's top 20 list. The northern outliers were Delaware and New York with 19.2% and 15.2% rates, respectively.
"Delaware is both famous for and notorious for its kind of business-friendly laws," said Tan. "There is potential incentive to set up fake businesses that look like they are coming from Delaware."
Florida may be popular with credit card scammers because it is a "great reshipping state," said Tan. Many use stolen credit cards to buy electronics that will be reshipped to a foreign country.
Alaska, however, leads the country with the highest rate of people whose stolen card details are used in fraud attempts, according to the report.
The high rate doesn't mean Alaskans are more gullible to fraud: scammers could be targeting them due to Alaska's criminal code, which doesn't class fraudulent transactions of less than $750 as criminal theft, Sift Science said.
New York state, which made the top ten list, was also home to huge regional differences. When zooming in closer than the state level, the report found people living in the New York City borough of the Bronx had the highest rate of hacked credit cards in the country. Those in the town of Westbury, located just 20 miles away on Long Island, had the country's lowest rate.
Sift Science said in a blog post that the high rate in the Bronx shows how fraudsters often target people in tight, concentrated groups.
"We’ve seen networks of fraudsters (fraud rings) cluster in small geographical areas. We’ve also seen single fraudsters attack multiple sites – multiple times – using the same stolen credit card information," the company wrote. "In other words, a small number of fraudsters could be responsible for a large, concentrated volume of bad transactions. That’s why pooling data from across a large and diverse network is key to successfully stopping fraud."
The Federal Trade Commission received more than 1.2 millions reports of fraud in 2015, 16% of which were related to identity theft and credit card fraud, according to an agency report.
So what can credit card holders do to protect themselves from being defrauded? Don't be afraid, but be vigilant, said Tan.
Credit card holders should regularly check their credit card statements and credit reports to make sure their information has not been compromised.
"Data breaches are facts of everyday life," Tan said. "Everyone should expect at some point, if it hasn’t happened already, your social security number or other identifying information is going to be on the black market by someone trying to take advantage of you."


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RIM has just announced it is officially changing its name to BlackBerry. This is a part of the major changes the company is going through, following the BlackBerry 10 OS launch.
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins just announced that Research in Motion is no longer known as “RIM,” and will be simply known as “BlackBerry” going forward.
BlackBerry’s official slogan is now “One brand. One promise.”
From now on you will be able to follow BlackBerry’s stock at NASDAQ:BBRY. Let’s hope this change, along with the new devices and OS will help bring the company back on its feet.
RIM (Research In Motion) has released its financial results for the second quarter of the year (the company changed from a fiscal year) and despite reported a loss of 235 million dollars, n ‘is not as bad as the previous quarter, when the loss of Canadian society was double.
In the case of income of Canadian society are $ 2.9 billion, that’s 31% less year-over-year. RIM managed to ship 7.4 million smartphones and approximately 130,000 PlayBook tablets, and has a range of a total of 80 million BlackBerry subscribers.
RIM (Research In Motion) reported $ 2.3 billion in cash and assets on hand. This is a slight increase from the fourth quarter of $ 2.2 billion. The Canadian smartphone maker says that everything goes as planned for the future BlackBerry 10, which is scheduled for launch early next year and the Canadian company looks forward to better times when the refreshed OS arrives on the market.
Source : TheVerge


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Sky Wellness’s CBD products has been announced as finalists in the 2022 World CBD Awards. The company’s brands Sky Wellness and CBDaF! have been recognized by the annual event as being top contenders for honors in the Edible, CBD Vapes, Topical and Extract Based categories. And both pet care brands D Oh Gee and EquineX are top challengers in the Pet Range category. In total, Sky Wellness has 13 products currently front-runners for the awards.
These products include:
- Sky Wellness CBD Sleep Gummies SW 500 milligrams 20 count -plus- CBN and Melatonin
- Sky Wellness CBD Immunity Softgels SW 750 milligrams 30 count CBG -plus- Elderberry
- Sky Wellness CBD FACIAL SPA OIL 100 milligrams -plus- TEA TREE OIL
- Sky Wellness CBD Relax Tincture SW 1000 milligrams Tropical Smoothie
- Sky Wellness CBD Relax Vape Cartridge SW 225 milligrams Blueberry
- CBDaF! Gummies 600 milligrams 30 count Fruit Flavors
- CBDaF! Energy Softgels 600 milligrams 30 count -plus- CBG and Caffeine
- CBDaF! Disposable Pen 200 milligrams Pineapple Express IS
- CBDaF! Disposable Pen 200 milligrams Granddaddy Purple IS
- CBDaF! Cartridge 1 milliliter 400 milligrams Pineapple Express
- D Oh Gee CBD Daily Duck & Pumpkin Bites 10 count 50 milligrams
- EquineX CBD Full Spectrum Horse Granules 12000 milligrams
- EquineXCBD Broad Spectrum Horse Bites 600 milligrams, 60 count
“We are building a market-leading CBD CPG house of brands,” said Thom Brodeur, CEO of Sky Wellness. “The recognition of our hard work by significant industry organizations like the World CBD Awards, retail, CPG and CBD industry media, and the vote of confidence of our retail partners and consumers who trust us as a part of their wellness journey is what drives us to continue to keep our heads down to bring more product innovation to market and to continue elevating transparency across the industry.”
The World CBD Awards is an annual event highlighting excellent CBD and Hemp products that have been deemed safe, compliant and effective. Brands across the globe are nominated and honors are awarded to “those who go the ‘extra mile’ making the industry a safe and respected marketplace; showing they operate with integrity, transparency and ethical business practices,” according to the organization’s website. Of the many brands nominated this year, 160 were selected as finalists across 33 categories, with Sky Wellness holding four coveted positions.
The awards are based on a unique evaluation process that utilizes an independent group of judges made up of scientists, physicians and professionals in the CBD/Hemp industry. Transparency and ethics are important aspects of the judging method and brands are asked to send non-branded samples for blind testing to ensure a completely unbiased assessment. The scoring matrix for each category is broken down into the following, allowing for an honest, accurate and fair evaluation of each product:
- 30% — Lab report result
- 20% — Research panel report
- 20% — Physical Testing (Touch, Smell, Taste, Texture and feel)
- 20% — Application and supporting documents
- 10% — Aesthetics and safety report
This year’s theme is “we can do better” and Sky Wellness’s collection of premium CBD products are leaning into that concept through a strong focus on high-quality production, transparency in safety and testing results, plus diligence with consumer education WINS. Sky Wellness and its brands also offer product knowledge training for all their retail partners and associates. For their efforts, the company has seen numerous awards and accolades since its launch in 2019. The recognitions have also been reflected in company sales, which are seeing triple-digit, year-over-year growth.
Finalists for the World CBD Awards will be announced at the formal gala and awards ceremony to be held on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Barcelona, Spain as part of a three-day industry event, including an expo and conference. The events aim to bring together industry professionals in an effort to increase global standards of trade in the rapidly growing CBD industry. Overall, there is a forecasted growth of 32% CAGR year on year (Compound Annual Growth Rate) and an expected $20 Billion over the next five years.


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France's largest mobile phone operator, Orange, has announced it will begin deploying latest-generation NFC-ready SIM cards to its customers in what is thought to be Europe's first large-scale roll out of mobile contactless services.
In partnership with the international digital security firm Gemalto, Orange is endeavouring to equip its 27 million French customers with an UpTeq NFC high-end SIM reputed to offer the same security levels as chip-based payment or smart cards.
"Orange is leading the way in NFC roll out in France and in Europe. The UpTeq NFC solution meets Orange's qualifications at both national and group levels and our teams are on hand to support and accompany the mobile operator in its NFC strategy," said Philippe Vallée, Executive Vice President of Telecommunications at Gemalto.
Once utilising the SIM, customers will be able to download and activate a range of services, including a 'wallet' of NFC-based applications for payments, transportation, ticketing, and reward schemes.
As part of the plan, Orange will be offering providers of services – banks, transport operators, and retailers – scalable solution packages to help them bring the new payment method to end users.
Apple's 'iPhone 5', is also rumoured to be equipped with an NFC chip and mobile payment system.


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The first phase of the trade deal between China and the United States has been signed, but commodity markets have not changed much, according to an agricultural economist.
Scott Stiles, extension economist for the Agriculture System Division at the University of Arkansas, said many producers across the United States, especially those heavily invested in export products, are awaiting the signing. part of phase one of a trade agreement between the United States. and China, and the issuance of the third payment of the market facilitation program.
After months of negotiations, the first phase was signed by President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in mid-January. Given hopes the deal would boost U.S. commodity exports, however, markets reacted to the signing somewhat disappointing, Stiles said.
âTo tell the truth, commodity prices reacted more favorably to the announcement of the phase one deal on Dec. 13,â Stiles said. âThe phrase ‘buy the rumor, sell the fact’ is frequently used in commodities trading. This is exactly what we have seen. The prices of grains, pork and cotton all increased during the last half of December ’19 and early January. Since the signing of Phase 1 on January 15, soybeans have lost more than 30 cents. The other raw materials resist.
The deal is “short on details,” said Stiles, at 96 pages and seven chapters, with about a quarter of its language dealing with intellectual property. In the deal, China agreed to import about $ 32 billion in additional U.S. agricultural products – in addition to a baseline of $ 24 billion – over a two-year period, largely by excluding some agricultural products import tariffs.
âChina has not made a commitment to grant tariff exemptions or import levels for specific products,â Stiles said. âA disappointment for the farming community was that Chinese tariffs on American agricultural products remained in place. This gives China some weight in future trade negotiations. “
Commodity prices haven’t moved much since the deal was announced. At Monday’s trade close (Feb 3), soybean prices per bushel rose 4.5 cents to $ 8.77 in March futures trade. That number jumps to $ 8.90 in May futures trading. Both price points are within the trading range of the past few months.
China is the largest importer of soybeans, and the US soybean export market has collapsed since the start of the trade war. Trade experts warn that two factors could slow an increase in soybean imports into China. The country has been facing a severe African swine flu crisis that has killed millions of pigs and the country is still reeling from the spread of the coronavirus, according to Farm Progress.
Corn prices remained relatively low at the start of the trading week. March futures fell 2.5 cents to $ 3.78 a bushel, while May futures fell 2 cents to $ 3.84 a bushel.
Producers are still awaiting a third payment from the Market Facilitation Program. At the American Farm Bureau’s annual meeting, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the third payment would be made shortly, but did not give a date.
The program began in 2018, intended to help farmers grapple with falling commodity prices and the growing trade dispute with China, in which the United States and China imposed tariffs on their exports. respective. In 2019, growers’ problems were compounded by severe weather-related crop losses. Stiles said many farmers depend on a third payment just to start planting in 2020.
“Considering plans were changed in 2019 due to weather – people couldn’t plant as much corn and rice as they expected – this seems like good options for expanding the acres this year “Stiles said.
With 2020 planting dates still to come and there is likely to be a lot of field work left in between, farmers in Arkansas are currently studying the safety net provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill. Producers have until March 15 to enroll base acres in either Price Loss Coverage or Farm Risk Coverage programs, both of which are part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill covers the 2019-2023 crop years .
The Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture provides access to Farm Bill Decision Support Tools for ARC and PLC programs online at this link.


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Krishna Subramanian is co-founder of Mobclix, where he drives marketing and product strategy. He is focused on bringing new monetization opportunities for mobile inventory. Prior to Mobclix, Krishna was a co-founder and general manager of new business for BlueLithium (acquired by Yahoo! for $300M), the world's largest behavioral targeted ad network. Krishna also launched MingleNow, the first online social network focused on offline places, events, and people. Prior to that, Krishna was co-founder of Burrp!, a localized review and recommendation internet portal for metropolitan India (acquired by media conglomerate TV18). Krishna was also Founder and CEO of conceptK, a successful internet design services and web content development firm for mobile devices that was acquired by an offshore web development company.
He serves on various MMA committees and has served on the Internet Advertising Bureau Committees for Broadband and Lead Generation where he created best practices guidelines for lead generation across the education vertical. Krishna has authored articles in MediaPost, AdWeek and Mashable in regards to inventory and creative optimization in advertising. He is also a frequent speaker at internet conferences such as Digiday, AdTech, AlwaysOn, Commonwealth Club, and Churchill Club. He also blogs for Huffington Post, iMedia, Adotas, and AdExchanger. Krishna graduated with honors from UC Davis.
This month, IDC analysts released a forecast report showing that mobile apps will support more of our everyday interactions, with downloads projected to increase to nearly 76.9 billion in 2014. However,... Read more »


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Local and national news have discussed it feverishly. It’s caused much angst among both Illinois medical patients and recreational consumers alike. Here is a reality for those who may not know. Dispensaries are currently experiencing a tremendous cannabis shortage statewide, one which may continue into the unforeseeable future. This has caused limited product availability on dispensary menus. Industry experts are predicting the shortage to last anywhere between six months and a year, but it is difficult to predict.
What lead to the cannabis shortage in Illinois? It really began in the second half of 2019. With the addition of several qualifying conditions to the Illinois medical cannabis program in August 2019, dispensaries saw a massive uptick in individuals applying to get their medical cards. Cultivation centers, the entities that produce cannabis products that are supplied to dispensaries, have had to expand operations to keep up with ever expanding patient population. Illinois law requires that dispensaries have an adequate supply of cannabis products to serve their patient base first and foremost. This is apparent most when comparing medical and recreational menus. Cultivators are currently manufacturing fewer bulk or wholesale cannabis products than in the past. Furthermore, dispensaries may impose product limits to ensure as many patients can be served as possible.
Then came the June 25, 2019 signing of the Illinois recreational cannabis bill by Governor J.B. Pritzker, effectively legalizing the use of cannabis for all adults 21 years of age and older starting January 1, 2020. The existing twenty Illinois cultivators were then tasked with not only producing cannabis products for Illinois patients but the massive adult market that lay ahead in just six months. To put it into perspective, cannabis is typically cultivated indoors and the seed-to-harvest timeframe is roughly four months on average. The cannabis is then sent to a drying room and eventually manufactured into a variety of cannabis products. Cultivators continue to ramp up production exponentially by hiring more staff and expanding their facilities. The shortage was entirely expected but unavoidable given the finite number of operational cultivators. In fact, similar cannabis shortages have been seen in almost all other states leading up to adult use legalization. Illinois will not be awarding more cultivation licenses in 2020 but does plan to award 40 licenses for craft growers in July 2020 that may alleviate some of the burden. Craft growers are different from cultivation centers in that they can produce less square footage of cannabis and cannot do any further processing.
Our dispensary, as do many others in the state, procure as much product from cultivators as possible. We understand there is much frustration during this cannabis shortage but remember that we are all in this together. There will be a day when the supply for cannabis in Illinois achieves a closer balance with the consumer demand. Until that day, we do ask that you refrain from treating dispensary technicians poorly. Dispensary technicians are doing their very best to assist patients and recreational customers. We wish there is more that we could do during this shortage but it is ultimately beyond our control. What we can control is doing our absolute best to provide a vast product selection, top-notch customer service in a welcoming atmosphere.


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-By Mansi Suryavanshi.
From June 26–28, 2023, Future Fabrics Expo in London, UK, will host a lecture series aimed at providing and promoting sustainable solutions for the fashion and textile sector. The materials sourcing showcase at the expo, which is the biggest, most comprehensive presentation of textiles and technologies that are ethically made and supplied sustainably, runs concurrently with the seminar series.
Attendees get the opportunity to participate in lively conversations at the seminars about important issues including environmental protection, sustainability, and innovative development in the fashion business. As stated in a press release from The Sustainable Angle.
The seminar series will feature Nicole Rycroft and Valerie Langer from Canopy, the trailblazing non-profit organization reshaping the viscose supply chain; Sophia Kianni, founder of Climate Cardinals, who is the youngest-ever UN advisor and championing the translation of climate information; Shilpa Yarlagadda of Shiffon Co., who is utilizing her jewelry line to increase women’s access to venture capital funding; and founder Luke Haverhals from Natural Fiber Welding.
The webinars will also include Cyrill Gutsch, the founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans, Amy Congdon from Biofabricate, who are leading authorities in biomaterial education, Annabelle Hutter from Santis Textiles, who proposed the first 100% recycled cotton in the world, Bianca Pitt from SHE Changes Climate, who advocates for gender inclusion in climate decision-making, and Cyndi Rhoades, the founder of Worn Again Advances in technology and co-founder of Circle-8 Innovations,
The series will begin on June 26 from 12 to 6 p.m. and on June 27 and 28 from 9 to 6 p.m.


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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- With wintry weather threatening parts of Alabama this week, residents flocked to grocers to pick up those two most important of perishable staples: bread and milk.
At the Piggly Wiggly on Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham, the biggest crowds hit around the end of the work day.
"It was packed around four or five o'clock," assistant manager Ciro Lopez said. "We had lines all the way to the bread."
By 8 p.m., employees at the Piggly Wiggly were restocking shelves and the lines at the checkout lanes each had only a few customers. But Lopez said the store had been hectic for a while as people stocked up for the next few days.
Ice, sleet, rain and some snow are in the forecast for the Birmingham area through Wednesday. Gov. Robert Bentley has declared a state of emergency starting Tuesday and many area schools will be closed Tuesday.
While the threat of wintry weather has been known for a little bit, Lopez said the sudden reaction today still caught them a little off-guard.
"This was really unexpected," he said.
It looks like Black Friday at Walmart right now..-- Wes (@WOWaldrop) February 11, 2014
Here we go again......schools closed and Publix out of bread and milk!!! Hoping it's not as bad as predicted!-- Niki Mascia (@NikiMascia) February 11, 2014
Every buggy in Walmart is gone and the bread aisle looks like a ghost town... @spann must have used the "S" word-- Kyle Dennis (@kdfrom93) February 11, 2014


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Blizzard just released a new Overwatch comic, and it’s a refreshingly joyous look into the lives of the game’s heroes. Especially Tracer.
Like the game’s recent Winter Wonderland update, the comic centers around the holidays. In it, Tracer rushes to find a gift for A Special Somebody, only run out of time (and the magical time juice that powers her chronal accelerator). Things work out in the end, however, and Tracer’s story concludes on a very happy note:
Back in 2015, Blizzard said there would be multiple LGBT characters in Overwatch, something fans have been speculating about ever since. Blizzard recently said they’d be revealing a canonically gay character “soon.” At this point, it sure seems like they were referring to Tracer!
The comic also gives us a few shots of other characters celebrating the holidays:
Awww, they all look so happy! Well, except Reaper. And Solider. And Ana. And McCree. And oh jeez, poor Widowmaker.
I’m gonna get them all Plays Of The Game as presents. If there’s a better digital equivalent of a hug, I haven’t heard of it.


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Developer Trammell Crow plans big industrial project in southern Dallas
Crow's planned 1.5 million square-foot industrial park would be in the same area where the developer built a larger warehouse for Amazon.
Here's how many Texans signed up for Obamacare in November
Repealing the Affordable Care Act remains a top priority for the president-elect, and the nation awaits details about a replacement. In the meantime, slightly fewer Texans have enrolled, compared to this time last year.
Site helps track the up and down price movement of your desired Amazon items
Chooze and Unbranded open pop-up stores in Dallas for your holiday shopping
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Commercial property firm JLL expands D-FW operations with purchase
Dallas-area commercial property transactions
Post-election mortgage rate hikes have economists lowering housing forecasts for 2017
New office tower, hotel and hundreds of apartments on the way at $1.5 billion CityLine
Johnson County mumps outbreak is worst Texas has seen in years
Officials have identified 28 cases of mumps in the area, mostly in school-age children in Cleburne and Keene.
What to expect at this week's hearing about AT&T-Time Warner deal
Would the merger expand competition or shrink it? At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes will face many questions along those lines.
FCC: AT&T, Verizon shouldn't exempt their own apps from data caps
Mark Cuban among speakers testifying at Senate hearing about AT&T-Time Warner deal
Investor snaps up 2 Far North Dallas apartment communities
Presidium Group said it has acquired the Linda Vista Apartments and Carlton Court Apartments located in Dallas.
We have an opening date: Construction begins on long-awaited Costco store in North Dallas
The location along Coit Road and just west of North Central Expressway was looked at twice by Costco before it settled on building there.
Buy toys but skip TVs, and other savvy shopping advice for December
Stanley Marcus elicits high praise from The New York Times for being 'the man who brought Paris to Dallas'
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners says federal stop of Dakota Access pipeline is 'purely political'
The federal announcement Sunday didn't mention any discussions between federal officials or company leaders.


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Good news for OnePlus 3 and 3T owners. OnePlus is now rolling out the Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based OxygenOS 4.1.5 update to these two smartphones.
This is a full-fledged software update that brings many new features to OnePlus 3 and 3T users. As such, the new update brings system push notifications that will allow users to receive information from OnePlus. The update also brings several bug fixes associated with the operating system including a VoLTE issue on certain Reliance Jio SIM cards and a connection issue associated with Android Auto.
As per the changelog provided on OnePlus' forum with the OxygenOS 4.1.5 update the network settings for select carriers has bee updated. OnePlus Community app has also been updated to version v1.8 whereas the Android security patch level now stands at May 1, 2017.
Additionally, the update also brings some optimizations to the battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS as well. Improvements to the proximity sensor, camera low light focus, and expanded screenshot have been done as per the company. Notably, OnePlus claims that the latest update brings increased stability to the operating system as well.
The OxygenOS 4.1.5 update is being rolled out as an OTA and thus it should be rolled out in stages and the smartphone owners should receive the update in coming days. You can also always check for the update manually by going to the phone settings>about phone>check for updates.


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AAFES recruiting vendors
June 4, 2009
Cannon Connections photo: Argen Duncan Clovis artist Ruben Armenta paints in his studio at the Cannon Air Force Base Exchange. He is contracting with Army Air Force Exchange Services to offer his work on base.
The Army Air Force Exchange Service is on a constant quest to expand shopping opportunities at Cannon Air Force Base, while increasing other quality of life factors.
AAFES is trying to attract vendors from off base, from big corporations to people selling homemade crafts, said service business manager Jessica Hall. The vendors pay Cannon a percentage of their sales, and the money goes to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Fund for things like parks and the gym.
Hall is always looking for merchants.
“We just kind of want anything that catches people’s eyes,” she said, adding that she particularly wants unusual products.
Those outside merchants must sell at prices 20 percent less than what they would use off base. Also, vendors are required to provide the merchandise immediately rather than taking orders, and they have to offer name brands.
Currently, Hall said a woman sells jewelry most weekends, and local artist Ruben Armenta offers fine art and graphic design from a studio inside the Base Exchange. A wood carver is scheduled to sell his wares June 9.
“Right now, it’s kind of hard to get people out here just because they know the base is in a transition,” Hall said.
If someone has a specific request for a type of vendor, Hall said, she would try to find someone.
“There’s millions of people that travel from base to base and do that kind of thing,” she said.
Armenta, a retired airman who does a variety of pieces including custom designs and prints of his original art, said he has had his on-base studio for about a month on a trial basis. He said business has been steady, and customers have made positive comments.
After a career in graphic arts for the Air Force, Armenta has been doing freelance artwork since 2001.
“And what this location has permited me is the ability to provide graphic-type artistic support for the 27th Special Operations Wing at a very economical price,” he said.
The artist has created squadron prints, murals and other pieces for Cannon.
Interested vendors sign one-year contracts and operate when they choose, not necessarily every day.
“They make a lot of money themselves just coming out here,” Hall said.
Merchants don’t have to pay rent or utility bills, and the percentage of sales they pay is negotiable and is different for different people.
On a long-term basis, the base already operates a Hertz rental car service, restaurants, an arcade, a barber and beauty shop, a gift shop and a general store.


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Like the core of an apple is at the center of the fruit, family is the core of Springhill Fruit Farm owned by Jeff and Laura Burrer of Shiloh. Named for the fresh water river that feeds the 24-acre Richland County orchard, Springhill Fruit Farm was originally acquired by the Burrer family in 1968.
“My dad and mom, Kenneth and Mary Jane Burrer, purchased the orchard from a man named Ray Weaver,” Jeff said. “Ray stayed here for a year and helped my dad learn the ins and outs of an orchard. Prior to that, my dad was a small grain farmer.”
Kenneth and Mary Jane raised their five children on the orchard. Out of all the children, it was Jeff that showed the most interest in the orchard. He began running the orchard in 1998 and in 2004, Jeff and his wife Laura purchased Springhill Fruit Farm. Since then, it has really been a family effort to grow and maintain the operation. All three of Jeff and Laura’s children worked on the farm growing up and they still continue to help as adults.
“It was such a great place to raise our children,” Laura said. “We get to be with each other and spend a lot of time together, especially in the fall. We can’t imagine not doing this.”
Originally when Jeff and Laura purchased Springhill Fruit Farm, they thought it would be more of a side job. They both had full time jobs off the farm, but the orchard continued to increase in business every year. Jeff is now retired from the Shelby Fire Department where he worked for 21 years and Laura is working part time as a registered nurse.
“We are super fortunate that our kids all have jobs that allow them to still spend their days off here at the farm helping us,” Laura said.
Their son, Ben, is also a full time firefighter, their daughter Mandy is an occupational therapy assistant, and their youngest daughter, Megan, is a flight attendant.
“We also feel blessed that our kids are so interested in the farm too and that this is a priority to them,” Laura said. “There is a group of employees that return every year that also become a part of the family. We have an Amish family that helps us every year too.”
Although the orchard itself cannot grow in acreage, the Burrers have been focusing on maximizing their productivity on what land they do have. Every other year, they plant about 1,500 new trees to replace older trees.
“We are planting semi-dwarf, smaller trees so that we can fit 600 to 800 trees in an area instead of just a couple hundred trees. These big trees here are sometimes 30 to 40 years old and are starting to max out on their production so it’s important for us to keep adding new trees to the orchard,” Jeff said. “Listening to our customers is really important — that’s how we decide what types of trees to plant. Our most popular apple is yellow delicious, so we have enough trees to make about 2,000 bushels of yellow delicious apples. We also planted around 50 new plum trees a few years ago that should be in full production in the next year or two.”
The Burrer family built a new pole barn in 2010 that houses the retail store, a 2,500-bushel apple cooler and a work area for sorting and grading apples. They currently grow 27 different varieties of apples, five varieties of peaches, three varieties of plums and three varieties of pears. They also grow nectarines, pumpkins, squash and offer sweet cider made from their apples.
“This past growing season has been great for us despite some setbacks. We are expecting a 10,000-bushel crop of apples this year,” Jeff said. “We had a lot of rain in the spring so that caused issues for fruit growers across the whole state with having to battle scab and other diseases. We are fortunate to have had limited insect issues this year though.”
Burrer uses integrated pest management systems on the orchard. They set insect traps that are checked every week to monitor populations of harmful bugs. They also promote predatory insects, such
as spiders, in the orchard to limit insecticide sprayings.
“A huge problem we had this year was that we got some major hail in the middle of May. It was a wind driven hail so it was falling almost sideways,” Jeff said. “When we started picking our earlier varieties of apples, only 15% to 20% of what we were picking were good apples. When the hail came in May, the fruit were approximately 3/8 inch in diameter, so the small nicks and cuts on the fruit then grew into some giant holes as the apples got bigger.”
The later ripening apples are significantly better than the earlier varieties.
“As we are getting later into the season, we only had about 50% of the crop being damaged,” he said. “We just had a lot of cider apples this year and second-grade apples.”
The Burrers were pleasantly surprised to see that the peaches faired the best.
“We had a very large peach crop this year that were not as affected by the hail damage, so that’s pretty exciting,” Jeff said. “We are having a big apple crop too this year, so if you’re going to have major issues like we did this year, it kind of balances itself out. “
The Burrer family sells the majority of their produce in their retail store. Less than 25% of their crops are sold wholesale to local grocery stores and farm markets.
“Our farm has a lot of return customers every year and they look forward to coming out and getting fresh apples,” Laura said. “We do a lot of our marketing through Facebook and then every year we send out about 400 letters in the mail letting people know our tentative picking dates for all the apple varieties. Really though, most of our customers hear about us from word of mouth, which is nice because it means that people are talking about us and have good things to say.”
Springhill Fruit Farm also values giving back to the community.
“Community is very important to us and we try to help out as many local organizations as possible. We donate a lot of apples and cider to different church organizations and FFA chapters,” Laura said. “We also donate a lot of apples to local food pantries. People really like to get fresh fruit.”
The harvest schedule is rigorous and it has to be timely to maximize the quality of the crop.
“Yeah it’s definitely fresh,” Jeff said. “Essentially, our crops own us. If an apple variety is ripe and needs picked, I only have a few days to get that type of apple picked. Peaches are even more finicky, sometimes I only have a one- to two-day window to pick them. It requires a lot of work and sometimes I have to cancel plans, but when the fruit is ready, it’s ready.”
Springhill Fruit Farm is open from Mid-August through Thanksgiving annually.
“I think it’s important for people to support their local orchards when they get the chance,” Jeff said. “Whether you’re in Ashtabula County or Hamilton County, if you have an orchard in your area you should visit them to buy apples and fruit. Ohio is not an easy place to grow fruit in, so the support means a lot to local farmers.”


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Lancashire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce PROBIZ as the latest in a long line of prestigious Official Partners of the Club.
PROBIZ is a leading UK accountancy and wealth creation specialist with approximately 400 independent accountancy practices throughout the UK and has partnerships with several other leading sports organisations.
The most high-profile element of the partnership will see the PROBIZ brand emblazoned across the Old Trafford hover-cover for the 2011 season.
Geoff Durbin, Commercial Director of Lancashire County Cricket Club said: “PROBIZ is a fast-growing and dynamic brand with which to be associated and its name is fast becoming synonymous with professional sport in the UK. We are delighted to be working alongside them and hope they enjoy exposing their brand to an international audience here at Old Trafford.”
Feisal Nahaboo, founder of PROBIZ, said: “It is a dream come true to wake up and know our brand is endorsed by one of the most famous County Clubs in England, based at one of the most iconic names in sport, Old Trafford.
“I supported Lancashire as a kid and it's an absolute privilege to be working with some of my former playing heroes who are involved in the running of the Club these days, and to be part of Lancashire's quest for honours this season. We look forward to working with the Club and fans in years ahead.”