text:
Embattled EV start-up Faraday Future’s shares pop on Nasdaq debut
Attendees look at Faraday Future’s FF 91 prototype electric crossover vehicle after it was unveiled at CES 2017 on January 3, 2017, in Las Vegas.
Faraday Future was expected to be the “next Tesla.” It was going to be a leader in electric vehicles with its groundbreaking FF 91 crossover that would usher in an “entirely new species” of automobile.
Those were some of the claims surrounding the California EV start-up during an elaborate unveiling of the FF 91 at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2017. If all had gone to plan, the vehicle would have been on the market now for several years, ahead of an influx of EVs from emerging start-ups and traditional automakers.
Instead, the opposite happened. The executives that made those proclamations left Faraday Future; it abandoned a plan for a $1 billion factory in Nevada; and it has yet to build one vehicle. Its founder and CEO, Chinese billionaire Jia “YT” Yueting, also filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
But Faraday Future now has new life – and capital – thanks to a SPAC deal with Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. that is providing the embattled automaker with $1 billion. The company’s shares shot up by more than 15% minutes into its debut Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker FFIE.
It’s a new beginning for Faraday Future but also a countdown to proving its worth to investors, including starting production and sales of the FF 91 within a year from now.
“We have been able to convince the capital market that this is a different company now, a company which can deliver a serious business plan,” Faraday Future CEO Carsten Breitfeld said in an interview. “But now we have to deliver, and this is absolutely key.”
Delivering on plans is something newly public EV start-ups have not been able to do. Starting with Nikola last year, SPAC deals for the automotive industry exploded, but reality has set in for many companies. Bold claims by executives have led to federal investigations into EV start-ups such as Nikola, Canoo and Lordstown Motors, which last month warned investors of potential bankruptcy concerns.
Other EV start-ups such as privately held Rivian and Lucid, which is soon expected to go public via a SPAC merger, have delayed production and delivery of their first vehicles.
“Building a vehicle is not that easy to do,” IHS Markit principal automotive analyst Stephanie Brinley said. “It’s a very complex process and it’s very capital intensive. Even experienced automakers run into situations from time to time where programs are delayed.”
‘Under promise and over deliver’
Breitfeld, a former BMW executive, said the plan he sold to investors is achievable. It includes beginning production of limited-edition FF 91 for $180,000 in the next 12 months, followed by less expensive models and other EVs in the months and years to come.
“There’s one simple, single plan for the next 12 months and this is getting the car out to the customers,” he said. “It’s what I promised and what I’m going to deliver.”
Breitfeld said he plans to “under promise and over deliver” to investors. The company’s production ramp-up is faster than fellow luxury EV start-up Lucid, which is expected to begin deliveries of its first vehicle — a $169,000 sedan called the Air “Dream Edition” — later this year.
Faraday Future’s FF91 electric car on display at the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7, 2017.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Faraday Future is expected to build 2,400 vehicles next year, followed by 38,600 units in 2023 and more than 300,000 vehicles in 2025. That compares to Lucid at 20,000 next year and 135,000 vehicles by 2025.
Faraday has a nearly completed plant in California that’s capable of producing up to 30,000 vehicles a year. It also has plans for manufacturing partnerships in South Korea and China.
Breitfeld said the company has more than 14,000 reservations for the FF 91, but many of them don’t include down payments. That’s down from a reported 64,000 reservations following the car’s debut in 2017, which were free or through a $5,000 deposit for a “priority reservation.”
Looking to the Future
Aside from a cash influx, Faraday Future’s SPAC deal helps erase up to $150 million in debt owed to suppliers, which will be taking a stake in the post-merged company, Breitfield said. The company declined to disclose what percentage of Faraday Future the suppliers will hold and how much debt will be erased.
The debt-to-equity swap is one of several things Breitfeld said the company needed to complete before it could go public and launch the vehicle. Others included changing the perception of the company with media and investors as well as better executing its plans and putting controversies with China and its founder, Jia, behind it.
“This is all behind us,” Breitfeld said in a previous interview in February. “This is the past and this is a different company now.”
Faraday Future’s newly created FF Futurist Experience studio, located at 5 East 59th Street in New York City.
Jia remains with the company as chief product and user officer but does not hold an ownership stake, according to Breitfeld.
Despite the changes and new funding, Guidehouse Insights principal analyst Sam Abuelsamid believes Faraday Future still has significant hurdles to be successful. One obstacle is a more competitive market than the company’s original plans from CES 2017.
“They are launching with just one car, with others in following years and we’ll see if they can actually get it into production,” he said. “If it does arrive, then they’re entering a much more crowded and tougher market to compete in for somebody like Faraday Future that has no track record or, to the extent they have a track record, it’s a very spotty one.”
Breitfeld argues that now is a “better time” to launch anew because there’s more government support for EVs as well as more demand from consumers. But he knows challenges remain to get to market and separate itself from its past and other speculative SPAC-backed companies.
“I don’t like this grouping approach too much because SPAC is basically a tool of going to market,” he said. “Of course, time will show who really will survive and how this will work out, but we feel we’re in a very comfortable and strong position.”


text:
Sega has confirmed that it is looking to adapt its current management structure in a bid to more closely integrate its eastern and western divisions.
"We need more integration so projects and initiatives on both sides can benefit from everyone’s experience and expertise," said Takayuki Kawagoe, head of Sega’s CS division and ex-director of Smilebit, at a recent conference in Japan.
Kawagoe, who has been charged with leading the publisher toward new growth, acknowledged that Sega, like the Japanese games industry in general, is experiencing a downturn. "There were mountains and valleys," he said of the performance of recently released Sega titles.
PS3 game Ryu ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3) has managed to break even and the recently released DS RPG 7th Dragon has sold well, said Kawagoe. However, fellow DS RPGs Shining Force Feather and World Destruction have not met company expectations.
Kawagoe also said that Sega’s titles were receiving a better reception from European critics than those in the States, although he acknowledged that MadWorld‘s generally positive reviews hadn’t translated into high sales. NPD reports [via Gamasutra] that March sales in the US were just 66,000.
He also said that the company’s licensing department is hoping to extend Sega’s IP into broader media platforms, noting the television anime adaptation of Valkyria Chronicles.
Sega’s big title of the event was Puyo Puyo 7, the latest entry in the falling object puzzle series. Bayonetta also received one of its first live play demonstrations and End of Eternity, a futuristic RPG collaboration between tri-Ace and Sega, due for release on PS3 and Xbox 360 this winter, was unveiled.
The rest of the line-up, shown in a video compilation, featured a number of handheld titles, mainly for DS, including Sonic Chronicles, which was released in Europe and the States late last year.

domain: news


text:
- Security researchers say an app pre-installed on some Alcatel phones and popular on the Google Play Store tried to rip off users, and stole their data.
- The application com.tct.weather, known as "Weather-Simple weather forecast", also stole personal information.
- Activity from the rogue app was detected in several countries – including South Africa.
South Africans may have had their data depleted by a rogue weather app on Android phones that reportedly stole personal information, tried to sign users up to premium services, and pretended to be people clicking on ads.
The app, known as "Weather-Simple weather forecast", came pre-installed on some Alcatel phones and was downloaded more than 10 million times.
For at least several weeks in July and August 2018, security researchers say, the app used a range of techniques to defraud users, with its activity detected in Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Tunisia, and South Africa.
It was removed from the Google Play Store this month.
It is not clear how many South African users were affected, or how much data may have been stolen.
Technology company Upstream reported that its Secure-D platform, which helps mobile operators prevent fraud, blocked transaction attempts in South Africa.
Secure-D first detected the issue when an unusually high number of Alcatel Pixi 4 and A3 Max Android smartphones – models not widely available in South Africa – tried to initiate transactions in Brazil and Malaysia. The company says its investigations traced the attempts to the software package com.tct.weather, from TCL Corporation, a Chinese tech company that makes Alcatel and Blackberry phones.
Secure-D reached out to users, many of whom complained that their devices were overheating and that they had unexplained charges to their accounts. When the company tested some of their devices in a lab setting, it found that the weather app was sending personal information to servers in China, trying to bill customers for premium services, and interacting with ads.
"We recorded 50MB to 250MB of data per day being consumed by the application’s unwanted activity," says Secure-D in its report on the investigation.
The data was used invisibly in the background as the app clicked buttons on advertising sites.
TCL told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on Secure-D's findings, that it was evaluating security consultants to validate the safety of its apps.
See the full report from Upstream systems: Secure-D uncovers pre-installed suspicious application com.tct.weather on Alcatel Android smartphones manufactured by TCL
Receive a single WhatsApp every morning with all our latest news: click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- This is how much you need to score in matric to get big bursaries from SA’s top universities
- We tried to join Patrice Motsepe’s new TymeBank – and it didn't go well
- From Sasol to Shoprite, these 8 groups still have 2019 university bursaries up for grabs
- These are the top South African unit trusts right now – and the biggest losers
- A major SA retailer is now selling citrus specifically for gin – and people are freaking out
- We compared fuel rewards programmes – and one saves you up to R7 per litre of petrol


text:
GoPro, Inc. has announced the award recipients of its HERO7 Black Million Dollar Challenge and published the crowd-sourced highlight video.
The camera maker in September, at the launch of GoPro’s flagship HERO7 Black camera, GoPro challenged its customers to use the camera to shoot a product highlight video and offered a $1 million-dollar award to be shared by those whose video clips were featured.
The result is a stunning 2-minute video shot entirely by HERO7 Black users from around the world.
The community effort was fueled by over 25,000 submissions from across the globe.
“Previously, our product highlight videos were shot by our in-house media team – expert creators with the know-howto get the perfect shot,” said GoPro founder and CEO, Nick Woodman.”Now that HERO7 Black makes it easy for anyone to capture professional-looking shots during their favorite activities, we decided to challenge our customers to shoot this year’s highlight video and pay them for it. We’re glad we did — they absolutely nailed it.”
The HERO7 Black Million Dollar Challengereceived more than 25,000 unique submissions from around the world. Clips from 56 HERO7 Black users were included in the final video, which features awe-inspiring visuals that showcase the passion and creativity of the GoPro community. Each person included in the Million Dollar Challenge video will be awarded just over $17,500 for their submission.
“This crowd-sourced approach was only made possible by HERO7 Black’s incredible HyperSmooth video stabilization feature,” Woodman says.
Go Pro says the HyperSmooth is the best in-camera video stabilization ever featured in a camera. HyperSmooth delivers gimbal-like performance but without the gimbal, making it easy to capture shake-free video in any environment — on land, underwater, at high speed or in high vibration environments — far beyond the capabilities of a traditional motorized gimbal. Additionally, HERO7 Black’s new TimeWarp feature opens newdoors for creativity by transforming longer experiences, like city walks,scenic drives and ocean dives, into short, magic-carpet-like videos that arecompelling to watch and easy to share. Both HyperSmooth and TimeWarp are featured throughout the highlight video.


text:
Jim Woods, owner of Woods Roofing, in Canton, S.D., remembers when taking on “storm work”—repairing or replacing a roof after a major weather event—was something he avoided. On those occasions when he did take on storm work, he says he felt manipulated by insurance companies and had problems collecting payment. Woods stayed away for all of the reasons that many other companies do: His retail roofing business was not set up for it.
“You can quickly put yourself out of business by not managing the paperwork and money correctly,” says Scott Siegal, president of Maggio Roofing in Takoma Park, Md. After taking on his first storm in 1999, Siegal found that his company was owed “a little over a million dollars because we didn’t know what we were doing and we didn’t know the process.” He made it a point to learn.
Woods didn’t know much about the process either when about five years ago a series of hailstorms struck Canton, population 3,500, where he lives, damaging about half of the homes. More hail soon hit Sioux Falls, S.D., population 150,000, where he does most of his business. “I got 100-and-some roofs overnight,” Woods says. That left him with little choice but to figure out how to manage insurance work.
Storm vs. Retail
Companies that specialize in repair or replacement of roofs damaged by storms will tell you their business is not just replacing a roof, it’s managing the homeowner through the insurance claim and payment process. In some parts of the country—such as the South Central states—that’s all some roofing companies do, because there are that many storms.
“The roof is a huge part of [the insurance companies’] underwriting in this part of the country,” says Scott McCollum, owner of McRoof, in Oklahoma City. More than 95 percent of McCollum's work is insurance-related, and he says that replacing the roof on a house because it’s about to go on the market “is the closest thing to retail you’re going to get” in an area right in the heart of what’s sometimes dubbed Tornado Alley, and at other times The Hail Belt. And hail and tornadoes are only part of it—there are also the 100-plus mph wind storms that generate at least as much damage.
And damage is business: “We are storm restoration specialists,” McCollum says. His company has developed lots of processes over the years to make the storm work business flexible and efficient. That includes, in addition to technical competencies, chapter and verse knowledge of building codes, and on-staff licensed claims adjusters, appraisers, and certified roofing inspectors, things that McCollum says anyone who wants to get into storm restoration had better be know and have.
A retail roofing contractor tempted to do storm work faces a challenge, McCollum says, because he’s used to “having a salesman go out, measure, write an estimate, sign a contract, build the roof, and get paid. That’s not how our world works.”
How it works, he says, is that “we inspect a roof to see if there’s damage to justify filing a claim” and, assuming there is, “meet with an adjustor on that roof to make sure that we get that client compensated at market value for their sustained loss.”
After that? A ton of back-end paperwork to be managed, “arm wrestling over hidden scope” with adjusters, and the “constant struggle” for final payment. It is a business, McCollum says, “with a huge tail on it.” Replacing the roof just gets you started. The complications of insurance work make that occasional retail roof replacement seem easy, he says.
Weather’s New Normal
More roofing contractors may need to learn what Scott McCollum knows. This season’s mega-hurricanes, such as Harvey, which left much of Houston underwater, or Irma, which slashed and battered Florida, and Hurricane Maria, which left Puerto Rico in a shambles without power, will become, in the future, more and more the norm, thanks to warmer oceanic temperatures that spawn bigger, badder hurricanes.
But it’s not just the Gulf Coast that’s facing weather problems. Roofing and siding contractors in the Twin Cities this year have had all the work they can handle, thanks to a hailstorm that pounded that area on June 11. It’s been a bounty of work for Ted Swanson, president of Trinity Exteriors, in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, which specializes in roofing restoration. Positioned at the edge of The Hail Belt rather than in the middle of it, Swanson can’t rely on inclement weather to provide enough insurance jobs. So in 2013 he developed a strategy to expand the retail roofing side of his business. The goal had been to balance storm and retail 50/50 to “round out the peaks and valleys of storm work,” he says. Last year, Trinity Exteriors was at 65 percent storm, 35 percent retail and moving to reach its strategic goal. Given all the work generated by June 11, sales this year will be 80 percent storm, 20 percent retail.
Roofing companies that specialize in storm work but want to grow by adding retail business, Swanson says, have the challenge of generating leads and selling to homeowners who are paying out of their own pockets instead of with insurance money. Swanson himself will not get back to the challenge of building his retail sales until the storm work is wrapped up. The storm has brought the company larger jobs because, unlike many roofing companies, Trinity also does siding, windows, and painting. “The homeowner doesn’t want to hire a roofer, a sider, and a window company,” he says. “They want someone who can do the whole thing.”
Emotion Be Gone
Storms can throw down a challenge to retail roofing companies on the periphery of The Hail Belt, because so many roofs need replacing at once that it becomes now or never. Woods, with 100-plus homeowners on the phone seeking his services, and multiple insurance company adjusters to deal with, called Certified Contractors Network (CCN), a contractor networking group he belongs to. What transpired next was a “crash course” in managing storm work via eight weeks of daily advice on the phone with Scott Siegal, owner and president of CCN.
Woods put together a process that enabled him to successfully manage the work. For one thing, he produced those estimates using Xactimate, a property claims software tool that is the industry standard. He says he also learned to “take the emotion out of it” when adjustors disputed line items in a bid. Claims adjusters are used to contractors who howl in protest over the insurer’s refusal to pay for this or that item, but then shut off the phone and do the work anyway. “You have to learn to negotiate, explain where you’re coming from, and to speak their language,” Woods says.
The effective response, he found, was to patiently explain via email why a particular item was needed. For example, if his proposal included installing a ridge vent, and the insurance company refused to pay on the grounds that the original roof had had no ridge vent, Woods would calmly point out—via email—that code now mandated adequate ventilation, including a ridge vent. Result? His complete bid and price is almost always ultimately approved.
Woods also mastered the payment process, which is longer and more complex than retail. One person in his office handles payments. “We get the invoice done immediately and send it in immediately,” Woods says, “and we make sure that it’s on someone’s desk who’s responsible for reviewing it.”
Getting the right price, getting the scope approved, and collecting, make insurance work profitable. As the weather becomes less stable in more parts of the country, it’s something other contractors might want to start looking into. “You can’t just do a whole bunch of work,” Woods says, “and wonder when the check’s coming in.”


text:
Wales will go into a “short, sharp” national lockdown from Friday until Monday, 9 November.
People will be told to stay at home, while pubs, restaurants, hotels and non-essential shops will shut.
Primary schools will reopen after the half-term break, but only Years 7 and 8 in secondary schools will return at that time under new “firebreak” rules.
Gatherings indoors and outdoors with people not in your household will also be banned.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said the “time-limited ‘firebreak'” will be “a short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock, slow down the virus and buy us more time”.


text:
Though naturally disappointed that a failure in travel logistics prevented Association Member and inspirational former Sky Blue John Hartson taking part personally in the recent Coventry City Former Players Association Golf Day 2012 we were pleased to host the other members of his team representing the ‘John Hartson Foundation’.Pete Hormanschuk (centre right) & JH Foundation Team
The JH team (pictured above) consisting of Andrew Thomas, Les and Rob Laing and their guest FP Peter Hormantshuk nevertheless performed creditably and finished in the top ten. The JH Foundation had previously benefited from several appearances by John in Coventry during last season, including a book signing at the Ricoh as a guest of CCFPA and CCFC promoting his latest book ‘Please Don’t Go -Big John’s Journey Back to Life’ (Mainstream 2010).
When John came to see us last February he donated a number of signed copies of his book to assist CCFPA funds and therefore we took the opportunity of Golf Day to reciprocate. The JH Foundation (www.johnhartsonfoundation.com) aims to promote awareness of male testicular cancer and support for its victims and was set up after John himself overcame the malady and a number of other life threatening complications.
CCFPA committee member Bob Eales and Associate Member Suki Singh were delighted to present the JH Foundation with an exclusive gift from us- some of the signed CCFPA branded wine used at Golf Day (pictured at top). The bottles of wine will be used as auction items for the Foundation’s own fundraising events in the future.
The Association hopes the collaboration between the two bodies will continue and we trust that that it will not be too long before we see John as our guest at a CCFPA event next season!
More on the Coventry City Former Players Association can be found by clicking on http://www.ccfpa.co.uk/


text:
Indian smartphone maker Micromax has reportedly started selling a new budget 4G VoLTE smartphone called the Bharat 2. The company hasn't officially announced the launch but a report suggests that the handset has started selling at brick and mortar stores.
A picure of the retail box shared by Mahesh Telecom reveals that the smartphone features a 4-inch WVGA (480x800) display, a 1.3GHz Speadtrum SC9832 quad-core processor, 512MB of RAM and just 4GB of inbuilt storage with a microSD card slot expansion slot the at supports up to 32GB. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and its USP is support for 4G VoLTE networks including Reliance Jio.
Rest of the features of the Bharat 2 include a 2 MP rear camera with an LED flash, a 0.3 MP front camera for video chatting and taking selfies, a 1,300mAh battery while connectivity feautres include FM radio, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS. The smartphone is said to be selling in gold colour option. The smartphone is said to be selling at Rs 3,499 although the MRP on the box says Rs 3,750.
Micromax had mentioned earlier about the Bharat series smartphone but had not confirmed a timeframe for its launch. It seems that the company is going to silently launch them in the market.
The company recently announced its new flagship smartphone, Dual 5, with a dual camera setup at Rs 24,999 with a bunch of interesting features. The smartphone is scheduled to go on sale around 10 April.
Published Date: Apr 04, 2017 05:55 pm | Updated Date: Apr 04, 2017 05:55 pm


text:
Riccardo Tisci presents his first Burberry campaign for Spring/Summer 2019 collection gathering very different artists and models worldwide
Edited by: Fiammetta Cesana
Eager to express the unique “inclusive power” of the British heritage brand, the new art director has created a campaign enhancing the aesthetic, artistic and cultural diversity of the Queen Elizabeth’s country. Putting together a group of photographers extremely different from each other for technique and creative vision, alongside with a cast of equally varied models, Tisci wanted to underline how the fashion house is able to reach any type of personality, “regardless of their age, their social context, their race, their gender”.
The six photographers who for the first time collaborated with Burberry – Nick Knight, Danko Steiner, Hugo Comte, Colin Dodgson, Peter Langer and Letty Schmiterlow – have created a collection of contrasting, eclectic images, translating the new ideas and codes of the brand ranging from rebel punk to formal classic.
A campaign that celebrates the diversity and the English melting pot, staging as its protagonists: Stella Tennant, Fran Summers, Claudia Lavender, Rianne Von Rompaey, Natalia Vodianova, Irina Shayk, Sora Choi, Anok Yai, Darani, Matteo Ferri e Joe Plunkett.
As already seen in the launch of the new monogram logo, the tribute to the brand’s traditional values continues by highlighting the initials of its founder Thomas Burberry. Within the collection we find the TB bag – one of the first creations designed by Riccardo for Burberry – in a range of different colors and styles, from street style look to elegant ones, including a bum bag and a clutch.
“I thought a lot about my path when I started creating my first collection for Burberry. Since my return to London, 20 years after my newly graduated collection, to where I arrived today. I was also inspired by the way London, the city that made my dream of becoming a fashion designer come true, has evolved. This show is a celebration of the cultures, traditions and codes of this historic brand and of the eclecticism that makes Great Britain wonderfully different” Tisci said.
The Burberry Spring/Summer 2019 collection will be available in boutiques and online from February 2019. Click here to visit the website: Burberry


text:
Mark Medici promoted to president of the Houston Chronicle
Mark Medici, former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Hearst Newspapers, has been promoted to president of the Houston Chronicle. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst; Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst Newspapers; and John McKeon, president of Hearst Texas Newspapers and publisher of the Houston Chronicle.
Medici will report to McKeon and assume responsibility for all business operations. He will retain his group role in overseeing consumer marketing strategy. McKeon remains publisher – with overall responsibility for the Houston Chronicle as well as Hearst's six other daily Texas newspapers, the San Antonio Express-News, Beaumont Enterprise, Laredo Morning Times, Midland Reporter-Telegram, Conroe Courier and Plainview Daily Herald, 30 weekly newspapers and 24 associated digital businesses, including Chron.com, HoustonChronicle.com, mySA.com and ExpressNews.com.
Commenting jointly on the announcement, Johnson and McKeon said: "Mark is an accomplished forward-thinking executive with a passion for the media business. His successful track record during his career and collaborative approach will help ensure the Houston Chronicle continues to be a thriving organization with an exceptional management team."
Medici said:"I am honored to be part of the talented team at the Chronicle and look forward to working with John in my new role. The Chronicle is a pillar in our industry, and in a city like Houston, and a state like Texas, it is essential to have a strong independent news voice. I plan to build upon our strong operating performance and engage with our readers and with the business community to support our mission of providing high quality enterprise storytelling and in-depth investigative reporting."
Medici was named executive vice president and CMO of Hearst Newspapers in June 2018, overseeing the consumer marketing strategy for all Hearst Newspapers across platforms, as well as directly overseeing consumer revenue and marketing for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
He joined Hearst Newspapers from Cox Media Group where he served as vice president of audience and newspaper operations (2011 to 2018). Prior to that, he spent four years at A.H. Belo (2007 to 2011) as vice president of audience for The Dallas Morning News. From 1997 to 2007, Medici worked at Advance Publications as an outside sales representative and later became director of audience for The Oregonian.
Medici holds a bachelor's degree in American History from the University of Washington.
Hearst Newspapers is the operating group responsible for Hearst's newspapers, local digital marketing services businesses and directories. With more than 4,000 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers publishes 24 dailies and 64 weeklies, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union. It also operates digital marketing services and directories businesses under the LocalEdge brand.


text:
Images & Screenshots
Jordan Weisman, the creator of BattleTech and MechWarrior, partners with developer Harebrained Schemes to bring back the acclaimed turn-based strategy BattleTech game series.
Aug 20, 2021 - Game devs of all sizes and scopes respond to the question: "What is a thing in video games that seems simple but is actually extremely hard to make?"
Nov 25, 2019 - The latest expansion, featuring eight new 'Mechs each with unique equipment, a Flashpoint mini-campaign, and eight weapon systems, is available now.
Oct 22, 2019 - One original and seven classic BattleMechs, along with a brand new Flashpoint mini-campaign, will be a part of the Heavy Metal expansion available on November 21, 2019.
Jun 5, 2019 - The second expansion featuring Urban Combat, Electric Warfare, Raven BattleMech, and more, is out now.
Apr 25, 2018 - Exciting strategic decisions and a compelling story are held back by RNG aiming.


text:
- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Tumblr
Bruce Weber, one of fashion’s foremost photographers, has been accused of sexual harassment by male model Jason Boyce in a lawsuit filed Friday in the New York State Supreme Court.
Boyce alleges that Weber pressured him to take off his clothes and touch his own genitals and says that the photographer put the model’s fingers in his mouth during a photo shoot in 2014, reports the New York Post. According to Fashionista, the complaint details how Weber allegedly told Boyce during the shoot, “If you just had confidence, you’d go really far,” and, “How far do you want to make it? How ambitious are you?” Weber also allegedly forced Boyce to kiss him before he left. Boyce was 28, and Weber was 68 at the time.
Boyce “suffered humiliation, emotional anguish and lost economic opportunities, including the end of his modeling career in New York” as a result of Weber’s actions, according to the documents. Boyce moved to California in 2015.
“Mr. Boyce felt intense dread at the thought of a modeling career in an industry where Mr. Weber was considered by many to be a top photographer and primary champion of male models,” according to the suit. “He was worried that he would continue to run into Mr. Weber throughout his career. He experienced anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress.”
Boyce also named his former agent, Jason Kanner of Soul Artist Management, in the lawsuit. The court papers state, “Upon information and belief, Mr. Weber has engaged in similar conduct with other male models referred to him by Mr. Kanner and Soul Artist, and Mr. Kanner and Soul Artist are aware of such conduct.”
Another male model named Daryl Janney seems to allude to having a similar experience in a new book titled Blacklisted, which is described as a “deeply personal memoir about the rapid ascent of Daryl Janney to become one of the top models in the world, working with most of the top photographers, including Bruce Weber, the Godfather of men’s fashion.” The email subject line used for media pitches of the book is this: “Bruce Weber the Harvey Weinstein of Fashion?”
Weber, who has worked for Vogue and Vanity Fair and has been a visual architect for iconic American brands Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, is the latest fashion photographer to be accused of sexual misconduct. Terry Richardson, who’s been accused of sexual harassment and assault for years, was recently banned from working with Conde Nast International titles, following the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Roe V. Wade


text:
In the mid-’70s, stunned into conservation by the Arab oil embargo, the
state of California set efficiency standards for refrigerators that seemed, at
the time, revolutionary: By 1988, the U.S. government followed. Appliance manufacturers
screamed and balked, but the government held firm. Over the decades, the standards
have been continually revised, spurring refrigerator manufacturers to find cheaper,
leaner ways to keep consumers’ perishable goods cold, and the market has thrived.
According to a report by the National Energy Policy Development Group in 2001,
refrigerators now use anywhere from one-quarter to one-third the electricity they
did 30 years ago.
In 2005, as pump prices float over $3 a gallon, as evidence mounts of climate change brought on by carbon emissions, as respiratory illnesses from asthma to cancer rise due to smog-forming vehicle exhaust, the U.S. Congress wrote and the president signed an energy bill free of government-mandated standards for increasing fuel economy and reducing traffic-generated pollution. Once again, Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards were beat down by a powerful lobby of oil producers and auto manufacturers who are well-served by the politicians whose campaigns have benefited from their largess. It is a ritual that has been repeated nearly every year since 1975, when those standards were first drawn up. As a result, Americans now drive millions more cars, burn billions more barrels of fuel and spit millions more tons of toxic chemicals into the air than they have at any point in history. And the auto manufacturers still aren’t happy.CAFE standards were introduced in 1975, when President Gerald Ford answered OPEC’s embargo with a conscientious effort to reduce the U.S. economy’s dependence on foreign oil. They were, at the time, modest and graduating standards: 18 miles per gallon in 1978, 26 in 1982, 27.5 in 1990. Congressional delegates from New York to California have struggled to raise them ever since.Which brings us back to refrigerators: In more than three decades of regulation, no one representing Maytag, Amana or the chlorofluorocarbon industry managed to stand in the way of progress. When the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete The Ozone banned CFCs in 1987, President Reagan was the first world leader to personally approve the measure (perhaps, as one theory goes, because he had suffered from skin cancer). But politicians with their fortunes tied to the oil-and-gas industry, from Montana’s Ron Marlenee in 1991 to Missouri’s Kit Bond in 2005, have successfully beat back earth-saving regulation that might affect the industry’s fortunes, from international treaties against global warming to rules for more efficient cars. And thanks to them, CAFE has essentially been stuck for 20 years.As a mandated standard, CAFE has been neither terribly complex nor unsympathetic to economic progress: It simply rates the weighted average mpg of an auto manufacturer’s entire fleet for a certain class of vehicle: For example, if a company like, say, Rolls-Royce were to produce 10,000 luxury passenger cars burning 15 mpg, it would have to offer for sale an equal number of passenger cars burning at least 40 mpg to meet CAFE’s requirements. If Rolls-Royce fails, it pays a fine.Sometimes that fine is not so bad: European luxury-car makers routinely pay fines of up to $27 million a year with little complaint. But most of the big domestic companies have never paid a penalty. Nor have the Japanese: In 1983, Toyota’s CAFE for passenger cars was 33.3; Honda’s was 36. Interestingly, so was Ford’s. By 2005, however, Ford barely nudged over CAFE’s pathetic limit with a fleetwide average of 28.3 for domestic and imported passenger cars.Ford has been allowed to do much worse, of course, when it comes to CAFE’s other category, light trucks. When the 1975 Energy Policy Act separated such vehicles out from the passenger car, it was a sop to small-business owners, who Republicans claimed could never afford the high-tech vehicles the industry would be forced to produce if strict efficiency standards were passed. Back then, light trucks made up just 20 percent of the vehicles on the street. Now, since automakers have figured out how to tack a passenger car onto the back of a pickup truck and come up with a new class of vehicle, light trucks — in the form of Cadillac Escalades, Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions — account for 50 percent of the vehicles on the road.Unlike passenger cars, light trucks were never subject to government-mandated goals for fuel economy. It was left to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish the “maximum feasible standard,” beginning in 1979. And if passenger-car CAFE standards have risen only moderately, the light-truck fuel-economy standard has barely budged at all: From 1976 to 1979, the standard rose from 17.2 to 20.7. In 2005, NHTSA raised it just a wee three-tenths of a point. By 2007, the NHTSA says, automakers’ light-truck fleets must hit an average fuel economy of 22.2.But after that, all bets are off: In some twisted logic of the boardroom, the NHTSA in 2008 will introduce a new standard based on the weight of each vehicle. Really heavy light trucks will not have to meet the same fuel-economy standards as light light trucks, thereby discouraging automakers from struggling to meet CAFE standards by making smaller cars. This is because, according to the NHTSA’s own studies, 46,000 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents because of smaller and lighter vehicles inspired by CAFE standards. Fuel efficiency equals death. It’s an equation beloved by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the libertarian Cato Institute, but it stupidly omits one factor: In the majority of those fatal crashes, a smaller car was hit by an SUV — often one that rolled over. The NHTSA’s new rule will undoubtedly make it all worse: If it exempts heavier trucks from new fuel-economy standards, automakers will simply make heavier trucks. Were it not for CAFE’s light-truck loophole, however, soccer moms would likely be safely ensconced in station wagons as sleek and efficient as their Energy Star refrigerators.What does CAFE mean for air quality? Cars and light-duty trucks in the
U.S. are responsible for nearly 20 percent of annual U.S. emissions of carbon
dioxide, or 5 percent of global CO2 emissions. (California has passed a law requiring
a 22 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by the year 2012, which the
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and other industry-tied groups are fighting
as hard as they’ve fought every other attempt by California to clean its air.)
Fuel economy matters when it comes to smog-forming compounds, too: Ozone is formed
when nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons hit sunlight, and while the impact of fuel
economy on smog-forming NO2 is downplayed, the Toyota Prius has been designed
in a way that reduces NO2 emissions by a whole order of magnitude. If we all drove
hybrids, nitrogen-fed smog would virtually disappear.
But forget hybrids: At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Automotive Laboratory, professor John Heywood has provided a comprehensive directory of technological fixes that could increase fuel efficiency in cars and trucks — not with hydrogen, not with electrical components, not even with hybrid technology, but with improvements to reduce friction and maximize efficiency in the plain old internal-combustion engine. Follow his rules, and we could all be driving 40-mpg SUVs, contributing far less to ozone-forming and climate-warming emissions.It’s enough to render all arguments against higher CAFE standards — and closing the SUV loophole — moot: Contrary to the bleating protests coming out of the auto industry, better fuel efficiency costs little. Unlike an increase in the gas tax, it does not disproportionately target poor and lower-middle-class drivers — who, in public-transportation-starved and natural-disaster-prone U.S. cities, may consider cars a necessity for survival. And it requires no great technological leaps: Henry Ford’s original Model T, after all, got 25 miles to the gallon. Back in those days, the 200 refrigerators on the market kept perishable goods cool with the help of gas so toxic it could kill those pioneering consumers if it leaked out into their kitchens. Surely the auto industry can do better than Frigidaire.
In the mid-’70s, stunned into conservation by the Arab oil embargo, the


text:
Brighton & Hove City Council has expressed anger and frustration at the government’s refusal to adapt its funding rules and allow local businesses to benefit from around £11m of desperately needed financial support.
The £11m is money the council has already been given by the government to allocate to local businesses.
Back in April the government gave the council £83m to distribute to local businesses. They then asked us to distribute £73m of it in small business grants based on a strict funding formula.
Due to business closures and other factors around eligibility the council was only able to allocate around £68m.
The council has also given out around £3.7m in discretionary grants to more than 300 local small businesses.
However, inflexible government rules are now stopping the council from allocating the remaining £11m through more discretionary grants.
Demand for these vastly outstripped the money available. Over 900 small businesses applied, leaving more than 600 seeking grants amounting to £7m.
Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said:
“Essentially, we have learned that the Government will not allow councils like ours to redistribute unspent parts of the grant designed to support local businesses. This is money that could be used to reinvest in local businesses who need it.
“We are desperate to give out the other £11m to support businesses in our city at this difficult time – yet we are being asked to hand this funding back.
“We know from the many local businesses who have been in touch that they are very frustrated by this. We thank local businesses for their feedback. So many have also expressed their understanding that Covid-19 pressures means the council cannot cover these costs alone through its own budgets.
“We will continue to lobby the government to think again about this, and to help us give our businesses the support they so desperately need.
“Being able to use money already allocated for this seems a common-sense approach, when we know so many businesses are in need of financial assistance.”
The leader of the council’s Labour Group, Councillor Nancy Platts, said:
“According to the Local Government Association, across the country more than a billion pounds of emergency Covid-19 funding that was announced to support businesses will not be used to support businesses after all.
“Jobs and livelihoods must always come first. People have put their heart and souls into their businesses, they have invested their own time and money to contribute to the local economy.
“And now more than 600 businesses in Brighton & Hove are being let down by the Government.”
Among the 20 local business organisations supporting the call for the government to take urgent action are: the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership; the Federation of Small Businesses; Wired Sussex and the Brighton Restaurant Association.


text:
Girl Scout cookies are branching out again, this time in the form of yogurt.
Yoplait is launching three new flavors inspired by the popular treats. They are Thin Mints, Caramel Coconut and Peanut Butter Chocolate.
Related Content: Girl Scouts of Connecticut honors women leaders in the workplace
The varieties are said to be gluten-free and contain no high fructose corn syrup.
Yoplait says all three varieties will be available at stores nationwide beginning this month and they should be available year round.


text:
They're big, beautiful, and ranked from 1 to 50.
News & Analysis: Unilever
Which of these consumer-products giants is a better bet today?
Four factors are currently crimping the organization's pricing strategy.
The consumer goods giant demonstrated its ability to quickly to ramp up value last year.
Investors should consider buying shares in these two companies that also supply food and drink.
Tiny, vibrant packaged-foods brands, often extremely young, have drawn the attention of multinational consumer goods conglomerates. Why acquisitions will intensify in 2018.
The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate will sell its spreads business to private equity firm KKR. It's a favorable deal for shareholders.
Unilever will take over the Tazo tea brand from Starbucks, in a sale that looks advantageous for both parties.
Find out why some of the biggest names on Wall Street lost ground.
A ferocious fight over a board seat appears to have settled in P&G's favor by the slightest of margins. There's much the company can learn from the struggle.


text:
Sanui Orimino Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of the local-traditional Hakata-ori textiles in Fukuoka, is distributing free masks to local people. The company is showing its support for Fukuoka residents amidst a shortage of surgical masks due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Sanui Orimono has developed a reusable mask covered with an elegant piece of Hakata-ori. The company has already distributed 480 masks at two locations in Fukuoka City on March 21, attracting crowds. Source & Photo: Sanui 2020/03/24
Distribution Schedule for 3/24 (Tue.)
Sanui Orimono Hakata Ming Shop (300 pieces)
14:00~ *Numbered tickets will be distributed /15:00~16:00 Pick up
Hakata-ori Kogeikan (150 pieces) 11:00~
Disclaimer: Fukuoka Now posts summaries of Kyushu area related news for the benefit of those who cannot read Japanese. Contents posted here are mostly summaries of publicly posted news stories from Japanese media organizations. Errors might occur during translation. Those errors are ours, and not the news source’s. Photos and images are sourced separately and are for illustrative purposes only. Please use this form to send feedback and questions.


text:
Not wanting to be left out of the vast range of developers that have pledged support towards Samsung’s Gear VR smartphone-based virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) today, indie developer Ghost Machine has confirmed that it will be bringing its upcoming slate of titles to the device. The includes the Oculus Rift-bound racing title Motorsport Revolution and flight simulator Final Burn.
Both titles are currently available in pre-release form. The developer also suggested that its other titles will be coming to the platform, meaning it could we release motorbike racer SuperBike TT, Zombie Taxi Apocalypse and all other future experiences on the device. For now, these initial two titles are simply described as ‘on the horizon’ for the Gear VR release, with no mention of more specific release dates.
“As soon as we heard of the partnership between VR pioneers Oculus and the mobile hardware leader Samsung, we’ve been planning and designing optimized VR experiences with the mobile market in mind”, said Ghost Machine CEO Neal Nellans. “The ability to (potentially) reach an entirely different audience that can experience VR is a truly exciting opportunity”,
Gear VR is compatible with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. The device boasts a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display. A range of other developers revealed support for the device today, with many more still looking hopeful. VRFocus will continue to report on any and all titles for Gear VR, reporting back with any further updates.


text:
Insider: Liberty City will be added to GTA Online
Insider Matheusvictorbr-, who specializes in Rockstar Games projects, said that players should expect a big update for GTA Online. According to him, the new DLC will expand the game's map and add Liberty City to it. He believes that the expansion is already in development and we will get more information soon.
It is unlikely that Rockstar Games will take on such a large-scale project. Supposedly the big summer DLC will be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S players, because the developers are focused on supporting only GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced.


text:
After a missed year, AAPEX 2021 will be an industry homecoming, reconnecting business partners and peers in the automotive aftermarket, while continuing to be the premier event for innovative products, emerging technology and technical and business management training.
This year’s event will include the new Repair Shop HQ on Level 1, an area dedicated to meeting the needs of service professionals. It will feature Joe’s Garage, a built-out shop on the show floor with eight bays for training and live demos; a new Tire section; four new training theaters; and a Diagnostics/Telematics area. As part of this addition, the expanded Tool and Equipment section and the Mobile Heat Transfer/ Heating/Air Conditioning section will relocate to Level 1.
On Level 2, attendees will be introduced to Automotive Aftermarket Central, a showcase of products for service and repair professionals, retailers and warehouse distributors to meet customer demand and keep cars on the road.
Online attendee registration is $40 (U.S.) through Oct. 8. The fee for registering by fax or mail is $65 (U.S.) through Oct. 8. Beginning Oct. 9, online and onsite registration will be $90 (U.S.), and $115 (U.S.) for fax or mail registrations. With AAPEX registration, buyers also can visit the SEMA Show taking place the same week in Las Vegas. To register, visit the AAPEX website at aapexshow.com.
AAPEX represents the more than $2 trillion global automotive aftermarket industry. Historically, AAPEX features approximately 2,500 exhibiting companies displaying their latest products, services and technologies that keep the world’s 1.4 billion vehicles on the road.


text:
|Day Low/High||1,259.81 / 1,274.00|
|52 Wk Low/High||977.66 / 1,291.44|
The online travel giant's post-earnings selloff has left it trading it pretty reasonable multiples. And the company still has some valuable growth drivers and competitive strengths.
Cash is a lazy asset, but the genesis of Berkshire's underperformance has been choosing the wrong investments.
The GPU giant just launched a new mid-range product that has done well in reviews. And it might be prepping a new high-end offering.
The IT hardware giant beat EPS estimates with the help of margin growth and buybacks. But revenue fell short amid lower server and IT services sales.
Spending on online ads is still growing at a healthy double-digit clip. Google, Facebook and Amazon will benefit, as should some smaller players.
* FANG reverses lower midday I grew up reading in Mad Magazine, so here (FANGS reversal) is a scene I want to see. Obviously someone just dumped FANG with leading the way and following in the wake. I did not see any news but it's ugly: * AMZN hit an...
Market players are still looking to put capital to work and are focusing more on sectors and individual stocks than straight index plays.
A shortened week still brings key economic numbers and earnings results.
How many streaming services do we really need?
Recent game reviews bode well for Nvidia's second-half gaming GPU sales, while heavy data center spending by cloud giants bodes well for its server GPU sales.
Investors had better be ready for new types of combinations between automotive and tech companies.
The race for AVs can be divided into two acronyms - ADAS and MaaS - and MaaS is an enormous potential market for global companies.
There's going to be a storm of deals and the market will not be able to handle it without taking the whole table lower.
The tech giant's new cloud chief promises his unit will invest heavily in 2019. Separately, a new report says that Google is prepping a cheaper Pixel phone.
Nvidia and Coca-Cola are just two names set to report. Here's what to key in on.
* Tops are processes and we may be have been in that continued process over the last 12 months * I see growing evidence that an important market top may have been reached in late January, 2018 and, again in September, 2018 (Points A and C above?) * ...
Yesterday was a good day for the skeptics. * As I suggested in "Who's Next? Probably No One!", bank stocks faltered after the announcement of a merger of equals between SunTrust and BB&T . Indeed, bank stocks were some of Thursday's worst performers...
Analysts need to recognize this shift in the banking markets.
I won't lose money for my clients by buying stocks in companies that are facing lower margins.
Recent disses in Alphabet and Disney continue to pay off. I live at $1,020-$1,040 as an Alphabet buyer.
Disney's deep slate of releases serves to bid bulls welcome later in 2019.
Subsequent to their earnings releases, I have made cautionary remarks about the near term price outlook for the share price of Alphabet and Disney . Both are faring poorly today. I would not be bottom fishing in either.
The Shanghai-based company received a $317 million investment from Tencent in 2018 and recently added a business collaboration with Taobao Marketplace.
This quarter will be known as the quarter where you had to pay the piper to get sales and the piper happens most often to be Alphabet's Google.
Three groups of buyers are driving Apple stock higher.
Now that these names are well off their highs, and the risks presented by their respective earnings reports are squarely in the rear-view mirror, let's look at the charts.
The selloff in Alphabet presents opportunity, and I think this cash machine is ripe for a small long position.
* Amazon and Google spent more than the consensus expected * Disney may follow tonite with the same larger than anticipated spend Amazon led the hit parade of higher expenses last week and its share price suffered. Last night, Alphabet/Google (value...
Alphabet's investors' call highlighted the challenges that the digital retail and tech giants are facing, right now. They can't seem to please anyone.


text:
Kaiserswerther Str. 115
40880 Ratingen, de
EFI Innovations at SGIA Expo Fuel New Opportunities for Printing Companies
Orlando show marks the debut of EFI's first dedicated roll-to-roll LED printer
"Our SGIA exhibit highlights the new opportunities customers have to expand their media options, remove process steps, reduce operating costs and produce higher-margin jobs," said Scott Schinlever, senior vice president and general manager of EFI's Inkjet Solutions. "With the new VUTEk GS3250lxr Pro, we are extending the benefits they get with our LED curing technology - a proven, green technology that saves many of our customers money by reducing their consumables waste and energy consumption. This technology also provides higher uptime with greater reliability because it uses no traditional heat in the curing process."
With the launch of the VUTEk GS3250lxr Pro, EFI - a winner of SGIA's 2013 Sustainability Recognition Award - now has the industry's largest fleet of environmentally friendly LED inkjet production offerings. VUTEk LED printers are also part of the industry's broadest portfolio of digital inkjet and print workflow products. EFI's portfolio is a collective offering that features narrow web, wide format and superwide format printers; market-leading MIS, ERP and web-to-print systems; and EFI Fiery®, the world's most popular colour digital front end (DFE) platform.
At the SGIA Expo, EFI is also announcing commercial availability for its VUTEk GS Pro-TF thermoforming system, a UV printer and ink combination that advances the industry's analogue-to-digital transformation by bringing inkjet printing to the thermoformed product decoration market. Printing firm Interstate Graphics Inc., Machesney Park, Ill., is the first business to use the technology, following the October installation of a 2-metre VUTEk GS2000 Pro-TF printer operating VUTEk GS-TF inks.
"Today, we do screen printing for customers who want thermoformed work," said Interstate Graphics President John Norwood. "Our new EFI VUTEk GS2000 Pro-TF is an option for them to go digital."
Additional EFI technologies on display at the SGIA Expo include:
- The EFI VUTEk HS100 Pro, a high-end, high-speed 3.2-metre inkjet press with new, full-automation material handling options that provide greater efficiency in the transition from analogue to digital printing.
- The EFI VUTEk GS3250lx Pro, a 3.2-metre, premium-quality printer that offers LED's green, energy-saving benefits in a hybrid roll/flatbed format.
- The EFI VUTEk QS2 Pro, a 2-metre, UV hybrid printer that combines variable-drop grayscale printing and white ink print capabilities with VUTEk production speeds.
- A pair of EFI Wide Format high-value, entry-level products - the EFI R3225 UV roll-to-roll printer and the EFI H652 UV hybrid roll/flatbed printer.
- The EFI Fiery proServer, a high-performance digital front end and colour management workflow offering for VUTEk printers.
- EFI Metrix planning and impositioning software, a product EFI obtained in its recent acquisition of Metrix Software.
- Industry-leading workflow products, including EFI PrintSmith™ Vision and Pace™print MIS software, and EFI Digital StoreFront® web-to-print software.
- EFI SmartSign Analytics, a powerful new tool that gives users the ability to analyse the effectiveness of their signage engagements.
Extending 'cool cure' LED benefits in dedicated roll-to-roll production
There are now more than 115 production-class EFI VUTEk LED printers installed worldwide, and a growing number of printing companies are winning in the marketplace by using the technology to produce new applications and create high-value revenue streams. The roll-to-roll format of the newest VUTEk LED printer addresses print buyers' emerging needs for greener production and lighter media options that can reduce their carbon footprint.
With EFI's LED technology, printing companies can obtain excellent quality on lightweight and thin roll substrates that cannot withstand the heat of traditional drying or UV curing processes. An optional chiller for the printer extends the range of compatible media even further for users looking to develop entirely new digital printing applications.
The six-colour VUTEk GS3250lxr Pro is ideal for the production of fleet and vehicle graphics that withstand stretching and pre- and post-heating without cracking on rivets and convex curves. EFI and 3M are collaborating on testing and evaluation to formalise a 3M™ MCS™ Warranty offering for output from the printer using certified media and new EFI VUTEk GSlxr 3M™ SuperFlex UV Ink.
"The expanded capabilities customers gain with LED, and the range of innovation we are showing across our portfolio, reflect EFI's commitment to fuelling our customers' success," said EFI's Schinlever. "The print and workflow innovations EFI is bringing to the SGIA Expo can create high-ROI opportunities for printing companies while giving them more power to streamline production and win new business."
EFI in partner booths
Several of EFI's partners will also be exhibiting EFI Wide Format and VUTEk printers at the SGIA Expo. In booth 2811, Hilord Chemical Corp. will exhibit the EFI VUTEk TX3250r, a 3.2-metre dye-sublimation fabric printer that combines industrial productivity, high-quality output and application versatility needs of the growing soft signage and digital textile market. Nazdar's exhibit, in booth 854, will feature the EFI H652 printer. And, in booth 2816, Xpedx will showcase the EFI H652 and the EFI VUTEk GS2000, a 2-metre hybrid UV printer with eight colours, plus white, that delivers superior, photorealistic quality at production-level speeds.
The exhibits in the EFI booth and in partner booths will collectively represent one of the most expansive displays of inkjet technology at the tradeshow, with 11 EFI Wide-Format and VUTEk printers presented on the show floor.
EFI's exhibit is in booth 2601 at the SGIA Expo, which takes place October 23-25 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. In addition, EFI Metrix software will be on display in booth 462.
EFI supports National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with "Pinkjet"
To help raise awareness and support for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, EFI has created a "Pinkjet" campaign supporting cancer charities for the SGIA Expo. During the tradeshow, EFI is donating $1 for every Twitter retweet, Facebook like or share associated with the campaign, and $10 for every photo shared with EFI via Twitter or Facebook using both the #EFIeverywhere and #Pinkjet hashtags. Additionally, EFI will donate $1,000 for printers signed at SGIA and shipped by November 30, for a total donation of up to $25,000 toward breast cancer research.
For more information about EFI products and services, visit www.efi.com
The use of information published here for personal information and editorial processing is generally free of charge. Please clarify any copyright issues with the stated publisher before further use. In the event of publication, please send a specimen copy to email@example.com.


text:
Samsung Galaxy SIII: Designed for Humans
Samsung kicked off the live event at Earl’s Court UK with the finesse and elegance, that we are all accustomed to, knowing its a Samsung event. The event’s main attraction was none other than the most awaited smartphone of 2012 (Drum roll please), the Samsung Galaxy SIII. There were a lot of jaw dropped faces to been seen at the event, the first time the audience laid eyes on the next gen smartphone.
As we all know the smartphone market moves on once more, with the hi-tech voice-controlled Galaxy S3 likely to become a standard-bearer for Google’s Android operating system and another device that would surely give Apple a run for its money.
The phone’s most innovative feature is built-in face-tracking and voice control allowing, Samsung claims for a more ‘natural’ control system. Other innovations include what Samsung claims is a ‘more intelligent’ screen timeout system, called “Smart Stay” with the help of the front facing camera the phone sees the user “looking” at the screen it will not turn off the screen as long as the user is looking at the phone, very helpful when reading a long email or watching a movie.
The voice control system is called S Voice and allows access to weather forecasts, web searches and scheduling, similar to iPhone’s Siri system. Saying ‘I want to take a picture’ launches the camera application and will work in eight languages at launch. S Voice can also reply out loud which Samsung claims will allow the system to be used while driving.
Available in blue and white, the phone will be launched at the end of May, starting in Europe, with other regions following.
Samsung played on its expertise in screens with a large 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen far bigger than Apple’s iPhone, and close in size to the smaller end of the tablet market.
It is powered by a quad-core processor similar to the ones found in many laptops, and far more powerful than the dual core found in the iPhone. The long list of new features also entails the “Direct Call” feature, with the help of the motion sensors when you place the phone near your ear the phone automatically calls the person who you are currently texting.
The phone also includes an NFC chip (near-field-communications) allowing users to share content such as video by tapping phones together through a new innovative feature known as the S Beam; and (here’s the part which excited me the most) if you are sick of wires, a separate wireless charging kit means you can charge your phone without hooking it up to the socket.
Not only this but it also uses the All Share technology to new heights with its two new features “All Share Play” and “All Share Cast”. The latter lets you view pictures, videos even games on a big screen, making your phone as a controller. All Share Play on the other hand lets your share and access documents anywhere in the world.
Samsung pointed out that while the screen is 22 per cent larger than the previous S2, the ‘bezel’ around it has been slimmed down, so that the gadget is barely bigger than its predecessor. The gadget will launch on May 29 in Europe, and in 10 other cities worldwide including Tokyo and Dubai. The gadget also has some features clearly aimed at the business market once dominated by BlackBerry.
On-device encryption will allow secure emails working within business networks – catering for the new trend for businesses allowing employees to ‘bring their own’ smartphones rather than using company phones. The NFC chip will also be used for tap-to-pay mobile payments, in partnership with Visa, with a ‘virtual wallet’ on the device making payment simple.
The phone is also armed with a battery claimed to last longer than other devices despite a form factor which is 8.6mm thin and 133g in weight. The phone has an eight megapixel camera -on a par with both iPhone 4S and the previous Galaxy S2.
The device was presented by Samsung president JK Shin, who said: ‘There were a lot of rumours and speculation – some were right, and some were wrong. ‘The Galaxy S3 is the best-in-class smartphone in the world.’
The phone was shown off by The Gadget Show’s Suzi Perry at a high-profile event at London’s Earls Court exhibition centre – a large, clearly expensive stage show that had a distinct resemblance to Apple’s well-choreographed showings for new iPhones and iPads.
‘This is the biggest launch event of the year,’ said Perry.
Samsung is also to launch a range of pop-up shops which will show off the handset around Europe – announcing this in a way reminiscent of Steve Job’s traditional, ‘One last thing,’ at their product launches.
A new feature called ‘Pop up Play’ enables multitasking – so that you can, for instance, put a video in a window on screen, then use other apps with the rest of the screen. This sort of feature was previously the province of Windows or Mac machines, rather than phones.
The camera can also burst-shoot at speeds of up to 20 frames per second – faster than many pro-grade cameras.
The camera also automatically zooms in on faces by double-tapping the screen and a ‘best-photo’ mode that takes 8 burst photos and auto-selects the best out of the burst.
The phone’s front camera can also shoot in HD – still rare in smartphones – and take still images at the same time.
Sharing photos with friends is also speeded up by face-recognition technology – which offers to ‘share’ photos with any friends detected in a photo using hi-tech face recognition, sharing either by text message or email, with a bubble popping up over each person’s face with the option to send the photo to them, this feature is called “Buddy Photo Share”
The S3 also contains voice controls – which brings it up to speed with the iPhone’s Siri – but users may be wondering if it will be another secondary feature which is hardly ever used (is it not ?) . Despite the fun of Apple’s Siri, most users prefer traditional controls over speaking to their phone, and the feature which launched the iPhone 4s is not used my many users. Additional accessories include a desktop dock , a flip cover, All Share Dongle and S pebble.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be heavily promoted with a worldwide advertising campaign starting this week. Samsung is now the biggest phone manufacturer in the world, and for this launch they took a page out of Apple’s marketing guide and kept everything hush-hush. Even Samsung’s invite to journalists and enthusiasts for the launch in Earl’s Court, London, played it quiet – simply inviting people to ‘come and meet the next Galaxy’. Samsung have again out done themselves, now its up to the public who has to be the judge for choosing the Galaxy SIII as Samsung’s flagship phone of the year, though we all know Samsung is not stopping here, with the launch of the LTE version of the phone will be unveiled at one of the US tours. Nobody knows at this point what is NEXT on Samsung’s agenda, but we sure do know for a fact that whatever it is it will surely be unforgettable.
Network 2.5g (gsm/ gprs/ edge): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 mhz 3G (hspa＋ 21mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 mhz 4G (dependent on market)
Display 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) display
Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.55 mm
Processor: Exynos 4 Quad (1.4GHz)
Storage: 16/32/64GB depending on model, plus expandable MicroSD card
OS: Android 4.0.4 (Ice cream sandwich)
Battery: 2,100mAh (wireless charging optional extra)
Camera main(rear): 8 mega pixel auto focus camera with flash & zero shutter lag,
sub (front): 1.9 mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with zero shutter lag,
Video codec: mpeg4, h.264, h.263, divx, divx3.11, vc-1, vp8,
wmv7/8, sorenson spark recording & playback: full HD (1080p)
Audio codec: mp3, amr-nb/wb, aac/aac＋/eaac＋, wma, ogg, flac, ac-3, apt-x
Additional Features S beam, buddy photo share, share shot allshare play, allshare cast smart stay, social tag, group tag, face zoom, face slide, show direct call, smart alert, tap to top, camera quick access, pop up play, S voice, burst shot.
Colour: Pebble blue or marble white
Cloud storage: 50GB Dropbox for two years


text:
KIN the cryptocurrency from the startup unicorn Kik is set to launch their new “Kinit” app this week as a beta on the Android store.
Kinit is an app that allows users to earn and spend cryptocurrency by completing surveys in the app.
Earlier this year Kik announced they had partnered with Blackhawk Giftcards to offer users the ability to redeem their KIN directly for gift cards at major stores like Amazon, AirBnB, Netflix and Uber.
The team announced that Kinit was set to launch in beta “the week of July 16th.”
Last week, the app was leaked on the Google Play store for roughly two hours before the Kik team swiftly took the app back down again.
During the time the app was live, users noted that $5 gift cards were being sold for 500 KIN in the app, but, that users weren’t yet able to send their KIN from the Ethereum blockchain to the app and could only redeem KIN they earned while performing surveys.
Given that KIN is currently trading at $0.000152, but, the app demo was redeeming KIN at a price of $0.01 it’s clear that interesting times wait ahead for the KIN cryptocurrency.
Speculation is rampant on both sides, with many users thinking that the price of KIN will rise to meet the in-app price, while bears think that the model is ultimately unsustainable.
Either way, this insider scoop is one worth exploring before Kinit’s big launch!
Coincheckup’s “Insider News Team” helps to monitor and report on the latest insights in the crypto space. Our newsletter subscribers get insider news 1-2 days before it appears on our blog.
Sign-up to the Coincheckup newsletter and make sure you never miss the inside scoop!


text:
Central Banking is Based on Deception
"This week, as the Fed came through with its highly anticipated pause, it conspicuously left the door open to future rate hikes. Apparently the rhetorical vigilance took most currency traders by surprise, sending many scrambling to buy dollars. However, given that any weaker statement would have caused a stampede out of the dollar, how surprising should the tough talk have been? Any indication that this was not a "wait and see" pause would have sent both long-term interest rates and consumer prices up, undermining the “benefits” of the pause. So in an apparent attempt to have its cake and eat it too, the Fed “paused” while pretending that it really had not done so.
The Fed’s claim that it is concerned about inflation, and that it will act decisively to contain it, is just a bluff. Any real commitment would have prompted the Fed to have already raised rates much higher. For the Fed to suggest that it stands ready to raise rates in the future, if the data warrants it, completely misses the point that the data warrants it right now!
The flawed CPI is nonetheless a lagging indicator of inflation. There is so much inflation already in the pipeline that its effect on consumer prices will be seen for years to come. For now, the Fed’s private concern is to keep the markets from understanding just how bad inflation already is, and how little resolve it actually has to do anything to contain it....
...My guess is that the Fed will continue to ignore evidence of worsening inflation, using growing signs of a weakening economy as cover for its complacency. All the while it will continue to brag about its “vigilance” and commitment to hiking rates further should inflation become a threat."
In other words, the Fed is certainly not serious about "fighting inflation", but it wishes to fool everyone that it is, as the benefits for the central bank is the highest when inflationary expectations are low.
In The Economist's analysis of the Fed decision in its latest issue (not available online for non-subscribers) a similar point was made. Namely that all leading indicators for consumer price inflation in the short and medium term points to continued high or even higher inflation than today, with the exception of one indicator, namely inflationary expectations which remains strangely low considering the Fed's dismal track record in "fighting inflation". This indicates that the Fed have been successful in its deception. How long will the Fed be able to fool the public with its fake "inflation fighting"? Maybe not forever, but the fact that the ECB is widely considered to be hawkish despite consistently letting consumer price inflation stay above 2% they may just get away with fooling the public for some time longer.


text:
Omnicom and Home Depot shareholders are investigating the companies’ ad buying policies on social platforms. Both filed resolutions asking the companies to provide third-party reports that prove they don’t contribute to “violations of civil or human rights."
Team One awarded its 2020 Legacy Lab Foundation Scholarship to Gianna White, a sustainable urban environments undergraduate at New York University.
On the move
Publicis Groupe’s chief diversity officer Ronnie Dickerson Stewart left the agency after less than a year. He will be replaced by chief inclusion experience officer, Renetta McCann.
Walmart’s e-commerce chief and Jet.com founder Marc Lore is leaving the retail giant at the end of January.
Snap promoted VP of partnerships Ben Schwerin to the new role of SVP of content and partnerships. Chief strategy officer Jared Grusd, who previously oversaw content, will become a strategic adviser to CEO Evan Spiegel.
The Trade Desk named its EVP of global data and strategy, Michelle Hulst, COO.
MRM named Harsh Kapadia EVP, chief creative officer for MRM New York and Princeton, and Stewart Krull as ECD, MRM Princeton.
Lippincott tapped WeWork’s former SVP Mick McConnell and Prophet associate partner Brian Rosenberg as partners in New York.
Birdie appointed former SharkNinja global marketing VP Fernando Wey as its CMO. And SPIN Magazine appointed Mark Stroman as CMO chief marketing officer.
Hunt Adkins tapped Shanna Apitz as its new president and CCO.
Publicis Sapient consulting executive Jaspreet Singh joined Bounteous in a new role: chief strategy and insights officer.
David & Goliath appointed Blake Winfree as chief of social impact and promoted D&G veteran Ben Purcell to CCO.
Jellyfish hired Omnicom vet Tom Roach as VP of brand planning.
180 opened offices in New York, Dubai and Doha, led by global CEO Sander Volten and global chairman and CCO Al Moseley.
Former mitú creative lead Annie Leal joined H Code as head of content.
Global creative collective Thinkingbox hired Helen Androlia as strategy director.
Centro appointed Clayton Kossl as CFO chief financial officer and Christian Hendricks to the board of directors.
Acast hired Elli Dimitroulakos to expand programmatic podcast advertising in the Americas.
Criteo appointed Jon Kaiser as global VP of agency business development and partnerships, Rory Mitchell as executive managing director, Americas, Joe Stevens as chief information security officer and Ingmar Zach as SVP of product.
In the Media
Despite surging overall in 2020, time spent with ad-supported media hit an all-time low, according to PQ Media.
Spotify stock dropped more than 6.5% in response to criticism by Citi analysts over its podcasting strategy, which they believe hasn’t shown “any material benefit” after hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment. Apple, the de facto podcast giant, is also exploring a paid audio subscription service.
Nielsen can now measure theatrical video on-demand viewing in response to movie theatres shutting down amid the pandemic. That’s probably going to be necessary, as films slated for releases in March and April, including “Cinderella” and “No Time To Die,” have been postponed yet again.
StitcherAds was named an official Pinterest partner.
Forbes is leaning into the newsletter craze with a new platform for journalists to launch their own newsletters and split revenue with the publication, Axios scooped. Speaking of newsletters, Substack writers are starting to incorporate ads into theirs.
Fertility app Flo Health settled with the FTC over allegations of data privacy violations. The app must now inform users when their information is shared for advertising purposes, and undergo an independent review of its privacy practices.
Amazon is facing a new lawsuit over a book deal between five publishers that allegedly drive up e-book prices.
SpotX joined The Trade Desk’s Unified ID 2.0 consortium, an open source initiative that protects consumer privacy and transparency without third-party cookies.
Parler is back online with the help of . Russian-owned tech firm DDoS-Guard, which provided Parler with a new internet protocol address with a message promising to return soon.
Google announced that it closed its $2.1 billion acquisition of FitBit after an antitrust investigation, but the DOJ still hasn’t formally approved the merger.
Speaking of Google, its data clean room Ads Data Hub was accredited by the Media Rating Council. YouTube will officially phase out third-party pixels and require brands to use Ads Data Hub for measurement..
iSpot acquired analytics company Ace Metrix to track brand impact of TV and video advertising.
Viant filed its S-1 with the US SEC, formalizing plans to go public. .
Mobile ad tech company Pocketmath shut down after facing allegations over unpaid bills, per Business Insider.
Adthena acquired Kantar's paid search intelligence business, formerly AdGooroo. Simpli.fi acquired Advantage Software Company, which helps agencies streamline their workflows using automation, and Cannabis marketing startup Fyllo bought DataOwl, expanding its ad marketplace for highly regulated industries.
Killi, a global leader in data and consumer privacy, partnered with Retargetly to distribute verified data for more comprehensive user profiles.
Coca-Cola sold its Zico Coconut Water brand to PowerPlant Ventures months after revealing plans to discontinue.
Potatoes are back at Taco Bell with two discontinued menu items: Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and the Spicy Potato Soft Taco.
Washington State enlisted the help of big companies like Costco, Starbucks and Microsoft for help with the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
LeBron James is signing an endorsement deal with Pepsi after an 18-year run with Coca-Cola.
Chipotle introduced the Shawn Mendes Bowl to its menu for a two-week run in the United States and Canada. $1 from each bowl sold will go to the singer's charity supporting young changemakers.
Apple launched a new $100 million initiative to promote racial equality for people of color with a focus on “education, economic equality, and criminal justice reform.”


text:
Correction: San Diego pharmacy crackdown called a hoax
[For the Record, 10:50 a.m. July 31: An earlier version of this post was based on erroneous information from two phony news releases, which were apparently part of a hoax, according to U.S. Atty. Laura Duffy.
"This office did not issue those press releases. We are looking into the source of the emails," Duffy said in a statement.
Additional information can be found at L.A. Now.]
Here are the original post and headline:
20 San Diego pharmacies targeted by feds in drug sales crackdown
Twenty pharmacies in San Diego suspected of unusually high rates of drug sales are being targeted for a variety of enforcement actions, U.S. attorney Laura Duffy announced Tuesday.
The pharmacies, including some owned by major chains, are in the La Jolla, Carmel Valley and Pacific Beach areas of San Diego, Duffy said.
The enforcement actions will include civil forfeiture lawsuits, warning letters to pharmacy owners and criminal charges. Some will be given 45 days to shut down or face harsher penalties, Duffy said. The specific pharmacies are expected to be announced later Tuesday.
The pharmacies "are part of a pervasive for-profit industry that facilitates the distribution of drugs for illegitimate use," Duffy said in a prepared statement.
Other pharmacies may be included later, officials said.
Duffy said she hopes the action by her office becomes a model for other U.S. attorney offices.
"Prosecutorial discretion means I decide how and when to enforce laws," she said.
-- Tony Perry in San Diego


text:
Baxter Loses $124M in 3Q
DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ Baxter International Inc. reported a $124 million third-quarter loss Thursday because of previously announced charges to cover litigation and the cost of abandoning work on its artificial blood product.
The loss, which translates to 43 cents per diluted share, compares with earnings of $159 million, or 56 cents a diluted share, during the third quarter of 1997.
Special charges aside, the leading medical technology company had an 11 percent growth in profits for the period ended Sept. 30. Before charges, Baxter earned $177 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, compared with $159 million, or 56 cents per share.
Revenues increased by 10 percent to $1.65 billion.
Baxter’s shares were off $7.87 1/2, or 12 percent, to $57 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said sales were particularly strong in blood therapies, especially for its genetically engineered blood clotting factor for people with hemophilia.
Sales also were strong for dialysis products and services for treating kidney disease, its tissue heart valves and repair products, its electronic intravenous infusion pump and anesthetic products.
The company took $309 million charges for the quarter, largely for abandoning its HemAssist artificial blood and to set aside money for lawsuits over hemophiliac and intravenous blood therapies and breast implants.
For the nine-month period, Baxter earned $103 million, compared with $118 million a year earlier.
Excluding the charges and special research and development costs, Baxter’s net income rose 11 percent for the nine months to $520 million from $470 million, while earnings per diluted share increased to $1.81, up from $1.67. Sales for the nine months grew 6 percent to $4.8 billion.


text:
The Trump administration’s trade team has embarked on the extremely challenging task of negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union. Five years ago, when the Obama administration and Europe tried to conclude the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), talks failed to resolve differences on agriculture, government procurement, and business services. The administration’s recently released ambitious objectives for the United States–European Union negotiations indicate that the goal of a transatlantic trade deal will now be even harder to achieve.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued objectives parallel to those announced for the United States–Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA) in December. Indeed, if anything, they are more lopsided. Reasons negotiations will be tougher than five years ago lie with the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports—and threatened on auto imports—from the European Union, new US restrictions on inward foreign direct investment, and a US president who favors managed trade with one-sided concessions. Moreover, since Ambassador Robert Lighthizer (backed up by Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley) insists on including agriculture in the current negotiations, which the European Union rejects outright, and since the United States is demanding EU concessions on related agricultural issues—sanitary and phytosanitary measures and geographical indications—the road ahead looks rough. Speaking for the European Union, Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom demands that the new agreement be confined to industrial products, suggesting a zero-for-zero tariff deal, a proposal not to the liking of President Trump.
Most chapters in the US-EU negotiating objectives are identical to those for the USJTA. Features of one-way managed trade are sprinkled throughout the US-EU objectives. These include a reduction in the US bilateral trade deficit with the European Union, duty-free market access for US industrial goods but no mention of US tariff liberalization, and removal of EU barriers on US direct investment. At the same time, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would more closely scrutinize inward direct investment, and the objectives would ensure that US firms could sell their products to EU government agencies yet maintain “Buy America” programs, which exclude EU firms. The European Union will not willingly accept one-way concessions, making it unlikely that any transatlantic deal will resemble the USTR’s negotiating objectives.
Compared to US negotiating objectives for the USJTA, the US-EU objectives give more attention to EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. This comes as no surprise: EU practices on agricultural SPS measures have long been a major irritant to the United States. The United States has launched several agricultural complaints against the European Union in the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the case on beef hormones over 1996–2009 where the United States objected to the Union’s prohibition on the use of certain hormones in meat products. A separate dispute over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in 2003–08 centered on the US challenge to the European Union’s import approval process on specific biotech products. There is also an ongoing dispute on poultry, brought to the WTO in 2009. Going forward, the United States wants the European Union to address US concerns before issuing new regulations that might inhibit US agricultural exports. Furthermore, the USTR wants the European Union to desist from foreclosing US export opportunities to third-country markets through the forced adoption of European SPS measures.
A related agricultural issue is the protection of geographical indications (GIs)—names associated with cheeses, wines, hams, and other products that indicate the geographical origin and imply reputational qualities. As home to most GIs, the European Union has consistently pushed its trading partners to give more comprehensive GI protection in their domestic legislation. The United States sees the European Union’s efforts as a means of foreclosing foreign markets to US exports. For example, the European Union’s GI system does not allow the Klondike Cheese Company of Wisconsin to sell its award-winning Feta cheese either in Europe or in third countries that embrace European GIs, because Feta is a protected GI for cheese solely made in Greece. The United States views Feta and many other names as “generic terms for common use” that should not be subject to GI protection.
US pursuit of one-way managed trade with the European Union, coupled with insistent demands on sensitive agricultural issues, holds little promise for a transatlantic deal. Better than another failed negotiation would be a bargain built around zero-for-zero industrial tariffs, mutual concessions on business services and digital trade, and modest progress on thorny agricultural questions that have eluded resolution for more than 50 years.


text:
iPod Explodes, Japan Investigates
Japan is investigating a potential, um, defect in the Apple iPod after one reportedly
"shot out sparks" while being charged. This is according to a government official who commented to the AP today. An
anonymous official in the Japanese department which oversees product
problems, stated that the defect is suspected to be in the lithium-ion battery in the
iPod Nano, model number MA099J/A. About half a million of these model of iPod nanos have been distributed in Japan, and it is unclear whether there will be recall or if this is an isolated incident. While the iPod was manufactured in China, the origin of the battery hasn't yet been determined.
Nobody was hurt in the episode, and to its credit, Apple reported the problem promptly. Not much else is being said at this time. According to the AP report, Apple
Japan did not contest the insider statement but declined to comment any further.
Right now, Japan is allowing Apple to investigate the incident internally and has instructed the company to report back its findings.
Lithium-ion batteries and fire are no strangers, with Sony having one of the largest global battery recalls in history (over 10 million units) occur due to laptop batteries becoming unstable and catching on fire.
Apple products have had some battery issues in the past, however most of these issues dealt with premature failure, not instability. If anyone questions the overall stability of lithium-ion, you merely have to look towards Toyota Motor Corp. who as of yet has not elected to use them in their hybrids. If these infrequent lithium-ion issues can be resolved, the technology is definitely seen as a nice micro-evolutionary step towards better energy storage.


text:
Yellow Brick Road West End will answer all those burning home loan, superannuation,insurance and other financial advice questions you’ve wanted to ask. Yellow Brick Road West End has announced its Ask an Advisor Day will be held on August 16.
“We decided to hold an Ask an Advisor Day here in West End because it’s important for everyone to be able to access quality professional financial advice so that they can understand how to make their money work harder for them and Yellow Brick Road is dedicated to helping our people do just that” says Yellow Brick Road West End’s Suzy Butterworth.
Research compiled from Australian consumers aged 30-49 in the major cities found that nearly 49% of individuals claimed they didn’t speak to a professional about their financial affairs because they found it to be too complex and didn’t have the confidence to have a conversation about their finances.
“The finance industry is very good at using confusion to their advantage. We want to cut through the confusion and start that conversion to help people understand their financial situation by being able to speak with a professional, which is why Ask an Advisor is so important for the people in our community,” says Suzy.
Residents who are interested in being a part of the Ask My Advisor Day can register at www.ybr.com.au/promotions/amad, or by contacting Suzy Butterworth directly at email@example.com.


text:
House Bill 289, sponsored by Representatives Mike Ball (R-Huntsville) and Joe Hubbard (D-Montgomery) was introduced on Thursday, February 9. Senator Cam Ward (R-Pelham) has agreed to carry the bill in the Senate. The bill is a bit of “housekeeping” for the different types of alcohol manufacturer licensees. For beer fans, the biggest change is that it will allow you to purchase beer from the brewery and then take it home. Wineries have enjoyed this privilege for years.
The Alabama Brewers Guild strongly supports this legislation and is advocating for its passage.


text:
IMS announces speakers for Asia-Pacific conference
In one month’s time, the International Music Summit will makes its debut in Singapore. One of the electronic music industry’s best conferences since it debuted in Ibiza in 2007, the Pete Tong-founded event has announced its first round of speakers. With Crosstown Rebels founder Damian Lazarus, Paul Oakenfold, Steve Angello, and Richie Hawtin highlighting the first round of artist announcements, the industry list of speakers is just as impressive. Rounding out the first announcement, the owner of Zouk Nightclub, the Director of Label Relations at Spotify, and an agent at William Morris Endeavor among many others are set to make up the business side of what’s becoming one of the genre’s most important conferences.


text:
Starbucks has announced to ban plastic straws at all outlets across the globe fearing the environmental threat to the earth and water. This shift will be seen in about two years from now.
It is one of the largest food and beverage companies to move towards this step globally and is setting an example for some other brands too.
In a report, Starbucks stated that they are making strawless lids which will be available at 8000 stores starting in the USA and Canada for a few drinks, to begin with.
The company expects to reduce the use of single-use plastic by eliminating almost 1 billion plastic straws in one year.
With Starbucks venturing into this step, another giant chain McDonald’s is also adhering to this condition and plans to ditch all single-use plastic products such as straws, cups and bags.
The Hyatt group of hotels also joins the league of eliminating single-use plastic in the form of straws and drink picks. These items will be given only if asked by the guests as a step to go eco-friendly.


text:
News by Topic
- Search Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Marketing
- Viral Marketing
- Trends & Ideas
- Internet Marketing 101
Study: Socnets prompting ad-related actions
Consumers want to participate in life via their favorite brands. That, according to a recent Performics study which indicates that consumers are not only connecting with friends and family via social networks, but they are also connecting, contributing and sharing with their favorite brands.
"S-Net The Impact of Social Media" report finds that social media isn't just a stopping place for the consumer to interact with one another, consumers are also using social networks to interact with their favorite brands.
"Social networking has greatly contributed to the shift from strict consumerism to more lively, two-way participation between brands and everyday customers," said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. "More than a third of all respondents reported using a search engine to further learn after seeing an ad on a social networking site, for example, and more than a third think social networking sites are good sources of information about companies and products."
• 80% of study respondents have an active Facebook account
• 67% report reconnecting with people they otherwise would not have
• 30% are accessing socnets via mobile device
• 39% of Twitter users 'retweet' or reply to tweets at least weekly
Social consumers are pushing their favorite brands' likeability to their social contacts. The report found that about half of Facebook users click ads to 'like' a brand; those 'likes' show up in wall posts and pages. Just over one-third of social networks report recommending products or services to the social network contacts and 37% report learning about a brand or product via a social network.
ROI Research conducted the report, which was sponsored by Performics; 3,000 US social network consumers were studied to reach the results.
- Why do online shoppers switch devices between research and purchase?
- Video ad budgets increasingly diversifying beyond pre-roll
- Reports: Mobile, deals important to shoppers
- Expert: How brands can use social data
- Study finds 2/3s purchase via mobile
- Consumers shun search engines for retail sites during product discovery
- Trust holding back sharing economy adoption
- Top tips to improve cash flow
Featured White Papers
- The Keys to a 'Stop 'em & Grab 'em' Landing Page
Follow these keys when developing your landing page, and in no time you will have all of the traffic and...