text:
Michael Klein sits on the garden wall dressed in bicycle shorts and a tie-dyed San Francisco Giants T-shirt. Behind him, rolling along a Northern California hillside, are three terraced acres of organic fig trees, plum trees, pear trees, peach trees, fraises des bois, tomatoes and melons and a bounty of edible flowers.
But Klein, 47, is no farmer. A Harvard MBA who made his fortune in data communications before dropping out to hang with the Grateful Dead and become an environmental advocate, he is on the well-heeled vanguard of the hottest or, in this case, the coolest dietary trend: raw foodism.
Cooked food has not passed Klein's lips in five years--that means not only meat but also vegetarian staples such as pasta, rice and beans, which are not tasty in their natural state. Since, like most raw foodists, he is also vegan, he abstains from dairy and eggs. Even tofu is taboo, because the soybeans it is made from are cooked.
"I've never felt better," Klein says. He sleeps less, has more energy. He even eats less, subsisting on about 800 calories a day, which most nutritionists would consider starvation level.
Klein is among a growing number of people who believe that eating uncooked "living foods" extends youth, staves off disease and, in some cases, consider cooked food tantamount to poison.
Heat, they maintain, depletes food's protein and vitamin content and concentrates any pesticides. More important, it destroys a food's natural enzymes, which, enthusiasts claim, facilitate digestion.
"In nature, all animals eat living foods," wrote the raw-foods pioneer T.C. Fry, who died six years ago at a relatively youthful 70. "Only humans cook their foods, and only humans suffer widespread sicknesses and ailments."
He also wrote, "All the diseases of civilization--cancer, heart disease, diabetes--are all directly attributable to the consumption of cooked food."
The raw-foodist subculture is a mix of alternative-health types, spiritual seekers and the aggressively trendy. (Celebrity devotees include Demi Moore and Angela Bassett.) Many people turn to the movement after struggling with chronic illness or obesity. Numerous Web sites peddle juicers, suggest recipes and offer testimonials that read like conversion experiences.
Fix for larger problems
It would be easy to dismiss raw cookery as kookery, and many do. But the rise of raw also reflects something about America's current mood. Extreme dietary regimens tend to crop up during times of crisis as a simple fix for society's ills.
Living-food gurus similarly promise not only better health but also increased wealth, spiritual enlightenment and inner contentment--something that, these days, many of us find in short supply. In fact, by serving up equal parts fashion and phobia, raw foodists may have hit on the ideal cuisine for an anxious time.
"In American life today, there's a lot we can't control," says Barbara Haber, author of "From Hardtack to Home Fries: An Uncommon History of American Cooks and Meals." "But everyone has control over their own intake. We can't control terrorism, but we can make sure we don't eat anything cooked."
Michael Klein's raw-foods diet is cushier than most. After all, his wife, Roxanne, is a chef. Such a good chef that Michael has personally bankrolled her eponymous restaurant, Roxanne's, an all-raw haute cuisine eatery in Larkspur, Calif.
Roxanne's is not the first raw restaurant; there are about 20 in the United States. But it is the first to cast raw as a fine-dining trend, and the attendant hype has pushed raw foodism into the spotlight.
Reservations for the 64-seat establishment are snapped up more than a month in advance. A prix fixe meal, while not stratospheric, runs about $69 a person, not including wine. (Because it is fermented, wine is kosher for raw foodists.)
Perhaps the ascent of a cuisine as unusual as this one was inevitable. Fine dining has, of late, lost its spice. Every ethnicity has been celebrated, fused and infused. East has met West; North has met South. Even nouvelle is old.
But scientists have a bone to pick with raw foodism.
"There's no basis for it," says David Klurfeld, a professor of nutrition and food science at Wayne State University in Detroit. "The whole concept is based on pseudoscience."
Aside from a slight loss of some vitamins, Klurfeld says, cooking produces no proven detriment and provides plenty of benefits. In addition to making food taste good, cooking sterilizes it.
Heat "denatures" a food's proteins--that is, alters their shapes in ways that improve digestibility. Raw foodists, however, say that this process is harmful.
According to one of the few studies available on raw foodists, the body-mass indices of a quarter of women and a fifth of men who maintained the diet for an average of four years were below normal, and a third of the women had stopped menstruating.
"It's still better than eating at McDonald's," says Marion Nestle, a professor of food studies at New York University. "For most of us to eat like that occasionally would be a great idea. Not as a way of life, though.
"I'd worry about B12, which is only found in food of animal origin. A deficiency can cause nerve damage. And it looks as if it could be low in protein, though people don't need as much protein as Americans eat."
She pauses. "I hate to say anything nasty because the food Roxanne's serves looks really good. And you can certainly enjoy the food without buying the philosophy."


text:
WATERTOWN — The Jefferson County Youth Alliance says a marketing denial for Juul will not alleviate the youth vaping epidemic.
In 2020, Juul Labs voluntarily halted sales of its fruit and other flavored products after a backlash over rising youth vaping rates. But the company had submitted four tobacco and menthol flavored products for Food and Drug Administration clearance. After a roughly two-year review of the applications, the FDA on June 23 ordered Juul to remove its remaining products from the market, saying the company had provided insufficient or conflicting data about the potential risks of using its products. products.
Juul Labs has been granted a temporary stay of the order banning its products and is seeking an extension in court. Juul claims the FDA overlooked the company’s data when reviewing its applications.
Tammie J. Nabywaniec, director of the Youth Alliance of Jefferson County, said a removal of Juul products from the market is unlikely to curb vaping because there are other types of highly addictive “disposable” devices to high nicotine content, flavors, colorful packaging and a much larger number of puffs, all for a relatively low price.
In a recent spring take-back campaign with four local school districts, 160 devices were collected and donated to the Youth Alliance. Of these, 133 were nicotine devices. Only 21 were Juul devices. Nineteen contained some form of marijuana and eight were non-manufactured devices, referred to as “homebrews”.
“I think it’s important for people to realize that Juul just isn’t the most used device anymore,” Ms. Nabywaniec said. “Kids made adjustments very quickly because they have access to social media, which tells them which devices are the best and cheapest. They got there faster than parents, community members – even before we can prepare.
With Juul devices, the liquid cartridges can be removed and discarded separately. With new vaping products being marketed as “disposable” this is not an option as they are one piece with no moving parts, which Ms Nabywaniec called a huge environmental concern. While Juuls typically have around 200 puffs per cartridge, these so-called “disposable” devices have a puff count of 2,500 to 5,000 and come in a variety of flavors.
Nabywaniec said she and the Youth Alliance gave presentations on youth vaping to local and state officials, the Jefferson County attorney, the county district attorney and representatives of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
On Wednesday, Ms. Nabywaniec hosted a Zoom meeting with local, regional and state organizations for a conversation about how to tackle youth vaping.
Participants from the North Country at Wednesday’s Zoom included representatives from Pivot, the Watertown Police Department, the Watertown Regional Office of the State Attorney General, the Alliance for Better Communities, the Watertown City Council, public health officials from Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, the Jefferson County Board of Legislators, the Fort Drum Army Volunteer Corps, Jefferson County Probation, the Watertown Family YMCA and local school districts. Members of SAMHSA and representatives from out-of-state health departments and communities also participated.
The groups focus on disposal methods; address ease of purchase online and in person; combat illegal shipment of devices through the US Postal Service; and the FDA’s continued move to regulate other products. This includes monitoring nicotine salts, flavored vape juices, and concentrations of nicotine or other substances available on the market.
“I think talking to everyone, what I would see is bringing forward a monthly meeting where we can sort of take stock of where we are in our own individual communities, but also divide ourselves,” said Mrs Nabywaniec. “It will allow us to kind of go forward in different communities and then be able to identify who wants to work on the environmental side and who wants to work on the mining side in those components. Maybe it’s something we’ve been working on for months, maybe longer.
The latest vapes are called disposable or “single-use” and cannot be refilled once all the puffs are gone. As these are the primary devices used by youth and young adults, the local committee is focusing on regulating and enforcing single-use devices.
Mailing electronic nicotine devices results in misdemeanor charges and a fine of up to $5,000, or $100 per vaping product. The devices are mostly sent through the US Postal Service, Ms. Nabywaniec said.
She said she meets once a month with local school resource officials and will begin to inventory what they have collected and publish a summary of the results quarterly.
The goal is to enforce restrictions and make vaping devices inaccessible to young people. Ms Nabywaniec said her group at the Youth Alliance will work this summer to develop support programs and information on how to manage withdrawals to share in the fall with parents, young people, schools and members of the community.
“If our kids are telling us anything, it’s that taking the product out isn’t working, that they really need quit help and support,” she said. “So that will be another path that we are working on from our side.”
Online companies, like Hyde, promote a rewards system, discreet and free delivery, a menu of flavors and other incentives, with only one click required for a website visitor to declare that they have at least 21 years old. But flavored vapes are also sold in stores even though their sale is illegal in New York.
Ms Nabywaniec said one of the concerning features of single-use vapes is that they cannot be recycled because, unlike Juul devices, the liquid cartridges cannot be safely removed for disposal. Still, they are popular for a variety of reasons, including puffs versus price. A Juul has around 200 puffs per cartridge, which can cost $5-7 each. Devices labeled as “disposable” have 2,500 to 5,000 puffs and cost between $10 and $20.
“There is no legislation in place at the moment for this, and there is no legal provision,” Ms Nabywaniec said. “They pay attention to Juuls and things like that. No one pays attention to what our children actually use.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common reason for trying e-cigarettes given by middle and high school students in the United States is “a friend used them.” The most common reason given by young people for continuing to use electronic cigarettes is “I feel anxious, stressed or depressed”. In 2021, most youth who reported using e-cigarettes used flavored varieties, 84.7%. Among middle and high school students who used any type of flavored e-cigarette in 2021, the most common flavors were fruit at 71.6%, candies, desserts or other sweets at 34.1%, 30.2% mint and 28.8% menthol.
The CDC states that the e-cigarette vapor that users inhale from the device and exhale may contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine; ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavorings such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to severe lung disease; volatile organic compounds; carcinogenic chemicals; and heavy metals such as nickel, tin and lead. It can be difficult to determine what is in e-cigarette products. For example, some electronic cigarettes marketed as containing no nicotine have been found to contain nicotine.
In May 2020, the New York State Department of Health announced that two signature pieces of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s comprehensive tobacco control policy had gone into effect. The first law prohibited the sale of flavored nicotine vapor products and the second prohibited the sale of all tobacco and nicotine vapor products in pharmacies. According to the Ministry of Health, flavors are largely responsible for the dramatic increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by young people in recent years and are one of the main reasons young people initiate and maintain e-cigarettes. use of electronic cigarettes.
“Unfortunately, we know the flavor devices are in most of our vape and smoke shops here locally,” Ms. Nabywaniec said. “And from our focus group work, we know there are a lot of kids under 21 buying them. I think one of the biggest things we hear in the focus groups discussion is that our kids buy from local tobacco and vape stores, and the provision of ID isn’t as enforced as it should be.

domain: news


text:
Good morning! Here's the technology news you need to know this Wednesday.
1. A new video has gone viral showing off the "next generation" of robots created by Google's robotic research company, Boston Dynamics.The incredible footage shows a robot who can open doors, walk on uneven surfaces, and pick up heavy boxes.
2. Bill Gates has disputed Apple CEO Tim Cook's assertion that the FBI is trying to get Apple to create a "back door" to the iPhone. Gates denies that he's backing the FBI in its battle with Apple, however.
3. Uber has picked Bangkok for the launch of its first motorbike taxi service. The Thai motorbike service is Uber's latest attempt to find ways of delivering new services to budget-conscious Asian consumers.
4. Spotify has chosen Google Cloud Platform to power its back-end infrastructure. It's a big win for Google given the Google Cloud Platform is seen as a third-place player — at best — next to leading competitors Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
5. Kanye West's new album isn't in the charts because Tidal hasn't released streaming data. Whether or not Tidal releases streaming data is down to the artist — and in this instance West has opted not to make it public, and he's not on the charts as a result.
6. MasterCard announced at Mobile World Congress that it will roll out an app this summer that lets people approve online payments with selfies and fingerprints. The app would make traditional passwords obsolete.
7. Apple has hired a high-powered lawyer to defend itself against the FBI. Ted Olson has made a career of delivering arguments on the largest legal stages in the United States.
8. Snapchat has added a way to wish your friends a happy birthday over its platform. The company is introducing lenses that let friends send each other images with a special birthday message.
9. Apple shipped 4.1 million Apple Watches in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to an estimate from International Data Corporation. That's only a 5% increase on the amount sold in the third quarter of 2015.
10. Activision Blizzard has completed the purchase of King Digital Entertainment, the makers of "Candy Crush Saga," for $5.9 billion. Bobby Kotick, Activision's chief executive, said the company now reaches more than 500 million users "making us the largest game network in the world."


text:
Diabetes and Disaster Preparedness
October 2016 submission
Health Triangle Magazine
As I write this month’s column, the local news is reporting tropical storm and hurricane threats in the United States, flooding in the Caribbean, and showcasing efforts of the American Red Cross in wildfires, earthquakes and house fires. When disaster strikes, lives are instantly disrupted. Simple things that we take for granted, like food, water, and electricity, are often compromised. People with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, have additional stressors to deal with. Preplanning is the key to surviving when a disaster strikes. This article will highlight information from the experts on how to proactively prepare for the unexpected.
When a disaster strikes, a person with diabetes (PWD) faces additional stressors. Aside from the disruption of basic human needs, such as food and shelter, a PWD must also address concerns over medication supplies, proper storage of medications, adequate food and fluid supplies, and glucose testing equipment. The key to surviving a disaster is to avoid the health-related threats that occur when faced with inadequate supplies, foods, and other items required to maintain good health practices. Preplanning for (the possibility of) a disaster is the best way to lower the risk of compromising your health.
Make a list of items you would need in the event of an emergency. Build your own emergency kit with supplies you would need, such as food, water, prescription medications and testing supplies, as well as basic first aid supplies and clothing to keep warm and dry. In addition, include personal hygiene products, additional batteries, and a flashlight. The general rule of thumb is to include enough supplies to last 3days. As many of these items have expiration dates, be sure and check/restock supplies as needed.
The American Red Cross recommends storing one gallon of water per day per person. Food supplies should provide an average of 1200 calories per day per person. Foods not requiring refrigeration are best. They include canned foods, granola bars, freeze dried meals, and meal replacement bars. Don’t forget to include a can opener and eating utensils in your preparedness kit. The change in food quality and quantity may affect your blood glucose level; thus, it is important to include glucose tablets and gels in your kit, to teat possible hypoglycemic events. Finally, make sure your kit includes emergency contact information, a copy of your medications, and your doctors contact information.
For more information on disaster preparedness:


text:
OKEx Announces Growth Plans and Future Projections at the NextGen Conference
OKEx, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading firms recently outlined its plans for growth as well as its projections for an even brighter future. Currently the world’s biggest crypto platform by trading volume, OKEx announced these plans at its NextGen Conference, held in Seoul, South Korea.
The event saw some of its executives making presentations as well as granting interviews to the press. Chief among their goals is Mr Jay Hao’s declaration that their goal is to become the world’s most trustworthy cryptocurrency exchange platform.
Are they on track for that goal? Looks like it. The platform is still the only crypto based exchange platform that offers spot and derivative trading.
It’s definitely no stranger to innovative technologies as seen in their latest launch of a p2p virtual derivative without any expiry date, called Perpetual Swap.
Even more, interviews granted by some of their executives revealed the company’s plans to beat other platforms on futures trading and so much more.
In spite of all their talk about a bright and grand future, OKEx has gotten some negative press lately for their premature settlement of Bitcoin cash futures that were on their platform. Andy Cheung, OKEx’s Head of Operations, addressed these issues and highlights why they had to do it. According to him,
“We believe that because of the hash war with Bitcoin ABC and SV…”[…] “Honestly, we’re actually afraid of people when they do a hash war. It inflates the index price and also the market, so that’s why we decided to settle early and that was the reason behind it.”
“And I would say that after looking at the customer feedback, over 90 percent of customers were thankful to us for doing that because if we didn’t do that the prices went even further down and people would actually have had a much bigger risk than if we hadn’t done it.”
Interestingly, it appears that in spite of this unpopular move, traders haven’t abandoned the platform or even made any efforts to. When asked about traders leaving, Cheung said:
“No, not at all.”[…] “No. Not at all. Honestly, there was a little bit of worry at first but after a few days, after we looked at the situation, we didn’t see any impact.”
He goes on to state that the company is particularly competing with Binance, as they are their biggest competitor, with an intimidating retail side. Their Perpetual Swap launch is also targeted at upending BitMEX’s dominance of that product in the crypto trading market.
Cheung also states that part of the company’s 2019 goal is to actively expand and get into the African market, starting with South Africa and eventually expanding to other countries there.
Another executive that had a lot to say about the company’s future direction is OKEx’s Financial Market Director, Mr Lennix Lai who announced Perpetual Swap at the conference.
He believes the company’s introduction of Perpetual Swap will help it attract more professional traders and institutional investors who prefer high risk, big exposure trades.
So, retail traders may not really benefit from this new product because of its relatively steep entry barrier, capital requirements, and risk profile. Unfortunately, this new product won’t be available to professional traders from the US and Hong Kong for now.
Lai also talks about how the company is positioning itself as a more transparent operation in Malta, as well as target the unbanked all over the world through financial inclusion products. He also says the company plans on going the custodian route as it’s the future of blockchain and crypto. In Lai’s words,
“Many players are starting to do that and evaluate the custodian risk. It’s going to happen, not just on a regulatory side, but because we also want that, our clients want that, it’s just a matter of time.”


text:
DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired)-- Independent, full-service advertising agency Firehouse today announced it has been named agency of record for Service King Collision Repair Centers, a multi-state operator of high-quality collision repair facilities and the fastest growing U.S. based collision repair company, effective immediately. The agency won the account following a review.
"From the moment we first connected to the final presentation this felt like one team. And the more we learned about their business and the opportunity, the more excited we got," said Mark Hall, Founder and President of Firehouse. "This is a great organization on its way to becoming a national brand. We are thrilled to be able to partner with them and help them get there even faster."
Firehouse will lead advertising responsibilities across new and traditional media. This includes brand strategy and creative development, media planning, search marketing implementation, as well as social media and public relations strategies. The multi-pronged program will support over 80 Service King locations, including those in Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
"Following an intensive search, we are thrilled to have Firehouse -- a Dallas-based company like ours -- as our advertising partner," said Gregg Murry, Vice President of Advertising at Service King. "The Firehouse team demonstrated their unique knowledge and understanding of our business and we're eager to take their insights to market."
Service King will join Blackmon Mooring, a national leader in both residential & commercial cleaning as well as disaster restoration, as a new client for the agency so far in 2013.
Founded in Dallas in 1997, Firehouse is an independent, full-service advertising agency driven by creative and strategic thinking. Firehouse uses a collaborative mix of creative, media, planning and public relations to challenge businesses to create impactful methods of communicating to the consumer, the industry and the real-world. The agency has garnered national, regional and local awards, as well as being named Advertising Age's 2010 Small Agency of the Year - Southwest. Current clients include Interstate Batteries, Huawei Devices of North America, National Cheerleaders Association, Nothing Bundt Cakes, WGU Texas and Taylor's Gift Foundation, to name a few.
About Service King Collision Repair Centers
Service King Collision Repair Centers is a multi-state operator of collision repair facilities that offer high-quality repairs with a lifetime warranty, free estimates, on-site rental cars and an overall superior customer service experience. Founded more than 36 years ago in Dallas, Texas, Service King Collision Repair Centers, under the direction of CEO Chris Abraham, has grown to be a leader in the collision repair industry. In 2012, The Carlyle Group bought a majority stake in the company, providing the capital necessary to grow nationally. Service King's expansion continues, now with over 80 locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas with additional growth planned in 2013. For more information about Service King, visit www.ServiceKing.com. Follow Service King's news on Facebook and Twitter.


text:
Jason Williams, new owner of award-winning Jaquest Fine Foods, has won his first official endorsement since taking over the business a year ago.
The delicatessen and smokery, on the Bolsover Industrial Park, has notched up four Great Taste Awards: for duck salami, smoked halloumi, venison bacon and venison biltong.
Jason, who runs the firm with partner Rachel Lancaster, said: “We couldn’t wish for a better stamp of approval. These are the first awards we’ve won since taking over and we’re delighted to be living up to the extremely high standards of our founder, John Jaquest.”
TEAM’S NEW MILESTONE
The team behind the award-winning Milestone dining pub at Kelham Island has opened a new artisan pizza house just up the road.
Craft & Dough, at 1 Kelham Square, specialises in craft beers, cocktails and artisan pizza – from roast butternut squash and feta at £5.50, to smoked salmon, crayfish and cream cheese at £9. House beer £2.50.
CHEERS TO PASTA BAR
Let’s raise a glass to the Pasta Bar in Sharrowvale Road – which now offers a BYO option on Sunday evenings.
From last weekend diners are welcome to bring their own wine from 4pm on Sundays, to quaff with the spaghetti, spirale and linguine. Corkage £2.
LESSON IN GOOD SERVICE
Sheffield University’s David McKown – front-of-house training expert and the man behind the Skills for Service conference – has received national recognition as Educator of the Year.
David, who received the Art of Service Award from ‘service guru’ Fred Sirieix, said: “I’m surprised and delighted. To be recognised by the industry’s most respected educator is tremendous.”


text:
The LEGO Group is going green with its new factory in southern Vietnam.
Construction of the factory begins in Binh Duong province this November, and 25,000 trees will be cleared in the process. In response to the trees that will be removed. The LEGO Group is planting 50,000 trees over a period of three years. In addition to the newly planted trees, the factory is set to be the company’s first carbon-neutral site.
“We are excited to have started the planting of 50,000 trees, as it marks the first of many activities on our sustainability journey in Vietnam,” says Preben Elnef, vice president and program lead for The LEGO Group in Vietnam. “A key reason for locating our new factory in Vietnam was the strong support from the Vietnamese government when it comes to our environmental sustainability agenda, and we look forward to their continued support during the construction phase.”
Presently, 15,000 trees have been planted, with additional trees set to be planted next year and into 2024. All trees are native to Vietnam, such as the golden oak and the rusty-shield tree. The LEGO Group will also be using a solar farm to power factory operations, continuing the goal of overall sustainability, as it is doing with its new facility that is being built in Virginia.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
General Mills catches flak as lawyers take on 'Big Food'
Yes, General Mills Inc. lawyers have been getting a workout lately, dealing with lawsuits targeting its granola bars, yogurt, fruit strips and other products. But at least they've got plenty of company.
The New York Times has a report on some of the biggest litigators in the business, a crew that won hundreds of millions of dollars from the tobacco companies a decade ago and are now taking on food manufacturers, which they see as the next big target.
Together, they've filed more than 25 suits against companies like Golden Valley-based General Mills, as well as PepsiCo, Chobani, Heinz and ConAgra Foods. PepsiCo's Cap'n Crunch Crunch Berries cereal were sued, for instance, because "Crunch Berries" aren't a real fruit (the plaintiffs lost that one).
General Mills has also been in the sights of consumer-advocacy groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which claims that the company is deceptively selling its Fruit Roll-Ups as healthy and that its Nature Valley bars have non-naturey ingredients in them.
General Mills is also defending its Yoplait Greek yogurt against a lawsuit that alleges the product is neither Greek nor yogurt.
Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.
COO and Senior Vice President (SVP) of Operations Ecumen | Saint Paul, MN
VICE PRESIDENT – COMMERCIAL LENDING First National Bank & Trust Company | Wichita, KS
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative – Pain Management Publicis Touchpoint Solutions | Minneapolis, MN
AutoCAD Design Drafter George Konik Associates, Inc. | Minneapolis, MN
Crew Member ( Entry Level Food Service / Customer Service ) Chipotle Mexican Grill - Corporate | Minneapolis, MN
- Most popular
- Titanic survivors' Lake Minnetonka mansion listed for $4.75M (Photos)
- Amazon negotiating for Twin Cities distribution center site
- WrestleMania in Minneapolis? Officials plan to fight for it
- Lakeville lands its first craft brewery: Angry Inch Brewing
- Graves picked to develop hotel at MSP Airport
- 'Breastaurant' chain Tilted Kilt seeks partners for Minneapolis pubs
- Target.com undercuts competitors with new shipping offer
- Wages, layoffs and Target.com: What to watch in Target's earnings
- Apartments planned for Glen Lake area of Minnetonka
- American Medical Systems may be sold to Boston Scientific
A look at the day's business stories from media outlets around Minneapolis / St. Paul


text:
Live from Abu Dhabi Connect the World takes you on a journey across continents, investigating the stories that are changing our world.
Dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/09/dog.blog.jpg
caption="Ban cat and dog meat?"]
This isn't a pet store - it's a meat market in Guangzhou, a city in southern China where eating cats and dogs is common practice.
At the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant in central Guangzhou, diners can choose from a long list of menu items, including dog soup, dog steak, dog with tofu and more. In the kitchen, the chef chops up meat for dog hot pot, one of the more popular dishes. Most customers like it spicy.
But these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. The Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating cats and dogs illegal.
Eating dog meat is a long-standing culinary tradition in places like China and Korea and cat meat can be found on the menu in China, Vietnam and even parts of South America.
The Chinese government has already signaled a willingness to take the meat off the market.
The ban on eating dog and cat meat is part of a larger proposal to toughen laws on animal welfare. Individual violators could face up to 15 days in prison and a small fine. Businesses found guilty of selling the meat risk fines up to 500,000 yuan or US$73,500.
We want to know what you think.
Should people be banned from eating cat and dog meat in restaurants? Perhaps it should be allowed because of cultural reasons?


text:
WASHINGTON—Federal prosecutors and securities regulators are investigating whether
misled consumers and investors about how its advanced driver-assistance system performed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Justice Department is looking at statements that Tesla and its executives made about the safety and functionality of the system known as Autopilot, the person said. The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a similar civil investigation, people familiar with the matter said.
Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The company’s Autopilot system is among the most well-known advanced driver-assistance systems and comes standard on new Teslas. The technology helps drivers with tasks such as steering and maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles on the highway, but does not make cars autonomous.
The U.S. auto-safety regulator and the California Department of Motor Vehicles also have been stepping up scrutiny of Autopilot.
Tesla tells drivers using Autopilot to pay attention to the road and to keep their hands on the wheel, but the company’s public messaging has at times appeared inconsistent with that guidance. Some, including the California DMV, have said the language Tesla uses to describe its technology risks giving drivers an outsize impression of its capabilities.
The DOJ’s criminal investigation involves authorities in Washington and San Francisco, the person said. The SEC has authority to civilly enforce investor-protection laws.
The SEC’s probe hasn’t been previously reported. Reuters earlier reported the Justice Department’s criminal investigation.
A Justice Department spokeswoman and an SEC spokeswoman declined to comment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal auto-safety regulator, launched an investigation of Autopilot last year after a series of crashes involving Teslas and first-responder vehicles stopped at emergency scenes. The agency recently escalated that probe. This summer, the California DMV accused Tesla of falsely advertising its vehicles as autonomous. Tesla has requested to be heard on the matter, records show.
Tesla has said driving with Autopilot engaged is safer than doing so without it. The company points to internal data showing that crashes have been less common when drivers were using Autopilot, though some researchers have criticized Tesla’s methodology.
The SEC and Justice Department have a long history of investigating Tesla and its chief executive,
Tesla in 2018 settled an investigation that alleged Mr. Musk misled shareholders—through statements he wrote on
—about his ability and plans to take the company private for $420 a share.
Tesla and Mr. Musk settled the claims by paying $20 million each, and Mr. Musk was forced to step down as the company’s chairman. He also agreed to have company lawyers pre-approve any of his tweets that related to material information such as Tesla’s new products, performance, projections and potential acquisitions or mergers.
Tesla has said in securities filings that federal prosecutors also investigated Mr. Musk’s take-private tweets and corporate statements about the production rates for its Model 3 vehicle. Prosecutors haven’t sought any more information on those subjects since Tesla last provided records in May 2019, the company said.
The SEC has also investigated Mr. Musk over his tardy disclosure of his personal stake in
as well as Tesla share sales by Mr. Musk and his brother,
made around the time that Mr. Musk polled Twitter about whether he should unload 10% of his stake in the electric-car maker.
Write to Dave Michaels at firstname.lastname@example.org and Rebecca Elliott at email@example.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the October 28, 2022, print edition as ‘U.S. Probes Tesla Statements on Autopilot.’


text:
New Delhi: Shares of Adani Wilmar Ltd on Tuesday made a tepid market debut but soon recovered the lost ground to surge over 8 per cent against the issue price of Rs 230.
The stock made its debut at Rs 221, a discount of 3.91 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. But, it recovered the lost ground soon and jumped 6.52 per cent to Rs 245.
Similarly, at the NSE, it declined 1.30 per cent to list at Rs 227. But, the stock bounced back and zoomed 8.26 per cent to Rs 249.
The company commanded a market valuation of Rs 31,770.64 crore on the BSE.
Adani Wilmar’s initial public offering (IPO) saw more than 17 times the demand for the shares on offer last month.
Adani Wilmar, the joint venture between Adani Group and Wilmar Group of Singapore, had set a price band of Rs 218-230 per share for the IPO, which opened for bidding on January 27.
Incorporated in 1999, Adani Wilmar is an FMCG food company offering most of the essential kitchen commodities, including edible oil, flour, rice, pulses and sugar.
Branded products account for about 73 per cent of sales of edible oil, food and FMCG in the 2020-21 fiscal.


text:
Now that spring is here, Food Tank has selected 20 great new books for you to read this season—from food politics to personal memoirs by iconic chefs and more.
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva writes about the importance of agroecology to put forward sustainable food systems that offer health, nutritious and accessible food for all, ecosystem services, and climate resilience.
GRuB Executive Director Katie Rains spoke with Food Tank about her work to promote access to healthy foods, her dreams for the 2018 Farm Bill, and innovations to foster interest in nutrition and agriculture.
The MSU Food and Health Lab questions the nutritional quality and sustainability of the proposed America’s Harvest Box
Nancy Tosta, a Board Member of Tilth Alliance, encourages everyone to seek out local produce and the need to connect our food to our health.
Ten years ago, Dan Barber was having a conversation in his kitchen with Michael Mazourek, a Cornell University seed breeder, about growing a more flavorful butternut squash. This collaboration is the starting point for Barber’s new company, Row 7, which will bring together chefs and seed breeders fr
The Beecher’s Foundation is launching a ten-year consumer education campaign to reimagine the food system of the Puget Sound, the metropolitan region surrounding Seattle that is home to nearly four million people. Called the Sound Food Uprising, the campaign plans to teach one million eaters to chal
Mara Fleishman, CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, tells Food Tank about her inspiration, her work helping schools adopt cook-from-scratch programming, and her vision for the future of school food in America.
Belgium has adopted a new inverted nutritional triangle model that focuses on the impact of food on health and prioritizes plant-based food products over processed meat and high-calorie diet. The model was developed by Flemish Institute for Healthy Living.
Haile Thomas of HAPPY educates younger generations about plant-based diets and healthy lifestyle choices to create positive change in the food system. She will be speaking at the Washington D.C. Food Tank Summit in February.


text:
In a Nutshell: Dealing with auto repairs can be a hassle, whether you’re trying to get a car in need of service to the shop or negotiating prices once you got there. YourMechanic solves these problems by sending a mechanic directly to you. The company also promotes transparent pricing. Instead of providing estimates, YourMechanic provides quotes and sticks to them. YourMechanic also promotes safety through the COVID-19 pandemic by practicing social distancing and following the latest CDC recommendations. Customers can simply put a credit card on file with the company and have a completely contactless repair experience.
Owning an automobile means shelling out some cash from time to time whether it be for routine maintenance or necessary repairs.
It’s safe to say that nobody loves getting their car repaired. The hassle of getting your vehicle to a repair shop, the questions that arise around price estimates, and evaluating the trustworthiness of the shop itself can all lead to unnecessary frustration. And when customers get the initial quotes, they may have to turn to credit cards to pay for expenses.
Adding safety and social distancing to the equation during the COVID-19 pandemic only adds to the stress.
YourMechanic offers a tech-based solution to these age-old automobile problems. The company bypasses the old standards and delivers a mechanic to you, whether you’re at home or work, and offers transparent pricing so you know what you’re getting into before the work begins.
“Our mission is to leverage technology to service any vehicle, any place, any time,” according to YourMechanic. “We’ve built the mobility platform of the future, enabling us to service vehicles at the point of need, increase asset yield, and lower total cost.”
President and CEO Anthony Rodio said the idea behind YourMechanic was born in 2011 when the company founder had a particularly frustrating experience getting his vehicle repaired.
“He was trying to get his auto repaired, and they told him it was going to take four days,” Rodio said. “And then after he brought it in, they kept it four more days and called him twice and increased the price. He felt like there had to be a better way.”
Transparent Pricing and Mechanics Who Come to You
Perhaps the most immediately appealing aspect of YourMechanic is that mechanics come to the customer and not the other way around. That means no more waiting around at dealership service centers or repair shops.
Customers can easily book an appointment with YourMechanic online.
“We make the entire process easy for you,” according to the company. “Using our website and mobile apps, you can access the maintenance schedule of all your cars, get a fair and transparent price, book an appointment, make payments, access service history, and get maintenance reminders.”
Customers just need to provide their vehicle information, contact information, and a description of what’s wrong with the automobile. And because there are no overhead costs to maintain a shop, those savings are passed on to the customer.
Rodio elaborated on some of YourMecahanic’s other benefits as well.
“The obvious part of how YourMechanic is changing auto repair is when we come to your home or driveway to fix your car,” Rodio said. “But, the less obvious but actually harder and maybe more important change we brought was really bringing price transparency to the market.”
YourMechanic will provide a detailed list of parts, services, and costs needed to repair the vehicle. In most cases, the company can provide a price instantly. And once a price is locked in, it doesn’t change.
“If we tell you that we can come replace your brake pads next Tuesday at 10 a.m. for $200, we stick to the time and we stick to the price,” Rodio said. “It’s not an estimate, it’s an actual quote, and we deliver. If it takes us longer or whatever, we still hold to the price we quoted you.”
This gives customers peace of mind knowing they won’t have to deal with last-minute negotiations or surprise price tags.
“Knowing what you’re going to pay and knowing upfront exactly when your car is going to be having service has been very game-changing,” Rodio said.
Contactless Service Appointments Help Protect Customers and the Community
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed how many people go about their daily lives. As the coronavirus spread across the U.S. in the spring of 2020, businesses and schools shut down quickly as people scrambled to understand how to maintain safety.
Social distancing and wearing masks became the norm as businesses and schools began to reopen and nonessential workers emerged from their homes. But the virus still isn’t completely under control and those safety precautions still stand.
That’s where YourMechanic offers another benefit — it’s contactless service appointments.
“Our technicians receive up-to-date recommendations for best practices based on CDC guidelines,” according to the company. “These include frequent hand sanitization, a six-feet social distance recommendation, and support to have contactless appointments, which allow customers and technicians to avoid physical proximity.”
Rodio said customers can provide a credit card to keep on file with YourMechanic to help make things that much easier and avoid in-person credit card swiping.
“The way our process works is, when you’re booking a service we pre-authorize your credit card — like a hotel would do — without charging your credit card,” he said. “Then, after we deliver the service at your home, and as soon as you say the work was done to your satisfaction, then we charge your card.”
YourMechanic also works to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect other members of the community.
“Mechanics who have any symptoms, or asymptomatic positive COVID-19 tests, will have their service schedules immediately paused until they are cleared by a healthcare provider,” according to the company. “In such circumstances, YourMechanic’s team will notify all individuals who may have been impacted through contact.”
Customer Satisfaction is the Key to Success
Rodio discussed the importance of customer satisfaction and how YourMechanic works to provide quality service.
“We stand behind the work for 12 months or 12,000 miles, and we will make it right if the mechanic does something wrong,” he said. “I think Zoomers like the idea that there’s a company standing behind the individual technician coming to your house.”
YourMechanic only allows the most qualified mechanics to join its network, which spans more than 2,000 cities across the country. Each mechanic goes through an extensive screening process to ensure the highest standard of service.
“Hiring mechanics who don’t carry proper liability insurance can be expensive and a hassle,” according to YourMechanic. “Most customers only find out about these insurance gaps once it’s too late. Our mechanics are covered by industry-standard liability insurance.”
And when it comes to providing customers with a satisfactory experience, the numbers speak for themselves.
“So, a straight apples to apples comparison of how happy customers are on delivered service — our Net Promoter Score is 91, and the NPS for traditional auto repair shops are somewhere between negative and single digits. Dealerships usually do a little bit better. They’re usually 20 to 30.”
YourMechanic also has no shortage of customer testimonials to reinforce its high satisfaction rate.
“Gary who services the cars here for North Marin County was sent out within two days of my request, and it has been very convenient,” wrote Mike, who had a radiator replaced on his Lexus. “I didn’t have to go find him — he came and found me [and] took care of it right at my home. He cleaned up everything. The car is already put together and that’s great.”
Preventative Maintenance Offerings on the Horizon
Rodio said YourMechanic is gearing up to launch a prepaid maintenance program in the near future. It is not yet available on the company website, but he said it is currently available through certain providers.
“Say you’re buying Johnny a used car to go off to college, you want to make sure he’s going to get the oil changed, that he’s going to get the brake pads done,” Rodio said.
These kinds of basic services will be included in YourMechanic’s prepaid maintenance plans, he said. The company anticipates offering two or three-year contract subscriptions that can be paid on a monthly basis.


text:
SwiftKey is pushing out an updated build of its latest beta product, "SwiftKey Cloud", that fixes many annoying issues with the initial release that have been reported by testers. Version 22.214.171.124 makes several big improvements including being able to personalize with multiple Gmail accounts, removal of Android's own backup service if Cloud is enabled and removing redundant SwiftKey account entries in the Android settings menu.
Additionally, many small issues have been fixed. Gmail personalization should no longer crash, Flow predictions are now more responsive, Cloud preferences crashes have been fixed and emoji input in Handcent has been fixed. There are still several more known issues that are next in line to be fixed, but this is still a big update that all beta testers should move up to.
You can grab a download of either the phone or tablet version of the SwiftKey Cloud beta at the source link below.
It's time to stop using SMS for two-factor authentication
Not all 2FA is equal. Using SMS to get a code might not be "better than nothing" after all.
Fresh Surface Duo renders are here, reportedly coming to AT&T
Microsoft hasn't exactly been camera shy with the Surface Duo, but a new set of renders have leaked that offer an even closer look at the device. Alongside the leaked images, the leaker says Duo will be headed to AT&T in the U.S.
24 hours with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: Big, beautiful, and backwards
It's still too early to give any conclusive thoughts on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but Samsung's latest flagship is already proving to be a tremendous phone in more ways than one.
Time to dump Chrome: 8 alternative desktop web browsers
If you getting frustrated with the lack of privacy, slower speeds or difficulty using extensions in Chrome, it's time to switch to one of these web browsers.


text:
comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) stock plunged to a record low of $5.30 on Wednesday after securing a big private placement investment. Investors remained concerned about the company’s future as this year turned out to be problematic due to the departure of top executives.
The company’s stock has tanked again after the shares were delisted amidst an internal accounting investigation during early February. The company had missed the deadline to restate its financials, which led to Nasdaq delisting the stock. Later, the stock regained its listing position on the Nasdaq.
On this week Monday, the company secured a $20 million investment via a private placement with a potential to increase to about $50 million within twelve months. The agreement was signed with an unnamed institutional investor. ComScore will get upfront proceeds of $20 million from the private sale of common stock and issuing four series of warrants.
During May-end, the company announced in a regulatory filing that its operating chief Kathryn Bachmann resigned on May 29. During April 1, the company reported the exit of its CEO Bryan Wiener and President Sarah Hofstetter. The company, which appointed Dale Fuller as interim CEO, also named three directors to its Board.
For the first quarter of 2019, comScore reported a narrower loss helped by a decline in investigation and audit related expenses as well as lower restructuring expenses. However, the bottom line missed analysts’ expectations. Revenue declined by 3.4% due to a decline in current deliveries of digital customer solutions as well as the inclusion of certain digital customer solution deliveries from prior-year sales in the first quarter of 2018.
While the strategic review is still in process, the company has identified and implemented actions that will result in better customer experience, improved organizational efficiency, and resources that are better aligned with business needs. comScore expects these actions to drop annualized costs and cash outflow by about $20 million, or 5% of its core operating costs, a portion of which will be realized beginning in the second quarter of 2019.
Shares of comScore ended Wednesday’s regular session down 8.69% at $5.57 on the Nasdaq. The stock has fallen over 74% in the past year and over 73% in the past three months.
Shares of McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MKC) were up on Thursday after the company beat sales estimates for the third quarter of 2022. Adjusted earnings, however, decreased from the
Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ) announced second-quarter 2023 earnings results on Thursday, reporting a 12% increase in net sales. Comparable earnings, adjusted for one-off items, climbed 33% year-over-year to $3.17
Packaged Foods company Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) on Thursday said its first-quarter profit increased supported by a 10% revenue growth. Earnings also came in above the consensus forecast. At $2.90


text:
Workers at a Brooklyn supermarket will receive $500,000 in back pay to settle charges they were illegally underpaid for years.
Farm Country owner Dae Yoo agreed to cough up the back pay after 63 current and former workers at his East New York grocery charged they weren't paid legally required overtime. Some said they didn't even make minimum wage — getting paid as little as $4.52 an hour for 12-hour days.
The deal works out to about $9,000 per worker.
"I felt like we didn't have any rights. We were afraid," said Ruben Guardado, 23, of Flatbush, who said he was paid minimum wage, but no overtime.
"We worked because we needed the job, but at the same time ... we need what is fair," he said. "We don't have to put up with making less than is fair."
The settlement, reached late last week, is by far the biggest in a two-year-old campaign to organize low-paid grocery store workers around the city, which has netted 11 other settlements for a total of $1.1 million.
The workers also voted to unionize earlier this year, and the owners agreed to a contract with 50-cent raises over minimum wage, overtime, and paid days off.
"I think the owners just did the math," said Lucas Sanchez of New York Communities for Change, which organized the workers. "They did the reasonable thing in terms of what's best for their business and what's best for their workers."


text:
Food for thought: The world has become more delicious in recent years as chefs, chefs, cookbooks and television series have been popping up.
A new study found that the world’s top 10 culinary stars are more popular than ever, with the world ranking as high as number 11 on a global list compiled by the Culinary Institute of America.
While there have been some notable trends in recent times, the survey found that while chefs, restaurants and cookbooks have become more popular, there has also been a drop-off in popularity in the top 10.
The number of people who have tasted at a food on a cookbook has dropped by over 40 percent in the last five years, according to the survey, which was compiled by The Culinary Association.
There are now five chefs and five TV chefs in the world, but only two people who cook at the top of the food chain, with two more who are in the ranks of the most popular chefs.
The list of the world 10 most popular food shows and movies includes the likes of Netflix’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” which ranks #10 on its list of Top 10 Most Popular Food Shows.
The new list is compiled by Culinary Alliance International, which is a non-profit trade group representing more than 20,000 restaurant and restaurant-related companies.
Its president, Chris Hahn, told the Associated Press that the association’s list has become a “census-based ranking” that is based on data gathered by a global network of more than 2,000 experts from around the world.
“This year, the list has evolved to reflect the growing appetite for quality food in the U.S., as well as a shift in tastes,” Hahn said in a statement.
“We hope the list will help chefs, restaurateurs and other foodies to see the value of cooking in the United States, not just on TV or in a fancy restaurant.”
Hahn said he hopes the list can also help guide people who want to start a restaurant in the States.
“People who are looking for a good restaurant should definitely start thinking about what they want to cook, and the list is there to help guide that,” he said.
“The list also allows you to look at the other top restaurants in the country, to get a sense of how many are there, how many people live there, where they are, how much food is on tap and what kind of wine they have on tap.”
Culinary Alliance has released a number of rankings for the world this year, including the top five in terms of food and beverage revenue.
Last year, chef Robert Kayser ranked #1 in the ranking of restaurants, with $2.4 billion in sales.
Last year, Culinary Magazine ranked the world as the best restaurant in America, with a $3.5 billion revenue.
The rankings are based on an analysis of restaurant-visiting data, restaurant industry statistics and the restaurant industry’s most recent annual report.


text:
BJ's Wholesale (BJ 3.20%) has been a huge beneficiary of COVID-19-related changes in shopper behavior. The warehouse retailing giant is enjoying its best sales growth on record and appears to be winning market share from rivals like Walmart (WMT 0.96%) and Costco (COST 2.98%).
In a conference call with Wall Street investors, executives credited sweeping changes they made to the business in recent months, including racing into the online fulfillment game and adopting new sourcing strategies in areas like food and apparel.
Management couldn't provide an outlook for the next few months, but it did predict more aggressive adjustments to the business that could deliver solid returns for investors.
Let's take a closer look.
Customers consolidating their trips
We had significantly more members shopping our clubs, consolidating their trips, and growing their baskets. These trends were relatively consistent across all of our geographies.
-- CFO Bob Eddy
BJ's benefited from the same trends that have lifted most big-box consumer staples retailers since the start of the pandemic. People are looking to make fewer shopping trips and are patronizing stores that have a convenient connection between the online and in-store experience.
The retailer is doing better than its rivals in some key growth areas, though. Comparable-store sales rose by over 20% in each month of the quarter. Walmart just announced a 9% increase for its latest quarter and Costco expanded by 16% in the U.S. market in July.
BJ's credits its nimble sourcing approach, which included the quick addition of new suppliers across popular categories like general merchandise, groceries, and apparel. These moves allowed it to avoid many of the out-of-stock challenges that pressured its peers.
A transformational period of cash flow
Over $600 million in free cash flow has enabled us to repay nearly $500 million in debt, repurchase nearly $40 million in shares, and accumulate nearly $170 million in cash on our balance sheet. This has been truly transformational.
Operating income is up 81% through the first six months of the fiscal year, and those gushing earnings have put the business on a much sounder financial footing. Executives are using the resources to invest in growth initiatives while paying down debt and reducing the outstanding share count. The good news is that these improvements should support earnings even if the industry endures a pullback related to the current recession. "What we do know is that our business has strengthened significantly," Eddy explained.
A different retailer
We are not the company we were six months ago, six quarters ago, or six years ago. We have added more members and are accelerating investments to improve all facets of our business. Although we benefited from increased [unemployment] and stimulus benefits in the last six months, we have built an underlying strength in the business that will be sustained in the future even after [unemployment] and stimulus benefits are behind us.
Management didn't issue an official outlook for the rest of 2020, but executives did say they expect strong sales growth to continue, given that comp growth is still running at over 20% into early August. Gross profit margin might contract slightly as BJ's invests in higher wages and price cuts.
Those lower prices are the best tool the retailer has as it tries to convince most of its newest members to stay loyal even after the COVID-19 threat abates. Combined with its merchandising wins, that asset could allow BJ's to begin a new era of steady market share growth. Rivals like Costco won't take those losses in stride, and so investors will want to watch the next few earnings reports for signs of a clear winner in this battle.


text:
Manx lamb was on the menu at a party hosted by the UK’s Ambassador to Switzerland to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Lamb provided by Isle of Man Meats was served to VIP guests at the event on June 6th.
Tim Baker, Chairman of Isle of Man Meat Company Ltd, said: “It was a great honour to have Manx lamb on the menu at such a prestigious occasion. In addition to being a celebration of Her Majesty’s birthday, the event was also an opportunity to showcase the best of British and Isle of Man producers such as Tyrrells, Tiptree, Fuller’s, and other major British businesses. Our Manx lamb received many positive comments, and the Ambassador even mentioned it in her speech.”
The event was held in Berne and hosted by Ms Jane Owen, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, and non-resident Ambassador to Liechtenstein. The Ambassador thanked everyone who makes the ‘relationship between the UK and Switzerland a powerful force for open trade, science, innovation, culture, tourism and education’.
Isle of Man Meats was the only Manx business to feature in the event which was supported by around 30 leading companies. Earlier this year the Isle of Man Meat Company Ltd, and other businesses from the Island’s food and drink sector, were represented in a delegation to Switzerland led by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA).


text:
The Christmas season has always been important for the economy. Stores, hotels and travel businesses usually make their money at Christmas time. But it is unclear if the holiday season helps other industries.
The health crisis has forced countries across Europe to shut down until early December to contain the spread of coronavirus. Governments are hoping to re-open their economies in time for Christmas. Some economists, however, wonder if it will do any good.
The question is especially important this year. There is a risk that re-opening too early could hurt public health, economic growth and employment.
Black Friday and online sales
The financial research firm Deloitte says the biggest European spenders on Christmas last year are those in Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal.
In Britain, December sales are usually around 12 percent of the yearly total. Economists say that helps retail businesses, even if people buy less in January to recover from December spending.
However, lower-priced Black Friday sales across Europe in late November has made December spending less important. The growth in online purchasing also makes it less necessary for some stores to stay open. German retail association HDE expects online sales to fuel an increase of 1.2 percent over 2019.
Some economists believe that even if people do not buy before Christmas, they will spend on other things.
Paul Donovan is chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. He said in his weekly blog, “Not spending on drinks at a Christmas party translates into the purchase of new furniture.”
Television news often shows crowded stores with last-minute purchasers before Christmas. But there are other, less obvious effects of the Christmas season.
Usually, productivity drops as Christmas nears. Workers rush out to buy things or go to parties. One research company found that 25 percent of workers reported they do less work or try to avoid more work during the holiday season.
There are even some economists who believe the act of buying gifts is bad for the economy.
Yale economist Joel Waldfogel wrote a paper in 1993 called “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas.” He said that when people pay a lot for gifts, especially unwanted gifts, that was like destroying their economic value.
Economists continue to argue about this idea. However, few disagree that Christmas does have unintended and harmful effects on the economy, from drunk-driving accidents to increased paper waste.
Information on new coronavirus cases in coming days will show if Europe can reopen for Christmas. But for the economy, it may not make any difference.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
The Reuters News Agency this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.
Words in This Story
retail - adj. the business of selling things directly to customers for their own use
furniture - n. chairs, tables, beds, etc., that are used to make a room ready for use
obvious - adj. easy to see or notice
productivity - n. the rate at which goods are produced or work is completed
deadweight - adj. something heavy that is being carried


text:
As printed in our January 25, 2015 issue...
HALF OF ALL U.S. DAIRY PRODUCERS SIGNED UP for 2015 coverage in the new Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy). Of the 23,000 who enrolled, 12,000 bought up additional coverage. "Enrolling 50 percent of farms in a brand new program is a commendable start, particularly coming off a year of record-high milk prices," said Chris Galen of NMPF.
WHILE FARMS ENROLLED ARE OF INTEREST, the volume of milk covered by MPP-Dairy is important. Those tallies were still forthcoming.
AS GLOBAL DAIRY PRICES SOFTENED, U.S. dairy exports declined. November sales were off 7 percent in volume, 14 percent in dollars compared to October. Overall, November exports represented 14 percent of total U.S. milk production; imports were 3.5 percent.
ASIAN MARKETS WERE HIT THE HARDEST, especially China. Exports to Mexico rose 15 percent, and shipments to South America topped $30 million for the first time in the history of U.S. dairy exports.
U.S. PRODUCTS FACE STIFF TRADE WINDS as the dollar has gained strength. When the greenback strengthens, American products become more expensive to international customers. In early January, the dollar hit an 11-year high against 16 other currencies.
CLASS III FUTURES AVERAGED $15.54 for January to December 2015 contracts with April the low at $14.41 and November the high at $16.36. Spot Cheddar, as well as butter, traded in the mid- to upper-$1.50s.
TWO POSITIVE TRADING SESSIONS were posted by New Zealand's Global Dairy Trade on December 16 and January 6 after nearly 11 consecutive months of market declines. While it doesn't represent a trend yet, it could signify that product prices may be stabilizing.
INCOME OVER FEED COSTS has slipped to December's 2.38 ratio. Feed costs were $8.53 for an income over feed cost at $11.77. Values used: $20.30 milk, $3.77 corn, $10.20 soybeans and $183 alfalfa.
DAIRY FARM EQUITY FINALLY RECOVERED following its disastrous plunge during 2008 and 2009. U.S. dairy farm equity was $96.5 billion in 2013 compared to the prior peak of $93.8 billion in 2007. The average dairy farm equity was $1.95 million in 2013.
BRIEFLY: After ethanol profit margins reached a record $2.04 a gallon in April, returns slipped to 58 cents due to low petroleum prices that dropped 46 percent in 2014. December alone saw a 20 percent drop. In January, 13 new Senators joined 33 others who have served less than one, six-year term in Congress. In the House, half of all lawmakers will have been in office only since the 2008 election. There were 414 fluid milk plants in the U.S. in 2013. That was the most since 1999 when there were 435 locations bottling milk.


text:
Blizzard has released a brand new update for Overwatch that adds a completely new playable map to the game called ‘Oasis’. This map will was originally available for users on PC through the PTR but it has finally been made available to the players for Xbox One and PS4.
Blizzard has also released patch notes for this new update on the official website which details the features of this new map.
New Control Map: Oasis
Oasis is one of the world’s most advanced cities, a shining jewel rising from the Arabian Desert. A monument to human ingenuity and invention, researchers and academics from around the region came together to found a city dedicated to scientific progress without restraints. The city and its inhabitants are governed by the Ministries, a collection of brilliant minds who possess many secrets, which have attracted the interest of powerful organizations from around the world.
Overwatch is a hugely successful online multiplayer shooter from Blizzard Entertainment that has more than 20 million users across the PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The shooter is extremely popular in the Asian market along with Europe and USA and has generated a steady set of revenue for Activision Blizzard.
The developers have also supported it with updates that add new characters or maps and it is usually free of cost. The latest update for Overwatch was released just in time for the Winter Holidays.


text:
Investment: Uno cuts dividend after pounds 1.7m loss
Tuesday 02 February 1999
Same-store sales in the 10 weeks since November are down by 30 per cent on the same period last year.
The company said that footfall at its stores had fallen sharply as customers demonstrated "an unwillingness to spend".
Losses reached pounds 1.7m in the six months to 7 November, compared with profits of pounds 0.4m last time. The interim payout was cut to 0.4p against 1.85p last year.
The weak figures pushed Uno's shares down 18 per cent to 33.5p. This values the company at pounds 6m and with the board holding more than 40 per cent of the shares has caused speculation about the future independence of the company.
Paul Rosenblatt, chairman and chief executive, said that Uno was "committed to remaining as a public company," but the group could seek a merger as a way of restoring value.
Although there was a net cash outflow of almost pounds 9m in the half, the company is expected to have net cash of around pounds 2m by the year end. The current share price is also underpinned by freehold property holdings .
Uno's problems are mainly sectoral. Furniture is probably the weakest part of the troubled retail sector, with fear of recession causing consumers to defer larger purchases. Uno is also up against strong sales comparisons last year.
Management has cut costs by pounds 4m and says a new head office, which combined Uno and World of Leather, will lead to efficiencies.
On SG Securities' reduced full-year profit forecast of pounds 1m, the shares trade on a forward rating of nine.
There could be value further out but there is no need to rush.
- 1 Michael Brown shooting: Amnesty International sends team within US for first time as National Guard deployed
- 2 James Foley 'beheaded': Isis video shows militant with British accent 'execute US journalist' – and warns Obama of more to come
- 3 Reading Festival 2014: Tesco branch replaces salad and potatoes for Jagermesiter and vodka
- 4 Here’s the damning letter Robin Williams wrote to his Mrs Doubtfire co-star's principal after they expelled her
- 5 Ferguson protests: 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein ‘arrested’ by police during St Louis demonstrations
Michael Brown shooting: Amnesty International sends team within US for first time as National Guard deployed
Michael Brown shooting: Ferguson police shoot and kill second young black man
James Foley 'beheaded': Isis video shows militant with British accent 'execute US journalist' – and warns Obama of more to come
Iraq crisis: Islamic State's message to America - 'We will drown you all in blood'
Ferguson: In the heartlands of America, a descent into madness
Isis threat: Cameron wants an alliance with Iran
Crisis? What crisis? A visiting US doctor gives the NHS a rave review
Scottish independence: English people overwhelmingly want Scotland to stay in the UK
Ukip MEP calls for reintroduction of death penalty on fiftieth anniversary of last deaths
Russell Brand calls for Israel boycott: Comedian urges big businesses that 'facilitate the oppression of people in Gaza' to pull funding
Michael Brown shooting: Chaos erupts on the streets of Ferguson after autopsy shows teenager was shot six times – twice in the head
iJobs Money & Business
£475 - £550 per day + competitive: Orgtel: Senior Technical Accountant-Insuran...
£200 - £290 per annum + competitive: Orgtel: Sales Performance Manager, Key Ba...
£25000 - £30000 per annum + bonus+benefits+package: Harrington Starr: Junior D...
£600 - £800 per day: Harrington Starr: Java/Calypso Developer Java, Calypso, ...


text:
Back in the day, Apple called everyone to save September 9 as the date for an exclusive live streaming on the company's official website. That date has finally come, but it seems Windows users were left out of the game this year.
It was revealed that the event will be available only for those who own an Apple product. If you want access to the big reveal, you will have to be browsing from Safari, OS X and iOS versions, or watching Apple TV. Things have changed from similar events in the past, since Windows users will not be able to access the streaming with Quicktime this year. For the very first time, the company is presenting what is in store only to its customers and is leaving the rest of tech-fans out of it.
During the event, Apple is expected to unleash the brand-new iPhone 6, while it's also rumored that more complex devices such as the so-called iWatch could be revealed. The former is most probably going to be presented in two versions, one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen, both of which surfaced on the worldwide web earlier. If the leaked previews are anything to judge from, the new iPhones are going to be larger than the previous iPhone 5.
The streaming is scheduled to take place on 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT) and you will find it over here, along with a countdown.


text:
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 March 2017 – The LEGO® name has been synonymous with toys for decades and its humble LEGO® brick has come a long way since it was first created in the late 1940s. Today, LEGO® is a global brand with an extensive selection of toys, which can be found in toy and department
ISKANDAR PUTERI, 2 DECEMBER 2016 – Embark on a Brick-Tacular journey with LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort as it presents new rides, attractions, and activities this holiday season. Throughout December, guests are welcome to experience the specially set-up ‘snow’ village with machine providing the special snow effects four times a day, one-of-a-kind Christmas market that sells various
Kuala Lumpur, 2 November 2016 – Leading up to the season of joy and giving, LEGO® Malaysia will be hosting an exclusive Build Your LEGO® Christmas event at the LG Oval Concourse area at 1 Utama Shopping Centre from 9th to 20th November 2016, 10 am-10 pm. This Christmas, adults, children and LEGO® fans
27 June 2016: Iskandar Puteri – With just a wave of their hands, guests at LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort will soon be able to throw lightning bolts, move shockwaves, send ice soaring and emit fire balls with cutting-edge technology that the Resort just unveiled today. The upcoming addition to the LEGOLAND Theme park, the launch of
JOHOR, April 8, 2016 – The month of May would be the perfect time for adult fans to share their Star WarsTM love with their children, with a unique LEGO® twist! LEGO Star WarsTM Days is set to be bigger than ever this year – in fact, it will be the largest LEGO Star WarsTM event
For the very first time in history, LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort has made it possible for you to enter the world of Ninjago with a Live Show entitle LEGO ‘Ninjago and The Realm of Shadows”. The puppet style show is inspired by the hit TV series based on the extremely popular “Ninjago-Masters of Spinjitsu” and will
LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort today unveiled exciting Holiday Extravaganza celebrations for the year-end holiday season. The focal point of the celebration is a brand new festive show with a cast flown in especially from Europe that’s performing at the newly renovated air-conditioned LEGO® City Stage.


text:
Revlon has added two megacelebrities to its Hollywood-heavy global brand ambassador roster: actresses Emma Stone and Olivia Wilde.
As global brand ambassadors, each of the actresses will appear in multimedia TV, print, in-store and digital ad campaigns. Revlon said Stone and Wilde will first appear in campaigns scheduled for early 2012 tied in with a new color cosmetics line and new nail enamel products. Both have also committed to take part in Revlon’s philanthropic efforts, Revlon said.
Stone and Wilde join a glamour group that includes Kate Hudson, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Elle MacPherson.
Alan Ennis, Revlon’s president and chief executive officer, said the duo personifies the Revlon woman, someone who is “glamorous, confident and bold.”
Gucci Westman, Revlon’s global artistic director, who has worked with both Stone and Wilde in the past, said both “embody strength, beauty and femininity. Emma is so classic in a Grace Kelly real movie star way and she is an amazing actress as well. Olivia has the most unbelievably beautiful eyes and she is also cool and intelligent. I cannot wait for everyone to see our new Revlon campaigns.” Westman is creating the beauty looks for the actresses’ Revlon first campaigns. To tease consumers, in the months and weeks leading up to the debut of the campaigns, which are scheduled to debut at the time products hit shelves in early 2012, Revlon Facebook fans and Twitter followers will receive exclusive sneak peeks of the looks.
Revlon said that between the two actresses, they have already appeared on more than 15 magazine covers this year. Stone can currently be seen in the movie “Crazy Stupid Love.” She also stars in “The Help,” which enters theaters today. Past projects include “Easy A,” “Zombieland” and “Superbad.” Wilde can currently be seen in “Cowboys and Aliens” and “The Change-Up.” She is perhaps best known for her co-starring role as Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley in the TV series “House M.D.”
@tradesy is turning the concept of a showroom upside down with its new space in Santa Monica. Here, the company plans to hold events, art exhibits and a showcase rare fashion pieces like this Louis Vuitton boxing set. Get all the details on Tradesy’s first showroom on WWD.com. #wwdnews
Spotted last night at the @erdem x @hm launch event: Kate Bosworth, Rashida Jones, Kirsten Dunst and Selma Blair. The party, which took place in LA, also marked the opening of their pop-up shop. “I was interested in creating a collection that wasn’t in any way disposable. It was about pieces you’d create and keep forever, things that have a permanence to it,” designer Erdem Moralioglu said. #wwdeye (📷: Katie Jones)
Renee Zellweger in yellow in 2001 and again in 2017. Chosen as one of the 12 @pantone Leading Spring Colors (and dubbed “Meadowlark”), it only makes sense that the bright hue stands the test of time and is making a resurgence this season, seen already on stars like @blakelively and @gigihadid. (📷: Donato Sardello & @rexfeatures) #wwdfashion #tbt
Dior’s 70th anniversary celebration continues with a new exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. “Christian Dior,” which is scheduled to run through March 18, takes a look at the founders tenure from 1947 to 1057 and feature 40 designs. Pictured here is an evening gown from the Ailée, fall 1948-49 haute couture collection. #wwdfashion (📷: Brian Boyle)
As one of the most recognizable models in the world, Christy Turlington Burns has an insider’s view of the fashion industry and the allegations of sexual harassment swirling around it. “I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experiences at some point in our careers,” Turlington told WWD, along with her suggestions for how the modeling world should protect younger women and men. Read more on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: Tony Palmieri) #wwdnews
@asics America has tapped a new brand ambassador: famed DJ/record producer @steveaoki. This initiative is intended to set the tone for the new brand identity and philosophy and will include partnerships with influencers and in-store and off-line activations that will continue into next year. This is Asics’ most significant marketing effort in two decades, and is expected to attract younger consumers to the brand. #wwdfashion
24-year-old Jean Prounis is redefining the rules of jewelry. Formerly a studio assistant to Jemima Kirke and a design apprentice at Ghuran, she focuses on handcrafted subtleties and ancient goldsmithing techniques. “There was a really sterile feel in the environment and I wanted to have jewelry with character that shapes how you wear it everyday,” Prounis said. Each piece is hand made in New York, either by Prounis or three other jewelers in the district. #wwdfashion
“These collections continue to build on that vision, empowering differently abled adults to express themselves through fashion,” said @tommyhilfiger of his line of adaptive apparel, which launches today. The line consists of 37 men’s and 34 women’s styles based upon the pieces from the spring Tommy Hilfiger sportswear collection. #wwdnews


text:
At Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening auction in London on February 13, another of Richter’s Abstraktes Bild works from 2004 is expected to top $14 million, as is Basquiat’s Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) from 1983. Meanwhile Bacon’s Man in Blue IV from 1954 is estimated to fetch up to about $9.5 million.
Experts will be watching the sales closely for an indication of the contemporary art market’s potential in 2013 following record sales last year (sparked by wealthy American buyers seeking solid investments prior to expected tax increases), according to observers. Andy Warhol was the biggest selling artist last year, according to the Artnet database, with over $380 million in sales, beating Pablo Picasso whose work raked in over $334 million. Richter, who is 80 years old, was in third place with nearly $299 million.


text:
August 09, 2000 -- XM Satellite Radio Inc. (Nasdaq: XMSR), a new band of radio, closed its $235 million financing deal announced in July thus completing its funding through commercial launch of its revolutionary nationwide satellite radio service. As part of the transaction, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. has joined General Motors, DIRECTV Enterprises Inc., Clear Channel Communications and Motient Corporation (Nasdaq: MTNT) as a key strategic investor in XM. The investor group, led by AEA Investors Inc., also includes Madison Dearborn Partners, Baron Asset Funds, DIRECTV and Columbia Capital, LLC, which will purchase newly issued preferred stock in the company.
First there was AM, then FM and soon. . . XM Satellite Radio. For more information, please visit XM Radio's website: www.xmradio.com.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this press release include uncertainties associated with the launch of our satellites, the company's dependence on third party vendors, its continuing need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 2-25-00. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio's Investor Relations Department.


text:
The Tulsa Drillers will host DrillersFest 2013 on Saturday, March 9 at ONEOK Field. The Drillers annual open house event will run from 10:00am to 2:00pm and is free to all who attend. Fans will have their first opportunity to purchase individual tickets for all 70 Drillers home games this year.
Tickets for all 17 Fireworks Shows will be on sale for the first time as well as tickets for each Thirsty Thursday game. All remaining tickets for the annual Bedlam Game between the OU Sooners and the OSU Cowboys that will be played at ONEOK Field on Friday, May 10 will also go on sale for the first time. In addition, tickets to the ORU vs. OSU game that will be played on Tuesday, April 9 will be on sale.
Season tickets will also be available for purchase, while current season ticket holders will be able to pick up their 2013 packages. Fireworks, Flex Plans and other ticket packages will also be available for pick up and purchase.
Other activities for DrillersFest 2013 will include:
- Free use of the Kidz Zone and inflatables at Hornsby's Hangout
- Free hot dogs and sodas with ticket purchases
- Other concession items available for purchase
- New apparel and merchandise on sale at Black Gold Outfitters
- Behind the scenes ONEOK Field Tours every hour
- On-Field Batting practice from 10:00am to 1:00pm
Fans unable to attend DrillersFest can still purchase tickets on the Internet for all of these games beginning at 10:00am at TulsaDrillers.com or over the phone at (918) 744-5901.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.