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Explore our latest resource – DataGrail’s Official Guide to CCPA – to stay up-to-date on all things California Privacy.
DataGrail is back with our annual CCPA benchmark report, the State of the CCPA, for the second year in a row.
We help companies build robust programs by automating the process of completing privacy requests (otherwise known as data subject requests) and data mapping. Giving us unparalleled insights into how privacy is evolving, particularly how fast people and businesses are adapting.
This report analyzed how many data subject requests (DSRs) were processed throughout 2021 across our customers, resulting in a robust industry benchmark of what to expect as the ripple effect of data privacy regulations takes hold.
With our second annual CCPA report, we can reflect on what happened over a broader data set while spotting new trends taking shape. This post features just a sampling of the insights covered in depth in the full report.
- The number of Data Subject Requests (DSRs) nearly doubled year over year.
- The cost of processing Data Subject Requests more than doubled!
- On average, 26-50 employees are involved in the manual processing of DSRs.
- DSRs are coming from every state—regardless of whether they have a privacy law enacted or not.
Deletion & Do-Not-Sell Requests Are On The Rise
2021 saw a dramatic uptick in the volume of DSRs. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but broad consumer awareness was likely a significant factor.
The Manual Cost of Privacy Compliance Skyrocketed for Many Businesses
Cost based upon our proprietary data and Gartner’s recent research. In just a year, the manual cost of processing DSRs jumped from $192,000 to almost $400,000 (per 1M identities). If this trend continues, the cost of privacy compliance will become an increasing portion of many businesses bottom line.
Privacy Expert Spotlights
In addition, to our first-party data, the CCPA report includes first-hand insights from the industry’s privacy leaders. Read how industry leaders like Crossbeam and Overstock.com approach privacy and secure savings.
CPRA Is Expected To Increase Costs
The CPRA will increase privacy costs for many companies in 2023.
One of the many advocate criticisms of CCPA was that it only enabled an opt-out for the selling of personal data but not sharing it. Companies like Facebook took advantage of this lack of clarity and did not offer users the option to opt-out.
The CPRA closes the “selling” vs. “sharing” loophole and clarifies that organizations must give people the option to opt-out of their data is sold or shared with a third party for advertising purposes. This suggests that companies that have yet to offer DNS—but are required to do so in 2023 because of CPRA—will see a considerable jump in the number of requests they receive. Organizations that share personal data for advertising purposes should prepare for a massive uptick in DNS requests in 2023.
Even before those changes go into effect, there has been incredible growth in the amount of Do Not Sell Requests executed by consumers/data subjects.
Use CCPA Trends to Build a World-Class Privacy Program
Keeping a pulse on privacy trends, and being adaptable, will help to ensure that your company will not fall behind the pack. If you want even more CCPA data and tips from privacy leaders, download the full report to take your privacy program to the next level. Here’s a look at the Table of Contents to get a sampling of what you can expect.


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- Almost all MSMEs interested in restarting their factories
- MSMEs fear harassment from local administration if anyone gets coronavirus
- Detailed guidelines for re-starting economic activities to be issued on Wednesday
- Permission to re-start some activities will be withdrawn if lockdown rules are broken
Amid signals of allowing economic activities in certain sectors to ease the pain of workers, small and medium firms fear harassment by local authorities in case any employee is found coronavirus positive. They want the government to ensure that factory-owners are not subjected to harassment or retribution for no mistake of theirs.
While stating that all micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are ready to re-open their factories and establishments, the industry body has noted that local administration draws draconian powers under Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and harassment cannot be ruled out.
"Keeping in view that the local administration draws draconian powers under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, MSME owners fear that harassment and retribution if somebody is found positive in the factory. Such fears must be allayed," Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) has written to the administrative ministry.
In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that government would closely monitor every town, police station, district and state to see how much the lockdown was being followed. Their strict adherence to the social distancing norms and lockdown would be noted.
Based on its assessment, the government could relax lockdown restrictions in certain areas which have little or no chance of turning into coronavirus hot-spot. Certain economic activities in these areas could be allowed provided social distancing norms are strictly followed.
In its suggestions to the MSME ministry, FISME has said that only those industries should be allowed to re-open which could ensure adherence to social distancing, provide personal hygiene and protective gear and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) for workers.
"Manufacturing is a long complex supply chain and need all kinds of products and services including ancillary units, packaging units, engineering services like moulds and dies, shops located in industrial estates etc. It is impossible to predict absence of which product or service could stop the production chain," the FISME said while making its recommendations on strategy to resume production.
On co-ordination and management with local authorities, the industry body said that the present practice of managing control through district magistrates (DMs) and superintendent of police (SP) is not efficient.
"They are over-burdened with law and order and other pressing duties related to COVID-19. Permits/ approvals etc for opening up, movement and operation, transportation during the period could be divested to a committee comprising of GM-DIC (General Manager, District Industries Centre) and prominent associations of the area," it has suggested.
Meanwhile, the ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus has been extended to May 3 taking the total lockdown days to 40, during which only essential economic activities are permitted.
However, a detailed guideline will be issued by the government on Wednesday for re-starting certain economic activities from April 20.
In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi has stressed that the permission to allow these activities will be conditional and the rules for going out will be very strict. "Permission will be withdrawn immediately if lockdown rules are broken, and spread of coronavirus risked," the Prime Minister said.

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GlaxoSmithKline agrees to $105M settlement
Illinois share from drug complaints is $5.1M
Illinois will receive $5.1 million from a $105 million, multistate settlement with GlaxoSmithKline over the company’s promotion of asthma and antidepressant drugs.
Attorneys general in 45 states, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, accused the company of violating consumer-protection laws by misrepresenting proper uses and qualities for Advair, Paxil and Wellbutrin, and for marketing the drugs for “off label” uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Advair is used in treatment of asthma. Paxil and Wellbutrin are antidepressants.
According to the complaint, consumers with mild asthma were steered to Advair, even though significantly cheaper alternatives were available and the FDA did not approve the use.
The company also was accused of promoting Paxil as safe and effective for children and teens, in spite of clinical trials to the contrary.
In addition to marketing to children without FDA approval, according to the complaint, the company marketed Wellbutrin for “off label” uses such as weight loss, addiction, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and bipolar disorder.
“This settlement will put a stop to the illegal marketing practices the company used to boost its sales,” Madigan said in an announcement of the settlement.
The settlement also requires GlaxoSmithKline to continue for five years its “Patient First Program” of reduced incentives to pharmaceutical representatives to encourage sales of certain drugs.


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India’s manufacturing activity expands, but demand slows: IHS Markit
A survey by analytics firm IHS Markit showed that manufacturing activity increased in August. The pace of growth remained muted due to the pandemic’s impact on demand.
A survey by analytics firm IHS Markit showed that manufacturing activity increased in August but, the pace of growth remained muted due to the pandemic’s impact on demand.
It showed that the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector declined to 52.3 in August from 55.3 in July, separating expansion in activity from contraction.
While some companies reported growth backed by favourable market conditions and fruitful advertising, others reported a fall in sales due to the pandemic. There was an increase in new export orders, but the growth lost momentum. Indian manufacturers
also signalled a rise in cost burden.
In terms of employment, uncertainty regarding growth prospects, spare capacity, and efforts to keep a lid on expenses led to a hiring freeze in August.
Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director, IHS Markit, said the 12-month outlook for production remains positive. But the confidence has faded amid worries of the pandemic, the impact of rising costs on companies’ finances and a lack of pricing power.


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BT and PlusNet have become the first internet service providers to cut the price of their broadband deals following the recently announced VAT reduction, prompting speculation that other companies could follow suit.
The announcements come after the Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling confirmed that VAT is to be cut from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent. The move is on a temporary basis and is intended to stimulate consumer spending and shore up the flagging economy.
Both companies have responded to the news by cutting the cost of their broadband packages for existing and new customers. As of Monday (December 1st), BT’s Option 1 will be cut in price from £7.95 to £7.78 for the first three months and from £15.99 to £15.65 thereafter. This package offers a free wireless home hub and UK calls and a monthly usage limit of up to 10GB. There is also the option to sign up for the BT Vision on-demand digital TV service.
The Option 2 deal will fall from £13.99 to £13.69 for the first three months and from £20.99 to £20.54 for the remainder of the contract. Customers get a free wireless home hub, free off-peak UK calls, a 15GB usage limit and optional BT Vision and TV recorder.
Finally, Option 3 will be available for £18.59 – down from £18.99 - for the initial three months and will be down from £24.99 to £24.46 thereafter. Included in this offer is a free wireless Home Hub, a Hub Phone, free mobile and UK calls, unlimited downloads and optional BT Vision and TV recorder.
The company has also applied the reduction to its mobile broadband offering. The Broadband Anywhere package will be priced at £23.99 for the first three months and £29.35 after this point. Features of this deal include unlimited usage, a free Home Hub, Hub Phone and a BT ToGo handset.
All three of the deals promise broadband speeds of up to 8Mb and are available with a £20 discount when ordered online.
PlusNet has also cut the cost of its broadband packages by the full 2.5 per cent, as the company looks to expand its subscriber base from its present level of around 200,000. The move brings it’s the monthly cost of its Option 1, 2 and 3 deals down to £9.75, £14.65 and £19.55 respectively. The Essential offering, meanwhile, will have a new price of £6.65 per month.
A statement from the ISP read: “Plusnet will pass on the benefit of this reduction to all our customers from 1st December including subscription contracts signed from today.
“It is Plusnet’s intention that all customers will benefit from the change to VAT, even where those customers have been billed or paid in advance for services to be consumed from 1st of December, and we will be adjusting customer’s bills as appropriate.”
The announcements have prompted calls for other broadband providers to emulate the cuts. However, industry experts have posited that some companies may opt instead to use the cut to increase download limits or simply use the cut to mitigate the impact of cost increases that have affected them.
Given the pressure on household finances, it might be assumed that consumers would welcome a cut. Yet opinion on messageboards is divided as to whether the surplus income would be better directed at improving customer service and invested in delivering faster broadband speeds.
Jessica McArdle, web editor at Top 10 Broadband, said that the savings delivered to customers were a great “show of faith” on behalf of both companies at a time when consumers are struggling with soaring household bills and higher loan repayments.


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Saturday, April 30, 2011
Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 - a limited edition 500 bhp RSR racecar for the road: "There aren't many vehicles which can be guaranteed instant classics the moment they're announced, but the Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 announced overnight, is one of them."
Posted by steve at 2:49 PM
ORIGIN PC EON17-S laptop claims highest mobile processor clock speed in the world: "Not too long ago, overclocking a processor to squeeze out every last drop of performance was the domain of relatively few dedicated hardware or gaming enthusiasts, but is now becoming more and more commonplace."
Posted by steve at 2:45 PM
GigaPan Time Machine lets users travel through time - in digital images: "For the past couple of years, people wishing to create ultra-high-resolution panoramic photographs have been able to do so, using their own digital camera and a GigaPan robotic tripod. The device slowly pans the camera back and forth across a user-determined vista, triggering it to take up to several hundred shots in the process."
Posted by steve at 2:41 PM
Namib Beetle inspires new 'fog harvesting' research: "For years, people living in high-altitude or coastal arid countries have been collecting drinking water by harvesting fog. More specifically, they've mounted pieces of fine netting over top of containers, left the setup overnight, then collected the fog droplets that got caught in the net and rolled down its fibers into the container."
Posted by steve at 2:40 PM
Study says 71% of European drivers need more air in their tires: "With the spotlight shining on of hybrid vehicles, kinetic energy recovery systems and stop start functionality, it's easy to forget that a very effective way to reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions is right in front of us – ai"
Posted by steve at 2:26 PM


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After a brief early summer rally, the Sedona Real Estate Market slipped back into the placid patterns that had been characteristic of it in the spring: generally under-performing previous years yet steadily getting healthier.
The Single Family Residence sector showed slow sales numbers, but modest price advances. This year’s home sales, through July, lag 2015 by about 6%. Unfortunately, 2015 was the slowest year for sales since 2009. So, that makes 2016 look even more sluggish. The good news for sellers, though, is that prices continue to rebound, as they have since the Market Bottom in 2011. That summer, the Median Recorded Sales Price hit $330,000. This summer, it’s about $461,500. Back then, the Average Price Per Square Foot of the Solds was $171. Now, it’s about $225. Compared with 2015, the MRSP is up now about 6% and the Average $/Sq. Ft. is up 3%.
So, despite slow sales, the Sedona Single Family Residence Market is showing consistent long-term strength. And, speaking of market health, foreclosures and short-sales continue to be fewer and farther between. Back in 2011, 40 percent of homes in Sedona sales were distressed. Now, 2.7 percent. And, they’re also gone from the Sedona Luxury Home Market entirely and even from the long-suffering Vacant Land Market.
Sedona home sales year to date
Vacant land sector up from last year
Luxury market strong opportunity for buyers
Speaking of suffering markets, the Luxury Sector (homes over one million dollars) continues to plod along at roughly half the number of sales seen in 2015. Unfortunately for those sellers, we’re not seeing rising prices as compensation. In fact, the Average $/Sq.Ft. of those homes sold so far in 2016 is roughly $306. That’s a sharp drop from Summer 2015 when that figure was $377. Seems that the best that can be said of the luxury market right now is that it represents a strong opportunity for buyers. My sense is that we could well see a resurgence in the sector once the election is concluded.
As we’ve said so often, vacant land in the Sedona area is a non-renewable resource.
After a rather disastrous year in 2015, the Sedona Vacant Land Sector is finally seeing a bit of movement this year, albeit rather a modest one. Sales are up over 8 percent so far in 2016. Prices, though, are not following suit; they’re down about 10% at the moment. Being a land investor these days requires a lot of patience. As we’ve said so often, vacant land in the Sedona area is a non-renewable resource. It will, eventually, disappear and in the process prices will spike sharply. When that will happen is anyone’s guess. Mine is that, once home prices escalate to the point that it’s no longer cheaper to buy an existing home than to buy land and build, land prices will take off like a shot. When buyers realize, as Will Rogers once said, “Buy land. God ain’t making no more of it.,” we’ll see a final land rush. Meanwhile, patience is a virtue.


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US: Chico’s CFO Charles Kleman to leave
Charles J Kleman, whose tenure at Chico's FAS has spanned its transformation from small local retailer to national specialty chain, plans to step down as the firm's executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer as soon as a successor can be selected.
Chico's has begun a national search for his replacement.
Kleman intends to remain involved in investor relations and financial modelling for Chico's and will chair Chico's Charities, the philanthropic group started by the company last year.
Kleman said: "It has been a pleasure to work with everyone in the Chico's family as CFO for the past 18 years and I am gratified to be part of the team that has accomplished so much over my time here, as we moved from a struggling, small retailer in the 80s and 90s to a public company that prides itself on creating a work environment promoting honesty, ethics and treatment of every employee and customer with respect and fairness."
However, he added: "This company has ambitions that, frankly, could benefit from executive skills that I'm not necessarily in a position to bring to the table."
Scott Edmonds, president and chief executive officer of Chico's, commented: "There is simply no way to describe what Charlie has meant to the Chico's organisation. He has been instrumental in creating our unique culture and will always be a part of the company's DNA."
Kleman's decision comes less than two months after Marvin and Helen Gralnick, the founders of the specialty store company focused on mature women, resigned from its board and Michael Weiss succeeded Marvin Gralnick as chairman.
Chico's operates 920 stores under brands including Chico's, White House|Black Market, Soma by Chico's and Fitigues.
By Arnold J Karr.
Help test our new apparel sourcing tool.
The following is a general roundup of apparel and shoe chains' June 2007 sales results. The list will be updated as new results become available....
Women's specialty retailer Chico's FAS reported a drop in its first quarter profits on a flat gross margin rate and lower comparable-store sales....
Michael P Sherman, founder of Crosstown Traders and former president of Fingerhut Companies, has joined investment bank Peter J Solomon Co as a senior advisor specialising in multi-channel retailing....
Women's specialty store chain Cache has hired Philip Morris as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Morris had consulted with the firm since January but officially joined on 19 March....
Years of almost uninterrupted expansion came to an abrupt halt Tuesday (6 March) as Chico's FAS reported a steep decline in fourth-quarter profits and a dip in February same-store sales and said it wo...
The former chief executive of Tommy Hilfiger and Lands' End is joining the board of directors of Chico's FAS....
Marvin and Helen Gralnick have resigned from the board of directors of Chico's FAS, the specialty store they founded in 1983, and Michael Weiss has been named to succeed Marvin Gralnick as chairman of...
Chico's FAS Inc is struggling to regain its mojo. Late Tuesday (28 November), the company reported lower profits for its third quarter and a continuation of its quarterly drop in same-store sales with...
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- Anti-odour clothing: fresh fashion for an active lifestyle
- Global market review of lingerie – forecasts to 2022


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More From Noor Lobad
The brand's first foundation launch in years has an 80 percent serum base.
The four-product range prioritizes the needs of kids with textured hair types.
Plus, the top U.S. beauty companies by VC raised to date, according to data from Pitchbook.
Fekkai and Hairstory have new CEO's, while BeautyStat has tapped its first chief marketing officer.
From DJing at Diesel to performing at Coachella, music was the multihyphenate's first love.
The customizable hair care brand is taking aim at the prestige channel.
The bag is available through Sept. 9 at Ulta Beauty.
A list of all the beauty brand retail expansions in 2023.
Crush Balls will be available for purchase beginning Tuesday.
Cofounded by a beauty veteran and a former professional tennis player, the brand is launching Oct. 2 with…
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The Gen Z-loved skin care brand is forging its next frontier.


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Russia and Iran have re dusted the more than century old project aimed at connecting the Caspian and Arabian seas utilising Iran's rivers and also building two artificial canals. s mod fashion Trainers What's On Prev March 2016 Next SMTWTFS2829123456789101112March 12, 2016xThe Nu Beat Club 3rd Anniversary in Manchester131415161718March 18, 2016xJazz Goes Mod. 23 hours ago by Natalie Gagliordi in StoragePure Storage delivers solid Q4, revenue up 128 percentPure Storage CEO Scott Dietzen aid the company grew its customer base by 120 percent over the past year thanks to the growing popularity of flash and cloud friendly storage.
t know about Mrs Donald TrumpPeopleiPhone SE: possible price and features leakedTechnologyTrending TopicsIslamic StateGold priceEU ReferendumJeremy ClarksonJeremy CorbynOil price Daily BriefingTen things you need to know today In partnership with Rolex Migrant camp '. People Tree: 10% off all year round with an NUS card Phoenix Software: Heavily discounted software packages (Microsoft Office, Windows 7, Adobe, Norton) for all registered UK students Pizza Hut: 20% off full price menu in Restaurants and Delivery with NUS Extra card (Sunday Thursday only. The app features over 400 species, including mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, frogs and invertebrates.
??Alfred Wiener, founder of the Wiener Library, had already been documenting Nazi crimes for many years when news of the November Pogrom first reached him and his colleagues in Amsterdam, which had been their place of refuge from Nazi persecution since 1933. Mr Pringle said he plans to taxidermy the prize fish as a permanent reminder of his remarkable catch. The classrooms had machines like the BBC Micro, and RM 380Z, with very little software (if any), and few teachers that had a clue what to do with them.


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Rowan University and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development are collaborating on an apprentice program to help people learn the skills necessary for a career in the state’s marijuana industry.
Officials with both say this is a great way for people to get started on a new career.
A Morris County town has denied its first application for a medical marijuana dispensary after having approved medicinal sales earlier this year.
Madison's council voted just after midnight against the proposal from First Choice Health & Wellness to open a medical dispensary on Main Street.
Passionate residents on both sides of the argument made their voices heard on Monday night.
New York's Office of Cannabis Management has issued temporary guidelines for recreational marijuana delivery in order to speed up the process.
Under the rules, businesses with marijuana licenses will be able to deliver products before their dispensary is built. Orders will only be taken online or over the phone.
New Jersey’s cannabis industry continues to take shape with several new developments. And the latest thing could be cannabis consumption lounges. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved proposed rules at its meeting last Friday that would allow any cannabis retailer to have indoor or outdoor enclosed consumption lounges. Under the rules, the lounges would be open to those 21 or older, and no alcohol or tobacco would be permitted. Just like the state’s breweries and wineries, no food would be sold on-site but customers could bring in food.
A plan to make cannabis dispensaries less regulated in one Monmouth County community may be creating a cannabis free-for-all that could last five years.
Cannabis farmers in New York waiting for the state to roll out licenses to sell weed have stocked up $750M of the drug and currently have nowhere to sell it, according to a new report.
According to a report in Bloomberg, growers have nearly 300,000 pounds of the drug waiting to be sold to customers statewide but are still waiting on the state's Office of Cannabis Management to approve retail dispensaries.
"The goal is to open dispensaries by the end of this year."
— Aaron Ghitelman, spokesperson for the New York Office of Cannabis Management
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission is hoping to achieve that by using the social equity excise fees the state puts on cannabis sold by the ounce, which up to now has been based on medical sales. Starting next year, the fees will be based on sales of recreational marijuana and will be about $1.52 per ounce.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked New York from issuing recreational marijuana dispensary licenses in Brooklyn and parts of upstate New York while a legal challenge to the state's selection process is being considered.
Hundreds of businesses in New Jersey are one step closer to fully operating in the cannabis industry. Last month, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved nearly 300 additional conditional licenses, bringing the total to date to about 800. The CRC also approved the first 18 annual licenses.
After the meeting, on Thursday, Nov. 3, the Hunterdon Review received a notification of intent for legal action by the NAR Group and requesting "automatic approval" of the application for a medical cannabis facility.


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News by Andrew Kameka on Thursday October 11, 2012.
|Sponsored links, if any, appear in green.|
Netflix has reached a settlement with a hearing-impaired rights group that will require the video subscription service to supply closed-captioning for all its video content by 2014. The agreement stems from a National Association for the Deaf lawsuit filed in 2010. The NAD sued Netflix because Netflix did not offer captions for deaf consumers, which the group claimed was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Following a judge's ruling siding with the NAD, Netflix has agreed to caption its entire video library by 2014.
According to the agreement, Netflix will set the following benchmarks for its compliance goal:
- 90 percent of all new and existing videos will get captions in 2013
- 100 percent of all new and existing videos will get captions in 2014
- New videos will get captions within 30 days in 2014, 14 days in 2015, and 7 days in 2016
Netflix already has captions for 82 percent of its existing video library. The company has pledged to extend support to its entire catalog within the next two years, and it will work to make captions available across devices. Netflix mobile apps already support subtitles, and the company said that it will make "good faith, diligent efforts" to make captions accessible on any device with a Netflix app.source: Ars Technica
Andrew is based in Miami, Florida.


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ROME — The global recession has led to red ink and dramatic change at Sixty SpA, but company founder, chairman and creative director Wichy Hassan has the benefit of perspective.
Acknowledging the challenges facing his company, but adding they have “galvanized” him, Hassan recalled his family’s flight from Libya in 1969 after Muammar Gadhafi’s overthrow of the monarchy. He was a child when the family was forced to leave home and fortune behind.
“My parents had to literally start all over again here,” Hassan said during an interview in his sprawling terraced apartment with a stunning view of the Roman skyline. “I’ve seen worse.”
The last couple of years have been difficult. Sixty SpA, which Hassan and chief executive officer Renato Rossi founded in 1989, reported its first loss last year of 19.5 million euros, or $28.6 million, compared with a profit of 9.6 million euros, or $13.1 million, in 2007. Sales dropped to 645 million euros, or $948.1 million, in 2008 from 700 million euros, or $959 million, the previous year. The company anticipates sales will fall this year to 550 million euros, or $735.5 million, representing a 21.4 percent slide from 2007.
Sixty SpA, which produces the Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah, RefrigiWear, Murphy & Nye, Baracuta and Richlu labels, carries a significant debt load. At the end of 2008, debt totaled 404.5 million euros, or $594.6 million, down from 492.7 million euros, or $675 million, at the end of 2007. Currency figures have been converted from the average exchange rates for the periods to which they refer.
The firm’s performance in major global markets has also faltered. The group’s U.K. branch was forced into administration, a British bankruptcy process, in October 2008. After renegotiating contracts with retailers and landlords of its 12 branded stores, Sixty UK exited administration in April.
In September, Sixty announced it was outsourcing management of Miss Sixty and Energie stores in the U.S. to Canadian retailer Aldo Group.
“Our stores in the U.S. have not been working for the past five or six years because they were mismanaged, and the simplest thing would have been to close everything, but I’ve always been excited about the American market,” Hassan said. “We have the best windows in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and I couldn’t just give it up. Aldo is fantastic; they have a total vision of the territory, and I have great faith we can do a lot together.”
The majority of Sixty’s U.S. business is generated by its 14 full-price and six outlet stores, as its wholesale business has been challenged by the weak retail climate. The company recently closed two full-price stores in Honolulu and Dallas. The U.S. retail-wholesale ratio is a departure from Sixty’s worldwide business, where 80 percent of sales come from wholesale and 20 percent from retail.
Hassan was especially unhappy about forgoing Miss Sixty’s runway show during New York Fashion Week in September, but viewed it as a necessary step. The company had staged a big-budget show in New York for seven previous seasons.
“It was not only a cost-cutting issue, but a sign toward our clients and our company workers,” he said. “We can’t be detached from the reality and the catwalk felt unnecessary and presumptuous.”
Hassan was noncommittal about future presentations. His plans for breathing new life into Sixty are straightforward and already under way.
“It’s time to be more concrete,” he said.
The company’s wholesale and retail operations have been restructured, new licensing agreements and retail partnerships have been inked and tighter cost controls are being implemented. For example, deliveries of the spring collection to retailers that could not guarantee payment were halted.
Hassan is working with unions and the government to keep Sixty’s 500 employees at its Chieti, Italy, headquarters. An agreement has been reached that will see reduced Friday hours for 70 workers and have part of their salaries paid with government funds for eight weeks.
Despite a few sleepless nights, Hassan remains positive about the future. Sixty’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will grow in 2009 to 50 million euros, or $68.5 million, compared with 35.7 million euros, or $52.4 million, in 2008.
“It’s a small, but a very relevant signal,” Hassan said.
Although Hassan conceded Sixty is courted by potential suitors and Italy’s Unicredit bank is said to be interested in taking a stake in the company, no specific deal is in the works.
To contain costs, Hassan has streamlined production, shutting a factory in Padova, Italy, that produced Murphy & Nye merchandise. Since last year, 40 underperforming stores have been shuttered while 115 units have opened.
The group has signed new Miss Sixty licenses with Alcatel for its first portable phone and with the Italian home textile firm Gabel for bed and bath linens reproducing Miss Sixty’s iconic psychedelic, colorful prints or used denim looks. These collections will be unveiled in February and will be in stores in March or April. Miss Sixty also counts an eyewear license with Marcolin and a jewelry and watch license with Morellato.
On the retail front, Sixty has signed a distribution agreement with Gupta H.C. Overseas to open 150 accessories stores in India during the next five years. The first opened in Delhi last month. The company has also joined forces with Max Oriental to open Miss Sixty accessories stores in Asia and with Foshan to launch Killah shoe stores in China. With IBPL, Sixty has signed a license to distribute Energie and Killah footwear in South America and Asia, excluding China. The Italian company has opened 30 stores in China in the last two years, bringing the total to 99.
Next year, 10 more stores are expected to open in China. Units in Paris and Lisbon are also in the works. The group counts 331 stores.
“There are signals showing improvements in retail, such as a 23 percent growth in China, and sales picking up 6 percent in Germany, which has always been an important market for us,” Hassan said.
A temporary Energie store will also open in Milan’s central Corso Venezia on Sunday, with art and graffiti shows taking place in that venue. Italy accounts for 44 percent of sales.
Hassan said he is getting more involved with the wholesale side of the business, giving additional guidance on direction and providing capsule collections.
“Wholesale is like an old boxing champ that has been hit a lot and does not know exactly where to go,” he said.
Fit, special detailing and a good balance of products remain a priority.
“I’m anxious, but I also feel galvanized and this crisis makes me want to work more,” Hassan said. “After all, my company is my life.”


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Japanese HD recording media company Showa Denko (SDK) has announced that its next-gen super fine Fe-Pt magnetic alloy films are ready for commercialisation. In brief its new media should enable HDD makers to boost capacities of 3.5-inch HDDs towards 70 or 80TB.
World data generation is set to grow >40 per cent year on year spurring on the need for HDDs, or other data storage tech, with ever greater capacities. With this in mind SDK has developed a next gen HD media for HAMR-based HDDs to use.
SDK appears to have finalised its first set of new HD media films and is looking to work with HDD makers in its commercialisation as it ramps up for full-scale supply. The new films use a Fe-Pt magnetic alloy with a new structure of magnetic layers. It says this process results in "magnetic coercivity several times as high as the existing most-advanced HD media, while achieving low noise due to very small crystal grain size and optimized grain size distribution control".
Looking at some numbers to back up the claims of SDK, we are told that the conventional magnetic recording (CMR) methods used today deliver a recording density of approx. 1.14Tb/in2. The new HAMR-based HD media will achieve recording density of 5-6Tb/in2 in the future, says SDK. Thus using the same number of platters the resulting 3.5-inch HDDs should be able to achieve 70 to 80TB per unit.
While SDK is the world's largest independent maker of platters for hard drives, big players like Seagate and WD prefer to use in-house designed and made media to keep costs down. Toshiba plans to use SDK's 2TB MAMR (microwave-assisted magnetic recording) platters for its 18TB HDDs later this year but hasn't indicated any timescale for moving to HAMR.
Our last look at a major HDD maker's roadmap, 14 months ago, saw Seagate predicting 100TB HDDs by 2025. It will be interesting to see if SDK's very small crystal grain size and optimised grain size distribution HD films will help storage makers improve on this.
Source: Showa Denko via AnandTech


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‘YELLOW BELLIES’ across the county all did their bit to help celebrate Lincolnshire Day.
The special day saw a wide range of events to celebrate the history and traditions of the county - from dressing in yellow to tasting Lincolnshire Sausages.
Youngster at White Woods Lane Community Primary School were also in on the action.
“We asked our children to come to school dressed for our Yellow Belly theme and also held an ‘eat with your child’ session,” said school business manager Rachel Ward.
“We invited parents, family friends and local residents along to come and enjoy a special Lincolnshire menu meal where we had all sorts - including Lincolnshire Sausages, beef and potato pie and a special Yellow Belly pudding.”
She added: “The kids all had a fantastic time and the parents really enjoyed getting stickers for good table manners and clearing their plates!”
Gainsborough Co-op also got into the spirit of things.
As well as launching a new beer from a Spalding brewery, they held a range of Lincolnshire-themed activities.
Gainsborough store manager Peter Thurlow said: “We’re in the heart of Gainsborough so we’re in a great position to get people involved and excited about Lincolnshire Day.”
“The event is an opportunity for us all to shout about what’s special about Lincolnshire – at the home store, we’re promoting food, through tastings and special Yellow belly baps made by our coffee shop, but we’re also promoting other local producers, such as the Boston-based duvet and pillow manufacturer Fogarty and Lebus, which crafts furniture in Scunthorpe.”


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Much-needed help for High Street businesses to reopen has been announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Sunak announced a £5billion plan to help shops and hospitality firms to reopen their doors, with grants worth up to £18,000 per business becoming available.
The so-called restart grants will replace the current monthly grant system, and will be distributed by local authorities directly to eligible businesses from April. It is thought that up to 700,000 firms will benefit, including shops, hotels, restaurants, hair and beauty salons, gyms and other hospitality businesses. Non-essential shops and businesses offering outdoor hospitality will be allowed to re-open from April 12th under the current government timetable.
Mr Sunak said the measures would give small businesses the “support they need to get them through, get them back on their feet.” Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the scheme as a “much-needed lifeline” in the face of a huge shift to online shopping and the loss of up to 180,000 retailing jobs over the last twelve months.
A group of MPs is also calling on Mr Sunak to introduce a “loss carry-back” scheme, which would allow previously profitable businesses and self-employed workers to offset losses incurred during the pandemic and enable them to claim a refund against corporation tax already paid.
Bretherton Law has been serving people and businesses in Hertfordshire for over 50 years. If you are buying or selling business premises, looking to lease a new property, or subject to a rent review our experienced Commercial Property team will give you honest, professional advice. Contact Osman Dervish on 01727 869293, or contact us using the form below.


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Summary: A new study reveals that cocoa extract supplements, rich in flavanols, may benefit cognitive functions in older adults with lower-quality diets. The study involved 573 participants and found no overall cognitive benefits from daily cocoa extract supplementation.
However, a notable improvement was seen in individuals with poorer dietary habits at the study’s onset. This research aligns with previous findings and adds to the growing body of evidence on dietary supplements and human health.
Daily supplementation with 500 mg of cocoa flavanols showed cognitive benefits in older adults with lower habitual diet quality.
The study found no cognitive improvement from cocoa extract in participants with already healthy diets.
COSMOS is a large-scale, long-term clinical trial, examining the effects of dietary supplements on various health outcomes in over 21,000 older adults.
Source: Mass General
Cocoa extract has shown a potential protective effect on cognition but randomized clinical trials in older adults have had inconsistent results.
A new study of cognition in a randomized trial, known as the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), suggests that taking cocoa extract supplements containing 500 mg per day of cocoa flavanols had cognitive benefits for older adults who had lower habitual diet quality at the time of enrollment in the study.
However, cognitive benefits were not found among participants who already had healthy dietary patterns at the start of the study.
The study, conducted by researchers at Mass General Brigham, included 573 older adults who underwent detailed, in-person cognitive testing and is published online in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Results from detailed neuropsychological assessments given over two years showed that daily cocoa extract supplementation, compared to placebo, had no overall benefits for global or domain-specific cognitive function. However, secondary analyses showed that participants with poor diet quality had cognitive benefits from taking the cocoa extract supplement.
The findings from this study – which was done among COSMOS participants who presented in-person for detailed cognitive testing – are consistent with the results from an earlier study that used a web-based cognitive assessment given over the internet to a separately recruited set of COSMOS participants.
COSMOS is an investigator-initiated large-scale, long-term clinical trial led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
More than 21,000 older women and men were enrolled across the United States to participate in this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study to test whether taking daily supplements of a cocoa extract or a common multivitamin reduces the risk for developing heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other important health outcomes.
Analyses of the data from COSMOS continue to yield insights about the connections between supplements and human health.
Funding statement: The COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is supported by an investigator-initiated grant from Mars Edge, a segment of Mars dedicated to nutrition research and products, which included infrastructure support and the donation of study pills and packaging. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon) provided support through the partial provision of study pills and packaging.
COSMOS is also supported in part by grants AG050657, AG071611, EY025623, and HL157665 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through contracts 75N92021D00001, 75N92021D00002, 75N92021D00003, 75N92021D00004, 75N92021D00005.
Neither Mars Edge nor Pfizer Consumer Healthcare provided input regarding data analyses, interpretation of results, or manuscript development.
About this diet, aging, and cognition research news
Author: Ryan Jaslow Source: Mass General Contact: Ryan Jaslow – Mass General IImage: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will appear in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition


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Your eyes and ears. Your nose, as well.
Statehouse reporter Jordan Schrader traveled last month to Colorado — the only state ahead of Washington to legalize recreational marijuana — to give us a glimpse into our own future.
Whether you think legalization is good or bad, it’s coming, with the state’s first pot stores expected to open in June or July. But because we’re among the first to deal with its effects, we don’t really know how it will work or how people will react.
Schrader’s mission was to serve as readers’ eyes and ears, and show them and tell them what it’s like in Colorado, where pot stores opened Jan. 1. And yes, he captured the smells, as well.
In recent years, we’ve published hundreds of stories about marijuana legalization. We wrote about the pros and cons in advance of the state ballot vote in 2012. And since voters approved Initiative 502, we’ve covered boards, commissions and councils as they set taxes, established permitting processes and otherwise figured out how to regulate this new industry.
We’ve covered local government decisions about where to locate stores or, in some cases, to ban them. We’ve aired the opinions of people who think the rollout will be unremarkable and those who fear the repercussions.
But most of the stories were bureaucratic and speculative. We still didn’t know what it’s like to have a recreational pot store next door. What would it sell? Who would come in to buy? How would the neighbors react? How would children be protected from the products?
We didn’t know how a commercial grow operation would work. How would growers tag the plants? How would they secure the place? Who would work there?
And what would happen in communities that banned recreational stores? Would they drive residents back to the black market?
Schrader didn’t go to Colorado to pass judgment on all that. He went to take a look.
“Washington is about to embark on a huge experiment,” he said. “State government is not just allowing, but involving itself in the sale of a federally illegal product. It seemed worth going to the one place where that’s already happening for recreational marijuana, and one of the few places with a track record of doing it for medical marijuana.
“I wanted to know how this works in practice, who’s taking advantage and what the fallout has been.”
Photographer Kai-Huei Yau from the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick went with Schrader to shoot the photos and video. The four-day, multipage series “High Stakes” ran last week in both papers.
We also experimented with a new digital presentation for this package. I encourage you to check it out on your computer, smartphone or tablet.
For the first time, readers can scroll through all the stories in one place and encounter full-frame photos, videos and graphics as they read. The type is enlarged and clear. It’s a premium reader experience we intend to use again.
The online package garnered the second-highest readership of any story last week, behind only our coverage of the KOMO-TV helicopter crash.
As for reaction to marijuana coverage, several print readers contacted us to say we had overdone it. Many said they were against legalization and saw our extensive coverage as promoting pot.
A few threatened to quit their subscriptions if we published one more marijuana story.
“As far as I’m concerned it looks like The News Tribune has been promoting selling pot,” one reader said, “and now they’re putting it in candies and cookies, and it’s just going to ruin society.”
Another comment on Facebook read: “What’s with all the pot articles? Are you promoting a stoned Tacoma?”
No, the newsroom is not promoting the legalization and sale of recreational marijuana. But we do intend to inform our readers about it.
We hope the “High Stakes” series helped do that.


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Nintendo announced late last year that they would be stopping production of the Wii U shortly before the release of the Switch, and the last day of January was the day they followed through. As of now, no more Wii U units will be produced for any region of the world. The stock that’s left is all that will ever be.
What’s unusual about this console is that, unlike similar machines that failed to catch on (including those from Nintendo itself), the Wii U was never discounted from its $300-$350 base price. There were bundles and pack-in games which technically gave the consumer a better value, but Nintendo never budged on the 3 Benjamins as entry. The Virtual Boy was discounted several times, the Gamecube and N64 had their prices lowered and even the Wii eventually took a price cut. But the Wii U never did, and we may never know why.
It is already very difficult to spot one of the remaining Wii Us on store shelves. If you see a Wii U in the wild, and you still don’t have one, purchase it. In fact, if you do already have one, or you don’t even want one, you might want to buy it anyway because unopened Wii U boxes are only going to rise in value from this point. Don’t wait for a sale — it ain’t coming!


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Valentine's Day sales of pink pistols and other handguns rise
It's a given that restaurants, flower shops and candy stores will be hot spots as Valentine's Day approaches. But another industry sees a somewhat surprising boom in sales before the romantic holiday: gun shops.
With women's participation in gun sports on the rise and manufacturers responding with feminine firearms that are even pink and red, many are buying a new gun as a gift for their Valentine.
A few years ago, Mike Blackwell, owner of Big Boy's Guns and Ammo in Oklahoma City, started noticing that his store's sales went up in the week before Valentine's Day.
“The Saturday before Valentine's Day is one of our best days of the year,” he said. “The last two years we've set sale records.”
The shop, at 8620 SW 74, carries a variety of handguns geared toward women in colors like pink, red, green and yellow. Also stocked are pink headphones and goggles for women to wear to the range.
Women's participation in target shooting has increased 46.5 percent from 2001 to 2010, according to the latest data available from the National Sporting Goods Association. And their participation in hunting rose 36.6 percent over the same time period.
When surveyed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, 61 percent of firearms retailers stated in 2010 they saw an increase in female customers compared to 2009. Twenty-four percent said they saw no change in the number of female customers and 1 percent experienced a decrease in female shoppers (the other 14 percent responded they didn't know.)
At H&H Shooting Sports Complex in Oklahoma City, the split of male and female customers is nearly equal. Owner Miles Hall said 53 percent of its patrons are men and 47 percent are women.
- Related to this story
- Video: Valentine’s Day sales of pink pistols on the increase (2012-02-10)
“Valentine's Day has always been a good holiday for us. It's kind of an oddity,” he said.
This year, the company designed gift cards with a Valentine's Day theme. He said holiday business for this holiday involves both men shopping for women and women shopping for men.
Because H&H has its own shooting ranges and a cafe, he often finds couples coming in to spend the day together.
“They just kind of make a date night of it,” he said.


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TOKYO—Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. plans to expand production capacity at the Shin-Etsu Silicones of America (SESA) plant in Akron.
The investment in SESA, which is engaged in the manufacturing and sales of silicones in the U.S., will be around $21.8 million, with the expansion work aimed for completion in the middle of 2019.
SESA's Akron plant produces various silicone products that possess diversified forms and applications such as high consistency silicone rubber, liquid silicone rubber for adhesives and sealing materials, silicones for cosmetics and heat-dissipating silicones for applications in automobiles and electronics parts.
According to the Japanese specialty chemicals company, the project will expand production capacity for those silicone products, in addition to setting up a new production facility for silicone emulsions.
Shin-Etsu Chemical has scaled up its silicones business since 2014, with a major expansion at its facilities in Thailand and Japan, and construction of a new research building at its Silicone-Electronics Materials Research Center in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
In total, the Japanese company has invested $592 million in silicone growth in the past four years.
SESA is the North American base of Shin-Etsu Chemical's silicones business.
In addition to its Akron plant, SESA also produces organo-functional silane at its production unit in Freeport, Texas. Shin-Etsu also opened a technical center in the New Jersey in 2015.


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Official Made with Pulses seal unveiled
Food in CanadaFood In Canada Food Trends Packaging Sustainability brand International Year of Pulses seal
The new Pulse Brand and "Made with Pulses" seal are green and gold symbols intended to help consumers easily identify food products that contain pulses
The Global Pulse Confederation introduced the new Pulse Brand and “Made with Pulses” seal at this year’s IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago.
The Pulse Brand and “Made with Pulses” seal are distinctive green and gold symbols intended to help consumers easily identify food products that contain pulse ingredients (dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas). The seal and Pulse Brand are available to food manufacturers, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and the foodservice industry to use on packages and in promotions.
The United Nations has designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, which has helped increase consumer interest in pulses. Interest has also been spurred by the fact that food companies and consumers are looking for affordable food options that are healthy, nutritious, and environmentally sustainable.
According to a Global Pulse Confederation press release, several global companies are already showing strong interest in the new “Made with Pulses” seal. Companies that have already signed on to use the Pulse Brand include Princes Food and Drink Group (Napolina and Batchelors brands), JM Grain, AGT Food and Ingredients and Floating Leaf Fine Foods.
“The ‘Made with Pulses’ seal gives companies the unique opportunity to tie their products to the momentum pulses are gaining as healthy, nutritious and sustainable ingredients that fit with today’s lifestyle and taste preferences,” says Daria Lukie, Pulse Brand Manager for the Global Pulse Confederation. “The Pulse Brand provides shoppers with an easy way to identify products that are good for people and good for the planet.”
Packaged products that contain pulses in the top five ingredients by weight and a minimum of five per cent of the final formulation are eligible to apply to use the “Made with Pulses” seal. If the product qualifies, the brand and seal can be used on packaging and promotional materials.
The first packages featuring the new “Made with Pulses” seal are expected to begin appearing on store shelves before the end of the year.
For more information on the criteria or to submit a product for consideration, visit www.pulses.org/pulse-brand or contact email@example.com.
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Find out about merger and acquisition activity in the poultry and animal feed industries in January 2021.
Marel acquires PMJ
Marel has successfully completed the acquisition of PMJ, a global provider of advanced processing solutions for the duck industry.
Cargill acquires protein company ProPortion Foods
Cargill is expanding its value-added protein footprint through the acquisition of ProPortion Foods, a food manufacturer that supplies a variety of innovative fully cooked products, portion control steaks and marinated ready-to-grill meats.
BRF finalizes Joody Al Sharqiya acquisition
Brazil-based meat and poultry company BRF has finalized the acquisition of Joody Al Sharqiya Food Production Factory, a company which operates a food processing plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
TechMix acquires Immuno-Dynamics
TechMix is announcing the acquisition of Immuno-Dynamics, Inc. of Fennimore, Wisconsin.
LANXESS aims to acquire Theseo
Specialty chemicals company LANXESS intends to further expand its consumer protection business and has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Theseo Group.
Maple Leaf Foods acquires plant to expand tempeh production
Maple Leaf Foods and its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods, have announced plans to acquire and build-out a food processing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana. The location will be used to expand the company’s tempeh production and plant protein capacity.
USALCO completes acquisition
H.I.G. Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm with $42 billion of equity capital under management, announces that its portfolio company, USALCO, LLC, has acquired Al Chem Specialties LLC and CalChem.
Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop acquires Wing Zone
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop finalized the acquisition of Wing Zone – a fast-casual brand serving made-to-order chicken.


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We’ve been overwhelmed by your support for our surcharges campaign, which brought about a ban on excessive charges. And now five companies are changing their rules due to your reports…
Most of you know this story well. In 2011 we issued a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading over the excessive surcharges some companies charge you for paying by card.
You signed your names, emailed a Member of European Parliament and hassled the Treasury to take action. And take action they did by passing a law banning companies from charging you more than it costs them to process a card transaction.
But since the ban came into force you’ve caught some companies we believe to be flouting the rules. The good news is that First Choice, Thomson, EasyJet and Mytrainticket have all agreed to reduce their credit card fees after our you reported them. And EasyCar has gone even further by completely abolishing its fees for credit and debit cards.
Kay’s chuffed First Choice changed its rules
Kay booked a holiday with First Choice and ended up paying £56.25p to pay by credit card. She always books her holiday with a credit card so that she can have the protection of the card company. Kay told us about a previous experience:
‘The holiday company I was using went into liquidation and I lost my money. Therefore we do not feel that we have any choice but to pay the credit card administration fee which we have always felt was rather high.’
She then told us her reaction to First Choice changing its rules:
‘I was surprised to read an article in Which? magazine advising that it might not be lawful to charge such an amount. I reported the details using Which?’s online tool. Which? contacted me to say that they challenged First Choice and the fee is going to be reduced. We are very happy with this result as holidays work out expensive enough as it is!’
But sadly it’s not all good news. There are a number of companies who we believe still aren’t playing fair. But don’t worry, eDreams, EasyBus, Vueling, Monarch, Jet2 and Germanwings are all on our hit list and we’re now referring them to Trading Standards to enforce the rules.
A huge thank you to all who have brought these charges to our attention – please keep reporting them with our tool and help us take action.


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Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University has filed a suit against… (Mandy Cheng / AFP/Getty…)
A Taiwanese university has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, claiming that Siri infringes on two of its patents.
The National Cheng Kung University claims that Siri infringes on one patent for a speech recognition system and another for a method and system that matches speech data.
"As a result of Apple's infringement ... NCKU has suffered monetary damages in an amount not yet determined, and will continue to suffer damages in the future unless Apple's infringing activities are enjoined by this court," the university says, according to PCMag.
Rumor roundup: The new iPhone
The university is seeking a permanent injunction against Apple along with costs and damages. It says it filed in 2005 for the speech-data matching patent, which it received in 2010, and the speech-recognition patent in 2002, which it received in 2007.
This is not the first time Apple has been sued for its Siri software. Earlier this month, Apple also was sued by a Chinese company for an alleged patent infringement because of Siri.
And earlier this year, an American man filed a lawsuit against the Cupertino company, saying its advertisements for Siri are "fundamentally and designedly false and misleading."
Apple purchased Siri in 2010 and launched it with the iPhone 4S last October. The iPad will receive Siri later this year.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in Texas.
Rumored iPhone 5 parts assembled into device in new pictures
November launch rumored for iPad mini; new full-sized iPad too?
Report: Apple to announce iPhone 5, iPad mini at Sept. 12 event
Follow Salvador Rodriguez on Facebook, Twitter or Google+


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Apple Notifying Developers Who Get to Attend WWDC Viewing Event at Apple Park
Apple has started sending out emails letting developers know if they've been chosen to attend the special WWDC viewing event that is set to take place at Apple Park on Monday, June 6.
Apple began taking applications for the viewing event on Monday, and said that developers would be informed if they were selected by 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time tonight. Those picked are receiving emails right now, and will need to RSVP by May 18 at 6:00 p.m. to confirm their attendance.
Only a small number of developers are being invited to the Apple Park campus to watch the WWDC 2022 keynote and the Platforms State of the Union. Apple says that it will be an all-day experience at Apple Park, with developers also be invited to explore the new Developer Center that Apple has built. Apple last year said that it was building a dedicated Developer Center on the Apple Park campus, though few details have been provided about it.
We're hosting a special all-day experience at Apple Park on June 6 to kick off WWDC22. Gather with others in the developer community to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos alongside Apple engineers and experts, explore the all-new Developer Center, and so much more. We can't wait to connect in person.
The Apple Park event is free, and all members of the Apple Developer Program and Apple Developer Enterprise Program were invited to apply. Though the event is free, those picked will need to travel to Cupertino, California.
WWDC is set to kick off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, June 6.
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports.
Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID.
iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware.
iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3.
The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software Update....
Top Rated Comments
Ugh, wish the regular public was invited too. Now, that would have been awesome.


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Tech giant Samsung has reported its lowest quarterly profit in eight years this week an indicator to the weakened global economy to hit PC…
Players can now include players from with Xbox One or PC on their public and private games from the Rocket League options menu.
“Cross-network play has been something that Xbox One gamers have been asking us for since the day we launched, and thanks to Microsoft’s new cross-network policies, we’re proud to give it to them,” writes VR of Psyonix Jeremy Dunham, is a press release sent to Gearburn.
This is the first game to support this new feature. There is currently no word on the PlayStation 4 version supporting it.
Rocket League is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.


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We take a look at the newly released MMO from Funcom and Electronic Arts; The Secret World. Read the full review over at GodisaGeek.com.
We recorded an hour of footage from The Secret World for you all to see if you want to get involved in the newly released MMO. Check out the full video at GodisaGeek.com.
The Secret World is now available to pre-order, an there's guaranteed beta access for those who do.
Games can be in development for years, sometimes being restarted again and again, but they eventually find their way into our hands; the Secret World is no different. Since it was officially announced back in 2007 we’ve heard some news about it but it’s always been very sporadic, often with months and months between the […]
Funcom, a world-leading game developer and publisher of online games, has unveiled a brand new trailer video as well as a new website for the upcoming, modern-day massively multiplayer online game The Secret World. The new video offers gamers a unique glimpse into the world, the monsters, the myths, and the gameplay of the much […]
“Imagine if every myth, conspiracy theory and urban legend was true. Imagine if your worst nightmare came to life. Imagine a world where vampires hunt for mortal blood in dingy London nightclubs, where werewolves lurk in the sewers beneath Seoul, and where the undead prey on the living in the shadows of New York City.” […]


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“Indian cotton is no longer the cheapest in the world as price of our cotton has increased from Rs 38,000 per candy of 356 kg each to Rs 41,500, while the international prices have declined by about 4%,” said Atul Ganatra, president of the trade body that represents all segments of cotton trade from growers and ginners to mills and merchants to importers and exporters.
Reduction in export demand due to the imposition of lockdown in some European countries has also been factored in, CAI said in a release on Monday.
The association had last month estimated exports for the 2000-21 season that started on October 1 at six million bales. The revised export estimate is still 400,000 bales more than that estimated for the previous cotton season.
CAI has retained its cotton crop estimate for the current season at 35.6 million. Cotton crop finalised for 2019-20 season was 36 million bales.
The association estimated total cotton supply during October and November at 20.11 million bales that comprises arrivals of 9.16 million bales, import of 200,000 bales of cotton up to November 30, and an opening stock estimated at 10.75 million bales at the start of the cotton season.
The trade body has estimated cotton consumption during October and November at 5.75 million bales of 170 kg each and exports of 1.20 million bales in the first two months of the season. Stock at the end of November is estimated at 13.16 million bales, CAI said.
CAI Crop Committee has estimated total cotton supply till end of the cotton season 2020-21 at 47.75 million bales, at the same level as estimated in the previous month. This includes opening stock of 10.75 million bales, estimated crop for the season at 35.60 million bales and imports estimated at 1.40 million bales. The import estimate is slightly less than 1.55 million bales estimated for the cotton season 2019-20.
The trade body has estimated domestic consumption of 33 million bales during the current season, which is at the same level as estimated in the previous month. This is eight million bales higher than last year’s consumption estimate of 25 million bales. “The consumption is expected to reach its normal level this year after the disruptions and labour shortage caused on account of the lockdown imposed in the country to arrest spread of Covid-19 pandemic,” CAI said in its release.
The carry-over stock at the end of 2020-21 season is estimated at 9.35 million bales against 10.75 million bales at the end of the previous cotton season.
Cotton Corporation of India, Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Growers Marketing Federation, multinational companies, ginners and Multi Commodity Exchange are estimated to have combined cotton stock of about 9.16 million bales at the end of November, CAI said. Total stock held by spinning mills and stockists as on November 30 is estimated at 13.16 million bales, it said.
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Today, we’re getting a first look at the latest Creator Expert vehicle from the LEGO Group. Taking a different approach to any kit we’ve seen in the past, the new LEGO Fiat 500 will be taking a previously released set and refreshing it with a new blue color scheme. Head below for all of the details.
LEGO refreshes Fiat 500 with new blue color scheme
First spotted by the folks over at PromoBricks, the LEGO Group looks to be readying its latest Creator Expert vehicle. Though, instead of opting for an entirely new iconic ride, it looks like we’ll be getting a refreshed version of a set that already rolled out into the brick-built garage.
Refreshing the Fiat 500 first launched last year, the new version rolling out at a later date will be giving the iconic ride a refresh new color scheme. While we’re only getting a small look at the build, the new light blue coat of paint definitely mixes things up while keeping much of the same retro stylings found originally. Aside from its color differences, things seem to remain identical to the original LEGO Fiat 500 released back in 2020. It’ll enter with the same 960 pieces as before and comes complete with a brick-built easel and painting.
As of now, there’s no telling when we’ll see the refreshed LEGO Fiat 500 debut officially. It’ll likely come by the end of the year at this point and should debut at the same $89.99 price point as before. Considering that the LEGO Group is still selling the yellow model, it’s unclear if both versions will be up for sale at the same time or the original will be retired beforehand.
Today’s news marks the first time that we’ll have seen the LEGO Group re-release an old set with a refreshed color scheme. While last year saw some popular Ideas kits brought back into circulation after being retired, that’s the closest release the brand has delivered in the past.
The LEGO Group will also be giving the same recoloring treatment to a smaller creator set, the Creator Mighty Dinosaurs kit. The 3-in-1 set has been given a similar blue color scheme that mixes things up from the green set that’s on sale right now.
Aside from just its slick retro design, one of the more unique things on the Fiat 500 from last year was its yellow colorway. For the refreshed version that appears to be launching in the near future, the LEGO Group is still sticking with an equally eye-catching color pallet this time around.
While we wait for more details on the set to launch likely in the coming months, all that’s left is to wonder if we’ll see the same treatment applied to other kits. If this debut ends up being successful for the LEGO Group, I could very well see them applying the same stylistic updates to the Ford Mustang set we saw launch back in 2019.
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Australian ports and rail operator Asciano said Wednesday it had received an Aus$8.8 billion (US$6.8 billion) takeover offer from Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure Group and was considering the proposal.
Asciano said the cash and stock offer valued its shares at Aus$9.05. The stock surged more than 20 percent when a trading halt was lifted and ended 16.8 percent higher at Aus$7.77.
"The board of Asciano, together with its advisers, concluded that it was in the interests of its shareholders to engage further with Brookfield on an exclusive basis to progress the proposal," the company said in a statement.
"Discussions are at a very early stage and a number of significant steps need to be undertaken in order to progress to a formal proposal from Brookfield."
The proposal, subject to Brookfield's due diligence, would be by scheme of arrangement, meaning only 50 percent of shareholders must support the deal for it to go ahead.
It would also need the approval of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
"If the proposal does not proceed, the board believes that Asciano has a very attractive independent future and that the company is well positioned to continue to deliver strong growth," Asciano added.
The bid came two months after shareholders of Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings voted in support of a Aus$6.49 billion (US$5 billion) takeover bid by Japan Post.


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Google Cardboard is not available for the time being at OnePlus. This is bad news for those who were waiting until the very last minute to buy the headset.
Many surmised that they could procrastinate matters to the eleventh hour before purchasing a Google Cardboard Virtual Reality headset from OnePlus. But it is no go. The maker of this contraption is now about to launch its next version.
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July 27th is the date set for the debut. Up until now Google was sending out the last samples of the defunct and outdated headset for free (except for $5 as excess shipment charges). But that brief window of opportunity is gone with the wind.
The giant company has run dry as far as any more VR headsets are concerned. Shipping will hopefully restart on July 10th. So until then it is a case of “what you can’t cure, you must endure”.
Since Google was losing a lot of cash due to its free shipments from OnePlus, it now wants to gain some extra “dosh” from its orders for the OnePlus 2. By the way, the One Plus 2 may consist of two different versions.
One of these types will probably have 3GB of RAM while the other kind may have 4GB of the same. The screen sizes could range from 5.5 inches to 5.7 inches which is not bad at all. And the devices are to be energized by Snapdragon 810 SoC.
Furthermore, an octacore CPU and Adreno 430 GPU will lie somewhere within the structure of the gizmos. Maybe the search engine giant will stock more Cardboard VR headsets but for now the curious and passionate geeks will have to do without the “freebies”. Besides, Google likes to keep its consumers guessing!
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Ninety-eight small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Atwima-Mponua District are to receive credit support totalling GH¢248 million to expand their operations.
Each beneficiary is expected to receive between GH¢1,000 and GH¢15,000. They include those into palm oil production, carpenters, bakers, hairdressers, caterers, soap makers, welders, pepper and gari processors.
This comes at a time when SMEs are faced with serious challenges as far as access to credit from the banking sector is concerned.
The lack of funds for players in the sector has crippled many businesses and killed the entrepreneurial initiative.
The District Manager of the Business Advisory Centre (BAC), Mr Benjamin Kwasi Marfo, who announced this, said the loans were being provided by the Rural Enterprises Development Fund and would be disbursed through Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans Limited from next month.
Addressing a day’s seminar organised by the Association for Small-Scale Industries (ASSI) at Mpasatia near Nyinahin, he said repayment would be done between 12 and 18 months.
The seminar was meant to expose small business operators to best practices in order to grow and boost their returns.
The participants were sensitised to changing trends in business - product development, branding, marketing, packaging and exporting.
Additionally, they were taught how to write a business proposal, workplace safety, record keeping and developing business plans.
The programme formed part of ASSI’s efforts at creating market and opening other business opportunities for its members.
Focus on quality
Mr Marfo advised against the production of substandard products and urged them to focus on quality at all times.
The Ashanti Regional Manager of ASSI, Mr Kwame Buor, spoke of plans to engage its members on a regular basis, to educate them on contemporary business demands and challenges. — GNA


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BROKEN ARROW, Okla.—Molded Products Inc. has plenty of room to grow, particularly in high-value end markets such as automotive and aerospace.
That's why Molded Products is seizing its opportunity now.
The Broken Arrow-based custom molder is poised to invest $1 million in an expansion project that will increase its square footage and production capabilities, adding as many as 10 new jobs in the process.
"This 10,000-sq.-ft. building expansion along with our investment in two large ram presses and a rubber calender will allow us to enter new rubber molding markets and better serve our existing customer base," company President Allen Clonts said in a statement. "We are excited for what the future holds and look forward to the new growth opportunities and further business expansion."
Founded in 1986, Molded Products processes butyl, EPDM, nitrile, silicone and urethane rubber and has expertise in rubber-to-metal bonding. Its products serve a range of end markets including aerospace, automotive, construction, filtration, industrial, and oil and gas.


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While hunters around the world continue to experience the joys of Capcom’s Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, a new and free update for the expansion has now gone live. The update will be adding some quality-of-life improvements and tweaks to the game, as well as the Rajang to hunt.
Making its return from Monster Hunter Freedom 2, the fearsome Rajang is a foe to be reckoned with. It can unleash a “rage mode” where its fur turns golden and it becomes even more relentless in its assault. “This ruthless beast offers a challenge for even the most experienced hunters … so it’s not a fight that should be taken lightly,” Capcom warns.
In order to face the beast, players must have already cleared Iceborne‘s main story and ventured into the Guiding Lands at least once. Once those requirements are met, you will be able to take on a new Special Assignment to hunt the Rajang.
In addition to the new monster, the update will allow players to make their room public for other players to enter. A variety of gameplay tweaks, aimed mostly at the Guiding Lands is also included in the update. Capcom has adjusted the rate of special tracks drop. According to the developer, “Unanalyzed special tracks are now easier to obtain, making it easier to lure out specific monsters and control your region levels.”
Hunters are also now guaranteed to get special tracks after capturing/carving a monster. As for region level fluctuations, Capcom added that players can “obtain different materials at each level, so adjustments have been made to how levels increase/decrease to make it easier to explore.”
More updates will be coming to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, starting with the crossover with Resident Evil 2 next month. PlayStation 4 players can also look forward to the exclusive Event Quest that is inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds.


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The Retail Challenge Lying Ahead for Crypto
Debates have been raging on as to whether cryptocurrencies will ever gain mass adoption or if the tech will exist in a separate system that doesn’t compete with traditional finance. Enterprises have adopted blockchain with fervor as early adoption could help them improve coordination between internal teams and external partners, pushing down costs significantly. While these companies have the resources to add personnel to their teams to implement and maintain these networks, the challenge for retail adoption is slightly more nuanced.
Fitting Into the Current Landscape
Finance as we know it has shifted from doing business at physical locations to websites, which has now landed on mobile applications. For crypto to penetrate the platform used by the masses, it only makes sense for businesses in the space to focus on launching products for a mobile suite. However, the experience of using a wallet like MetaMask, used to interact with Web 3.0 protocols is not as smooth on mobile relative to its desktop browser counterpart.
Coinbase recently announced they are removing their dApp browser from the Apple store and MetaMask was suspended from the Google Play Store. These two setbacks move functionality away from the mobile user and are detrimental to the plight of cryptocurrencies.
The side that believes real mass adoption is possible need to be pushing for mobile functionality as soon as possible. Reliance on desktop interfaces is holding back a swath of people who are willing to test it out but not willing it to go out of their way to do so.
UX Problems and Psychological Drawbacks
For 2020 to be a massive year of adoption for retail, there must be a focus on mobile apps that yields real results. At the same time, the lack of intuitive UIs and poor user experience (UX) is a major obstacle.
As mentioned before, regular people aren’t going to go out of their way to see how crypto works. But even if there is a mobile app, a poorly designed UI that is incapable of abstracting the complexities away will be swiftly uninstalled and never revisited by your average user.
If these obstacles are recognized and solutions are churned out to overcome them, this decade could potentially see crypto grow much bigger than anticipated. However, if the current rendering of services continues, the vocal minority that believes crypto will always be a niche industry will probably be proven correct.


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Inspection agency assures ‘Bird-flu free’ meat for Christmas
THE re-emergence of bird flu incidences in the Philippines’ neighboring countries has prompted the National Meat Inspection Service to issue yesterday an instruction to all its field offices to stamp the “Bird-flu Free” logo in all meat and meat products inspection certificate (MMPIC) issued from the agency’s accredited cold storages and distribution centers.
NMIS executive director Jane Bacayo said the move aims to assure poultry meat traders and buyers that all imported and locally produced poultry meat products stored in NMIS accredited meat storages are certified safe and free from any disease that can cause illness to human.
Bacayo further instructed all NMIS regional officers to continue to be vigilant in monitoring the safety of all meat and meat products in all accredited meat plants in the country. All imported and locally produced meat must be subjected first to inspection before they are distributed for retail.
Bacayo encourages consumers to look for the certificate when they buy meat at retail stores so that they can be assured that it is safe and free from any hazardous contamination that might compromise their health.
MMPIC is a document issued by a meat inspection officer that certifies the safety and quality of meat that comes from all NMIS accredited meat plants. The logo is stamped at the upper right corner of MMPIC.


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TIGA: Scottish games industry needs help now
TIGA today renewed their campaign for tax breaks foe the games industry by highlighting the impact the lack of tax measures could have on the industry in Scotland.
Games industry employment in Scotland dropped by a dismal 18 percent mainly due to the collapse of Realtime Worlds.
TIGA's research shows that tax incentives could help the industry net another 273 jobs and create more than 33 million GBP in tax revenues over the next five years.
CEO of TIGA, Dr Richard Wilson said: "The Scottish video games industry is export oriented, R&D focussed and provides high skilled employment - this is exactly the kind of sector that we need to invest in as part of a process to rebalance the UK economy. TIGA's new research shows that the Scottish games industry contributes almost 67 million to UK Gross Domestic Product, employs 650 highly skilled developers in 46 games development businesses. This is a critically important digital industry which, with the right Government support, can be world beating."
TIGA member and MD of Denki Games Colin Anderson added: "By abolishing Games Tax Relief the video games industry in Scotland will find it harder than other areas to attract the talent and investment it requires to self-sustain commercial success. This will become more problematic as other more aggressive territories realise the potential of digital media and offer progressively more lucrative advantages to companies looking to base themselves in a particular area. The UK Coalition Government must look again at the case for Games Tax Relief."
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III is coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 after all
- Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third gets a release date
- Adr1ft is coming to PC and consoles at the end of the summer
- EA gives the new Mirror's Edge a name – Mirror's Edge Catalyst
- ZombiU PS4 and Xbox One port reportedly in the works
- Mike Bithell's Volume to be released this August
- Gearbox's new shooter Battleborn gets a pre-E3 trailer
- Steam Controller launches in October, Steam Machines arrive in November
- Gears Of War devs Black Tusk change their name to The Coalition ahead of E3


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DUBLIN – Britain’s share of imports to Ireland has been cut by two-thirds due to radical restructuring of supply chains through Brexit, according to one new analysis by Ireland’s leading economic think tank.
the Institute of Economic and Social Research The report, compiled with input from the Department of Finance and Trinity College Dublin, measures the sometimes staggering development of merchandise trade with Britain since the shock of the 2016 referendum and the deployment of new import controls at the port from Dublin earlier this year.
Unlike other studies, Tuesday’s report seeks to eliminate the effect of global supply bottlenecks created by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide data that is Brexit specific.
His main finding: Britain accounted for almost a quarter of the value of all the Republic of Ireland’s imports before the Brexit vote, but barely 7% since Brexit became a trade reality this year .
Most of these market share losses can be attributed to the introduction of the Trade and cooperation agreement at Irish ports of entry on January 1, when the EU’s single market requirements for health and customs controls on imports came into effect on goods from Britain.
The report also documented how the Withdrawal Agreement Irish Protocol transferred a substantial part of this lost UK trade to North Ireland, the only part of the UK still able to trade unimpeded with the Republic of Ireland.
Before the Brexit vote, he found, Northern Ireland supplied just 1.5% of the Republic’s imports in terms of value. These trade levels have changed little over the long years of EU-UK negotiations. But within two months of the protocol going live, Northern Ireland’s contribution climbed to 5%.
In UK internal terms, the change brought about by the protocol is much more dramatic.
UK manufacturers and distributors supplied 23.2% of all Irish goods imports in 2015, and retained a 16.5% share in early 2020, even as Irish authorities braced for a Brexit without agreement. But Britain’s market share fell after the introduction of the Irish Sea border to just 7.2 percent.
At the same time, many producers in Northern Ireland – who traditionally supply milk, beef, pork and lamb for treatment in the Republic – has seen demand from the south soar, according to report co-author Martina lawless.
“There has been a big increase, from 80 to 90 percent, in many products from Northern Ireland,” she said. “Northern Ireland’s share in total UK imports [to Ireland] fell from 6% in 2015 to almost 40% in the last year.
While virtually all sectors of UK manufacturing have lost market share in Ireland, food and drink suppliers have suffered some of the biggest drops.
Before the Brexit referendum, companies based primarily in England supplied almost a third of food and drink imports to Ireland.
The UK market share of food imported to Ireland suffered only minor losses until this year, when it plunged below 12% as supermarkets turned to suppliers from Northern Ireland and continental Europe.
UK losses in drinks exports have been worse, dropping from 31 percent of all Irish imports in 2015 to just 9 percent this year. Northern Ireland, home to Bushmills whiskey and the bottling plants of many brands, has seen the value of its drink exports to the south quadruple since the Brexit vote, mainly this year.
Lawless said Britain’s loss of market share after Brexit in Ireland “is likely permanent”.
The impact of Brexit on Irish exports to Britain has been less pronounced, in part because the British have yet to start enforcing their own trade borders with the EU. Britain initially pledged to do so in October 2020, but postponed enforcement twice on Irish products, most recently last week, when it suspended the decision indefinitely.
Yet Britain, once Ireland’s dominant trading partner, is already a shrinking slice of the Irish export pie.
While UK consumers may view Ireland as primarily a source of butter and beer, Irish chemicals – mostly produced by US pharmaceutical and engineering multinationals with EU operations in Ireland – are on the market. origin of a pandemic-proof export boom focused on Europe, North America and Asia, not Britain.
These chemicals, including the active ingredients in vaccines and other medicines, now account for 63% of the value of Ireland’s global exports, including a quarter of goods shipped to Britain.
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If you think Kogi BBQ is the granddaddy of all food trucks, the Los Angeles Times has some news for you: The roots of mobile vending reach back quite a bit further. I'm talking about horse-drawn tamale wagons. Tamaleros, as they were called, started appearing in L.A. as early as the 1870s, and by the 1890s dominated downtown Los Angeles and started spreading to other cities. "Competition spurred innovation," writes Gustavo Aralleno. "Wagons transformed into portable kitchens with functioning stoves (some illegally tapped into the city's gas mains and water pipes) and featured counters so that as many as eight people at a time could dine around the wagons." Throughout it all, tamaleros sparked their fair share of controversy amongst business owners and city residents — any of this sounding familiar? — but they were never successfully banned. It took almost 60 years before the tamale-cart trend petered out on its own in the late 1920's. So, it's quite possible that we have another 55 years of these things to look forward to. [Los Angeles Times]
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