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By Steven Mufson and Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 15, 2010; A14
BEIJING -- Ever since the 1930s, when a Missouri-born man opened an ad agency in Shanghai and wrote a book called "400 Million Customers," the Chinese market has beckoned to American companies. And never more so than now, when the number of customers has grown to 1.3 billion and China is poised to surpass Japan to become the world's second-largest economy.
But Google's struggles here -- wrestling both with political compromises and with threats to its intellectual property -- raise the question: How much hassle are China's consumers worth?
While hundreds of U.S. companies have decided to seek a piece of the world's fastest-growing market, to do so they must weigh the allure of potential profits against human rights concerns, the threat of intellectual-property infringement and unpredictable treatment of their financial interests.
It hasn't always been an easy calculation. Levi Strauss & Co. stopped making clothes here in 1993, citing "the pervasive violation of human rights," but then returned in 1998, saying that the company could do more good for human rights by working from within the country. Time Warner opened about a dozen movie theaters here but decided to sell them in 2007, after new laws required Chinese control and because of limits on the number of foreign films allowed. EBay pulled out in 2006, largely because of stiff local competition.
James McGregor, senior counselor for Apco Worldwide in China and author of "One Billion Customers," believes that more and more U.S. companies doing business in China are rethinking their presence.
"Many companies came here because they believed they couldn't not be here given China's booming growth," he said. But, he added, "if trends don't change, we may see companies considering that maybe they can afford to not be here."
For now, that's not usually the case.
General Motors, for example, expects China's car market to be twice the size of the United States' by the end of the decade, Fritz Henderson said before he stepped down as chief executive. For now, foreign car companies hold 85 percent of the crowded Chinese market.
"If you don't go in with the best technology, you're going to be at a competitive disadvantage," said Kevin Smith, head of GM in China. "We have protections for all our IPR [intellectual-property rights], and we've had no issues." But he added that "it's a factor that everyone is aware of in emerging markets" and that "there are different rules in China."
Technology companies, in particular, have had to grapple with privacy and surveillance issues.
In 2005, Yahoo folded its China business into Alibaba Group, making a $1 billion investment in exchange for a 40 percent stake in the Chinese company. Earlier that year, Yahoo had provided information from the yahoo.cn account of a Chinese journalist that led to his conviction on charges of divulging state secrets.
By agreeing to Chinese regulations, Google has had to delete or block references in search results to the Falun Gong sect, the democracy movement, the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989 and the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. Doing business in China has thus cast doubt on Google's devotion to its motto to "do no evil."
A group called the Global Network Initiative, whose participants include Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, was formed to provide a way for companies and other investors to resist government efforts to enlist companies in acts of censorship and surveillance that violate international standards.
"Google's decision to reconsider its business in China is an indication of the tough choices information and communications technology companies face around the world where respect for human rights is at risk," the group said in a statement. The group's statement didn't indicate what its other members might do, however.
"There is no 'one size fits all' approach to corporate responsibility, nor a single right course of action or script for all to follow," the statement said.
Microsoft has long made anti-piracy efforts a top priority even as it has built up research-and-development and software-packaging businesses here. Tang Jun, one of China's richest businessmen and formerly head of Microsoft's China operations, said that he disagreed with Microsoft's sharp focus on piracy.
"The pirates are very serious in China even today," said Tang, who left Microsoft in 2004. "At that time Microsoft asked us to go after every single pirate. It was not a good approach to me." But Microsoft told him that it was a worldwide policy.
"In a lot of other countries, that can work. But China is a very unique country," he said.
Many people in China are confident that the size of their market will keep foreign companies from leaving. Chinese commentators in the past two days have expressed confidence that Google will not follow through on its threat to exit the country.
Tang expects that Google will "clarify" its position, and possibly shut down its China domain site and keep everything else. "Chinese netizens have grown into a huge number," Tang said. "Giving up the Chinese market is equal to giving up half of the future."
Whoriskey reported from Washington.


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- PlantX President and CEO Lorne Rapkin was recently part of an EDGE Podcast episode hosted by Brandon C. White, an entrepreneur and angel investor
- Lorne detailed his background and how he joined PlantX
- The interview explored the company’s growth and progress as well as the factors behind this growth, including acquisitions, marketing campaigns, and going public
- Lorne also discussed the company’s plans for the future, including adopting a franchising model and investing in warehousing facilities
Since its establishment in 2020, PlantX Life (CSE: VEGA) (Frankfurt: WNT1) (OTCQB: PLTXF), a company making a mark in the global plant-based scene, has made significant strides. For instance, the company, which started with four personnel, has grown its workforce to over 75 people spread across multiple countries.
One of the founding employees, Lorne Rapkin, joined host Brandon C. White, an Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, in a recent EDGE Podcast interview (https://nnw.fm/KXX6a). Lorne, who began his journey at PlantX as its Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) before becoming its President and Chief Executive Officer (a position he holds to date), shared insights into the progress made since 2020 as well as the company’s vision and plans moving forward.
Lorne started the interview by discussing his background as an entrepreneur and Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”). In this role, he amassed a lot of experience dealing with different business owners in various industries as an advisor, a position that helped him gravitate toward leading a company. When PlantX Founder Sean Dollinger, with whom he goes back many years, asked if he would be interested in taking on the CFO role to help guide the young business along the way, Lorne took him up on his offer. The company has only grown since.
For instance, PlantX’s revenue increased from $1,349 to $6.5 million within the first year. Lorne credits this growth to the leadership and guidance offered by the then CEO Julia Frank (current COO). Currently, the company generates monthly recurring revenue of over $1.3 million. This growth, Lorne noted, is due to several key factors, among them acquisitions and marketing campaigns.
“We have had some successful acquisitions over the past year and even into Q1 of this year – Bloombox Club UK, a juice company out of California (Little West), boutique-style grocery and food preparation company (New Deli), and a restaurant flagship store in Squamish, British Columbia (Locavore Bar & Grill). Certainly, they have helped grow the top-line revenue,” stated Lorne.
“We have spent a great deal of time and resources on promoting the brand and the company through partnering with different influencers or doing out-of-the-box marketing campaigns, which has now done what we have set out PlantX to be. It’s not only offering a product but also educating the public on what is living a plant-based lifestyle… [and] also attracting the potential customers and investors to what we are truly about,” Lorne added.
In addition, Lorne noted that the company’s move to go public very early on also helped its ability to scale by providing funding for the acquisitions and expansion. Using the funds, PlantX has been able to build out its e-commerce platforms, acquire companies, attract different influencers, and spend the resources needed on its website, accomplishments that are resource-intensive. Lorne also pointed out that the company ruled out traditional ways of raising capital, including taking a loan from the bank or getting funding from venture capitalists. These approaches, Lorne says, would have restricted the company’s growth trajectory to what it is today.
At its core, PlantX is an e-commerce business. But the company also offers additional services, such as meal delivery, aided by its brick-and-mortar stores. “The root of our business is e-commerce, and then we have all of these new enhancements where we have flagship stores sitting in Canada, the US, and Israel, where people can come in and purchase grocery items, perishable and non-perishable goods, and plants. We are using those centers for advertising (foot traffic), warehousing and distribution, and education,” Lorne explained.
PlantX intends to expand its brick-and-mortar stores business via a franchising model. First, the company plans to establish flagship stores in specific locations – it expects to open new stores in Los Angeles and Israel later in December. Next, PlantX will help people learn about the stores and then sell franchise licenses. Already, there are different interested parties.
“If we can show people that this brick-and-mortar model is very attractive; we will have a variety of products – it’s not all going to be food – fitting in these respective stores, which we know will do well just based on our acquisition of New Deli in Venice. We know that there’s a demand, we know what the top-line revenue and margins are, and we know that there’s a great ability to get the businesses to where they need to be, to be profitable,” Lorne continued.
Moving forward, the company intends to focus on groceries as the next phase of growth. As a result, PlantX is investing in warehousing facilities, which will allow it to achieve more real-time and efficient deliveries. The company has already secured several strategically located warehouses in Canada and the United States. At the same time, PlantX will also concentrate on its e-commerce business as well as brick-and-mortar stores under the franchising model.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to PLTXF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://nnw.fm/PLTXF
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Bravuraâs revenue for FY06/07 was A$99.4 million, an increase of 939 per cent from the companyâs first year revenue of A$9.5 million in 2005.
Those eligible for the ranking, which includes all technology-related industry sectors, must have operated for at least three years, and generated first year revenue of at least A$100,000 and current year revenue of A$1 million.
Iain Dunstan, Group CEO and Managing Director, Bravura Solutions said: âPlacement in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 represents a key milestone for Bravura and stands testament to our growth and success since inception.
âOur revenue achievements, as well as the quality of our products and services, have exceeded all expectations. We believe our performance to date is a strong indicator of Bravuraâs future direction.â This is Bravuraâs second major achievement this month with the company premiering as the only Australian amongst the FinTech 100 group of companies as named by Financial Insights and American Banker magazine.
Those chosen as part of the Fast 50 are Australian-owned technology companies that have:
- Developed proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the companyâs operating revenues; or
- Manufactured a technology-related product; or
- Invested a significant percentage of revenues to research and development efforts.
The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is part of a global Fast 500 program run in parallel with the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Central Europe, Israel, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.


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The excitement behind the announcement that dominant US movie streaming giant Netflix is coming to the UK has been dampened by an alarming subscriber drop-off across the pond.
Netflix lost a whopping 800,000 subscribers in the United States in the third quarter of 2011, seemingly because of the massive customer backlash against a price hike earlier this year.
The company controversially split its disc rental and streaming packages asking customers to spend $7.99 each on something they'd been paying $8.99 for as a combined package.
As a result, most customers have chosen one solution or the other, with only seven per cent of its user base signed-up for both the disc rental and streaming options.
Best days behind it?
Now, with a UK launch officially pencilled in for the early months of 2012, it raises fears that Neflix's best days may already be behind it.
Subscriber numbers for this quarter came in a 23.79m, down from 24.59 in the previous three months.
In a statement to shareholders, the company said: "Our opportunity is to be one of the leaders of this transformation (to video streaming) with the best streaming video subscription service on the planet.
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"The last few months, however, have been difficult for shareholders, employees, and most unfortunately, many members of Netflix.
"While we dramatically improved our $7.99 unlimited streaming service by embracing new platforms, simplifying our user‐interface, and more than doubling domestic spending on streaming content over 2010, we greatly upset many domestic Netflix members with our significant DVD‐related pricing changes, and to a lesser degree, with the proposed‐and‐now‐cancelled rebranding of our DVD service.
"In doing so, we've hurt our hard‐earned reputation, and stalled our domestic growth. But our long‐term streaming opportunity is as compelling as ever and we are moving forward as quickly as we can to repair our reputation and return to growth."
Despite that vow, the company is also struggling to keep customers sated with fresh streaming content for its streaming package after failing to renew a deal with the Starz Play distribution network.
That means US subscribers will soon loose a huge array of popular content including recently added movies like Toy Story 3, TRON: Legacy.
The company also confused customers with a heavy-handed, short-lived decision to remove its disc rental business from the Netflix name and call it Qwikster. That decision was reversed within weeks.
So with the UK already in love with LOVEFiLM and with Sky and Virgin's on demand offerings extremely popular, can Netflix really make its desired impact on UK soil?
UPDATE: Shares in the company dipped a massive 26 per cent in after hours trading.
A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.


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McDonald’s is now offering an exclusive Sprite flavor at participating locations — Mix by Sprite Tropic Berry.
Reader Keith G sent in this photo from a McDonald’s soda fountain in Murphy, NC. According to this Reddit thread, it’s also been spotted in San Luis Obispo, CA. There’s nothing about this beverage on the McDonald’s website, but it’s made with natural flavors.
If you’ve tried it, let us know what you think of it in the comments. Also, if you’ve seen it at your local McDonald’s, let us know where in the comments.


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Ian Payne 4am - 7am
Former WTO chief explains what will happen if UK walks away from Brexit negotiations
28 February 2020, 12:08
Former WTO chief Pascal Lamy explained to Nick Ferrari what UK-EU trading would look like without a deal.
"This Australia-like deal is a nice way of saying this is WTO terms. Because as you rightly said a moment ago, Australia and the EU do not have a trade agreement.
"So for the moment Australia and EU trade together under WTO rules, i.e. the trade commitments the EU has with the WTO and the ongoing commitment Australia has with the WTO."
Mr Lamy said at the beginning of a negotiation as both sides "put on their war paints", however it must be acknowledged that "no deal is better than a bad deal."
He continued that the key issue for the UK in the Brexit negotiations is whether there will be a divergence from EU regulatory standards.
Both negotiating parties have different but equally logical perspectives, he said; the UK have sovereignty so are within their right to diverge from regulatory standards but the EU does not want unfair competition "at their door."
Brexit is the capacity for the UK to diverge, he said, but the crux of the matter is it is unclear "how much it will diverge and when."
If the UK and EU do not negotiate a deal, the two parties will trade under WTO regulations; Nick asked the former WTO chief what this would look like.
The trading agreement would be "much less open" than it is currently, he said, and new tariffs that would be introduced, such as 10% on cars and 20% on cheese, would "hurt both sides."
"It will be a big impediment."


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LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Japan is overdue a digital-payments pickup: Its ageing population still settles four out of five purchases in cash. SoftBank Group’s restless 62-year-old founder Masayoshi Son is doing his bit, with a potential merger of his indirect holding in the operator of search engine Yahoo Japan and the controlling stake in Line, the country’s leading messaging and payments app.
In a characteristically multi-layered SoftBank structure, its domestic telecom unit, SoftBank Corp, owns 45% of $17 billion Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan. South Korea’s Naver, meanwhile, is the 73% controlling shareholder in $10 billion Tokyo-listed Line. The app boasts 82 million Japanese users.
A deal could involve Son and Naver Chief Executive Han Seong-sook pooling their stakes in Z Holdings and Line, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Using Tuesday’s share prices, that would equate to a roughly 50-50 joint venture worth around $15 billion, with control of Yahoo Japan and Line.
The big strategic benefit would be the creation of a formidable alliance in Japan’s mobile-payments market. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to double the proportion of payments done electronically to 40% by 2025. About 37 million people have signed up to Line Pay, which allows users to pay in-store through their phones and send money to friends. That’s a hefty customer base, even if the app processed less than $8 billion of payments in the first nine months of 2019.
Yahoo Japan’s PayPay, a joint venture between SoftBank Corp and India’s Paytm, claims more than 12 million subscribers. Together, the two could take on Rakuten, an e-commerce giant with its own bank. Line’s U.S. stock surged more than 25% following news of the possible deal.
Son has plenty to gain, too. In an equal JV, SoftBank would effectively be swapping half its stake in Z Holdings for a 36% chunk of Line, whose revenue analysts reckon will grow almost three times as fast next year. Son would also boost his exposure to Line’s generally younger users, who on average sent about 400 million “stickers” – cute teddy bear icons and such – every day in 2018.
Best of all, analysts reckon Line will start generating free cash flow in 2021. Smarting from his misjudged multibillion-dollar bet on heavily money-losing office-sharing group WeWork, that could make a nice change for Son.
Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.
Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.


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Motorists might be forced to park their cars after the latest review pushed pump prices to record levels.
The review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) showed that prices of all petroleum products rose by Sh9 a litre, despite the fuel subsidy implemented by the government to cushion consumers against a spike in pump prices.
A litre of super petrol will retail at a record Sh159.12 in Nairobi in the next 30 days, and over Sh160 in remote areas, pointing to tough times ahead for motorists still reeling from the high cost of living.
“The applicable pump prices for this cycle for super petrol, diesel and kerosene have been increased by Sh9 per litre from the immediate previous cycle,” said EPRA in a statement released yesterday.
“The government will utilise the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) to cushion consumers from otherwise high prices,” it added. The pump prices will be applied in the period between June 14 and July 15. The prices would have touched a high of Sh184.68 if the State had not intervened by tapping into the PDL.
A litre of diesel, used to power heavy-duty vehicles and machines, will retail at Sh140 in the capital city. Without the fuel subsidy, the pump price of diesel would have been Sh188.19.
A unit of kerosene will retail at Sh127.94, up from Sh118.94 in the period between May 15 and June 14, 2022. Kerosene is popular among the poor who use it for cooking and lighting.
The increase in fuel prices is attributed to the jump in global prices of crude oil and the depreciation of the Kenyan Shilling, which has made importing this raw material too expensive.
Prices of petroleum products in Kenya — unlike in other countries in the region — have risen sharply due to the fuel subsidy aimed at stabilising prices.
Pump prices also include the eight per cent value-added tax that started being implemented towards the end of 2018 as well as a myriad of other levies, including excise duty.
The fuel subsidy was allocated an additional Sh37.8 billion in the second supplementary budget for the financial year 2021-22, as the government tries to cushion motorists from a spike in prices of petroleum products owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In his Labour Day Speech, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that had the government not protected consumers against the global increase in fuel prices, petrol prices would have been at Sh173 per litre.
“But to cushion our people, the government has had to pay Sh29 per litre as a subsidy. We have similarly subsidised diesel and kerosene. Currently, our diesel pump price is Sh125.5 a litre; the lowest price of diesel in our region and beyond secured by the government subsidy of Sh40.2 per litre,” said Uhuru.
The fuel subsidy might have helped consumers, with the transport prices increasing by an average of 6.4 per cent in May compared to 16.76 per cent in the same month last year.
The cost of living around the world has generally gone up owing to expensive food and fuel. However, in Kenya, the fuel inflation rate — the rate at which prices of fuel increase — has not been as fast as that of food.
Motorists in far-flung areas such as Lodwar, Turkana County, will pay about Sh162 per litre for fuel as one has to factor in the cost of transporting it by road.


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Rising Sun Merchant Services Pte Ltd
20A Circular Road
Global Payments News
Dimon says Libra 'will never happen'
The JPMorgan Chase CEO called Facebook's cryptocurrency project a "neat idea" but added his name to the list of industry leaders and policymakers skeptical about the plan.
Huntington names Visa executive as its new chief financial officer
Zachary Wasserman will succeed Mac McCullough, who is retiring at the end the year.
Why fintechs will be watching Venmo’s credit card
PayPal’s latest move to jolt Venmo’s revenue is a co-branded credit card developed with Synchrony — something that challenger banks and fintechs may rush to compete against.
U.S. Bank launches bill-pay platform to support faster payments, chatbots
U.S. Bank wants to disrupt the way consumers pay their bills by offering billers a new platform fit for faster payment rails, new messaging formats and digital assistants.
U.S. Bank hires real-time payments expert Peter Gordon
U.S. Bank has hired payments veteran Peter Gordon to fill a new post as head of emerging payments product and strategy, tapping his years of experience developing real-time payments technology.
Nordstrom and TD Bank Group Announce Strategic Credit Card Relationship
IRS system mined for over 100,000 taxpayer records by fraudsters
Docomo Seeks to Make Passwords Unnecessary
Payment Processor Payza’s Bitcoin Transactions Rise 20% Per Month
EBA Chairman: Banks Must Understand Blockchain Tech
Copyright 2015 | Rising Sun Merchant Services Pte Ltd
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Wisbech mayor dons charity shop outfit to open new Norfolk Hospice shop
The mayor and mayoress of Wisbech showed off their recycling credentials when they welcomed the town's newest charity shop.
Mayor Jonathan Farmer and his wife Susanah donned pre-loved outfits as they officially opened the Norfolk Hospice shop in Union Street at 10am on Monday.
The town mayor said: 'The Norfolk Hospice does very good work and this charity shop is most welcome in Wisbech and we wish it all the best for the future.
'We are very lucky in Wisbech because we don't have many empty shops at the moment and don't have too many charity shops. The charity shops we do have here, however, offer a cheaper alternative for clothing and are certainly good for recycling here.'
He added: 'Most of what we are wearing today has come from charity shops – apart from our underwear and socks.'
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The Norfolk Hospice has opened its first shop outside of the county to raise money to help run a new �4m full-service hospice in Hillington, near King's Lynn.
The charity currently supports more than 280 people every month at its hospice in Snettisham. Its yearly running costs stand at �1.4m but these will rise to �3.4m once the new hospice is operational in 2013.
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The charity now has six shops across Norfolk and the Fens, including ones in King's Lynn, Fakenham and Downham Market to help raise much-needed funds.
Glenda Skipper, the charity's director of finance, said: 'We have decided to open a charity shop in Wisbech to boost funds but also because we care for people in the town and right across North Cambridgeshire so it's good for us to have a presence here.
'We do, however, need lots of volunteers to come along and help run this shop and we are in need of good quality clothing.'
She added: 'We are also hoping to open up another three shops in this financial year to help raise further funds before we move into the new hospice and we are currently looking at different locations across the area we cover.'
Karen Chambers, the charity shop's manager, added: 'I think the opening of this shop is a new chapter for the charity and I think it is a positive step to move into a new area to help raise awareness of what we do.
'We have had great support from nearby traders. No-one feels we are a threat and are actually pleased we are here because we might bring new shoppers to this part of town.'
Yesterday's shop opening comes after the charity's chief executive, Richard Shaw, urged Norfolk's wealthy residents to help fund the building costs of the new multi-million pound hospice. Work on the hospice, which will provide 12 inpatients beds, began last month but the charity still needs �2.7m to finish the work and wants the rich to step in and help, Mr Shaw has said.


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Selling artificial knees, analyzing the Trayvon Martin trial, and Random House cancels Paula Deen’s cookbook
When Madison Avenue pitches artificial knees, do we all pay?
Americans — personally, or through private insurance or Medicare — spend more than $12 billion a year on artificial knees and hips. That’s more than Hollywood takes in at the box office.
A TV ad I’ve seen recently for artificial knees and hips made by Smith & Nephew, a British medical technology company, may help explain why we spend so much on these implants. It is not the kind of ho-hum ad we now see so regularly, urging us to seek relief from a disease we’ve never heard of by taking a pill with so many side effects it takes the pitchman half the air time to recite them. Instead, Smith & Nephew’s ads look more like a pitch for Nike.
Here’s how the ads are described in an article I found on the website of a trade publication, Pharmaceutical Executive:
A gray silhouette moves seamlessly, flowing like ink through water — swimming, golfing, playing tennis. The only discernable, solid characteristics in these figures in motion are the hip and knee replacement devices from Smith & Nephew. Chief creative officer Jonathan Isaacs and group account director Ann Woodward from Ogilvy Healthworld, part of Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, are two of the many creative people who took part in developing the ad campaign for Smith & Nephew hip and knee replacement products, encouraging patients to “rediscover their go.”
This DTC [Direct to Consumer] campaign manifested as TV spots aimed to showcase joint replacement devices in a nonconventional way, delivering the message that “this isn’t your grandfather’s hip,” according to Isaacs. “I think we tried to do something that felt much more state-of-the-art. This literally is the next generation of hip and knee replacement.”
Given how much we spend on these devices, including the money spent by Medicare for seniors who opt for them, I’d like to see an article that explores whether these ads create demand rather than shift market share among manufacturers. What do Smith & Nephew’s reports to stock analysts, or even its own internal reports, say about whether the ads are a good return on investment and are creating demand?
When did these commercials start running? (There have apparently been ads like this on U.S. TV for at least the last five years, but they seem more prevalent lately.) What is the ad budget? And what are the profit margins on the company’s knees and hips?
I know from my recent reporting on the outsized U.S. healthcare costs that Americans buy artificial hips and knees at far higher rates per capita than patients in any other country. Is this one of the reasons?
The last paragraph of the celebratory Pharmaceutical Executive article seems to imply that creating demand is exactly the goal:
Another differentiating factor for the Smith & Nephew campaign was that it aimed to reach a broader audience. … We were trying to make the point that anybody who is active can create wear and tear on their bodies, and there are a lot of folks — young and old — that can need joint replacement,” Isaacs says.
Is this kind of television advertising allowed in other countries? I’m not in favor of the government prohibiting speech, even corporate speech — especially speech that presents a choice that people can make.
But reporting that pins down what we might be paying for that speech would contribute to the debate over whether what is often an optional medical choice should be protected by the same kind of insurance the covers medical necessities.
Failing your way on to TV:
Many may only know Marcia Clark as a name appearing in recent weeks under an attractive brunette talking head who has been opining on television about defense and prosecution strategy in the case of George Zimmerman, the man accused of murdering teenager Trayvon Martin. As she critiques each side’s strategy, Clark is typically described as a former prosecutor and expert legal analyst. That’s like describing the captain of the Titanic as a former cruise ship captain or nautical expert.
For Clark was the lead prosecutor who lost what may have been the highest profile — and, more important, easiest to win — murder case of the last century: The O.J. Simpson trial 18 years ago.
So why can’t a television or legal reporter use Clark’s popularity as an expert analyst as an opening to ask TV producers if there is anything other than fame (and good looks) that goes into decisions about whom to book for these appearances discussing Zimmerman and other cases?
A related topic would be describing how obsessive some lawyers are about getting on to these shows, hoping to attract clients who might be drawn to someone who’s not only famous for being on TV but famous for being an expert legal analyst. Does it work to build not only to build their egos but also their practices?
As someone who supervised the TV booking of lawyers in the early days of Court TV, I know that many of the best lawyers avoided these TV appearances for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that they’re too busy actually practicing law. But others craved the camera even if they don’t need new clients. One morning in the middle of the Simpson trial, one of the country’s busiest divorce lawyers, who had never handled a criminal case, was sitting in my reception area waiting for me so that he could try to talk his way onto the air to critique Clark’s performance.
Do publishers think Paula Deen is worse than Hitler?
One of the more curious aspects of the implosion of celebrity chef Paula Deen last week was the way her book publisher, Random House, announced that it had cancelled plans to publish her new cookbook this fall despite the fact that the book had so many advance orders that it soared to the top of the Amazon best seller list the same week.
That major consumer businesses may want to disassociate themselves quickly from someone whose public comments suggest that he or she is a racist is understandable. But isn’t book publishing different?
Right now you can click over from reading this and go to Amazon or the Apple book store and buy what seem to be four different versions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, including a Kindle edition from Amazon and an iPad edition from Apple.
In fact, Houghton Mifflin, which, like Random House, is a leading publisher, was apparently the first bookseller to bring Hitler’s long, virulent rant to the United States. Houghton Mifflin brought the book to the United States in 1939 and then waged a legal fight with a smaller publisher over which held the publishing rights.
So, I’d like to see a reporter ask Random House about its apparent policy of not publishing authors whose alleged views might be offensive to some or even many people.
One version of Mein Kampf listed on Amazon is the “Students’ and Teachers’ Classroom Edition.” That, of course, suggests the rationale for publishing Hitler’s book: we learn from reading even offensive ideas.
So perhaps if Deen decided to come clean and proclaim that she’s a racist and then wrote a book about it, Random House would be more inclined to publish it than it apparently is to publish another Deen cookbook.
Someone ought to get the editors there to explain that.
PHOTO: George Zimmerman (R) stands to be identified by a state witness as his attorneys, Mark O’Mara (L) and Don West look on in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Florida, July 1, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Burbank/Pool


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A holiday firm will be bringing the start of its holiday season in Menorca forward next year.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have announced plans to extend next summer's season, by making flights and holidays available from early April.
It comes on the back of demand for holidays earlier in the season.
Jet2.com flights will be available for the first time in April from Manchester Airport, as well as Birmingham and London Stanstead.
It will see 26 more return flights than usual, and means holiday makers can go abroad for Easter.
From Manchester Airport, there will be the introduction of weekly Thursday and Sunday services, starting from April 5.
This means the company will operate flights from April to early November, with up to five weekly flights during peak periods.
The travel firm has met, and pledged to work in partnership with Menorcan hoteliers and representatives from the Menorca Tourist Board.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “As well as being a firm favourite with holidaymakers during the peak summer holiday period, Menorca is a destination that is attracting more and more customers in the shoulder seasons.
"With stunning natural beauty, secret beaches, historic architecture and a wealth of culture on offer, we know these April services will be extremely popular with customers who want to visit Menorca earlier in the season and for Easter.
"This announcement is further evidence of our commitment to this fantastic destination and is living proof that we are not just working to fill hotels in the peak summer season but that we are working with hoteliers and the Tourist Board to achieve the best possible results in shoulder seasons too.
"We will continue to stick to these principles so that we can continue flying happy holidaymakers to Menorca on a package holiday they can trust.”
Maite Salord, Vice President and Minister for Tourism of the Menorca Government said: "Jet2.com and Jet2holidays’ commitment to advance operations by a month in 2020 demonstrates its confidence in Menorca as a tourist destination, a confidence that has been demonstrated year after year to the point of becoming one of the British operators with the largest share of business on the island.
“Undoubtedly, this decision is an important step towards achieving the desired deseasonalization, a priority goal for Menorca for the economic and social benefits it brings to the island.
“I have to admit that none of this would have been possible without the active involvement of the Menorcan businessmen who have led the commitment and the joint work.
"The united efforts and the great predisposition of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have been decisive for Menorca in improving its Spring 2020 activity."


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Bt 13 market update binary options 2018
Our annual guide to what major Microsoft releases are coming down the pipeline, and when. It's promising to be a busy year for Microsoft watchers, with major version releases on tap for some of the company's most venerable product lines.
Here are the biggest milestones to watch out for click on a product name to jump to that section:. For more roadmap info, including upcoming Azure and Office highlights not covered in this Web feature, download the free PDF version here.
Windows 10 Anticipated release: Microsoft's semiannual release schedule for Windows 10 is less of a novelty now than it was back inwhen Microsoft ushered in the OS under a new "as-a-service" model.
Three years and five version updates later, Microsoft is expected to stick to an update model it nailed down last year, with one major update release coming in the first half of the year usually spring and another in the second usually fall. The first major update, code-named "Redstone 4," has been in the works since Augustwhen the first preview build was made available to Windows Insider testers. Based on each subsequent build's release notes, Redstone 4 looks to be focused largely on feature refinements and usability improvements.
There's more support for fonts and languages. The touch keyboard and handwriting features are constantly getting improvements, along with the Edge browser and the Windows Shell. New connectivity and power management enhancements are in the works. And with bt 13 market update binary options 2018 build, Microsoft is activating more fluent design components.
There are a couple of brand-new additions, too. In the works for Redstone 4 is a new "Near Share" feature that lets Windows 10 users exchange files with PC users in their vicinity via Bluetooth. Microsoft is also reinstating the "Timeline" featurewhich had originally been slated to appear in last October's Fall Creators Update.
Timeline essentially lets Windows 10 users keep a record of their recent activities in any given app, making it easier to resume a task when they pull up that app again.
And in a more recent build, Microsoft debuted a privacy app bt 13 market update binary options 2018 "Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer" that gives users and administrators a better handle on the kinds of telemetry data that Microsoft collects from Windows 10 devices. Redstone 4 will be followed by another release code-named "Redstone 5" in the later part of This early in the year, it might be too early to forecast exactly what Microsoft has planned for this second release, though there's at least one feature that Microsoft has already bumped from Redstone 4 and into Redstone 5.
Microsoft described Sets as a way "to make sure that everything related to your task: Microsoft's mobile efforts have been stagnating for some time now, but a Tweet earlier this year from Senior Program Manager Brandon LeBlanc put another nail in the coffin: Teams and Skype for Business Anticipated release: Teams updates throughoutwith Skype for Business Server coming bt 13 market update binary options 2018 the second half of the year.
Barely a year old, Teams is already being positioned by Microsoft as an integral piece of its enterprise collaboration portfolio. The Office chat service launched last March as Microsoft's answer to the popular collaboration startup, Slack. Microsoft has also been stumping for Teams in the academic space, offering it to schools through the no-cost Office for Education plan, and rolling out UI features designed specifically for students and teachers.
Now, Microsoft plans to advance Teams even further by making it the company's primary unified communications UC offeringeffectively replacing Skype for Business. Microsoft first announced the planned transition last September at the Ignite conference, calling the move part of its "new vision for intelligent communications. Those Skype calling capabilities became available in Teams last December. Other features, including "location-based routing," "group call pickup," "call park" and "shared line appearance," are due by year's end, according to Microsoft.
Despite its seeming demotion, Skype for Business isn't going away anytime soon. For one, the Teams-to-Skype transition could take upward of three yearsindustry watchers estimate. For bt 13 market update binary options 2018, Microsoft has promised to continue supporting Skype for Business Online and Skype for Business Server, with a new server release expected in the second half of Microsoft is also expected to enable Skype for Business-certified devices to work on Teams sometime in Q2.
Office Anticipated release: Preview in Q2with general availability in the second half of the year. Cloud may be king at Microsoft nowadays, with the Office productivity suite taking much more of a leading role in Microsoft's product development efforts compared to its on-premises or retail "boxed" counterpart, but Microsoft hasn't thrown in the towel on its old-school Office software yet. At its Ignite conference, Microsoft announced that it was readying the next version of the on-premises Office product, dubbed "Office ," for public release sometime in the second half of In a blog post announcing OfficeMicrosoft Office General Manager Jared Spataro characterized the upcoming release as an olive branch to organizations that are still wary of making the move to the cloud.
But we recognize bt 13 market update binary options 2018 moving to the cloud is a journey with many considerations along the way. Office will be a valuable upgrade for customers who feel that they need to keep some or all of their apps and servers on-premises," he wrote.
Microsoft expects to roll out a preview of Office sometime in the second quarter, with general availability in the second half of New features coming down the pipeline, according to Spataro, include enhancements to the inking feature, improved data analysis capabilities in Excel, expanded PowerPoint animation features and better security.
One notable limitation that Microsoft announced early bt 13 market update binary options 2018 year: Office will not be supported on Windows versions older than Windows 10 which means the still-popular Windows 7 is out of the running. Here are the biggest milestones to watch out for click on a product name to jump to that section: Teams updates throughoutwith Skype for Business Server coming in the second half of the year Office Anticipated release: Preview in Q2with general availability in the second half of the year SharePoint Server Anticipated release: Preview in Q2with general availability in the second half of the year Exchange Server Anticipated release: Windows Server "semiannual channel" releases in spring and fall, with Project Honolulu also becoming production-ready this year Roadmap Archives For more roadmap info, including upcoming Azure and Office highlights not covered in this Web feature, download the free PDF version here.
Microsoft updates Sets in Redstone 5 test build Redstone 5 test build is released to Insiders. Test build for Redstone 4 is released to Insiders. Microsoft releases a preview of HoloLens for Redstone 4.
Redstone 4 test build is released with the "Insider Preview" watermark removed, which marks the "phase of checking in final code to prepare for the final release," according to Microsoft.
Redstone 4 test build is released to Insiders. Microsoft releases test build of Redstone 4 to Insiders. An update to a Microsoft blog indicates Redstone 4 will be released in Bt 13 market update binary options 2018. Reports indicate that Redstone 4's official name will be the "Spring Creators Update. All Windows 10 editions will come with an optional and free S Modeaccording to Microsoft. Microsoft release Redstone 4 test build in addition to the first Redstone 5 test build Microsoft releases Redstone 4 test build to Insiders.
Microsoft rolls out a combined Teams-Skype for Business management portal. Microsoft extends the Teams guest access feature. Microsoft may be planning a "freemium tier" for Teams, according to bt 13 market update binary options 2018 Petri report. Microsoft is keeping the Standard edition for Skype for Business Servercontrary to earlier plans. A preview of the Call Analytics feature is now available in Teamsalong with other new capabilities.
Add Your Comments Now: Comment required Your comment has exceeded the maximum length of 3, characters. Please shorten your comment. SharePoint Server Anticipated release: Exchange Server Anticipated release: Updates throughoutwith a model revamp being implemented in spring. Windows Server "semiannual channel" releases in spring and fall, with Project Honolulu also becoming production-ready this year.


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Canada Biosimilars Proposal Requires Extra Studies To Show Substitutability
Substitution of a biosimilar for its reference brand product would not be automatic under the framework proposed by Health Canada for approving what it calls "subsequent entry biologics.
You may also be interested in...
The potential for biosimilars to lower Medicare and Medicaid drug spending could help catalyze support for a follow-on biologics bill this year, a Capitol Hill staffer predicted at the Food and Drug Law Institute's annual conference March 26
The European launch of biosimilar erythropoietin products has failed to impact European sales of Amgen's EPO products, EVP Worldwide Sales and Marketing George Morrow said during the company's third quarter earnings call Oct. 24
Marketing authorization for generic biologics may be extrapolated to additional indications approved for the reference product, according to biosimilar guidelines recently released by the European Medicines Agency


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Used to Being Treated Like Criminals, Savvy iGaming PR Experts Have Other Tricks Up Their Sleeves
April 17, 2009 (London, UK) — Many igaming marketing and PR professionals that relied on PRWeb to spread their stories around the internet were left scrambling Tuesday morning when the company abruptly banned all igaming news after it received a Cease and Desist Order from the State of Washington, USA.
“I apologize for the abrupt notice,” said Cari Lyle, PRWeb’s East Coast Manager of Editorial Services. “This was not a decision that PRWeb willingly made. We received a Cease and Desist letter from the Washington State Online Gambling Commission requiring that we immediately halt the distribution of press releases promoting online gambling sites and content. As PRWeb is located in Washington State, we are required to be in compliance with Washington State laws.”
“Our clients’ stories made it to tens of thousands of portals and blogs via PRWeb so this is definitely a bit of a setback,” said Lyceum Media’s online PR expert Larry Colcy. “But actually, we use other wire services that get even better exposure, and we use lots of other distribution channels like email, blog postings, and social media. We’ll survive!”
For many online business people, the main value in using PRWeb is that most well crafted stories posted there get picked up by Google and Yahoo News. Thanks to their relationship with OnlineCasinoNews.com and iGamingBusiness.com (both considered ‘authority sites’ by Yahoo and Google News) Lyceum Media clients’ news usually winds up in the big news syndication services anyway.
Bringing your news to prospective players is only one reason to submit a story to an online newswire service. For those that pay the price, they also support Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns. Colcy is concerned that PRWeb may be forced to remove optimized, archived news releases.
“PRWeb charges $200 to include activated URLs and anchor text links – the kind of thing that search engine spiders love to find,” said Colcy. “We have happily invested in upgrading our news release submissions due to the long term benefit. And we will continue to optimize our news releases and upgrade our newswire postings at other wire services. If Washington State forces PRWeb to take down its casino news archive then we’re going to be looking for compensation.”
“In a way I suppose you get used to this sort of thing, working in this business,” said Colcy. “It’s still kind of a slap in the face though, ya? Fortunately there’s plenty of fish in the sea. With other newswires, we’re doing some really cool stuff with video news releases that’s getting our stories out to a whole new, much bigger audience.”
— ENDS —
To find out how igaming PR experts get news to online casino players, please contact:
(0)207 976 6469
About Lyceum Media
Lyceum Media is the world leader in providing public relations & special event services to the online gaming industry. For 7 years, Lyceum’s experienced account managers have worked with online casino and poker operators and software providers to develop and spread newsworthy stories online and to consumer and industry print media. Lyceum Media is well known for its monthly iGaming Business Socials and annual Fire&Ice party.


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The Makegood, the website that provides an inside look into the media advertising industry, and AdMonsters, the global leader in strategic insights on digital media and advertising strategy through its conferences, website, research and consulting services, today announced a marketing partnership where the two organizations will work together to produce timely and relevant content and co-market events, including the upcoming AdMonsters OPS Markets conference on April 4 in New York City.
“AdMonsters is the perfect partner for The Makegood. Our focus on creating insightful content by industry professionals is a great fit with Admonsters’ longstanding focus on producing quality events and conferences,” said Matt Straz, publisher of The Makegood.
“This is a great partnership and a natural fit between two complimentary media companies. Together we can increase our coverage and better serve the community of digital media and advertising strategists,“ said Bowen Dwelle, CEO of AdMonsters.
About The Makegood
The Makegood provides an inside look into the media advertising industry. The site publishes original content by industry professionals who cover the people, companies and news that drive the buy and sell side of the business.
Founded in 1999, AdMonsters is the global leader in providing strategic insight on the future of digital media and advertising technology through its conferences, website, research and consulting services. AdMonsters focus is on media operations, monetization, technology, strategy, platforms and trends. Its conferences and websiteare the meeting place for this dynamic and expanding community to connect, gain insight, develop best practices and exchange thought leadership. AdMonsters conferences include AdMonsters Publisher Forum, OPS, OPS Markets, OPS Mobile, OPS TV and AdMonsters Screens. In the early days of online media, the community was comprised largely of operations professionals at online publishers and advertising technology providers. Today’s expanding ecosystem now includes publishers and content creators, agencies, SSPs, DMPs, DSPs, RTB and service providers, technology and platform developers, advertising networks, brands and investors. See https://www.admonsters.com for more info. Follow us on Twitter at @AdMonsters and on Facebook.


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Hopsin has been on a singles release spree for the last two months and all that traction was prepare for the release of his new album No Shame which he announced earlier this month after dropping ‘Witch Doctor‘ and in October Happy Ending.
Right on time, the controversial rapper from L.A. has released the project featuring 17 tracks in total and minimal features from affiliates only. This is the first release since his departure from Funk Volume records last year and is a product of a new deal with 300 Ent. Stream the album via Apple Music or your favorite service now.
You can also watch the music video for ‘Ill Mind of Hopsin’ where he disses his ex girlfriend, here.


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The NTIA are proud to announce that we are partnering with the Joos Power to help the hospitality industry come back stronger than ever and to help the U.K. stay safe as we all begin to go out again. Joos portable chargers mean people no longer have to worry about how they will place orders and get home safely if their phone runs out of charge. Removed of this worry, they stay out longer. Just like that, Joos has saved the night and, with it, supercharged our night-time economy.
Times have changed and there is an alternative to sitting next to a plug point and waiting for your phone to charge. With Joos’s next-generation power bank rental service, people can rely on Joos to charge their phones wherever the night may take them. Grab a power bank at a Joos Box and drop it off at another, wherever or whenever you please. All this is made simple with the Joos app, which empowers people to charge on the move with a seamless digital customer experience.
The post-pandemic world has emerged much more reliant on phones. Be it for NHS Track & Trace, placing orders, making contactless payments, or working out how to get home – phones are only becoming a bigger part of people’s lives. Pre-COVID, one in ten Brits ended their nights early because their phones were dead or dying. This makes sense considering that half of 18–24-year-olds consider their phones more important than their wallets. Ultimately, running out of charge cuts a night short. This is where Joos steps in and keeps the party going.
Both the Joos and the NTIA are on a mission to make sure people feel less anxious on nights out. Over four in five women of all ages say they’d feel unsafe if their phone were running out of battery in an unfamiliar place. Once Joos strips customers of this low-battery anxiety, people maximise their enjoyment and make the most of their night. Put simply, if their phones stay charged, they stay out, and feel safe.
The Co-founder & COO of Joos, Josh Baah, said “We at Joos are thrilled to help promote our product with the NTIA and help people stay charged, stay safe, and stay connected – all while giving the night-time economy what it needs to get back on its feet and running. We do all we can to make sure people can keep calm, carry on, and party with peace of mind.”
We look forward to working with the Joos to further causes important to us and help the U.K´s hospitality industry get back on its feet.
For further information on the new product and how to find it in your city visit the Joos website below:


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Fujifilm X-H2S APS-C mirrorless camera.
Update (January 13, 2023 at 7am ET): The headline has been updated for clarity. Fujifilm has announced a substantial firmware update for its high-end APS-C X-H2S mirrorless cameras. Firmware version 3.00 includes two new subject detection modes and, according to Fujifilm, an improved autofocus (AF) algorithm for tracking fast-moving subjects. Download firmware version 3.00 for the Fujifilm X-H2S


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This week is as big as it gets for the chicken sandwich category, with heavyweights McDonald’s
And, a late and somewhat surprising entry into the category could further shake things up a bit.
Taco Bell today announced it is testing a new “crispy chicken sandwich taco” in the Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina, markets beginning March 11.
Taco Bell’s offering features all-white-meat crispy chicken, marinated in jalapeño buttermilk, seasoned with Mexican spices and rolled in a crunchy tortilla chip coating. According to the company, the chicken is served in puffy bread shaped like a taco and is topped with its signature creamy chipotle sauce. Like every chicken sandwich competitor out there, Taco Bell is offering both a regular and spicy version, the latter of which includes crunchy jalapeño slices.
There have long been debates about whether a taco qualifies as a sandwich, so Taco Bell’s interpretation may not be much of a surprise. Its focus on chicken shouldn’t be, either.
In August, Heather Mottershaw, Taco Bell’s vice president of product development, said the chain was focused on chicken and would tap into the category’s meteoric growth. Chicken consumption has grown by 70% since 1990, compared to beef, which has remained relatively stagnant.
“When we think about the acceleration of new trends, it’s really clear for us that it’s chicken, and that means chicken as a whole category,” she said during that August interview. “We’re focused heavily in this area at the moment, so expect lots to come here.”
What could be surprising, however, is the addition of a new platform as Taco Bell focuses on simplified operations. Early in the pandemic, Taco Bell slimmed down its menu, resulting in the service of 30 million more cars and a 17-second faster drive-thru in Q3 compared to Q3 2019.
There is plenty of motivation to make this menu addition work, however. This launch– all of these chicken sandwich launches, in fact–are about more than just consumer demand. Operators are pining for that lightning-in-a-bottle effect captured by Popeyes, which is generating $400,000 more in average unit volumes since its sandwich launch.
A new-ish challenge now, however, is that nearly every quick-service chain, big and small, is focused heavily on this area. For example, consider the top 50 QSRs for sales (as measured by QSR Magazine). At least 18 chains have added or enhanced a chicken sandwich since Popeyes’ 2019 launch. That doesn’t even count the smaller chains jumping into the category and taking up market share space.
In other words, Taco Bell has its work cut out for it to become a legitimate chicken sandwich player, including the challenge of not being a “sandwich player” in the first place. Taco Bell won’t likely be top-of-mind for the droves of consumers now seeking a chicken sandwich, at least not compared to its sister chain KFC, or Popeyes, or Chick-fil-A, or even burger giants McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King.
But Taco Bell is counting on disruption. It’s differentiating by not being just another chicken sandwich in the mix, but rather being a sandwich and a taco, as noted in its press release.
The approach may very well work as consumers most certainly want different choices every now, and as chicken sandwich options become ubiquitous, yet somewhat homogenous.
This is the same approach Taco Bell took with its breakfast launch back in 2014–not just offering breakfast options, but offering differentiated options like the cheesy toasted breakfast burrito and the Breakfast Crunchwrap. Some analysts pointed to Taco Bell’s foray into the morning daypart as a reason McDonald’s lost some share at breakfast.
Taco Bell also has the advantage of a large footprint–about 7,000 U.S. units–for those craving chicken sandwiches (compared to about 2,500 for Popeyes and about 4,000 for KFC), and a veto vote-friendly menu with beef and vegetarian options.
Taco Bell may also have an advantage on pricing. The sandwich taco will be sold for $2.49 in test markets. For context, Popeyes’ chicken sandwich is $3.99, comparable to similar options on the market.
Taco Bell notes a nationwide launch of its crispy chicken sandwich taco will come later this year, and also promises more crispy chicken innovations are on the way.


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Britvic’s fruit drinks brand Robinsons has shifted strategy to target adult drinkers with the launch of Fruit Creations, a new squash supported by a multi-million-pound campaign.
The hero film is fronted by a young, precocious girl who introduces Fruit Creations to grow-ups doing adult things in adult places, such as the boardroom and the courtroom. The full 40-second ad will run alongside a 20-second cut down on TV and video on demand in the UK and Ireland.
The spot will be supported by integrated social, PR and experiential campaigns.
"Kids are currently seen as the main consumers of squash, so the creative is designed to help land the new adult proposition in a way that’s new for Robinsons and entertaining for adults, using the disarming wisdom of children,” said Matt Barwell, chief marketing officer at Britvic.
"With … 3m glasses of Robinsons squash being drunk every day in Britain, who better than our child squash experts to educate adults about the great taste of new Robinsons Fruit Creations?"
Fruit Creations has been devised to contain twice the fruit content of the core Robinsons squash brand. Its flavours, including as peach and raspberry, and pear and blueberry, aim to appeal to a more grown-up palate.
Robinsons Fruit Cordial will also launch off the ‘Listen Up’ platform in March.
Kate Stanners, global chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, added: "As such an iconic, well-loved staple in British households it’s been fun turning the category on its head by using the real experts in squash to sell Robinson’s new adult portfolio."
Saatchi & Saatchi: Robinsons Fruit Creations 'Listen Up'


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Cherie Blair's US business partner in failed £3m private healthcare chain faces probe over why she enjoyed 'high payments' while the company was making losses
Cherie Blair and her business partner, Dr Gail Lese, unveiled plans seven years ago to establish a private healthcare chain with the highest of hopes.
But, though envisaging 100 clinics in supermarkets and shopping centres across the country, their dream quickly sickened, with the chain’s umbrella company, Worldwide Health and Wellness Centres, going into liquidation after accumulating £7.7 million losses in just four years.
Now, I can disclose, the liquidator, Myles Jacobson, of Streets SPW, is contemplating taking legal action against 50-year-old American Dr Lese in a bid to uncover why she enjoyed ‘a high level of remuneration’ even while the company was making losses.
Cherie Blair and her business partner, Dr Gail Lese, unveiled plans seven years ago to establish a private healthcare chain with the highest of hopes
In a winding-up progress report, just filed at Companies House, Jacobson explains that his solicitors wrote to Dr Lese ‘requesting a substantive explanation of the significant payments which included repayments of her business expenses and sizeable remuneration drawn at a time it would appear the company was insolvent’.
His solicitors, continues Mr Jacobson, ‘raised concerns as to why she considered it appropriate to draw such a high level of remuneration and incur considerable business expenditure . . . as the company appeared to be loss-making throughout’.
Myles Jacobson, of Streets SPW, is contemplating taking legal action against 50-year-old American Dr Lese
Letters and emails sent to Dr Lese have gone unanswered, says Jacobson, who notes that 42 creditors are claiming more than £3 million, and adds that his solicitors are now ‘preparing draft proceedings’, under the terms of the Insolvency Act 1986.
In his initial progress report, submitted a year ago, Jacobson reported that the Official Receiver had been ‘unable to interview Ms Gail Lese, the company director, or retrieve the company’s records’.
My own email went unanswered yesterday, while a telephone call to the London number on her website was answered by a gentleman who said he had never heard of her or her investment company, Lese Investments.
Repeated calls to the company’s Boston office in the U.S. variously yielded the engaged or number unobtainable tones.
Cherie Blair, who declines to comment, must hope that matters are soon satisfactorily resolved.
Like many others, she was a shareholder in Worldwide Health and Wellness Centres.


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Back at CES 2013 Lenovo unveiled the impressive Lenovo K900, an Intel Clover Trail-powered smartphone that packed plenty of power under the hood. Now its late April and the K900 finally has an official release date of May 6th.
Lenovo’s amazing IdeaPhone K900 might arrive in China next month for $485
Lenovo and RIM have denied any formal discussion on a possible merger, acquisition or partnership, saying its CFO's statements may have been misquoted. But what's so interesting with a combined Lenovo and BlackBerry?
First benchmark results of Intel-powered Lenovo K900 are off the charts
While Intel started out slowly in the Android world, powering only entry-level devices during 2012, we suspected that one of these days the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker will be looking to step things up.
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5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Android Apps Weekly
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The European Union has given its approval to the merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King.
The European Union’s competition authority has given its approval to a major transaction in the games industry, in which Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard King for $68.7 billion (about 63 billion euros).
At the same time, the Competition Authority outlined that Microsoft should offer competing cloud game services free licenses for Activision Blizzard’s games for the next ten years.
The European Union is the first of the three major competition authorities (EU, UK, USA) to give a green signal to the mammoth deal, reports The New York Times.
Britain announced in late April that it would freeze the trade. With these possibilities, the United States Trade Commission’s position will not be known until August–September, but the commission announced in December 2022 that it would attempt to block the trade.
The Japanese Competition Authority has also given its approval to the deal. The main competitor of Microsoft is Sony Japanese.
Read more: UK blocks £68.7bn takeover of Microsoft
The merger between the two giants has been a headwind for one obvious reason: It would vastly improve the position of a major player in the games market, namely Microsoft.
Microsoft is a major player in the gaming industry, as the Windows operating system is a favorite of PC gamers and Xbox also has a strong hold on the console market. In particular, there has been concern that Microsoft could limit the availability of favorite games like Call of Duty on competing platforms.
The British Competition Authority blocked the deal due to concerns about cloud gaming. Microsoft is the biggest name in cloud gaming with its Xbox Game Pass service. The companies have appealed against the British authority’s decision.
The British competition authority CMA has already had time to respond to the recent EU announcement. The CMA tweeted that the previous policy remains valid, meaning trade is still blocked for the Kingdom. There is still cause for concern with regard to cloud game services and their supply.
The mega-deal was to be completed in June 2023, but due to the decision of the British Competition Authority, the schedule was changed. Representatives of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King have repeatedly stated that the largest deal in the history of the gaming industry has yet to be completed.
Among others, the Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone and Candy Crush game series will be transferred to Microsoft’s ownership in the deal. With the deal, Microsoft will become the third largest company in the gaming industry.


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Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in Kaylene Hong was Asia Reporter for The Next Web between 2013 and 2014, based in Singapore. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Stay in touch via Twitter or Google+.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has officially made a move to go global by launching its Taobao marketplace in Singapore, seeking to make its mark in Southeast Asia after using Hong Kong and Taiwan as a stepping stone a year ago to make the jump overseas.
With the launch, Taobao now has a regional landing page for Southeast Asia, and a dual-language registration page will be available next month.
Starting with Singapore is a smart move on Alibaba’s part as Taobao is already relatively known in the city. Despite not having an official presence, Taobao International director Daphne Lee said the site has more than 280,000 registered users in Singapore and that it has “seen tremendous growth locally in the last few years, most of which has been generated through organic interest of e-commerce platforms.”
The huge drawback has been the inconvenience of shipping options. Now Singaporeans who shop on Taobao can choose the International Parcel Forwarding Service, which solves issues related to selecting a third-party forwarding service provider.
Alibaba also revealed today that is not content with simply facilitating the selling and buying of goods overseas — instead it is looking to build a whole e-commerce ecosystem, just as it has done in China. The local Singapore office will be seeking to expand the use of online payments through Alipay in Southeast Asia. The Alipay Purchase Card is already available in Singapore via certain payment terminals.
However, Alibaba is already a step behind its e-commerce rival Jingdong, which last month announced a strategic partnership with IT products group iKnow to launch JD.com’s Singapore site and pick-up stations for purchases made online.
Headline image via Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images
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By Scott Moritz
ComScore numbers once again confirmed that people are searching less and clicking on advertisements at a much slower rate as the economy tanks and consumer spending pulls back. In March, Google's paid clicks grew 2.7% over year-ago levels putting first-quarter paid click growth at 1.8%, a big slowdown from the 25% rate in the previous quarter and well below the 48% pace in the third quarter.
When your revenue engine is almost entirely fueled by Internet searches and ads clicks, it's probably wise to watch your gauges. Analysts' estimates for Google's first quarter have been cut sharply ever since this trend was first spotted in January. But Google fans say the company has been honing its search efficiency and raising prices to offset the slump.
Additionally, some analyst point to Google's ability to increase its U.S. market share to 55% in March from 53% at the beginning of the year.
Google reports earnings after the market closes Thursday. Analysts are looking for adjusted earnings of $4.52 a share on sales of $3.61 billion in the first quarter ended last month. That calls for a top line growth rate of 42% over last year's revenue level.
If the company made adjustments, the chances of disappointing Wall Street will be limited. But if ComScore's numbers are any indication, writes Henry Blodget of Silicon Alley Insider, Google "will miss by a mile."
By Scott Moritz and Michal Lev-Ram
A solid performance from Nokia (NOK) could be the prescription to elevate the warning-weary mood in the tech sector.
The No.1 mobile phone maker is due to report first-quarter results early Thursday, kicking off the hotly anticipated wireless industry earnings parade. Among the players are No.3 phone shop Motorola (MOT), Verizon Wireless (VZ), Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T) and Sprint (S).
Unlike the worries surrounding other big tech names like MOREsmoritz - Apr 16, 2008 8:10 AM ET
By Scott Martin
Novatel's big miss (NVTL) offers a glimpse of how slumping tech spending can pinch a weak player.
The wireless modem maker warned Monday that first-quarter sales came in below its target. Revenue was $91 million, or 9% below its previous forecast. Novatel will release its disclose its full earnings for the quarter on May 1.
Novatel blamed a product glitch for delays in its supplies of USB devices to a MOREsmoritz - Apr 15, 2008 11:16 AM ET
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Earlier today, Malaysia announced lockdown measures that will be coming into effect on March 18, 2020.
Some might have felt a bit of panic due to our proximity.
One area of worry some might have is the issue of food.
Some on social media have already noticed lengthier queues.
In fact, when Mothership went down to some supermarkets after the announcement, the queues were starting to pile up.
Here are some of the pictures on the ground.
Giant at Greenridge Shopping Centre
Taman Jurong Shopping Center
Sheng Siong supermarket, Elias Mall, Pasir Ris
NTUC at Clementi Ave 3
24hr NTUC Fairprice Havelock Road.
Some of the items we noticed people were mostly buying include eggs, rice, canned food, oil, toilet paper, instant noodles, cooking oil, vegetables, canned and jar goods.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing had earlier reassured Singaporeans that there was no need for panic buying or hoarding.
Image from Mothership staff


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A JEWELLERY thief thanked staff as he looted their shop - and made off with luxury watches worth £8,000.
The theft took place in the middle of the afternoon at a Middlesbrough town centre jewellers’ store.
At about 2pm, a well-dressed man, carrying a Rolex catalogue, entered Market Cross Jewellers, on Linthorpe Road, and asked a sales assistant to see two watches that were in the window.
Assistant manager Lorna Hutchinson said: “As she put one on his wrist he picked up the other, said ‘Thanks, love’ and ran out the shop.
“Our natural instinct was to run out of the shop after him. He ran quite a bit away and went into a side alley. That’s when we felt a bit vulnerable.”
So the brave pair returned to the shop to report the theft of the Cartier and Breitling watches - which together cost £8,000 - to police.
Lorna, who has been working at the shop since it opened eight years ago, said: “We’re all in shock. We feel physically sick. We’re proud of what we do so we’re upset that it’s happened.
“But we’re all OK, that’s the main thing.
Police are now investigating the Friday afternoon theft.
The suspect is described as a black male in his late twenties or early thirties. He was bald and was wearing a white top with dark jeans.
A police spokesperson said: “Anyone with any information or who is offered an expensive watch at a knocked down price should contact PC Mathew Homan on 01642 303126.”


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- RSCRYPTO completes CAS integration into MStar K1, K5, K7 series chips
- Ryan school murder: Bus conductor granted bail, but no clean chit till yet
- 'Padmavati' row: Let CBFC do its job, says Information and Broadcasting ministry
- Screen 'S Durga' at IFFI, says Kerala High Court
InMobi and NDTV bring native advertising on mobile to India
MUMBAI: InMobi and NDTV Convergence are jointly bringing the first fully native ad experience to mobile users in India.
Together with InMobi, NDTV will now be able to offer a bouquet of innovative ad units native to its news content, thereby further re-inventing the user experience.
“NDTV has always believed in providing users with the most credible content across all platforms and ensuring the best user experience while consuming this content. This is another step towards further enhancing the experience by ensuring native in-stream ad formats, which will provide great value to our advertisers in a non-intrusive environment. We are excited to partner with InMobi, the world’s leading independent mobile advertising network to launch this offering,” said NDTV CEO Vikram Chandra.
The unique offering provides tangible benefits like five times the conversion rate and user engagement than standard display ads, higher ad viewership of up to 1.5 times more than banner ads and, more importantly, a new-found trust for mobile ads, which are experienced as content and less intrusive.
“InMobi Native Ads match the app experience entirely in terms of visual form and function, so that your brand’s audience can enjoy a non-intrusive, engaging ad experience while using an app. We have witnessed a phenomenal increase in demand for Native ads worldwide. InMobi is thrilled to partner with NDTV to bring the Native Ad experience to India,” said InMobi Vice President – Revenue & Operations Atul Satija.


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Hyundai Mobis, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, plans to build an EV Power Electric system plant in Bryan County, Georgia to support Hyundai Motor Group's electrification efforts.
The South Korean company intends to start construction of the 1,200,000-square-foot facility as early as in January 2023, so the plant would be ready for production in 2024.
The main topics are EV Power Electric systems (over 900,000 units annually) and Integrated Charging Control Units (450,000 units annually), which will be used by the Hyundai Motor Group's EV plants in the US:
- the recently announced Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) factory, which will also be located in Bryan County, Georgia
- the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) factory in Montgomery, Alabama
- the Kia Georgia plant
Hyundai Mobis estimates that the new plants will cost $926 million and is expected to create 1,500 new jobs.
Let's note that Hyundai Mobis already has a manufacturing facility in Georgia - in West Point, with almost 1,200 employees, which supplies automotive manufacturers with complete cockpit modules, chassis modules, as well as bumper assemblies.
The addition of EV-related manufacturing plant in the US is a natural consequence of the decision made by the Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis) to produce electric cars in the US at several of its sites.
H.S. Oh, Vice President of Hyundai Mobis Electric Powertrain Business Unit said:
“Hyundai Mobis’ investment project in Bryan County reflects an acceleration in the development of the EV supply chain in Georgia’s auto industry. We’re going to be a major production player in the EV market, and that’s going to trigger more growth within the sector. Mobis is looking forward to providing high-quality work opportunities to the growing local workforce.”
That's a big win for Georgia and another sign that mass electrification is just around the corner.
Hyundai Mobis EV Power Electric system plant in brief:
- location: Bryan County, Georgia
- investment: $926 million
- size: 1,200,000-square-foot facility
- production: over 900,000 EV Power Electric systems and 450,000 Integrated Charging Control Units annually
- customers (Hyundai Motor Group): the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) factory in Bryan County, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) factory in Montgomery, and the Kia Georgia plant
- construction start (target): January 2023
- production start (target): 2024
- new jobs: 1,500


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By Art Holliday
Louisiana, MO (KSDK) - Chances are, your grocery store is just a few minutes from where you live.
What if you had to drive more than 20 miles round trip for your groceries?
Louisiana, Missouri is about 90 miles northwest of St. Louis. That's where Kroger went out of business, and it's a big deal to the people who used to shop there.
The official closing day for the only grocery store in Louisiana was supposed to be Saturday, October 27, but the signs in the windows tell a different story.
The lights are on, but nobody's home at Kroger after it closed this week.
The customers care a lot.
"Not too happy. Not happy at all. Two reasons: one, only store in town. And the other one, I'm the manager down at Orsons down here, and seeing our neighbor leave leaves us kind of sad," said Kirk Heil.
The Kroger shutdown means the closest full service grocery store is 11 miles away. Tto fill up your grocery cart, you've got to jump in your car, head down Highway 54 to Bowling Green to shop at the IGA or Walmart, a 22 mile round trip.
"You're increasing your monthly expenses by $120 a month in gas alone if you live here in town and have to go somewhere else to shop," said Heil.
"With the high price of gasoline it's going to be a hassle for everybody, but again, for the people who don't drive, it's really going to be difficult," said Gary Richardson.
"It's sad to me. I'm thinking about the employees losing their jobs. We have several friends that lost their jobs," said Joe Elliot.
Kroger employed more than 50 people in Louisiana. Some of them will transfer to the Kroger in Troy. The rest will be looking for work.


text: Following in the footsteps of our very popular Collections live panel discussions, SHOWstudio decided to launch a Book Club series featuring regular streamed fashion conversations. Monday 19 November saw Lou Stoppard sit down with Judith Watt, Bronwyn Cosgrave, Charlotte Sinclair and Chloe Fox, the authors behind four books in the Vogue On series. The writers chatted about everything from the process of writing the books - including many hours spent in the Vogue archives - to the future of fashion in print! On demand footage of the whole conversation is now available to watch at your leisure. Join our Book Club now!


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Videoland, which serves the Dutch and Belgian markets, will initially be available as a 4K app on Samsung, LG and Sony smart TVs.
24i Media said that with the launch of its UHD Videoland service it has also upgraded its Smart Operator app with live 4K capabilities on selected platforms – combining traditional and OTT content delivery in a single user experience.
“As the demand for streaming HD video grows, delivering that content in a user-friendly format required by leading-edge, connected devices grows that much greater. A large number of these devices are smart TVs,” said 24i CEO Martijn van Horssen.
“The 4K display market could be at least US$52 billion by 2020 and our work with Videoland and RTL is an early milestone in what will eventually be a standard in the market, which we believe will be led by smart TVs.”
Have you taken the Digital TV Europe Industry Survey 2021?
17 January 2021 @ 15:00:01 UTC
ICYMI: Apple TV+ launches overhauled website digitaltveurope.com/2021/01/15/app… https://t.co/r2g95BCAAk
16 January 2021 @ 19:00:00 UTC
Don't miss the chance to share your videos on the future of digital video in the Digital TV Europe Industry Survey… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
16 January 2021 @ 16:00:01 UTC


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Walmart is giving its workers a huge pay raise and a cash bonus of up to $1,000
- Walmart is raising hourly pay from $9 to $11 as a result of recent tax law changes.
- It's also offering employees a one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000, expanded maternity and parental leave benefits, and assistance with adoption expenses.
- The changes will impact more than one million Walmart employees in the US.
Walmart is raising starting wages for hourly employees to $11 and offering a one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000, the company said Thursday.
The retailer is also expanding maternity and parental leave benefits, as well as creating a new benefit to assist with adoption expenses.
Previously, Walmart's starting pay was $9 for all hourly employees, or $10 for those who completed a training program.
The wage and benefit changes will take effect in February and impact more than one million Walmart employees in the US, the company said.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the changes are a direct result of recent tax law changes.
"We are early in the stages of assessing the opportunities tax reform creates for us to invest in our customers and associates and to further strengthen our business, all of which should benefit our shareholders," McMillon said in a statement. "However, some guiding themes are clear and consistent with how we've been investing - lower prices for customers, better wages and training for associates and investments in the future of our company, including in technology."
"Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the US," he added.
The cash bonus will go to employees that don't benefit from the new wage increases - meaning they are already paid more than $11. It will range from $200 to $1,000 depending on workers' length of employment with Walmart.


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Every year, SC Magazine Awards recognize professionals, companies and products that help combat business security threats. Now in its 16th year, with over 650 nominations last year in 31 categories, the awards continue to grow.
This year, Absolute Software is a Finalist for Best Mobile/Portable Device Security from the 2012 SC Awards Canada. The other finalists include BlackBerry and Gold Lock Canada.
Growing numbers employees are using smaller and smaller devices – iPhones, iPads, Android devices, BlackBerries, and more – with loads of applications to access corporate data. Security products in this category deal with not only a collapsing perimeter, but also consumer-owned and controlled devices being used to get at corporate resources. At a minimum, these devices likely will require strong endpoint security, point-to-point encryption and more.
The 2012 SC Awards Canada will be announced in Toronto on May 8-9 at the SC Congress Canada event. Good luck to all the other finalists!


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Grand Theft Auto V fans, we may finally have a release date–or a release window, at least. Over the weekend, a leaked poster from a European retailer claimed that Grand Theft Auto V is set to finally be released next year.
In lieu of official word from Rockstar Games, speculation regarding Grand Theft Auto V‘s release date has been abound over the past several months, with the consensus being that Grand Theft Auto V‘s release date is likely to fall around spring 2013.
Fanning the flames further, European retailer GAME confirmed the leaked image with a few images of their own, which also stated that the latest in the Grand Theft Auto franchise is due for a spring release.
Interestingly, the first leaked image, which you can see here, suggests that Grand Theft Auto V may only be releasing on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, at least initially.
It’s not unheard of for promotional images to “forget” to mention that a game is coming to PC as well, but Rockstar Games has yet to make any announcements about platforms so we’ll have to wait to hear from the developer to be sure.
Rockstar has also been very quiet on specifics about the game, but that’s soon set to change. Game Informer will be breaking the first Grand Theft Auto V details since the game’s announcement in their December issue, which will be released digitally on November 8.
It isn’t November 8 yet, unfortunately, but you can whet your appetite for Grand Theft Auto V details by checking out the launch trailer below.


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The Beverage Licensees Alliance (ABLE BC) of British Columbia has announced that government-owned liquor stores in the province will begin to limit the amount of alcohol that customers, restaurants, and businesses can buy starting Friday morning. This is due to the strike by the British Columbia General Employees Union (BCGEU). Customers will be limited to buying no more than three individual items (or SKUs) per day, with the exception of beer. This restriction will remain in effect until the distribution centers of the British Columbia alcoholic beverage distribution branch resume operations. Ian Tostenson, President and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association, warned that everyone would run out of stock if both parties do not return to the negotiating table immediately.
The BCGEU represents some 33,000 provincial workers who went on strike on Monday, with wage protection being their main concern as inflation rises dramatically. The contract between the BCGEU and the Public Utilities Agency expired on April 1 and there have been sporadic talks since April 6, but the union rejected the agency's invitation to hold another meeting last week. The pickets at distribution centers have prevented alcohol and cannabis products from being distributed in stores for customers. While private liquor stores were not affected by the ban on working overtime, every legal cannabis dispensary in British Columbia was affected. It is important for both parties to come to an agreement soon in order to avoid further disruption. The rationing of alcohol in government-owned liquor stores is a sign of how serious this strike is and how it is affecting businesses and customers alike.
It is essential that both parties come together to find a solution that works for everyone.


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Having trouble with Fitbit? That's because the app is down (Update: Back up)
- The Fitbit app was experiencing an outage.
- The outage was preventing the app from successfully connecting to Fitbit’s servers.
- The issue has now been fixed.
Update: October 12, 2023 (2:56 PM ET): A spokesperson from Fitbit has reached out to Android Authority confirming the issue has been resolved. That spokesperson states:
We’ve addressed the issue causing some customers to experience issues with the Fitbit app. Anyone still encountering problems should contact Customer Service.
Original article: October 11, 2023 (8:11 PM ET): If you tried to open up the Fitbit app this evening, you may have noticed that it is having some difficulty loading up. And it’s not just you; thousands of others are also having trouble accessing the app. According to Down Detector, Fitbit is currently experiencing an outage.
Here at Android Authority, we’re also seeing the same issue. It appears when you open the app, none of the data is populating. Not only that, but it seems that the Coach tab is completely down for the count.
Based on the reports, it looks like 78% of the issues revolve around the app itself. While 13% are having problems with the website, and 9% are reporting issues with their Fitbit device.
At the time of writing, Fitbit has yet to acknowledge the issue via its public support channels. So, as of right now, we have no timetable for a fix. As a result, it is not known how long Fitbit will stay down.
Stay tuned to Android Authority, as we’ll keep an eye on the situation. We’ll update this article as soon as new information is available. Until then, you can take a look at our list of things you can do to fix common issues with Fitbit.