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TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Sony Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Friday they would pair up to develop and sell battery-powered electric vehicles, and said they were open to bringing in other partners.
The companies said in a statement they would form a joint venture this year and aim to begin selling the first model in 2025. Honda will be responsible for manufacturing the first model, while Sony will develop the mobility service platform, they said.
“In the joint venture, we would like to lead the mobility evolution by combining our technology and experience with Honda’s long experience in mobility development and vehicle body manufacturing technologies,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said.
The companies did not reveal financial details of the tie-up.
During a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said although he is not thinking about taking the joint venture public immediately, he would not dismiss that as among the options to grow the firm.
Asked whether the partnership between the two companies is exclusive, Mibe said they are open to bringing in other companies while wanting to focus on developing the electric vehicle model for now.
“In the future, we would like to expand our business with an open mindset,” Mibe said, adding Honda will continue to develop its own electric vehicle strategy separate from the joint venture.
The announcement comes as the electronics maker was seeking to further its ambitions to become a key player in next-generation automobiles, while automakers like Honda are under pressure to make carbon-free cars as well as vehicles equipped with features beyond traditional means of transportation.
The rapid shift to embrace electric vehicles around the world, stoked by a global push to slash carbon emissions, creates opportunities for tech companies to join the auto market since those vehicles are simpler to manufacture than cars carrying internal combustion engines.
At the same time, those tech companies face challenges of meeting rigorous safety regulations for vehicles, and making cars capable of withstanding sometimes difficult driving conditions. Yoshida announced in January a plan to create a new company, Sony Mobility, saying it was exploring a commercial launch of electric vehicles.
Although its once-dominant position in consumer electronics has been eroded by Asian rivals like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, Sony still has an arsenal of sophisticated technology in areas such as sensors critical to autonomous driving.
Competition within the electric vehicle market is intensifying as well. Asked about how the joint venture would fend off challenges from competitors, Mibe said he wants it to “create a chemical reaction” that exceeds customers’ expectations.
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by David Dolan, Christopher Cushing, Edwina Gibbs, Kenneth Maxwell and Kim Coghill)


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Israel digital VAT update
- Apr 13, 2016 | Richard Asquith
Israel is continuing with proposals to levy 16% VAT on supplies of digital services to Israeli consumers by foreign providers.
The tax authorities issued a new Circular this week outlining plans to make supplies by foreign companies of goods and services via e-commerce taxable. The Circular makes reference to the Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Point 1, highlighting that no physical presence is required to trigger a taxable event.
A separate draft Circular had been issued at the start of April for public discussion. This covered the VAT issues for non-resident e-service providers with substantial business interests in Israel.
The proposal to change the existing VAT legislation is being reviewed by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

domain: news


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AbleGamers is launching a new scheme to place accessibility champions within development studios.
CEO Mark Barlet told PocketGamer.Biz that the charity will be adding a new section to its recently-launched Accessibility portal, Accessible.games, aimed at getting Accessible Play Experience Practitioners embedded within studios.
“The next big thing we’re working on is we are launching a certification program aimed at the industry called Accessible Play Experience Practitioners,” said Barlet. “Basically, it is to be certified in the APX model.”
The APX model is already the backbone of Ablegamers’ efforts in accessibility and provides a framework for developers to work from.
Barlet hopes that by planting certified experts in studios, accessibility can become a foundational pillar of projects - with developers and directors taking on access concerns far earlier in a game’s life.
“We’ve found that once we embed champions within the studio space, accessibility becomes a really cheap thing to add," he said.
The charity has already been in touch with dozens of triple-A studios and hopes to fully launch the APX Practitioners feature to Accessible.games later this year.
“You’re gonna see on Accessible.games, by autumn, another box pop up for us to start doing this certification program," said Barlet. "We’ve already pre-sold over 400 seats for this program.”
Our full interview with Barlet will be available to read in the coming days.
This story first appeared over on PocketGamer.Biz


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Like so many changes in commerce to date, the rise of retailer media networks can be traced back to Amazon.
The ecommerce giant introduced its media business in 2012 as it sought to monetize its own properties. And, along the way, it not only found additional revenue for other projects that may or may not forever change the way we shop, it also created the first truly legitimate challenge to the heretofore unshakable digital marketing duopoly of Facebook and Google.
A few years later, Walmart and Target joined the party and, insiders say, more retailers will follow in 2020. In fact, just a little over a week into the new year, Microsoft announced a self-service platform to help brands advertise directly on big retailers’ websites.
Microsoft’s move wasn’t surprising after its August 2019 acquisition of vendor commerce platform PromoteIQ. Media buyers expected as much, although most predicted Microsoft would make a bigger play for the retail market as retailers look to monetize first-party data, deepen their relationships with brands, provide better experiences for their customers and, ideally, find chinks in Amazon’s armor in the process.
So, we know momentum is growing but not necessarily where these networks will come from if retailers that don’t have the resources Amazon and Walmart have aren’t building them in-house.
But even Amazon has underwhelmed advertisers at times.
“My view is it is really hard to build a great ad platform and that most retailers do not have the talent in-house to build a great ad platform,” said Rob Gonzalez, CMO of product experience management platform Salsify. “Think about it—Amazon … [has been] working for years [on its platform and] you have heard complaints it’s not as mature as Google. You have heard that advertisers are frustrated by the lack of features. If Amazon has been working for years and has tech [that’s not as mature], it’s unrealistic every retailer will build their own.”
Gonzalez conceded a player the size of Walmart might be able to pull it off, but the rest of the market will struggle.
Andrew Ruegger, managing partner and head of commerce and data science at advertising media company GroupM, said even Target may not have the scale to pull it off.
“If you’re a retailer who is not Amazon or Walmart—you’re the tenth largest retailer in the U.S.—you’re probably better off licensing a platform than you are doing it yourself,” Gonzalez added.
So how are smaller retailers with zero media network experience going to build successful networks? They have to find partners.
Contender 1: Microsoft
If you’re among the top 100 retailers in the world, one option is to work with Microsoft PromoteIQ, which provides a self-service platform for retailers that can’t build everything in-house, said Todd Bowman, senior director of Amazon and product marketplaces at performance marketing agency Merkle.
PromoteIQ has worked with large U.S. retailers like Kohl’s, Kroger, The Home Depot and Office Depot.
In a recent announcement, the vendor commerce platform said it helps retailers control on-site ad placements and attract consumer brands that have plenty of other advertising options. At the time, former PromoteIQ CEO Alex Sherman told Adweek that 30 of the 50 biggest retailers in the world are working on their own media networks as the industry collectively awakens to the opportunity.
But, like Walmart’s Advertising Partners Program, PromoteIQ is limited to paid placements on ecommerce websites for now. And, Microsoft isn’t much interested in helping those retailers that don’t rank among the world’s top 100—at least not yet. Sherman did not comment on plans to expand beyond the initial target audience.
Contender 2: Criteo


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Love it or hate it, good old broccoli has made worldwide headlines lately, with the launch of (fanfare, please) "super" broccoli in U.K. supermarket chain Marks and Spencer. Dubbed (with classic European panache) Beneforté, the hybrid strain contains up to three times the levels of the cancer-fighting nutrient glucoraphanin than run-of-the-mill broccoli strains.
Curious about what made broccoli such a healthy food, scientists at the U.K.’s Institute of Food Research and the John Innes Center eventually identified a type of wild broccoli that contained very high levels of glucoraphanin and set about creating a hybrid, lead researcher professor Richard Mithen told NutraIngredients.com. Conventional breeding techniques were used, he said, and the Institute still owns the intellectual property on Beneforté.
Broccoli is the only popular vegetable that contains significant amounts of this sought-after nutrient (crucifers cauliflower and cabbage also contain glucosinates), which research shows may help reduce chronic inflammation and stop uncontrolled cell division, important for combating heart disease and cancer, respectively.
What's next: 'Super' spinach and kale?
Beneforté is not currently making any label health claims, but aims to get a heart-health claim approved in future.
Then last week, more breaking broccoli news: In order to reap the full health benefits from eating regular broccoli, people need to eat the whole vegetable as opposed to supplements, according to a new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
When eaten raw or lightly cooked, enzymes in broccoli help break down glucosinates into two beneficial compounds: sulforaphane and erucin. Because supplements lack these enzymes, the body absorbs five to eight times fewer healthy metabolites, said researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
Sounds like bad news for manufacturers of sulforaphane supplements, right? (And good news for Beneforté.)
Not so fast. Earlier this year, researchers from the University of Illinois reported that combining supplements with super nutrient-dense broccoli sprouts may boost sulforaphane absorption. So perhaps there’s a synergistic solution: Have your broccoli and your supplements, too.
A researcher and doctor's take
Delicious Living’s medical editor, Robert Rountree, MD, has been doing some research with the Brassica Chemoprotection Laboratory at Johns Hopkins, the folks that originally discovered sulforaphane. Here’s his take:
Numerous published studies have shown that eating brassica vegetables can have a powerful effect in preventing chronic disease—especially cancer—an effect which is much more powerful than what is seen from consuming other classes of vegetables.
A compound called glucoraphanin that is unique to brassica is thought to be responsible for much of this benefit. When brassica vegetables are crushed or chewed, they release an enzyme called myrosinase that converts glucoraphanin—an inactive substance—into sulforaphane, which is the active compound that works in the body.
Broccoli sprouts are a very rich source of glucoraphanin; they also contain high levels of myrosinase. Broccoli seed extracts also contain high levels of glucoraphanin, but no myrosinase.
The assumption was that humans make sufficient quantities of myrosinase in the gut to convert all that glucoraphanin into sulforaphane. What these recent studies have shown (something we have also confirmed with our own research) is that myrosinase production is all over the map—some people make lots of it and others hardly make any. What this means is that some people greatly benefit from taking broccoli seed extracts and other people don’t benefit at all. The problem is that we have no way of predicting who is going to be a good myrosinase producer.
The other wrinkle: Most of the broccoli eaten around the world is thoroughly cooked, which destroys most of the myrosinase. But numerous studies show that people who eat a lot of broccoli have less cancer. We know people are benefitting from eating cooked broccoli, so they must be making a fair amount of myrosinase in their guts.
So why not just eat broccoli?
Because the epidemiologic studies indicate that you would need to eat 1.5 pounds of minimally cooked (or raw) broccoli (or other brassica vegetables) every day for years to get the full benefit.
What about broccoli sprouts?
These could be a better choice, but you would have to eat 4-8 ounces daily, which is an expensive proposition. On top of that, the public health authorities are now saying that there is no way to effectively ensure that sprouts will be free of bacterial contamination, even if all the proper growing procedures are followed.
The bottom line
For maximun benefits, always consume a serving of brassica vegetables (for the myrosinase) in combination with the broccoli seed extract, Rountree says. In effect, this is like consuming Beneforté’s "super" broccoli, which effectively triples the amount of the active sulforaphane that gets into the bloodstream. Finally, stay tuned, he says—lots more broccoli data to come.


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Hyatt announces brand expansion plans in India
The chain said with over 20 executed managed and franchised agreements, it will add over 3,600 keys to its existing portfolio of 32 Hyatt-branded hotels across eight distinct brands in the country, including Andaz, Alila, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Place brands.
Restaurants find business opportunity in home delivery of gourmet food
In a pandemic-struck world, where going to a restaurant has become anx...
Airbnb joins vacation-rental sites seeing surge in summer demand
Since the pandemic began, the percentage of bookings on Airbnb within 200 mi...
Top five-star hotels tap into food-delivery to garner revenue
Hotels continue to dish out popular but select dishes from their restaurants in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak prompted the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown. Last month, ET reported that revenues of branded Indian hotels are expected to be 10-15% lower in February. Following the lockdown, however, as India's largest cities shut, revenues are likely to see a sharper dip.
Hyatt plans to open 11 new hotels in India by 2020 end
The Chicago-headquartered firm currently has 32 hotels across 20 destinations under its eight brands in India. The eight brands under the Hyatt portfolio in India are -- Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Alila and Andaz. The company is also looking at expanding in tier II and tier III cities with suitable brands.
ITC Hotels launches the ITC Grand Goa Resort & Spa
The 252-keys beach-side hotel will have 6 signature dining options, besides ITC's Kaya Kalp Royal spa.
ITC Hotels acquires Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa
The property spread across 45 acres is currently under minor renovation to comply with all the ITC's exemplary sustainability practises, it added.
Hyatt brings its new brand 'Hyatt Centric' to India
Hyatt Hotels Corporation said it has re-branded Hyatt Bangalore MG Road to the Hyatt Centric, marking the brand's first hotel in India and twenty-third property worldwide.
ITC to commission new Hyderabad hotel in Q1; to take charge of Park Hyatt Goa
he company also expects to soon take over charge of the 250-room luxury beach resort in South Goa, Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa.
Hyatt may bring Hyatt Centric to India
Hyatt currently operates 24 hotels across 15 cities with a total of 6,000+ rooms.
Hyatt, Accor take steps to bolster cyber security
The hotel chain had in late November 2015 identified malware on computers that operate the payment processing systems for properties it manages.
Bombay High Court quashes sale of Park Hyatt in Goa to ITC
Earlier, Kolkata-based tobacco to hotel conglomerate emerged as the highest bidder of the property in February last year with an offer of Rs 515 crore.
Hyatt's India properties hit by malware too
As many as 250 Hyatt hotels globally, all of which it manages directly, had been infected by the malware --between Aug 13, 2015, and Dec 8 -- within payment-processing systems at its restaurants, spas and front desks.
Blue Coast Hotels threatens to challenge auction of Park Hyatt hotel in Goa
In a regulatory filing on Monday citing IFCI, ITC said its bid of Rs 515 crore was the highest for the 250-room beach hotel.
ITC wins bid for Park Hyatt Hotel Goa
Diversified group ITC has won the bid to acquire Park Hyatt Hotel property in Goa owned by Blue Coast Hotels that had been put up for public auction by IFCI Ltd.


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Prices of used imported vehicles, popularly known as Tokunbo, have risen following the 43 per cent hike in import duties by the Nigeria Customs Service on July 1, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
A NAN survey of prices at some automobile showrooms and auto marts in Lagos on Tuesday revealed that prices of the different brands of vehicles had jumped by between 15 and 30 per cent.
NAN reports that the NCS had through a circular issued to all its commands on July 1, directed all commands should begin charging duties based on the new forex regime.
The circular, signed by A. Adewusi, the Deputy Comptroller-General, Tariff and Trade, Nigeria Customs Service, said the imposing of duties based on the N197 to one US dollar was no more tenable.
Consequently, the customs has since hiked duties on imported items, including vehicles, by no less than 42 per cent.
At Oasis Motors, Abesan Estate, Ipaja, a 2009 Toyota Camry saloon car, which used to sell for between N2.3 million and N2.5 million before the duties hike, now costs about N2.8 million to N2.9 million.
Also the 2008 model of the same brand, which used to sell for N1.8 million now costs between N2.4 million and N2.45 million, depending on the state of the vehicle.
Waidi Sanni, who runs the showroom, said the increase affected all the brands of cars at the company.
Sani said: “Since the forex issue and the increase in duties, what it requires to clear our cars and bring them to the showroom has increased substantially.
“Accordingly, we have to increase the prices of our vehicles and this cuts across all brands.
“We are already feeling the pinch as patronage has been very low.
“Before, it used to be an average of three cars in a month, but as I am talking to you now, it is almost the end of the month and we have not sold one.”
A car dealer at Mechanic Village, Ayobo, Saidi Kilani, said he had had to increase the prices of his vehicles owing to the duties hike.
Kilani said he had in June sold a Lexus SUV for N1.8 million and found it hard re-stocking as he now needed more money to get the same vehicle, which now goes for between N2.4 million and N2.5 million.
Kilani added that a 1998 Toyota Camry, which he used to sell for between N900,000 and N1 million, now goes for N1.2 million or N1,3 million, depending on the condition.
“It is the same dollar issue and the tariff; and with the low sales we have been experiencing owing to the increase in import duties, some of us might soon be forced out of business,” he said.
A NAN check on online car marts, Cheki.com and Carmudi.com also reveals that prices of used vehicles have gone up substantially.
A 62.0 2006 Mazda, which was advertised on Cheki for N1.2 million before the duties hike, now has the price tag of N1.55 million, while a 2004 Mazda MPV 2.0, which sold for N1 million, is now advertised for N1.4 million.
A 2006 Nissan Pathfinder SUV, which used to go for N2.4 million on Carmudi is now advertised for N2.8 million, while the 2003 Altima 2.5 SL of the same brand, which used to go for N1 million, is now advertised as N1.45 million.
http://www.fxmallam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/LogoScopic.jpg00adminhttp://www.fxmallam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/LogoScopic.jpgadmin2016-07-20 10:00:472016-07-20 10:00:47Prices of ‘Tokunbo’ vehicles up by 30% - Today.ng


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Shortage of oxygen cylinders hit Islamabad, prices doubled
April 29, 2021 05:19 PM
In the wake of rising critical cases of coronavirus, prices of oxygen cylinders have been doubled in the open market on Thursday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the latest rates, a small oxygen cylinder that was being sold out for Rs6,000 a couple of days back, has now reached Rs12,000 while the big one of Rs12,000 is now being rated at Rs20,000.
The market also showed that due to the shortage of cylinders as well as oxygen itself, the private traders started to sell these items in the black market while the prices of oxygen have also been raised.
It is pertinent to mention here that a small cylinder has a capacity of five litres of oxygen at one time and it could pump up the patient for around five hours regularly on the pressure of Point-Five. If such a cylinder used on extra pressure or on a big amount of pressure of the oxygen, then it would only provide the oxygen for only two hours. But, a serious affectee of corona disease who goes on ventilator needs oxygen round the clock.
Following this alarming situation, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) held a special meeting Thursday and decided to import 5,000 oxygen cylinders and 6,000 metric tons of oxygen.
The NCOC also decided to shut down the scrape market of Misri Shah Lahore to continue oxygen supply to the public hospitals.
Reporter Saba Bajair


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Update: It’s been three months since we first published this article, but we just had to bring it back after taking another look at 2023’s PS5 and PS4 release schedule. If you thought that the original list (which you can still find below) was ridiculous, then wait until you see this updated one. Jeez!
2023 is genuinely shaping up to be one of the most outrageously packed years for gaming that we’ve seen in generations.
Without further ado…
Now this is just getting silly, isn’t it? The mad part is that Sony currently only has one first-party blockbuster scheduled for 2023, and that’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It’s not unreasonable to expect at least one more PlayStation Studios title to drop next year.
Do you think 2023 is going to be truly insane for new games? Take a look at our original story to compare just how much this list has grown in three months, and then prepare yourself for an onslaught in the comments section below.
Original Story: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was revealed just a few days ago, complete with a winter 2023 release window, and it got us thinking… Just how stacked is 2023 for PS5 and PS4 gaming? The answer: extremely — to the point where if the majority of these launch targets hold, we could be looking at one of the strongest years in PlayStation history.
No, seriously, have a look at this list. Most of these games don’t have release dates yet, but at the time of writing, they’re all pencilled in for 2023.
Jeez! And the thing is, more games will be added to this list over the next several months and beyond — this is far from finalised.
There are heavy hitters in abundance — many of which are skipping last-gen consoles entirely. The likes of Dead Space, Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Alan Wake II, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Pragmata, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Street Fighter 6, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could all be absolute blockbusters — big budget games with the potential to set the sales charts on fire.
Now, of course, some of these games might not make 2023. The aforementioned Final Fantasy VII Rebirth immediately springs to mind; is Square Enix really going to release two tentpole Final Fantasy games within six months of each other? We’re struggling to believe, but if it does happen…
Still, there’s no denying the potential that’s on show here — a truly ridiculous release schedule as it stands. What games are you most looking forward to in 2023? Are there any games that you think are nailed on for a delay? Let us know if you’re already considering the wonders of next year in the comments section below.


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- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Nepalese American Fashion Designer
It’s true that fashion is, in large part, ephemeral. But for all the hubbub about resistance seen on last season’s runways — in seating placements and gift bags, and on statement T-shirts — they’ve been largely devoid of politics this season.
Take Prabal Gurung, who, since starting his line in 2009, has made a name for himself both with his design talent and his commitment to pro-feminist, pro-immigrant activism. That ethos is reflected in Gurung’s front row, where on Sunday night during New York Fashion Week, Gloria Steinem sat beside former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Gurung acknowledged Steinem, 83, with an air-kiss when he took his bow — a demonstration of his appreciation for her place in history, which touched the designer so profoundly that it helped shape his Spring 2017 collection.
But for this show, Gurung’s politics were more implicit, save for the shirt he wore instructing the crowd to “resist with” love. The runway was reflective, figuratively and literally, thanks to a dozen or so oval mirrors hanging from the ceiling. The collection was full of billowing chiffon and Victorian corsets — traditionally feminine forms reimagined for a modern, liberated woman who might wear a corset “as a vehicle for irony, resistance, and self-creation” — at least according to the show’s notes (another place where Gurung’s politics are most easily seen this year).
It was a notable shift in tone from the interview he gave to Vogue for his Resort 2018 collection, shown in July, in which he noted, “Berlin has obviously overcome so much hate and intolerance, both culturally and politically, so I find modern Berlin to be incredibly inspiring. For me, it’s a reminder that we can all continue to grow and evolve.” Before that, on his fall-winter 2017 runway last season, attendees were spoon-fed a heavy dose of political messaging via T-shirts: “This is what a feminist looks like”, “I am an immigrant”, “Girls just want to have fundamental rights”, “Nevertheless, she persisted” and — well, you get the idea.
To be sure, it’s not only Gurung whose runway has taken a less aggressive approach to politics. Last season, the Council of Fashion Designers gave attendees at five shows “Fashion Stands with Planned Parenthood” pins, and the trade magazine Business of Fashion started the #TiedTogether movement, wherein NYFW-goers wore white bandanas as a sign of solidarity and inclusiveness. This season, there’ve been pins given for the American Civil Liberties Union at a show or two, but largely, the political showings have been muted.
Worth noting: Gurung included plus-size models on his runway again this season (Candice Huffine and Ashley Graham), which has left fans expecting standard-defying runways from the Nepalese-born designer. Maybe he’ll add transgender and older models next time?
Until then, fans have been left with a stimulating collection to admire and ponder.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style + Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.


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March 8th is International Women’s Day
Meet two fascinating women who led the charge in a male-dominated industry.
Years ago, when she first started working at Battery World, no one wanted to talk to the girl. Luckily, these kinds of comments aren’t as common as they used to be for Jennifer King, now the owner of the Interstate All Battery Center in Kelowna, British Columbia.
“If I had a dollar for every time someone called and asked to speak to a guy who knows something…,” she said. “There’s still a stigma that this is a man’s world. But now, I’m the only one they want to speak to!”
Leaving everything behind in Montreal, this mother of two began her entrepreneurial adventure with $50 in her pocket. After several decades in the battery business, Jennifer knew a thing or two about power and put her industry knowledge and retail savvy to work in 2016 when she and her husband jumped at the opportunity to become franchise owners.
Sharing what attracted her about the career move she said: “I loved what working for Interstate would mean to us on a personal level. Our company is unique. Interstate’s values – A Servant’s Heart – means more than simply ‘team.’ We live those values every day.”
Today, Jennifer’s thriving store is among the busiest in the system generating well over a million dollars in annual sales. As for being a woman at the helm of a battery business?
“I am proud of where I am today and how far I’ve come. My customers know and respect me, and I am stronger and better for the hard work I put in to get here,” she said. “Now, I just laugh off the old-school thinking of what a woman’s job should be. Jennifer’s advice for women in male-dominated jobs: “Don’t be intimidated and don’t let someone else define what you can do.”
Another All Battery Center franchisee, Annette Fernald, wasn’t easily intimidated either. She encountered gender bias early in her career working for a delivery company. A customer couldn’t believe she was a driver and said she “was taking food out of a family’s mouth.”
Also while at this company, this former rodeo queen helped bust Portland, Oregon’s largest counterfeit ring. During a sting operation, she joined forces with a US postal inspector to investigate missing mail and packages. Their crime-sleuthing not only lead to the recovery of stolen and counterfeit goods, but also a happy marriage.
Still facing bias years later as the owner and operator of a million dollar business consisting of three All Battery Centers in the Portland area, she recalls a man calling their store three times the same day wanting to talk to somebody that would help him. Each time she replied she would be happy to assist him and each time he stated he would call back. On his third call, the customer stated he only wanted to talk to a guy. She’s happy to say she encounters bias like this less than she used to.
When asked what drew her to become a franchise, she said, “I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Interstate aligns with my values.” When folks ask her why a battery business, Annette gleefully answers, “Are you kidding? They’re like food – everybody needs them!”
Interstate proudly salutes the contributions made every day by women like Annette and Jennifer and recognize them as role models for generations to come.


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Amazon could announce its decision as early as this week, and prime contenders still in the running were reported to include Dallas, New York, and a city in the state of Virginia not far from Washington, DC.
Amazon began soliciting proposals for HQ2 in the fall of 2017.
Referencing "a person familiar with the matter", the Journal cites the main motivation as the need to recruit top tech talent across multiple locales.
'Diablo Immortal' is actually fun, you entitled babies
As of now, Blizzard has announced six classes - Barbarian , Crusader , Demon Hunter , Monk , Necromancer and Wizard . This negative response is likely fueled by long-standing rumors and expectations around new Diablo games on the way.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the online retail giant is now in late-stage negations with New York City, Dallas and Crystal City in Virginia.
Crystal City is served by a mass transit system and major highways, both qualifications that Amazon has said is required for its new headquarters as well.
South Florida leaders said Monday that Amazon is still in discussions about bringing high-skilled workers to Miami, despite reports in other media that might indicate otherwise. The company declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal's story. No major announcement will come until after the midterm elections on November 6, but the selection of the final site is slated to be revealed before the end of the year.
Outside Amazon's headquarters in Seattle.
This report was seemingly corroborated in a tweet from Mike Grella, Amazon's Director of Economic Development, admonishing the source who leaked the Crystal City negotiations to WaPo.


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Facebook has made a substantial move in gaming as reports are that it has bought the Spanish video cloud gaming startup PlayGiga. The reported value of the acquisition is being said to be 70 million Euros. The announcement comes as a follow up to last month’s acquisition when Facebook bought another gaming company, Beat Games.
Founded in 2013, PlayGiga is headed by Javier Polo. The company has been working with telecom companies to create streaming game technology for 5G. PlayGiga has also developed a gaming-as-a-service platform using Intel’s Visual Cloud Platform.
On its website PlayGiga wrote: “We are excited to announce that the PlayGiga team is moving on to something new. We are continuing our work in cloud gaming, now with a new mission. We want to thank all of our partners and customers for their support over the years.”
Facebook claims that there are more than 700 million people who engage with its gaming content. The new development is interesting as the cloud gaming competition heats up.
Last month, Google launched Stadia, its cloud gaming platform that allows users to play games on the cloud. The platform has been well received.


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SANTA MONICA, Calif. — For almost a decade now, marketers have dreamed of a world where consumers watching a video or TV show could click on products that they liked and instantly purchase them.
In marketing circles this is called the Jennifer Aniston sweater theory. “Friends” was a popular show and Aniston’s character Rachel a hot item when marketers first floated the idea that consumers would buy Aniston-approved clothing during the show, if given the chance.
Everyone agreed it was a fabulous idea. Too bad the technology didn’t materialize.
But like next summer’s blockbuster on DVD, that kind of product placement embedded in digital video content might really be coming soon to a screen near you. At least, that’s the prediction of a handful of advertising executives holed up at the Digital Hollywood conference here at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.
In a discussion about what advertising in the next generation might look like, the tone shifted from tried and true, to whether advertisers are bold enough to try new media.
“Our clients are asking us what is the safest thing to do right now,” said Starcom’s Sherwood Stranieri, who heads up the media company’s natural search group. “But how do you define safety? Is it going with the tried and true or is it looking at the newest and the best and brightest methods? It’s hard for us and them to figure that out because every dollar is being scrutinized.”
The scrutiny was already there before the economy turned south. On the Web, for example, banner ads are still not providing the click-throughs that some advertisers had hoped. Creating brand pages on Facebook and MySpace? Could be better, too. Widgets are cool but how do they carry effective ad messages?
Then there was the product placement discussion. Panelists said they believe product placement — featuring products within content rather than in ads surrounding content — will soon become more prevalent and sophisticated.
Brands will also be experimenting with ways to track consumer reactions to product placement from within video, said Jared Hendler, creative director at public relations and media firm Edelman Digital. He thinks the most obvious way to do this is by offering click-shopping. For example, if a consumer is watching a cooking show and can click on screen to buy the product the host is using, marketers have a very clear campaign success metric to work with.
But Adobe’s Deeje Cooley believes that marketers’ ability to measure consumer response to video ads is still not quite ready for primetime use. Cooley pointed out that actions such as when a viewer starts and stops a video aren’t accounted for in the metrics currently used by marketers.
“AdobeTV is making content for our clients that evangelize how to use our products,” Cooley said. “We do have a hard time measuring. We’ll have four different types of numbers and none of them add up. How big of an audience do we really have? We don’t know.”
Metrics challenges aside, marketers hope that consumers will respond to innovative ways of marketing by shopping — even during a troubled economy.
“Out of chaos comes all opportunities — and we certainly have chaos now,” said panel moderator Terry S. Bienstock, CEO of Mobilactive Media. Hendler believes that the current credit crisis roiling markets will likely create strong interest in digital marketing.
“Is a bad economy going to move people more towards social media spending? I think so. You can’t go backwards. You have to get across the chasm and you must run as fast as you can to get across. And just recently we’re seeing even the most conservative brands that realize they have to harness the brand of social media or they are going to miss the boat.”
Or miss selling a bunch of sweaters on a hot new TV show.


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In the digital age, far from being a decrepit practice, press releases are more valid than ever before. It would be easy to assume otherwise when the various social media devices available at your fingertips can see you spread your information worldwide in five minutes.
After all, what did you used to do with the obligatory press releases in the bad old days? Most editors sighed and spiked them. If you don’t know what that means, ask your friendly retired editor. Most PR companies used to churn them out and most editors never gave them a second glance. A lot of those PR companies went under when their clients saw a nil-return on their investment.
Press Releases: A Great lead
If the PR companies then did their homework and took the time to do the job properly and the editors and sub-editors saw press releases as a great lead, many would take the first few paragraphs and can the rest. Others, even better, would use it as a lead and write their own story. That meant the
client still got featured. The point here was that no-one wanted to use the same story that could appear as is in several publications. Makes sense.
Today, in the brave new world, with a myriad of communication methods at your disposal, press releases have gained new momentum. In promoting a company, there’s still a great deal to be said for the press release.
You can perhaps do a heading and blurb in a tweet, but that’s it, unless you follow Trump’s dot-dot-dot style over five tweets. Annoying!
The client’s website
You could do a lot more on a client’s online website, and that’s where the PR company still plays a huge role. In the news section, which the PR professionals update regularly, you can promote the company to your heart’s content. And the client will be delighted.
Press releases have now become an integral part of the client’s marketing campaign. They have become SEO tools that can push the agenda for investors, customers, potential customers, and employees and other target groups ignite their passion for what they are looking out for.
So, the point is that PR companies have become specific-focus entities that target the online invasion.
A print resurgence? I don’t think so.
Let’s face it, there are not busloads of print magazines or newspapers still around as most people read them online, so that’s not the focus anymore. As a side here: the print pundits swear blind that print is experiencing a resurgence. Really? I have yet to see much evidence of this.
Obviously, if there was a still market, ad revenue would have to support it. But that revenue has gone far away into the digital media sphere.
Using the online power-packed premise, the press release today announces news for a company, and this can be found immediately on all major search engines and social media networks using a press release distribution service. Companies can use as many releases as they want and now can include video and other multimedia as part of the service.
People need content more than ever before, and that’s exactly what’s being provided.


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Trump's Punch squeaks by in soda poll
Edges Hillary's Liberal Limeade in Yacht Club tally
NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The vote is in, and the winner of Rhode Island's Yacht Club Bottling Works "Soda Pop Poll" is: Donald's Populist Punch.
A total of 48,048 bottles of the limited-edition Yacht Club Sodas were sold, and the margin was close, with 22,224 votes, or 46.3 percent, going for the traditional fruit "Punch," with flavors of strawberry and peach.
There were 21,360 votes, or 44.5 percent, for Hillary's Liberal Limeade, which was a raspberry-lime flavor.
Gary's Sassy Sarsaparilla garnered 4,464 votes, or 9.2 percent of the vote, for Gary Johnson's drink.
Noting the very close margin, John Sgambato, owner of Yacht Club Bottling Works, said: "New Englanders love the flavor of Donald's Populist Punch best."
"I hope it was a fun way to make it through this election year," he said in a statement.
The drinks were launched in August, with labels that featured caricatures of the candidates by Rhode Island cartoonist Frankie Galasso. They were the company's first "political" beverages. Sgambato said the company looks forward to creating more political pops in the future.
The "Soda Pop Poll" flavors are available until sold out at the company store, at 2239 Mineral Spring Ave. in North Providence, at select stores throughout southeastern New England and at farmers' markets.
On Twitter: @gailciampa


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1 May 2018
Otama water scheme to be chlorinated
The Otama Rural Water Scheme is to be chlorinated following a catchment assessment last year that revealed there is a high risk of microbiological contamination at the scheme’s water source.
Chlorination will begin on Tuesday 15 May. The decision to chlorinate was made by the Otama Rural Water Scheme Committee and Gore District Council.
3 Waters Asset Manager Matt Bayliss said the Council and committee have a responsibility to supply safe and clean drinking water.
“The water in the Otama scheme has been untreated until now as it was built mainly to supply stock water.
“However, we know it is the main domestic water supply for a lot of consumers.”
The Council has chlorinated the Gore and Mataura water supplies for a number of years. It is considered one of the best ways to disinfect water against contamination
“Chlorine disinfects the water all the way from the intake point to a consumer’s taps. It kills small bugs that can get through filtrations systems, such as bacteria and viruses that are difficult to physically remove from water.”
Mr Bayliss said there would be no more than 1mg of chlorine per litre of water leaving the Pyramid Reservoir. The level of chlorine was expected to drop to about .2mg per litre of water at the extremities of the scheme.
It will cost about $30,000 to install the chlorination equipment, and between $3000 and $5000 each year to operate. The Otama scheme has sufficient funds to cover these costs and there will be no increase in charges to scheme consumers.
Mr Bayliss said consumers might initially notice a change in the water’s taste and smell. This is caused by the chlorine reacting with organic matter in pipelines.
“In essence, if the water smells it means the chlorine is doing its job killing the pathogens.”
Consumers can install a carbon filter at their house if they want to remove the chlorine.
“However, we recommend consumers wait a week or two before deciding whether to install a water filter as any initial smell and taste issues may disappear or at least be less noticeable,” Mr Bayliss said.
Another way to remove the chlorine taste is to fill a jug of water and leave it on the bench or in the fridge overnight. The chlorine dissipates naturally over a few hours.
Scheme consumers have been notified by letter and email, and the Council has put together a Common Questions sheet.
For more details click here


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Staples has made the final decision to buy Office Depot. The $6.3 billion buyout comes after months of discussion of the possible merger and unites the 2 biggest brands of office supplies.
Another merger has created the largest member-owned healthcare supply chain firm in the US. VHA Inc., a texas-based nonprofit hospital network, and Chicago-based alliance of academic medical centers UHC have joined forces to serve more than 5,000 healthcare systems members and affiliates.
Six Petrobras executives, including the CEO, have left the Brazilian state-owned oil company. The resignations come after a “tumultuous” period for the company.
US businesses added 213,000 new jobs in January – lower than expected, but still considered a decent increase.


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News Flash Home
The original item was published from 11/23/2016 10:18:00 AM to 11/28/2016 12:00:03 AM.
Posted on: November 21, 2016
[ARCHIVED] Stay Safe while Cooking Your Thanksgiving Meal
Typically Thanksgiving Day is the peak day for home cooking fires. Stay safe whether cooking in your kitchen or using a turkey fryer with these tips.


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WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker plans to propose a new, 25% federal tax on Internet pornography and new requirements for adult Web sites to help prevent children from looking at them.
The bill, expected to be introduced next week by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., would impose the excise tax on transactions with for-profit adult Web sites, which typically sell monthly subscriptions to Internet users to look at pornographic photographs or videos.
Money collected from the tax would be used for law enforcement and for protecting children from Internet-related crimes.
Lincoln's spokesman, Drew Goesl, refused on July 22 to discuss the provisions. "We prefer to wait until the bill is introduced to discuss it," Goesl said.
A draft of the legislation circulated this week among pornography and free-speech groups. Companion legislation was also expected to be introduced in the House.
Called the Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005, the bill also proposes new rules for Web sites to verify that they do business only with adults. The measure, subject to enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, would compel sites to use specialized software to verify a customer's age.
An FTC spokeswoman said the commission was not aware of the proposed bills.


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A cancer charity is recalling about 200,000 bracelets it sold as a fundraiser because they contain high levels of lead. The Friends of Mel Foundation tested the bead-and-metal bracelets after getting an e-mail that a 9-month-old boy apparently ingested lead from a bracelet… The foundation said it’s raised more than $1 million for Massachusetts General Hospital by selling the jewelry on its Web site and in small stores.
Who knew lead would make such a comeback? Where can I invest in lead? What’s next — lead in my Taco Bell burrito instead of the usual E. coli? Will Britney’s next fragrance contain lead?
I can hardly wait for more lead news!


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The US stock markets have recovered this week from recent price losses. The three major stock indices Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq showed large weekly percentage increases of 6.2%, 6.6% and 6.8% respectively.
Shares on the US stock market suffered significant blows in the period from the end of April to mid-May. The markets closed with a weekly loss in the past seven weeks. Bargain hunters have caused prices to rise again this week, analysts say. Favorable news on inflation and consumer spending also pushed the indices higher.
Tech stocks in particular performed well today. Apple shares rose by more than 3 percent and Microsoft by almost 2 percent.
The US stock market will remain closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day, the day on which deceased US servicemen are commemorated.


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"The sector has been looking shaky for a while and with the amount of new space being added, any slackening of demand is bound to affect profitability," one analyst said. Clive Vaughan of Verdict retail consultants agreed, saying: "This does look a bit like a bubble that is very close to bursting. There is nervousness out there at the moment and though we can see consumer demand growing, the amount of new space the retailers are adding can only end in tears."
There were suggestions late last week that some of the sports chains are suffering double-digit declines in like for like sales. It is understood that trading was particularly weak in February but may have picked up in March.
It is now almost certain that Sports Division, the privately-owned sports retailer, will postpone its pounds 350m stock market flotation which had been planned for the spring. A final decision will be made after JJB Sports reports its full year results on 22 April.
Investor confidence has been shaken by a series of negative announcements from the sector in the last six weeks. Nike issued a profits warning in March after problems in the US and the Far East. Also last month the former merchandising director of Manchester United said the boom in replica football shirts may be over. Newcastle United added to the woes when some of its directors were alleged to have made comments about replica shirts being over-priced.
A bigger concern is the possibility of a shift in fashion tastes. The popularity of training shoes has been affected by the rise of the "brown shoe" market which includes brands like Timberland, Rockport and Caterpillar. Even the previously un-trendy Clarks shoes have been popularised by rock bands such as Oasis and The Verve, who wear the company's desert boots and Wallabees shoes.
There is also evidence that more formal clothing may be rising in popularity at the expense of heavily branded sportswear. At the company's results last week, Rowland Gee, managing director of Moss Bros, the menswear retailer said: "It is Adios Adidas. People just don't think it is as trendy to wear sports labels for fashion any more."
Verdict's Mr Vaughan agrees that in the same age groups, a Ben Sherman shirt is more likely to be the new "must have" fashion item. He warns that companies such as Nike are sitting on mountains of unsold stock and the fashion appeal of owning a pair of its trainers will be eroded if stores are forced to reduce prices. "The whole point of these brands is that they supposed to be aspirational. If suddenly an pounds 80 pair of Nike trainers is remaindered down to a tenner, street-wise young kids won't buy them."
He says that after years of ignoring traditional shoe shops, the top brands like Nike have started to "knock on their doors" asking if they would like to start stocking their goods.
The appeal of these brands is also being under-mined by supermarket groups selling sports clothing and trainers at cut prices after securing supplies on the "grey market". Tesco has cut the price of Levi's jeans and Nike trainers in recent months. It is selling Tommy Hilfiger clothing at reduced rates, including a T-shirt for pounds 15 which it said was pounds 25 in Selfridges.
Tesco says it is not planning to enter the sports market but is securing the supplies as part of its campaign against selective distribution. Brands like Levi's and Nike have refused to supply supermarkets saying their store environments and lack of specialist staff makes them unsuitable outlets.
However, it would be premature to write the sports brands off completely. They are backed by huge advertising campaigns and replica shirts are unlikely to fall out of favour dramatically given the rising popularity of football and the continued backing of Sky TV.
And then there is France '98 in June. As Mr Vaughan of Verdict says: "There has been a bit of slippage in the market but we still have the World Cup to come and marketing for that has not even started yet."
For the sports retailers, a strong World Cup challenge by England, or even a sustained run by Scotland, would be seen as the hand of God.Reuse content


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HEALTHTAC® Food & Beverage
Dec. 08, 2019
Building Your Hospitality Business
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In the News
Asian American Hotel Owners Association
Fax: (404) 816-2724
In the News
AAHOA Statement On Final Overtime Rule
ATLANTA—AAHOA Interim President and CEO Rachel Humphrey issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s issuance of ...
AAHOA Launches New & Exclusive Online Platform For Members
ATLANTA–AAHOA, the nation’s largest hotel owners association, announced the launch of MyAAHOA.com, a new and customizable online platform that empowers AAHOA ...
Jagruti Panwala Becomes Chairwoman Of World’s Largest Hotel Owners Association
SAN DIEGO–Pennsylvania hotelier Jagruti Panwala is the new chairwoman of AAHOA, the world’s largest hotel owners association. Panwala became chair during ...
America’s Hoteliers Endorse JOLT Act
WASHNINGTON, DC–AAHOA Interim President and CEO Rachel Humphrey issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the Jobs Originating ...
AAHOA Names Rachel Humphrey Interim President & CEO
ATLANTA–AAHOA appointed Chief Operating Officer Rachel Humphrey to serve as the Interim President and CEO effective January 26. Humphrey also will ...
Establish a Connection


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There’s been some hooplah in the news recently about the projections for the new Nissan Leaf. The electric vehicle, which will go on sale next month in 5 states in the U.S., is claimed to be able to get 99 MPG (miles per gallon) per the manufacturer’s website.
The battery-powered electric car might not be quite as energy-efficient as it claims. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tested the Nissan Leaf and determined that it would get about 73 miles on a fully-charged battery – less than the 100 miles claimed by the manufacturer.
So, what will the discrepancy mean for consumers?
The Nissan Leaf’s window label will include information from both the manufacturer and the EPA. Overall, the estimated electricity cost to drive the EV is around $500.
Considering that it costs at least $30-40 each time you fill up a car at the gas pump, the savings will add up quickly!
What do you think? Ready to turn over a new leaf when it comes to fuel efficiency?


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After a long shutdown, indoor dining was allowed at 25% capacity in late September 2020, only to be shut down again in December, leaving restaurants to resort to take-out, delivery, and outdoor dining only. People wondered whether outdoor dining would remain viable with winter settling in. But, as with most things, New Yorkers were underestimated. […]
Tag Archives | noodle pudding
From Noodle Pudding: “We’re taking it a day at a time. We were open for a couple of hours last night and will be doing about the same tonight. We’ll be posting updates on Instagram.” Phone: (718) 625-3737 Instagram: @noodlepuddingtogo (Lead photo courtesy Noodle Pudding. Poster handmade by Lola.)
Yesterday, Noodle Pudding announced on Instagram: “We have made the very difficult decision to close the restaurant for the foreseeable future. We will be posting any updates here. Thanks to everyone who came in to support us this past week. Everyone stay healthy.” This seems like the perfect time to share Brooklyn Heights resident Nick […]
Talk about unprecedented times! Noodle Pudding has famously and proudly never had a website, social media presence, or even a sign on their facade. Because why would it bother? It’s still the neighborhood’s favorite restaurant according to our readers, and packed nightly. But, with all NYC restaurants closed to dining in, Noodle Pudding now has an Instagram […]
Fashion designer and Heights resident Rachel Antonoff, interviewed for Vice and asked how she would “[d]escribe the Brooklyn Heights style” answered: “Relaxed. Extremely casual, terminally casual. A little kooky.” Despite this ambiguous description, she says that, having lived here for one year, she considers it “the friendliest place on earth” and says “the weirdest thing” […]
Heights History: The Story Behind Some of the North Heights’ Restaurants And A Look At Them From 47 Years Ago
Ever wondered what the story was behind your favorite restaurant? Well, it might be about more than food or even one man’s dream. Here is an exploration of how some Brooklyn Heights restaurants came to be and what their owners say best exemplifies their spirit. Plus, you will get to see what they looked like back in 1967!
Brooklyn Eagle Profiles Noodle Pudding Owner And Answers One Of Brooklyn Heights’ Most Burning Questions
The Brooklyn Eagle profiled Noodle Pudding’s chef-owner Antonio Migliaccio this week. In the article we learn from the Carroll Gardens resident, who opened shop at 38 Henry Street 18 years ago, the origin of the eatery’s name:
Chef Elizabeth Falkner has been in the restaurant business for over 20 years. Many know her from her Food Network appearances (i.e. “The Next Iron Chef”). This year, she and partner Nancy Puglisi opened the super-fantastic Krescendo in Boerum Hill. Falkner spent many years in San Francisco before relocating to NYC and its from Bay […]
Karl Junkersfeld looks at the North Heights/DUMBO dining scene in his latest video – which also focuses on a recent fundraising event at his favorite haunt Noodle Pudding. Watch it after the jump.
Mr. J and his cam go with Tony of Noodle Pudding to the Hunt’s Point market in the Bronx, where Tony shows what’s available and how he curates selects the ingredients for the dishes on his menu. Then it’s back to the restaurant to taste the day’s gleanings. Having sampled ramps for the first time […]
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For 1,000 users tapping into a Linux server, the total cost is about a fifth to a half that of a Unix system, Kusnetzky said. The cost of administering a Linux system is about the same percentage of the overall cost for a Unix or Windows server, he added.
HP supplied Amazon’s Linux servers, large numbers of thin, rack-mountable models with Intel chips, said Mike Balma, marketing director for HP’s newly formed Linux Systems Operation. And Red Hat customized Linux for the servers.
Red Hat spearheaded Amazon’s switch over to Linux, said Billy Marshall, vice president of enterprise sales and marketing for the Durham, N.C., company.
“Amazon has been a customer of ours for over a year now,” he said. “Each of the transactions that goes through their systems touch our technology. Now they are locked down for the holiday season. They are very happy with the output that they are getting.”
(Full Story: How Linux saved Amazon millions – CNET News)


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Firework stands expecting plenty of customers as holiday nears
Published 9:00 am Thursday, July 1, 2021
LANETT — Located just off Exit 77 on I-85, Boom City U.S.A. had its best-ever Fourth of July season last year.
“The business we were having just blew us away,” said Store Manager Marsha Pickens. “We emptied our warehouse, and it took us months to build back our inventory.”
Boom City is now fully stocked with firecrackers, missiles, rockets and almost anything else that ignites, launches and explodes in brilliant colors.
The year 2020 was a tough year with the Covid pandemic. Many businesses struggled with slow traffic from the public. Things were great, though, for businesses like Boom City heading into July 4th. Pickens said things are looking up for another very busy season.
“We are fully stocked with the name brands everyone wants, names like Loyal To No One, Tank Girl, Gorilla Warfare, and One Bad Mother-in-Law,” Pickens said.
On the weekend of the Fourth, Boom City will have 30 people working the huge inventory in the Phillips Road warehouse. There will be 12 to 14 cashiers, stockers, and people who help bag purchases, assist arriving cars to parking spots and direct them safely to the road when they leave.
“We are fortunate to have a great group of young people helping us every busy season,” Pickens said.
Boom City is famous for its mascot, Wilton.
“We had to retire our big inflatable gorilla,” Pickens said. “We used to have him on top of the building during busy periods. When the wind would blow him across the road, we’d have to go and retrieve him. Then we’d have to patch him back up and get him back up on the building. We now have his image painted on the side of the building.”
Pickens said many customers come this time of year from the two-state area.
“We have a lot of people coming here from Newnan and LaGrange on the Georgia side and Opelika-Auburn and Phenix City on the Alabama side,” she said. “There’s people who stop by while traveling from Atlanta or Montgomery. Of course, we have some of our best customers from Lanett, Valley and West Point.”
A popular item this time of year is the five-inch canister shot with four launchers. The Growler and the Platinum are popular brands, as is the MOAB. That stands for Mother of All Bombs and can shoot off four different mortars at the same time.
Boom City is big on safety. The company has a safety officer named Fireman Mike who offers safety tips on the Boom City website. He urges anyone using fireworks to carefully read his instructions before starting.


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Small-cap stocks have the potential to increase your wealth at an exponential rate. However, investors should also note that buying stocks of smaller companies carries significant risks as they are impacted by market volatility as well as macro-economic events. Though they have the potential to grow at a fast rate, the lack of stability will be a concern for investors with a low-risk appetite.
Here, we look at one small-cap stock called Super League Gaming (SLGG) that has already gained a staggering 90% in 2021, but trading down 40% today.
Super League Gaming is an Esports and gaming community company. It provides a platform for gamers to connect and engage with others and offers players the ability to create gameplay-driven experiences that can be shared. This includes the opportunity to watch live streaming broadcasts as well as gameplay highlights across multiple channels.
Super League aims to build an inclusive and global brand and its content offerings feature over a dozen of the top video game titles in the world. It places itself at the intersection of gaming, entertainment, and experiences and multiple stakeholders in this space including video game publishers, traditional sports organizations, as well as television companies are reaching out to Super League to provide integrated solutions.
In a nutshell, Super League’s end-to-end technology enables mass participation in competitive gaming and viewing entertainment.
Super League Gaming: Q3 results
Super League monetizes in two distinct ways. It attracts brand sponsorship and advertising revenues by serving as a marketing channel for brands to reach their target audiences across its physical and digital network of esports leagues and experiences.
Further, as players integrate with the company’s gameplay experiences, often free-to-play, it looks to introduce opportunities to monetize the gamer through a recently launched consumer subscription offer and tournament fees for advanced gameplay.
In the third quarter of 2020, Super League Gaming reported sales of $718,000, indicating a year over year growth of 105% compared to sales of $350,000 in the prior-year quarter. The revenue growth was driven by a significant increase in the company’s ad and content sales. It shows that the company is focused on accelerating the monetization of its ad inventory as well as gameplay content.
Its cost of sales was up 70% at $327,000 and rose at a slower pace than revenue due to the increase in lower-cost advertising and content sales revenue. Operating expenses totaled $4.7 million which was similar to the prior-year numbers.
The September quarter was the company’s highest quarterly revenue while its rising gross margins reflect lower costs of digital activations. It ended Q3 with 2.4 million registered users, compared to the 1 million figure at the end of 2019.
The bull case for Super League Gaming
The gaming industry is a high growth vertical and according to the company’s presentation, the gaming audience on YouTube and Twitch stands at 400 million. This is higher than the combined audience on streaming sites such as Hulu, ESPN, and HBO.
Super League Gaming’s viewer impressions stood at 1.4 billion in the first nine months of 2019, which was already 12x higher than 2019.
Analysts tracking the stock expect sales to rise 93% to $2.1 million in 2020 and by 141.6% to $5.05 million in 2021. Its loss per share is also forecast to improve from $1.84 in 2019 to $0.63 in 2021. The stock is valued at a market cap of $130 million indicating it has a price to sales multiple of 26x which is steep.
Of the two Wall Street analysts covering the stock, one has a price target of $6 for SLGG and the other has a price target of $4.50. Therefore the average of these two targets is $5.25, which is actually where the stock is trading today.
Super League Gaming will remain volatile as it gains traction in the rapidly growing Esports space. However, its expanding addressable market and rapid growth in top-line revenue, as well as improving profit margins, make it a stock to add to your watchlist.
Want More Great Investing Ideas?
9 “MUST OWN” Growth Stocks for 2021
How to Ride the 2021 Stock Market Bubble
5 WINNING Stocks Chart Patterns
K.I.S.S. for the March Stock Market
SLGG shares were trading at $5.25 per share on Friday afternoon, down $3.57 (-40.48%). Year-to-date, SLGG has gained 85.51%, versus a 1.12% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
About the Author: Aditya Raghunath
Aditya Raghunath is a financial journalist who writes about business, public equities, and personal finance. His work has been published on several digital platforms in the U.S. and Canada, including The Motley Fool, Finscreener, and Market Realist. More…
More Resources for the Stocks in this Article
View more information: https://stocknews.com/news/slgg-super-league-gaming-an-esports-stock-to-add-to-your/


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SEZ TECHNOPOLIS MOSCOW RESIDENT EQUIPS ANOTHER 200 ELECTRIC BUSES IN THE CAPITAL CITY
In 2021 the resident of SEZ Technopolis Moscow will supply components for 200 new electric buses in Moscow. A total of 600 units of electric passenger transport in Moscow will be equipped with the company’s products, said Vladimir Efimov, Vice-Mayor of Moscow for Economic policy and Land-property affairs.
“Today, most of the batteries and traction equipment for electric passenger transport running in the capital city are produced by a resident of Moscow SEZ. Earlier he already manufactured and delivered components for 400 electric buses in the city, and this year he will deliver batteries for another 200 such vehicles," said the Vice-Mayor.
He also added that the company is Europe's largest manufacturer of batteries for electric buses and exports its products to Belarus, Turkey and the Middle East.
In June 2021 the Moscow park of electric buses reached 650 cars, by the end of the year it is planned to increase to one thousand units.
“Resident of Moscow SEZ uses lithium titanium batteries to equip the electric buses, which allows the cars to travel 40-50 kilometers on one charge, spending only 6 to 10 minutes to recharge. In addition, the applied engineering solutions allow electric buses to operate even at record low and high temperatures, which is very relevant to the changeable weather of the capital," said Alexander Prokhorov, Head of the Department of Investment and Industrial policy of Moscow.
The company received the status of a resident of SEZ Technopolis Moscow at the beginning of 2021. At the Alabushevo site, the company plans to construct a plant for the production of batteries for electric buses and mass production of electric trucks.
According to Gennady Degtev, CEO of SEZ Technopolis Moscow, the maximum capacity of the plant will be one thousand sets of batteries and 500 electric trucks annually. Investments in the project will reach 375 million rubles.
The status of a resident of the capital's special economic zone will allow the company to save significantly on taxes and other mandatory payments. This will enable the company to invest additional funds in the development of service maintenance of the equipment supplied.
At the end of 2020, DriveElectro presented Russia's first electrically-powered truck, Moskva. The electric vehicle was given to the country's largest retailer, Magnit, for test use. If the vehicle is successfully tested, the company plans to produce another 200 electric trucks for the retailer at its own plant.


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Washington State’s per acre harvest of potatoes is twice the national average, about 30 tons per acre. Washington leads the nation in frozen french fry production with international exports to Japan alone at about 65 percent of production.
Lamb Weston, Canadian-based McCain Foods and Idaho-based Simplot all have major growing and processing operations in Washington State. Lamb Weston, a part of ConAgra Foods Inc., is investing more than $200 million in processing line expansion which will increase the current employment of 500 full-time workers by another 128 positions. Read more in SeattleBusinessMagazine.com
Washington State is internationally known for the production of wheat, apples, hops and wines. There are over 300 crops grown in the state. We are second only to Idaho in potato production. Washington produces 10 billion apples with 33% shipped to more than 60 countries. Agriculture and food processing accounts for $45 billion in annual sales and 13% of the entire state’s economy.
Our location equidistant between Asian and European markets makes it a perfect location for agricultural products to access an international market.
To learn more about agricultural businesses in Washington State contact email@example.com


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Henry Kirk always thought he would eventually leave his job as an engineering manager at Google and start his own company. But when he became one of the 12,000 employees let go by the tech giant in January, he decided his time had come—albeit in an earlier and unexpected fashion.
Kirk and five others laid off from Google are now working on launching their own software design and development studio. He announced his ejection from Google and the new venture in a LinkedIn post that garnered more than 15,000 reactions. Kirk says he’s received a staggering 1,000 messages since making the post from people looking to work with the new agency or simply wishing him well on his attempt to conjure opportunity from a setback.
The team has given themselves until the end of March to pull the vision together, a tight deadline based on severance payouts and how Kirk and his teammates plan to divide their time and money between the company and home lives.
“My back is against the wall because I have to get back on my feet,” Kirk says. But instead of feeling dispirited, he is energized. “I actually am embracing the fact that this happened.”
Tech companies laid off at least 160,000 workers in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi, a site that tracks job losses in the industry. The cutting has continued into 2023, with more than 100,000 additional people losing their jobs. In the blink of an eye, the largest and most lucrative tech companies known for high salaries and lavish perks seem like a riskier choice. Kirk is among a cohort of workers trying something new—instead of seeking other positions inside giant companies whose hiring sprees have flipped to a payroll purge, they’re opting to become their own bosses. For many, healthy severance payments provide ample cover to work up their own ideas. And the layoffs give them space to finally work on a passion project.
“I just kind of felt this weird sense of relief,” says Jen Zhu, who was laid off last summer and is working on a health tech startup, Maida AI. “The golden handcuffs are off, and I can do whatever I want now.”
For investors, a solid startup can prove a better bet than tumbling stocks in harsh economic conditions. They’re agile and have fewer costs. And getting customers to pay for a new product during a recession can send a strong message that the idea has legs. (Airbnb, for one, flourished as it provided cheaper accommodations and extra cash for homeowners during the Great Recession, and its founder is confident it can weather another.)
Some early indicators suggest a surge of new founders. Startup accelerator Y Combinator saw applications increase by 20 percent in 2022, getting a total of more than 38,000, says Lindsay Amos, a company spokesperson. The number of late applications, or those filed in January 2023, increased fivefold.
Venture capital firms are sitting on a record cash pile to invest in startups after years of low interest rates that inspired investors to search harder for returns. However, new founders may find it harder to tap than those who went before them. A spate of founder scandals at unicorns like WeWork and Theranos have caused investors to dig deeper into a company before throwing money at the latest shiny promise. Market uncertainty only adds to that scrutiny. “They’re being a lot more strategic and a lot more careful,” Julia Austin, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, angel investor, and founder of Good For Her, a nonprofit community for female founders, says of investors. “It’s a lot more about market possibility and vision and also execution. One of the biggest things I’m seeing is you can’t raise capital on a slide deck anymore.”
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And these new founders are entering a precarious market. Startup valuations have fallen. As interest rates rise and tech stocks languish, venture capitalists are holding tighter to their funds. Seed stage funding slumped 35 percent for startups year over year by late 2022, data from Crunchbase shows. And the recent layoffs are sending more startups to go hunting for those funds.
Although layoffs have been relatively widespread in tech and media companies, the US economy at large remains in good shape. Experts have balked at calling the current financial climate a recession, but historically, bad-times recessions have bred some startups that changed the world. Google launched in 1998, not long before the dotcom crash; Airbnb began in 2007; Slack, WhatsApp, and Square came in 2009.
Four new founders who spoke with WIRED describe the stresses of developing new skills like pitching and fundraising, which didn’t need to be part of their technical and industry expertise. But most like Kirk also feel energized. For them, layoffs provide a push to pursue an idea that has long lingered.
But the workload of a new entrepreneur can be unforgiving. Zhu says she is working every day on Maida AI, which automates health care administration tasks like patient intake and note-taking. She says she lost her job last summer when virtual care company Carbon Health let go 250 workers. Zhu briefly took a chief of staff job at another company, but she decided to follow an instinct she had after first losing her job and fully commit to developing her own vision, born from noticing problems in health care delivery as a patient and a person working in the industry.
“It’s a grind,” Zhu says of the transition. “It’s really hard to turn off. There’s always more to do. You’re just so acutely tied to the outcomes and your company moving forward.” Her startup is among seven that each received $100,000 in funding from Day One Ventures, through a program that invited applications from founders who had been laid off. Those seven won out among a pool of 1,200 applicants.
Even some who weren’t laid off have used the moment to pivot and start something on their own. Nish Junankar, a former software engineer for NFT platform OpenSea and Squarespace, says he quit OpenSea after losing some team members to layoffs. Junankar says he turned down a retention package that included more stock, fearing fewer coworkers would mean longer hours and more work. He decided instead to quit and pursue his idea to start Feasier, a platform that aggregates home furnishing listings from different stores into one place.
Junankar’s startup has so far relied on funding from friends and family, but he’s been pitching investors. “It’s incredibly stressful,” he says. “The meetings are short, and you have to be very prepared and on point.” Juggling working to improve the product with investor chats has been tricky, but the passion he feels for his project offsets the challenges. “It’s incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. It doesn’t feel like work,” Junankar says. “I just really believe in the idea.”
WIRED has teamed up with Jobbio to create WIRED Hired, a dedicated career marketplace for WIRED readers. Companies who want to advertise their jobs can visit WIRED Hired to post open roles, while anyone can search and apply for thousands of career opportunities. Jobbio is not involved with this story or any editorial content.


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Samsung Wants an Injunction of iPhone 4S Sales in Japan and Australia
With the Samsung intention of removing the iPhone 4S from shelves in Europe on account of the patent breach it does, the war with Apple is waging stronger than ever. Apparently, their idea for injunction has failed in Europe, but the duel continues in Japan and Australia, where Samsung still has hopes to ban the new product.
Holland wouldn’t grant the ban to the Asian company, but maybe in its home continent things will be different. Samsung is claiming that Apple infringes connectivity, UI and other technologies with the iPhone 4S, plus it added to the list the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, that are all meant to be blocked from sale. It’s strange to see Samsung and Google cancelling their Nexus Prime event in honor of Steve Jobs’ passing, only to strike Apple two days later with a lawsuit…
I guess business is business and after so many suits thrown at the South Korean phone maker, they got tired and decided to fight back and be at the offensive for once. Last week, Apple scored a victory in Australia, banning the sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 at least till 20112, when a full trial will take place.


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As we head towards December many people will be looking for places to pick up all the essential Christmas decorations. And some of the best places to visit to enjoy looking and buying some festive items is at a garden centre.
Some garden centres across Staffordshire and Derbyshire have already rolled out their festive displays and goods. Santa himself Father Christmas will even be taking time out of his busy schedule to come and visit many garden centres
So here are some of the top Christmas garden centre displays across Staffordshire and Derbyshire you can visit. Some may have different opening hours so visitors are recommended to check ahead before setting off
Fletcher's Garden Centre, Eccleshall
The garden centre in Eccleshall will be opening its doors to let guests have a look round the Christmas decorations as well as stocking a wide range of real and artificial Christmas trees. Christmas decorations will also be on display throughout the centre.
Planters at Bretby
The Bretby garden centre will be offering a wide range of Christmas fare and decorations. The garden centre's annual real Ice Rink will open on Saturday, October 22. The Ice Rink will be in the undercover plant area meaning it will be open throughout.
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The garden centre features a Christmas lighting area. There will be a wide range of decorations and gift ideas.
Wolseley Bridge Garden Centre, Rugeley
The garden centre, near Rugeley, features thousands of Christmas displays and items. There will be gifts and cards, with real trees coming in November, said a spokesperson.
Centre manager Mandy Bennett said: "We are all excited for customers to see the department this year. The team have been amazing, working day and night throughout September to create something extraordinary.
"This year, we open in early October to meet our customers demand, and I think they will be blown away by what the team have created this year. It is a truly magical winter wonderland."
Byrkley Park Garden Centre, Burton
The Rangemore garden centre will be hosting an open evening for its Christmas display on Thursday, October 27. Previous years' events have included a large Christmas display and a Santa's Grotto.
Newhall Garden King Swadlincote
The garden centre has started its preparations for its Christmas displays. And is looking for people to join the team this festive period.
A spokesperson from Newhall said: "We are looking for fun, enthusiastic and hardworking elves to help Santa at our grotto this year. We are after people who love to act, as well as help on the retail side. If you think you have what it takes please send your CV to email@example.com to be invited to our group audition in early November."


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The Apple Watch Ultra is already in the hands of those who have wanted to be interested in it. A revolution at the hardware level that, we are sure, will bring great news to watchOS. In fact, it is very likely that in the next watchOS updates, the Apple Watch Ultra will have exclusive features. An example of this is the new released concept of watchOS 10, with exclusive functions for the Ultra model and more than interesting functions for the rest of the smart watches of the big apple.
watchOS 10 as an improved operating system concept
watchOS 10 takes Apple Watch further than ever. It is more useful, more comfortable and more powerful. Live Activities debut on Apple Watch with new Siri and Metallic watch faces. Follow matches in real time with the new Sports app. Access your saved passwords right from your wrist with the Keychain app. Find trails and points of interest with the Explore app. And Safari comes to Apple Watch Ultra so you can browse the web on our biggest watch yet.
The big operating systems of the big apple are updated in the month of October as a general rule. However, the official presentations of these systems arrive in the WWDC, Apple’s worldwide developer conference, which takes place in June. Among these systems is watchOS, the software that all Apple Watch carry.
The next big update will be watch OS 10 and will be presented at WWDC23. But there are already many users imagining what the next watchOS will look like. This new concept published by Parker Ortolani, shows endless novelties having as its main axis the exclusive news for the Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple Watch Ultra review: not just for athletes
Two new spheres would be introduced. On the one hand, Siri’s new watch face which would include complications in the purest iOS widget style in an intelligent format. On the other hand, we find the sphere of Metallic. This sphere is designed to integrate complications derived from live activities, a type of interface that allows the display of interactive and updatable information to give a dynamic format to the sphere.
On the other hand, the app is created Sports to follow the statistical data of our favorite sport and team. In addition, it would be integrated with live activities through complications to give watchOS faces more customization. The app would also be created Key ring that would integrate passwords stored in iCloud to have them on hand at all times.
Finally, watchOS 10 would introduce two new features exclusively for the Apple Watch Ultra. The first, an app called Explore where we would access trails, routes and other maps to promote this type of activity. On the other hand, the new Safari app would allow access to the Internet in a more fluid way thanks to the new screen size of the Ultra model.


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We are thrilled to announce that Bulb Technologies will exhibit at Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona, as well as Call Center World 2020 in Berlin. We are pleased to invite you to join us at our stands at these important events. Don´t miss an excellent opportunity to discuss how our products achieve higher customer engagement and process optimisation for major wireline and wireless CSPs.
Mobile World Congress
Barcelona, 24-27 February 2020
Last year´s MWC was all into 5G arrival and, for sure, MWC 2020 will bring updates on the same topics, with some fresh ones on top.
One topic that jumps out is customer engagement, a key battleground for brands, service providers and governments for decades. Its evolution and importance has accelerated in recent years driven by the internet, mobile and then smartphones.
To answer the demand for improved organisational agility, the issue of a shifting regulatory environment and enhanced competitive pressure, companies need a much more holistic approach to improve the customer experience and quickly address and solve customer complaints.
Challenges CEMPRESSO was designed to address.
Bulb CTO Neven Stipcevic and fellow key executives will be in Hall 7 at stand 7H22 to showcase CEMPRESSO. Do not miss an opportunity to learn how CEMPRESSO can support both wireline and wireless CSPs, regardless of their underlying business model.
Call Center World
Berlin, 2-5 March 2020
If you’re interested in innovation, digitalisation or customer journey, CCW is where you want to be. This well-known event for movers and shakers with ideas that are shaping innovative customer dialogue brings different topics concentrated on solving the most frequent challenges corporations struggle with today.
Across various industries, businesses are driven by omnipresent and pervasive digital services with multiple customer touchpoints – a key concern facing many of the companies visiting the show. As a consequence, service fulfilment and service assurance processes are becoming more complicated to plan, design, execute and audit, a massive concern for Service Managers.
CEMPRESSO answers these concerns with the new concept of omnichannel customer care automation platform empowered with AI methodologies.


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Google, Microsoft and Apple confirmed in May their intention to remove passwords to connect to online accounts on websites. This week, Apple unveiled the “Passkeys” that will equip its computers in the fall.
Apple unveiled the latest innovations earlier this week. More customized iPhones, text messages that can be changed, phones that can be cameras on computers or even paying in installments for its Apple Pay system.
Among these many announcements, there is a new technology of self-identification on the Internet, without a password. The app is called, or Access code in French. It will be available on the new macOS Ventura operating system, which will be available in the fall. A technology that will ultimately have to equip all of its devices.
By surfing using the Safari browser, you can connect to a site, which integrates with, thanks to your smartphone placed near the computer. You will need to use biometrics to prove your identity.
Code at your fingertips
At Apple, it’s fingerprint (Touch ID) and facial recognition (Face ID). Tools that have been around for a long time. They are usually used to unlock the phone. Now, in theory, these physical characteristics should make it possible to connect to anything.
>> Video presentation of the technology during the WWDC 2022 developer conference
Finally, why about our passwords? This is easy for users. No need to memorize code or passwords that take longer and longer to avoid hacking.
The fight against piracy, precisely, is Apple’s strongest argument. Without a password, there is no more phishing to steal credentials. This new technology prevents you from sharing your access.
The transmission of biometric data to a company is a sensitive issue. GAFAMs have a bad reputation in terms of personal data protection. Current conditions of use may not be in the future.
Apple claims that everything is, that the access keys remain on the device and the company cannot read them. “Password Sign-in uses Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification, and iCloud Keychain for syncing to Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV using end-to-end encryption,” reads the release from Apple.
But beware, there is zero risk in IT. If you change your password easily, things can get complicated on your face or fingerprints. Losing your phone can also be even more of a problem.
Over the next few years, the technology will also be put to the test by hackers around the world to find vulnerabilities. But digital giants are now presenting a common front to end the use of passwords.
A broad alliance
Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta (ex-Facebook), Samsung and Microsoft joined FIDO. Created in 2012, specifically with the online payment service system PayPal, this alliance aims to create the future without passwords.
FIDO is a new standard being set, such as Bluetooth or WiFi. You should be able to use it regardless of the brand of your device. Finally, your Apple phone should be able to unlock a website you’ve visited on a Windows computer, for example by scanning a QR code.
But passwords don’t disappear overnight. The path is long because the password is part of the web culture. Not everyone has a smartphone. And like all innovations, they can only make commercial sense if they are accepted by the public.


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A recent New Yorker piece shines a spotlight on how the fictional HBO series Silicon Valley closely resembles the inner-workings of the real Silicon Valley. After the Season One finale, set at TechCrunch Disrupt -- a conference where founders pitch their startups to a room of investors -- viewers complained that the audience was not sufficiently diverse. But HBO had an excuse: the network was showing footage from the actual, TechCrunch Disrupt conference.
It's an old story that building a more inclusive startup economy, particularly within the technology space, is badly needed. Consider the number 11. Since 2012, only 11 African-American, women entrepreneurs have raised $1 million in venture capital funding. Of the many startling statistics demonstrating why venture capital firms and tech startups need more diversity, the number "11" stands out.
But this trend could finally be reversed, in a meaningful way, thanks to Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act). That provision, which took effect in May, has dramatically transformed the early-stage investing environment in the U.S. By leveraging the vast potential of online crowdfunding, Title III allows entrepreneurs to raise capital from non-accredited investors in the form of equity or debt. Put another way: we just went from having a few hundred thousand prospective angel investors targeting primarily a subset of the population, to a few hundred million prospective angel investors targeting whomever they chose.
It's good news because the existing high-growth startup economy is beyond reach for the vast majority of the population: 1 percent of venture-backed companies have an African American co-founder and 7 percent of partners at top venture firms are women. And yet we have concrete evidence from rewards-based crowdfunding platforms that there is considerable, untapped talent throughout the population. One study of crowdfunding projects found that the majority of funds came from individuals 3,000 miles away from the issuer, whereas most investors in traditional venture deals reside within 70 miles of the issuer. That's part of the reason why 75 percent of venture dollars go to just three states: California, Massachusetts, and New York. Of the 50 most funded crowdfunding projects through 2012 on Kickstarter, 45 of them led to the creation of startup firms including Oculus which raised $2.5 million and was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Imagine if these early backers had received equity.
There are a myriad of historical reasons why venture capital -- a critical funding source for launching high-growth startups that create a disproportionate share of the economy's net-new jobs -- is effectively cut off from entire classes of people. A key factor dates back to the passage of securities legislation during the Great Depression era. To prevent fraud, regulations passed in the 1930s stipulated that an "accredited investor" must earn more than $200,000 per year or have a net worth exceeding $1 million (in today's dollars) in order to invest in a startup. The problem, as Revolution LLC CEO Steve Case explains in his recent book, The Third Wave, was that "these paternalistic rules had two negative effects on the economy:" keeping investment dollars on the sidelines and exacerbating income inequality by making it almost impossible for people who are not wealthy, or do not have wealthy friends (most people fall into both buckets), to start a high-growth business. In Boston, for instance -- a hotbed for venture capital and startup innovation -- nearly half of the city's residents make $35,000 or less.
Securities-based crowdfunding won't just help high-growth startups, either. Community lending has declined 50 percent since the financial crisis, and that prevents the local hardware store around the corner from renovations, or the local café from buying a new coffee machine. Thanks to Title III, loyal customers can invest in their own neighborhoods and keep an eye on progress.
Critics of where SEC rule-making landed on Title III say that only mediocre companies at best -- ones that can't attract venture dollars -- will be those that utilize crowdfunding portals to raise capital. Others say that there is already surplus capital for entrepreneurs, so injecting more capital into the system from unsophisticated investors chasing questionable deals could actually have a deleterious effect. This overlooks the fact that while capital may be abundant in the Valley, New York City, and Cambridge, there's a shortage of capital for promising startups almost everywhere else, especially if you are not a white male (it's overly difficult for an African American founder, for example, to get enough financing to build a minimum viable product). Yes, equity crowdfunding won't replace venture capital, but it will compliment venture capital.
Like any important piece of legislation, improvements are needed, specifically around reducing the cost on startups and increasing incentives for investors. Rep. Patrick McHenry proposed a bill that would do three things all of which should be considered: increase the annual funding limits for issuers from $1 million to $5 million, OK the use of special purpose vehicles that would ultimately help investors spread their risk around, and allow for a "testing the waters" provision that enables founders to explore a potential fundraise prior to spending money and time on the process. These reforms would improve Title III and keep investor protections in place. (In terms of investor protections: A World Bank Report found that successful fraud was virtually non-existent on rewards-based crowdfunding sites.)
In the U.S., nearly 100% of net-new job creation come from startups, and of those new jobs, 40% come from high-growth "gazelle" firms. With Title III of the JOBS Act now in effect, and modernized rules for raising startup capital that allow good ideas to come from anyone and anywhere, there's good reason to feel encouraged about building a more inclusive startup economy.


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Representatives of Marlon Brando's estate are suing two furniture companies and a retailer over the sale of a home theater chair called "The Brando."
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims misappropriation of the name of a deceased celebrity. The actor died in July 2004 and permission was not obtained to use his name, the estate claims.
The estate's representatives are asking for unspecified damages and a court order to halt the sale of any more goods using the Brando name.
The chairs are being sold by Southern California-based City Leather Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Palliser Furniture Ltd. and North Carolina-based Palliser Furniture Corp, reports AP.
Jason Brainard, vice president of City Leather, said officials at his stores were told to stop using the Brando name when selling the chair. No decision has been made yet on what to rename the chair, he said.
World's most powerful nuclear submarines, Arkhangelsk and Severstal, are to be dismantled after 2020 - their further exploitation is unprofitable
The United States' Head of Diplomacy, or Secretary of State, is an anachronistic, incompetent, meddling, intrusive, insolent and arrogant, rude individual, a brash, foul-mouthed upstart, a conceited, self-important guttersnipe and an insult to the international community, as fit for the job as a pedophile janitor in a grade school.
Pentagon officials said that Russia has developed a very powerful weapon, which Western specialists have already dubbed as the "doomsday weapon"


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Netflix said it would declare more than $1.3 billion (£1 billion) in UK revenue, on November 28 and this also puts a tax pressure on other tech companies like Amazon.
"As Netflix continues to grow in the UK and in other international markets we want our corporate structure to reflect this footprint. So from next year, revenue generated in the UK will be recognized in the UK, and we will pay corporate income tax accordingly," a company representative told The Guardian.
The move comes as Netflix increases its spending on shows filming in the UK, including "The Crown" and "The Witcher." The company is planning to double production spending on its more than 50 UK-based productions to $1 billion, according to Variety.
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