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Microsoft targets 'Blue Edition' software sales scams
Goes after online auctioneers selling pirated Windows XP and Office
Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. today said it has filed 63 lawsuits worldwide in its latest effort to crack down on sellers of counterfeit software, including online auctioneers that use a new scam dubbed "Blue Edition" that tempts buyers with ultra-low prices.
The lawsuits, filed in a dozen countries including Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the U.S. and the U.K., target people who allegedly sold bogus copies of Windows XP, Microsoft Office and other software via online auction sites, said Matt Lundy, a senior attorney with Microsoft's anti-piracy team.
The broad counterattack against counterfeiters is a sign of the times, said Lundy. "Consumers should be aware that there are pirates throughout the world trying to sell you counterfeit software," he said. "[And] the counterfeiters are getting more bold in their schemes."
Lundy lumped the "Blue Edition" scam in the latter group.
"This is nothing more than counterfeiters burning Microsoft software on recordable DVDs and CDs, then claiming that they're part of Microsoft Blue Edition, which they say is an overrun of a Microsoft marketing program that allows them to sell at such deep discounts," said Lundy. "It's entirely fictional. There is no such thing as 'Blue Edition.'"
Microsoft has shut down hundreds of Blue Edition online auctions in the several months since it found evidence of the scam and fielded reports from consumers.
Most of the sales were of Windows XP knock-offs, Microsoft said, noting that although there are still valid copies available in some locales, buyers should be cautious. Previously, Microsoft acknowledged that pirates preferred Windows XP over its successor, Vista, essentially mimicking the legitimate marketplace.
In other instances, Microsoft found sophisticated operations that relied on auction sites hosted in New Zealand that sold high-quality copies and had the software shipped directly from the counterfeiter in China to buyers in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.
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April 6, 2020
Luxury Daily live news:
British sports carmaker McLaren joins VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium
The consortium comprises major U.K. industrial, technology and engineering companies across sectors such as automotive, aerospace and healthcare.
New “At Home With Mr. Porter” is social push by menswear retailer to engage the housebound
The initiative follows Mr. Porter’s Health In Mind effort to help customers and online readers lead happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives, even while at home.
Safilo, taking black eye over COVID-19 measures, expects 11-13pc Q1 sales drop in eyewear
The business outlook for 2020, as provided in a briefing Dec. 10, is no longer valid as Safilo suffers the consequences of lost sales over lockdowns and store closures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
In-house agencies most important for producing new creative assets in shadow of COVID-19: survey
A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers has found that 90 percent of respondents have adjusted their creative marketing messaging since mid-March when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 coronavirus as a pandemic.
Tiffany & Co. commits $1M to WHO, New York Community Trust for COVID-19 relief
The Tiffany & Co. Foundation has committed $1 million to COVID-19-related causes as the coronavirus rampages through communities worldwide, devastating lives and livelihoods.
Influencer marketing should take right tone during pandemic
Brands have an opportunity to connect with affluent homebound consumers in lockdown by working with social media influencers, but the messaging must have the right tone.

domain: news


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Macy's may have international shipping, but the department store chain has now decided to make a concerted push in the market that's got every retailer strategizing: China. The company, which made the announcement in conjunction with the release of its latest financial figures on Wednesday, said that it plans to begin a Chinese e-commerce pilot program by late 2015.
Macy's isn't going it alone, though. Its foray into China is a joint venture with Fung Retailing Limited, a private company based in Hong Kong, and its products will live on Alibaba's Tmall, a massively popular e-commerce destination that could lend Macy's better visibility among consumers there. All of the merchandise on the site, Macy's says, will be curated specifically for the market; fulfillment, too, will take place from Hong Kong, where "Macy's China Limited" will be headquartered.
The e-commerce effort in China should deliver about $50 million in sales during 2016, execs said on a webcast Wednesday morning. And while establishing a presence there could help win over Chinese shoppers at home, the hope is that acquainting them with the brand online will also boost sales Stateside among Chinese tourists and residents.
And they could use the lift. Macy's pulled in $6.1 billion in sales during the second quarter of the year, which ended Aug. 1 — down from $6.26 billion during the same time last year.


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Glenwood retail sales down nearly 10 percent in Oct.
The last-minute holiday shopping rush and the prospect of some snow before Christmas could be just the cure for the post-bridge detour hangover when it comes to retail sales in Glenwood Springs.
October was anything but festive, though, to no surprise.
The most-recent city sales tax report shows retail activity was down 9.8 percent during the third month of the Grand Avenue Bridge detour. That was about the time frustrations for commuters and anyone trying to navigate around town were at their highest.
Year to date, after three straight months of negative numbers, sales receipts are down almost 2 percent compared with 2016. Granted, last year marked a second-straight record year in terms of sales tax collections for Glenwood.
During October, sales were off in every major retail category, including a 10 percent drop in general merchandise sales and a 14 percent decline in business for restaurants and bars. Even marijuana sales were down 17.4 percent for the month.
“Overall, when I look at the entire 85-day period that the bridge was closed, we saw a decrease of about 7 percent,” said Dan Sullivan, owner of the Green Joint at 11th and Grand.
“We had some uptick on Labor Day weekend with some of the visitors in town,” he said. “But October was down about 10 percent for us.”
Sullivan and other retailers note that things have picked back up since the new bridge opened more than 10 days ahead of schedule Nov. 6.
“Sure, there was some general frustration during that time, but I really think the community as a whole handled it well,” Sullivan said.
Sixth Street businesses and those in the 700 block of Grand are still dealing with the impacts of the ongoing bridge-related construction and the resulting cone zone.
Lingering confusion about how to access the Sixth Street business district from the north end of the new bridge hasn’t helped, said Carl Moak, owner of Summit Canyon Mountaineering.
“Our experience during the bridge shutdown was horrible,” he said. “Sales were off much more than during the recession.”
Even since the new bridge opened, cones and jersey barriers continue to block a portion of the street in front of his business, which moved to that location about a year ago.
“We would like to get this street back in normal shape,” Moak said.
That said, sales have rebounded and are ticking back up with the Christmas shopping season, he said. But the lack of snow hasn’t helped get people into either the holiday or snow sports spirit, he said.
That could change with snow in the forecast for today and into the weekend.
Don Bernes, who owns Springs Liquors across Sixth Street from Summit Canyon, said business was down during the detour but not as much as he would have thought. His clientele has changed some, too.
“We have seen a change in our mix of customers, and we’re starting to become more of a tourist store with our location,” Bernes said.
Before the new bridge was built, he said people often complained that it was too hard to get into and out of the store because cars had to back into highway traffic. Now, it’s becoming more of a destination for foot traffic.
“We were down during the construction but not as much as I thought we possibly could be,” Bernes said. “It hasn’t been catastrophic.”
October also brought a big decline in tourism. The city’s accommodations tax receipts were down more than 7.8 percent for the month. Year-to-date figures are still up 2.5 percent, though.
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NEW YORK — A designer's sketch can be as artful and expressive as the actual outfit it portrays.
"Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers," a new book by Laird Borrelli, drives home the notion. Borrelli assembled some of the most creative illustrations by 50 designers, the result of which is like a colorful candy box filled with lively drawings. Some sketches are more polished, others are raw and almost primitive. Nevertheless, all submissions are full of character and emotion, revealing as much about the clothes as the personal nature of the creatives behind them.
"It doesn't have to be about the dress so much, but about personal expression of their hand on the paper," Borrelli, who is also senior features editor at Style.com, said. "No one ever gets to see these drawings, since they are not really intended for public view."
This is Borrelli's fifth book, and her third on illustration. She previously authored "Fashion Illustration Now" and "Fashion Illustration Next," which were compilations of works by professional illustrators. Her new tome, published by Chronicle Books and out in bookstores in mid-March, focuses on designers who still sketch their creations.
Over the past few months, Borrelli sent out letters asking designers to draw. After editing the entries, she ended up with works from more than 50, including Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Vollbracht, Terexov, Antonio Berardi, Bruno Frisoni, Susan Cianciolo and Zac Posen.
In the research process, the author made an effort to not be too New York-centric. The book includes big names and lesser-known ones from Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel and Argentina, including Aitor Throup, Bas Kosters, Jens Laugesen and Molly Grad.
While some designers supplied older illustrations, "the intention was not to make it too much like a retrospective," Borrelli said. Finding suitable designers proved to be more difficult than one would think. "Not all designers draw, so it was quite a challenge to figure out who does," she said.
From Badgley Mischka's glamour girl to Denis Simachëv's wild Russian men, the drawings are expressive, which attracted Borrelli to the genre.
"A photo is more prose, and an illustration is more like fiction," Borrelli said. "When you look at a photograph, you might be aware of season, the photographer and the model. With a drawing, the designers tell a story of something that may exist in real life, without too many facts getting in the way."The author also interviewed the featured designers about their views on sketching designs. Borrelli said during the interviews, many designers referenced the same idols of illustration.
"The drawings of Yves Saint Laurent himself and Antonio Lopez had an indelible effect," Borrelli said. "Their names came up most frequently. Almost all designers pointed to those as being influential and iconic to them."
Borrelli is already on to her next project. She is working on a book on the cocktail dress, expected to be published by HarperCollins in spring 2009.
@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


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Stocks declined on Friday, with the S&P 500 recording its worst week since 2012, on momentum from the prior day's rout.» Read More
Take a look at some of Wednesday's midday movers:
There has been a lot of pain because many traders had been set up to be short stocks and Treasurys this year. That trade has not worked out.
First Solar and SolarCity may seem similar, but CNBC’s Jim Cramer highlights important differences between the two companies.
An dip on Wall Street overnight drove most Asian equities lower on early Wednesday.
*Battery' giga factory' for electric cars would be a first for U.S. *Plant due on-stream in 2017, key for next-generation Tesla car. Feb 26- Panasonic Corp is considering investing in a U.S. car battery plant planned by Tesla Motors Inc, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, with total investment estimated by one source around 100 billion yen.
Morgan Stanley just increased its price target on a stock already trading at a huge multiple. Hmmmm?
Stocks rose Tuesday as earnings from Home Depot deflected a dip in consumer confidence.
Feb 26- Panasonic Corp is inviting a number of Japanese materials suppliers to join it in investing in a U.S. car battery plant that it plans to build with Tesla Motors Inc, with investment expected to reach more than 100 billion yen, the Nikkei reported.
The stock market has split into two camps right now, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday. He breaks down the difference between them.
WASHINGTON, Feb 25- U.S. electric luxury car Tesla Model S was named by Consumer Reports magazine on Tuesday as its overall top pick for 2014, while Japanese models took just five of the top 10 spots, their worst showing in the 18- year history of the annual rankings.
Some of Tuesday's midday movers:
Discussing the data of Consumer Reports' top auto brands survey, including Ford's poor ranking, with Dave Whiston, Morningstar senior equity analyst.
CNBC's Phil LeBeau speaks with Consumer Reports' managing editor Jon Linkov about its auto top brand survey, and what's the problem with Ford.
WASHINGTON, Feb 25- U.S. electric luxury car Tesla Model S was named by Consumer Reports magazine on Tuesday as its overall top pick for 2014, while Japanese models took five spots in the annual rankings, their worst showing in the 18- year history of the ratings.
Based on survey results from 1.1 million subscribers, The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue ranked Tesla's Model S the top overall pick.
Marcus Lemonis, star of the CNBC series "The Profit," provides a preview of tonight's premiere where he tries to help a struggling car business make a comeback. Also Lemonis explains why he doesn't like Tesla's business model.
Jim Cramer believes that Steve Jobs was the greatest inventor of our generation. Who might follow in his massive footsteps?
With economic data muted and the stock market in rally mode, Jim Cramer thinks these stocks are likely to attract bulls.
Bulls may be dancing in the Street, but bears may have good reasons to stop the party cold.
Feb 24- U.S. solar installer SolarCity Corp delayed reporting its complete fourth quarter results and said it expects to install fewer panels in a seasonally weak first quarter due to cold weather, sending its shares down 6 percent after the bell.


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Oxford Film Fest on pace to set record
Published 9:33 am Tuesday, December 18, 2018
OXFORD — If you build it, they will come, a line from the movie ‘Field of Dreams’, but also advice that is ringing true for one area event.
For 15 years the Oxford Film Festival has gone from a local festival with a handful of films to one of the region’s most successful and sought-after events. Much of that credit is due to the work of executive director Melanie Addington. Since joining the festival’s staff in 2006, Addington has worn several hats until taking over the role of executive director in 2015.
In the three years of running the event, the festival has grown in size and scope, including this February’s 16th edition. The popularity from attendees to participants has a created a problem Addington is happy to solve as she prepares for the biggest year in the festival’s history.
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With seven weeks remaining until festival week is here, ticket sales are ahead of schedule. More than half of the tickets for the community film night and 25 percent of tickets to other film blocks have already sold.
The uptick in ticket sales in December could be due to the new ticketing system Addington implemented for this year’s festival. Passes and tickets are sold through a service called Eventive, which allows customers to buy tickets to individual movies as well as weekend and VIP passes. The system is so thorough that attendees can even reserve the exact seat they want for each film.
“(The system) is something we’ve wanted for years and finally have,” Addington said. “It’s really good but it’s definitely shown a growth in ticket sales this early in. Usually it’s about the week of or starting in mid-January. 50 percent (sold) for the Wednesday night event in December is crazy. …it’s helping us see what might sell out and add extra screenings, which is great.”
Another new offering is a student pass that gives the holder all the perks of the VIP pass at a discounted rate of $50.
Along with ticket sales moving steadily, there will aslo be plenty of filmmakers for attendees to talk to. In years past, there has been a steady percentage of filmmakers who attend the festival with their movie, but this year Addington has seen an above average amount of filmmakers saying yes to coming to the festival.
“We have more filmmakers wanting to come than we have hotel rooms for, which is great because there’s going to be a lot more people in town the weekend of the festival,” Addington said. “I think word of mouth is a lot of it. Locally, I think it’s just the ease of the new system that you can easily see each film.”
The festival will take place Feb. 6-10 at The Malco Oxford Commons Cinema Grill, The Powerhouse, The Oxford Convention Center and The Lyric.


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White Castle featuring fans in ad campaign, Belterra opens as Ohio's newest gambling site, Beulah Park closes after 91 years, Harbor Inn in Cleveland is for sale, Bob Sumerel Tire is expanding, and Nationwide shifting NASCAR sponsorship to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
White Castle turns to fans: White Castle System Inc. is using loyalists to tell its story, the Dayton Business Journal reports. The fast-food chain is launching an advertising campaign featuring fans telling stories of their most-memorable Slider moments, the paper said. It's also giving away food to the first 100 customers at each restaurant to order using the phrase " #MyCrave" and is offering rewards to those who use it on Twitter and across social media.
More gambling options: Ohio has another gambling establishment. The Cincinnati Business Courier reports Belterra Park Gaming & Entertainment Center has opened at the former River Downs race track, offering six restaurants, 1,500 slot machines and live racing starting this week and running through Oct. 19 ( correction from earlier version of this post). The paper has a photo slideshow inside the $300 million facility, owned by Pinnacle Entertainment of Las Vegas.
End of an era at Beulah: This also marks the end for Beulah Park. WOSU reports the Grove City track shut down after 91 years hosting thoroughbred races. The track's downfall was long in coming, the station reported, with the final blow the purchase by Hollywood Casino Columbus operator Penn National Gaming, which moved its racing to Youngstown as part of the state's gambling shuffle. Beulah last summer had hosted racing for River Downs while Belterra Park was under construction.
Harbor Inn for sale: Cleveland's oldest continuously operating bar is for sale. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Harbor Inn owner Vlado Pisorn has put the institution on the market, originally for $1 million but now asking $750,000. The paper recounts the Flats bar's colorful history, and notes its size at 16,000 square feet might be a hindrance to a deal.
Bob Sumerel hitting the road: Tire store chain Bob Sumerel Tire Co. is expanding in northeast Ohio, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The business, based across the river in Erlanger, bought five shops from Kauffman Tire, the paper said, plus is adding a retread manufacturing plant in Wooster.
Nationwide in Sprint Cup: In sports marketing, Nationwide Insurance has signed on to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr. in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series, Sports Illustrated reports. The Columbus-based insurer will sponsor Earnhardt's Sprint Cup car for a dozen races next year, the magazine said, then more the following two years. The deal is worth more than $10 million a year, SI said. Nationwide is in its final year as title sponsor of NASCAR’s No. 2 series, USA Today reported, but expects to be able to find a replacement as Nationwide shifts its sponsorship dollars.
Doug Buchanan oversees news operations at Columbus Business First.


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Wafer demand is surging, driven by the ramp of 7- and 5-nm process nodes that are boosting foundry revenue on a per-wafer basis.
Who says Moore’s Law is dead?
Wafer demand is surging, driven by the ramp of 7- and 5-nm process nodes that are boosting foundry revenue on a per-wafer basis, reports IC Insights.
Those advanced nodes are increasingly being used for logic ICs along with advanced memory chips, including DRAM and flash memory components as data center customers migrate to all-flash storage.
“Many fabless IC companies are clamoring to have their leading-edge devices, including high-performance microprocessors, low-power application processors and other advanced logic devices fabricated using 7-nm and 5-nm process nodes,” the market tracker noted in an early March research note.
Despite steep development costs, smaller nodes are generating greater revenues on a per-wafer basis. The chief beneficiary is once more Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the only pure-play foundry running both 7- and 5-nm production lines last year. IC Insights expects TSMC and Samsung Electronics to enter volume production at the 3-nm node by 2022.
TSMC’s per-wafer revenues have been rising steadily since 2018, when it launched 7-nm production. The market tracker estimates TSMC’s foundry revenue jumped $104 on an annual basis to $1,634 per wafer in 2020.
Meanwhile, GlobalFoundries and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) saw per-wafer revenues decline while China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) registered a slight year-on-year increase in wafer revenues as it continued to ramp production.
IC process technology roadmaps reveal how the few remaining pure-play foundries are seeking to address different market segments. As TSMC and Samsung target bleeding-edge 3-nm process nodes for advanced memory and logic devices, GlobalFoundries and UMC are intent on addressing higher-volume nodes, including the former’s 22FDX based on fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator wafers.
Intel, hampered by previous manufacturing delays, appears to be settling in at the 10-nm node as its doubles down on it data center strategy while promoting CPU accelerators for machine learning and other AI workloads. In the meantime, it is expected to migrate some advanced processor designs to TSMC.
Memory makers such as Samsung, Micron Technology, SK Hynix and Kioxia/WD continue to drive volume and per-wafer revenues via DRAM and flash memory.
Regardless of device type, “the IC industry has evolved to the point where only a very small group of companies can develop leading-edge process technologies and fabricate leading edge ICs,” IC Insight notes.
“Growing design and manufacturing challenges and costs have divided the integrated circuit world into the haves and have-nots,” it added.
TSMC leads the “haves,” with more than double the revenue per wafer than the combined totals of UMC and SMIC. The foundry leader is forecast to invest $27.5 billion this year on capital expansion, including construction of a new fab intended to address current chip supply shortfalls.
As it expands available capacity, IC Insights said it expects TSMC to begin “risk production” of 3-nm devices this year.
As they hustle to meet surging silicon demand, TSMC and other Taiwan-based foundries are confronted with another challenge: a drought that Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has called the worst in 56 years.


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11:37 am, October 15th, 2014
I wish chains stopped marketing food mashups that make you want to barf.Read more
11:19 am, October 15th, 2014
McDonald's Canada is investigating after a Fredericton man claimed he found a mouse in the bottom of his cup of coffee.Read more
12:29 pm, October 14th, 2014
Facebook and Apple will cover the costs for their female employees to freeze their eggs.Read more
6:55 am, October 14th, 2014
On social media Monday morning Wilson said he once again has cancer.Read more
12:15 pm, October 6th, 2014
A porn company has offered Air Canada pilots free porn for however long they're employed by the airline.Read more
9:09 am, October 6th, 2014
The deal does not include Sun News Network which will remain with Quebecor Media.Read more
10:02 am, September 30th, 2014
Target Canada is accused of selling pajamas that are sexist and sexualize baby girls.Read more
Ezra Levant’s The Source is the most provocative and thought-changing multimedia show in Canada.
This show is 100% focused on the political battles taking place across Canada, in the United States...even around the world.
Michael Coren brings you strong, balanced opinions to challenge conventional thinking.
Byline brings you the stories you won’t hear anywhere else while exploring points of view that are all too often ignored.


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Facebook was thought to face the worst drop in users after the Cambridge Analytica scandal but it has actually seen increased usage of the platform according to numbers from the Goldman Sachs. The Deutsche bank also found growth after the company has removed 583 million fake accounts. Even though the Cambridge Analytica data debacle was to drop the platform users but in the real-time, the usage of the platform was actually increased.
A Note was published by Goldman Sachs showing the ComScore figures that #deleteFacebook seemed to have no effect. Facebook’s US unique users on mobile rose 7% in April. The time spent by the users on the platform also went up.
There is also good news from purging 583 million users fake accounts because advertising systems are better able to target correct geographic areas.”We note that this data represents audience reach across properties, not rigidly tied to core Facebook, but we suspect they are picking up fake accounts across the board and view this as a broad indication that ad reach across Facebook continues to grow,” Deutsche Bank said.
It would also appear the company’s share price has made a full recovery, there are of course still some trust issues. The new numbers will give confidence to the company’s CEO as he is currently preparing for crunch week where he will be asked a lot of questions by EU lawmakers about Fake News, Privacy and Regulation by the European Parliament.
The CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg said that a lot of users have deleted their accounts because of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Many analysts are saying that most of the companies are not selling their Facebook stock because they believe that EU laws won’t be an effect on the company’s user base.
What do you think the future holds for Facebook?.


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Chair Entertainment has teamed up with messaging app Pundit to create a host of stickers based on its mature fantasy game Infinity Blade.
The slightly bizarre partnership sees Infinity Blade scenes and characters recreated in simple, cartoony animations which can be sent to friends on Pundit. Scenes include "stabbing the God King with the Infinity Blade" and trolls that dab.
Pundit is a messaging app which focuses its efforts on producing stickers for friends to send one another, and allows users to create their own stickers with selfies. The Infinity Blade pack will add 24 stickers and sounds for $1.99.
Keep calm and parry on
"As entertainment creators, we are always looking for fun, new ways to help fans further immerse themselves in the experiences they love," said Donald Mustard, Worldwide Creative Director, Epic Games.
"We love the cool twist Pundit has put on communicating with stickers and we're excited to introduce the Infinity Blade pack to our community."
The first game in the Infinity Blade series launched back in 2010 and was considered a landmark title for iOS with its high-end graphics. It reportedly generated $1.1 million in sales in its first five days of release.


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Leap into the future
Progress needs big ideas. Find out here how Germany promotes springboard innovations in science and technology.
Discman, MP3, streaming or, a good 300 years ago, the steam engine: these innovations changed the world. Ideas like the Internet or the smartphone have almost completely replaced old technologies. Experts refer to such inventions as springboard innovations, and sometimes as “disruptive” innovations.
Germany promotes springboard innovations
A special feature: springboard innovations offer a strong cost and benefit advantage and therefore quickly replace previous technologies. The high-tech strategy for Germany adopted by the federal government in 2018 specifically promotes such groundbreaking innovations. One measure: the foundation in 2019 in Leipzig of the Springboard Innovation Promotion Agency (SprinD GmbH) for high-tech ideas “Made in Germany”.
Over the next ten years SprinD will receive up to one billion euros to promote innovation. The software entrepreneur and founding director of SprinD, Rafael Laguna de la Vera, is responsible for implementation. “We want to help ensure that not only disruptive ideas arise and are implemented in Germany, but also that their economic benefits remain here”, he says. “The last time we really succeeded in this was with cars. The really big new things, even if they were sometimes invented here, developed their value elsewhere. ”
Wanted: good ideas, perseverance, bite
To find such ideas, SprinD invites tenders for competitions; the current one is on artificial intelligence, energy storage and organs from the laboratory. According to Laguna, the days aren’t long enough to examine all the many ideas. But what he is looking for is clear: “We are looking for the bright minds at universities and research institutions, in industry and medium-sized companies, who have not only great ideas, but also the bite to make great products and a successful company.”


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June 6, 2022
Photographs from the kickoff of Apple’s 2022 Worldwide Builders Convention
On Monday, Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Builders Convention with a first-of-its-kind particular occasion held at Apple Park that welcomed builders, college students, and media to a viewing of the keynote, Platforms State of the Union, and an unveiling of the all-new Apple Developer Heart. Attendees additionally received a primary have a look at the fully redesigned MacBook Air and the up to date 13-inch MacBook Professional powered by the breakthrough M2 chip; new options coming to iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and watchOS 9; and the newest progressive applied sciences that allow builders to construct their greatest apps on the App Retailer. For a whole rundown of this week’s 175+ developer classes with Apple consultants and all WWDC22 occasions, go to developer.apple.com.


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Why those prescription drug ads are now oh-oh-oh so sexy
“Someone please let me in on what’s going on with pharmaceutical advertising,” a VP and creative director recently opined on the anonymous networking app Fishbowl. “Why is it the dumbest, most juvenile shit on television? It’s all horrible. My guess is you guys are getting paid a lot to work with a bunch of know-it-all, god complex doctors.”
To which a Saatchi & Saatchi employee responded: “It probably feels very frustrating to see a lot of your mentees and even colleagues go over to pharma during this dry spell. Especially knowing what may be waiting for them creatively. But here’s what’s also waiting for them: a shit ton of cash, the opportunity to provide for their family, less ego and less pressure to be ‘always on.’”
That exchange, melodramatic and contentious as it was, sums up pretty well what’s going on in the healthcare marketing space. Creating those commercials featuring animated bladders (Myrbetriq), ungrammatical mnemonic devices ("Du More with Dupixent") and happy peppy people going about their days in perpetual mild shock ("Oh, oh, oh Ozempic") has become one of the sexiest jobs in advertising. Healthcare advertising for direct-to-consumer drugs with barely pronounceable names is now a salve for ad agencies wounded by pandemic-induced spending slowdowns in other sectors.
Consider the numbers: In its recent second-quarter earnings report, Omnicom Group's worldwide revenue plunged 24.7 percent. Sales in every division fell except healthcare, which posted a 3.2 percent increase. Publicis Groupe reported an organic sales decline of 13 percent for the same quarter, noting in its earnings release that “most activities were negatively impacted"—except healthcare, which saw double-digit growth. Interpublic Group of Cos. CEO-Chairman Michael Roth said on a second-quarter earnings call that the company’s healthcare business “continued to grow in the quarter" even though the holding company's organic sales fell 9.9 percent for the quarter.
COVID, has in fact, brought more attention to the category as consumers worry more about their health. “We are witnessing growth in the health sector with clients continuing to invest in new product launches and finding ways to produce during COVID-19 quarantine restrictions via remote shoots,” says BBH L.A. CEO Frances Great. “The appetite to bring difference to the health category has been heightened during the pandemic, which is an exciting development, especially at a time when many other categories are under pressure to reduce investment.”
And now that states are slowly opening up, marketers are anxious to remind consumers it's once again safe to venture out to see their doctors. MullenLowe U.S. CEO Lee Newman says the agency’s healthcare business “has been a bright spot for us,” noting that healthcare clients have marketed and advertised steadily throughout the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, of course, DTC drug spending was already a huge business. According to an Ad Age Datacenter analysis of Kantar data, medicine and remedies was the fifth most advertised category overall last year, with $10.1 billion in spending. The top 10 advertised prescription drugs alone accounted for $2.2 billion in pharmaceutical spending, which explains why you see so many pitches for the same drugs over and over as companies race to imprint their product names in consumer minds before their patents expire.
According to Business Insider, agencies are paying healthy salaries for creatives in the sector. For example, it cites an open VP and associate creative director role at TBWA\Worldhealth that ranges between $150,000 and $225,000; a senior account director at Omnicom Health Group that pays between $125,000 and $200,000; a senior VP and group strategy director position for Omnicom Health that pays between $175,000 and $250,000; and a director of digital strategy post at Digitas Health that pays between $130,000 and $160,000.
And for industry execs who are in more troubled sectors, healthcare is rapidly becoming a safe haven. At the start of the pandemic, Omnicom Group CEO-Chairman John Wren said the holding company would reassign certain employees to growing areas like Omnicom Health Group to avoid as many layoffs and furloughs as possible, though the company declined further comment.
'A certain type of person'
But it isn't for everybody. Jacqueline Leak, a creative director at FCB Health in New York, who had previously worked as a creative at Ogilvy, BBDO and mcgarrybowen across categories such as packaged goods, food, beauty and fashion, says it is a tough transition. “It’s been an intense time. The biggest adjustment has been learning the language. Also, a high level of intelligence is required to navigate the world of science and bring that to life creatively,” says Leak, who currently works on cancer therapies.
And then there is the legally mandated necessity of listing all those nasty side effects. Jay Romano, president of pharma-focused Hybrid Healthcare Communications, says ads have to go through a rigorous approval process by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which might explain the sometimes hindrance of creativity.
“It takes a certain type of person who wants to do this,” says Jim Weiss, founder and CEO of healthcare marketing network W2O Group. “I love it. I eat, breathe, sleep the science and data behind it.”
Healthcare ads have been earning their day in the sun since The Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity introduced its first ever Health Lions in 2014. The first pharma award was handed out the next year: Publicis Groupe's Digitas took home the pharma Grand Prix for "Take it From a Fish," a disease education campaign featuring some talking (yes, talking) fish for AstraZeneca. In 2019, Cannes received 1,186 entries from 52 countries in its health track.
The introduction of such awards and the work that has emerged since has proven to the naysayers out there that there is room for creativity in healthcare and pharma, even amid a strict regulatory environment. FCB Health Network President-CEO Dana Maiman says she has seen an uptick in job applications from top talent as healthcare ads come into their own. “Most of the time, I find that once people come to the dark side, they don’t want to go back,” she says.


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Update to Apple's mobile OS will add and enhance certain health features as the company gets ready to share more about its Apple Watch on Monday, according to a report.
All the news from the annual Google I/O event, including the latest on Android.
The most important things to know when shopping for a cell phone.
Using the Mac app Waltr you can transfer any type of video or music file to your iOS device without the need for a companion iOS app.
So far Android Wear is limited to Android devices. But could Google's software for wearables expand its horizons to the Apple realm?
Samsung's rival to Apple Pay puts your credit card information on your smartphone, letting you securely buy things with a swipe of your thumb and a tap of your finger.
Updated iOS app lets you send secure group, text, picture and video messages to other Apple mobile devices, and to Android users who have the TextSecure app.
And why you may prefer to stick with one color or the other.
Home automation promises to make life easier. Let us make it easier for you to get started.
The PlayStation maker shows off its latest prototype, saying it's "close to the final consumer product." But is it ready to convert VR skeptics?
Apple has released the public beta of its Photos app for OS X. We detail where you sign up to put the new app through its paces.


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Chinese manufacturer ZTE have grown to become the 4th largest mobile vendor in the world, thanks in part to the plethora of Android devices under their belt, but in September last year they unveiled that their first Windows Phone device was joining the lineup.
Following their acceptance as an official Windows Phone OEM partner, ZTE have wasted no time in creating the ZTE Tania which is expected to come to the UK market in mid February, later this year.
The ZTE Tania, which comes in white, uses a 1GHz CPU, twinned with an Adreno 205 GPU, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of in built storage. On the front, there’s a 4.3″ WVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen and on the back a 5MP camera, capable of 720p HD video at 30fps.
It looks like the Tania has its sights set on the same target audience as the HTC Radar, so it might have a fight on its hands. We’ll have to wait and see whether consumers go for a more established brand or a cheaper device, who knows?


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Poland’s TVN Warner Bros. Discovery had a total of almost 12 million subscribers on Facebook and Instagram in the first half of this year.
Facebook Watch, the dedicated app designed for watching Facebook video and live streams on the TV, has been discontinued from Apple TV.
Türk Telekom has started to offer Facebook and Instagram advertising services to SME customers.
Spain’s online advertising market generated around €3,450 million in 2019, with growth rates of 20% year-on-year.
Facebook has selected Vewd to provide the first web browser in the Portal TV App Store.
Netflix has made a decisive move into the gaming sector by appointing the former Facebook VP Mike Verdu its VP of game development.
The Russian regulator Roskomnadzor considers fines to be the most effective measure in influencing Google and Facebook.
The Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada is considering a bill on taxing foreign electronic communication services.
Facebook users in the United States now can have the ability to share music videos from within the app.
The Russian State Duma is debating a bill that will result in heavy fines for platforms that fail to remove content prohibited by the regulator Roskomnadzor.


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Frontier Silicon today announced that it has shipped over 5 million DAB ICs and modules, highlighting its continued leading position in digital audio with a DAB receiver market share of over 75%. Frontier’s success has been achieved after just five years of operation and with the new DAB+ standard opening new markets for digital radios around the world, Frontier expects DAB/DAB+ exponential growth over the next five years.
The UK DAB industry, which now boasts a listening base of nearly one in five of the adult population, has accounted for a significant portion of these sales, with Denmark, Norway Germany, Belgium and Switzerland contributing the rest. With the recent availability of the new DAB+ standard several new countries are expected to fully adopt DAB/DAB+ in the coming years. Australia is launching its digital audio services at the end of next year and many other countries are expected to follow suit soon, including Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Malta, Israel, Hungary, Kuwait, Malaysia, and New Zealand, heralding a worldwide move to digital radio based on the Eureka-147 DAB standard.
“We are very happy to announce the shipment of our 5 millionth DAB solution today and I would like to thank all of our customers and suppliers for helping us reach this important milestone for our company,” said Anthony Sethill, CEO Frontier Silicon. “With the positive reaction in the broadcaster community to the announcement of the DAB+ standard we are very excited about the prospects for DAB/DAB+ radios and we expect to see significant expansion in this industry over the coming years”.
Although only five years old, Frontier Silicon (frontier-silicon.com) has amassed a powerful portfolio of digital audio products with a current line up including a multistandard module incorporating DAB+/DAB, Wi-Fi and music streaming (Venice 6), and a low-cost module for mass market DAB radios (Venice 5). All Frontier modules are based on the company’s optimized Chorus 2 and Kino 2 broadcast receiver ICs and have associated platforms to enable rapid time-to-market (the Jupiter, Mercury and Quantum ranges). The latest platforms also feature iPod® docking capability, which is fast becoming a ‘must-have’ in new radio designs.


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CHENNAI: With the city turning into a ghost town due to lock down, cab, auto drivers and food delivery executives, who are solely dependent on their daily earnings, feel the pinch as their daily revenue has become zero.
Associations of cab and auto drivers said that due to the extended lock down, they now won't be able to pay off their daily car rent, loan dues, and won't have a net revenue to take back home. "Initially we thought we could resume after March 31 but the extended lockdown has dashed our hopes of a revival," said Anbazhagan, General Secretary of the CITU-Transport.
He added that for shared autos the rent would be Rs 450 while for Tata Magic it would be Rs 600 and taxis would be Rs. 800. "If we earn Rs 1300 per day, around 400 to 500 stays in our hand after paying the rent. We don’t know what we will do in the coming days," he said.
Though Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced a special relief fund of Rs 1000 from his Rs. 3280 crore announced recently, the association members said it may not be sufficient.
"Given that a monthly rent for autos range between 3,000 to 6000, how will Rs 1000 be sufficient? We request the CM to increase it to at least Rs 5,000 as we will have no job till mid-April," said M Sivaji of Tamil Nadu Auto Drivers' Union.
Sivaji said that the roads look empty and it looks like only people with private transport can commute for emergencies. "Even if some very restricted amount of autos were allowed, people can take them for emergencies and those auto drivers will have some revenue. Right now, all the autos are biting dust at home," he said.
Meanwhile, with the civic body on Wednesday announcing that Swiggy and Zomato are banned, the food delivery executives have become another worst affected lot due to the lockdown. "If delivery boys are provided proper gloves, face masks and sanitizers, they can even keep the food at the house door so that customers can collect it without touching," said Tapas Dev, a food delivery executive with Swiggy.
He said that there are about 5,000 food executives in the city and letting some of them work also will help people staying indoors.


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Posted On 07 September 2015
Two thirds of the UK’s groceries are delivered on tyres that are crafted by a family business in Devon. Bandvulc, which was founded by two brothers 34 years ago, works with the nation’s super...
Posted On 02 September 2015
Leicestershire-based Apex Plant Group is continuing to see the benefits of using Westlake Tyres, two years on from when Vacu-Lug first began supplying them with Westlake products.


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By Tricitynews Reporter
Chandigarh 22nd November:- With the selfie revolution going strong, Vivo, the premium global smartphone brand today launchedits flagship V5 with the first ever 20MP front camera in Chandigarh. In a glittering event singer Jassi Gill launched the V5 in presence of the business partners of Vivo India and Jerome Li, GM Vivo, Punjab.Focused on the young selfie aficionados, the smartphone offers a perfect combination of technology, design and the overall performance with the unprecedented 20MP front camera and a revolutionary feature, the“Moonlight Glow” that allows users to take perfect selfies in diverse lighting conditions.
The all new “Moonlight Glow” feature induces a naturalglow on the face without straining eyes that lights up the picture irrespective of the lighting conditions. Furthermore, this feature will allow users tocapture every frame perfectly without making themgrainy, distorted or flooded with hard flash.
Jerome Li, GM Vivo, Punjab said that the Specifications of Vivo V5 is 4G LTE Network. It has 13.97 cm (5.5) HD Display.It is Octa-core 64-bit. The Vivo V5 has 4GB RAM/32GB ROM (Expandable up to 128GB) and it also have 20 MP Front Camera and 13MP Rear Camera.
The phone priced at Rs 17,980/- will be available from November 26th onwards at a store near you.


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Brands look to partner with influencers that are more self-expressive and creative.
As per Influencer Marketing Hub, 79% of brands go to Instagram for influencer campaigns. However, TikTok has surpassed one billion global downloads. Rising influencers on TikTok are primarily chosen for what they produce rather than the size of their followers.
Sarah Penny, head of content at Influencer Intelligence, said that “TikTok is the platform Gen Z are gravitating towards, it should be a focus for brand marketers.” The demand for ‘realness’ is the reason why amateur and micro-influencer content is huge on TikTok. As a result, there’s little room for sponsored posts.
However, brands are using TikTok to get a “cut-price” rate on campaigns. This has made it difficult for creators on the platform to determine their worth or make money unless a company facilitates it.
[6 minute read]


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Kanye West’s new sneaker line Yeezy Boost 350 launched worldwide on Saturday – and sold out on in just a few hours.
Not only did the coveted sneakers, priced at $200, sell out in the U.S., but they were also quickly snatched up in Europe and Canada.
The lucky sneakerheads who snagged the new Yeezys showed off their prize on social media. Of course, West’s family members already scored their kicks prior to the official release.
Earlier this week, his wife Kim Kardashian posted a photo that showed her wearing the “comfy” shoes before traveling overseas, as did her sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
The sellout of the Yeezy Boost 350s comes just a few months after the successful rollout of the rapper’s Yeezy 750 Boost line in February.


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The financial statement for Tesla’s third quarter is revealing that the car company has all its bitcoins intact. They have not sold any. Their recent balance sheet shows that Tesla is still holding Bitcoin worth $184 million.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has raised a few concerns about the high rate of interest that is affecting the auto industry. Last Wednesday, Tesla released their third-quarter report, and they have made a revenue of $23.35 billion and a profit of $1.85 billion, which is a bit lower than the other quarters.
Though their earnings did not meet the expectations of Wall Street, the balance sheet of the car company is still showing digital assets worth $184 million. In four consecutive quarters, Tesla recorded an equal amount of digital assets, which is mainly Bitcoins.
Tesla invested 1.5 billion dollars in Bitcoin in quarter 1 of 2021 but also sold 74% of their holdings in quarter 2 of 2022. He said that his company is “certainly open” to increasing its Bitcoin holdings in the future. He also stated, “We may increase or decrease our holdings of digital assets at any time based on the needs of the business and our view of market and environmental conditions.”
Tesla has also accepted the meme crypto Dogecoin (DOGE) for some of their merchandise. During quarter 3 of Tesla, Elon Musk expressed a few of his concerns that are affecting the profit of his company which also includes the high rate of interest.
Musk said, “As interest rates rise, the proportion of that monthly payment that is interest increases naturally. If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it’s that much harder for people to buy a car. They simply can’t afford it.”


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Monopoly fans vote to add cat, toss iron tokens
Scottie dog has a new nemesis after Monopoly fans voted to add a cat to the game and eliminate the iron token.
Toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced the changes Wednesday, hours after voting on Facebook closed, marking the first time that fans had a say on which token to eliminate and which piece to replace it.
It’s the game’s most significant change in decades. The eight tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.
The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans.
Rhode Island-based Hasbro said the wheelbarrow, shoe and iron were neck and neck for elimination through the Save Your Token Campaign. The other new addition choices were a robot, diamond ring, helicopter or guitar.
Hasbro said fans from more than 120 countries voted in the Save Your Token Campaign.
Monopoly's iconic tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her charm bracelet for tokens. The real-estate trading game is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J., and has sold more than 275 million games worldwide.
Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.
Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.


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Tesco charges up to 4pc more at Express outlets
TESCO is charging its customers more in some stores than in others.
Prices at Tesco Express stores are 3.6pc higher than at full-sized Tesco supermarkets, the new National Consumer Agency (NCA) survey has found.
The difference was found on a basket of 76 products sold in both types of Tesco outlet, and is far greater than the price difference between Tesco and any of its main competitors, Dunnes, Superquinn and SuperValu.
NCA assistant director of research Fergal O'Leary said the results were worth highlighting to consumers.
The supermarket chain has now got 19 Tesco Express outlets -- smaller convenience stores often located in town centres and offering a more limited range of goods.
It has been expanding this network rapidly in Ireland in recent months -- opening new Tesco Express stores in Bray, Co Wicklow, and Dublin's Thomas Street this summer -- while in Britain it already has hundreds of similar 'Tesco Metro' outlets.
Tesco Ireland said its Tesco Express prices were significantly lower than in competing convenience stores.
"Prices in Tesco Express stores are slightly higher than in our supermarkets, reflecting the difference in the costs of operating these stores," it said.
"Express stores located in town/city centres are typically smaller and have higher overhead costs (mainly rents and rates) per square foot of selling space than those of our larger supermarkets."
The prices of essentials such as milk, bread and baby food was the same in all supermarkets, but other products were around 4pc dearer, it added.


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LAS VEGAS — The National Grocers Association elected 11 new members to its 45-member board of directors prior to the start of its annual convention here last month.
Newly elected retail directors are Ken Fiedler, president, Ken's Supermarkets, Aberdeen, S.D.; Eric Hench, chairman, Chief Supermarket, Defiance, Ohio; Alan Hitchcock, president, Hitchcock & Sons, Alachua, Fla.; Roger Lowe Jr., vice president and chief executive officer, Pay & Save, Littlefield, Texas; Michael Provenzano, president and CEO, Pro Ranch Markets, Ontario, Calif.; and Edward Roche, president, Roche Bros. Supermarkets, Wellesley, Mass.
Newly elected wholesale directors are Neal Berube, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Associated Food Stores, Salt Lake City; James Buch-anan, president and CEO, Laurel Grocery Co., Laurel, Ky.; Dean Janeway Jr., vice president, retail services, for Key Food Stores Cooperative, New York; and Chris Miller, chief operating officer, Associated Grocers of Florida, Pompano Beach, Fla.
The newly elected state association executive is Kathy Kuzave, president of the Georgia Food Industry Association.


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The Online Sales Tax Rears Its Ugly Head… Again
Americans have been shopping online for 20 years now. What started as a curiosity has become routine and essential for millions of people, and the days when you had to physically track down a copy of a rare book or record have become an increasingly distant memory. The sheer convenience of online shopping is breathtaking, but that very convenience has made sites like Amazon.com as many enemies as they have friends. The retail lobby, infuriated by the discovery of a better business model, have spent years seeking a government solution to their declining sales.
The online sales tax, originally marketed under the misleading name “Marketplace Fairness Act,” has been a continual bugaboo threatening to damage the vitality of the online marketplace since it was first introduced in 2011. Since then, it has emerged multiple times, but has never managed to pass. This is because the MFA is inescapably bad policy that would not only severely damage consumer welfare, but would put the brakes on much of the most vibrant internet innovation and set a bad precedent for American democracy in general.


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Las Vegas is known for extravagance, a land of plenty in the middle of the Nevada desert. Yet for all the casino glitz and spectacle, nowhere is the indulgence more on display than the legendary all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, filled to the brim with lobster galore and big, juicy shrimp on sparkling beds of ice.
Dominique Barnes, MAS ’14, a Las Vegas native, grew up wondering how such a thing was possible: How there could be such quantities of seafood in the middle of the desert? From a young age she was fascinated by the ocean and set her future sights on marine biology, even landing a gig as a shark biologist in downtown Las Vegas, of all places. “Yet that role wasn’t fulfilling because it didn’t have the conservation component,” she says, explaining why she then applied to Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
One acceptance letter later, she found herself on the coast, learning about ocean ecology and working on research vessels. But it was one class about phycology—the study of algae—that captivated Barnes, given the enormous potential algae had to drive change in countless avenues. “Between food, fuel and even clothing—it convinced me that algae could really save the world in one way or another,” she says.
While a student, Barnes channeled her passion for algae into a business she dubbed Algae Press, an educational and artistic program that introduced elementary and middle school students to algae and its vital role in ecology. The project was bolstered by participating in the TriNet Challenge, an interdisciplinary competition to promote the success of social innovations that impact the environment.
Meanwhile, Barnes’ academic interests culminated in a research project on the Olympia oyster, a West Coast native with a multitude of ecological benefits. Once a delicacy, its prevalence dwindled in the late 1800s due to overfishing and pollution. Yet Barnes was thrilled to learn that the mollusk had recently been seen to grow naturally at commercial aquafarms along the coast, and she anticipated a possible comeback for the once-forgotten oyster. Her excitement grew further when she spoke to local chefs and discovered a community enthusiastic about using more sustainable options from the sea.
These revelations on sustainable seafood would eventually collide with her love for algae in the form of New Wave Foods—a company on the forefront of sustainable seafood alternatives. In the fall of 2015, Barnes partnered with engineer Michelle Wolf to launch the business, after being accepted to develop plant-based seafood alternatives at Indie Bio, the world’s largest biotech accelerator. The pair started off with an attempt to make an imitation shark fin, in efforts to curb the brutal and wasteful harvesting practices for that dish. But Barnes and her team soon realized that targeting a smaller animal could have a much bigger impact. “Shrimp is the favorite,” she says, “Americans love shrimp, as do many other cultures. It’s the most consumed seafood on the planet, and among the most damaging. The current supply chain behind shrimp is horrific—not a lot of people are aware of that.”
With issues that range from slave labor to ecosystem devastation, the shrimping industry was prime for disruption—and Barnes aimed to take out the shrimp entirely. New Wave Foods focused on using red algae (a key part of a shrimp’s diet) and dedicated itself to perfecting a taste and texture that could pass for the real thing. In the two years since starting up, New Wave Foods has begun commercially manufacturing their shrimp, producing about 3,000 pounds of product every month and providing it to food service operators across California and Nevada.
The shrimp has since found high-profile customers around New Wave’s Bay Area headquarters; it’s served in Google’s cafeterias and continues to pique the interest of chefs from fine restaurants and resorts, all the way to food trucks. “If we can get chefs to promote these much more sustainable alternatives like shrimp made from plants and algae, that can easily trickle down into our broader food systems,” Barnes says.
Effecting such a sea change in seafood does not come easily, however. Aside from developing the product and the crash course in food science and entrepreneurship, Barnes’ biggest challenge now is a demand for the product that’s higher than her company’s capacity to produce. A good problem for any startup company, Barnes thinks, and one she’s excited to tackle. “I don’t exactly get up in the morning excited to grind through price points and balance sheets,” she says. “But what really excites me is the potential impact that we’re going to have. That’s what’s always driven me: impact.”
There’s lots in store for the future of New Wave Foods, starting with nationwide distribution of the shrimp and availability to consumers in grocery stores. Eventually, Barnes hopes to expand New Wave’s product offering with other plant- and algae-based seafood alternatives, producing other shellfish as well as fin fish like tuna and salmon. “I always joke that my dream is to go back to Las Vegas someday and see an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet made entirely from New Wave Foods,” Barnes says. “It seems a little out there, but it’s entirely possible.”
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of UC San Diego's Triton magazine.


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Foreign exchange and CFDs brokerage Blackwell Global has become the latest addition to the list of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated companies. The firm received a matched principal license after deciding to raise its profile across the European and global markets.
Blackwell Global already holds a MiFID license from CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission), however with the increasing number of brokers on the island it sought to raise its profile. As of today, the UK FCA is the most prominent regulatory watchdog in the retail foreign exchange and CFDs industry.
Due to stringent policies, clients of brokerages that have been experiencing difficulties have always been compensated by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Last year, a number of retail clients of Alpari UK, were fully compensated up to the amount of £50,000, albeit with some delays due to the size of the bankruptcy.
Finance Magnates spoke to the the CEO of Blackwell Global, Patrick Latchford, who shared that the FCA licensing process took about seven months.
The Rising Star of the DeFi Project, GIBXSwap, Passes CertiK Security AuditGo to article >>
“We have acquired the FCA license for a number of reasons – we are strong in Asia, and we don’t have a particularly high profile in the European markets. We think that our clients globally will all be more keen to interact with an FCA licensed entity, since its a stamp of quality all around the world,” he explained.
The company is holding a matched principal license which means that all clients of the Blackwell Global who are onboarded through the FCA regulated entity will receive an STP (Straight Through Processing) service. Many clients choose to trade with brokerages which are not making markets, due to the inherent conflict of interest.
Explaining about the regulatory licenses of the company, Latchford elaborated: “We plan to keep both licenses and we have the London operation with our core retail product on MT4, indices, key commodities and metals as well as providing a service to large individual clients, and some institutional clients.”
“Blackwell Global has not been committed to dedicate big marketing efforts in the UK, because of the highly saturated market in the country,” Latchford explained.
Looking at retail foreign exchange CFDs trading clients, the market share of the top three companies, IG, CMC Markets and City Index, is substantially higher when compared to the smaller players. Therefore the costs associated with effective marketing efforts in the UK are close to prohibitive for smaller brokers for the time being.


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A European vehicle company makes ultra-luxury RVs that cost more than $1 million and take a year to build. Take a look and its most opulent design.
Marchi Group's Marchi Mobile arm specializes in design-forward trucks, including RVs. Its most luxurious design has a rising roof deck and a spa.
Imported Kei trucks have become increasingly popular with people wanting a cheap, nimble pickup truck on farms or to carry surfboards to the beach.
Trucking rates are falling as low as $1.49 a mile, less than half the level during the boom of 2021, per FreightWaves.
Dianne Feinstein's ongoing absence allowed Senate Republicans and Joe Manchin to overturn a Biden rule reducing pollution from large trucks
The legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday in a 50-49 vote. Rep. Ro Khanna blamed the Democratic failure on Feinstein's prolonged absence.
The US economy is slowing down. Just look at the freight recession that's sent diesel prices tumbling.
The US is in the midst of a "freight recession," meaning trucks are carrying fewer goods across the country.
Retailers bought so much stuff during the pandemic that it's overburdening warehouses — and it may be causing a 'freight recession,' analyst says
A key driver has been "over-buying for a pandemic-related demand peak that was unsustainable in any environment," according to an Evercore analyst.
The 2023 Toyota Tacoma is one of the final models from this generation of the mid-size pickup. We drove the $52,188 TRD Pro to see how it's held up.
Electrifying trucking will mean sacrificing critical weight for heavy batteries, eating into already-slim margins
The future of long-haul trucking lies in electrification, but batteries are so heavy right now that they could turn off many would-be adopters.
Electronic log devices, or ELDs, are designed to make trucking safer, but the data tells a different story.
Tesla just delivered its first all-electric Semi truck to PepsiCo and said it can cover up to 500 miles on a single charge
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, drove a Semi to the delivery event, held at a factory near Reno, Nevada.
Tires on hundreds of SUVs have been deflated by climate activists who want to make it 'impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4'
Nearly 900 vehicles have had their tires let down this week in an organized global campaign stretching from New York to Amsterdam.
Truck drivers say employers pressured them to drive for longer than they were legally allowed to after changing their electronic log times
One trucker told 11Alive his employer would erase his e-log and give him another 11 hours to drive, despite the legal limit being 11 hours a day.
Reece King from Satisfying Clean demonstrates how a farm truck covered in hay, dirt, and debris is deep cleaned.
A state trooper told local news that the "violent stopping motion" of the tractor trailer caused the hot dog mixture to "catapult" on to the roadway.
Studies show that driving turns people into jerks — and the nicer the car, the worse the driver.
More than 3 million people drive trucks in the US, but the job is no longer the golden ticket it once was to a middle-class life.
Alphabet's self-driving truck project is teaming up with a logistics company to carry deliveries down a 240-mile Texas road
The partnership will combine Waymo Via's autonomous truck technology with C.H. Robinson's network of almost 200,000 shippers and carriers.
Ford is considering flying car parts to its Canada factory, which closed down due to supply shortages after trucker protests blocked roads: report
Ford shut down its engine factory in Ontario on Wednesday because of supply shortages amid the trucker blockade in Canada, per AP.
Elon Musk says he's been driving the brand-new Cybertruck around Tesla's Gigafactory in Texas ahead of expected update in Q4 earnings
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously said the company would give a product roadmap update on the Cybertruck on the next earnings call.
A FedEx driver threw at least 450 packages into a ravine, police say. The driver was fired but it's unclear why they did it or if they face charges.


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|Urbanisation, Economic Reforms and Post War Era Drive Growth Opportunities for Global Players in Iraq’s Diary Market|
|Iraq’s demand for dairy products likely to rise at a CAGR of 8% by 2025, notes Frost & Sullivan’s Foods Practice|
The dairy industry in Iraq holds lucrative prospects for global players and investors as a result of post war, growing population and new economic reforms. The country’s GDPand household disposable income is expected to grow at CAGR of 6% between 2018 and 2025.High percentage of the youth population is one of the economic strengths of the country, and with almost 60% of the population under the age of 25, Iraq is uniquely positioned to harness the potential of its young generation to promote prosperity despite the multiple challenges it faces.
A recent study conducted by Frost & Sullivan, Dairy Perception and Opportunities in Iraq, estimated that the demand for dairy products in the country is likely to rise at a CAGR of 8% by 2025.
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This article is more than 1 year old
It's 2016 and idiots still use '123456' as their password
Just think how many of this lot are your own users...
Put your head in your hands, sysadmins: the usual weak suspects continue to make up the top most used 25 passwords.
The ubiquitous ”123456" remains the most popular password among web users, followed by "password" in a list of user credentials leaked online last year.
“Qwerty” appears in fourth place of the list of compromised credentials put together by password management outfit SplashData.
Further down the list “dragon”, “football” and “batman” all make their debuts as new entries.
Security experts warn that easy to remember passwords are increased easily guessed by potential attackers.
Matt Marx, an information security consultant at MWR InfoSecurity, said: “In order to crack users' passwords, researchers and attackers alike use powerful GPU password cracking rigs. The rig that MWR uses can perform over 20 billion guesses a second against Microsoft Windows password hashes. In fact, a user that had a password in the top 25 passwords would have their password guessed by such a rig in under a second."
Web users need to mix things up.
Gavin Millard, technical director EMEA at security tools firm Tenable Network Security, commented: "Individual passwords should either be created using a recipe per site, an automated tool like a password manager or by using a suggested password by the browser.
"To reduce the risk of data loss, organisations need to enforce password best practices (length, strength, complexity), educate users on the importance of credential management, and roll out two factor authentication where applicable to ensure employees can’t use poor passwords on corporate resources,” he added. ®


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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc on Monday reported better-than-expected growth in sales at established restaurants after diners appeared to shrug off price increases at the burrito chain known for serving antibiotic-free meats and organic produce.
- Actavis, Sanofi among bidders for Omega Pharma
- Australia's Cabcharge says rebuffs M&A talk from NY-listed FleetCor
- Amazon strikes deal with Simon & Schuster on e-book prices
- BlackBerry shares up after unconfirmed report on possible Lenovo bid
- Top Allergan holder Paulson urges deal with Shire: sources
- AbbVie says $55 billion acquisition of Shire officially dead
- Virgin Money postpones London stock market listing
China's corporations and billionaires have lagged behind in contributions to fighting the Ebola epidemic in West Africa despite vast economic ties to the region, the World Food Programme said on Monday.
- GMO labeling foes spend big on campaigns in Oregon, Colorado
- U.S. funds to fight Ebola now top $1 billion, may rise
- As Ukraine's debt tangle unwinds, Russia holds key thread
- Philanthropies, including Rockefellers and Investors pledge $50 billion fossil fuel divestment
- Ebola could drain billions of dollars from African economies: World Bank
- Ohio offers Amazon tax breaks to build $1.1 billion data center
- Dubai's Emaar looks to raise $1.58 billion from malls unit's IPO
Microsoft Corp's new Chief Executive Satya Nadella has become one the technology industry's biggest earners, with a total compensation package worth $84.3 million this year, according to a document filed with securities regulators on Monday.
- Work on 'taming' firms wins Frenchman economics Nobel
- Briton denies guilt in South African 'honeymoon murder' trial
- Elisabeth Murdoch to step down as Shine Group chairman
- Italy PM Renzi attacks establishment resistance, vows to press on
- How Bill Gross became too hot for Pimco to handle
- Alibaba's Jack Ma rises to top of China rich list as tech tycoons gain
- When music stops for Oracle CEO dance, Catz may grab Ellison's chair : analysts
UK lender Virgin Money has postponed its London stock market listing, the company said on Friday, delaying plans to raise around 150 million pounds ($241.5 million) in a float that could have valued the firm at 1.5-2 billion pounds ($2.4-3.2 billion).
- As IPO markets stumble, private equity buyers prepare to swoop
- ConvaTec owners appoint banks to explore sale
- Online growth prospects help Japan's Recruit shine in market debut
- Samsung's Cheil Industries submits plans for roughly $1.4 billion IPO
- Car care products company Armored AutoGroup mulls IPO - sources
- Jimmy Choo IPO pricing values firm at up to $1.1 billion
- Japan's Recruit prices $2 billion IPO at top of range
Generic drugmaker Actavis Plc and France's Sanofi SA are among the suitors for privately held Omega Pharma NV [COUCKO.UL], Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
- Hope and obstacles as Russia and Ukraine seek gas deal
- Market action reinforces need for policy patience: Fed's Rosengren
- Banks to get instruction manual for submitting Libor quotes
- Spain's FCC says board approves $1.3 billion rights issue
- Standard Chartered readies to close thousands of UAE accounts as U.S. deadline looms
- Credibility meets compromise in Europe's bank stress test
- Lufthansa cancels flights due to pilots strike; train stoppage strands millions
When Adan Bello was born in Caracas, he barely cried. Then the Venezuelan baby's blinking eyes turned towards the calm melody of a duo of harpists playing Brahms' "Cradle Song" in the corner of a public hospital's maternity wing.
- U.S. consumer sentiment rises despite Ebola fears
- Cuban children train for circus, and a future
- Giacometti 'Chariot' on view at $800 million Sotheby's show
- Bonhams to auction Lauren Bacall's art collection
- Rome opera house sacks orchestra, chorus as arts funding shrivels
- Obama's BRAIN initiative awards $46 million in grants
- Advanced iOS virus targeting Hong Kong protestors -security firm


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Team Dignitas, the esports organisation founded by British manager Michael “Odee” O’Dell, has announced a multi-year partnership with apparel brand Champion Athleticwear.
This marks Champion’s entry into esports, as it becomes Team Dignitas’ official jersey, casual wear and athletic wear provider, launching a new casual, fan-focused apparel line and online store alongside the franchise’s autumn 2018 rebrand.
Champion will also develop a Team Dignitas-branded women’s apparel line, following the success of Team Dignitas’ world champion women’s CSGO team.
“It is extremely exciting for us to be partnering with one of the original esports teams, steeped in experience and success,” said Tyler Lewison, general manager of Champion.
“We will be working hand-in-hand with Team Dignitas to refresh their brand and engage the gaming community. Additionally, we are focused on partnering to create more opportunities for women in gaming; and their associated fanbase.”
Champion will also design and operate an online retail platform for Team Dignitas fans. Beginning this autumn, and alongside the franchise rebrand and associated merchandise launch, Champion logos will appear on all Team Dignitas’ player jerseys.
“We will be working with Team Dignitas to refresh their brand and engage the gaming community. Additionally, we are focused on partnering to create more opportunities for women in gaming.”
Tyler Lewison, Champion
12 Team Dignitas players, including world champions Amanda “rain” Smith (Team Dignitas Women’s CSGO) and Jos “VioletPanda” van Meurs (Team Dignitas Rocket League) as well as Fortnite broadcaster Jake “GernaderJake” Straus, will stream unboxing videos of Champion apparel via Team Dignitas and player social media channels.
“The opportunity to partner with the apparel company that pioneered one of the most essential retail pieces in any esports player and fan’s wardrobe – the hoodie – is truly appropriate,” said Team Dignitas CEO Michael Prindiville.
“As we continually build and evolve our brands, we look forward to innovating with the Champion design team to develop a style that excites our fans and motivates our players in competition.”
It’s not the first time a big clothing brand teamed up with an esports org – Team Vitality signed a huge deal with Adidas last year. But it of course shows the continued interest from mainstream non-endemic brands within esports.
Dom is an award-winning writer who graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV as well as Riot Games and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Association up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and as an esports consultant helping brands and businesses better understand the industry.


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FRANCE: Carrefour, Intermarche in store swap
French retailers Carrefour and Intermarché have signed a deal to swap a batch of stores, a transaction prompted by their deal earlier this year over the Altis joint venture.
Carrefour will acquire five outlets Intermarché had to offload when regulators cleared its purchase of Altis in April. Altis was a French franchise venture between Carrefour and Spanish retailer Eroski that ran Carrefour stores in the south-west of the country.
The new deal will also see Carrefour sell 11 small supermarkets to Intermarché. The transaction does not include "any cash compensation", a Carrefour spokesperson confirmed today (13 September).
On Thursday, two of the world's largest food retailers will report their 2012 financial results and, more importantly, try to convince investors their moves to improve their operations in key markets ...
In a week of results from major retailers, Carrefour cheered the market with improvement in France, upmarket UK grocer Waitrose highlighted its strong year and Belgium's Delhaize insisted its business...
- Comment: Paying the price for eating healthily
- Focus: Will Danone return to growth in dairy?
- Why Nestle is relaxed about the China "drag"
- Focus: Why French retail deals could hit suppliers
- M&A Watch: Emmi shareholders should consider sale
- Nestle organic sales fall on Asia, Europe
- Danone "eyes acquisition of Mead Johnson"
- Heinz jobs in Australasia to go in restructuring
- Symington's acquires Tanfield Foods
- Heinz silent over Polish factory expansion talk


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Latest Sabai Technology Stories
Sabai Technology has launched the website RouterSource.com as a consumer friendly marketplace for home networking products.
Best VPN, the preeminent VPN review website, confirmed that Sabai OS offers the top VPN speed of any of the leading custom router firmware. Simpsonville, South
Sabai Technology offers savings on entertainment and speed router bundles, as well as shipping promotions for the Labor Day holiday.
Sabai Technology, creator of the Sabai OS VPN router firmware, is announcing the debut of a new website that better meets our customers’ needs with a more streamlined and modern look that allows
The proxy addition is part of a wider product update that improves the interface, stability, quality-of-service, port forwarding, better hardware specs and more. Simpsonville,
Sabai Technology, creator of the VPN Router firmware Sabai OS, has slashed prices on its entire VPN Router product line for its annual Fourth of July sale, helping give consumers Internet freedom
Sabai Technology, creators of the leading VPN Router firmware Sabai OS, has announced an expansion of its 7-day-a-week technical support department, with a simplified schedule and more coverage
Sabai Technology has released an updated version of its VPN router firmware in response to vulnerabilities in the OpenSSL software. Simpsonville, SC (PRWEB)
Version 5.5 supports two new hardware models, including one with AC wireless.
Sabai Technology, a Simpsonville based network technology company, is pleased to announce the promotion of Anja Smith from chief operating officer to CEO. Simpsonville,
- The deadly nightshade, Atropa Belladonna, which possesses stupefying or poisonous properties.
- A sleeping-potion; a soporific.
- To mutter deliriously.


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Eco-friendly replacement for plastic bags in the pipeline
The problem of plastic pollution has grown to devastating proportions. EU-funded research is supporting the development and large-scale production of an eco-friendly replacement for plastic bags that should help significantly reduce plastic waste.
© Paptic Ltd, 2018
It is estimated that in the EU around 100 billion plastic bags are currently used every year. This is a tremendous waste as they are very often used only once, too rarely recycled and many end up in our seas and oceans. The challenge of reducing plastic waste has become an environmental imperative. It also provides a potential opportunity for Europe to lead the way by creating alternative sustainable solutions.
The EU-funded PAPTIC project is doing just that with its novel wood-fibre-based material PAPTIC ® that combines the renewability of paper with the resource efficiency and functionality of plastics. Once fully developed, PAPTIC bags will be 100 % biodegradable and recyclable, with at least 85 % renewable content. The patented PAPTIC ® process offers the worlds first economically sound and environment-friendly alternative to plastic for carrier bags and certain plastic packaging.
The EU has supported PAPTIC in the process of scaling up production to an industrial level capable of achieving the cost efficiency needed for PAPTIC to become an economically viable and acceptable alternative and to be taken up on as wide a scale as possible, says Tuomas Mustonen, project coordinator and CEO of PAPTIC Ltd.
First of its kind
It is the first fully biodegradable and recyclable environmental alternative to plastic to be proposed and its uptake is expected to be exponential, says Mustonen. Most bioplastics are either biodegradable or recyclable our product is both.
Furthermore, most bioplastics do not degrade well in the marine environment and so add to the problem. PAPTIC will help the EU reach the ambitious environmental and plastic reduction targets set out in its own directives and in the Paris Agreement.
The first full-scale production unit of the PAPTIC technology is not expected to come into operation until after the end of the project, in 2019. In the meantime, however, the team has already started producing a modified version of PAPTIC based on existing machines used for the production of paper. Although not as efficient, economical or sustainable as the original PAPTIC process, it has allowed them to start delivering their product already in 2018.
In a second phase, this business will be converted step by step to the original PAPTIC technology, gradually improving the cost efficiency, environmental footprint and scalability of the material.
In a third phase, the PAPTIC technology will be licensed for use by other manufacturers in order to help scale up its use even further. The prototype demonstration line, produced with the help of the EU, will make it easier for us to spread our technology further as we are minimising the technology risk for other potential investors by building the first machine ourselves and demonstrating that we can ensure a stable supply of high-quality material, says Mustonen.
Another potential benefit of the PAPTIC project is the possible opportunities it may provide to the paper industry which has been put under pressure by the decline in paper consumption. The PAPTIC process lends itself to being adapted from the paper-producing process and could help avoid predicted job losses, particularly in hard-hit rural areas. It will also provide opportunities for plastic-conversion businesses hit by the reduction in plastic use.


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Schneider Electric launches latest data center UPS product range in Egypt
- Schneider Electric aims to enable customers and partners to achieve economic and manufacturing goals to enjoy safer and easier operations: Walid Sheta
Cairo - September 9, 2018 – Schneider Electric Egypt, a global leader in energy management and automation, has launched an array of innovative three-phase and single-phase UPS products as part of the company’s drive to scale up its business in the Egyptian market by offering new high-quality, cost-competitive products.
Schneider Electric introduced a wide range of its latest Uninterruptible Power Supply solutions which increase power availability and system uptime, including Easy UPS, Lithium Ion UPS, SmartConnect UPS, DC UPS, Edge Computing & 1& 1.5 KVA SRT UPS. The newly-introduced products also include Schneider Electric's high-efficiency 3-phase UPS solutions which cover many racks and offer benefits in serviceability time and costs, as well as a group of reliable edge computing solutions.
During the two-day launch event in Cairo, Schneider Electric reviewed its full ITD portfolio including its innovative DCIM data center infrastructure management software, HBN solution for small & medium data center applications, high-quality cooling solutions, as well as the IoT-enabled EcoStruxure architecture and platform.
"As a market leader, Schneider Electric is committed to introducing new products to its customers and partners to allow them to achieve their economic and manufacturing goals while enjoying safer and easier operations," said Walid Sheta, Schneider Electric's Regional Cluster Head of North East Africa and Levant
Moneim El Fakharany, Vice President for Information Technology, said the unveiling will significantly expand the company's IT services.
“This event is a good opportunity to launch new products for our information technology department and introduce new solutions of medium-term assets," said Moneim El Fakharany, Vice President for Information Technology, Schneider Electric Egypt & North East Africa.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is leading the digital transformation of energy management and automation in homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is the undisputable leader in power management – medium voltage, low voltage and secure power, and in automation systems. We provide integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software.
In our global ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest partner, integrator and developer community on our open platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency.
We believe that great people and partners make Schneider Electric a great company and that our commitment to innovation, diversity and sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment.


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The Alec Baldwin Roast finally airs on Comedy Central, among other channels, debuting on September 15, 2019, at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 9 p.m. CT. In addition to the Comedy Central network, the show airs on Paramount, Nickelodeon, CMT, VH1, MTV, and TV Land. But, if you don’t have a cable subscription or your cable package doesn’t include any of the networks showing the roast, there are still options for watching the event online.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of Comedy Central on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming subscription services:
Comedy Central, VH1, TV Land, CMT, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Paramount are included in Philo’s main 58-channel bundle, which is the cheapest among all streaming services if you plan on keeping it long-term.
You can start a free 7-day trial of Philo TV right here, and you can then watch Comedy Central live on your computer via the Philo website, or on your phone (iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV or or other supported device via the Philo app.
If you can’t watch live, Philo also allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which allows you to replay most shows and events that have aired in the last three days.
Comedy Central, VH1, MTV, Nickelodeon, CMT, and Paramount are some of the 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Comedy Central on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch most shows up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
Comedy Central, CMT, MTV, TV Land, and Paramount are included in both the “Sling Orange” and “Sling Blue” channel packages via “Comedy Extra”. VH1 is included in the “Lifestyle Extra” add-on, which can be added to either the main “Sling Orange” or “Sling Blue” channel packages.
You can start a free 7-day trial of Sling TV right here, and you can then watch Comedy Central live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
DirecTV Now offers several different channel packages, all of which include Nickelodeon. You can start a free trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Nick on your computer via the DirecTV Now website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Now includes cloud DVR.
Sean Hayes is the Roast Master for the event and some of the big names on the dais include Robert De Niro, Roastmaster General Jeff Ross, Caitlyn Jenner, and Blake Griffin. Alec Baldwin is the 17th star to be roasted on Comedy Central, with past stars in the hot seat have included Justin Bieber, Donald Trump, Bruce Willis, William Shatner, and Joan Rivers, according to Paste Magazine.
One of the things that has made Baldwin increasingly popular in recent years is his Donald Trump impression on Saturday Night Live. It may come as a surprise to some of his fans that he actually hates doing it, according to Fox News. Now, just ahead of the 45th season of SNL, Baldwin revealed on Kevin Nealon’s YouTube series “Hiking with Kevin”, “I think every time I did Trump after the first season — the first season everybody was high, they were in a lot of pain, they were confused. They thought, even if you didn’t like [Hillary Clinton], it is impossible that he would beat her. They just didn’t see that. Then, every time I did it — the second and third season I did it, I’d go into my room and I was like ‘I hope a meteor hits this building and kills me because I don’t want to do this ever again. I hate this.'”
And, it doesn’t sound like Baldwin will be making a lot of appearances on SNL this season, if any. He explained, “I can’t imagine I would do it again … They should find somebody who wants to do it. They’re all my dear friends and I love going there, but the other thing is that I’m going to go to work this fall in a way I haven’t done in a while. My wife and I had a son a year ago, and since he was born, I’ve worked minimally because I wanted to be there for my wife and kids … But the party’s over this fall and I’ll be traveling. SNL just crushes my weekends, and now weekends are going to become much more precious to me because that’s time with my kids.”
Baldwin did say that the first season he appeared as Trump was “fun”.


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Capital good maker Thermax is likely to see an around 11.8% (year-on-year) decline in net profit on slow execution of existing orders, according to CNBC-TV18 poll. Sales too will be down around 6.3% YoY, due to poor growth in order book. The company will announce Q3 numbers later in the day.
Overall, it has been a lackluster year so far for capital good sector and hence pressure on Thermax's topline and bottomline will continue in December quarter as well. Analysts on an average expect the company to report profit of Rs 84 against Rs 95 crore, YoY. Sales will be around 1189 crore versus 1269 crore,YoY.
The poll further states that so far, the Pune-based company has shown strong resilience in margins on softening commodity prices and cost efficiency measures, despite declining orders.
However, in Q3, EBITDA margins are expected to fall around 50 bps to 10.2%, YOY on rising costs and continued stiff competitive environment.
The company which manufactures industrial boilers and steam vaporisers is likely to pick up captive orders, post a sluggish environment that prevailed in H1FY13. Order inflow for the quarter is expected to remain healthy at Rs 1,400 crore versus Rs 600 crore, YoY.
Shares of the company were down around a percent to Rs 571 at 9:50 am.