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Trump trade war with China could hurt these 10 stocks
The list of companies caught in the brewing trade war between the U.S. and China reads like a who's who of American commerce: Boeing, Caterpillar, Deere, Tesla.
By virtue of their sizable business in China, shares of these and other brand-name U.S. stocks are at risk if the trade spat between the world's two largest economies worsens.
More pain is ahead if tariffs are announced that go beyond the initial $34 billion of the $50 billion targeting hundreds of Chinese goods that President Donald Trump says will go into effect July 6. China has retaliated with tariffs of equal value aimed at U.S. products. The U.S. is also drawing up a list of $200 billion more of additional Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs.
A tariff is an import tax countries levy on goods entering their borders. It's a tactic used to protect their own economies with the hope of keeping domestic companies competitive.
The biggest losers? U.S. corporations that get a hefty chunk of their sales from China or those that sell products on Beijing's growing list of U.S. products that will be hit with an import tax ranging from 15 to 25 percent.
Wall Street fears business will slow for these firms, as their products will be more expensive for Chinese shoppers and manufacturers. That's bearish for stocks, as higher prices can lead to fewer sales and smaller profits and ultimately lower share prices.
Here are some U.S. stocks facing a tariff-related hit:
The airplane maker earned nearly 13 percent of its revenue in China in the past fiscal year, according to Bloomberg. Its share price was down more than 9 percent thru Thursday afternoon trading since its recent high June 6, due largely to the escalating trade dispute. In November, Boeing struck a deal to sell a state-run Chinese company 300 planes for $37 billion. Any loss of orders due to trade tensions would be costly. "Aircraft deliveries to China have a growing importance to Boeing," Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani noted in a report.
Big industrial companies such as Caterpillar that sell into China's fast-growing economy, which grew 6.8 percent in the first three months of the year, are also vulnerable to a slowdown triggered by a trade dispute. The company's shares have slid about 9 percent in the five trading sessions since Trump announced he was going through with tariffs against China and warned of $200 billion more in levies. Caterpillar, which sells iconic yellow-colored excavators and other earth-moving machines, has roughly two dozen facilities in China. The company said about half of its first-quarter 2018 revenue in its construction business was mainly in North America and China. Part of the reason it increased its forecast for full-year earnings was a "strengthening" of its construction business across Asia, but primarily in China, it said.
The maker of tractors, combines and harvesters could be hit with a double whammy in the trade dispute. Trump's 25 percent tariffs on steel will have a negative financial impact because it will cost Deere more to build its heavy equipment with higher-priced steel. China has also targeted U.S. farmers by levying tariffs on soybeans, wheat and other agricultural crops that are harvested by Deere machines. And if sales of these commodities falter, purchases of that equipment by U.S. farmers could also take a hit.
Fatal crashes, production bottlenecks and alleged employee sabotage aren't the only problems Tesla CEO Elon Musk is facing. Tesla makes one of the products on China's updated list of potential tariff victims: electric cars. And that's bad news for the upstart automaker as it made Morgan Stanley's top-20 list of stocks with the highest revenue exposure to China. Tesla gets 19 percent of its sales from China. The 25 percent tariff set to take effect July 6 could put the price of a Tesla out of reach for many Chinese buyers.
The auto parts supplier has two things working against it: One, it gets an estimated 13 percent of its revenues directly from China, according to Morgan Stanley. Two, it sells clean-tech components to companies that build hybrid and electric cars, which are targeted by Beijing. BorgWarner shares are down nearly 6 percent since Trump confirmed last Friday that he was moving forward with planned tariffs against China.
The company just happens to be in the industry that Morgan Stanley says has the highest exposure (52 percent) to China: semiconductors and chip equipment makers. Qualcomm, whose processors are used in mobile phones, gets 65 percent of its revenue from China, according to Bloomberg, putting it – and other chip makers such as Micron, Intel and Invidia – at risk.
Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD)
The global transportation company moves goods around the world via air and sea. It also provides services such as temperature-controlled transit, cargo insurance and logistics management. That's all good, except for the fact that it gets an estimated 30 percent of sales from business ties with China, Morgan Stanley data show.
The upscale jewelry seller, known for its signature blue box, diamond rings and edgier image under new CEO Alessandro Bogliolo, is a favorite of China's growing class of aspirational shoppers. While that's a plus in good times, it could cause problems during periods of trade strife if Chinese shoppers turn away from U.S. retailers such as Tiffany or if the economy slows, making jewelry sold by Tiffany's less affordable. The jeweler gets roughly 14 percent of its revenue from China, Morgan Stanley data show, which makes them even more vulnerable if China retaliates with tariffs on products it sells.
Cummins, which makes products including diesel and natural gas engines, gets 10 percent of its revenue from China, according to Bloomberg, and is the type of industrial company that can be dinged by the tariff fight.
A.O. Smith (AOS)
One of the world's leading manufacturers of water heaters for homes and commercial buildings also ranks high when it comes to exposure to China. Bloomberg pegs its China sales at nearly 35 percent. In this year's first quarter, sales in China rose 13 percent measured in U.S. dollars, the company said in its earnings release.


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New vegan eatery in Sheffield
Sheffield marches forward in its mission to become recognised as one of the vegan capitals of the UK.
Say hello to Just Falafs.
Located on Chesterfield Road just a few steps from legendary vegan food provider Make No Bones, the brand new Just Falafs has a gorgeous menu overflowing with irresistible delights.
You can see the exact location of Just Falafs thanks to Google Maps.
The images below show some of the tasty food being served in Sheffield’s newest vegan eatery, as well as the menu which includes falafel, shawarma and omelettes!
Follow Just Falafs on Instagram.

domain: news


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Angola must take further steps to create a “sustainable” fiscal position, limit inflation and build its foreign-exchange reserves, the International Monetary Fund said (Bloomberg).
Angola’s economic indicators remained stable in 2009 with the economy growing 2.7 percent in real terms due to the expansion of the non-oil sector, according to a report approved by the Angolan government (Macauhub).
The country has saved between 500 million to one billion US dollars, through the reduction in the time of goods clearance at the Luanda Port to about 10 to 15 days (ANGOP).
Soyo Port, in the northern Zaire Province, is increasing its investments framework in technical and administrative infrastructures to meet the economic growth demand in this region of the country (ANGOP).
Angola may request a review of its oil-production quota, the country’s Oil Minister said (Bloomberg).
The internationalisation of the Portuguese Modelo Continente supermarket chain to Angola is due to happen this year, the chairman of the Sonae group, Model’s mother company, said (Macauhub).
Edifer Angola increased its turnover in 2009 by 35 percent to US$202 million and posted a net profit of US$22 million, the chairwoman of the Edifer group, Vera Pires Coelho said (Macauhub).
Net profit at Banco Espírito (BES) Angola rose to 152 million euros in 2009, a year on year rise of 86 percent (Macauhub).
Brazilian airline Puma Air is due to begin flights to Angola next June or July.
A Boeing 767 will be used on the Recife-Luanda, Angola route,” CEO Gambogi said adding, “we will be the only Brazilian airline with flights to Africa.” As well as Brazilian investors, one of Puma’s shareholders, with 20 percent, is air carrier Angola Air Service. Puma Air said that there 45,000 Brazilians living in Luanda, a market that is boosted by projects of Brazilian companies such as Petrobras (Macauhub).


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The U.S. Postal Service recently announced that it would study approximately 3,700 postal retail facilities which are candidates for consolidation. Many policymakers and Postal Service customers have expressed concern over the effect these potential consolidations will have on access to postal services and as well as the social life of rural communities where the local post office acted as a gathering point for the community.
There’s no denying it: Looks matter. Appearance creates a first impression that is hard to erase. And when you’re talking about postal retail facilities, how they look is essential to the U.S. Postal Service’s business.
Unfortunately, too many retail facilities have fallen into disrepair...Read More


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In the fall of 1969, somewhere in the southwestern United States, a seven-year-old boy was riding his bicycle down a quiet city street when a male stranger dragged him into a car and drove off. About an hour and a half later, however, the boy escaped. Police struggled to find the kidnapper because they couldn’t identify the make of his vehicle—all they had were the boy’s rather disjointed descriptions: bigger than a Volkswagen yet smaller than a Mercedes, black upholstery patterned with small x’s, a “sort of rectangle with a round thing on it” under the vent window. After weeks of searching, the boy’s mother tried a longshot: She mailed a letter, along with sketches of the car drawn by the boy, to the monthly magazine Consumer Reports. An answer soon came back: Toyota Corona, likely sold between April 1968 and April 1969. Four days later, authorities arrested the culprit.
This story, reported by the United Press International newswire in February 1970, and others like it, have helped establish the expertise and authority behind Consumer Reports, which reviews products ranging from automobiles to showerheads to credit cards. At the organization’s research center in Yonkers, New York, technicians evaluate the efficiency of washing machines by loading them with a mixture of clean clothing and strips of fabric sullied by coffee and pig’s blood. Scientists strike door locks with sledgehammers and force vacuum cleaners to suck up heaps of Maine Coon hair. More than 120 employees, with an annual testing budget of approximately $25 million, evaluate some 3,000 products a year. The results of these impartial studies are then gathered, examined, and published, ad-free, in Consumer Reports. Its mission: Equip consumers with the “knowledge they need to make better and more informed choices.”
Perhaps the most miraculous part of Consumer Reports is that its work is technically a public service: Its parent organization, which publishes the magazine (and is also called Consumer Reports), is a nonprofit. The operation launched in 1936, when consumer-protection laws were practically nonexistent, and for much of its history the magazine has shaped both consumer sentiment and government policy. In 1958, for example, Minnesota Congressman John Blatnik credited the organization for its role in exposing the tobacco industry’s deceptive practice of claiming that filter-tip cigarettes diminished the intake of tar and nicotine.
In recent decades, however, Consumer Reports’s influence has declined. To an extent this is expected, given how the organization hasn’t quite adapted to the new media landscape. But it’s still more than a little surprising that the rigorous, systematic method of reviewing products practiced by Consumer Reports has lost ground to mostly anonymous online product writeups—not just in terms of popularity, but also, one survey has found, public trust. Why are online shoppers settling for taking the word of unidentified, and potentially biased, reviewers? Put another way, why isn’t Consumer Reports reaching new heights in an era when its evenhanded information should in theory be most in-demand?
Consumer Reports reached its peak number of subscribers in 2008, when it had nearly 8 million (print and digital combined), according to Kelli Halyard, a spokesperson. At present, it has roughly 7 million—3.8 million of them print subscribers and 3.2 million of them digital. This is, by magazine standards, a huge subscription base, but the worrisome news for Consumer Reports is that their demographics skew older: The average print subscriber is 65 years old, and the average digital subscriber is 56. Tax records show that for the fiscal year ending in May 2011, the magazine’s parent organization lost $3.5 million dollars, then $2 million the following year. An internal memo sent to top managers in early 2012, and subsequently leaked by the media blogger Jim Romenesko, put the organization’s plight in no uncertain terms: “CR is not growing revenues or subscribers, and we are losing money. We must right the ship.” The missive blamed this downward slope on “new competitors who are doing interesting things.”
These competitors are, in many cases, average consumers, who write their own reviews as soon as products come out and post them on the very websites where shopping decisions are made—a practice that has not only become ubiquitous but, in doing so, made Consumer Reports’s manner of appraisal feel removed from the modern retail experience. In Nielsen’s 2015 “Global Trust In Advertising” report, for instance, around two-thirds of respondents indicated that they trust consumer opinions posted online, and that they were either always or sometimes willing to take action based on those opinions. As for young people, a 2014 poll found that Millennials consider online peer reviews to be slightly more trustworthy and memorable than professional ones.
This shift in attitude has taken place despite frequent discoveries of fraud in crowdsourced reviews. In 2013, for example, after concluding a year-long investigation called “Operation Clean Turf,” the New York Attorney General’s office ordered 19 companies to pay more than $350,000 in fines for flooding various review sites with phony endorsements. Last October, Amazon sued more than 1,100 people for offering to create fake product reviews for $5 apiece. The incentive for sellers to cheat is strong. In a 2011 working paper, Michael Luca, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, found that a one-star increase in a restaurant’s average Yelp rating can boost revenue by between 5 and 9 percent. “People’s intent on gaming the system gets stronger by the year,” Luca told me.
Aware that fraudulent reviews can undermine trust in their platform, companies such as Amazon and Yelp channel resources toward rooting them out. But detection can be difficult, and, at times, Consumer Reports has appeared eager to highlight this weakness. In 2013, for instance, it published a review of review sites active in San Francisco, and found that companies such as Angie’s List and Yelp often operate in ways that leave them vulnerable to conflicts of interest and bias. More recently, Consumerist, an irreverent blog that Consumers Union (the advocacy division of Consumer Reports) purchased from Gawker Media in late 2008, posted an article condemning an apparent loophole in Amazon's review policy that allows companies to offer free or discounted products in exchange for reviews. While Amazon requires reviewers to disclose this arrangement, and companies to accept both positive and negative feedback, the vast majority of these agreements, Consumerist found, result in five-star reviews.
Last fall, a study published by the Journal of Consumer Research showed that Consumer Reports’s reviews and online user-written reviews differed in important ways. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder compared around 350,000 individual Amazon reviews of nearly 1,300 products—everything from baby monitors to bike helmets to carbon-monoxide detectors—with Consumer Reports’s scores for the same goods. Online reviewers, they found, were more likely to give premium brands higher ratings, and rarely compared a variety of similar devices in the same setting, as Consumer Reports does by default.
Ultimately, the researchers found that consumers tend to accept as true the collective wisdom that Amazon conveys about a particular item’s durability, safety, and performance. “We don’t want to say that online reviews are completely untrustworthy and have no value whatsoever,” Bart de Langhe, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Colorado Boulder and the co-author of the study, told me. “But we do want to point out there are strong issues with them, and that in many situations you might be better off relying on expert tests.”
So why, given that Consumer Reports still offers a valuable and rare service, has its subscriber base contracted in recent years? In some respects, the story is typical of print magazines in general. Bolstered by a large, if aging, circulation base, the publication was slow to focus on its online offerings. Unwilling to accept money from advertisers, Consumer Reports placed its reviews behind a paywall—a strategy that may have worked for a while, but also isolated the publication from young readers unfamiliar with the brand. “The thing that has changed dramatically since we were founded 80 years ago has been that we have to be where consumers are,” Marta Tellado, the CEO of Consumer Reports since 2014, told me. “It’s not enough for them to come to us and wait patiently for our reports.”
This delay in adapting also allowed for the emergence of digital-first competitors that draw on some aspects of Consumer Reports’s technique. The sister websites The Wirecutter and The Sweethome, for example, publish reviews that mix expert opinion, a fluency in online culture, and creative, if sometimes unorthodox, experiments—like when The Sweethome had bike thieves help evaluate bike locks.
Tellado’s proposed solutions are standards of print-first magazines seeking to attract new audiences online: rebuilding the Consumer Reports website, rethinking its paywall strategy, producing more videos, distributing more mobile-friendly content, and investing in its social-media presence. “As we dig in a little harder on the digital and start to look at the data, I think you’re going to see a heck of a lot of experimenting,” said Tellado.
She will have some resources to work with: Thanks in part to the economic recovery, in the past few years Consumer Reports’s parent organization has returned to bringing in a net gain. Consumer Reports also has another bright spot: Consumerist receives between 2.5 to 3.5 million unique visitors per month, according to Halyard, which is up since the acquisition from Gawker. Its average reader is 38.
Luca, the Harvard professor, told me he thinks Consumer Reports should further revise its business model by forming long-term partnerships with the online platforms where consumers already are. In 2015, Consumer Reports took some steps in this direction by partnering with Amazon to provide the site with buying guides for smartwatches and wireless routers. (The Consumer Reports name and link to its website are easy to miss, but it’s a start.) The danger of associations like these, however, is that Consumer Reports risks tarnishing its longstanding reputation as a consumer advocate and independent reviewer of household wares.
All this, however, is hardly the first obstacle Consumer Reports has faced. In 1940, the House Un-American Activities Committee listed the organization as a subversive operation for its suspected ties to communism. Consumer Reports replied in the form an editorial, stating, “If the condemnation of worthless, adulterated, and misrepresented products is a communistic activity, then the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the American Medical Association must be paid direct from Moscow.” In 1954, Consumer Reports was dropped from committee’s list, and has continued to educate the public ever since.


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Now in its third year, the British Fashion Council today announced its nominees for the 2012 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize. On the short list are eight womenswear designers: Jonathan Saunders, Roksanda Ilincic, Mary Katrantzou, Richard Nicoll, Marios Schwab, Peter Pilotto, Meadham Kirchhoff, and Zoe Jordan, as well as shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood. All nine finalists receive an industry mentor, while the winner — who’ll be announced in the March issue of British Vogue — also receives £200,000. (The fund’s previous two winners are Erdem Moralioglu and Christopher Kane, so the 2012 champ will be in esteemed company, too.)
Spring 2012 looks from Peter Pilotto, Marios Schwab, Richard Nicoll, and Mary Katrantzou.


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Grocery store coming to Pace Five Points
A major grocery store is in the works for Woodbine Road in Pace, to be built across from Stonebrook Golf Club by early 2017 — the first of its kind in the Five Points area.
Clearwater-based White Development Company is behind the project, the same firm bringing a Publix supermarket to the East Hill neighborhood in Pensacola. The company has also built Publix stores in Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Pending a lease agreement, White Development Company President Jim White said he could not confirm that the Pace store will be a Publix, but it will be a major high-end grocery store with about 45,000 square feet of space.
The store will be built on about 9 acres of property that lies between Woodbine Road and Chumuckla Highway and is contingent upon adding a traffic signal at Woodbine Road and the entrance to Stonebrook at Cobblestone Drive, White said.
Representatives from White Development Company have met with neighborhood associations and with residents on whom the traffic light would have an impact, White said.
“My understanding is that they were supportive of a project that would not only bring their grocery shopping closer, but would also bring a light in at their entrance,” White said.
Though the building will face Woodbine, there will also be access from Chumuckla Highway near Stratford Lane at the entrance to the Cross Roads subdivision, White said.
White said two access points will help alleviate traffic at the intersection of Woodbine Road and Chumuckla Highway near Berryhill Road, commonly referred to as Five Points.
The possibility of a second traffic signal at Chumuckla Highway and Stratford Lane is also being studied, White said.
With tremendous growth in the area and a lack of grocery stores for nearby residents, White said the location is ideal for the development.
“Everyone has to currently go down to (U.S.) 90, which is about four miles away,” he said. “So it’s just ... a natural fit for additional services.”
The project will also include 4,200 square feet of retail space, divided among three tenants, and will have connectivity to the existing Stonebrook Plaza shopping center adjacent to the site, explained White.
The company is applying to the county Sept. 10 for a commercial rezoning of the parcels, and White said he expects the lease with the grocery chain to be finalized in the next couple of weeks.
White said community feedback has been positive so far, and he plans to go above and beyond to ensure the store enhances the area.
“We don’t ever try to force a project in a location that it doesn’t fit,” he said. “We normally try to exceed the local officials’ expectations with regard to the quality of the development, with regard to landscaping, building appearance, off-site improvements that might be required.”


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Mack Trucks has announced that WheresMyConcrete, a cloud-based and telematics-connected dispatching, analytics and customer service tool, is now available for Mack ready-mix customers seeking improved asset visibility, dispatch efficiency and real-time data identifying exactly where a concrete load is in the delivery process. Mack made the announcement during World of Concrete 2017.
“WheresMyConcrete helps Mack’s ready-mix customers better track vehicles, while also offering analytics to improve operational performance, enabling the more efficient management of their trucks,” said Tim Wrinkle, Mack construction product manager. “This tool gives managers information in real-time, helping eliminate the potential for unnecessary downtime on the job site.”
WheresMyConcrete, a new addition to Mack® Fleet Management Services, provides real-time data for concrete mixer fleet dispatchers, improving transparency and service to customers, as well as providing critical analytics designed to help improve operations. Utilizing Mack’s factory-installed GuardDog® Connect integrated telematics platform, WheresMyConcrete is available on Mack truck models equipped with a Mack engine, including the Mack Pinnacle™, Granite®, TerraPro® and LR models. GuardDog Connect is standard on these Mack models. WheresMyConcrete can be tailored to ready-mix customers’ needs, including those who need only GPS tracking of their trucks. Additional features can be bundled to enhance the service, including digital tickets, electronic billing, sales tracking and analytics, and driver payroll management. Ready-mix customers are able to access WheresMyConcrete’s up-to-the-minute information either online or through a free mobile app.
WheresMyConcrete also allows contractors to download a free app to track deliveries with live traffic and up-to-the-minute ETAs, improving delivery precision. Contractors also can see current, upcoming and past orders, review digital tickets and signatures, and pay


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The company has not yet officially unveiled its augmented reality glasses at its event last week. However, Apple is certainly advancing on the subject as revealed by a small detail.
There were already these details in the code of iOS 13. However, it is still far from enough to be convinced that the mark with the apple advance on the file. Fortunately, specialists have the eye.
Apple advances in a discreet way
It was big week for Apple. A new generation of iPad, a new model of Apple Watch and of course the iPhone 11, 11Pro and 11 Pro Max. Let’s be honest, the majority of ads are far from revolutionizing the system. We have new details on colors, on space audio, a better camera and a high quality A13 chip. Come on we’ll even give a good point to the American brand for the battery and the triple camera in the back.
However, it is a detail, little emphasized we are particularly interested, it is the new U1 chip that allows spatial location devices, which makes them ” directionally-aware ” as Apple promises with the new features AirDrop, iOS 13.1 that will be deployed from September 30th. Why is it important? Simply because it’s the key to Apple’s development in augmented reality. This ability to know where the device is in the space incredibly opens the field of possibilities. This small detail has its importance and shows that the Apple brand intends to use the iPhone 11 for augmented reality … can be more than just the ARKit.


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TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s export to Iraq has risen 31 percent during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.Ruhollah Latifi said Iraq has been the second largest buyer of Iranian goods in recent years, but unfortunately last year several borders were closed for months due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, and like many other countries, trade with this country decreased last year.
He put Iran’s export to Iraq at over 12.024 million tons worth $3.163 billion in the five-month period, with a 53-percent rise in terms of weight.
Iran has imported 313,612 tons of commodities valued at $175.9 million from Iraq in the first five months of this year, with a 430-percent growth in terms of value and a 970-percent rise in terms of weight as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the official announced.
As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 38 percent during the first five months of the current year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.
Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said that Iran has traded 59.3 million tons of non-oil products worth $34 billion with other countries in the mentioned period, which indicates also 14 percent growth in terms of weight on an annual basis.
The official put the five-month non-oil exports at 45.5 million tons valued at $17.661 billion, with a 63 percent rise in value and 20 percent growth in weight.
The IRICA head mentioned methanol, natural gas, polyethylene, semi-finished iron products, iron ingots, gasoline, liquefied propane, iron rods, urea, and bitumen as the main exported products in the said time span.
He said major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China with about 12.3 million tons worth $5.9 billion, Iraq with 12 million tons worth $3.163 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with five million tons worth $1.9 billion, Turkey with 1.375 million tons worth $1.1 billion, and Afghanistan with 2.165 million tons worth $885 million.
The official further announced that Iran has imported 13.8 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $16.631 billion in the first five months of the present year, with a 21 percent growth in value and a 0.5 percent fall in weight year on year.
According to the official, the country’s trade balance was over $1 billion positive in the mentioned five months.
Mir-Ashrafi named cellphones, livestock corn, sunflower oil, barley, meal, wheat, soybeans, sugar, and rice as the main imported commodities.
The United Arab Emirates with 4.436 million tons of goods worth $5.391 billion was the top exporter to Iran in the said period, followed by China with 1.1 million tons of goods worth $3.6 billion, Turkey with 1.578 million tons worth $1.8 billion, Germany with 431,000 tons worth $668 million, and Switzerland with 692,000 tons worth $572 million, the official stated.
Original News : https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/465139/Export-to-Iraq-rises-31-in-5-months-on-year


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The Durham location of the Pie Hole, a Los Angeles-based dessert shop, has closed after eight months.
The owners announced the closing Wednesday via Instagram, saying the Pie Hole shut permanently after the last customer was served Monday night.
"On Monday, we made the hardest decision that we’ve ever made. One that also affected so many that we loved." franchise owners Young and Surelyne Lee, who are married, wrote on Instagram.
"We’ve been struggling for months to ensure that our awesome employees are taken care of & that our lights remained on ... but it’s gotten to a point where it was no longer feasible."
The closing is a fairly quick one, coming eight months after the Pie Hole opened on Durham's Ninth Street in the 810 Ninth Apartments building. This was the Pie Hole's first U.S. location outside of LA.
Young Lee said in an interview that the concept struggled to take hold in the Triangle market.
"This is a new concept for Raleigh-Durham," Lee said. "There's not another pie-centric restaurant in the Triangle. Plus it's a new brand in the area. It's successful in LA because it's been around for eight years. We tried."
The Pie Hole made sweet and savory pies daily, with riffs on classics like pecan and chocolate pies and new concoctions like the Cereal Killer, a sweetened cereal-spiked cheesecake and an Earl Grey tea-flavored pie.
"This was devastating to us as we poured our hearts, souls & finances into our business," the Lees wrote on Instagram. "Making quality pies from scratch is not an easy process nor is it an inexpensive one. There’s nothing like the look on our customers' faces when they place that first bite of our amazing pies into their mouths."
Slices of pie started around $6 and ranged to $7.50. Some diners on the restaurant review site called the prices expensive, but noted servings were generous.


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Date of Event: Jan 17, 2019
Matt Maurer to speak at 2019 Cannabis Marketing Summit in Toronto
Matt Maurer of our Cannabis Law Group will be speaking at the upcoming Cannabis Marketing Summit, being held on Thursday, January 17th in Toronto.
Find out everything you need to know about Canada’s emerging cannabis industry – 90 days into legalization. Network with peers in the tourism, CPG, alcohol, entertainment, lifestyle, and marketing industries. Hear from industry insiders about activating cannabis brands, experiential marketing, compliance, tourism and more.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
Andrew Wilder of our Cannabis Law Group will be speaking at MJBizCon International in Toronto on September 5th. Andrew will be speaking on a pane...
Sep 5, 2019
Andrew Wilder of our Cannabis Law Group will be speaking at the The Seminar Group’s upcoming The Business of Marijuana in Michigan conferen...
Jun 21, 2019
Matt Maurer of our Cannabis Law Group will be speaking at the upcoming UCann2019 Conference, being held in Toronto on May 2nd from 8:00am - 6:00pm. Th...
May 2, 2019: 00:00


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Bayer to Sell Animal Health to Elanco
As widely expected, Bayer has definitively agreed to sell its animal health business to Eli Lilly spinoff Elanco Animal Health. The $7.6 billion deal will create the market’s second largest player, with a share of 13%, behind Zoetis and ahead of unlisted Boehringer Ingelheim.
The acquisition price is in the range mooted earlier and consists of $5.3 billion in cash, subject to adjustments, and $2.3 billion in Elanco shares based on the unaffected 30-day volume weighted average price as of Aug. 6, 2019.
Elanco said the shares transferred to Bayer would be equivalent to around 18.2% of the new animal health player but the number could rise or fall by as much as 7.5%, depending on the closing date price.
The German group said the transaction value represents an implied multiple of 18.8x based on the animal health business’s 12-months EBITDA before special items as of Jun. 30, 2019. The divestment should be concluded by mid-2020, subject to antitrust clearance and other customary closing conditions, it said.
As predicted by analysts, due to Elanco’s large debt burden following its separation from Lilly, Bayer will be obliged to retain its equity stake in the divested business for an undetermined time.
Elanco said it planned to fund the cash payment with a combination of new debt and equity and that thesize of the proposed equity increase will depend on future market developments. Bayer itself is carrying a debt load of around €35.7 billion ($39.6 billion), inflated by its $63 billion acquisition of US agribusiness giant Monsanto.
The transaction is the biggest in a series of portfolio measures Bayer initiated in November 2018 to help fund its acquisition of Monsanto. It has already announced deals to shed its consumer health brands Coppertone and Dr. Scholl’s.
Germany's Beiersdorf is picking up the sun care product for $550 million, and US private equity group Yellow Wood will take the foot care portfolio for $585 million. Last week, Bayer said it would sell its 60% in site services provider Currenta to Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) for €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion).
Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons said the combination of his company’s business with Bayer’s is “highly complementary,” adding that combining Elanco’s strong relationship with veterinarians and Bayer’s leadership in retail and e-commerce will “ultimately benefit all customers. The move combines our long-standing focus on the veterinarian, while meeting pet owners’ changing expectation of pet care and access to products.”
The deal with Bayer is the US company’s largest since its separation from Lilly. Simmons said it will double Elanco’s pet business and strengthen its position in emerging markets in addition to enhancing its presence in the cattle sector.
With sales of $1.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, Bayer’s Animal Health business is a global leader in the industry. Its Advantage-branded family of flea, tick and worm control products is market-leading.
In selling the assets to the US player, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said the Leverkusen pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals producer was able to “safeguard the interests of our employees.” Under the agreement with Elanco, he said “all employees will have at least one year of employment protection against unilateral termination with similar and no less favorable benefits in the aggregate.”
According to reported market research, the $44 billion animal health sector will grow by 5-6% annually, driven by an increase in livestock farming and by the willingness of more pet owners to spend money on their wellbeing.
Bayer’s shares were little changed following the Aug. 20 announcement. Analysts said the Roundup lawsuits the group inherited from Monsanto will continue to weigh on its stock until they run their course or Bayer decides to settle.


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LONDON, Oct. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Since Cashaa was founded in June 2016, a large part of its users has been based in India, which for the past years had a difficult relationship with cryptocurrency. Since July 2019, banks and other financial institutions have been forbidden to provide services related to cryptocurrencies, such as transacting with exchanges and other crypto businesses, similar to other parts of the world.
While access to crypto in India through banking no longer exists, Cashaa was able to find a solution.
On the occasion of Diwali, an Indian festival for wealth and prosperity, Cashaa will be enabling INR deposits and purchases of crypto in India for Indian residents, up to 1 crore INR per month.
With more than 5 Million crypto users in India currently left without any stable option, Cashaa expects many of them will opt for Cashaa including buying the required 2,500 CAS required to access the new service.
Other than solving a pressuring issue for crypto enthusiasts in India, the new service will also increase CAS utility, as it adds to the multiple CAS use cases: CAS holders worldwide can participate in the staking program for individual users and get a quarterly revenue share, personal and business users can pay for transaction fees and get a discount, business users can pay their onboarding fee and get access to the required account limits, complementary services, and more.
Since Cashaa's banking services launch in May 2019, CAS has become one of the few tokens with an increasing real-life utility with strong use cases, as Cashaa's crypto-friendly bank accounts have received a huge demand including more than 700 business signups, many of which are in the process of onboarding.
CAS is currently available at Binance DEX and Cashaa wallet.
For more information about Cashaa, see here.


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Good luck trying to get your hands on Snoopy in a blue puffer jacket and green and yellow beanie.
Gen Z has gobbled up the toy at CVS stores across the country.
The puffer jacket Snoopy points to a larger trend among the generation.
Gen Z is pledging its dedication to the cartoon dog by making a $15 CVS Snoopy plush one of the hottest toys of the holiday season.
The problem now is that the toy —made by the Peanuts brand and sold exclusively at CVS — is becoming increasingly difficult to snag.
On TikTok, young content creators have been documenting their journey looking for the stuffed toy, sharing tips on how to find them, and keeping the Snoopy hype alive. On Reddit, CVS employees complain about customers bugging them about the toy. And on eBay, resellers ask for double or triple the price for a puffer Snoopy.
Many have been unsuccessful, but some were able to make the purchase — and even helped others snag their Snoopy.
"We were immediately lucky, finding three of them at the CVS five minutes away from home," Erika Siemasko told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I knew this was rare, as I was seeing lots of people on TikTok traveling to multiple CVS locations. There were even comments on my TikTok video of Snoopy asking if I could go buy the other ones I found and ship it to them."
CVS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why does Gen Z love Snoopy so much?
The nearly 75-year-old Peanuts characters do not scream "youth" or "modernity" in any sense. The comic strip, created by Charles Schultz in 1950, spurred multiple iconic television specials.
But for a crowd of kids who revel in nostalgia, Snoopy may be the perfect character to live out their "born in the wrong generation" fantasies.
On TikTok, accounts that post old "Peanuts" clips featuring the lovable dog garner millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. In the clips, Snoopy is just being himself: falling head over heels in love, dancing his heart out, crying in the shower, or living his best life dressed as a pretty girl.
Over the past year, news articles have speculated why the whimsical dog is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Some point to his carefree, childlike attitude. Others express nostalgic fascination with the character.
One historian told the Atlantic that Gen Z may be picking up on the existentialist subtext that the Peanuts characters and Snoopy have to offer.
Blake Scott Ball, who also authored "Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts," said the comic strip — which spawned several classic holiday TV specials — reflected the sociopolitical issues gripping Americans at the time, like the Vietnam War.
And for a generation standing at the intersection of myriad crises, it makes sense that they're leaning on the character more than ever.
Ball told the outlet that "Peanuts" was "about the difficulty of existing as a regular human being in the 20th century ... just how hard it is to handle the immensity of problems that faced us, and hold all that together with your daily concerns."
Peanuts did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Read the original article on Business Insider


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On the occasion of Baselworld, Digital Luxury Group shares the five key highlights from the latest WorldWatchReport™
From 2013 to 2014, consumer interest grew by 10%. Asia now accounts for 68% of the global growth of interest, with China still leading the growth (+14% Y/Y). Interest for luxury watch brands increased in all the markets except Brazil, Hong Kong and Thailand.
“Despite the turbulence of the past months – the increase of the Swiss Franc, rumours of overstock and the announcement of the Apple Watch – worldwide consumer interest for luxury watches keeps growing,” explains David Sadigh, Founder & CEO at Digital Luxury Group.
“ Patek Philippe outperformed competition in 2014 ”
Patek Philippe outperformed competition in 2014 thanks to a substantial growth in interest from the Chinese market. This led Patek Philippe to gain +0.7% share of interest, to be the fifth most desired brand online – a title previously held by Breitling. Breitling’s weaker performance can be explained by a decrease in search from the Chinese and Brazilian consumers.
“Patek Philippe continues to reinforce the brand’s identity in China, and opened a second boutique in Beijing six months ago. Patek Philippe’s recent decision to decrease its prices in Hong-Kong reflect the importance of selling to the Chinese travelers.” notes David Sadigh.
As a new addition to the 2015 edition, analysis of prices will be included in the WorldWatchReportTM ongoing. Among the 2015’s edition findings are that luxury consumers show most interest for models between $4,000 and $6,000. However, interest for models in the $4,000-$6,000 price range has decreased.
￼￼Omega is the brand that has lost most consumer interest within this price range. Consumer interest especially decreased for the Speedmaster Broad arrow co-axial models.
“ Consumer interest in models priced between $6,000 & $8,000 is rising fastest ”
On the other hand, consumers are showing more and more interest for models priced between $6,000 and $8,000. The brand that benefited the most from the increase in interest for models priced in the $6,000-$8,000 price range is Rolex, particularly with its Oyster Perpetual Submariner models.
Luxury consumers are increasingly expecting value for money. They have become more interested in craftsmanship rather than only aesthetics and most of them are looking for a sense of exclusivity. On top of this, there is a psychological price barrier around $5,000.
Brands that are playing around this price point should be aware that consumers will benchmark their models to Rolex’s entry models and might trade up to more expensive watches if they feel they will get an important increase in long-term value.
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, 18ct White Gold
Consumers are interested by white gold models that are priced above the median catalog price. This discrepancy between demand and supply is particularly noticeable for the white gold material, which would suggest that the price could be increased.
“ Apple is the brand that will create the smartwatch market ”
Except for the peak in interest that followed Apple official announcement in September 2014, interest for the Apple Watch remains in line with interest for competitor brands. However, interestingly, Pebble, Moto 360 and Samsung Gear also experienced a surge of interest in September 2014.
This rise was most likely due to consumers searching for alternatives and comparing specifications. Apple certainly is the brand that will create the smartwatch market itself.
The luxury watch segment has also been impacted by the Apple Watch announcement. Consumers show high interest for Montblanc’s Estrap and also for smartwatches by TAG Heuer, Rolex, Omega and Breitling despite no official launch announced for any of them yet.
“The Apple Watch Edition Collection (starting at $10,000) is an attempt to convey the image of Apple as a true luxury brand but the business reality is different. We anticipate Apple to generate 80% of their sales with Apple Watches priced less than $700, a segment that will have more impact on American and Japanese watchmakers than Swiss ones,” explains David Sadigh.
The leading luxury watch market research since 2004, the WorldWatchReport™ tracks and analyses the desirability of brands across the world.
Based on unbiased information on consumer interest derived from billions of online searches on the world’s top search engines (Google, Bing, Baidu, Yandex), the report analyses 62 luxury watch brands and over 11, 000 models to give brands visibility of their performance against their competitors.


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Craig Wright, the Australian computer programmer that claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto, believes that his new internet-like system could change the world.
Pay for internet searches with Bitcoin Satoshi Vision
The ‘Metanet’, which was first announced on the 30th of November, is a network in which all data is transferred via Bitcoin Satoshi Vision micro-transactions. Bitcoin Cash-advocating research centre nChain said that the system will “…allow companies to earn instant micro-payments for clicks, content, and data.”
Discover iFX EXPO, Your Gateway to Asian Markets!
For example, internet searches would be paid for by the person performing them, instead of the current model in which searches are free but covered in advertisements. With the Metanet, access to a social media profile would need to be authorised with a private key.
“The Internet becomes a sidechain to the Bitcoin blockchain,” said Wright.
“I want to see miners earning … maybe $40,000 per block, for commodity use.”
In a one and a half interview with Crypto Finder, Wright speaks at length about how this will work. Here are some interesting points from the interview:
Wright said that he intends to enlist financial institutions: “We’ll actually be approaching some banks, and even go up to the evil credit card companies and try to get them to do this because at scale, we’ll be able to have transactions more secure, faster, better settlement than Visa can do, so once we get that I’d like to go up to Visa and say ‘hey, how about you move over to Bitcoin [SV]…we’ll save you money, we’ll get rid of your fraud department.’ ”
Asked when the Metanet might surpass the internet, he replied: “I don’t know, because they’ll be in parallel for quite some time. But what I will see happening is people starting to embed invoice, purchase orders, rich contract information within transactions, compressed in a format which is secure, enabling them to have all their info stored…”
Asked to predict the price of Bitcoin next year, he said that he doesn’t know and doesn’t care: “All I care about is use. I’m going to get it so in the next two years, miners are going to be able to earn thousands of dollars per block. By the time I finish in two years I want to see miners earning at least $20,000, maybe $40,000 per block, for commodity use.”
Asked about what stepping stones stand between the present and the ‘Bitcoin economy’, he said: “We’re going to have to go through, as I said, the use of a commodity ledger, we’re going to have to get commodity value we’re going to have tokenised money. So, with some of the platforms that are available now, in bitcoin cash, it enables us to have, well basically, a US dollars that is approved by banks. Not like Tether, but a real bank. The only way you have a true stable coin is where you have a federal bank in the US or the Bank of England – or something like that – issue something. That will be one of the early stepping stones.”
So he appears to be in favour of central banks getting involved in Bitcoin. The Bitcoin genesis block famously contained the encrypted message: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”.
“I AM Satoshi”
Bitcoin Satoshi Vision is a cryptocurrency whose creation Wright spearheaded. It was created by splitting Bitcoin Cash into two cryptocurrencies, an action which split the user community and wiped out most of coin’s market value. Interestingly, Bitcoin Cash has very a similar origin story itself, splitting from Bitcoin back in August 2017.
Wright was asked if he has seen any other cryptocurrency (apart from Bitcoin SV) that he thinks is doing a good job: “I haven’t seen one yet,” he replied. “Half the problem is, everyone’s looked at what Bitcoin Core did and has missed the entire idea of what Bitcoin is really is… the thought that you have to have a node network where everyone runs a full node, which is exactly the opposite of what Bitcoin should be…Bitcoin was destined to end up in data centres…nodes will specialise. Over time, business and corporations will fight to get your money and compete, and then individuals will form the peer network.”
The media has been having great fun writing about the Bitcoin Cash dispute over the last few months because the parties involved take it all so personally – we’re talking hate-mail, threats of sabotage, and lawsuits.
Craig Wright is notorious for claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym used by the person(s) that created Bitcoin. The evidence that he offered was not convincing.


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When you consider what goes into making plant-based meats, generally the thing that comes to mind is, well, plants. But take a closer look at the ingredient list of most meatless meats, and you’ll typically see a long list of other ingredients, including protein isolates, stabilizers, natural flavors, and other add-ins like dye and minerals.
That lengthy ingredient list is one of skeptics’ biggest beefs (sorry) with the new wave of meatless proteins. But one company trying to address those concerns is Swiss startup Planted, whose realistic meat analogs are completely clean label — no artificial ingredients or synthetic chemicals. They’re starting with chicken.
In a phone conversation this week, Planted co-founder Pascal Bieri told me his company’s products only contain four ingredients: pea protein, pea fiber, sunflower oil, and water. When Bieri first tasted plant-based meat two years ago, he liked it but was confused as to why the ingredient list was so long and confusing. So he and co-founders Lukas Böni and Eric Stirnemann, through a partnership with Swiss university ETH Zurich, began to develop a plant-based chicken analog with the absolute minimum of ingredients.
Planted’s first product is about as pared-down as it gets: a chicken chunk. They currently sell to 17 restaurants in Switzerland and next month will announce a partnership with a local foodservice provider to expand their distribution. The chicken chunks are currently priced below organic chicken, though Bieri pointed out that poultry is actually quite expensive in Switzerland.
No matter how simple the ingredient list, Bieri knew he’d never get people to buy his product if it didn’t taste excellent. With that in mind, Planted focuses less on flavor — the company keeps products intentionally neutral so they can be a blank canvas, sort of like real chicken — but on texture. To do so, Planted uses a special machine to extrude “chicken” pieces that realistically mimic the fibrous texture of real poultry.
Planted still does all its R&D and production at ETH Zurich, which, due to the university’s space limitations, strictly limits their capacity. The Swiss company is currently searching for a separate manufacturing facility around Zurich so they can scale up production and provide to more restaurants and retailers. He said they’ll probably focus on Europe for a while, especially since, as he put it, “Europeans are a little more skeptical when it comes to long ingredient lists.”
I haven’t tasted Bieri’s products yet and likely won’t be able to anytime soon, unless a very odd twist of fate sends me to Switzerland. But I can say that Planted’s choice to focus on chicken is a solid strategy. As we covered in yesterday’s Future Food newsletter (you subscribe, right?), the plant-based chicken space is far less crowded than, say, plant-based burgers or hot dogs.
Bieri is very conscious of the opportunity. “There’s so much room out there,” he said, referencing the alternative chicken market. Now he’s hoping Planted’s realistic texture and clean-label approach can help the company stake their claim before the plant-based chicken space is too pecked-over.


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The super green machine: New Porsche can hit 201mph and can do 94 miles to the gallon (that's better than a Prius)
- But super-car will set you back a wallet-unfriendly $1.5million
Supercars generally have the reputation for being gas-guzzlers as they rage across our roads with a need for speed.
But the new Porsche 918 Spyder may be about to change all that - for while it manages a top speed of 201mph, it also manages an economic 94 miles to the gallon.
That makes the Porsche more economic than the car with one of the greenest reputations - the Toyota Prius - which can manage 72.4mpg.
The UK's biggest selling car, the Ford Fiesta, by contrast, manages just 78.5mpg.
The Porsche 918 Spyder will be able to accelerate from 0-62mph in less than three seconds - making it faster than most supercars on the road
The green Porsche works via a new hybrid system where two electric motors generate power alongside the car's 4.6-litre V8 engine
The attractive Porsche 918 Spyder will also be able to accelerate from 0-62mph in less than three seconds - making it faster than most supercars on the road.
The Porsche manages the economy mileage thanks to a new hybrid system where two electric motors generate power alongside the car's 4.6-litre V8 engine, which pushes out around 570 horsepower.
The electric motors each boost this up to a total of 770horsepower, helping the Porsche hit those super speeds.
The German-built vehicle will go into production in September next year - although be warned the price is a wallet-unfriendly $1.5million.
However, that must be the price of a car that can make Jeremy Clarkson green with envy without giving Greenpeace too many sleepless nights.
Green credentials: The new Porsche 918 which will do 201mph on 94mpg
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London, United Kingdom — Dec. 17, 2021 — The Pokémon Company International today announced the full launch of the new Pokémon Center UK online store, the company’s e-commerce arm and the premier destination for purchasing official Pokémon merchandise in the UK. Now, for the first time, Pokémon fans in the UK can purchase a range of exciting goods including plush, pins, clothing, Pokémon TCG products and more, directly from Pokémon Center.
Visit the Pokémon Center UK at: www.PokemonCenter.com/en-gb
The new online store allows fans in the UK to purchase a variety of items featuring some of their favourite Pokémon characters. New merchandise will be added continuously to the available goods through 2022 and beyond, so Trainers should visit regularly for new lines, including seasonal ranges.
Newly added items include:
- Snorlax Holiday Knit Sweater
- Pikachu & Piplup Pokémon Undersea Holiday Wreath Plush
- Pokémon TCG: Celebrations Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box
“Following the enormous success and huge amount of support shown by fans for the Pokémon Center London pop-up store in 2019, we are thrilled to bring Pokémon Center permanently to our fans in the United Kingdom,” said Cindy Ruppenthal, director of e-commerce at The Pokémon Company International. “Pokémon Center is the essential destination for all things Pokémon for all types of Trainers to collect, play, and enjoy premium merchandise featuring their favourite characters. We look forward to seeing even more Trainers enjoy these offerings with the launch of the new Pokémon Center UK online store.”
For more information, visit the Pokémon Center UK store at www.PokemonCenter.com/en-gb
Please visit our Customer Service page for Frequently Asked Questions and other help around Pokémon Center UK, or sign up for the official email newsletter for Pokémon Center UK to keep up to date on new products and merchandise.
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, please visit www.pokemon.co.uk.


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Leaked document pinpoints to the Samsung Fascinate launching on September 9th1
It was only a couple of days ago when we reported that the handset has begun infiltrating Verizon stores across the country and that September 9th was looking crystal clear as the date for its release. Now there is additional confirmation from a recent leaked document that plainly points out in red letters that the Samsung Fascinate cannot be sold until September 9th.
In addition, it's also being reported that the recent Samsung Fascinate commercial airing on television also points out the 9/9 date – so it would seem that it was right under all of our noses. So you may want to circle down that date if you want to be one of the first to scope out this high-end Android smartphone.
Samsung Fascinate Specifications | Hands-on
source: Android Central


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“We will put our heart and soul into creating a collection that embodies the spirit of Bruce Wayne and can’t wait to share it with the world,” said David and Gianni Overi, President and CEO of the Formitalia Group.
Jappy Agoncillo discusses his extraordinary art for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros.
“We could not be more excited that DC is now joining the tonies family,” said Markus Langer, Chief Content Officer at tonies.
The pressed powder palette includes Batman-inspired shades like Riddle Me This (army green), Comic (vibrant yellow) and The Joker (cream with a pink and gold shimmer).
The poster captures the moment Batman descends from the rafters of Ace Chemicals.
The experience launches in New York City this summer.
“The Bat Cowl Collection will allow collectors to deepen their connection with Batman and the DC Universe, while embracing their fandom in the growing metaverse ecosystem,” said Josh Hackbarth, Head of NFT Commercial Development for Warner Bros.
“DC is one of the most iconic brands in the world, and we’re excited to continue our partnership with Spin Master to bring the characters and stories to life through inspired toy collections,” said Warner Bros Consumer Products’ Sam Bushy.
“While many games fight like Batman, our games will challenge you to think like Batman,” says Ignacy Trzewiczek, CEO and lead writer/designer of the game series.


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Nothing like the NHL Playoffs and a Michigan Beer. Go Wings!
Sounding like a problem most small businesses would have, Mitten Brewing just can't keep up with the demand for their food and beer.
[Read the rest of this article...]
Zoobies Bar, a Lansing Old Town staple has developed quite a following. They have a great beer selection (many from Michigan), wine, and some killer popcorn.
One of our favorite beers will be tapped at 11:00 on the 22nd. We have waited a year for this!
With 7,500 attendees and 12,000 people left out in the cold (no more tickets- which sold out), the Winter Beer Fest is becoming one of the best in the nation. But the more amazing statistic, is the recycling of all that beer.....
The article from hella wella indicates that dark beer contains more iron and fiber than a light beer.
We need more malters. Lets focus our efforts on growing our own.
This article from the Free Press would be great for expanding Michigan Beers to a new area of Detroit, and South East Michigan.
The big multi-national breweries are facing some stiff competition, from liqour sales and microbreweries, of which now over 2,700 exist nationwide, according to the article.
How much will those two pints of Imperial Stout raise my blood alcohol level?
For national events, Bastone Brewery has placed fairly high on the rankings, despite not bottling their beer.


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DELHI (Metro Rail News): According to official sources, Delhi Metro has begun work on a futuristic project that aims to connect regular services with e-commerce using cutting-edge digital platforms. The DMRC has hired a leading consultancy firm to work on the plan.
According to the vision, for example, a rider may be able to order a product online while riding a metro train and have it delivered to their destination station via advanced digital platforms provided by the urban transporter.
A top official source stated, “We have started working on this vision, and a top consulting firm, McKinsey, has been hired to work on the plan that we have envisioned. However, the project is still in its “infancy”, and this is just a broader vision to upgrade our digital platforms so that commuters can also access e-commerce services while riding a Delhi Metro train.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has relaunched its website and smartphone app, providing commuters with new features and convenience.
DMRC chief Mangu Singh, at the launch, had also said that the urban transporter is planning to integrate its digital platforms with “e-commerce in a big way” to allow commuters to get other services in the course of their journey. “In the next two-three years, we think this is likely to go on a next level,” he had said.
According to reports, the goal is to allow commuters to access e-commerce services while on the move using DMRC digital platforms. According to the vision, once a commuter completes their journey, the order placed, such as for groceries or something else, can be fulfilled at the destination station, where arrangements could be made for, for example, a digital locker that could be accessed with an OTP received on a mobile device or something similar.
The DMRC had previously stated that its revamped website is “among the world’s most feature-rich and advanced” interactive digital metro platforms. Officials added that riders of the Delhi Metro can now receive a prior alert notification when the train’s next station on the route is their destination, thanks to the company’s newly updated smartphone app.
Also, anyone may access real-time information on their planned journey path, including whether there is any snag or interruption on the route ahead, and it will even propose an alternate route, utilising the newly improved website.
buy filitra online https://healthcoachmichelle.com/wp-content/themes/twentytwentyone/inc/en/filitra.html no prescription
The Delhi Metro has begun the process of upgrading all of its existing Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems to be compliant with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services, giving a significant boost to ‘Digital India.’ The work is expected to be finished by June 2023.
According to the DMRC, it has signed a contract with a consortium to carry out the NCMC as well as improve the entire ecosystem, including the AFC system, which will enable travel via “QR-based tickets, account-based tickets, and near-field communications (NFC) media.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the NCMC services on the Airport Express Line on December 28 of last year. Passengers from all around the country can use their NCMC-compliant RuPay debit card for seamless travel using this service. In addition, the same card can be used across the country for shopping, banking, and other transactions.
Officials indicated at the time that the DMRC’s system would be able to handle transactions from 23 banks using the RuPay debit card that they had issued.


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You can now Chromecast from Amazon Video!
Amazon and Google have finally put down their weapons and have declared peace in their recent war that saw Amazon removing Google devices from their store and Google firing back by preventing YouTube and Chromecast from supporting Amazon platforms such as the Echo and Amazon Video.
The spat kicked off when Google withdrew support for Echo Show devices and the long running feud, which let's be honest was pretty anti-consumer, seemed to escalate as each side did something else to restrict the reach of their competitor.
They announced earlier this year that they would stop their bickering and the first signs of our new Amazon and Google as friends future is here with the news that you can now Chromecast from Amazon Video apps - meaning Google's smart dongle has another streaming feather in its cap. Similarly, Amazon Fire devices can now use the YouTube app again!
We haven't seen Google's devices return to the Amazon store yet, but we imagine it won't be long - although maybe not quite in time for some deep cutting Prime Day discounts.


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This is part of a series highlighting key takeaways from our latest report Investing in Digital Transformation and Product Development. (<– Download the full report for free!)
The biggest challenge for technology organizations today is not the tech stack; it’s finding capable digital talent to manage the technology, according to new research. Here’s an eye-opening statistic: 90% of product development decision-makers agree that finding and hiring the right talent is a major pain point.
Given recent concerns about the global labor crisis, we are not shocked by this data about the challenge of finding digital talent. What is surprising is that organizations do not list improving human capital as a top priority. In fact, hiring the right people came in last (20%) on the list of top priorities organizations plan to focus on in 2024.
“Securing and retaining quality human capital is one of the top challenges we see at enterprise companies today. Even with all of the best technology in the world, people are truly the most important part of digital transformation.” Andrew Dennis, VP, Consulting, Modus Create
Improving developer experience to attract digital talent
In the technology sector, it is more important than ever to take care of digital talent. While organizations may not necessarily be prioritizing finding talent this year, given all the other challenges they are facing, we are seeing a growing interest in improving developer experience, which includes the culture, technology, and processes surrounding your software development team. This is encouraging because we know that when companies focus on digital transformation, we find the developer experience is elevated as a result.
As our CEO Pat Sheridan explains in his article “Digital transformation is more than AI: you still need a customer-focused strategy”:
“If you really want to measure the success of your digital transformation, measure the satisfaction of your knowledge workers. Building a culture of innovation and improving the customer experience stems from a successful developer experience and, by extension, the experience of your product and platform teams.”
Finding the right partner
Another way to improve human capital is to find the right partners. Working with trustworthy and knowledgeable partners to help execute digital programs is of utmost importance for most organizations. 94% of decision-makers surveyed in the report feel that finding an experienced and adequate partner to work with on new product development is important.
83% of organizations are using consultants for the development, deployment, and management of digital products, and 25% of organizations recently outsourced more than half of their latest customer-facing digital product overhaul. Interestingly, those who outsourced more than half of their overhaul were significantly more likely to have had an extremely positive experience than those who outsourced less than half.
When it comes to outsourcing, decision-makers surveyed in the report feel that it would be most helpful to outsource cloud infrastructure or migration, application security, and application modernization to a capable partner. Those areas are perfectly suited to a partner, as digital consultants have playbooks in place to perform complicated tasks.
This confirms what we already sensed: For many organizations, it is more economical to work on digital transformation with a partner than to find capable talent and orchestrate large-scale initiatives in-house.
For more insights, access our research report on Digital Transformation and Product Development.
- Preventing the next breach: 59% of enterprises plan to improve cybersecurity
New research on digital transformation and product development identifies cybersecurity as a significant focus for…
- New research: how enterprises invest in digital transformation & product development
Our new industry research report, “Investing in Digital Transformation & Product Development,” reveals how decision-makers…


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Two persons selling fake medicines were arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by members of the Northern Police District- District Special Operations Unit (NPD-DSOU) and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on BF Road in Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City on Monday night, Jan. 17.
Police said the suspects identified as Jessieco Ibarola, 47, and Fransisco Ramal, 45, were caught selling fake medicines around 9 p.m.
According to the report, over 100 boxes of fake paracetamol and other medicines for fever, cough, cold, headache of famous brands worth P109,000 were confiscated from the suspects.
Authorities said they also recovered two vehicles the suspects used during the transaction.
Ibarola and Ramal are now under the custody of the police and will be charged with violation of Republic Act No. 8203 or An Act Prohibiting Counterfeit Drugs Providing Penalties for Violations and Appropriating Funds.
Meanwhile, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Vicente Danao Jr. urged the public to buy medicine at legitimate pharmacies and drug stores. (Cherrylin Caacbay)


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The makers of the Kickstarter-funded Coolest Cooler continue to kick sand in the faces of indignant backers, who’ve yet to receive their product.
After blowing $13 million in funding without fulfilling its obligations to more than 36,000 of its backers, founder Ryan Grepper has told supporters they can finally have their cooler, as long as they fork out even more cash.
Now, for a cool $97, those still waiting for their admittedly pretty sweet cooler – complete with a bottle opener, Bluetooth speaker, USB charger and margarita mixer – will actually receive it.
However, this $97 is on top of the $165-$225 backers already paid back in summer 2014 – and all this while the product remains available for anyone to buy on Amazon for $399.
Grepper says this extra money is needed to fund production and those who hand over the cash will get receive their cooler before 4 July.
Grepper says the original pledge levels were too low, and not enough to fund production.
“The Coolest Cooler ultimately cost more than we expected to develop and manufacture.
“We would allow backers to pay for the remaining cost of their Coolest to get it faster, with a guaranteed delivery date before July 4,” Grepper added. “We are open to this option and exploring it here because you have asked us to do so.”
Grepper claims that he will fulfil the orders of every backer “as long as there is breath in [his] body”, while assuring that the company won’t be entering bankruptcy, à la Zano.


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| ||26/06/2019 - 10:36|
It’s hard to imagine that just 10 years ago, the consumer’s experience of shopping in a forecourt convenience store (c-store) was completely different. In the 2000’s, forecourt convenience retail was still dominated by garage stores that specialised in the 5c’s – cigarettes, chips, chocolates, instant coffee and cool drinks. However, the industry was about to change dramatically as new players entered the fray. read more
| ||17/02/2016 - 11:29|
Johannesburg - In the past 18 months, private equity firm Actis has been buying up stakes in South African companies. read more
| ||03/09/2013 - 10:25|
The excitement and enthusiasm was palpable at the opening of the 140thFreshStop at Caltex store located at 22 Piet Retief Road, Queensburgh in Durban. FreshStop at Caltex Queensmead, which opened its doors on 29 August, is a new site for Caltex and FreshStop. Previously an Engen garage, the site has been converted and the forecourt upgraded to sport the latest 20/20 Caltex branding and imagery. read more
| ||11/10/2012 - 08:37|
27 September 2012 marked the launch of the 100th Freshstop store in a record three years - Freshstop Rapid Auto in Boksburg. read more
| ||11/09/2012 - 08:56|
Fruit and Veg City Holdings on Monday announced that it had acquired a stake in Diamonds Discount Liquors.
| ||31/08/2012 - 08:39|
Bringing even more variety and choice to Norwood Mall, Food Lover’s Market opens on Thursday, 30 August, 2012.
| ||07/06/2012 - 10:11|
Against a backdrop of sobering global economic factors, which include the ongoing European debt crisis and slowdown in China’s economy, the local manufacturing sector in South Africa appears to be maintaining a positive outlook which has spin-offs for the industrial property sector.
| ||26/04/2012 - 12:38|
Freshstop are steamrolling ahead with their 75th store opening in 62 Koedoe Ave,Birchleigh, Kempton Park.
| ||09/03/2012 - 14:55|
HL Motors in Brakpan, officially opened its doors to a spectacular new Freshstop on Thursday, 8 March 2012 with a wonderful fresh offering that was displayed throughout the store. read more


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…: Meet FALL OUT BOY At The Hollywood And Highland Hot Topic April 15, 2013 Fall Out Boy will be appearing at the Hollywood and Highland Hot Topic Thursday April 18 beginning at 6PM. HT+1 Members* can purchase the new Fall Out Boy album and t-shirt bundle at the Hollywood and Highland Hot Topic location…Read More
Wiz Khalifa rolled into our Hollywood store to meet some fans.Featuring "Work Hard, Play Hard"Read More
What would you do if you walked into Hot Topic and you were greeted by Nick Martin or spotted Kellin Quinn folding a Sleeping With Sirens T-shirt? Here's how fans reacted on Madness release day...----------------------------FOLLOW US:http://www.facebook.com/HotTopichttp://www.twitter.com…Read More
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Businesses feel a temporary pinch in foot traffic due to construction on University Street intersection
PEORIA — One look out the front window of the One World Cafe, 1245 Main St., indicates that you’re in a different world.
Just beyond the cafe’s heavy metal front door at the corner of Main and University, notoriously one of Peoria’s busiest corners, is a sea of dirt as an army of workers rushes to meet a deadline.
As many know by now, the Main and University area is going through some changes. When construction is completed, the result will be wider sidewalks, fewer traffic lanes and more benches.
The city’s goal is to help pedestrians while reducing vehicular traffic at a corner that’s long been one of the toughest to cross in town.
During the construction period, however, it’s businesses that are finding it tough going.
While delivery orders haven’t been affected, Avanti’s Ristorante, across University Street from One World, has had to transfer wait staff to other locations because dine-in business has fallen off as construction has intensified, said Pete Nicol, the restaurant’s chief operating officer.
“The city opened up an alley entrance into the restaurant from Elmwood Avenue to reduce traffic on University,” he said.
Over at One World, the cafe’s 85 employees remain on the premises but have spent more time on internal projects such as spiffing up the restaurant interior in light of a reduction of customers, said co-owner Bob Eid.
“Breakfast and lunch have really been off. Things pick up a little for dinner,” he said.
At the Thanh Linh Vietnamese Restaurant, just a few doors down from One World, it’s the nighttime business that’s fallen off because of construction, said an employee.
Across the street, in the Campustown Shopping Center, another eating place also reported less business during the reformation of the Main-University corner. “Obviously, it’s slowed down,” said Ed Awada, owner of the Steak & Fries outlet.
“We’re down about 30 percent — mostly at lunch. People don’t have time to wait. Parking (in the shopping center) has always been bad, but it’s really tight now,” he said.
Businesses will have to endure at least three more weeks of construction, said Eid. “They want to be done in time for Bradley University graduation on May 17,” he said.
Sitting in a booth at his restaurant alongside fiancee Amy Sickinger, One World’s marketing manager, Eid refuses to be concerned that a reporter is the only non-employee in his restaurant at 9 a.m. on a weekday, a time when the place is normally bustling.
“The roadwork has been needed for 20 years. It’s always been so difficult to cross Main and University. This will make it more inviting,” he said.
“When the work is done, you’ll step out this door and find an area that’s beautifully landscaped and three lanes of traffic instead of five lanes,” said Eid.
Sickinger also brightened at the prospect of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. “Slowing traffic will be good. It opens up opportunities for long-term growth,” she said.
Eid praised city and project staff for laying out detailed plans with businesses in advance. “What we didn’t expect was the difficulty in communicating to people on how to get into our place,” he said, nodding toward the back door, the only way into the restaurant.
Both One World and Avanti’s are offering in-store discounts to draw in customers during the construction period.
“The big message we want to get out is that we’re still open for business,” said Nicol.
Steve Tarter is Journal Star business editor. Tarter’s phone number is 686-3260, and his email address is firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Infographic: How users are watching videos
A new study from Promo analyzes how consumers are watching videos online. Consider these insights before releasing your next video campaign.
Facebook is making considerable inroads into YouTube’s video market share.
According to a new study from Promo by Slidely, a content provider for video marketers, Facebook viewers now surpass YouTube viewers when it comes to online video. Forty-seven percent of people watch video on Facebook, compared with YouTube’s 41 percent.
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Aside from face masks and hand sanitising stations, one of the most visible elements of the ‘new normal’ is the wealth of Covid-related signage we’re now used to seeing on a daily basis.
Signage and wayfinding have taken on new significance in our buildings and public spaces, as businesses of all kinds have been required to produce new warning notices and social distancing guidelines.
The Pandemic Graphic Archive is one of the various online archives and initiatives cropping up in response to our new reality, just as major cultural institutions have scrabbled to add Covid-related objects to their collections.
The ongoing project is the brainchild of recent graphic design graduate Charlotte Walker who, faced with the prospect of an unstable employment market, launched the archive after finishing up at Liverpool John Moores University last summer.
Started during the UK’s first lockdown, Walker’s self-initiated project comprising personal photography of Covid-19 floor signs quickly grew into a fully fledged archive after she opened it up to submissions from the wider public at the beginning of this year.
“With the current travel restrictions in place, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reach out to a global audience and curate a visual online documentation of the new normal globally,” she says. “The site acts as an accessible and collaborative archive that is both an investigation and a social testimony of the time in which we are living.”
The online archive features a simple layout showcasing the best of the collated graphic ephemera worldwide. Still titled as a ‘WIP’, the site is designed to evolve in tandem with the look and feel of Covid graphics across the globe.
Walker hopes the archive will continue to develop as the pandemic impacts our everyday world and we see things like mask-wearing and social distancing become a permanent fixture of our daily lives.
“The pure creativity of businesses keen to continue trading and keeping customers safe is a fantastic example of the fact that everyone is a graphic designer,” says Walker.
“Often dismissed and perceived as an enforcement, coronavirus signs have become part of our everyday visual language globally, and a way of communicating the new normal.”
Explore the Pandemic Graphic Archive at twometregraphics.co.uk


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March 11 marked the end of traditional business in the U.S., maybe even the rest of the world – and probably forever.
That was the day when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and federal, state and local governments began to make decisions to close schools and non-essential businesses.
And it was when consumers all over the country began to #stayathome to flatten the curve.
Every 10 days – starting March 6, five days before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic – PYMNTS has gone into the field to study the daily behaviors of consumers across the seven pillars that define our connected economy during this unprecedented time in our history. Each of these studies asks a national sample of roughly 2,000 consumers a series of questions about their behaviors to document and index those shifts and dig deeper into the trends we observed in prior surveys.
On March 28, we conducted our third consumer study. Over the last 22 days, we have seen two dramatic shifts emerge that make “no more business as usual” more than just a cliché.
From Digital-Often to Digital-mostly
First, consumer demand has shifted to where there is supply – and that means online.
In less than a month, the American consumer has moved from living in a digital-often world to one that is now largely digital-mostly – across every one of their “business and life as usual” activities.
How consumers shop, bank, work, work out, worship, eat, entertain themselves and their families, stay connected socially and even tap into healthcare services is now almost entirely online.
That’s in large part because governments have intervened and closed many physical businesses that consumers relied on, while restricting access to others. For the seven pillars that we examine every 10 days, we see growing evidence suggesting that some, maybe even more than some, of this offline-to-online behavior is likely to stick around even after governments have relaxed their #stayathome restrictions – particularly as we observe the shift to digital even for activities where offline outlets remain available, such as shopping for groceries.
The longer America remains on lockdown, the more likely it becomes that consumers – who have set up accounts at the online platforms that are filling those gaps, gained experience using those platforms and gotten used to the convenience of getting services from them – will make them part of their daily routines going forward.
The connected economy may have hit an inflection point (a quantum jump, really) in late March of 2020 – with COVID as its catalyst – and years earlier than anyone otherwise expected.
Consumer Spend Hasn’t Followed the Digital Shift
Consumers may have shifted their activities online, but not their level of spend, as their fears mount about the security of their paychecks.
In the last 22 days, we’ve seen the percentage of consumers who shop online for groceries triple – from 3 percent on March 6 to 9 percent on March 28. We’ve also seen the share of consumers who shop online for things other than groceries more than double – from 13 percent to 30 percent. The percentage of people who interact with restaurants digitally has more than tripled, too – from 6 percent to 20 percent.
And that’s just in the last 22 days.
Unfortunately, while the online slice of the pie is getting a lot bigger, the pie itself is shrinking.
Today, 87 percent of consumers report shopping less for groceries, and 80 percent are shopping less for things that aren’t groceries. Ninety-three percent report eating at restaurants less, while 93 percent and 86 percent of consumers report traveling less for leisure and business, respectively.
This belt-tightening comes as an increasing number of consumers are losing their paychecks, and others fear the same fate – and most report not having the personal savings safety net to get them through the duration of the pandemic as they define it.
Over the last 22 days, 15 percent of consumers have reported no longer having a job. On March 6, 62 percent of consumers reported having a job, while as of March 28, only 52 percent did.
Now, some 28 percent of the workforce – 45 million consumers – report being extremely concerned about losing their jobs. Consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and say they cannot pay their bills at the end of the month are the most worried, with 47 percent saying they are either “very” or “extremely” concerned about the pandemic.
At the same time, 58 percent of the consumers we studied report having less than half as much in savings as they say they will need to pay their bills if that became their only source of cash.
Since March 6, seven times as many consumers have reported having two weeks or less of cash available to pay the bills before dipping into savings – some 55 percent of Americans on March 28 compared to 8 percent just 22 days earlier.
Forty-five percent of consumers say they have $2,500 or less in savings, and 30 percent of consumers earning less than $50,000 per year report having no savings at all.
Even consumers who say they don’t live paycheck to paycheck and can pay their bills are tightening their belts. Here’s what we found.
In the last 10 days, we observed a 20 percent increase in the number of consumers who report not living paycheck to paycheck and being able to pay their bills – 41 percent of consumers on March 28 versus 34 percent 10 days earlier.
We have also observed a decline in the average income of those consumers – from $98.8K to $91.1K in the last 10 days, suggesting that even those who remain comfortable paying their bills are conserving their cash.
Regardless, all consumers are shifting their spending to essentials.
Of the 30 percent of consumers who have now largely shifted their spend online over the last 22 days, three times more consumers are buying cleaning supplies (59 percent) than clothes (19 percent) and four times more consumers are buying medical supplies (43 percent) than home furnishings (11 percent). Consumers are also four times more likely to buy games and puzzles (35 percent) than sporting goods (9.5 percent) as they valiantly fight boredom while observing #stayathome restrictions.
Commerce Goes Online as COVID Gets Personal
On March 6, there were roughly 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., mostly concentrated in Seattle. At that time, 35 percent of all Americans reported being very or extremely concerned about contracting COVID-19.
Three-and-a-half weeks later, Americans did a complete one-eighty: Today, two thirds (66 percent) of Americans report being very or extremely concerned about contracting the virus.
That’s in large part because twice as many Americans report knowing someone who has it. In just a 10-day span, the percentage of consumers who reported personally knowing someone who had tested positive jumped from 7.7 percent to 14.2 percent.
As the virus gets more personal, so does the consumer’s concerns over its impact, and its influence over how and where consumers will spend their time and money today and in the future.
We also observe a spike in the percentage of Americans who fear dying from the virus if contracted (an increase of 3.4 percent) and a corresponding decrease (6.6 percent) in their concern of spreading it to family and friends.
All in just the last 10 days.
As a result, what consumers say is necessary to resume their daily activities has also shifted.
For 71 percent of American consumers, that’s having a vaccine – an increase of 2.4 percent in just the last 10 days. A vaccine is more important to consumers than flattening the curve (66 percent) or having a therapeutic (63 percent), and is four times more important to Americans than the WHO declassifying COVID-19 as a pandemic and 3.5 times more important than being told by the CDC that it is okay to travel again.
If that’s true, it may be a very long time before consumers feel comfortable resuming what they once characterized as their daily offline activities. And the denser the physical space, the less likely it seems that most consumers will want to participate – at least until they feel their risks of doing so are mitigated.
Going to a movie theater, cheering on their favorite sports team at a stadium, going to a concert to hear their favorite artist, visiting an amusement park with the kids, working out at the gym, getting on a cruise ship or an airplane, staying in a hotel, going out to eat at a crowded restaurant, having happy hour at a packed hotspot, or attending a conference may be the very long tail of offline activities that consumers bring back into their usual routines.
Particularly when they’ve already spent two months getting set up to live in a digital-mostly world, will spend at least another month living that way, and then very likely, will spend many more months getting reacclimated to an offline world that will look different on the other side of the pandemic.
The 3.5-Week Digital Pivot
Twenty-two days ago, most Americans were still eating in restaurants (82 percent), shopping in retail stores (78 percent), going to work (60 percent) and participating in leisure-related events such as going to the movies and engaging in or going to sporting events and concerts (69 percent).
Twenty-two days ago, the NBA was still playing, and people were going to their offices, even though some people and many employers had begun to implement their own versions of social distancing. People were traveling for work and still shopping in physical stores.
Three-and-a-half weeks ago, which seems like an eternity ago, I was going into physical stores to buy things other than groceries, to my morning exercise class and my favorite restaurant on Friday night. Here in New England, we were complaining that TB12 had decided to be a Tampa Bay Buc – not facing the prospect of not seeing the NFL take the field in the fall.
Today, nearly all Americans are largely living in an online world – by choice or by necessity, probably by both. And the longer the lockdown, the harder it may be for consumers to break many of the digital habits they will have mastered and return to the offline world.
The connected economy platforms that provide consumers with life’s essentials will thrive, as nearly all consumers shift their spending from what’s “nice to have” to what they feel they need to survive – and likely for a very long time as the economy recovers.
Consumers will shift that spend to the places where they feel comfortable transacting – which is now, and will be for some time, online, and physically distant from what they perceive to be the personal risks associated with reentering the physical world to conduct business or engage in commerce.
“Business as usual” is being redefined.
So is life as usual.
So is commerce as usual.
We’ve known for some time that our destiny is the connected economy, covering all aspects of our lives, with almost everything we do facilitated by online technologies.
Only inertia held that back.
The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a quantum jump in the growth of the connected economy. The tragedy is that many traditional physical businesses, which were always going to be left behind by the shift to digital, have lost the possibility of a soft landing – or of gradually transitioning themselves to the new digital-mostly reality.


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Dallas Cowboys NFL Apparel, Memorabilia Now Available at SportsFanPlayground.com
The Sports Fan Playground announced on Monday that the store now has various Dallas Cowboys NFL memorabilia and player apparel available in its webstore.
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) May 21, 2013
The new sporting goods store has many signed footballs, jerseys, helmets, photos and other accessories from classic Dallas Cowboys players including Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jimmy Johnson, Danny White, Jerry Jones, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and other top players in the history of the franchise.
The Sports Fan Playground also has current player and team apparel from the players making an impact on the current Cowboys NFL season, including Dez Bryant, Tony Romo, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware. All of the items available in the store are available for shipping in time for Christmas Day.
For more information, please visit SportsFanPlayground.com.
About SportsFanPlayground.com –
SportsFanPlayground.com is the top sporting goods provider of jerseys, hats, home & garden products and various team and recreational apparel for fans of pro and college teams worldwide from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NCAA and WWE.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebNFL/DallasCowboys/prweb10249684.htm