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AT&T’s advertising company, Xandr, has added four media brands to its marketplace, Community – the CW, Tastemade, AccuWeather, and Microsoft Advertising. These four join Xandr’s current lineup of partners which includesWarner Media’s CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, B/R Live, Otter Media, and Warner Bros., as well as A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Cheddar, Bloomberg, Vudu, VICE, Hearst Magazines, Newsy, Philo, Tubi, and Xumo.
“Community creates a relevant advertising experience for consumers, and a welcoming environment for marketers and publishers,” said Brian Lesser, CEO of Xandr. “We’re excited to add incredible marquee partners to our curated marketplace powered by unique insights and technology from Xandr, as we continue to increase scale and access to premium video content.”
Community was designed to simplify and enhance advertising solutions to best reach audiences across all platforms. Community also uses first party insights from AT&T to allow advertisers to reach their target audience, creating a better experience for both ad companies and consumers.
“As a long-time Xandr partner, Microsoft Advertising is excited to be an earlier adopter of Community, powered by Xandr, to give buyers the best of both worlds: access to unique, custom AT&T audiences and Microsoft’s premium, brand-safe supply,” said Kelly Davidson, Director of Global Partnerships at Microsoft Advertising. “Video is one of the many touch points Microsoft Advertising has with consumers, so collaborating with Xandr on a cross-screen marketplace that holistically safeguards consumer preferences and is privacy compliant is directly aligned with Microsoft Advertising’s strategy.”
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The two men who were arrested at a Starbucks (SBUX) in Philadelphia on Thursday agreed to meet with the CEO of the company after the incident went viral.
CEO Kevin Johnson will meet with the men who were arrested after the manager of the store called the police because the two men were in the store, reportedly waiting for an acquaintance, without having purchased something in the store.
The men were let go after eight hours in police custody after Starbucks declined to press any charges.
Protesters gather outside of the store Sunday in support of the two men, whose names were not released by police.
Kevin Johnson declined to call the arrest racial profiling, but he did call it "completely inappropriate" for employees to call police in this case.
"First, to once again express our deepest apologies to the two men who were arrested with a goal of doing whatever we can to make things right. Second, to let you know of our plans to investigate the pertinent facts and make any necessary changes to our practices that would help prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again. And third, to reassure you that Starbucks stands firmly against discrimination or racial profiling," Johnson said in a signed statement over the weekend.

domain: news


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Amazon pumps in Rs 122 Cr into its Indian logistics arm
The development comes days after Amazon launched a pilot called ‘Faster than Same Day’ delivery service for select bestselling smartphones.
Amazon has infused Rs 122 crore into its Indian logistics arm, Amazon Transportation Services Private Ltd, documents filed with Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. The fund infusion was done by Amazon Corporate Holdings and Amazon.com.
This is the second round of infusion for Amazon Transportation Services after its raised Rs 130 crore in November last year. The US-based e-commerce giant has been aggressively pumping funds into its various Indian subsidiaries – sellers services, logistics, wholesale and payments.
Till now, the Indian logistics arm has received around Rs 800 crore across a span of multiple rounds of fund infusion. Amazon has currently over 50 fulfilment centres in India. Recently speaking to YourStory, Akhil Saxena, Amazon India Vice President for India Customer Fulfilment, said that ahead of the festival season, the e-tailer hired around 50,000 seasonal associates at various positions to help scale up operations.
Akhil added that the fulfilment centre's capacity has been increased to 20 million cubic feet, and the number of stores under the 'I Have Space' programme has been increased to 20,000 this year from 17,500 last year. Even the number of stations under 'service partner' programme has increased to 700 now from 350 last year. Under both these programmes, small stores and entrepreneurs sign up as partners for last-mile delivery.
The ecommerce giant recently announced that it is piloting a new delivery service for smartphones in the Delhi-NCR region. Under the ‘Faster than Same Day’ delivery service available on select best-selling smartphones, the products will be delivered within 3 to 5 hours.
The logistics arm of Amazon is said to have incurred a loss of Rs 24.7 crore and generated a revenue of Rs 1,574 in FY18.


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Rama margarine: According to consumer advocates, the filling quantity is 25 percent more expensive
Manfred Segerer / IMAGO
Never before has the Hamburg consumer advice center received so many complaints in such a short time about deceptive packaging as it does about new packaging from Rama manufacturer Upfield.
Recently, he has only been filling 400 grams of margarine per tub for his classic product instead of the previous 500. "The price has remained constant at many different retailers, mostly at 2.19 euros, despite shrinkage," said the consumer advocates and gave the product a negative price the »deceptive package of the month«.
The redesign corresponds to a hidden price increase of 25 percent.
It is particularly bold that the can remains the same size as the 500-gram version: "From our point of view, Upfield is pretending that there is more content, because of course you can't look at the pack before you buy it." shrinking package sizes as »shrinkflation«.
According to their own statements, the consumer advocates confronted Upfield with their research results.
They published the letter on their website.
The margarine manufacturer defended itself by saying that there were "dramatic cost increases": "That's why we have slightly reduced the grammage of some of our products.
This change is clearly visible on our packaging.« It is an extraordinary step.
Usually, the Hamburg consumer advice center receives around 2,000 to 3,000 complaints per year after its own submissions.
Recently, however, significantly more reports have been received than is usual for this period.
"The reports from consumers have increased enormously in the last two weeks: we have never had around a hundred reports about hidden price increases in recent years," says Armin Valet, who is responsible for the food and nutrition department at the Hamburg Consumer Center , the MIRROR.
More hidden price hikes expected
"That could have something to do with inflation and the crisis," Valet said.
However, he also expects at least half a year's notice for companies planning hidden price increases.
»Selling old packs, planning, producing, delivering new ones« all of this takes time.
He therefore assumes numerous other hidden or visible price increases.
“We estimate that the shrinkflation scam will continue to be heavily deployed during the fall, winter and early next year.”
What is also striking about the phenomenon of shrinkflation is that the retail chains' own brands are now also attracting more and more attention.
So far, this has been more of a problem with branded products.


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Peloton CEO John Foley introduces product pipeline amid reported development pause
A Peloton bike
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Peloton said on Tuesday that it won’t stop developing new connected fitness products next year, in contrast to a report published by DigiTimes.
Shares of Peloton fell nearly 5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday on the news, but after a Peloton spokesman dismissed the report, the stock recouped some of the losses. Recently, the stock has fallen below 1%.
The company plans to renew all of its product lines by 2022, a Peloton spokesperson said.
In a Tweet, CEO John Foley touted the company’s product pipeline.
“I’m so proud of what our @onepeloton team has achieved this year,” Foley wrote. “We’ve never been more excited about our product process and look forward to what’s coming in 2022 as we continue to innovate to help our Members lead healthier lives.”
Peloton, the company that makes cycles and treadmills, is rumored to be working on a rowing machine. Early next year, it is also expected to start selling a strength training device called Guide to Peloton in a package with a new heart rate armband. Analysts predict the company has several new products in the pipeline to further boost sales.
DigiTimes did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
Peloton’s stock has been volatile in recent trading sessions. As of now, the stock is still down about 73% year-over-year, bringing its market cap to about $13.4 billion.
Last week, HBO Max rebooted the hit show “Sex and the City” that tarnished its image and send messy share, after a key character dies after executing one of its cycles. On Sunday, Peloton shared a ad parody with actors Chris Noth and Ryan Reynolds promoting the benefits of exercise classes. The company said it put together the ad for 48 hours.
—CNBC of Diana Olick contributed to this report.


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Hongkongers urged to choose 'reusable coffin' to help save the planet
Non-profit group says its casket can help those dying to save the planet to preserve our forests
Green-minded Hongkongers are being offered the chance to help the planet from beyond the grave by choosing the city's first "reusable coffin".
Used once a day, a recyclable coffin would save 48 cubic metres of timber over a year, enough to fill one and a half standard-sized shipping containers, according to the not-for-profit social enterprise that is promoting the idea, Green Life Passage.
The coffin is comprised of a hardwood "outer coffin", which can be kept for reuse, and a removable "inner casket", made of a strong honeycomb-core cardboard, in which the body is kept for cremation. One benefit is that the coffin burns more quickly, 26 minutes faster than a regular wooden one.
But the company admits it faces challenges.
Green Life chief executive Lam Ka-hei says she understands customers will have reservations about reusing a coffin due to superstition and conservatism. But, she said: "It's just like a hospital bed. Many people pass away on that same bed and someone else will end up using it."
Made on the mainland, the coffin weighs about 100kg.
It is Green Life's second environmentally friendly coffin after last year's launch of a coffin made from water hyacinth plants. Other green options include cardboard coffins made from recycled paper and natural fibres.
But many customers still hesitate to use such coffins due to their unconventional look and quality concerns, chief operating officer Eric Chan Wai-man says.
"The biggest challenge in Hong Kong right now is that there is too little knowledge about such products. There is not enough marketing being done and this is due to the conservative nature of the market," he said.
According to a Green Life poll last month, just 2.8 per cent of the 750 respondents cited the environment as their main concern when arranging a funeral; 19 per cent cited cost. About 60 per cent had no idea green coffins existed.
"Once more people are aware of these types of products, they will be more accepting," Chan added. "The most important thing is that we provide them with a choice."
The group is also seeking government help. It hopes the government will waive the HK$1,220 charge at crematoriums when a green coffin is used.
Under present rules, the inner casket would have to be removed from the coffin and taken to the crematorium separately, but Green Life hopes the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will waive the rule that bars coffins being removed from crematoriums, so the entire coffin could be taken to the funeral.
The department says it highly recommends the use of coffins with less lavish designs and the use of materials such as plywood, chipboard or recycled matter.


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Ford will invest $700 million mainly at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, creating about 500 new jobs over the next four years.
The company made the announcement Tuesday after a state board approved incentives for Ford's investment in the state.
Most of the money will go to retool the truck plant, which makes Super Duty pickup trucks and chassis cabs, plus the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator large SUVs. The company has pledged to add around 500 jobs at the plant by 2026. It now employs about 8,700 hourly and salaried workers.
The investment will support vehicle production, mainly new versions of the Super Duty pickup. Ford was to unveil a revamped Super Duty for the 2023 model year at Churchill Downs on Tuesday night. It goes on sale in the spring of next year.
Ford says it has more than 12,000 people working at two vehicle assembly plants in Kentucky. The company also has about 3,400 workers at the Louisville Assembly Plant, which makes the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair small SUVs. It's also building an electric vehicle battery factory in the state, which will employ another 5,000.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear praised the expansion during a visit to the truck plant Tuesday morning. Beshear said Ford's long history in Kentucky has led to a "special relationship" with the state.
"Together we're going to be building these automobiles and trucks of the future for hundreds of years to come," Beshear said.
Ford Motor Company
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Ford officials said the investment will go toward retooling machinery inside the existing facility space at the Louisville plant.


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Two years ago, Kawasaki launched a localised version of the Ninja 300 with a much lower price and the bike went on to be a success for the company. Sources now tell us that Kawasaki is planning to bring the Ninja 300 back to India in BS6 form by around the end of the first quarter next year.
Launch expected around March/April 2021
To feature more localisation
Likely to be priced lower than before
BS6 Kawasaki Ninja 300
In 2018, Kawasaki localised a number of components on the Ninja 300, including the body panels, headlight, brakes, cables and tyres. For 2021, we are given to understand that the company is now working on even more localisation, this time mainly involving components within the engine.
Kawasaki Ninja 300 specifications
The Ninja 300 uses a 296cc parallel-twin engine that produces 39hp and 27Nm of torque. This smooth and high revving motor is paired to a 6-speed transmission that gets a slipper-clutch as standard.
The bike uses a tubular steel frame and has a kerb weight of 179kg. Fuel tank capacity is 17 litres and the tyres are from MRF. The bike uses a conventional telescopic fork and a pre-load adjustable monoshock. Handling braking duties is a 290mm single disc up front and a 220mm disc at the rear, while dual-channel ABS is standard.
Kawasaki Ninja 300 BS6 price
The 2021 model is likely to carry forward without many styling or mechanical changes, apart from the upgrade to BS6. However, given the fact that Kawasaki is increasing localised content on the motorcycle, the price is expected to come down even further.
The BS4 2018 model was launched at Rs 2.98 lakh, which just undercut the BMW G 310 R at the time. For 2021, we expect that Kawasaki will make another significant reduction in the price and that it could be priced below Rs 2.5 lakh. For reference, BMW has also recently revised the price of its 310s, and the G 310 R now costs Rs 2.45 lakh.
More affordable Kawasaki’s for India
The BS6 Ninja 300 isn’t the only relatively affordable motorcycle that Kawasaki is working on for India. In October, we broke the story that the Japanese company is preparing for a W175 launch in India. The W175 is a retro motorcycle sold in Asian markets and through heavy localisation, it will be the most affordable Kawasaki sold in India. Another advantage of the localisation seen on these bikes is much lower spare parts costs than what customers have to pay for Kawasaki’s bigger bikes.


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PUBG Mobile has released a sneak peek at the new Erangel map (Erangel 2.0) that will be launching in a few weeks time. The preview was released exclusively on the Apple App Store and gives players a glimpse of what they can expect in the new map. The new version of Erangel will launch on the version 1.0 update that is scheduled to be available from September 8.
A new era of PUBG Mobile is coming, featuring an overhaul of the Erangel map and a bold new look.
— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) August 28, 2020
Some of the most popular locations in Erangel have been overhauled. This includes the Sosnovka Military Base, the Mansion and more. Mylta Power has a brand new layout, while Georgopol will see the addition of seven new warehouses. The developers also note that the new version of Erangel will be denser than the previous version that players have become accustomed to. It will also offer more tactical and strategic options like barricades, trenches and bombed out tanks. Some buildings will now have basements that can be further explored for loot. This will not only give players more strategic options, but also adds more depth and mystique into the history of Erangel.
As mentioned during their announcement a few days ago, PUBG Mobile is set to get a graphical overhaul on the v1.0 update. The new version of Erangel seems to make the most of these new additions. New smoke, explosion and particle effects add more realism to proceedings. The developers also note that “every building and patch of grass sports more realistic textures, character models benefit from new skin shading and animations, and the game’s many waterways sparkle thanks to a revamped environmental lighting system.”
The new Erangel, aka Erangel 2.0 map will be a part of PUBG Mobile’s v1.0 update called Beyond A.C.E. The update will start rolling out on September 8. Besides the new map, the game will also see major changes to graphics and the main lobby. You can know more about that here.


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Hotel booking agents, hotels and venues are set to debate the latest industry topics and trends at the HBAA Annual Forum 2011, September 8th–9th at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel.
Visions for the future and how to prepare for the decade ahead in sales and leadership will form the umbrella of topics for discussion.
An impressive array of heavyweights in the accommodation, meetings and events sector will assess how the UK hospitality industry is progressing and outline opportunities for the industry through keynote speeches and question & answer sessions.
The title ‘Future Vision’ has been assigned to the two day event which will be opened by Juliet Price, HBAA Chairman.
Day one features two great keynote speakers - Ian Gamse, director responsible for the Otus hotel brand database.
Based on statistical research he will reveal what lies in store for the hospitality industry over the next ten years and what the implications might be for both venues and HBAs.
Later Professor Beverley Alimo-Metcalf of Bradford University will address the audience to explain why models of leadership are changing direction and why the old notion of heroic leadership is dead. The keynote on day two is Reggie Aggarwal, chief executive of Cvent, who will speak about entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship and the future for the meetings industry.
He will also share tips on how to grow a business through a recession.
In a packed programme of plenary sessions and workshops, over 50 speakers will lead discussions on a wide range of topics ranging from insurance policies, security at events, latest Apps for the event sector, the A-Z of hiring celebrities, how to recruit develop and retain talented people, to technology challenges and frustrations of distribution, content and pricing.
A number of respected experts from across the industry will be joining to take part in these discussions including; Zibrant’s managing director Fay Sharpe, Marc Danton of Marriott Hotels, Bingul Akaroglu, operations manager of Clifford Chance, Tom McInerney, director of progressive technology provider Etherlive, Andy Edwards managing director of Nine5three, Event Assured’s Brian Kirsch and Simon Cope of Generation for Growth.
Juliet Price, chair of the HBAA said: “The panellist line-up and list of topics being delivered this year will appeal to all industry sectors as well being relevant to our marketplace.
“We believe that the subjects tackled at the forum will have a direct impact on those attending, as they focus on issues being faced both now and in the future, making the 2011 HBAA Forum a real ‘must-attend’ event.”
The HBAA Forum will also be the backdrop for the association’s annual awards. The HBAA Awards recognise professionals who have excelled in their field and helped to provide a benchmark for best practice among the booking agents, hotels and venues.
Seven categories are presented: Training and Development, Promoting Excellence within the Industry, Best demonstration of CSR, Agency of the Year (Large, Medium and Small size) and Venue of the Year.
Also in the United Kingdom today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Manchester.
City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.
Manchester.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.
Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.
Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.
City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.


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Empower Clinics Inc (CSE:CBDT) (OTCMKTS:EPWCF) announced the launch of an influencer-based product sales strategy for its Sollievo CBD line in southern California.
The company is canvassing the more than 170 dispensaries in Los Angeles county, sending in sales agents armed with Sollievo product samples. Empower reps are also visiting smoke shops, vape stores and a variety of retail locations that carry CBD products or have expressed an interest in doing so.
"Establishing a retail presence in this area for our Sollievo CBD product lines gives us significant volume potential, but also provides crucial market feedback about branding, product quality and consumer adoption," CEO Steven McAuley said in a statement. "Gaining direct market feedback by having our own sales agents on the ground is already proving beneficial."
Empower’s Sollievo line includes CBD lotion, tinctures, spectrum oils, capsules, lozenges, patches, topical lotions, gel caps, e-drinks, hemp extract drops, and pet elixir hemp extract drops.
READ: Heritage Cannabis and James E Wagner Cultivation ink deal to produce vape pens for Canadian market
Additionally, the company provided investors with an update on its joint venture with Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp (CSE:CANN) (OTCMKTS:HERTF) to produce hemp-derived CBD oils and formulated products.
The companies are working on a definitive agreement, which the parties expect to announce in the near future.
The company said that Graeme Staley, a member of Heritage’s board, visited Empower’s new 5,000-square-foot facility in Sandy, Oregon along with CEO Steven McAuley.
The companies believe operating in Oregon provides an economic advantage because of competitive facility and labor costs.
Contact Andrew Kessel at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel


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Punjab excise dept detects Rs 20-cr tax evasion by Bisleri maker
The Punjab excise and taxation department has detected tax evasion to the tune of about Rs 20 crore by Asian Lac Health Food Private Limited, manufacturer of the Bisleri brand of mineral water.
Anurag Verma, excise and taxation commissioner, Punjab, said the company had claimed that during the past four years, it had sent bottled water worth about Rs 40 crore as part of stock transfer to its Haryana branch and had paid no tax on it because as per the Central Sales Tax Act, stock transfer to other states is non-taxable.
Verma added, “Finding the claim dubious, we took up the matter with our counterpart in Haryana. A team of officials was sent to the neighbouring state. The district excise and taxation commissioner, Ambala, reported that the Haryana branch of the firm had shown receipt of stock transfer of only Rs 6.5 crore, which meant that stock transfer of about Rs 33 crore was bogus. Since bottled water is taxable at the rate of 14.3%, the tax component on this bogus transfer alone works out to Rs 4.71 crore.”
Subsequently, the firm’s premises were inspected, he said. It was found that the firm used preform material to manufacture water bottles. For a one-litre bottle, preform costing about Rs 2.45 is used. After going through the invoices, it was found that the cost of preform was about 25% of the bottle’s cost.
Verma said the firm had shown its total sales to be Rs 25 crore in 2013-14. But when reverse calculation was done as per the cost of preform shown as purchased by the firm, the turnover came out to be about Rs 50 crore. It was found that over the past three years, the firm had suppressed its sales to the tune of Rs 95 crore. The tax element on the same works out to be about Rs 15 crore, he added.
The excise and taxation commissioner said the firm was also found indulging in tax evasion by misusing the government’s single-stage taxation scheme. It was detected that the company was selling one-litre water bottles to M/s Metro Cash and Carry at Rs 11 each, but for many other transactions, it had set up a sister concern, M/s Nandan Traders. In those cases, it was selling a one-litre bottle to its sister concern at Rs 8, thus avoiding tax payment on Rs 3.
Verma said investigations in the case were still in progress and a notice would be served on the company soon. He added that since the firm had committed fraud with the department, it would be liable to pay tax, interest and penalty under provisions of the Punjab Value-Added Tax (PVAT) Act, 2005.
Company in denial mode
When contacted, Gopal Poddar, director (marketing), Asian Lac Health Food Private Limited, said, “It’s true that officials of the excise and taxation department took documents from our firm, but we have never indulged in tax evasion. Ours is a small firm, but the department is alleging that we have evaded tax of Rs 20 crore, which is impossible.” He said they would challenge the tax evasion notice, as and when received, with the higher authorities in the government.


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When it comes to food carts, Beaverton might never catch up with its neighbor to the east.
Starting this week, that won't be for a lack of trying.
On Friday, February 2, Beaverton welcomes its first food cart super pod, an expansive lot with room for more than 30 carts, picnic tables and The Speakeasy, a beer and wine bar with indoor seating. The pod features a lawn, fire pit, deck and free Wi-Fi.
Similar in size to Portland's Cartlandia pod or Happy Valley's Happy Valley Station, BG's Food Cartel at The Round holds up to 31 carts at its site about 100 yards from the light rail station at Beaverton Central Transit Center. The cart selection currently includes Argentinian, German, Cantonese, Guamanian, coffee, tea and more.
The pod came about in part thanks to a $25,000 matching grant from the City of Beaverton, which was seeking to develop a food cart pod.
The project is being run by Domonic, Dana and Dean Biggi and sits on the site of the their grandmother's former home and horseradish farm at the corner of Southwest Millikan Way and Rose Biggi Avenue. Rose Biggi, a Genoa, Italy native founded specialty condiments maker Beaverton Foods, now in its fourth generation of family ownership.
BG's Food Cartel at The Round is holding a soft opening Friday, February 2 at 4250 S.W. Rose Biggi Ave. A grand opening will follow this spring. For more information, call 503-380-9007 or visit www.bgfoodcartel.com.
-- Michael Russell


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After many brands announced that they pulled their ads from Twitter, the social media company is now offering advertising incentives to marketers in an effort to encourage them to raise their spending on the platform.
As reported by MarketingBlew (via Reuters), Twitter is sending an email to companies to let them know about the ‘’biggest advertiser incentive ever’’ on the platform. According to the email, advertisers in the United States who book $500,000 in incremental spending will be able to get their spending matched with a ‘’100% value add,’’ up to a $1 million cap.
In addition, those in Britain and Japan who book $250,000 in spending will be offered a 100% match, while advertisers in other countries who commit to spending $50,000 would receive the match, the company said in the email.
Citing concerns over content moderation changes and the platform’s uncertainty, many brands including General Mills, Audi, United Airlines, Pfizer and Oreo-maker Mondelez International stopped their ad campaigns on Twitter. However, according to a recent report from MediaRadar, the social media company began losing advertisers months before the acquisition.
Earlier this week, Musk posted a series of tweets taking aim at Apple and its controversial 30% App Store Fee. The billionaire said that the iPhone-maker mostly stopped advertising on Twitter, and threatened to withhold its app from the App Store without providing a reason.
Two days later, Platformer reported that Musk is delaying the relaunch of Twitter’s Blue Verified in order to avoid Apple’s 30% charge.
However, Musk seems to be on better terms with Apple now since he paid a visit to the company’s HQ on Wednesday and posted a video tagging Tim Cook.
‘’Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so,’’ said Musk in another tweet.


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Duterte dangles ‘happy compromise’ to rice farmers
President Duterte said suspending the importation of rice during the harvest seasons would be a “happy compromise” between helping boost farmers’ income and making sure the staple would be available year-round.
It was unclear, however, how the government could hold back imports under the rice tariffication law that Mr. Duterte recently signed to impose tariffs on imported rice in lieu of volume restrictions.
Speaking at the inauguration of a bypass road in Candon City, Ilocos Sur province, on Thursday, Mr. Duterte said the priority should be given to purchasing local rice, even if it would mean possible financial losses for the government.
“I can assure you, I will create a happy compromise between the farmers and the importation. You can be sure that during your harvest, no importation will be allowed. I don’t want it,” the President said.
He said he wanted to protect local farmers during the harvest seasons from competition from imported rice.
“Buy all the stocks, even if it’s expensive, before importing,” Mr. Duterte said. If that is not done, the farmers around the country “will feel bad,” he added.
“So there has to be a compromise here that during the harvest season or the coming of the harvest season, your reserve will be used … Even if it’s expensive, you buy it,” he said.
The country has two harvest seasons for irrigated rice farms—from December to January and from March to April. Of the 3.9 million hectares of rice nationwide, however, only 1.2 million ha, or 31 percent, are irrigated.
Amid the soaring prices of rice that jacked up the inflation rate last year, the President pushed for the liberalization of rice importation to fulfill the country’s commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In February, he signed Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Act, which liberalized rice importation.
After several months, rice prices helped temper inflation, which fell to a 22-year low of 2.7 percent year-on-year in June.
Rosendo So, chair of the farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), said they had long demanded the suspension of rice imports.
“We laud the efforts of the President because that has been our request for the longest time, even [for] other agricultural commodities that are suffering from gluts because of the influx of imports,” So told the Inquirer.
Raul Montemayor, national business manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, said the President could not enforce the suspension of imports under the rice tariffication law because that would violate the government’s commitments to liberalize rice trading under the WTO.
“He (the President) does not understand the law that he signed,” Montemayor told the Inquirer. “There is nothing there [in the law that allows it]. Under WTO rules you cannot [stop importation] since the purpose of rice tariffication was to revoke the QR (quantitative restrictions). He cannot reimpose the QR.”
Montemayor said, however, that the law could be amended to allow QR under certain circumstances, which his group had recommended but lawmakers had rejected.
In his fourth State of the Nation address, the President promised to ensure the full implementation of the law, including the creation of the mandated annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
Palay price fall
“This will safeguard the livelihood of small farmers through the provisions of modern farm equipment and machinery, seeds and credit, and extension services. We shall continue to invest in the countryside through agricultural programs that will increase the productivity and income of our small farmers and fisherfolk,” Mr. Duterte said.
Recently, farmers’ groups complained about the decline of palay prices, which were supposedly triggered by the new rice tariffication law.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported the average farm gate price of palay had dropped to P17.85 per kilogram as of the first week of July, down 17.3 percent from year-ago prices.
According to Sinag, farmers, especially from Nueva Ecija and Isabela provinces, have complained that prices have dropped to P13 a kilo. The group said current rates were barely enough to cover production cost, currently at P12 a kilo.
In his speech in Candon on Thursday, the President said it would be better for the government to spend money on local produce than to see farmers joining the communist rebels.
“If they join the New People’s Army, we will be saddled with bigger expenses. Life and bullets. It’s common sense. Buy rice, even if we end up losing,” he said.
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Tianjin Port Group (TPG) & Huawei have fully developed their new smart terminal to make Tianjin Port one of the world’s most technologically advanced facilities.
At the end of last year, port congestion caused severe disruptions in global supply chains, leading to stock shortages in many stores during retail’s peak season or ‘Golden Quarter’.
Tianjin Port has invested in new 5G and 4L autonomous driving technologies to build resiliency as a supply chain node.
TPG, Huawei and other partners, built a new smart terminal, making Tianjin one of China’s most technologically advanced ports.
On the port’s visitor platform at the container terminal at Section C of Tianjin Port, container cranes operate automatically and unmanned electric container trucks move boxes around the area.
At the port, remotely controlled quay cranes stably pick up containers that are loaded with cargo, loading containers onto the unmanned electric container trucks.
Under the guidance of China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system, the container trucks travel to the automatic locking/unlocking stations, following an optimal driving route calculated in real time.
The containers are then unlocked and the trucks drive to the container yard.
One of the key innovative applications deployed in the smart terminal is Huawei’s AI-based horizontal transportation system.
The system is the world’s first large-scale commercial use of ultra-L4 driverless technology, as well as being the first in “5G+BeiDou” integration of intelligence and self-sufficiency in green electricity and zero carbon emissions.
Previously, transporting containers to container yards within the port was a costly process given the large number of container trucks and human drivers it required.
Tianjin Port has 76 container trucks, and to ensure 24/7 operations, each container truck needed three drivers working in three shifts every day, requiring a total of 210 drivers.
Driving on fixed routes in three shifts back-to-back can also be tiring for drivers, which posed a safety risk.
In addition, each container now consumes 20 per cent less energy and cranes are 20 per cent more efficient on average, with each crane operating 39 container units per hour.
Tianjin Port has a 300000-ton-class wharf with a channel depth of 22 metres, as well as 192 berths of various types and 128 berths above the 10,000-ton-class. By the end of 2021, the port’s container throughput exceeded 18.35 million TEU, ranking the eighth port in the world.
Earlier this year Port Tianjin completed the world’s first traditional container terminal automation upgrade project. The full completion of the automation upgrades at the container terminal is the result of the cooperation between COSCO SHIPPING, TPG and China Merchants Group.


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Jeff Gennette, chairman and main executive officer of Macy’s Inc.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
Macy’s chief sees $ten billion in product sales completely ready for the taking mainly because of the flood of retail bankruptcies owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
“You see sure models right now that are possibly heading to Chapter 13 or Chapter eleven,” Main Govt Jeff Gennette reported Thursday through a virtual hearth chat with J.P. Morgan analyst Matt Boss. “Effectively we will glance at that very very carefully depending on the model … and with the location.”
“We see there is about $ten billion really worth of opportunity that is up for grabs suitable now based on what’s likely on with the aggressive weather,” he stated. Devoid of offering details, he reported Macy’s might insert classes in its retailers dependent on what some of these distressed companies’ former buyers might be hunting for.
He stated Macy’s aggressively went after Bon-Ton’s previous customers and personnel, when the office shop chain liquidated its 200 locations in 2018.
Previously throughout the pandemic, office retail store chains Neiman Marcus, Stage Suppliers and J.C. Penney have submitted for personal bankruptcy security. Gordmans’ owner Stage Outlets could liquidate if it does not find a buyer. Penney is arranging to shut about thirty% of its merchants, or about 240 spots, as section of its restructuring. Nordstrom is shutting 16 stores completely.
Additionally, residence merchandise chain Pier 1 Imports declared previously this 7 days it will be liquidating its full enterprise, following it was not equipped to uncover a consumer in personal bankruptcy court docket.
Gennette built the feedback after Macy’s noted preliminary 1st-quarter profits and earnings figures. It is expecting to report an running loss of $905 million to $one.eleven billion, as opposed with internet income of $203 million a calendar year ago. The retailer has forecast first-quarter sales to be in the assortment of $three billion to $three.03 billion, down from $five.fifty billion a 12 months ago.
Macy’s also could have to shut a lot more stores permanently because of the Covid-19 disaster.
Before this 12 months, it mentioned it was planning to shut one hundred twenty five merchants around the upcoming 3 a long time. On Thursday, CFO Paula Cost instructed Manager the office retail store chain was taking a “tough seem” at its authentic estate and those people a few-year options.
Macy’s shares were being up about one% Thursday. The stock has fallen about 70% in the course of the previous 12 months and has a industry value of about $1.6 billion.
—CNBC’sAmanda Laskycontributed to this reporting.


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Computer equipment prices are going against the national consumer trend and continue to drive, according to the latest inflation figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Consumer price index (CPI) September figures released today show a 1 per cent rise in inflation, along with higher costs for transport, housing and clothing. But the category of audio, visual and computing equipment fell by 2.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and was one of the biggest, offsetting price falls.
The ABS figures also reported computer prices fell by 8.5 per cent year-on-year in Australia to September 2009.
Hardware vendors have recently begun cutting prices in response to a rising Australian dollar. This week, Sun Microsystems announced further cuts to its price list to reflect the strengthening currency.
As a whole however, companies have had to work with the rollercoaster local currency’s drops and rises after it fell to below $US0.70 in early 2009. The Australian printer market was just one of the affected segments.
The Australian dollar was trading at $0.9144 against the US greenback at time of publication.


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Courtney Boyd Myers
Courtney Boyd Myers is the founder of audience.io, a transatlantic company designed to help New York and London based technology startups gr Courtney Boyd Myers is the founder of audience.io, a transatlantic company designed to help New York and London based technology startups grow internationally. Previously, she was the Features Editor and East Coast Editor of TNW covering New York City startups and digital innovation. She loves magnets + reading on a Kindle. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter @CBM and Google +.
To commemorate the upcoming 10th anniversary of September 11th, the National Geographic Channel has launched an interactive Facebook application called “Remembering 9/11“.
The app, which to be frank– I can’t for the life of me get to work– was developed in partnership with Neo-Pangea, and allows users to post short, geotagged accounts of their experiences, which are then featured on an interactive map. According to National Geographic, users will then be able to explore all posted anecdotes by location and filter stories to see their friends’ stories and share comments.
Since its launch on July 28th, the app has had 4,000 people have shared their stories – for example, as I was looking through earlier today found an account of a 16 year old who was 6 at the time and her memory of the events of that day (she talks about remembering a loose tooth and hearing about people jumping to their death from the World Trade Center), as well as a senior member of Bush’s staff and his role in assisting the President when he returned. The app accompanies programming from the National Geographic Channel such as George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview and 9/11: Where Were You and others which you can take a look at here.
The app is one of many new apps that’s been created to honor the memories of lost loved ones and to rebuild a collective history of the day, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Other commemoration efforts include: A Facebook app from American Express, an augmented reality app lets you experience the Twin Towers and The New York Times partnership with YouTube for a dedicated 9/11 channel.
Check out the app for yourself here: Remembering 9/11 is available worldwide and in 9 languages, allowing global participation from Facebook users.
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China city launches freight train route to Oslo
A new China-Europe freight train route was launched on Thursday, linking Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, with Norway's capital Oslo.
The first freight train on this route left Chengdu Thursday, carrying goods including electronic products and home appliances.
Chengdu's China-Europe freight train service currently has 65 overseas destinations. The expansion came after the freight train service has newly extended to seven overseas destinations, including St. Petersburg and Amsterdam, so far this year.


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What: Shares of semiconductor equipment company Mattson Technology (NASDAQ: MTSN) soared on Wednesday after the company announced that it was being acquired by a Chinese private equity firm for $3.80 per share. At 11:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, the stock was up about 18%, just shy of the acquisition price.
So what: Chinese P/E firm Beijing E-Town Dragon Semiconductor Industry Investment Center is paying roughly $300 million for Mattson, and the offer price of $3.80 per share is 55% higher than the stock's 30-day average closing price. Shares of Mattson have tumbled since March of this year, and the offer price is 25% lower than the stock's 52-week high.
Mattson CEO Fusen Chen praised the deal. "In E-Town Dragon, we have found a partner who brings to Mattson unique investment experience with a rich, global network and a commitment to grow Mattson into one of the industry's preeminent semiconductor equipment companies," Chen said. "We are pleased to have entered into this agreement with E-Town Dragon, which we believe represents significant value for our stockholders and will facilitate continued innovation for our customers."
Now what: The acquisition of Mattson comes less than two months after Lam Research agreed to acquire KLA-Tencor for $10.6 billion, creating a semiconductor equipment provider with similar scale to industry leader Applied Materials. Semiconductor equipment companies have been suffering from cuts in capital spending from major semiconductor manufacturers, and many smaller players have seen their stock prices tumble this year as a result.
E-Town is paying quite a bit less than it could have paid earlier this year, and with greater resources at its disposal, Mattson will have the opportunity to grow its market share going forward.


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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — AMC Theaters, maybe the king of all meme shares, now lets prospects pay with Bitcoin.
In a tweet, AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron mentioned Bitcoin gained’t be the one cryptocurrency accepted. Ethereum, Bitcoin Money and Litecoin have been all talked about. Aron added that Dogecoin could be accepted subsequent.
Apple Pay, Google Pay and Paypal are additionally getting some love. Aron mentioned they already account for 14% of AMC Theater’s complete on-line transactions. Nonetheless, it was not instantly clear if he was referring to cryptocurrencies, digital fee methods or each.
Cryptocurrencies, that are primarily a digital representation of tangible money, have grown in reputation lately pushing a variety of main corporations to permit fee choices with broadly adopted cash. Prospects at some well-liked Tampa Bay eating places have even began using it to pay their checks.
Prospects will pay with cryptocurrencies on-line throughout checkout.


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Last year’s UAW strike ground GM production to a halt, and the same thing could happen to Ford as Canada’s Unifor union has selected them as their strike target.
The decision isn’t terribly surprising as the union is undoubtedly concerned about the future of Ford’s Oakville assembly plant in Ontario.
The plant employees approximately 4,600 people and stopped building the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT last year. Rumors have also suggested the plant is slated to be closed as Ford has reportedly cancelled the next-generation Edge and will move Lincoln Nautilus production to China in 2023. If that were to happen, Ford would close its last remaining assembly plant in Canada.
Unifor National President Jerry Dias noted this during a press conference as he said “The Oakville assembly plant is the last of Ford’s assembly plants left in Canada and has no firm product commitment beyond the current-generation of the Ford Edge. This is a significant problem for our members and it should be a concern for all levels of government.”
Dias went on to say “I selected Ford because we think the company is prepared to reward our members, make a commitment to continue manufacturing in Canada, and has a vision that we think is in the best interest of the industry and the economy.” He also said he would like to see electric vehicles built in the country as more than $300 billion CAD ($226 billion USD) has been announced for electric vehicle production, but “not one dime is destined for Canada.”
Unifor’s contracts with Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler expire on September 21st so the clock is ticking. However, if Ford plans on closing Oakville assembly, a strike seems inevitable.
Regardless of what happens, the eventual agreement with Ford will set a template for discussions with other automakers. They’ll begin negotiating with the union after the agreement with Ford is ratified by membership.


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Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, has announced that the online encyclopaedia will be shutting down for 24 hours on 18 January to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act »
Twitter was shut down for hours this afternoon by what it described as an ongoing denial-of-service attack, silencing millions of Tweeters the world over »
The eagerly anticipated game will now come out four months later than initially planned, as Rockstar claims it needs further development time »
Aristotle claimed that "happiness is the meaining and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." And for good reason. »
Comparing Samsung's Galaxy S5, Sony's Xperia Z2 and HTC's One M8 - which is best? »


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Facebook wants to connect virtual and non-virtual worlds and is linking VR to the Facebook platform in new ways.
With the growth of 360° media and entirely new types of native VR content, the ecosystem continues to evolve. Facebook introduces a new native 3D media type in Facebook News Feed. You can now post 3D objects from Oculus Medium and marker drawings from Spaces directly to Facebook as fully interactive 3D objects. Your friends can engage with your creations from their desktops and mobile phones. You can even bring 3D objects from News Feed into Spaces, so you can continue the fun in VR. Introduced 6 months ago, Spaces is Facebook's first step toward building VR as a social platform.
Facebook promised to soon open up support for even more VR content types.
Later this year, you'll be also able to stream full 360° video directly in Spaces in real time.


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The cannabis industry got a lot more complicated on Dec. 14, when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it would now consider cannabidiol—known as CBD, a Schedule 1 controlled substance with no confirmed medicinal benefits. To put that in perspective, heroin is listed in the same category. Moreover, CBD is the non-psychoactive component of cannabis—it does not get you high like tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, which is one of the main elements in recreational marijuana smoking.
Setting aside the multitude of cannabis-smoking stereotypes, CBD has repeatedly been proven to significantly alleviate conditions such as seizures and epilepsy. This is particularly the case for younger children, and it can also aid with a multitude of cancer-related ailments such as nausea, decreased appetite, pain, and sleep issues.
The widely held perception of marijuana is that it’s a “gateway drug.” Whether or not that’s true, should that opinion deny the opportunity for others to use it for medical purposes? “Am I willing to deny something that could be beneficial to a population because I’m worried about the hypothetical risk of this becoming used recreationally…” postulated CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta during an interview with Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate WTAE. “I don’t think we should talk about medical marijuana and recreational marijuana in the same basket. These are two different things… it should be studied like any other medicine.”
The issue is that the DEA treats marijuana and its many strains and extracts as though it’s all the same illegal drug, which cannot be broken down or distinguished from the Schedule 1 controlled substance classification. Josh Kappel, a partner in the marijuana law firm Vicente Sedberg LLC, told SF Weekly earlier this month that “the problem with the DEA’s rule is that they’re defining marijuana extract as any cannabinoid derived from the cannabis plant.” Furthermore, the DEA has yet to embrace the extensive and proven research on its medicinal properties which have been conducted extensively abroad.
As a result, those who incorporate CBD into their everyday lives—whether in the form of treatment and overall well-being, or commercially sold within a business, are both shocked and concerned that CBD is illegal on a federal level. Adding to the confusion, in some states CBD consumption is legal, even though marijuana may not be.
The facts are clear; the CBD market is not going anywhere anytime soon. According to the Hemp Business Journal, the CBD industry is projected to grow to a $2.1 billion market in consumer sales by 2020, with $450 million of those sales coming from hemp-based CBD products. A recent Forbes article estimates that to be a 700% increase from 2016.
Therefore, it’s likely that you will frequently hear about medical cannabis companies in the near future. The Legion of Bloom is one company making waves in the cannabis world thanks to its commitment to organic, pure, sustainable farming practices, and careful craft cultivation. This Northern California-based company is proving itself to be an innovator in the industry by creating a fully-fledged brand that is about much more than just ‘smoking weed every day.’
Operated by five marijuana experts who each oversee their farms and hand select particular phenotypes in an effort to provide the best quality product possible, The Legion of Bloom doesn’t use harmful pesticides, chemicals, or additives. A self-proclaimed, “values-driven company,” they answer as a collective unit, believing that a “legion” comradery is stronger than the sum of its individuals. Despite the DEA’s newest ruling, this company is still changing the medical landscape for patients across the country.
The Legion of Bloom, who prefers to speak as a group rather than as a single entity, tells Paste that the DEA’s new unveiling of further cannabinoids restricted by Schedule 1 classification doesn’t change their business strategy for the foreseeable future. Unlike others in the cannabis industry, this group of entrepreneurs doesn’t plan on challenging the DEA’s role as an enforcement agency—though it’s questionable whether it is within the agency’s constitutional right to determine the laws. Only time will tell what happens with federal rulings, but as far as The Legion of Bloom is concerned, they will continue to abide by the local and national laws guiding the cannabis industry as a whole.
Though CBD is a rather new phenomenon that people are still wrapping their heads around, The Legion of Bloom believes that CBD’s healing and non-psychoactive properties remove some of the stereotypes associated with marijuana use, and expose cannabis to an audience that might not otherwise accept it.
Recently, the range of marijuana users has widened to now include more older adults than ever. In response, this company has launched the TerraPen—a THC vape line that comes in four therapeutic cannabis terpene profiles. Each terpene profile is thoughtfully chosen for its therapeutic benefits:
RE:lieve for pain, RE:lax for sleep, RE:vive to energize, and RE:zen for mental clarity. Additional advantages are often cited and include improved appetite, decreased nausea, increased focus, and relief from depression.
The Legion of Bloom is one of the leading disruptors in the CBD industry, as evidenced by this year’s Emerald Cup—an annual medical cannabis festival, educational forum, and competition. The Legion of Bloom took 1st place in CBD extracts with their TerraPen, and 3rd place in the CBD topicals category with their Zana Ayurvedic + CBD transdermal roll-on, along with two other non-CBD wins.
“It feels amazing to be at the forefront of this industry-wide movement into mainstream acceptance and use,” said The Legion of Bloom. “We now need others to open their minds to the evidence and research that we are so privileged to have access to. Only then will the masses begin to understand the differences between CBD and other forms of marijuana, and why clear cut distinctions are so necessary.”


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Toyota finally adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
The Toyota RAV4 will be the first model from the Japanese brand to be offered with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - but it won't be available from launch.
The all-new RAV4 is on sale as of today, but customers who want the added usability of smartphone mirroring technology will have to wait until the fourth quarter of 2019 to get it. That's when all RAV4s sold here will have CarPlay and Android mirroring tech.
Read More:Toyota Reviews
But customers who decide to buy a RAV4 before then will be eligible for retro-fitment of the tech when it becomes available - and it will be done at no cost.
Read More:What are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
Toyota says “Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be rolled out progressively as a standard feature across select Toyota models from the fourth quarter of 2019 onwards”, and more information is set to be provided on the retro-fitment and standard fitment of the technology later in 2019.


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Beer giant ensures BT coffers won't go empty Beer giant SABMiller has signed a $120m (£85m) deal with BT for networking, communications and datacentre connectivity across Latin America and Europe. ...
Security flaw enables attackers to take full control of life-saving devices
US Federal Trade Commission plans investigation into Google, Facebook and Amazon over data collection practices
FTC lays the groundwork for an in-depth investigation with a 6(b) demand for information from data-gathering technology companies
Tesla alleges that an engineer who left suddenly in January copied more than 300,000 files containing Autopilot source code
Unencrypted passwords could be accessed by Facebook's army of engineers


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gener8tor Alum Makes Forbes’ “30 Under 30”
Anurag Garg of DATTUS gets national recognition for revolutionizing manufacturing
Local startup accelerator gener8tor is proud and excited to announce that Anurag Garg, recent alum of the three-month, mentorship-driven program has been announced one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the Manufacturing and Industry Space.
Forbes’ 2017 class, which was announced January 3rd boasts 600 individuals whom Forbes considers “the most definitive gathering of today’s leading young change-makers and innovators in the U.S.” Across the 20 categories including Education, Hollywood & Entertainment, Venture Capital, and Art & Style, Garg was picked from a pool of more than 15,000 nominees.
Anurag is CEO and Co-founder of DATTUS (www.dattus.com), an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) company that offers the simplest, fastest, and most cost-effective way to make industrial machines “smart”. DATTUS provides facilities and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with hardware to monitor the efficiency and reliability of their machines, as well as a software / data analytics platform to predict machine performance, improve efficiencies, and drive growth through customer engagement. DATTUS today serves some of the biggest names in manufacturing and industry across two continents.
Garg says, “I’m excited and honored to be included in this list alongside some amazing leaders. This couldn’t have happened without the backing of an incredible team and mentors who have supported DATTUS and me personally on this journey!”
“It’s natural for Anurag to be featured on that list,” said Abby Taubner of gener8tor. “He has the type of hustle that more entrepreneurs would be better off with. He was so inspiring to work with during our program, and I’m so excited to see the ways he’ll continue to change the industry.”
After going through the gener8tor program in Madison last spring, Anurag raised a $1.7M round led by CSA Partners out of Milwaukee.
Read the full Forbes article here:
Mentioned in This Press Release
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Event will connect startups, corporations, investors in Healthtech and Medtech


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The new passenger electric vehicle (PEV) company of Tata Motors Ltd (TML) will begin its ambitious journey to capture the emerging Indian electric mobility market with a $1 billion (₹7,500 crore) investment from TPG Rise Climate and Abu Dhabi-based ADQ. The private equity giants will receive an 11%-15% stake in the new entity while they complete the investments in two tranches in 2022. The investment will value the company at $9.1 billion.
The PEV company requires $2 billion of investments in the next five years in products, platforms, drive trains, dedicated EV manufacturing, charging infrastructure, and advanced technologies. TML has decided to raise the equity capital from investors as the passenger vehicle business will be fund constrained to support the aggressive EV aspirations of the company.
The new firm will be created as an asset lite new subsidiary of TML. It will house all the existing dedicated EV talent and design capabilities and aims to attract global talent. The PEV will leverage all existing investments in technologies, brands, manufacturing capacities, and sales network of TML’s passenger vehicle business, which will play the role of toll manufacturer and provider of services.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata group and Tata Motors said the company will continue to proactively invest in exciting products that delight customers while meticulously creating a synergistic ecosystem. “Over the next 5 years, this company will create a portfolio of 10 EVs and in association with Tata Power Ltd, catalyse the creation of a widespread charging infrastructure to facilitate rapid EV adoption in India,” TML said.
Jim Coulter, managing partner, TPG Rise Climate said there is significant momentum around India’s EV movement, supported by the government’s vision and policies, as well as growing consumer demand for greener solutions. The government envisages a 30% electric vehicles penetration rate by 2030.
It is expected that the first round of capital infusion will be completed by March 22 and the entire funds will be infused by the end of 2022. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan are the joint financial advisors to TML, while BofA Securities India Ltd represented TPG Rise Climate for this transaction.
Khaitan & Co are legal advisors to TML, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Cleary Gottlieb are legal advisors to TPG Rise for the transaction.
TML has a 70% market share among EV makers in India. Its EV sales went up three-fold to 1,078 units in September compared to a mere 308 units in the same month last year. The company has sold 10,000 EVs in India so far, thanks to the success of the Nexon EV SUV. It offers SUV Nexon and subcompact sedan Tigor in electrified form.


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SANATOGA PA – Three separate and unrelated incidents of alleged retail theft which occurred between Jan. 31 (2013; Thursday) and Sunday (Feb. 3) at Redner’s Warehouse Market, 1300 N. Charlotte St., have been reported by Lower Pottsgrove police. Arrested were:
- Michael A. Nolan, 19, of Pottstown. He was charged Jan. 31 at 6:10 p.m. with allegedly concealing unspecified merchandise for sale and attempting to remove it from the store, according to Ofc. Daniel Kienle. Nolan was detained by the store’s loss prevention personnel; Kienle reported it was Nolan’s first arrest for retail theft.
- Lauren Ashley Carter, 22, of Pottstown. Loss prevention personnel told Ofc. Scott Weidenhammer they observed Carter Saturday allegedly concealing several items inside a large purse. They recovered lunch meats and cheeses valued at about $30. She was cited for retail theft.
- Beatrice Calabretta, 55, of Pottstown. On Sunday at 3:07 p.m., loss prevention personnel reported to Ofc. Matthew Musselman that they witnessed Calabretta allegedly eat a piece of chicken and place its package in her pocketbook, then pay for other items at checkout without paying for the chicken. They stopped her in the store’s lobby as she was buying Girl Scout cookies. She was cited for retail theft and trespassing.


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Beginning in Brazil, Dutch company Paper Excellence’s R$15 billion offer - nearly R$8 billion of which is to cover debt - for pulp-maker Eldorado has been accepted by the company’s holding company J&F Investimentos.
In Canada, Canadian Natural Resources has reached an agreement to acquire Cenovus Energy's Pelican Lake oil project for C$975 million.
Moving to the US, United Technologies has reached an agreement with Rockwell Collins’ shareholders to take over the business for $30 billion (including debt) in a cash and share deal. Both businesses design aviation technology, with the latter focused on aerospace.
Royal Adhesives & Sealants is on course to buy HB Fuller, having signed a $1.58 billion agreement with its current private equity owners. The acquirer intends to fund the deal with debt financing.
SoftBank Group is set to invest $1 billion in Fanatics, a sports e-commerce business.
Teleflex has agreed to acquire urology treatment manufacturer NeoTract in a deal which could reach $1.1 billion depending on future earnings.
In Finland, Rovio – maker of Angry Birds – has announced plans to launch its IPO on Nasdaq Helsinki.
In France, the country’s government has sold 4.5% in Engie for €1.53 billion, with the proceeds going to the state's innovation fund.
In Germany, US pharma company Merck & Co has agreed to buy Rigontec, a German biotech company, for €464 million.
In Luxembourg, Legend Holdings is set to complete the biggest takeover of a European deposit taking bank by a Chinese entity ever after agreeing an $1.8 billion fee for 90% of domestic lender Banque Internationale a Luxembourg.
In the Netherlands, Koninklijke Philips has issued €1 billion senior notes, which consisted of €500 million floating rate notes due 2017 and €500 million 0.5% notes issues due 2023. Proceeds from the offering will be used to repay a bridge loan used for financing the acquisition of The Spectranetics Corporation.
In Russia, domestic oil major Rosneft and CEFC China Energy Company have signed a joint exploration agreement relating to Siberia. The deal is part of Rosneft’s programme to strengthen connections with Asia-Pacific and China.
Lastly, to the UK, where Aveva Group has agreed to merge with French competitor Schneider Electric's software business. Schneider will own approximately 60% of the new entity, which has a projected value of £3 billion.
Also in the UK, a private equity consortium led by Centerbridge Partners is set to acquire Sompo Canopius for £735 million.


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2017 Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake gets in line with its four-door sibling and receives the same mild technical and styling updates. And we’ve got all the details plus an exclusive video courtesy of regular spy camera man Walko.
Slightly tweaked front bumper, grille, headlights – now with optional LED technology – and tail lights is all we get in therms of styling. Inside, changes are even more discrete with only Apple and Google MirrorLink connectivity featured as an extra compared to the current model.
The naming structure for the diesel versions is bound to change. In place of their current CDI and Bluetec badges, diesel powered CLA Shooting Brake models will simply be set apart by the ‘d’ symbol placed after their number designation.
Dynamic Select will now be standard alongside both manual and automatic (7G-DCT seven-speed dual-clutch) variants, except base engines. The system adjusts the response of the engine, transmission, suspension, steering and air conditioning in four driving modes: Comfort, Sport, Eco and Individual. But the biggest news concerns the introduction of an adaptive suspension option, offered for the first time on the CLA.
Under the bonnet expect only minimal changes, mostly reserved for the top of the line CLA 45 AMG model which gets a significant power boost. Output will raise from 360 to 381 hp thanks to new ECU mapping and revised (higher) boost pressure for the turbo. A mechanical locking front differential is also said to make an appearance alongside the CLA 45 AMG.
Expect to see the 2017 Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake at next year’s Geneva motor show in March.


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UK companies are paying their bills more promptly, a survey revealed today.
Figures from business information group Experian showed firms paid their overdue UK bills an average of 24.88 days after agreed terms in the third quarter of the year compared with 26.17 days for the same period in 2011.
Companies in Yorkshire also improved their payment record during the third quarter – at 24.29 days after agreed terms against 26.68 days last year.
The survey said the difference in late payments between the smallest businesses and the largest companies had narrowed from a difference of nearly 20 days during 2009 to under 12 days in 2012.
Experian director Max Firth said : “Figures show that late payments have significantly dropped compared to the same time last year and it’s encouraging to see that the gap between payment performance of the biggest and smallest businesses has continued to close.
“This is a sign of improved behaviour amongst larger businesses.”


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Ford, like most carmakers, is road-testing driverless cars (Photo: Ford)
Market researchers IHS Automotive have significantly increased their forecast for autonomous-vehicle sales, as automakers and suppliers invest heavily in advanced driver-assistance systems.
IHS expects sales of nearly 21 million autonomous vehicles worldwide by 2035, a sharp increase from about 600,000 in 2025. The US is expected to lead theÂ early deployment and adoption of the cars.
The forecast, which reflects a 43 percent compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2035,Â is based on the high R&D investments automotive companies are making in autonomous-driving technology, the growth of car-sharing programs - which would benefit from driverless cars - and progress in discussions over the regulatory changes needed to allow the cars on public roads.
”Future mobility will connect and combine many different modes and technologies," said IHS Automotive principal analyst Jeremy Carlson. "Autonomous vehicles will play a central role.”
While the US market is expected to be a frontrunnerÂ in deployment with 4.5 million autonomous vehicles by 2035, China, because of its size, will likely lead in volume terms. IHS predicted that, by 2035, more than 5.7 million vehicles there will be equipped with "some form of autonomy."


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My Little Unicorn Runner 3D 2（MOD (Unlimited Money) v1.10.2）
- Current Version:
- File size: 50M
1、
The BBC announced today that millions of Android devices could be affected by a serious security flaw that can give malicious attackers full access to a phone's data.

The bugs were discovered by Checkpoint researchers who were looking at the software running on chipsets by US firm Qualcomm. Apparently these processors are found in approximately 900 million Android phones, so it's kind of a big deal.

Michael Shaulov, head of mobility product management at Checkpoint, said in the report that "it's a race as to who finds the bug first, whether it's the good guys or the bad." He also states further that Qualcomm has immediately jumped on the issue and has started creating patches for the bugs and calls for anyone with an affected device to call up whoever sold it to them and "beg them for patches" if they haven't been installed already.

Checkpoint has created a free app, QuadRooter Scanner, to check if your phone is vulnerable to any of the bugs.

The affected devices include:
BlackBerry Priv and Dtek50Blackphone 1 and Blackphone 2Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6 and Nexus 6PHTC One, HTC M9 and HTC 10LG G4, LG G5, and LG V10New Moto X by MotorolaOnePlus One, OnePlus 2 and OnePlus 3US versions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung S7 EdgeSony Xperia Z Ultra
2、Player-made RPG(Mod) MOD APKThey sought their shame that so their shame did find;
- My Little Unicorn Runner 3D 2
- '"Lo, all these trophies of affections hot,
- "How did he bring it about?"
– Stability improvements
- “APK” install it on your device.
- Enter the game.


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All online shopping stores operating in Pakistan have removed iPhones and Google Pixels from their catalog after the recent Customs Duty imposed by the PTI-led government.
Almost all popular online shopping stores including, Daraz, iShopping, and Telemart have stopped taking orders of Apple iPhone and Pixel mobile devices.
When we tried to search iPhone on these sites, the results came up with mobile pouches and accessories for iPhone, with no information about the iPhone devices or even price in the country.
The direct link of the iPhone devices on some websites are showing that the product is currently out of stock, however, the listings of the iPhone devices have been removed from the search results and other pages of the online stores.
Apparently, it looks that the online stores took this decision after the government’s recent revision in the import policy of the smartphones.
Some of the report circulating on media shows that the people bringing smartphone from abroad worth of 24,000 Pakistani rupees and had to pay additional 10,000 Pakistan rupees on the name of Duties and other Regulatory taxes.
Research Snipers is currently covering all technology news including Google, Apple, Android, Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung News, and More. Research Snipers has decade of experience in breaking technology news, covering latest trends in tech news, and recent developments.


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That’s what Roanoke Vineyards will be moving to in 2016, as the Sound Avenue winery will be closing its tasting room to the public, limiting access solely to its wine club members and their guests.
As tasting rooms become more and more busy by the season, it’s a move that comes as a necessity to the 15-year-old vineyard so it can keep some of its wines left for members of its wine club, according to the winery’s owner, Richard Pisacano.
“With a tsunami in tourism on Long Island’s North Fork, largely focused on the region’s wine industry, it’s not unreasonable to expect all of the tasting rooms to be packed in the coming years,” he said. “This move ensures Roanoke’s energies will remain focused on the wines, and our wine club.”
According to Scott Sandell, the winery’s creative director, the wine club, which is currently free for anyone to join, will remain so. However, they plan on capping it at 1,000 members.
Producing about 4,000 cases of wine per year, he said via email, “the wines have been selling out faster than we ever imagined. I guess that’s a pretty awesome problem to have.”
According to Sandell, several of the 2013 vintages sold out before they even hit the shelves, leaving limited access to those who are in Roanoke’s wine club.
“Aside from the availability issues the goal is to enhance the wine experience for the wine club,” he said. The Love Lane tasting room will remain open to the public, he said.
The Sound Avenue tasting room closes to the public on Dec. 31.


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The New York Times ran an op-ed article entitled, Food That Travels Well, on the hot subject of “Food Miles”:
The term “food miles” — how far food has traveled before you buy it — has entered the enlightened lexicon. Environmental groups, especially in Europe, are pushing for labels that show how far food has traveled to get to the market, and books like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” contemplate the damage wrought by trucking, shipping and flying food from distant parts of the globe.
There are many good reasons for eating local — freshness, purity, taste, community cohesion and preserving open space — but none of these benefits compares to the much-touted claim that eating local reduces fossil fuel consumption. In this respect eating local joins recycling, biking to work and driving a hybrid as a realistic way that we can, as individuals, shrink our carbon footprint and be good stewards of the environment.
On its face, the connection between lowering food miles and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is a no-brainer. In Iowa, the typical carrot has traveled 1,600 miles from California, a potato 1,200 miles from Idaho and a chuck roast 600 miles from Colorado. Seventy-five percent of the apples sold in New York City come from the West Coast or overseas, the writer Bill McKibben says, even though the state produces far more apples than city residents consume. These examples just scratch the surface of the problem. In light of this market redundancy, the only reasonable reaction, it seems, is to count food miles the way a dieter counts calories.
But is reducing food miles necessarily good for the environment? Researchers at Lincoln University in New Zealand, no doubt responding to Europe’s push for “food miles labeling,” recently published a study challenging the premise that more food miles automatically mean greater fossil fuel consumption. Other scientific studies have undertaken similar investigations. According to this peer-reviewed research, compelling evidence suggests that there is more — or less — to food miles than meets the eye.
It all depends on how you wield the carbon calculator. Instead of measuring a product’s carbon footprint through food miles alone, the Lincoln University scientists expanded their equations to include other energy-consuming aspects of production — what economists call “factor inputs and externalities” — like water use, harvesting techniques, fertilizer outlays, renewable energy applications, means of transportation (and the kind of fuel used), the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis, disposal of packaging, storage procedures and dozens of other cultivation inputs.
Incorporating these measurements into their assessments, scientists reached surprising conclusions. Most notably, they found that lamb raised on New Zealand’s clover-choked pastures and shipped 11,000 miles by boat to Britain produced 1,520 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per ton while British lamb produced 6,280 pounds of carbon dioxide per ton, in part because poorer British pastures force farmers to use feed. In other words, it is four times more energy-efficient for Londoners to buy lamb imported from the other side of the world than to buy it from a producer in their backyard. Similar figures were found for dairy products and fruit.
These life-cycle measurements are causing environmentalists worldwide to rethink the logic of food miles. New Zealand’s most prominent environmental research organization, Landcare Research-Manaaki Whenua, explains that localism “is not always the most environmentally sound solution if more emissions are generated at other stages of the product life cycle than during transport.” The British government’s 2006 Food Industry Sustainability Strategy similarly seeks to consider the environmental costs “across the life cycle of the produce,” not just in transportation.
“Eat local” advocates — a passionate cohort of which I am one — are bound to interpret these findings as a threat. We shouldn’t. Not only do life cycle analyses offer genuine opportunities for environmentally efficient food production, but they also address several problems inherent in the eat-local philosophy.
Consider the most conspicuous ones: it is impossible for most of the world to feed itself a diverse and healthy diet through exclusively local food production — food will always have to travel; asking people to move to more fertile regions is sensible but alienating and unrealistic; consumers living in developed nations will, for better or worse, always demand choices beyond what the season has to offer.
Given these problems, wouldn’t it make more sense to stop obsessing over food miles and work to strengthen comparative geographical advantages? And what if we did this while streamlining transportation services according to fuel-efficient standards? Shouldn’t we create development incentives for regional nodes of food production that can provide sustainable produce for the less sustainable parts of the nation and the world as a whole? Might it be more logical to conceptualize a hub-and-spoke system of food production and distribution, with the hubs in a food system’s naturally fertile hot spots and the spokes, which travel through the arid zones, connecting them while using hybrid engines and alternative sources of energy?
As concerned consumers and environmentalists, we must be prepared to seriously entertain these questions. We must also be prepared to accept that buying local is not necessarily beneficial for the environment. As much as this claim violates one of our most sacred assumptions, life cycle assessments offer far more valuable measurements to gauge the environmental impact of eating. While there will always be good reasons to encourage the growth of sustainable local food systems, we must also allow them to develop in tandem with what could be their equally sustainable global counterparts. We must accept the fact, in short, that distance is not the enemy of awareness.
About the best one can say for this piece is that there seems to be movement on the subject so that defenders of the concept of “food miles” are giving up on defending the ridiculous — that the only thing that matters is how far the product is shipped — to defending the merely incorrect — that by carefully doing a ”lifecycle assessment” of each food, we can determine where it is best to purchase food from.
Food miles are, on their face, bizarre. The concept implies that one would help the environment by operating a pineapple-growing greenhouse in Toronto.
Yet what this author advocates is more dangerous because, as a result of studies, it adds the patina of science to what is really just made up garble.
The problems are many, but let us look at five quick ones:
First, it is virtually impossible to know the true “carbon footprint” of anything. Flying strawberries from California to London? What if they fly in the belly of a passenger jet that would have flown anyway? How do we score that? The allocations are fundamentally arbitrary because there are so many different ways to calculate the carbon footprint.
Second, how does anyone know what would be done in place of the current activity? So, if the land isn’t valuable for agriculture where the strawberries grow, perhaps it will be developed into vacation homes that will be energy hogs. How do we score this?
Third, is this the only value in the whole world? What if an African tribe makes a living exporting vegetables to the UK, and if we stop buying their product, they will die. Does that count for nothing?
Fourth, what if the “better” product is distributed slightly differently so consumers have to drive 15 minutes out of their way to farmstands to procure it. Maybe the inefficient transport — 20 items in a Range Rover — outweighs much more distant but more efficient commercial transport.
Fifth, whole industries are set up to take advantage of empty back hauls. My family was once principally interested in growing produce in Puerto Rico — an expensive place compared to other Caribbean and Central American options, specifically because its large reefer import trade was going back empty or hauling non-refrigerated cargo. An almost impossible thing to score.
The truth is that the pricing mechanism is the best single way we know to incorporate all the varied factors that go into deciding whether, here in the U.S., we should buy our counter-seasonal grapes from South Africa, Chile or Australia.
The advocates of “food miles” don’t recognize it, but what they really should be fighting for is pricing externalities into products.
So, if, for example, we have to maintain a navy because we need to import oil, we have to tax oil imports so that the cost of maintaining the navy falls on consumers of imported oil, not the general public.
Every product has a million unknown and, for practical purposes, unknowable impacts on the environment. Because some Mexican immigrants in California pick strawberries, towns in Mexico are transformed. Because consumers in London buy Kenyan produce, Safari animals are not shot for food.
To think that consumers can do something useful for the environment by looking at “food miles” or “carbon footprints” is unreasonable. The best we can hope for is to make sure that the costs imposed on the environment by things such as oil are properly accounted for in the price of food and all other goods.
“Food miles” is a form of protectionism or nationalism in which foreign product is derided. Prosperity is not built on such notions.


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The new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) will have an impact on how feed-grade and water-soluble antibiotics are administered to food animals nationwide. The calf market will see some particularly noteworthy changes. Al
Two of the world’s closest allies, the United States and Canada, couldn’t be more apart on what’s right for their dairy industries with USMCA. The Canadian dairy industry does not like the potential agreement.


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Upcoming new tech companies that can change the world
Multiple tech companies have penetrated the realm of technology with the agenda of changing the world, and we’ve picked out some of the most dynamic brand names.
Here, let’s take a look:
BioLite in introducing energy-efficient and sustainable cooking stoves that are designed to eliminate the challenges of energy access and health issues caused by cooking fumes. These ultra-efficient stoves are powered with superheat wood and charcoal, which produce much lesser smoke. Moreover, the heat emanating from the stove also aids in generating small amounts of electricity, which can be used to charge a smartphone or other devices, or even light up household bulbs.
One of the most promising tech companies of 2020, Frankly Inc. is a data-driven content management company that has penetrated an audience of over 100 million people, and 75% of the households across the US. It provides strikingly impressive data solutions to western news and publications, and it has already signed on some major industry players, including Vice and CNN.
Caffeine has been endorsed as the new social media platform that will change the audience’s preferences across the world. Introduced in the market back in 2018, Caffeine has taken its time in gaining traction and in 2020, it is expected to maintain a big presence. It attracts users by allowing them to stream videos, gaming recordings and make money while watching the content that they enjoy. It is expected to be one of the biggest social media platforms amongst Gen Z for rewarding their obsessions with videos.


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Micromax Canvas Infinity brings 5.7-inch 18:9 display at an affordable price tag of ₹9,999
After launching the Evok Dual Note last week in sub 10k category, the Indian manufacturer, Micromax announced yet another product in the above price range. Whereas the Evok Note’s USP is a dual camera, the Canvas Infinity wants to lure consumers with a 5.7-inch 18:9 display sporting small bezels. Let’s dive into details.
The Canvas Infinity packs a 5.7-inch HD panel with 18:9 aspect ratio, Snapdragon 425 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage with expandable micro-SD option up to 128GB, and Android 7.1.1 Nogat (Upgradable to Android Oreo) out of box.
The camera department includes a 13MP rear shooter with f/2.0 aperture and a 16MP front camera with screen flash. It is backed by 2900mAh battery and the connectivity options include dual SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2 and more.
The Canvas Infinity is exclusive to Amazon.in for now, but Micromax confirmed to make it available in offline stores soon.
Can Micromax win back its market share with Canvas Infinity and Evok Dual Note? Sound off in comments.


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Mark Woll’s parents own one of about 200 cabins on the lake. The family comes up every weekend and every holiday from Warminster, Woll said. “Right now, it’s hard to get on the trails. The latest in foam technology is spray on foam. This is catching on like wildfire in industries of all sorts, especially for packing. Foam in place packaging is the perfect answer for many companies who have to safely transport sensitive equipment or products over large distances, without incurring huge losses or high costs..
Industrial work forces and IT departments are busy evaluating specific use cases for smart glasses as well as addressing security risks that come with another connected device at the workplace.The industry adoption curve of smart glasses for industrial applications is very difficult to gage. One of the most effective ways to gage the industry is to look closely at companies that are working with all of the major players (manufacturers, suppliers, integrators and software developers) in the industry. One company that fits the bill is privately held APX Labs.APX Labs partners include smart glass hardware manufacturers such as Google, Vuzix (NASDAQ:VUZI), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Epson.
Ant McPartlin is arrested after failing a roadside breath. Australian engineer says he has found Malaysia Airlines. Tragedy as Cirque du Soleil aerialist plunges to his. Joining us on set right now is former new York city police commissioner Ray Kelly Marie thanks so much for joining us this afternoon later repudiate it. We have heard so much that since being decision not to indict was made the possibility of protests throughout the city. Logistically now what is happening now with the department to get ready for.
If you choose wisely latter option sure not to hold your garage sale on the same days as your open houses. Neighbors in their undershirts and jeans on your front lawn do make for a great sales ploy. Instead, it makes you look desperate and could hurt you come negotiations.
Now all evidence has been handed over to the Afghans. Yet there has been no attempt to find the killers only a slew of bureaucratic buck passing. Government has refused to pressure Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to two UN officials. (Side note: It took me seven months to fix the upstairs toilet. It was a gradual process of starts and stops, with dead ends and accidental discoveries, and most of the time was spent procrastinating. But it works now, and nothing exploded, something I like to remind my wife of from time to time, when I’m feeling particularly nostalgic.).


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It’s been no secret that loot boxes have created an intense controversy. With governments in the US and Europe threatening to crack down on the industry’s new practice, it wouldn’t be too long before the ESRB would step in to avoid any official oversight. In response to the outcry, the ESRB announced today that they will begin to label all games that feature in-game purchases.
This won’t be a loot box only kind of label, as the ESRB emphasized what they intend this label to include. Any game that allows the user to purchase something with real world money will feature this label. So loot boxes, DLC, season passes, in-game cosmetics, or really anything tied to a real currency will now be labeled by the ESRB. The ratings board clarified why they didn’t just target loot boxes, as they claim that parents weren’t even aware of them in the first place:
“What we learned is that a large majority of parents don’t know what a loot box is, and even those who claim they do don’t really understand what a loot box is. So it’s very important for us to not harp on loot boxes per se, but to make sure we’re capturing loot boxes but also other in-game transactions.”
The ESRB will also be launching a new site that teaches parents how to set up parental controls on a variety of devices to better control or understand how their children are playing.
This new label is clearly an attempt to avoid any new government oversight, but it seems like a small fix. I’d prefer to avoid any government body stepping in and deciding what can and cannot go into a video game, but the ESRB’s changes may not go far enough. When asked by Jason Schreier of Kotaku if this new label would just end up on all games, since nearly every game these days features some form of in-game purchase, the ESRB president responded, “There are games that do not have in-game purchases.”
Hopefully this isn’t the end of the debate, and the industry has heard loud and clear what consumers want to change. Loot boxes, as they are, aren’t acceptable. However neither is uninformed government regulations and unimpressive ESRB changes. There’s a solution to these problems, and I guess we’re still searching for it.


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Fevertree feels the love of good mixers on home front
Fevertree Drinks became one of the few companies to raise its dividend on the back of a resilient first half but warned that it was “not immune” to the pandemic.
The maker of upmarket tonic and other mixers announced an interim dividend of 5.41p per share, up 4 per cent, which it said reflected financial strength, confidence in the business and “our strong cash generation”. It said it was also among the few companies to increase staff numbers, raising its headcount by 10 per cent to 200.
Although its revenues took a hit from the closure of the on-trade — pubs and restaurants — it said its performance in shops had been “very encouraging . . . exceeding our expectations”.
Gin and tonics were the


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A Shelby County couple has pleaded guilty to selling more than $300,000 worth of stolen baby formula online.
Christopher John Andrukaitis, 31, and Holly Hollon, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods, according to a joint statement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.
Andrukaitis and Hollon, husband and wife, are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30.
According to the federal plea agreement, Andrukaitis and Hollon owned and operated the Sweet Tea Sunshine Shop, an online eBay business. The online business was operated out of their residence in Chelsea.
Between September 2018 and October 2020, authorities say, the Sweet Tea Sunshine Shop advertised products for sale, to include baby formula. The Sweet Tea Sunshine Shop received online orders for baby formula and Andrukaitis and Hollon then personally filled those orders.
The baby formula was stolen from various retail stores throughout the Northern District of Alabama and then, after the sale, was shipped through the U.S. Postal Service or Federal Express to customers throughout the U.S.
In total, the Sweet Tea Sunshine Shop generated over $300,000 in proceeds from the sale of the stolen baby formula. Andrukaitis and Hollon used the fraudulent proceeds for their personal benefit.
The United States Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force investigated the case along with the Alabaster Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark is prosecuting the case.


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Forget the Foam Finger, Sports Fans are All Ears
The winning advantage of sports media over many other marketing solutions is the passionate fans. Reaching engaged fans and getting them to market a brand to their friends is a one-two knockout that many brands should consider.
According to a sports-fan engagement study by research firm Catalyst, “eight out of 10 sports fans who ‘Like’ or follow a brand online say they’re open to sharing brand content, buying goods or engaging with social posts.”
In Texas, where everything is bigger, sports are a religion. SportsDay, the leading sports brand in D-FW, scores an estimated audience of 1.4 million weekly readers and 7.6 million average monthly page views on SportsDayDFW.com.
The Texas Rangers are a perfect example of a successful sports brand. Fans of MLB in the D-FW market are willing to pay $18.08 more than the average ticket price to attend a game. In other words, those fans are ready to shell out extra dollars just to cheer on their favorite team.
Clearly, people can’t get enough talk about sports in D-FW. That’s why SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket reaches 1 million unique listeners each week.
Belo Media Group, whose SportsDay TALK app cleverly combines content from both SportsDay and The Ticket, has found that advertisers can reach this audience naturally by going where they love to be.
“Dallas is a huge sports town and fans are very passionate,” said Scot Sandlin, sales director at Belo Media Group. “There are many marketing options for an advertiser today, but sports is a way to directly connect with someone because the team(s) they follow are a direct part of who they are.”
Because of the captivating nature of sports, the average fan is willing to focus their time and attention on supporting their loyal fandom.
“Sports are very personal; there’s an emotional attachment that drives a person’s support for their team and influences why they’re a fan,” said Sandra Henry, senior subject matter expert at Belo Media Group. “Harnessing that connection can be very powerful for any brand.”
In a world of likes and tweets, tapping into the passionately captive sports audience is sure to be a game-changer for turning followers into customers, word-of-mouth marketers and loyal fans of your brand.