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The video gaming company that has brought us some of the most recognisable and industry-pushing games and series of said games in all of video gaming history. From the simple, but addictive platforming series, Super Mario Brothers to the vast and open world of action-adventure series, The Legend of Zelda. From the ever-evolving world of Role-playing series, Pokémon to the quiet and peaceful world where humans coincide with talking, civilized animals, Animal Crossing. Whether you’re a gamer or not, there’s a extremely high chance that you’ve played (and an almost impossible chance that you haven’t seen) at least one game where Nintendo was involved somehow.
But let’s be honest though, in recent years, Nintendo seems to have become a bit…out-of-touch with the pace that the rest of the gaming industry is currently headed. In the last fiscal year, Nintendo reported an annual loss overall and their biggest and newest console, The Wii U, is currently the least popular out of its main competitors, the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. So why and how did Nintendo fall from the fames of being the proclaimed by some to be the biggest video gaming company in the world to be struggling against companies like Sony and Microsoft? I feel it’s primarily because of two main factors…
Nintendo’s Recent Game History
Something that may surprise some of you who don’t follow Nintendo to the very point where you know all of their future releases (unlike myself) is that all but one of the games I mentioned in the first paragraph still have had games released under their series names within the last year, the odd one out having one released in 2012. Yet, all but one of these series’ first games were conceived before the 2000’s, the odd one out (once again) being released in 2001.
The last Mario game to be released was Mario Kart 8, released in May of last year, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, a game originally released on the Nintendo 64 in late 2000, is being re-remastered for the New Nintendo 3DS (I’ll come back to the awful naming of that later) and is being released on the same day as the New Nintendo 3DS’ launch, February 13th. Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remastered versions of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire released in November 2002, were released in late November of last year and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the fourth game in the Animal Crossing series, was released in late 2012.
Those of you who are keen-eyed may have noticed a small pattern within all of those games that make them all similar. That’s right , the fact that none of these games are original series…All of them were based/themed of of franchises and series that are already set up and established and quite frankly, it’s getting a bit boring now…
This is something I feel has been lacking in Nintendo for quite a few years right now within the creation of their games. Just to make you aware, the last fully original series that was solely Nintendo headed was Tomodachi Life, released in June 2013 and some of you may be thinking “Well, that wasn’t THAT long ago…” but take a look at the last fully original series before that…Wii Fit, the first game in said series was released in December 2007. Yea, there was a full 6 years where Nintendo released games within the same franchises over and over again and I imagine a lot of Nintendo enthusiasts (including myself) were sitting for those 6 years thinking “Ugh, another Mario/Pokémon/Zelda game that’s essentially the same as the last?”
The thing is, this is one of the primary factors that quite literally killed companies like THQ, a company that published the ever-popular Saints Row and WWE series of games, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012, even after selling far more copies of Saints Row: The Third than expected. This factor also dragged companies like Sega, best known for the Sonic The Hedgehog series of games, who were Nintendo’s main competitors back in the days of the SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive but now, I don’t remember the last time I heard any significant news about them.
Judging by those two examples, Nintendo really need to step up their game in terms of originality. Especially considering they’re up against three of the currently biggest companies in the gaming industry, Sony and Microsoft in terms of the console gaming market with the Wii U and Apple in terms of the handheld/mobile gaming market with the Nintendo 3DS and soon to be released New Nintendo 3DS.
Innovation is the second factor that I believe Nintendo isn’t doing well with, specifically with the naming of their consoles.
First off, the Wii U. I mean, I know it’s the successor to the Wii and it’s supposed to represent that but the Wii U just doesn’t sound appealing to me. The Wii was all about interactivity and with the motion controls you got which were never really used properly in gaming, the name made sense. However, with the Wii U, that interactivity comes from the large, touchable screen on the Gamepad isn’t innovative at all. I can play my 3DS if I wanted a touchable screen, not a full-blown games console which in turn makes the name a bit less convincing.
Secondly, the New Nintendo 3DS and yes, you did read that correctly. The New Nintendo 3DS is the successor to the Nintendo 3DS and when I thought that the Wii U was a bad naming choice and thought that it was just a one-off, boy was I wrong. The issue I’m imagining is, the largest percent of people who will be buying the New Nintendo 3DS when it comes out will be adults or elderly people who don’t really understand video games or their consoles and will ask for the “Nintendo 3DS” thinking that the new part of it just means the latest one and isn’t actually part of the name. Then the child sees it and starts throwing a fit because “it’s not the right one, it’s the New 3DS not the 3DS” which would leave the adults reeling in confusion…My point is, it’s not a good name whatsoever.
Overall, Nintendo really needs to start “getting with the times”. It’s clear that the fact that they keep making games of the same franchises over and over again is not only getting boring for myself, but for other Nintendo customers as well and it’s only a matter of time before those sales start to drop more significantly and by that point, I imagine it will be too late for Nintendo.


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Agreement with Buffalo Wild Wings will see roll-out of ‘Blazin’ Fantasy Football’ game on an exclusive mobile app
Online sportsbook and daily fantasy sports provider DraftKings has signed another partnership agreement strengthening its brand presence and services in the United States.
The company will deploy its daily fantasy sports experience and technology in a deal to exclusively provide the ‘Blazin’ Fantasy Football’ mobile app across the nation-wide outlets of restaurant and sports bar chain Buffalo Wild Wings, starting September 9.
The deal is supported by a major marketing and promotion campaign both on and off-premises and via a variety of media channels
“As America’s largest sports bar, millions of fans spend their game days at Buffalo Wild Wings each week,” Paul Brown, CEO of Inspire Brands, the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings and Arby’s, said in a press release Wednesday. “We are thrilled to partner with the industry leader in fantasy, DraftKings, to deliver an experience to our guests that they can’t get anywhere else.”
Buffalo Wild Wings employs 44,000 people at outlets across every US state.
Although the companies have not confirmed or announced any sports betting collaboration beyond the current DFS agreement, analysts have pointed out that the legal and business environment in the US is favourable to such a project.

domain: news


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Perdue Farms Signs Up For A Chicken Welfare Revolution
In a vast, dimly lit barn near Frankford, Delaware, surrounded by tens of thousands of young chickens, about a dozen people in ghostly white coveralls are considering future options for the poultry industry.
Executives from Perdue Farms, the fourth-largest poultry producer in the country, have set up this tour. Their guests include some long-time foes: people who lead influential animal welfare organizations like the Humane Society of the United States, Compassion in World Farming and Mercy for Animals.
They're here because Perdue, breaking ranks with the rest of the industry, has endorsed a major shift in the way it treats its chickens, and it wants to show off what it's done so far. Animal welfare advocates would like to force much of the industry to follow the same path.
This tour involves a side-by-side comparison of two chicken houses. We're in one that's set up to represent typical industry practices. Right next door, though, is Perdue's version of the future, and a Perdue executive, Mike Leventini, leads us into it.
"The first thing you see is, there's windows, right? You get a feel for how much light's in this barn," Leventini says.
He points to the chickens. "They're flapping their wings, they're running around, they're hanging out."
Some of the chickens have climbed up on straw bales; some are perched on little wooden ramps. Others are hiding inside small wooden boxes. Those features don't exist in industry-standard houses.
Leah Garces, executive director of Compassion in World Farming, seems impressed. "It's a big difference," she says. Chickens in the house with natural light are "running around, climbing on things, pecking, perching." Birds in the windowless house, by contrast, are "quiet, they're sitting, they're not moving."
Perdue executives say they're making these changes for a couple of different reasons. First, they've decided that when chickens are more active, their meat is of higher quality. Jim Perdue, the company's chairman, says they learned this while raising chickens according to organic rules. "We're finding that meat from organic chickens is better," he says. "More tender. Different color. Activity is the key. [Organic chickens] are more active, they're running around."
But Perdue is also responding to pressure from some big corporate customers. These are food service companies that operate cafeterias in companies and other institutions. Several of them, including Aramark and Compass, have announced that by 2024, they'll only buy chickens from companies that give their chickens a better life.
An executive from one of those companies is here: Maisie Ganzler, from Bon Appetit Management Company, which buys millions of pounds of chicken a year for its corporate cafeterias and museum cafes.
"We've all made our commitments," Ganzler says. "What's next is to live up to the commitments we've made, and I don't say that flippantly; that is a real challenge."
The food service companies say they'll require their chickens to be raised according to new animal welfare rules that have been set by the Global Animal Partnership, an organization that was originally launched by the grocery chain Whole Foods.
That means, in addition to natural light in chicken houses, a new slaughtering process that uses gas to make the birds unconscious before they're killed. This would replace electrical stunning, in which the birds are hung by their feet on a kind of conveyor belt and their heads come into contact with electrically charged water.
Perdue is moving toward satisfying all those requirements. Another part of the new standard, though, will be harder to satisfy.
It involves growing a different kind of chicken that can run and jump more easily because it doesn't put on weight so quickly.
Bruce Stewart-Brown, a veterinarian and senior vice president at Perdue, shows me another side-by-side comparison: two small pens of chickens, one containing the kind of chicken the industry grows now, and the other pen stocked with an older "heritage" breed called Sonoma Red.
I can tell, just by looking at them, that the industry-standard white birds are much more plump, even though all of these chickens are about 41 days old.
Stewart-Brown gestures toward the pen filled with plump, white birds. "I'm going to guess that that bird is already two pounds heavier than this [Sonoma Red] bird," he says.
These chickens are the product of breeding, selecting chickens that put on weight as fast as possible. "They're just bred for appetite, bred to eat," Stewart-Brown says.
That's great for efficiency of meat production, but these chickens grow so fast that their bones have a hard time supporting their weight. The white birds aren't moving around nearly as much as their slimmer companions. Fast-growing breeds of chickens also are more likely to suffer from leg ailments and other health problems.
The new animal welfare standard from the Global Animal Partnership demands that companies use slower-growing breeds — but it hasn't yet decided exactly which breeds will be meet its standard. And Perdue hasn't promised to meet that standard. "It's really interesting to sign up for something that's not yet decided," Steward-Brown says wryly. "Kind of uncomfortable." The company is, however, studying half a dozen alternative chicken breeds at a research farm.
Switching to slower-growing chickens could have a big impact on the business. It would take more time and more feed to produce each pound of chicken.
Also, heritage breeds tend to have bigger legs and less breast meat. So if consumers want Perdue to change its chickens, they may have to change a little, too, Stewart-Brown says. They may have to pay more for poultry, or eat more dark meat.
It's conceivable that this could happen, Steward-Brown says. "Dark-meat eaters are growing, and generally looking for flavor, right? They should be pretty excited about this bird."
Animal welfare advocates like Leah Garces are confident that consumers will force the poultry industry to change, in the same way that the egg industry was forced to shift away from keeping birds in cages. In five or 10 years, she says, slower-growing chickens will be as common as cage-free eggs.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the imposition of trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK as a result of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the (a) proportion and (b) value of the domestic UK market for Scottish seed potatoes.
My officials are in regular contact with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade, who continue to press the EU to reconsider its position, in line with its own regulations, on the import of seed potatoes from Great Britain to the EU.
We fully appreciate the importance of Scotland’s seed potato industry, not only for our production across the UK but also for export, and its deserved reputation for high quality.
Prior to the EU import ban, Scotland exported approximately 20,000t of seed potatoes to the EU and around 2,000t to Northern Ireland, worth in the region of £11M pa. The Scottish potato sector’s output contributes over £208 million to the economy. Scottish seed potatoes are high quality and before the EU ban were exported to more than 40 countries.


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For the last few years, it has become more common for people to go on low-sugar, low-carb and keto diets—and companies in the food and beverage industry have responded with products containing significantly less sugar or no artificial sweeteners. One area that hasn’t responded the same? The alcohol industry. Until now, that is.
Edina resident Ryan Boudreau, along with his two friends, Jeff Roslund and Charlie Guan, discovered the lack of low-sugar cocktails and liqueurs when they started low-sugar diets. Roslund began making his own liqueurs at home so he could still enjoy the occasional cocktail but stay on his diet. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Roslund’s day job slowed down, and he started to investigate the idea of selling his liqueurs.
The three friends decided to go into business together, and they started Dapper Barons. “We started from scratch, went through all of the permitting and now have a distribution partner and are in stores,” Roslund says. “Now we’re just making liqueurs and still enjoying all of the flavor without the sugar.”
Dapper Barons, which operates under the company Low Carb Spirits LLC, uses only natural sweeteners to create low-sugar liqueurs. Still having sweeteners in the liqueur allows the drinks to have the same full flavor you’d find in a traditional, high-sugar option. “The feedback we almost always get is our product tastes the same or better than other liqueurs,” Boudreau says. “It’s not a watered-down version like people think.”
Even for those who aren’t on a diet, Boudreau says low-sugar liqueur is one way people can cut back on unnecessary calories and sugar. “A lot of liqueur companies don’t disclose nutritional facts because they don’t have to, legally,” he says. “People don’t realize how much sugar is in a traditional liqueur.”
The trio made sure to include nutritional labels on the products, so
consumers always know what they’re getting. “We’re proud of the relationship with our consumers,” Roslund says. “They know what they’re buying and drinking.”
Learning the ropes of the alcohol industry and what legal parameters they must follow was something the three guys had to learn from scratch. Both Boudreau and Roslund agree it was interesting to learn about a new industry, and if it weren’t for the pandemic, they might not have had time to learn it at all. “Between the three of us, we [each] have our strengths,” Boudreau says. “Food and beverages weren’t one of them, so we had to learn.”
It currently offers several different liqueurs, including triple sec, amaretto, coffee and crème de cacao. Between all its liqueurs, Roslund says the list of cocktails someone could make is endless.
Roslund and Boudreau both agree using the triple sec to make skinny margaritas is one of the most common options, but people also like using their products to make drinks like sidecars, Colorado bulldogs and white Russians.
Dapper Barons products can be found at France 44 Wine & Spirits, and a full stocklist can be found on its website.
What started as a personal project at home turned into a new business for these three friends, and they’re pretty excited about it.
“We’re getting onto shelves now,” Roslund says. “We’re just trying to provide people the opportunity to enjoy popular cocktails without all of the sugar.”
Mix it Up!
While the list of cocktail recipes may be endless, here are a few recipes Boudreau and Roslund suggest trying.
- 1.5 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. Dapper Barons triple sec
- 0.75 oz. lime juice
Shake, and pour over ice.
- 1 oz. vodka
- 1 oz. Dapper Barons amaretto
Pour over ice.
- 2 oz. Dapper Barons coffee
- 2 oz. vodka
- 2 oz. cream
Pour over ice in the order listed.


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Latvia Digital TV News
LMT picks Harmonic to optimise 4G bandwidth use on its live OTT service
Feb 22, 2019 – Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) has announced that LMT has deployed Harmonic's EyeQ content-aware encoding for its live OTT service, delivered to TVs via 4G set-top boxes. Using the technology, LMT can deliver a video with up to a 40% reduction in bandwidth.
News categories: Harmonic, LMT, Ian Graham, Edgars Gončars, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Latvia, Mobile, Streaming
52.5 million pay TV subs for European former USSR countries in 1Q 2018
Jul 17, 2018 – According to Dataxis, Pay-TV subscriptions in former European USSR countries reached 53.2m in the first quarter of 2018, a 3% YoY growth. In line with global trends, cable TV is declining in all countries of the region (-2% YoY).
News categories: Dataxis, Armenia, Belarus, Cable TV, Digital TV, Estonia, Georgia, IPTV, Latvia, Lithuania, Market Research, Moldova, Russia, Satellite, Subscribers, Terrestrial, Ukraine
Lattelecom introduces Helio iTV interactive television
Apr 25, 2018 – Lattelecom has introduced a new brand under the name Helio, with interactive television as the first messenger of the brand. Customers will begin to test the new Helio iTV service in late May.
News categories: Lattelecom, Lattelecom, Digital TV, Latvia, Mobile
All Media Baltics takes capacity on ASTRA 4A
Dec 19, 2017 – All Media Baltics’ Pay TV subscribers will be able to enjoy the broadcaster’s channel package in HD quality, including its original premium TV channels, at 5°E, following a multi-year capacity agreement announced by SES.
News categories: SES S.A, All Media Baltics, Håkan Sjödin, Arvils Kupris, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Satellite
Latvia's LMT launches multiscreen TV with Broadpeak
Oct 26, 2017 – Broadpeak has announced that Latvian telco operator Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) has deployed a Broadpeak solution to support its new live, on-demand, and catch-up TV services. Hannu Pro provided expertise in systems integration.
News categories: Broadpeak, Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, Jacques Le Mancq, Edgars Goncars, Content Distribution, Digital TV, IPTV, Latvia, TV Everywhere
Telia CLOUDY CDN deploys the BuyDRM KeyOS multi-DRM platform
Sep 14, 2017 – Telia’s self-service cloud video platform for live and VOD content Cloudy CDN, has selected BuyDRM to provide DaaS (DRM as a Service) using BuyDRM’s KeyOS MultiKey Service. CLOUDY provides a cloud-based video platform for the OTT market.
News categories: BuyDRM, Telia, Christopher Levy, Norberts Ositis, Content Distribution, Digital TV, DRM, Latvia, Streaming
SmartLabs updates IPTV platform of Latvian operator Baltcom
Sep 12, 2017 – SmartLabs has announced the successful upgrade of Baltcom’s IPTV platform. SmartLabs worked with Baltcom to upgrade their system to SmartLabs' latest SmartTUBE solution and introduced new multiscreen features, 7 day catch up services and other interactive features.
News categories: SmartLabs, Baltcom, Mikhail Grachev, Dmitrijs Nikitins, Digital TV, IPTV, Latvia, Middleware, Set Top Box
MTG sells Baltic broadcasting businesses
Mar 17, 2017 – MTG has signed an agreement to sell its free-TV, pay-TV, digital and radio businesses in the Baltic region to Providence Equity Partners, an asset management firm that is the owner of Bite, the Lithuanian and Latvian mobile operator.
News categories: MTG, Providence Equity Partners, Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, Robert Sudo, Digital TV, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, MandA, Satellite
The Venture Reality Fund and LucidWeb release European VR company survey
Feb 7, 2017 – The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund) has released its first-ever European virtual reality (VR) landscape, featuring dozens of companies developing infrastructure, tools/platforms and/or apps for the booming ecosystem.
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Smaller companies report: Tuesday close
SMALL caps reversed losses to end the day in the black, with positive results offsetting profit warnings from Cardpoint and Game Group.
At the close of trade, the FTSE Small Cap index was up 2.1 points at 3,203.0, off lows of 3,197.4. The FTSE 100 was up 13.6 at 5,491.0.
On the upside, Tecteon rose 0.25p to 2.37p after the maker of specialist telephone headsets and Clement Clarke Communications revealed the formation of a new joint venture company called Qstik. Qstik is a technology development and manufacturing company.
Construction services company Montpellier added 3p to 37½p in response to a return to full-year profits and a confident statement.
On the bid front, Reg Vardy shot up 601/3p to 795p after the car dealer received two further unsolicited offer approaches above the 750p per share level it is currently discussing with Pendragon.
The board said it intends to continue discussions with all these parties with a view to obtaining the best outcome for the company.
Empire Online was also in favour ahead of results from SportingBet tomorrow. There is speculation that SportingBet could make another takeover offer for the gaming group. SportingBet was up 11½p at 350p.
Business Control Systems edged up ¾p to 13½p following a positive trading update, while bumper interims lifted Debtmatters 8½p to 127p. The licensing deal with Texas Instruments put 4¾p on Imagination Technologies, at 66¼p.
On the downside, cash machine provider Cardpoint slumped 54½p to 72p after warning its profits will be hit in the short-term due to some underperforming Moneybox sites.
The company, which bought Moneybox earlier this year, said there are some poor performing sites which will need to be removed and redeployed. This will cause a delay in implementation of new sites that will affect short-term profits.
Highbury House Communications dipped 0.6p to 1.05p as traders fretted about substantial dilution and refinancing delays.
The publisher intends to conclude talks with its banks on a refinancing by 31 December. It originally said in September that it would refinance existing facilities by the end of this month, but added that its banks continued to be supportive.
Home Entertainment was another casualty, down 14½p at 73½p, after the DVD and video games rental and sales group warned its results for the current year will fall short of market expectations. It blamed continued tough trading on the High Street.
The company expects to incur pre-tax losses of about £3.3m for the 28 weeks to 16 December.
Game Group shares were also weaker, sliding 3¼p to 74½p, after the video gaming software retailer warned that tighter margins resulting from a high proportion of hardware sales will hit profits. A shortage of the new Sony PSP handheld video gaming console, which is seeing strong demand, is compounding a tough trading environment on the High Street, the group said.
Finally, a slowdown in growth upset the market in ASOS, 5½p adrift at 72½p. The internet fashion retailer, formerly known as As Seen on Screen, slipped into the red at the half-way stage and reported a slowing in its phenomenal growth rate. It remains optimistic about its prospects, however.
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A class action lawsuit is looming over the Hepatitis A food scare linked to imported frozen berries, with law firm Slater and Gordon encouraging anyone who ate the berries and developed the virus to come forward.
The firm said it had been contacted by "a number of people" who had contracted Hepatitis A after eating recalled frozen berries imported by Bairnsdale-based company Patties Foods.
"Manufacturers of goods, such as the frozen berries in question, have a number of stringent obligations towards consumers under Australian law, and among the most important of these is a clear requirement that any goods they produce must be free from safety defects," said Slater and Gordon Principal Lawyer Julie Clayton.
"This means that the safety of goods must be of a standard that people generally are entitled to expect for a product of that nature – clearly, any food product contaminated with a virus like hepatitis A fails to meet this test," she said.
In other developments on Tuesday relating to the Hepatitis A scare;
* Patties Foods added the Nanna's 1kg frozen raspberries to the three other lines recalled at the weekend.
* Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said the imported food scare was a "wake-up call" to Australian consumers.
* Australian berry growers said locally grown berries were grown under strict food standards, and urged consumers to buy Australian-grown produce.
* Nine cases of Hepatitis A have been linked to the consumption of berries from one kilogram packets of Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries. A tenth case of Hepatitis A linked to imported frozen berries was confirmed in Queensland late on Tuesday, but health officials did not name the product consumed.
* The Red Cross said more than 110 blood donors have contacted it recently to report their consumption of Patties frozen berries products that have been recalled because of the scare.
Patties Foods said on Tuesday that because commercial food production laboratories in Australia were not equipped to test for hepatitis A, Nanna's frozen berries had been sent to the United States and Italy for testing.
The Victorian Health Department advised Patties of the potential Hepatitis A link to its Nanna's 1kg frozen mixed berries packets on Friday afternoon. Microbiological tests have yet to prove a link between the virus and the berries but tests in the US and Italy should establish if raspberries, supplied in China, are the cause. Test results are expected in two weeks.
Patties managing director and chief executive officer Steven Chaur said the common link between the products in all four recalled lines was the raspberries, which came from a supplier in China. "That was a very clear marker for us that the consistency with the two products is the raspberries," he said.
"We don't believe at this time that our other products - sourced from other facilities and other countries and other regions - are at risk. The common denominator here is raspberries and we believe that could be an area to further investigate," he said.
Patties severed its links with the China supplier of those raspberries in November last year but Mr Chaur denied it was over health concerns and said it was to consolidate supply in China. He said testing for hepatitis A virus was "difficult". No commercial food production testing facilities were equipped to test for viruses like hepatitis A in Australia, he said.
"We do test for markers (for hepatitis A) like e.coli which are generally associated with faecal matter. That is a pretty clear indicator if there is any concern," Mr Chaur said.
He said E.coli levels results showed its frozen berries were within safe tolerance levels. "We had no reason to believe these products present a health risk," he said.
Meanwhile, Australian growers have noticed a surge in demand for locally-grown berries. At The Big Berry farm in the Yarra Valley the phone has been "running hot" in recent days with people looking for locally-grown frozen berries, said grower Paul Casey.
Mr Casey attributed the interest to the imported berry scare. He reassured Australian berry lovers that they could be confident in the quality of locally-grown produce.
"It's produced locally and we know it's under Australian food standards," Mr Casey said. The 72-year-old said his berries were regularly tested and his operation regularly audited.
"The phone's been running hot in the last two or three days, people are looking for frozen berries that haven't bought from me in the past. There's been a dramatic surge in inquiries and purchasing of frozen berries. I'd like to see it continue," he said.
Orders from one customer, he said, "have quadrupled in the last couple of days," while new customers were also ringing, he said.


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Looking to invest in vintage wine? There’s an NFT coming for that
Startup platform Farandole has a plan to transform the traditional wine industry with NFTs, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Ripple to invest US$100 mln for carbon removal in race to zero emissions
Blockchain-based payments network Ripple announced its plans to invest US$100 million in climate-focused fintechs and carbon removal technology for the modernization of carbon markets, the company said in a press release. See related article: How blockchain is solving the climate crisis Fast facts The funding will also continue to support new functionality and developer tools […]
A bipartisan case for why the US needs a Web3 regulatory overhaul
In a special op-ed, 2 former CFTC chiefs and a crypto executive make the case for why the US must prioritize policies that support the new Web3 economy.
No hard fork, governance vote in Kwon’s updated Terra revival proposal
Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon posted an update to his proposal to revive Terra and LUNA at 4:55 p.m. Hong Kong time, which omitted the notice of putting the plan up for a governance vote. See related article: Do Kwon proposes Terra fork to ditch UST and ‘LUNA Classic’ Fast facts Kwon’s updated “Terra Ecosystem […]
Terra LUNA’s sacrifice pushes UST to US$0.84
TerraUSD (UST) climbed to a high of US$0.84 on Thursday after Terra proposed a network upgrade to increase the blockchain’s native token LUNA, in hopes to save its algorithmic stablecoin’s peg to the greenback. See related article: Run on UST cuts the ground from under Terra’s feet Fast facts The UST is minted by locking […]
Terra’s UST loses dollar peg; Philippines expects Marcos Jr win
Coinhako becomes third Singaporean exchange to receive full license. Meanwhile, the blockchain industry reacts to Philippine election results.
CoinDCX investment arm to invest US$13 mln in Web3 startups
CoinDCX Ventures has pledged Rs 100 crore (US$13 million) to early stage cryptocurrency, blockchain and Web 3.0 startups over the next 12 months, cofounder Sumit Gupta announced on Tuesday. See related article: India’s crypto shakedown be damned, CoinDCX raises $135 million Fast facts Crypto exchange CoinDCX has vouched at least US$258,000 in blockchain and Web […]
TZ APAC, NUS join for blockchain, computing education
Blockchain consultancy TZ APAC has partnered with the National University of Singapore School of Computing (NUS Computing) to set up the Centre for Nurturing Computing Excellence, the company said in a statement. See related article: CoinDCX chimes in on India’s growing blockchain education needs Fast facts The new center will enable students to learn from […]
India’s oldest depository launches blockchain for bonds
India’s National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL) introduced a distributed ledger technology platform for the Debenture Covenant Monitoring system on Saturday to enhance monitoring of bonds. See related article: Indian market regulator asks depositories to use blockchain Fast facts The Debenture Covenant Monitoring system’s decentralized ledger will provide an immutable and verifiable audit trail of transactions […]
De Beers to use Tracr blockchain to assure sourcing of diamonds
The diamond firm De Beers said it is deploying its Tracr blockchain, at scale, to provide immutable records of every diamond’s origin. See related article: Diamond sets record for most expensive object bought with crypto Fast facts De Beers, which developed Tracr, has already registered a quarter of its production by value on the network. […]
Blockchain can transform international trade, but big hurdles remain
Blockchain can save time, money and reams of paperwork, writes Tim Bailey of Red Date Technology. But its future in global trade remains uncertain.
Hockenheimring racetrack joins Animoca Brands’ REVV ecosystem
Blockchain unicorn Animoca Brands said it has signed a licensing deal to include the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg racetrack in its REVV Motorsport ecosystem of play-to-earn racing games. See related article: Need for Speed gets Hong Kong’s Animoca in driver’s seat Fast facts Animoca Brands will mint and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that represent partial ownership of […]
Shiba Inu explained — diving beyond the memecoin
Following a year of explosive price gains, the SHIB token is inching closer toward becoming a top 10 cryptocurrency. Will this so-called “Dogecoin killer” succeed? Forkast.News explores what’s in store for Shiba Inu.
From in-print to online to on-chain: How will Web 3.0 reshape news media?
There’s never a dull moment in the news business. Now, as media outlets explore blockchain, the Associated Press’s Dwayne Desaulniers says more change is coming.
Flipkart launches innovation lab to explore future of e-commerce
Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce marketplace, plans to explore Web 3.0 and metaverse use cases including non-fungible-tokens, virtual storefronts, play-to-earn and other blockchain technologies under its new initiative, Flipkart Labs, the company said. See related article: Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com offers NFTs despite state media criticisms Fast facts Flipkart Labs, based in Bengaluru, will also serve […]
Two charged over North Korea sanctions; Crypto market falls
U.S. Justice Department charges two Europeans for aiding North Korea. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Covid lockdown popularizes blockchain.
A marathon not a sprint: How the US can win the digital asset race
Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto has put America on course for solid success in the digital asset space, says the Blockchain Association’s Kristin Smith.
Crypto industry looks to the UAE; Crypto’s environmental concerns
More crypto players are eyeing the UAE as a hub. Meanwhile, a mysterious map sends Pudgy Penguin NFTs skyrocketing.
Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban-backed startup sells autographs as NFTs
Ink, the Ashton Kutcher and Mark Cuban-backed Web 3.0 platform that allows artists and creators to sign, draw or write on any form of digital content into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), launched Wednesday. See related article: Warner Music is ready to play in The Sandbox metaverse Fast facts By digitally signing any existing photo, album cover, […]
Why blockchain bridges have become DeFi’s Achilles heel
In the short history of DeFi, bridge hacks have accounted for an enormous amount of stolen funds, writes Joshua Tobkin. What can stop these attacks?
Blockchain, metaverse important for India’s growth: MP
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are going to be increasingly important with the rise in time spent on metaverses, Jayant Sinha, a member of parliament and Chairman of India’s Standing Committee on Finance, told The Economic Times on Monday. See related article: India to make life hell for crypto investors: MP Fast facts Sinha’s comments come at […]
Xiamen issues China’s first blockchain-based commemorative subway ticket
Xiamen, a major city in China’s southeastern province Fujian, Friday issued China’s first batch of digital commemorative subway tickets based on Alibaba’s blockchain, AntChain. See related article: More courts in China accept blockchain-stored evidence Fast facts The digital ticket bears a likeness to a decorative metal badge, and is themed with a combination of Xiamen […]
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith gets 63 months in prison
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was sentenced to prison and fined US$100,000 for violating international sanctions against North Korea by speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in the Hermit Kingdom in April 2019. See related article: North Korea hacked US$400M of crypto in 2021, says Chainalysis Fast facts At the conference, Griffith explained blockchain technology’s use […]
Web 3.0 startups’ latest backer is a US$150 mln fund from Cosmos founders
The fund aims to support and speed up the time-to-market of early-stage projects that have already initiated development.
FTX, Tiger Global invest $350M in Near protocol
Near protocol, a smart-contract enabled layer 1 blockchain, has bagged US$350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global. See related article: Polkadot is top crypto held by VCs and hedge funds in Q4 2021 Fast facts FTX Ventures, Republic Capital, Hashed, and Dragonfly Capital participated in the funding round led by Tiger Global. […]
What is the metaverse and are we already living inside it?
The metaverse is envisioned as the next iteration of the internet, introducing an immersive digital universe. Find out what this means for the future of our online lives — beyond all the marketing hype — in this Forkast.News explainer.
How decentralization is making everyone their own CEO
The emancipatory promise of decentralization has been both evangelized and excoriated. The Algorand Foundation’s Jason Lee explains why we should be believers.
Indian district issues caste certificates on Polygon
A district government in Maharashtra, India, has started stamping 65,000 caste certificates through LegitDoc, a document-verifying system on the Polygon blockchain. See related article: India releases ‘National Strategy on Blockchain’ for e-governance Fast facts In India, caste certificates are used by marginal communities such as tribes to gain access to certain government benefits and subsidies. […]
Lessons learned from my five years of building blockchain
DLT projects are defined by their network effects, writes Donald Thibeau of HBAR Foundation. Here’s why open networks and community are critical for success.
ASX blockchain upgrade delayed for fourth time
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced its highly anticipated AU$250 million (US$187 million) blockchain project has been delayed for release until late 2023 at the earliest. See related article: Australian Securities Exchange to launch crypto-related ETF Fast facts CHESS, or Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, was initially slated for a blockchain upgrade by April […]
Ukraine’s NFT museum of Russian conflict goes live
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation launched the Meta History Museum of War on Friday, a museum hosted on the Ethereum and Polygon networks that chronicles the country’s war with Russia through non-fungible tokens (NFTs). See related article: Zelenskyy legalizes cryptocurrency in Ukraine Fast facts “Disinformation is used by Russia on a par with deadly military […]
How to protect NFT intellectual property rights explored at Australian Blockchain Week
With explosive growth in the past 12 months, the non-fungible token industry is getting too big to ignore IP licenses, experts say.
Meta files 8 trademark applications for cryptocurrency, metaverse
Meta, formerly Facebook, has filed eight trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) relating to blockchain, crypto and the social media giant’s metaverse push. See related article: Meta showcases focus on AI, announces new voice assistant program Fast facts One of these applications includes a trademark for cryptocurrency services including exchange […]
Fusang defers IPO; Yuga Labs hits $4bn valuation
Malaysia’s Fusang defers their IPO. Meanwhile, Blockchain Week Australia looks into intellectual property rights.
Echoes of El Salvador as Malaysian minister calls for crypto adoption
Top blockchain and crypto news: Bitcoin buzz in Malaysia. Yuga Labs teases Otherside. Blockchain verdict in China.
‘We may create another kind of elite,’ Animoca chairman warns
Blockchain gaming unicorn Animoca Brands co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu said Web 3.0 needs rapid adoption in order to become more decentralized at Australia Blockchain Week in Melbourne on Wednesday. See related article: FTX heads Down Under as Australia looks to crypto industry Fast facts “If people don’t move into the space quickly enough, […]
BAYC creator Yuga Labs raises valuation to $4B
Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs announced on Wednesday Asia time that it has raised US$450 million in a funding round, bringing the Web 3.0 company to a total valuation of US$4 billion. See related article: The future is decentralized: How Web3 can reshape the world Fast facts The funding round was led by […]
BSN, China Mobile support local NFTs with new chain launch
China’s state-backed Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has announced the addition of “Zhong Yi Chain,” developed by telecommunications giant China Mobile, to its open permissioned blockchain ecosystem to bolster the growth of home-grown non-fungible tokens (NFTs). See related article: BSN to integrate CasperLabs’ chain to support NFT issuance in China Fast facts The new chain serves […]
More courts in China accept blockchain-stored evidence
Sichuan and Inner Mongolia are two regions that recently announced their first cases using blockchain-stored evidence, local media reports. See related article: How blockchain technology is shaking up courtrooms in Asia Fast facts See related article: Court in China says trading in cryptocurrency ‘not protected by law’
How to bolster security in a fragmented multi-chain world
The $320 million Wormhole hack laid bare the vulnerability of cross-chain bridges, writes Alex Smirnov of deBridge. How can we plug the gaps?
US bill targets e-CNY; Russian sanctions hurting public
Blockchain data analysis platform Chainalysis has launched a set of free sanction screening tools. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the US take aim at China’s digital yuan, or e-CNY, while Russian sanctions begin to highlight issues with financial sovereignty as hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian civilians are caught in the financial crossfire.
Tomorrowland wants to bring music to Web 3.0 with FTX Europe
Global cryptocurrency exchange FTX’s European arm announced a partnership with Tomorrowland on Thursday with goals to bring blockchain and Web 3.0 applications to the popular electronic music festival. Fast facts The partners will explore Web 3.0 applications such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for art, music, ticketing, as well as crypto payments and metaverse events. The […]
Chainalysis launches crypto wallet sanction screening tools
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis announced the launch of two screening tools on Friday that will allow cryptocurrency wallet owners to determine if wallets are compliant with global sanctions efforts and will be provided free of charge to the crypto industry. See related article: Coinbase blocks 25,000 Russian crypto wallet addresses Fast facts Centralized exchanges widely […]
CoinDCX chimes in on India’s growing blockchain education needs
CoinDCX has partnered with the Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani for crypto research, development and innovation among students, the crypto exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. See related article: India’s blockchain courses ramp up to meet demand for learning Fast facts Over 100 students are expected to be trained in blockchain technology […]
NFT startup Immutable valued at $2.5 billion in Temasek-led financing
Australian non-fungible tokens (NFTs) startup Immutable has raised fresh funding in a round led by Singapore’s Temasek, bringing its valuation to US$2.5 billion, the company said in a statement on Monday. See related article: Jump in NFT demand reflects crypto prices, right? Wrong Fast facts Immutable raised US$200 million in a Series C funding led […]
The future is decentralized: How Web3 can reshape the world
As the public tires of Big Tech’s privacy abuses, Web3’s premise of decentralization has never looked better, writes Edward Chen of Huobi.
At least 3M Aussies own some form of crypto asset
Australia estimates at least three million Aussies, or 11% of its people, own some form of crypto asset, according to a government-backed report published on Wednesday. See related article: Australia announces biggest overhaul to payments in 25 years — eyes now set on crypto Fast facts Crypto has been on Australia’s radar, with the Senate […]
China’s Two Sessions: what to expect for blockchain
Look for progress reports on e-CNY, blockchain technology, new digital infrastructure, and subtle mentions of the international sanctions against Russia.
India’s blockchain courses ramp up to meet demand for learning
Recruiters from the public and private sectors are on the hunt for top blockchain talent. Educational institutions are catching up with customized courses.
How the market is evolving from GameFi to SocialFi — and what comes next
A blockchain is a database that can record all transactions and transfers for the entire world. All users can use public blockchain explorers to verify all data is correct. Blockchain facilitates transactions of virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Transactions that take place are fast, cheap, tamper-proof and irreversible. But blockchain technology is not limited […]
Russian attack hits crypto: MUFG to close blockchain venture
The crypto market tanks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a military operation in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Japan’s biggest financial group closes it’s blockchain payment venture.
China courts improve evidence collection through blockchain
China’s legal system is looking into blockchain technology to improve its online smart court system and enhance information sharing and evidence submission. See related article: How blockchain technology is shaking up courtrooms in Asia Fast facts China’s supreme court released on Tuesday a set of rules allowing courts to verify and recognize evidence submitted through […]
Alibaba to reward NFTs in its first blockchain game
Alibaba is rewarding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its first blockchain game Ant Adventure, which can be played through the Alipay mobile application, one of China’s leading mobile payment providers. See related article: Ant Group’s NFT arm punishes users for digital collectible resales Fast facts Ant Adventure is powered by Alibaba’s blockchain AntChain, and takes users […]
Jump in NFT demand reflects crypto prices, right? Wrong
An asset bought and valued in crypto becomes decoupled from crypto prices, a split that reflects the differences between crypto investors and NFT buyers.
Corporate social credit gets stamped on blockchain in China’s southeast
Foshan city of China’s southeastern province Guangdong launched a blockchain-based corporate social credit system with an automated credit rating function, state-backed media reported on Thursday. Fast facts See related article: Beijing budgets $37M for government affairs blockchain platform Foshan’s blockchain-based corporate social credit system rates enterprises into four credit levels using data from various sources. […]
Indian dating app attempts to start metaverse dating trend
Dating platform Mingout has introduced metaverse dating in India by organizing a virtual date for two of its users in a moon-based setting. See related article: Phillips to auction metahuman-made NFTs for Valentine’s Day Fast facts Metaverse or virtual dating is a nascent concept in India, and Mingout hopes to create a dating revolution and […]
GBA among approved regions for China’s blockchain-powered data hubs
The Chinese State Council approved on Wednesday a plan to build computing and data hubs that use blockchain technology to secure data in four regions including the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Fast facts See related article: China writes blockchain and digital currency into nation’s future The four hubs are set to join four more approved […]
Will the new multi-chain world ignite another ‘DeFi summer’?
2022 will see a flowering ecosystem of blockchains working together, writes Will Harborne of DeversiFi. Here’s what the multi-chain future will look like.
Forget synthetic wombs. Give women more opportunities in DeFi and Web3
Vitalik Buterin’s advocacy of synthetic wombs misses the point, writes Izzy Howell of Cypher. Here’s why crypto can do more for gender equality.
Fan friction: What’s keeping influencers and artist communities from Web3?
The new token economy offers unparalleled opportunities for content creators, writes Weiwei Geng of Unite.io. Improving user experience will be key.
What is Web 3.0 and how will it shape the crypto future?
By returning data ownership and reshaping human-machine interactions, the third generation of the internet promises an interconnected future.
Kakao Games rebrands subsidiary to focus on crypto, blockchain, Web 3.0
Kakao Games announced Tuesday that Friends Games, its subsidiary, will now become Meta Bora to focus on blockchain-based games and entertainment supporting its Bora cryptocurrency. Fast facts “We will work our hardest to help the development of the Web 3.0, such as in blockchain and the metaverse, by integrating Kakao Games’ game industry network and insight […]
Web 3.0 developer Alchemy reaches $10B valuation
Web 3.0 blockchain developer Alchemy announced on Tuesday that it has raised an additional US$200 million, bringing its valuation to US$10.2 billion. Fast facts Led by venture capital firms Lightspeed and Silver Lake, the funding is a continuation of its Series C round launched in October where it raised US$250 million at a US$3.5 billion […]
Polygon raises $450M led by Sequoia Capital India
Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon has raised US$450 million from several big name investors including Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank, Galaxy Digital and Tiger Global, boosting its war chest as demand for its services grow. Fast facts Polygon is one of the most prominent Ethereum scalers whose tools allow developers to create decentralized apps (dApps) and […]
Will blockchain’s future be cross-chain or multi-chain?
Vitalik Buterin caused an uproar over his recent criticisms of blockchain bridges. Here is a rebuttal in support of this nascent technology.
Zuellig Pharma to use its blockchain tool to track Covid vaccines
Singapore-based medical service firm Zuellig Pharma is using its blockchain-based medical tracking tool eZTracker to enhance vaccine transparency by flagging expired or mismanaged Covid-19 shots. Fast facts The eZTracker system verifies the authenticity of vaccines and other medical products to improve supply chain transparency and prevent black market distribution of supplies. QR codes on product […]
Asian Development Bank to use blockchain for cross-border securities transactions
Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a blockchain project to make cross-border securities transactions in Asia-Pacific more efficient. Fast facts The regional development bank of 68 member countries is aiming to use blockchain to directly connect central banks and securities depositories in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region plus Japan, China and South […]
Building a blockchain ecosystem today for the metaverse of tomorrow
The metaverse could be life-changing for the world’s unbanked, writes Pavel Matveev of Wirex. Interoperability between the real and virtual worlds will be key.
Guangzhou will advance digital yuan, blockchain pilots in 2022
Guangdong Province’s 2022 Government Report says its capital city Guangzhou will become a digital yuan testbed and a blockchain innovation application pilot center in 2022. Fast facts Guangzhou applied to become a new digital yuan pilot city in September 2021. Guangzhou is one of the major cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). […]
Straight shot: How sports stars are sidestepping middlemen in Web 3.0
A pro basketball player and an ex-banker are aiming for a slam-dunk with a ‘creator first’ content platform. Calaxy co-founder Solo Ceesay explains how.
How creators can solve the talent bottleneck in gaming
The gaming industry suffers from a talent shortage, but blockchain technology and Gen Z’s obsession with self-expression are relieving cost pressures.
The rising tide of decentralization in mass movements
Alternative approaches to governance have never been more important, writes Alexander Filatov of TON Labs. Here is how DAOs can change the world.


text: SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. mssr on Monday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $7.6 million, or 55 cents a share. Last year, the company posted a loss of $2.4 million, or 31 cents a share. The 2003 results were restated following a review of the company's accounting leases, which cut 15 cents a share from McCormick & Schmick's full-year results and took its 2002 net income lower by 10 cents a share. Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $64.9 million vs. $54.1 million. For the first quarter, the restaurant operator said it expects to post earnings of 10 cents to 11 cents a share on revenue of $60.4 million, with same-restaurant sales rising 1.4%. McCormick & Schmick's maintained its full-year revenue forecast of $265 million to $270 million and said it sees earnings of 65 cents to 68 cents a share for 2005, with a comp sales increase of 2%-3%.


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Many gas stations, like this one in New Rochelle, attempted to accommodate residents after Superstorm Sandy, as the stations struggled with their own storm-related problems. Graham Cowie of New Rochelle and his son Myles, 12, purchased gas for their generator on Nov. 2 as people wait. The station was only able to offer gas for cans and cash only. / Tania Savayan/The Journal News
The line for gas at a Nanuet station on Nov. 4 stretches down Route 59. / John Meore/The Journal News
Given the extraordinary cost of just about everything in New York, it is often difficult to distinguish price-gouging, which is both illegal and despicable, from the usual highway robbery, which is just sort of expected. Then there are those merchants, as seen during Superstorm Sandy, who make the distinction so abundantly clear that all doubt is removed. Stiff fines and restitution should await these offenders, should the allegations hold up; a measure of public shaming ought to be part of the menu of sanctions as well.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, following up on familiar pre-storm threats and warnings, announced enforcement actions Thursday against a dozen gas station operators who allegedly kicked motorists when they were down — after rampaging Sandy darkened many gasoline stations, disrupted gasoline supplies and caused consumers, many toting gasoline cans, to endure interminable waits outside stations. Long lines and even rationing weren’t all that they faced.
For example, there were Mobil stations in Katonah, at 80 Bedford Road, and in Spring Valley, at 189 Route 59, where gasoline sold for $4.79 and $4.65, respectively, according to the allegations from the AG’s Office. Those prices — like all the charges highlighted by Schneiderman — were for a gallon of regular, and decidedly higher than normal, even in this high-cost region.
There was the BP station in Elmont where the price was an attention-getting $6.99; prices at the Shell in East Elmhurst, according to complaints, ranged from $4.89 to $7.90.
But they had nothing on the purported gouging leader, the Mobil at 3424 East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx, “where a consumer waiting in line for over an hour was just three cars from the pump when she was told that she would be charged $50 for five gallons of gasoline — $10 per gallon.” Stations nearby charged $3.95.
New York’s Price Gouging Law bars merchants from taking unfair advantage of consumers by selling goods and services for an “unconscionably excessive price” during an “abnormal disruption of the market”; “unconscionably excessive” is not set forth in detail, but when the charged amount represents a “gross disparity” with the price just before the emergency, state investigators get their backs up. New Jersey’s law is more precise, barring increases of more than 10 percent in an emergency; the New Jersey law makes an exception for merchants who face increased costs, but the markup is still limited to 10 percent above normal.
New York’s law covers more than gasoline; it also applies to supermarkets, hardware stores, bodegas, delis, and taxi and livery cabs — all of which generated consumer complaints post-Sandy. “We are actively investigating the hundreds of complaints we’ve received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy,” said Schneiderman. “There must be no tolerance for unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives.”
Violators in New York face fines of up to $25,000, plus restitution — evidently not stiff enough to compel exacting compliance. Earlier, Schneiderman’s office announced that it sent enforcement letters to 13 gas station operators, bringing the prevailing total to 25.
During Sandy, there also were media reports of consumers being gouged for batteries ($7 for a two-pack of AA batteries); matches ($10 a box, three times the normal cost); and groceries ($7 for a loaf of bread).
The very same complaints followed Irene, last year’s “storm of the century,” suggesting that existing sanctions simply aren’t robust enough — worrisome in light of predictions that storm emergencies will become even more frequent in this age of rising sea levels and planet-warming. Albany would do well to consider whether an additional sanction might help gain the attention of merchants: requiring adjudicated price-gougers to announce their distinction in a prominent way — perhaps in large signs displayed on their premises, say for periods of 30 to 60 days, longer for repeat offenders.
Shame might well prove a worthy deterrent where the threat of fines and restitution, for too many, now elicit little more than yawns.


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David Einhorn Couldn't Be More Wrong About YelpYELP) ever since the stock was trading below $20. While the firm did not have a big position in Yelp a few months ago, it has increased its stake to roughly $64 million. Although the $64 million doesn’t sound like much given that Greenlight Capital has a multibillion-dollar portfolio, it did make the firm Yelp’s fourth biggest shareholder with 5% stake.
Einhorn’s first quarter investor-letter explained his position in Yelp. In the letter, he explained:
“We purchased Yelp (YELP) at an average price of $21.16.
We've reviewed the criticisms raised in the trailer to the documentary and we are comfortable that they won't have a negative impact on our investment thesis. YELP shares ended the quarter at $19.88. We rate them five stars.”
Clearly Einhorn has benefited considerably from his long position in the stock as Yelp closed at $26.61 in the last trading session. At $21.16, Einhorn had a great margin of safety for buying Yelp, however, investors should not be lured into buying the stock as it will likely give up those gains in the near future. While Yelp was an attractive buy for traders when it was under $20, it is definitely a not a buy right now.
In fact, traders who were proficient enough to accumulate Yelp at under $20 should consider exiting the stock as there is no way the company can sustain its rally or justify its current valuation.
Yelp’s revenue growth has slowed down considerably over the last few quarters. Although Yelp is still reporting double-digit revenue growth, the company has sacrificed profits so as to increase sales and this trend won’t last long.
With Yelps growth slowing down on account of maturation of its business, and increasing competition, Yelp’s revenue growth will fall drastically over the next few quarters. Einhorn’s thesis is based on the fact that Yelp will double its revenue by 2019. However, that seems unlikely as Yelp will have to maintain a CAGR of almost 20% in order to achieve that target.
Amid growing competition and maturing business, achieving such strong growth over a 4 year period seems unlikely for Yelp, which is why I would recommend investors to not blindly follow Einhorn, especially after the recent rally.
Einhorn’s revenue growth projections may seem a little farfetched. However, investors shouldn’t even focus on Yelp’s revenue growth and should instead look at the company’s profitability. Yelp has been losing money ever since it went public and isn’t expected to turn profitable anytime soon. Moreover, with a P/S of 3.45, Yelp is clearly expensive and will not be undervalued even if it does double its revenue by 2019.
Published on Jun 6, 2016By Ayush Singh


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A number of West Siders shared their thoughts on the impacts COVID-19 has had on their lives and activities.
Mattos Newspapers staff member Alex Banks garnered the reaction and thoughts on the streets and in local businesses of Newman and Gustine.
Tom Bragdon of Pioneer Drug in Newman said he is sticking to a rigid hygiene protocol that includes hand-washing after any contact.
Shoppers have depleted the inventory of toilet paper and hand sanitizers he reported, but there is no shortage of medications.
The pharmacy is in overdrive to stay stocked up, he said, but staying ahead of strong demand is difficult.
“The talks from all of our grandmothers of good hygiene, washing hands and taking care of ourselves can now pay off,” Bragdon told Mattos Newspapers.
Gustine police officer Francisco Martinez is also taking precautions, but at the same time is not allowing his life to be dictated by the outbreak or be overly influenced by everything going on around him. He and other officers are being extensively educated to best be able to help those in the community, Martinez shared.
As a first responder, he added, many of the protocols and precautions that are coming into play are already second nature.
Newman Ace Hardware employee Chris Bueno said cleaning supplies have been in demand in his workplace. He said he was not fearful of the outbreak and knows what to do to keep himself and his family safe.
At the same time, Bueno acknowledged, added caution is certainly in order.
Newman thrift store owner Ellena Macial has felt the economic impact of the crisis. Her business has had few patrons and sales have plummeted in the last two weeks, she reported, leaving worries about maintaining her lifestyle and meeting her own obligations.
She also criticized those who have been snapping up supplies and products in large volume, saying it makes it difficult for others like herself to purchase what she needs.
At Pioneer Drug in Gustine, Ben Parolini said he is taking a number of precautions such as regularly wiping down counters and other surfaces, thoroughly washing his hands and ensuring others do the same.
Parolini said will expand delivery service of prescriptions and other medical supplies - and waive fees - for those who are unable or fearful to venture out of their homes.
In Gustine, Lily Cain said her anxiety has grown as the crisis snowballed so quickly.
She is concerned about going to work, Cain said, but is following the recommended sanitizing and hand-washing protocols. At the same time, the restaurant employee said, she worries about the impact on her finances if she does not work.


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The online car service said the court should dismiss the lawsuit as the victim had sued the wrong party
Uber has asked a US court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an alleged rape victim in India’s capital, Delhi, saying the ride-sharing company could not be held legally responsible for the driver’s acts.
The passenger, who reported being raped and beaten after hailing a ride with the Uber driver in Delhi in early December, sued the online car service in a US federal court in January, claiming the company failed to maintain basic safety procedures.
Windows XP is officially gone but its server companions Windows Server 2003 and Server 2003 R2 live – just not for much longer. Mainstream support for the server duo ended on 13 July 2010 but the expiration of extended support is now just three months away: 14 July 2015.…
This may look like a scrap of kitchen foil, but it’s actually a new kind of aluminum battery that could out-perform the lithium-ion cells in your smartphone.
Developed by chemists from Stanford, the new battery swaps out lithium from the cell in favor of aluminum. In the past, aluminum batteries have failed fast, managing just 100 recharge cycles before they start to degrade.
The new cell uses aluminum for it anode—the negatively charged electrode in the battery—and graphite for the positive cathode. The whole lot sits inside a salt, liquid at room temperature, which acts as the electrolyte. The resulting cells can undergo 7,500 recharge cycles without losing capacity—far better than old aluminum cells, and in fact better than li-on batteries that usually begin to suffer after 1,000 cycles.
The battery can also charge incredibly quickly, reaching full capacity within a minute. Compared to li-on batteries they’re also rather more robust, too: the “new battery won’t catch fire, even if you drill through it,” said Stanford chemistry professor Dai Hongjie, who created the cell, in a press release.
There are, however, some downsides. First, the cells can only muster 2 volts across their electrodes—just over 50 percent of the voltage that li-on batteries can provide. Nor do they pack energy into themselves as efficiently, managing to store just 40 watts of electricity per kilogram, compared to 200 or so for li-on batteries.
Neither of those are deal breakers. Tweaks to the electrode design could boost voltage, and speedy charging may in fact be more desirable than absolute energy capacity for a given size. But for now, it’s at least interesting to know that a lackluster battery technology may yet prove incredibly useful. [Stanford via Engadget]
Consistently, one of the more popular stocks people enter into their stock options watchlist at Stock Options Channel is Oracle Corp. . So this week we highlight one interesting put contract, and one interesting call contract, from the September expiration for ORCL.


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Smart nation Singapore and brave steps with technology
Smart Nation: Singapore prepares to enter a new digital world full of bravery
Singapore is a country that never stands still. Since becoming a fully independent country in 1965, the country has constantly developed, pushed boundaries and adopted the latest technologies – always leading global trends. It is a stronghold that always does things its own way, rising through the economic ranks while constantly reinventing itself to fit the ever-changing times.
At the root of this success story is a government structure founded on a framework of political and social stability that, coupled with a high degree of adaptability, allows the country to quickly weather the storm of recession and adapt. respond to changes in global markets, technology, and regional geopolitical transformations. Even in favorable times, Singapore is preparing to innovate and grow for the future.
The future of Singapore is digital
Singapore’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MCI) outlined its plan to build a Digitally Safe, Economically Dynamic and Socially Stable Singapore in its Supply Committee (COS) speech. in Parliament. Acknowledging that Digital Transformation is shaping the way we live, study, work and play, the Department’s plans focus on empowering Singaporeans to embrace digital access opportunities. while protecting their safety and security in the digital space.
“As we embrace technology for growth, it is important to address rapidly evolving digital threats, especially those affecting vulnerable groups. children, women and the elderly and businesses,” said Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Minister of Information and Communications (MCI) in a statement.
To protect Singaporeans online, Minister Teo has announced plans to introduce legislative measures to keep the online space safe, strengthen data protection for consumers and businesses, and increase enhance the security and resilience of digital infrastructure and services.
In addition, Minister Teo announced a new Alternative Dispute Resolution plan that will provide an alternative to effective and affordable dispute resolution for consumers and small businesses facing with contractual disputes with telecommunications and communications service providers.
To assist local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in building their digital security, Singapore’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MCI) also announced the launch of the Security Essentials program. New Data Protection is available from April 1, 2022 to help businesses protect their consumer data, and enable them to recover quickly from a data attack. Businesses with good cybersecurity practices have also been recognized through the Cyber Trust Mark and Cyber Essentials Mark programs launched in late March 2022.
Outlines Singapore’s approach to creating a secure and vibrant global Digital Economy with international partners
Urging SMEs to take advantage of the digitalization drive that has accelerated across the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic, Josephine Teo reinforced the Government’s commitment to supporting businesses as they digital transformation and internationalization. More support will be extended to SMEs, such as through the Advanced Digital Solutions program, which will offer more AI-enabled and cloud-based integrated solutions. The government will also introduce a variety of platforms ecommerce under the Digital Growth Scheme, to help SMEs access international markets without a physical presence abroad.
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MCI) also emphasized the importance of Government partnerships with industry and Universities, to pave the way for more Singaporeans to access jobs and opportunities in the Economy. digital economy. A new degree program (Honours Bachelor of Science in Applied Computing, with a specialization in FinTech) will also be offered at the Singapore Institute of Technology to prepare the core Singaporean talent for leadership roles. more specialized in the technology ecosystem.
Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs (SMS) for Communications and Information, Dr Janil Puthucheary emphasized the importance of building digital infrastructure and pushing technological boundaries to meet the needs of the future. future of Singapore. He announced that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) will pilot the Call for Applications to build data centers that prioritize energy efficiency and decarbonisation, consistent with the Government’s commitment to the sustainable development of the data center.
Janil Puthucheary also outlines Singapore’s approach to creating a secure and vibrant global Digital Economy together with international partners. He emphasized that Singapore has signed a Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) with 4 countries so far.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, Singapore and the UK will work more closely to facilitate digital trade between countries by signing three Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) in the areas of Facilitation. for Digital Commerce, Digital Identity and Cybersecurity. This partnership will make digital transactions of businesses easier, safer and cheaper.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: danviet.vn – Read the original article here


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One of Japan’s most popular credit cards hit an astonishing new milestone: Over the 12 months to July 2023, Rakuten Card users spent 20 trillion yen – more than a 20% jump over the previous period.
Rakuten Card’s incredible growth trajectory can be attributed in part to a broader trend in Japan’s cashless economy. Including e-money and mobile code payments, cashless transactions expanded to 36% in 2022 to reach 111 trillion yen. The vast majority of this spending – 93.8 trillion yen – came from the credit card sector, which grew 15.8%.
Why is Japan embracing cashless like never before? And why is Rakuten Card’s growth outpacing the rest of the field? We spoke to Rakuten’s Card Strategy Planning Department Manager Yoshihiro Ogawa for some insights.
Japan’s cashless journey has only just begun
Ogawa is in charge of marketing and strategy for growing Rakuten Card’s overall shopping GTV (gross transaction value), which is an important indicator of the service’s performance. He believes there is still plenty of room for growth for Japan’s cashless economy.
“In 2022, Japan’s cashless payment rate was 36%,” he explains. “METI (Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) is aiming to bring this up to around 40% by 2025, towards an eventual goal of reaching a global standard of 80% in the future. So, we believe there is still plenty of room for growth. “
Ogawa sees a number of factors contributing to this trend. In 2019, the Japanese government launched a point loyalty scheme encouraging consumers to pay with cashless methods. The COVID-19 pandemic further spurred the adoption of contactless payments, while the recent rebound in Japan’s tourism and leisure industries is again seeing increased spending.
“There was some tailwind provided by the government’s cashless promotion,” he says. “The pandemic also contributed to the adoption and penetration of contactless payments. Recently, the adoption of systems like QR code payments and tap-to-pay is on the rise, so it certainly looks as though the cashless trend will continue into the future.”
The heart of Rakuten fintech
Rakuten operates a number of payment and fintech services in addition to Rakuten Card. Rakuten Pay allows members to pay at physical stores with codes on their phones, while Rakuten Edy has provided e-money payments for over 20 years.
Other fintech services such as Rakuten Securities and Rakuten Bank have also proved very popular among members in Japan, and Rakuten’s entire ecosystem is connected through Japan’s favorite loyalty program, Rakuten Points.
“Recently, we’ve been very focused on bolstering our collaborations with other Rakuten Group companies, and fostering our membership base by showing customers the benefits of the Rakuten Ecosystem.”
Members are evidently catching on. Rakuten Card’s shopping GTV outpaced Japan’s overall credit card sector to grow over 20% year-on-year through a combination of both increased spending within the Rakuten Ecosystem and in the wider economy.
Membership also continues to rise. As of April 2023, Rakuten Card had issued more than 28 million cards in Japan. Over two million of these came from customers issuing their second card.
Rakuten’s winning formula: The power of points
“I think that customers are attracted by the very simple product premise that we’ve offered since the beginning: one Rakuten Point for every 100 yen spent,” Ogawa conjectures. “I also believe that our point strategy is bearing fruit. We’re leveraging the strengths of the Rakuten Ecosystem to aid steady GTV and membership growth.”
Ogawa is confident that Rakuten Card will continue serving as a core pillar of the Rakuten Ecosystem.
“The Rakuten Group offers a full lineup of cashless services – credit card, e-money and QR code payments,” he says. “Leveraging our strengths as one of Japan’s biggest credit card companies with such a strong membership base, we aim to further strengthen integration with all of the Rakuten Group’s payment services and provide even more convenient services to support the lifestyles of each and every one of our customers.”


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Building Blocks Toy Store in Lakeview—a stalwart independent toy store and nominee for our Hipsqueak Awards—suffered severe water damage on Saturday, when the major storm swept through the area in the early afternoon. Building Blocks owner Katherine McHenry says the overwhelmed storm drains pushed about 400 gallons of water up through the store’s floor drain, culminating in three to four inches of rainwater collecting all the way to the store’s front door. She estimates the the damage could exceed $50,000, far above the $15,000 cap on her insurance policy.
Like most independent retailers, McHenry’s store obviously operates at a smaller margin than any chain, and during a brief phone interview, a distraught McHenry admitted she worried about the store’s future. Merchandise, supplies and displays were all damaged. On Sunday, she held a sidewalk sale to sell off most of the goods that had been affected but were still in good condition, but took in only $2,000.
“I’ve been really overwhelmed,” says McHenry, who was at home, nursing her six-month-old daughter when she received the call about the flood. “We cleared out the stuff that could be salvaged for a little bit of money, I couldn’t in good conscience throw things away that were playable, that weren’t damaged by the water.”
McHenry says the store may hold another sale to sell off the last of the salvaged merchandise this weekend. The store is back open for business, so folks who have enjoyed shopping there over the years can support the store. I asked McHenry—who opened the store 16 years ago—if any other sort of fund-raiser or benefit was planned, but she said she didn’t know, and is reluctant to put anything together.
“I want people to come here because they like what we offer, and because my staff is great and we remember their names,” she says. “On the one hand, I really appreciate everything, but on the other hand, it’s hard for me, I don’t want people to feel sorry for me.”
So in the meantime, if you like the store and want to help, you can go in and shop, or stop by this weekend for the sidewalk sale. We’ll keep you updated on any other efforts to help keep Building Blocks in business.


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Royal Caribbean's CEO won't be paid until September and other executives are taking 25% pay cuts as the coronavirus ravages the cruise industry (RCL)
Royal Caribbean said Wednesday that its CEO would forego his salary until September in the wake of the coronavirus. Other executives are taking a 25% pay cut as the pandemic brings the industry to its knees. Richard Fain, who has been the company's CEO for decades, will likely still see hefty compensation in the form of stock options. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Royal Caribbean's CEO has volunteered to not take a salary through the end of September, the company said Wednesday, with three other executives taking a 25% pay cut as the coronavirus pandemic causes a major headache for the cruise industry. Richard Fain, who has helmed the company since 1988, has a salary of $1.1 million, according to regulatory filings. However, his compensation also included a $3.5 million bonus and $5.8 million in non-cash pay. Coupled with his shares in the company, Fain took home almost $25 million in 2018. The other executives seeing a 25% pay cut include CFO Jason Liberty, Michael Bayley, CEO of Royal Caribbean International, and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO of Celebrity Cruises. "These reductions were made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative financial and operational impacts resulting therefrom," Royal Caribbean said. Wednesday's announcement comes after Royal Caribbean, alongside many of its major competitors, was forced to cease all sailings for the time being. "Cruise lines, as evidenced by the stocks, are in a world of hurt right now without a clear light at the end of the tunnel," Patrick Scholes, a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst, told Business Insider's Meghan Morris in March. Scholes said that with ships halted, the public companies could pay their financial obligations for the next six to nine months. "Under normal circumstances, that's not the end of the world; here the multitrillion question is when do ships start sailing again?" he said. To make matters worse, it's possible that cruise lines won't see a single cent of the massive financial aid package passed by the US government in response to the pandemic, thanks to their so-called flags of convenience. Under that practice, many cruise lines register their ships in foreign countries to skirt US regulations, like labor laws. "It would be very tough for politicians to defend the cruise industry getting a potential bailout when they don't pay US corporate taxes," Steve Wieczynski, an analyst at Stifel Financial, said in recent notes to clients. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: What it takes to be a first-class flight attendant for Emirates
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Cruise ships are being dismantled and sold as scrap metal due to the coronavirus pandemic all...Cruise ships are being dismantled and sold as scrap metal due to the coronavirus pandemic all but destroying the global cruise industry. Cruise ships were home to some of the earliest clusters of coronavirusThe industry has suffered a downturn due to the pandemicVessels from Britain, Italy and the United States have...
Carnival is selling 6 cruise ships after a $4.4 billion loss, a sign of the industry's bleak future in the coronavirus pandemic
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GAP & other sweatshops go on trial
Gap, Target, Levi Strauss: Pacific island workers' suit claims factories are
A suit over alleged sweatshop conditions on the island of Saipan is to go to trial
after a judge overruled complaints from major U.S. retailers, who said they were
not responsible for working conditions in factories that made their clothing.
"We won another important round today," said Al Meyerhoff, one of the lawyers
for the workers. "The Saipan workers are going to get their day in court. This case
is going to trial."
According to the lawyers, U.S. District Judge Alex R. Munson in Saipan said the
allegations, if proved in trial, were sufficient to establish the liability of both the
factories and retailers for engaging in a conspiracy to use indentured labour in
violation of racketeering laws.
The suit marks the first attempt to use federal racketeering laws to hold U.S.
companies accountable for mistreatment of workers in foreign-owned factories
operating on U.S. soil.
The defendants -- a host of the best-known clothing makers in the United States
-- are accused of allowing the mistreatment of thousands of workers on Saipan,
a Pacific island 2,000 kilometres south of Tokyo.
According to the complaint, the more than 13,000 garment workers on Saipan
often work 12-hour days, seven days a week, in unsafe, unclean conditions that
violate U.S. labour laws and international treaties.
The suit also claims Saipan garment factories employ foreign workers, primarily
young women from China, bound by contracts that effectively make them
The retailers, who include the Gap, Target, Levi Strauss and Co. had sought to be
freed from the suit, saying they were simply customers of Saipan factories and
not legally responsible for the actions of factory owners.
A spokesman for Target said the company did not comment on continuing
litigation but had specific and rigorous general policies on labour practices.
"We have a very clear-cut and definitive and aggressive policy that we adhere to
and our vendors very rigidly adhere to to ensure that working conditions in all of
our locations around the world are acceptable to our guidelines," said Douglas
Nineteen retailers have offered to settle the claims against them by agreeing to
adhere to a rigorous system of independent monitoring at the Saipan factories of
the contractors who produce their clothes.
The settlement would require retailers to ensure their factories comply with
strict employment standards. They would pledge, among other things, to pay
overtime for overtime work, provide safe food and water, and respect
employees' basic human rights.
Michael Rubin, another lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the judge had
asked for parts of the complaint to be repleaded to demonstrate more clearly
the direct involvement and control the retailers allegedly exert over the labour
agreements in the factories.
"We have to prove everything. We have to prove they have recruitment fees, we
have to prove that the factories exist," he said. "But the judge said that if you can
prove these facts that you allege, then you win."
National Post, October 31, 2001
Profile of quoted companies:
The Gap Inc.
Levi Strauss and Co.
The Transnational Corporations Observatory
13693 Martigues Cedex
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Blockchain Lockbox – First Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet
Blockchain has struck a deal with hardware wallet producer, Ledger, to manufacture a custom hardware device, Blockchain Lockbox, that will allow Blockchain users to manage their online and offline funds through a single familiar interface.
The Blockchain Lockbox, is according to an announcement, a “first-of-its-kind hardware and software” solution. Leveraging the strengths of both companies, the Lockbox will provide Blockchain users with a way to move a portion of their funds offline, further securing them from hacks, while also having the option to leave funds in the firm’s non-custodial web wallet, which can be accessed apart from the hardware device.
Peter Smith, CEO and co-founder of Blockchain said: “The Lockbox is a reflection of what our companies both do best. We’ve created an elegant software and hardware integration that offers more functionality than previously existed in our space. We’re thrilled to offer the Lockbox to Blockchain users so they can easily manage their funds online and offline seamlessly,”
The device likely utilizes Ledger Nano S hardware, though it features custom Blockchain firmware rather than the standard version. Ledger said deliveries of the device, which is now available for preorder for $99.99, should begin in mid-November.
Pascal Gauthier, president of Ledger.said: “With stories about crypto hacking continuing to dominate headlines, it’s obvious that security must be top of mind for all stakeholders in the crypto space, With the combined forces of Blockchain and Ledger, users are truly getting the best of both worlds. Our partnership with Blockchain is the first of its kind, but as two companies hyper-focused on crypto security, it’s one that’s a natural fit.”


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Whether most consumers will ultimately use Alexa or Siri or some other voice-activated device to make purchases may depend crucially on how much money is at risk.
As it turns out, slightly more than half of U.S. consumers would be comfortable using the technology to pay for relatively small-ticket goods and services. But higher-value purchases are another story. Only 20% like the idea using a voice-activated device to pay for a vacation or to book flights, for example.
These are some of the results of the latest “Lost in Transaction” survey report released Tuesday by Paysafe Group, a United Kingdom-based merchant processor with major operations in the United States. In all, the report includes responses on a variety of payments technologies from 6,197 persons across the U.S. as well as Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, and the U.K. Of these, 1,042 were U.S. respondents.
Generally speaking, the report suggests things are looking up for the role of voice technology in payments. The survey found that some 12% of U.S. respondents have already used the technology to authenticate themselves for an online purchase. And 54% feel that voice is “quicker and more convenient” than so-called traditional techniques, “suggesting an increasing acceptance of voice-activated systems in consumers’ lives,” Paysafe’s report says.
But respondents also want some other identifier to go along with their voice. Sixty-four percent said combinations such as voice and fingerprint would give them more reassurance about online transactions. And a whopping 81% say they would be most reassured if they could include a password.
The lingering doubts about the security of voice show up not only in the hesitance about using the method to pay for big-ticket items but also in consumers’ attitudes about the impact the technology could have on the security of their financial data. Just 39% of U.S. respondents would “trust their financial information is secure,” for example, when using voice. The same percentage say they don’t want companies to be able to access their biometric profiles.


text: Can we have faith that the EU Customs Union is moving in the right direction and try to retain our membership? I would argue no and nothing better illustrates this than the latest sorry tale over oranges. Last month, the EU quietly increased eight tariffs on imported oranges from third party countries from 3.2% to 16.0% – a staggering fivefold increase. But why? Well it seems the world’s fifth largest producer of citrus fruits, Spain, has taken very badly to the removing of import tariffs on citrus fruits from South Africa. And questions were raised by Spanish MEPs in the European Parliament on what do about it like; Does the Commission undertake to monitor on a monthly basis the export and sale of South African citrus fruit in the EU during the European harvesting season? What safeguards are provided for in the agreement to protect European citrus fruit production? Does the Commission intend to introduce measures benefiting European citrus fruit growers to offset the effects of concessions to South Africa? I suppose you could say they are just doing their job and defending their constituents’ vested interests. They got their “safeguards” and “measures”. And to be fair, some tariffs also fell during the last month as well. (You can always run a report here to look at the changes, new tariffs between different dates and many others). What troubles me, however, is how well this illustrates the primacy of producer interests given by the Commission over consumer ones. This is a trend. Why else have the total number of tariffs in force increased by nearly 1,500 since 2009 and with annual tariff revenues increasing from £2.6 to £3.1 billion? I don’t suppose for a moment, any EU consumers were consulted about whether they wanted to pay more to subsidise Spanish orange farmers. And I doubt even more that British consumers would choose to either. Naturally it helps that we don’t have the climate and no one has tried to grow oranges here since the repeal of the window tax in 1851 led to a boom in orangeries. But these tariffs do matter on at least two levels. Firstly, oranges are a component of CPI inflation compiled by the Office of National Statistics. Prices are going to go up. Secondly and more profoundly, wouldn’t it be better trade development economics for us to buy more oranges from poorer nations? Instead through this action, we seem to be impoverishing them and raising their barriers to entry for access to the Single European Market. What this episode really shows is the ongoing cost, rising bureaucracy and unpredictability of belonging to the Customs Union. Staying in the Customs Union is emphatically not a vote for the status quo. If we must have tariffs in the post-Brexit world, supply chains need tariff level stability. But as this latest change shows, the Customs Union doesn’t give you that. Clearly with dozens of tariffs like these changing and even being added every month, that is not on the agenda. All of which make it much harder for both suppliers and importers to build a trade business case with this kind of unpredictable, ever-changing tariff wall. Sadly, producer interests are all too frequently the basis for so many of the 12,651 import tariffs that form part of the External Tariff Wall. Consumers – a disparate and diverse group at the best of times – are simply no competition for the concentrated lobbying power of companies in Brussels. But if Brexit is primarily about the democratic restoration of the country, we should clearly start setting a path that puts consumers first. That’s why on Day one of Brexit, all tariffs on oranges must be “repeeled”. As and until we leave the Customs Union, with these orange tariffs and many others, it’s bitter lemons for consumers.