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In a few more weeks, Apple is gearing up to unveil the next-generation model - the iPhone 13 series. As the launch is nearing, we are coming across various rumors and leaks suggesting what we can expect from the iPhone 13 lineup. In a recent development, a report reveals details about the iPhone 13 model with Touch ID.
As per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter, Apple will skip launching the iPhone 13 with an in-screen fingerprint sensor or Touch ID later this year. He added that the company will have a long-term goal to add Face ID under the display.
It appears to be clear that the Cupertino-based tech giant is sticking with the Face ID for the long term but there is a possibility to use Touch ID at least for the low-end models. But this is not going to happen this year.
iPhone 13 With Touch ID Not Coming In 2021
Mark Gurman notes that there could be two possibilities - low-end models with Face ID sensors within the notch on top of the display as in the existing models and high-end iPhone 13 models with in-display Face ID. On the other hand, the company might offer an in-display Face ID for the premium models while the low-end models might arrive with Touch ID inside the display.
iPhone 13: What To Expect?
iPhone 13 lineup is believed to feature a slightly smaller notch and a 120 Hz refresh rate in the premium Pro models. Also, it is being reiterated that the company might offer a 1TB internal storage space this year. It is claimed that there could be support for mmWave 5G for countries outside the US. The upcoming models are believed to arrive with space-saving internal circuitry that could let the company place a larger battery.
As per a recent report, the new iPhones will arrive with 25W fast charging support, which is an upgrade as compared to the 22W charging support in its predecessors. Also, we can expect a LiDAR scanner to be included in the latest models.
In terms of the hardware aspects, the Apple iPhone 13 lineup is said to arrive with notable upgrades. This is evident as there could be a faster and more power-efficient A15 Bionic chipset made using the TSMC 5nm+ process. As of now, Apple has not announced the exact launch date of the iPhone 13 series but the ongoing speculations point out that the devices could go official in the third week of September.


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Tech & Science
Meet the Press
CIA Senate Snooping?
30 Seconds To Know
Brennan: 'We Wouldn't Do That,' Denies Senate Spying Claims
At SXSW, Working to Get Latino Millennials to Vote
'Long Island Medium': TODAY Set 'Crazy' With Spirits
CIA Director Denies Spying on Senate Intel Committee
More from NBC
Next Steps For Vets
Edward Snowden Tells NBC News: CIA Playing 'Keep Away' From Senate Investigators
Dine and Dash 2.0: How Tech is Changing Eating Out
No need to whip out the credit card. Some restaurants are letting diners pay the bill with Uber-like new payment apps.
Getty Images stock
Wake Up and Smell Breakfast Price Increases
Martha C. White
The all-American breakfast of eggs, bacon and coffee is getting more expensive because of drought, disease and more global demand.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
Pricey Hawaii Scares Away Mainland Tourists
High prices may be putting a chill on the state’s tourism industry.
Pressure Rises on GM Over Ignition Recall
Paul A. Eisenstein
Congress will hold hearings into why it took GM a decade to recall vehicles equipped with faulty ignition switches linked to 13 deaths.
Stocks Mixed as Ukraine Weighs on Markets
Kate Gibson, CNBC
Stocks in the doldrums as Ukraine crisis weighs over markets.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
Noose Work If You Can Get It
Sri Lanka is searching for a new hangman after the latest recruit got upset on seeing the gallows for the first time and quit.
The Perfect Pitchman Is a Handsome Guy
"Attractive males are particularly persuasive, whereas physical attractiveness does not matter among female entrepreneurs."
John L. Mone / AP
Company's Malaysia Loss: Too Many Flying Together?
Many big companies limit how many top leaders can fly together, but few extend strict policies down the ladder.
PASCAL LAUENER / Reuters
Swatch Sues Target Over Watch Designs
The Swiss company says the quality of Target's watches is inferior to its own and is likely to confuse shoppers.
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domain: news


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SELFRIDGES NEW DEPOP SHOP PUTS EMPHASIS ON SUSTAINABILITY
The new pop-up is one of a number of initiatives that reflect the store’s on-going commitment to reimagining what shopping and style might look like in response to the climate emergency.Read More
PACSUN OPENS FIRST INTERNATIONAL POP-UP SHOP IN SELFRIDGES
After almost 40 years in the industry, the heritage California brand has branched out of the U.S. with a new partnership with the British luxury retailer.Read More
ELEVENTY OPENS NEW SHOP-IN-SHOP AT SELFRIDGES
In addition to Eleventy’s new Selfridges shop-in-shop, the brand has opened its UK distribution this season to include Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and Brown Thomas.Read More
BALENCIAGA LAUNCHES NEW TRACK LINE AS IT READIES TO TAKE OVER SEL...
The new Balenciaga Track sneaker, launching in four colors, is the next high-tech shoe from artistic director Demna Gvasalia.Read More
JOHN ELLIOTT LAUNCHES AT SELFRIDGES WITH SUSTAINABLE CAPSULE COLL...
Elliott explored a sustainable and natural approach in the fabrication of the collection, including garments washed with natural mud and charcoal dyeing techniques.Read More


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Businesses are increasingly moving manufacturing operations from Asia to Mexico to minimize supply chain risks and access a larger global market. There are also a wealth of economic and tax benefits to manufacturing in Mexico, many of which were described by Hone Maxwell LLP attorneys Josh Maxwell, Carolina Juarez, Aaron Li and Claudia Ignacio during a recent presentation to the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong.
Mexico has also become a primary destination for manufacturers because of its skilled workforce, competitive labor costs and proximity to the U.S., said Maxwell, HMLLP’s managing partner. He discussed how businesses that create a Mexico-U.S. parent company structure can benefit from favorable tax rates, low tariffs and a variety of simple investment options.
Another reason Mexico has gained popularity as a manufacturing destination in recent decades is the IMMEX Program. Commonly known as “maquiladoras,” the IMMEX program allows foreign manufacturers to bring raw materials and components to Mexico tax and duty free if the finished goods are all exported out of Mexico within a certain time frame.
To take advantage of the IMMEX program, Maxwell said foreign manufacturers can partner with an external service provider, known as a shelter operator, that is authorized to operate as an IMMEX.


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When it comes to ICANN, let's just say "You Can't." Or rather, you can't dispute its authority.
In the latest phase of a long-simmering dispute between VeriSign
Last September, Rex Moore reported that the manager of the Internet's leading top-level domains -- .com and .net -- had developed a new service to reroute misspelled domain names to its own website laden with advertising. The SiteFinder service would no longer have a "404" error message display when you typed in the wrong address but would instead take you to a VeriSign site. Additionally, e-mail that contained erroneous website addresses or unregistered domain names would also be hijacked to the SiteFinder site.
"Dot-com" and "dot-net" are known as top-level domains. The "Fool" in "Fool.com," for example, is known as a second-level domain. These are managed by registrars, such as Register.com
The uproar that it created caused ICANN, the de facto regulator of the domain-name system, to suspend the SiteFinder service, saying that it created too much instability on the Internet. VeriSign sued ICANN in federal court, saying that it overstepped its authority as a technical review body and improperly delayed the company's ability to offer new services. The federal judge said VeriSign could not prove its antitrust claims and threw out the suit.
This is the second time VeriSign had its lawsuit dismissed. In May, the federal judge said the company had not proved its arguments but allowed VeriSign time to amend its lawsuit, which it did. The judge ruled that it still had not proven its case and dismissed it once more, prohibiting the company from raising the issue again.
But the company still has more bites at the apple. It said it will now pursue the matter in state courts and is targeting California as the first battleground. Still, industry watchers think the wind has been taken out of VeriSign's sails. Without the antitrust claim, it devolves merely into a contract dispute without the full implications and ramifications of challenging the scope and structure of the regulatory body's authority.
For now, VeriSign has found that ICANN still can.
Motley Fool contributor Rich Duprey also likes to challenge authority. He does not own any of the stocks mentioned in this article.


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A Pixel 6A. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Google’s still-unannounced Pixel 7A might cost $499, meaning the rumored midrange phone will launch at a $50 premium over last year’s Pixel 6A, according to 9to5Google. While that price might be a bit of a disappointment, the new phone will apparently getting some big upgrades that could justify the cost.
The cameras, for example, are moving up to a 64MP main camera (up from 12MP in the Pixel 6A) and a 13MP ultrawide camera (up from 12MP), 9to5Google reports. The phone will apparently also be getting a 90hz display, the Tensor G2 chip that powers the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, and wireless charging. Those all seem like nice improvements from the very-good Pixel 6A.
If that all sounds good to you, you may not need to wait long to pick up a Pixel 7A yourself. 9to5Google says the phone will be available to order on May 10th (the day of Google’s big I/O conference) for delivery as soon as May 11th. And you want a better idea of what the Pixel 7A will look like before making a decision, check out recent renders revealing a nice blue color and somebody’s actual hands-on with the phone. But you should know that you can actually buy a more affordable Pixel 7-series phone right now, as the Pixel 7 is on sale for as low as $349 (with activation) at Best Buy.
Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
9to5Google also shared new details about the forthcoming Pixel Tablet, including that it will come with 8GB of RAM and be offered in two storage options. It also apparently won’t come with a USB-C charging brick because you can charge the tablet through its wireless charging dock. Google already promised the tablet would arrive sometime this year, and 9to5Google says that it could go on sale in June.


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Meet Ceramist Shelley Simpson: The Designer at Mud Australia
On her desk at Mud Australia’s headquarters outside Sydney, ceramist Shelley Simpson proudly displays the first hand-thrown pot she ever made, a reminder of the company’s humble beginnings in a shed-cum-studio behind her former home. “I knew early on that ceramics would be more than a hobby for me,” says Simpson, who promptly ditched her dream of a career in theater after giving her roommate’s pottery wheel a spin on a whim one day. “It brought me immense pleasure, and I didn’t want that feeling to end.”
Now, 25 years later, Mud Australia’s team of 30 employees churns out approximately 500 pieces of porcelain tableware, accessories, and lighting from the company’s 17,000-square-foot production facility each day. “My goal has always been to make items that are both functional and enjoyable to use,” says Simpson, whose wafer-thin, ethereal ceramics draw their color palette of 20 hues from her native country’s oceans, deserts, and rain forests. Bearing a glossy interior and a matte exterior, the pieces are intentionally “unfussy and understated” and meant to “enhance a meal, not overtake it. And they’re dishwasher- and oven-safe, too.” In New York, the company’s 80-some products are available at a year-old brick-and-mortar shop in Brooklyn, as well as at ABC Carpet & Home.
Mud Australia sources its clay from Limoges, France—still the world’s top producer of high-quality porcelain—and adds its own unique twist, mixing powdered pigment directly into liquid clay before it is fired, which helps preserve its color and matte appearance. The tinted clay is poured into a mold and left to set for a little less than an hour, after which an artisan refines the object’s shape, while being sure to leave a few “signs of it being handmade,” such as thumbprints and tool marks. After sitting overnight, the item is removed from the mold, and a clear glaze is applied to the interior before the piece is fired. “We have always embraced the uniqueness of anything that’s hand-crafted,” Simpson says, “and let the clay speak for itself.”
A version of this article appeared in NYC&G (New York Cottages & Gardens) with the headline: Mud’s the Word.


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Two employees at a North Lauderdale car dealership are being charged after authorities say they defrauded the store and customers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
William Jason Tyler, 47, and Walfredo Misas Cruz, 31, were arrested Wednesday on 24 counts of grand theft auto, one count of first-degree grand theft auto and one count of possessions valued at over $50,000 through fraud, Broward Sheriff’s officials said Office on Tuesday.
Broward Sheriff’s Office
William Jason Tyler and Walfred Masses Cross
Investigators said the investigation into Tyler and Cruz began in July after their employer Z Motors at 7 South State Road reported unethical activities in which they were involved.
Detectives uncovered the couple’s scheme began in November 2018 and that they defrauded the store and customers of more than $643,000, officials said.
As part of their plan, the two stole 24 vehicles from the dealership and sold them to customers and wholesalers for $347,774, officials said.
They also allegedly defrauded 166 of the company’s customers out of nearly $300,000 in cash through money transfer apps, officials said.
Customers thought their down payments and monthly vehicle payments were being received from the company, but they went to Tyler and Cruz instead, officials said.
Both men were committed to Broward’s main prison. Attorney information was not available.
Investigators are still investigating.


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Nourison's New York Window Displays Showcase Waverly, Nautical Theme
Posted on March 18, 2013 by
SADDLE BROOK, N.J.--For the New York Home Fashions Market this week Nourison is featuring its new Waverly designs and a nautical theme in its windows at 295 Fifth Avenue. Nourison's showroom in the building is on the first floor, and the windows face Fifth Avenue.
The Waverly window features a hot air balloon theme and includes both classic and current Waverly patterns. Nourison debuted its new Waverly license at the fall market. The other window has a nautical theme featuring trending Nourison accent and area rugs.
"We always have wonderful showroom window displays but I think our designers have outdone themselves this time," said Steven Peykar, co-CEO of Nourison.


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Breeze Airways postpones start to new direct flights out of T.F. Green
Updated at 4:42 p.m.
PROVIDENCE – Supply chain snafus and staffing shortages have forced Breeze Airways to postpone several of its direct routes out of Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. Airline spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones confirmed in an email Monday that new routes to Los Angeles and Savannah, Ga. - slated to begin on June 29 and July 1,…


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Stellantis has thousands of cars stuck at its Sochaux plant in eastern France as logistics problems that impacted the maker of Peugeot 3008 SUVs last quarter persist.
"There are big problems to deliver new vehicles," said Jerome Boussard, a CGT labor union representative at the factory.
"We had about 4,000 of them stuck in our parking lots and even outside the site as of noon yesterday," he said on Tuesday.
Stellantis confirmed the logistics issues without elaborating on the number of vehicles awaiting pickup as the figures vary all the time, according to a spokeswoman.
Freight problems are impacting the entire automotive industry and Stellantis is working non-stop to solve them, the spokesperson said.
Vehicle inventory at Stellantis has ballooned this year, going up by 179,000 units to 275,000 units with the issues most serious in Europe.
Earlier this month, Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said "outbound logistics challenges due to railcar, truck and driver shortages as well as ship availability" were to blame, adding the company expected the problems to ease during the fourth quarter.
The problems extend to other automakers too with Tesla producing over 22,000 more cars than it delivered last quarter, and warning of another gap between how many vehicles it makes and how many it can get to customers in the current quarter.
Tesla is battling availability of ships from Shanghai to Europe, and local trucking within certain parts of the U.S. and Europe, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said last month.


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Are Britain’s Small Firms ‘Open for Business’?
Watch this live WebTV show for vital information on how you can stabilise and start to grow your company again
Show date: Friday 2nd July 2010
Show time: 12.45
George Osborne recently declared Britain was ‘open for business’ but while Britain is no longer officially in recession, times will continue to be tough for many businesses.
Investments in areas such as recruitment, equipment and new premises have had to take a backseat and despite the improving economic situation it doesn’t mean that things are going to get any easier overnight.
For some businesses then, support is available and there is growing opportunity for them to revisit their investment and capital expenditure plans.
So how can you ensure that your business is positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities over the next 12 months?
If you feel in need of some advice on how to move things forward then log onto this live webTV show where Colin Fyfe, the divisional director for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks will be offering his recommendations along with how their new Investment for Growth package could benefit you.
Colin Fyfe joins us live online on Friday 2nd July at 12.45 to discuss the future of British businesses
Click to submit questions before the show.
For more information visit www.cbonline.co.uk


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Akamai Technologies, Inc., a global leader in content delivery network (CDN) services, released plans for the building of its new global headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Akamai has entered into an agreement with Boston Properties to lease a newly constructed building at 145 Broadway, in the heart of Cambridge's Kendall Square neighborhood. The approximately 486,000 square-foot building is scheduled to open at the end of 2019. Initial architectural renderings of the new headquarters are available here.
"Akamai has its roots in Cambridge and has grown into the largest technology company headquartered in this area," said Erica Chapman, vice president, global real estate and workplace productivity at Akamai. "We look forward to creating a campus environment for Akamai's employees to further foster innovation and collaboration, and to build a headquarters that complements the thriving Kendall Square community, complete with first-floor retail space."
New construction will require demolition of the existing three-story building at 145 Broadway and is contingent on Boston Properties obtaining final approvals from the City of Cambridge and Cambridge Redevelopment Authority. Akamai has signed a 15-year lease for 100 percent of the office space in the new development. The Company has also agreed to lease a minimum of an additional 150,000 square feet of space within Boston Properties' portfolio in Kendall Square. This commitment is intended to represent part of a second phase of Akamai's build out of its headquarters' campus and will commence concurrently with the new construction. Occupancy of both spaces will be coordinated with the lease expirations of Akamai's current locations in Cambridge.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Akamai to facilitate its continued growth in Kendall Square," stated Bryan Koop, executive vice president, Boston region for Boston Properties. "Akamai's technology and services are key contributors to the thriving innovation ecosystem and we're proud to be building them a long-term home here."
The building at 145 Broadway is expected to include approximately 9,500 square feet of street-level retail space and a sub-surface parking garage. An employee café, roof deck, fitness center and electric vehicle charging are all amenities being considered for the new space. Continuing Akamai's global commitment to the environment, the new headquarters will also be constructed using the Energy Use Index and will be LEED compliant.
Globally, Akamai has offices in 64 locations and has recently expanded in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Bangalore, Beijing, Bellevue, Denver, Krakow, London, Melbourne, Munich, San Francisco and Santa Monica.
As the global leader in content delivery network (CDN) services, Akamai makes the Internet fast, reliable and secure for its customers. The company's advanced web performance, mobile performance, cloud security and media delivery solutions are revolutionizing how businesses optimize consumer, enterprise and entertainment experiences for any device, anywhere. To learn how Akamai solutions and its team of Internet experts are helping businesses move faster forward, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.


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The retail e-tail wars show no signs of abating as gargantuan Goliaths of online shopping continue tempting Aussies with dashing deals that, in this case, may literally be music to your ears.
Apple's long-awaited video streaming service is expected to debut on 25 March, which will be 26 March for Australians, but the event should be about much more than movies and TV.
Apple is apparently set to debut a news and presumably magazine subscription service, possibilities also include a new video streaming service, AirPods 2, air charger, new iPad mini and iPhone SE 2.
Good article, good study, but it does beg the question:How many studies does it take to establish a permanent link[…]
Reading this makes me so appreciative of my FTTN... Not.I'm an It professional and download multiple log files sized over[…]
Remember when Abbott and Turnbull blatantly lied to the nation that they would deliver the finished NBN by 2016 for[…]
The trump administration play to the ignorant... morrison is nothing but the vacuous shill is this sad comedic pantomine...
No Sean... I feel for those that can't even get the minimum 12/1... Let alone 1000/50...


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Don't-Miss Business Stories
Online shoppers will be able to pay by tapping a contactless card or an NFC-enabled mobile phone against their PC or laptop.
Microsoft delivered both Office 2010 SP1 and Office 2007 SP1 about 13 months after their respective original editions’ debut. Office 2013 SP1 is expected in February.
OpenSUSE joins Red Hat’sLinux distribution, Fedora, and Canonical’s Ubuntu in offering an experimental Linux distribution that can run on 64-bit ARM processors.
Yahoo is taking a "mobile first" approach to its product strategy, to the point where mobility could reinvent the company, according to CEO Marissa Mayer.
Although Microsoft may be considering a number of qualified candidates, conventional wisdom says five front-runners are vying to lead the company forward.
Spear phishing is one of the most effective ways to break into a corporate network, and recent studies show that employees can be easily tricked on social media.
Familiar names are among those in the running to replace Steve Ballmer as chief executive of Microsoft, according to a Reuters report.
With the arrival of the iPhone 5s, Apple regained its spot among the top five smartphone makers in China during the third quarter.
Fujitsu has demonstrated servers with thin fiber optics that will use lasers and light transfer data, replacing the older and slower electrical wiring technology.
Today T-Mobile announced its third-quarter sales results, which significantly exceeded analysts' estimates.
New service integrates enterprise-grade security with business productivity suite for safe and simple file collaboration.
Research firm IDC says it expects a 5.7 percent growth rate globally for software revenues for 2013.
Indian outsourcer Infosys has agreed to pay $34 million to the U.S. to resolve all allegations about the misuse of visas to get Indian staff to work in the U.S.
Enterprises can now run Hortonworks' Hadoop-based Data Platform in Rackspace's managed hosting environment and its public cloud.
Acquisitions byJapanese NTT Communications will more than double NTT Com's data center space in the U.S., enabling the company to respond to what it said is a high demand for data-center services in North America.


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GMOs in Pet Food: What they are and How they Impact our Pets
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are a hot topic right now, but maybe not for the right reasons. We hear the term GMO and immediately assume it is terrible for us and for our pets. While we totally agree that is a dangerous movement, we believe it is dangerous due to its impact on our environment and society, as well as consumption, although the truth is, no one knows know for sure as there have been no long-term studies done. The most recent studies coming out are not exactly encouraging…
But, the fact is, we and our pets have probably been consuming GMOs for years without even knowing it. So, what is so bad about GMOs and why should we avoid them? Well, here’s a “quick overview to GMOs” we put together…
What are GMOs?
Genetically Modified Organisms are organisms that have had their DNA modified by scientists. Believe it or not, this has been going on for years as companies like Monsanto work to gain control of our food supply. Certain crops, like soy, canola, corn, cotton, and many more, are naturally at the whim of Mother Nature. By modifying the DNA of these seeds, scientists can take back some of that control by making a seed that is pest-resistant, drought resistant, and more nutritious.
Why are they dangerous to pets?
Well, that’s the thing – we don’t know if they are or they’re not. At least not from a nutritional standpoint. In fact, they are rated as “substantially equivalent” by those who “regulate” the market, and deemed “safe for consumers”. Our herbivores have been eating them for years, which means you have probably been eating them for years. Since labeling is not required, we may never know.
However, there have been warnings issued on their safety. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (and others like the Centre for Research on Globalization have done their own studies on safety.
They learned that consumption of GMOs has been linked with health problems in animals that include compromised immunity levels, infertility, organ damage, and more. In fact, in a 90-day feeding trial at the Universities of Caen and Rouen. all three varieties of Monsanto’s GM maize resulted in adverse impacts on vital organs. The data “clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well as different levels of damages to heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system,” reported Gilles-Eric Séralini, a molecular biologist at the University of Caen.
So what’s the problem with GMOs?
There may not be a nutritional problem, but the truth is – we don’t know if there is a problem. For now, assuming we take scientists at face value, they are “equivalent” to traditional crops in nutritional value. However, there is a slew of other problems associated with these crops…
Let’s take it one by one, shall we?
1. The crops were never tested on humans prior to being used. This may not be a problem, but the fact is, we don’t know if it’s a problem for us or our pets. We may not know for many years. According to GMO Inside, “The commercial animal feed industry is by far the largest purchaser of US corn and soybean meal; the majority of these US crops are genetically modified: corn 88% and soybeans 94%.”
2. There is no labeling required for GMO products. This is a problem because if it’s so safe to use, it shouldn’t be a problem to label it that way. When companies hide things from us, it makes us wonder what they are up to.
3. It creates a monoculture. This is a big, big problem. In fields where GMO products are grown, nothing else does. There are no birds or insects on those crops – at all. That means that critical life forms, like bees for example, cannot live in areas where these GMO crops live. That also means that soil is not receiving critical life-giving waste that it needs to be more fertile in the future. In fact, these seeds create a vast wasteland of single-run crops that are sterile.
4. It creates a single-crop field. All GMO seeds are sterile, meaning a farmer cannot hold back a percentage of seed from an ear of corn in order to plant the next year’s crop. All GMO seed must be purchased from one of the companies who sell it – every year. If a farmer can’t afford that seed, too bad for the farmer. Since heritage seeds are becoming so difficult to find, there is a very real chance that the farmer will be out of business and that if one of the companies decide not to sell any more seed, we will all starve to death. We would be at the mercy of the companies who sell it.
5. We don’t know what it will do to our land. Right now, we depend on our crops to feed ourselves, our families, other countries and keep our economy afloat. We depend on microcosms of life that live in non-GMO crops (like bees and ants and birds). We have no idea how these crops will affect our land long-term…
6. The use of biotech crops (GMO) are rampant. Here is a graph that shows you how rampant it is and how much you may be consuming even if you don’t want to.
That’s not good. How do I avoid GMO seed? I don’t want to support these practices!
Well, that’s the hardest part of this whole mess. Our government does not require GMO seed to be labeled as such, and we find that reprehensible. The good news is that the Institute for Responsible Technology has created a list of some foods that most definitely DO have GMOs so you can help by not supporting the purchase of these foods.
Generally, you can help by specifically asking the manufacturers if they buy non-GMO products. The more we can make ourselves heard in the pet industry, the more it will translate to the human industry.
Avoid processed foods: This is a list of processed food (including baking powder, canola oil, condensed milk, etc) that you should avoid.
Buy Organic-certified as they cannot intentionally include GMO ingredients:
- Look for Non-GMO Project Verified seals like the one pictured here:
- Avoid at-risk ingredients (sugar, soybeans, canola, cottonseed, and corn)
- Educate yourself and others
- Demand change
- Share this graphic through social media and work to educate others on the potential dangers of GMOs. This is something we all need to be concerned with for ourselves, our pets, our children, and our future sustainability as a nation.


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Every Wednesday during the growing season, Emilyn Sosa picks up a box of produce from a community center in Brooklyn crammed with the week’s harvest. This might include carrots, beets or sometimes kohlrabi, which she cooks up into soups and salads for her family of five.
The price? It’s whatever Sosa judges to be fair. For a weekly box, the 33-year-old pays about $15 (£12). If she were to buy a similar amount of fruit and vegetables at a standard supermarket – where the prices are of course non-negotiable – the cost might be upward of $60 (£50) per week.
Sosa is a member of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program called Rock Steady, a 12-acre farm in upstate New York. Customers like her make regular payments to receive bundles of freshly harvested fruit and vegetables. But the prices are determined on a sliding scale of income, allowing customers to choose a payment level that is affordable to them. Other market farms across the US are opting for sliding-scale models in an effort to reach a wider demographic of customers and to help farmers stay afloat.
Sosa has no idea what her fellow members are electing to pay. “And that makes such a difference, to not feel like a charity,” she said.
At Rock Steady, the annual price for members, based on their income, is split into high ($1,155), middle ($825) and lower ($660) brackets. In the lower bracket, that comes out to about $30 (£25) a week, for about eight or nine items. The farm also accepts Snap and EBT cards, the federal nutrition program formerly known as food stamps. Most people are in the middle bracket, while higher-income contributors subsidize those on the lower end of the scale.
When joining the program, customers are asked to take an inventory of their situation, both material and social, to determine how much to pay: do you own a house? Do you have a college education? Do you have savings? Those who do are asked to pay a higher share. Those who have significant debt or are renting or are senior citizens are invited to pay a lower share.
Although Rock Steady introduced a subsidized model in 2015, the Covid pandemic was a turning point, says co-founder Maggie Cheney, who uses they/them pronouns. It was at the beginning of the pandemic, when lines for food pantries and grocery stores snaked around New York City blocks, that higher-income members of the CSA started giving more so that those with less means could afford it too, Cheney said. Now the farm’s CSA is so oversubscribed it has a 200-strong waiting list.
“It’s not a donation of our produce, which is not a sustainable route for farmers, who often can’t even pay themselves,” says Cheney.
“As a queer-owned and -operated farm, social justice runs deep in our mission,” they add. “What motivates us is feeding our community, which consists of many low-income and marginalized people.”
Also in New York state, but on the other side of the Hudson River, a CSA farm called the Phillies Bridge Project offers a national wage calculator to guide members to help them decide where they sit on the sliding scale. Some shares are discounted by 70% for those who are eligible for Snap, which comes out to about $6 a week for a small allowance of seasonal produce.
Assistant farm manager Rhyston Mays, who uses they/them pronouns, believes it’s important to pay something, even a marginal amount. “Part of our honor system is building a framework for people to be able to self-select and have agency as a person who participates in the food system,” they say.
A study of 41 CSAs in California found that even when paying full price, low-income subscribers were often more committed to the program than those with higher incomes. Those with annual earnings under $50,000 (£41,371) were more motivated to share financial risk, volunteer and participate in farm events than those with higher incomes.
Subsidizing produce is still only one solution to the problem of reducing food inequalities, says Matt Kauffman, the founder of 5 Loaves, an urban farm in Buffalo that offers sliding-scale shares. “Just making broccoli available doesn’t mean people are going to eat broccoli,” he says. “There are cultural disconnects at play.”
This is one of the drawbacks that Marilyn Sitaker, an epidemiologist and public health researcher, has identified with sliding-scale models. “Food access goes far beyond affordability,” she says. Produce needs to be abundant, easy to pick up, culturally appropriate and suited to the customer’s tastes. “The CSA model requires willingness to make a commitment. It’s not for everyone,” she adds.
For this reason, 5 Loaves runs education programs, such as cooking classes and agricultural internships, to give communities the tools to enjoy fresh produce. In Buffalo, a city with a diverse refugee and immigrant community, “maybe people want these specific eggplants from Thailand or crops from east Africa,” Kaufmann says. As the Buffalo farm grows, it is starting to sow seeds from its members’ cultures.
Communities can be knitted together by “investing in the risk or reward of local agriculture”, says Colleen Dixon, a director at Zenger Farm in Portland, Oregon, which offers sliding-scale payments and operates more like a farmers’ market. Instead of dispatching boxes of produce, the fruit and vegetables are laid out on long tables every week from which CSA members are invited to pick a set number of items.
But there are risks associated with CSAs, for example if a farm fails to produce enough crops. “Some weeks we have huge harvests, but others it’s hundreds of pounds of tomatoes and not much else,” Dixon says. When this happens, Zenger Farm gives refunds to lower-income subscribers so they can source their staple foods elsewhere.
Extreme weather can also disrupt crops. “If we have a snowstorm, drought or fires, it really shortens the growing season, which impacts food production,” Dixon says. “I expect we’ll see more of these challenges with climate change.”
These CSA programs are far ahead of federal and state governments, Sitaker says. A national food strategy to fund programs that will remove barriers to local food access is only launching next year.
But Sitaker believes sliding-scale models could have “a small but mighty” role to play in addressing food inequities with greater government investment.


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Our Chief Investment Officer, Ms. Juhi Agarwal, had a series of conversations with leaders of German companies operating in India at the CEO roundtable organised by VDMA India, also known as German Engineering Federation.
Our Managing Director, Mr. Rajiv Agarwal with Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, an Indian politician and India’s Sherpa to the G7 and G20 ex-minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce & Industry in the first term of Shri Narendra Modi.
Management and Executive Staff underwent a 2 days workshop conducted by Mr. R Santosh Kumar, a renowned Coach and Trainer (former Executive Vice President, United Breweries).
Our Managing Director, Mr. Rajiv Agarwal had the honour of being the Chief Guest at ‘Indus Food Pac-Tech Smart Packaging Systems’ road show organized jointly by Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) and Institute of Packaging Machinery Manufacturers of India (IPMMI).
Our Directors, Mr. Rajiv Agarwal and Mrs. Vijay Laxmi Agarwal getting honored along with Hon’ble Devendra Fadnavis ji and other dignitaries in Mumbai.


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One lucky bartender will be getting the job of a lifetime—for a little while, at least.
Floyd’s Pelican Bar, a floating wooden shack bar in Jamaica, is looking for one person to “pull pints in one of the most Instagrammable drinking spots in the world,” CNN reported.
For the past 18 years, owner Floyd Forbes has been behind the bar serving all the visitors, but according to the ad created by UK travel company Virgin Holidays, Forbes is in need of a break, and is looking for his replacement.
Although the position is only open to U.K. residents, according to CNN, and won’t be permanent—the ad says it will provide flights and accommodations for seven nights—the lucky bartender will be tasked with serving local drinks such as piña coladas, as well as chatting with the locals and “throwing the occasional fish to the resident pelicans.”
The famous floating bar is located about a mile from land, and visitors can take a trip there via boat from Black River, Treasure Beach or Parottee Point.
: Leave the Kids At Home! 11 All-Inclusive, Adults-Only Beach Resorts You Need to Book Right Now
The original bar—built in 2001 from Forbes’ inspiration—was destroyed in Hurricane Ivan in 2004, but was quickly rebuilt by the local community.
So who will be chosen as the lucky bartender? That decision goes to pub co-owner Jodie Kidd, who will be assisting in the competitive selection.
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“This is an incredible chance for anyone looking to combine the best job in the world with one of the best overseas destinations—and giving a local legend a well-deserved holiday—so what are you waiting for?” Kidd told CNN.
The chosen winner will also receive several added benefits that come with their new gig: a pair of return economy Virgin Atlantic flights to Jamaica, seven nights’ accommodation, £1,000 ($1,150) spending money and a trial shift at Floyd’s Pelican Bar.
Source: Read Full Article


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Led by Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Ubisoft announced their line-up for their invitation only press event which will be held on June 6th at The Los Angeles Theater. The press event will play host to never before seen content from the publisher, with some secrets still remaining for the conference itself. Ubisoft will also have a strong presence on the floor of the convention this year, with plenty of playable titles on display at the convention.
Already known for its growing collection of blockbuster brands, Ubisoft’s E3 line-up features high definition titles that set the bar for gaming creativity and quality, including: Assassin’s Creed Revelations, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Driver San Francisco, Rayman Origins and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier.
Ubisoft is entering the online games market in earnest, giving customers continuous connections to their favorite games whenever and wherever they want. By offering innovative new online titles, Ubisoft is using this year’s E3 to announce its presence as a key player in the online games space. Titles on display include: From Dust, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online, and TrackMania2 Canyon.
Ubisoft rules the casual market, holding the number one third-party position on Kinect, 3DS and Wii. Ubisoft continues to pioneer on emerging mainstream technologies and creating games with real-life benefits that the whole family can enjoy. Ubisoft’s casual games featured at E3 include: The Adventures of Tintin, MotionSports Adrenaline, Rocksmith, the upcoming new Raving Rabbids, Just Dance, and Your Shape games.
Additionally, during E3 exhibition hours Ubisoft will host an exclusive Rocksmith-branded tour bus outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Located in the concourse walkway between the West and South Halls, consumers can hop on the bus to demo the revolutionary new music experience that is the first and only game that plugs into any real guitar.
I know its a reach, but please, Ubisoft can you please pencil in a Splinter Cell 6 announcement and playable demo if its not too much to ask. Pretty please?


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Seth Rogen is about to light up into the Canadian cannabis industry.
Rogen and screenwriter Evan Goldberg have joined forces with Canopy Growth to launch Houseplant, a new brand of recreational cannabis in Canada.
According to a release announcing the partnership, “Houseplant is the result of years of experience and dedication, with each element and expression thoughtfully designed to make it easier for people to learn to love cannabis as much as Houseplant does.”
Rogen says Houseplant is a “passion we’ve brought to life through drive and dedication.”
“Every decision we’ve made for the business reflects the years of education, first-hand experience and respect we have for cannabis,” Rogen added.
The first strain, Houseplant Sativa, will be available for purchase in early April 2019 through provincially regulated retailers and online in British Columbia.
The Houseplant Hybrid and Houseplant Indica strains along with softgels and pre-rolled joints will follow throughout the year, and will soon be available across all of Canada.
(Learn more at houseplant.com.)
After five years of hard work, I’m pleased to be launching my cannabis company, Houseplant. Thank you.— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) March 27, 2019
Goldberg said in a release that he’s proud to be launching in Canada, “our home.”
“After spending five years diligently preparing for the launch of this company, we’re excited to be able to share our passion for cannabis with Canadians in this way,” he added.
Canopy Growth President Mark Zekulin said the company “could not be more excited to partner with them and work towards our shared goal of making Houseplant one of the largest cannabis brands in the world.”
Canopy Growth is “contributing their expertise to support Houseplant’s creativity and vision through its cutting-edge research, state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure.”
According to a release, Houseplant is “dedicated to product quality and consumer education; delivering only the highest quality cannabis product for Canadians” and “strains are designed to satisfy both expert and new users.”
The release announcing the partnership also stated the company’s commitment cannabis reform, both in society and in law.
“As leaders in cannabis, we also have an obligation to build an industry that commits to changing everything that’s been wrong about cannabis,” the release stated. “We are aware of the racial injustices that exist and will work closely with other industry leaders, legal teams, politicians and non-profits to help those unjustly incarcerated.”


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Kiyosaki first bought gold in 1972 when it was trading at $50 an ounce.
Today, the yellow metal trades at roughly $1,800 an ounce and he still likes it.
“I’m not buying gold because I like gold, I’m buying gold because I don’t trust the Fed,” the author said.
He has a point. Over 35% of all U.S. dollars in existence were printed in 2020.
Gold, on the other hand, can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money. Moreover, its value is largely unaffected by economic events around the world.
And because of the precious metal’s safe-haven status, investors often rush toward it in times of crisis, making it an effective hedge.
There are many ways to play gold.
You can own gold bullion. You can also get exposure through ETFs like SPDR Gold Shares. Or, you can look at gold mining companies.
If gold prices go up, miners get to earn higher revenue and profits, which tend to translate to higher share prices.
For instance, companies like Barrick Gold, Newmont, and Freeport-McMoRan typically do well during tough times for other sectors.
And if you don’t want to have anything to do with stocks, you can always build a low-risk income portfolio just by using your digital nickels and dimes.
The grey metal may not seem as exciting as gold, but it could be an even better opportunity given its price action.
“Silver has always been the best, it’s still 50% off its all-time high, and they keep using it for industry. It’s an industrial metal,” Kiyosaki said.
Just like gold, silver can act as a store of value. But it’s more than just a safe haven asset.
Silver is widely used in the production of solar panels. It’s also a critical component in many vehicles’ electrical control units. The industrial demand — plus the hedging properties — makes silver a very interesting asset class for investors.
You can buy silver coins and bars. ETFs like iShares Silver Trust provide another way to gain access to the metal. And of course, there are plenty of miners well-positioned for a silver price boom.
Companies like Pan American Silver, Wheaton Precious Metals, and First Majestic Silver should provide a good starting point for some research.
If you’ve followed the price of bitcoin over the last few months, you know that crypto investing isn’t always smooth sailing.
After soaring above $68,000 on Nov. 10, bitcoin has fallen back to around $50,000.
That said, long-term holders — including Kiyosaki — are not complaining as the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency is still up more than 100% over the past 12 months.
“Bitcoin going up and down? I don’t really care because my entry point is $6,000,” Kiyosaki said during the interview.
Back in October, the author tweeted that the future of Bitcoin is “very bright.”
Investors can buy bitcoin directly. Today, many exchanges charge up to 4% in commission fees just to buy and sell crypto. But some investing apps charge 0%.
Companies that have tied themselves to the crypto market present another option to capitalize on the crypto boom.
For instance, software technologist MicroStrategy has built a stash of 122,478 bitcoins.
Electric vehicle giant Tesla holds around 43,200 bitcoins.
Then there are picks-and-shovels plays like Coinbase Global, which runs the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.
Get a piece of commercial real estate
A fourth alternative
While Kiyosaki likes gold, silver, and Bitcoin, he didn’t say that they’re immune to market downturns.
Diversification is key — and you don’t have to stay in the stock market to get it.
If you want to invest in something insulated from stock market swings, take a look at some lesser-known alternative assets.
Traditionally, investing in sectors like exotic vehicles or multifamily apartment buildings or even litigation finance have only been options for the ultrarich.
But with the help of new platforms, these kinds of opportunities are available to retail investors, too.
Fine art as an investment
Stocks can be volatile, cryptos make big swings to either side, and even gold is not immune to the market’s ups and downs.
That’s why if you are looking for the ultimate hedge, it could be worthwhile to check out a real, but overlooked asset: fine art.
Contemporary artwork has outperformed the S&P 500 by a commanding 174% over the past 25 years, according to the Citi Global Art Market chart.
And it’s becoming a popular way to diversify because it’s a real physical asset with little correlation to the stock market.
On a scale of -1 to +1, with 0 representing no link at all, Citi found the correlation between contemporary art and the S&P 500 was just 0.12 during the past 25 years.
Earlier this year, Bank of America investment chief Michael Harnett singled out artwork as a sharp way to outperform over the next decade — due largely to the asset’s track record as an inflation hedge.
Investing in art by the likes of Banksy and Andy Warhol used to be an option only for the ultrarich. But with a new investing platform, you can invest in iconic artworks just like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates do.


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Improving the cross-border transactions sector of the financial industry has been seen as the next big thing in the world of technology, something that is also ingrained into the ideals of the Brad Garlinghouse-led Ripple.
To compete with Ripple, Visa, one of the world’s most popular and largest credit/debit card companies, has decided to wade into the FinTech arena by implementing Distributed Ledger Technology [DLT] in their latest product offering, B2B Connect. Kevin Phalen, Visa’s Global Head of Business Solutions stated,
“Visa is also making transactions faster and more transparent with its newly launched B2B Connect product.”
B2B Connect aims to facilitate direct bank connections with financial institutions, having the option to see payment fees upfront. Phalen added,
“Visa B2B Connect is focused on facilitating high-value B2B transactions of about $15,000 and up, which represents a roughly 10% chunk of the $125 trillion cross-border market.”
Visa officials have claimed that with the latest product, transactions will be settled much faster than usual, with the promise to settle any location to location transfer within 24 – 48 hours. The company revealed that it had created the latest platform using the HyperLedger Fabric, one of the key components developed by IBM in partnership with Linux.
Visa’s reach in over 200 countries and partnerships with several market giants has put the ball in Ripple’s court. The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency company had made cross-border transactions its numero uno priority, which was evidenced by its developments and updates. Ripple had made headway in this regard at the turn of the year when Brad Garlinghouse announced that the organization had partnered with over 200 countries to propagate quicker cross-border transactions.
Recently, Ripple announced that the firm had expanded to Brazil in a bid to close the worldwide payments circuit. The official statement from the company read,
“Ripple’s enterprise blockchain solutions enables a better user experience with more agility, transparency and lower cost for cross-border payments. Ripple, the global leader in enterprise blockchain solutions for cross-border payments, launches operations in Brazil to expand its footprint in South America.”
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Facebook’s entry a positive signal to blockchain & crypto markets, claims Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse
As the influx of new players into the crypto-ecosystem grows, the industry has come a long way from its inception a decade ago. The industry has forced mainstream institutions such as Facebook and JP Morgan to join the race. While the world speculates on Facebook’s next move as a global power, in-house competitor Ripple is on a partnership spree to ensure a comfortable XRP market.
To clear out the FUD, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse discussed the intent and roadmap behind the recent MoneyGram-Ripple partnership. While enabling XRP-powered money transfer services, Ripple’s $30 million investment seems to be part of a game plan for increased adoption.
Garlinghouse shared his optimism for the move after his company’s beta network recently matched Western Union’s performance for cross-border payments. Further, he is certain about Ripple’s ability to improve MoneyGram’s infrastructure by eliminating the traditional pre-funding process. Garlinghouse added,
“Our (Ripple’s) product allows companies to avoid pre-funds and just shoot the payments in real time. That’s a massive savings in terms of efficiency and capital costs.”
As a result of this partnership, Ripple will hold a 6% – 10% share in MoneyGram, helping the crypto giant’s vision to enable mass adoption. Further, the CEO correlated the development with the company’s ultimate roadmap. He said,
“We will continue to build out and expand the number of corridors. We work with over 200 banks and financial institutions today.”
Garlinghouse also shared Ripple’s contributions toward enabling liquidity in the Mexican and Philippines market. Although the XRP market stands as one of the biggest disruptors in the cryptospace, Garlinghouse applauded Facebook’s recent Libra initiative. He commented,
“It’s incredibly positive signal to the overall blockchain and crypto market to have a player like Facebook leaning in.”
While a positive sign for the crypto-market, it will be interesting to see the direction Facebook’s crypto-initiative takes, which is currently speculated to be pointing toward a consumer-oriented payment system.
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Bitfinex LEO token comes out of nowhere to take the 13th spot on CMC with $1.8 billion in market cap
Ampleforth could help create next-gen synthetic commodities for portfolio diversification, claims Blockfyre report
Is Facebook’s Libra a fiat in crypto’s disguise?
Bancor reacts to increasing regulatory uncertainty; will disable conversion functionality for U.S users
Facebook’s Libra raises money laundering concerns associated with crypto again
Bitcoin [BTC]: #DropGold campaign gets called out for being ‘Bitcoin cartel’
Tron’s [TRX] Sun Network testnet goes live as Justin Sun places bet on its ‘unlimited scaling capacity’
Gaming giant Ubisoft takes its first steps towards bridging the gap between crypto and gamers
Tron join hands with LATOKEN to become an IEO payment token
Convincing Warren Buffett to buy cryptocurrency in just three hours is unrealistic, admits Tron’s Justin Sun
XRP closes 48 million ledger; XRPL Labs introduces solution for users’ destination tag problem
8 crypto exchanges were shut down in 2019; how does that affect the overall crypto space?
Bitcoin up for a long run as it re-visits an old bullish pattern
Bitcoin exhibits similar trends to pre-2017 bull run era; can history repeat itself?


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The squeeze on margins caused by rising commodity prices, combined with price sensitive consumers has created an inability for companies to raise prices. That was the subject of this week’s most overlooked WSJ article.
Creeping inflation, anyone?
WSJ: "U.S. companies are beginning to pass along rising raw-material costs to business customers, increasing the risks of more inflation. So far, though, many businesses are finding it hard to pass the price increases on to consumers. (emphasis added)
By making productivity improvements and accepting thinner profit margins, producers have absorbed most of rising costs of steel, plastic and natural gas without passing them along this year . . . Indeed, the government reported Friday that producer, or wholesale, prices for finished goods rose 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, after rising 1.7% in October and 0.1% in September. Much of the October and November increases reflected higher oil prices. Excluding volatile food and energy items, producer prices rose 0.2% in November, following three consecutive months of 0.3% increases.
During the past year, producer prices for finished goods have risen 5%, the Labor Department said. Excluding food and energy, they have risen 1.9% over the past year compared with 0.5% in the previous 12 months."
We’ve said this several times previously, but it bears repeating: The inflation rate ex food and energy is a useless measure of price increases. If your concern is volatility, use a moving average. Otherwise, the 2% rate is an utterly useless measure of inflation.
Imagine a hospital declaring, "ex-breathing and heart rate, the patient’s vital signs are terrific." Well, how is he doing? He’s dead, but ex-breathing and heart rate . . .
Silly, but its become an economic convention. Especially when one considers the government’s obligation’s tied to inflation rate (Social Security, et. al.). That apparent conflict of interest notwithstanding, the so called core-inflation rate has become more or less worthless.
Here’s an excerpt from the Journal:
A growing number of Federal Reserve officials believe inflation risks are on the rise. That shift in sentiment likely will keep the central bank raising interest rates at its next few meetings. Since June, the Fed has raised its target for the federal-funds rate — charged on overnight loans between banks — to 2% from 1%. Economists expect the Fed to move the rate to 2.25% at its meeting tomorrow, and to 2.5% in early February. . .
Intense global competition from China and other low-cost producers limited the ability of many companies to pass higher costs on to customers. Labor costs have been more contained thanks to productivity improvements, though these costs are also inching higher. And healthy profit margins have given companies leeway to absorb higher costs.
"While competition limited the ability of producers to pass higher costs forward, several districts noted that some industries were successful in passing along cost increases," though more so to other businesses than to consumers, the beige book said.
Talk about late to the party: In December 2004, Federal Reserve officials believe "inflation risks are on the rise" ? Shouldn’t that read: Federal Reserve officials believe inflation has been rising for the past 30 months . . . ? As the Labor Department chart above shows, finished goods prices have been rising since early 2002.
Pressure Mounts to Increase Prices
Rising Raw-Material Costs Are Passed On to Businesses; Consumers May Be Next
By MICHAEL SCHROEDER and PAUL GLADER
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, December 13, 2004; Page A3


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Over 10,000 chain store branches disappeared from Great Britain’s retail locations in 2021. In total, 7,160 shops opened, compared to 17,219 closures, a net decline of 10,059, according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC).
Although the net change has worsened since 2020, the number of closures per day has remained stable, 47 in 2021, compared to 48 in 2020. A decline was expected with the ongoing impact of the pandemic and as large retailers, that were on the brink of closure at the end of 2020, exited the market for good. Meanwhile, Government support for chain retailers was mostly phased out in July 2021 adding pressure to those retailers reliant on grants.
The number of openings has declined 26% since 2019, the last year pre-pandemic. So, although there were over 7000 new openings in 2021, many of these were the natural churn and re-siting of existing stores. Apart from takeaways, at +81, and government job centres, +33, no other category saw more than 20 net openings in 2021.
In a continuation of a long term trend, store closures peaked in 2020 in the height of the pandemic. The rate of closures has been growing since the mid 2010s, as more retail and service categories have shifted online. This had previously been offset by the rapid rollout of leisure operators, such as coffee shops, food-to-go and restaurants. However, such openings have slowed down rapidly since the mid 2010s.
In better news, the number of closures is now expected to slow down through 2022. The last two years have seen a shake out of some large fashion and department store chains who were on the brink of collapse. With these stores now closed, future store closures should begin to level off. Moreover, bigger chain retailers are more likely to be proactively negotiating with landlords, so the end of the rent moratorium in March 2022 is less likely to affect them.
Location matters above all else
Consumer behaviour is continuing to drive the most change and the choice of shopping location is impacting the number of closures. Retail parks and standalone sites are more insulated from closures. In 2021, retail parks saw the smallest net change of any location (593), compared to high streets (4,287) and shopping centres (1,690). In percentage terms retail parks saw net closures of -4% compared to high streets at -5% and shopping centres at -7%. Fast becoming a trend, retail parks have consistently outperformed shopping centres and high streets for the past 6 years. (See Table 2). In the same time, shopping centres have gone from the second best performing locations, in 2015, to the worst performing locations in 2020 and 2021.
Undeniably, Covid exacerbated the popularity of retail parks but even since restrictions lifted, footfall recovery has been much faster in out of town retail parks which benefit from easy access and good parking and bolstered by car travel recovering more quickly than public transport. Moreover, shopping centres have been hit particularly hard by closures of fashion retailers, department stores and casual dining restaurant chains - and therefore less attractive destinations in their own right.
Table 2 - multiple retailer new closures by location type
Flight from cities
Since the pandemic, city centres and London postcodes have seen an acceleration in net closures as more people work from home or adopt hybrid working patterns. London is again the worst performing region by some margin. Similarly, the underperformance of the city of Birmingham has caused the West Midlands to perform worse than the East Midlands, with towns in the East Midlands more sheltered from the surge of Covid closures. Many will be hoping that hosting the Commonwealth Games in the summer will see a reversal of fortune for Birmingham.
Lisa Hooker, consumer markets lead at PwC, said;
“The last two years have been tumultuous for retailers but the closures we’ve seen are an acceleration of what was happening before the pandemic. Changes in consumer behaviour, changing patterns of working and the shift to online is impacting on both retail and service chain operators.
“Location matters most to consumers and whilst city centres and shopping centres falter, retail parks and standalone operators have broad appeal. Multiple operators are taking note of this changing consumer behaviour and are relocating stores to where their customers need them to be.
“Many of the CVAs and administrations that took place in early 2021 have now been captured, including department stores, fashion retailers and hospitality operators that have left gaps in city and shopping centre locations. There is a pressing need to radically reshape and even repurpose towns and city centres plagued by these empty units and shopfronts. To regain lost footfall, high streets must understand why retail parks are so attractive to consumers or look for ways to better serve local needs, encouraging independent retailers and entrepreneurs to take this opportunity to grow into the gaps that are emerging.”
Categories almost all driven by acceleration online
On a sector by sector basis the growth seen in a small number of categories is nowhere near enough to offset the declines in other categories. Leisure dominates growth, with takeaway chains buoyed by a rise in delivery as well as walk-in demand. Smaller chains and franchise operators, such as cake shops and amusement arcades, have also been able to take advantage of lower rents and vacant units to expand their footprints.
The big net declines in many other categories reveal the impact of major shifts in how consumers buy and transact. The shift to online, accelerated by consumer behaviour during Covid lockdowns, continues to be the biggest common denominator for closures in both retail and services.
Lucy Stainton, commercial director at The Local Data Company said;
“These latest figures for 2021 show the gap between openings and closures has widened, though hopefully this marks the end of the worst of the structural decline in chain retail exacerbated by the pandemic.
“2021 was an extremely challenging period for occupiers, with the first three months lost to a strict lockdown, limitations on international travel impacting tourism, increased migration to online retailing, mobility restricted across all sectors and continuing home working impacting city centres. There is no doubt that the numbers are stark and 2021 saw an acceleration in net closures across this sector, which in isolation looks dramatic.
“However, it's also worth noting that vacancy rates have started to stabilise across the market, meaning that the number of empty shops is no longer increasing. This is due to a significant uptick in independent retail and leisure businesses opening sites in units left vacant by chains. The rental tone is softening and more space has become available in prime locations previously occupied by bigger brands, paving the way for new and up and coming operators. This trend is significant for a number of reasons, not least because, in theory, the growing independent operators of today are potentially the chains of tomorrow. As these businesses gain momentum, they also gain better infrastructure and stability.
“Ultimately, these latest statistics on the performance of the chain sector should not be viewed in isolation and don’t point to ‘the death of the high street’, but rather represent a last shakeout of some of the heritage brands, paving the way for new operators and so the constant evolution of physical retail continues.”
Notes to editors
About the research:
The Local Data Company tracked 203,718 outlets operated by multiple operators across Great Britain, between 1 January and 31 December 2021.
Multiples are retailers that have more than 5 or more outlets nationally.
Net change is openings minus closures. The percentage change is derived from the net change figure relative to the total number of live multiple businesses.
The analysis is derived from The Local Data Company visiting high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across Great Britain. Each premises was visited and its occupancy status recorded as occupied, vacant or demolished. Vacant units are those units, which did not possess a trading business at that location on the day visited.
For the purposes of this research, premises that were temporarily closed when visited were considered to be still occupied and have not been included in the closures numbers. It is likely that a number of these premises may not open and will be included as closures in future research.
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 156 countries with over 295,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at PwC.
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see how we are structured for further details.
© 2022 PwC. All rights reserved
Manager, media relations, PwC United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0)7803 455 542


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Featuring 120 wine producers from the top wine regions in the world, the event showcased an extraordinary selection of more than 200 top-scoring wines. Celebrated owners and winemakers representing the world’s most iconic wineries gathered and shared their valuable insights while presenting their two top vintages to attendees.
The Sylvester Bar invites you to have drinks with Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh as we officially launch his Singani 63 in South Florida, Monday at 7 PM.
Bar-Tag has recently made waves at the storied Surf Club. Jacopo Rosito and Valentino Longo, the duo behind the club’s Le Sirenuse Champagne Bar were able to host one of the legendary names in mixology—Erik Lorincz of the tiki-by-way-of-Casablanca Kwant Bar in London—for a one-night guest shift showcasing Lorincz’ talents alongside the introduction of Positano-influenced Amore Eterno bar menu.
The Macallan Manor experience first transported us to the forests of Galicia, Spain to introduce the Macallan 12-year. Next, we visited a Spanish cooperage, where the Macallan barrels are painstakingly crafted. Here, we were treated to the Macallan 15-year, a bold and fruitful spirit, alongside an introduction to nuts and cheeses that enhance this delicious whiskey. The end of our journey brought us to a wonderful whiskey den where we got to enjoy the Macallan Rare Cask.” -Sujhail Cabana
Become a cognac connoisseur in this series of exclusive, hands-on Hennessy’s masterclasses, taking place nationwide. Miami edition led by brand ambassador Jacqueline Sanabia at the newly opened Ritz-Carlton residences will teach you the craft and uncover the complexity of their spirits, becoming an expert in making your own classical with the world’s finest cognac
The Urbanism Summit held a “Consuming Earth” panel discussion on October 12th at the Center for Subtropical Affairs, in Little Haiti. Panelists offered their insights into how today’s culture of consumerism is depleting the planet’s natural resources, with a view towards influencing more sustainable behavior.
After seven outstanding years in Spain, the International Rum Conference (IRC) has made its exciting migration to the U.S., with the aim of bringing industry leaders and rum enthusiasts together in a location that more closely neighbors the geographic and historical roots of this venerated beverage.


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Over 500,000 players joined last week’s Cabal Mobile closed beta test!
Cabal Mobile has begun its closed beta test and announced its Big Bird Raffle for pre-registrants.
Hearthstone’s latest expansion, United in Stormwind, has been unveiled and is now available for pre-purchase.
The release date of NieR Re[in]carnation has been announced along with the unveiling of its opening cinematic.
Alchemy Stars, the new tactical gacha RPG from Tencent Games and TourDogStudio, is now available!
Ragnarok X: Next Generation has launched its closed beta test and pre-registration website!
Ragnarok M: Eternal Love 2.0 is now live and introduces a new map, the new Ninja class, visual improvements, and more!
Square Enix has officially announced a remake of Legend of Mana as well as SaGa Frontier Remastered, both of which will be released this year.
Cecil from Final Fantasy IV will be given to all players as a free login bonus during the latest War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius collaboration!
PlayPark has officially launched Club Audition Mobile in the Philippines for both iOS and Android!
Hearthstone’s latest expansion, Scholomance Academy, is set to go live on August 7, 2020!
KOF Final Battle – AllStar, the latest mobile gacha game from SNK Corporation and VNG, is now available for download!
Hearthstone’s new free, five-chapter Trial by Felfire solo story adventure for the current Ashes of Outland expansion is now live!
Mobile gacha games have come a long way since Dragon Collection released in Japan back in 2010!
KOF Final Battle – AllStar from VNG and SNK Corporation is now open for preregistration in the Philippines for Android and iOS!


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The international supermodel has been representing Pantene in Brazil since 2007.
“Gisele is truly a woman who has it all—not only does she have one of the most iconic heads of hair in the beauty world but she is also a true role model with a huge heart,” said Kevin Crociata, marketing director of North American hair care at Procter & Gamble. “We want to celebrate Gisele not only for her beauty, but also her genuine passion to empower women to be their best selves. Her tremendous career accomplishments, her success as a mother of two wonderful children, and her ongoing philanthropic work are an inspiration for women to be beautiful both inside and out. We are proud to now have her as part of our North American Pantene family.”
Bündchen debuted in a new campaign that broke in January to launch what P&G is calling Pantene‘s first-ever, clinically tested, antioxidant damage-blocking technology (EDDS). The damage blocking technology targets, captures and helps reduce copper buildup on hair to help prevent oxidative damage, which over time leads to a new dimension of damage protection, according to P&G.
This technology will be used across most Pantene shampoo formulas and works to preserve the long-term condition of hair.
Pantene will also launch the Damage Detox Collection, which it calls the first-to-mass detoxifying shampoo, conditioner, and treatment system that eliminates impurities, protects from oxidative damage and provides shine.


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DroneDeploy, the leading cloud software platform for commercial drones, announced today that they have raised $20 million in Series B financing led by Scale Venture Partners. The new investment brings DroneDeploy’s total funding to $31 million. DRONELIFE spoke with DroneDeploy CEO Mike Winn and SVP of Marketing Darr Gerscovich about DroneDeploy’s explosive growth, the company’s mission and the future […]
The post DroneDeploy Announces New Financing, New Plans [Interview] appeared first on DRONELIFE.
Full post available at – http://dronelife.com/2016/08/24/dronedeploy-announces-new-financing/


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The Trade Desk Appoints Jonathan Carson as Chief Revenue Officer
Experienced Digital Media Executive to Accelerate Company’s Global Business Development
Global advertising technology leader, The Trade Desk, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jonathan Carson as the company’s first Chief Revenue Officer. Based in the New York office, Carson is focused on driving the company’s revenue generation and new client acquisition strategy. In this new role, Carson is responsible for scaling The Trade Desk’s business development organization to continue the company’s rapid global growth.
“I am delighted to join The Trade Desk’s executive team at this exciting time”
Carson brings more than 20 years’ experience in the digital media industry, with executive leadership roles in fast-growth environments both in the U.S. and globally. Prior to joining The Trade Desk, he served as the Chief Revenue Officer of Vevo, where he oversaw Vevo’s global sales and marketing functions. Previously, Carson was CEO of Digital for The Nielsen Company, where he led Nielsen’s digital and mobile strategy and operations across more than 70 countries. Carson joined Nielsen when they acquired the social media analytics company, BuzzMetrics, which he co-founded and led as CEO.
“We are thrilled to add Jonathan’s deep experience in digital media to our executive leadership team as we continue our rapid growth,” said Jeff Green, Founder and CEO of The Trade Desk. “Jonathan’s focus on revenue generation and client acquisition will help us continue to gain share in the global digital advertising market, including new channels such as Connected TV, and massive emerging consumer markets, such as China.”
Read More: Usabilla Named a Strong Performer in 2019
“I am delighted to join The Trade Desk’s executive team at this exciting time,” said Jonathan Carson, Chief Revenue Officer of The Trade Desk. “I look forward to working with Jeff and the global leadership team to build on the company’s position as the leading independent, objective ad-buying platform and to help grow our customer base amongst the world’s leading marketers and agencies.”
Carson will report directly to CEO and Founder, Jeff Green.


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Pigzbe announces first cryptocurrency ‘piggy wallet’ for children to receive, save and spend pocket money
Gamified digital money apps for kids are emerging to teach digital financial literacy in an increasingly less-cash world
Children are ‘traditional users’ of cash, so could these apps accelerate declining cash use?
Source: Blockchain News
Point of View
In an increasingly digital payments world, digital financial literacy is ever more important. With fewer opportunities to observe adults paying with physical money, it can be harder for children to understand how much things cost, according to ASIC. The juxtaposition of how adults and children use cash can further impair kids’ ability to understand money. More than three-quarters of parents give their children pocket money in cash (Teachers Mutual Bank survey), but adult consumers only use cash for 37 per cent of payments (Reserve Bank Consumer Payments Survey).
A number of fintechs are looking to solve this, with gamified digital money apps that teach children how digital money works, in a practical and engaging way. Typically, an app allows a kid to manage their pocket money, track chores, budget and set savings goals. Some apps are purely educational and are not integrated with any financial products. Transfers and spending occurs outside the app, quite possibly in cash. For example, Pennybox in Australia and Rooster Money in the UK.
Other apps come with a linked prepaid card, so kids are not restricted to spending only using cash. For example, Spriggy in Australia, goHenry in the UK, and Greenlight in the US. Cards are issued by a financial institution on behalf of the ‘piggy wallet’ service provider. The apps have features that give parents control over how children use their cards.
Pigzbe takes it a step further. The Pigzbe platform is built on a ‘family friendly’ cryptocurrency, Wollo, where all funds are transferred and stored within the wallet in Wollo coins. The platform comprises a gamified app and specialised device for kids (aged six years and over), while parents have a simpler app to manage the wallet.
Parents and other members of a ‘family network’ can send Wollo to the child as recurring allowances, rewards for completing chores, and as gifts. Being a cryptocurrency, members of a family network in another country can send cross-border funds directly. Transfers take a few seconds, irrespective of location, and cost a fraction of a cent. Children and parents can also make real-world purchases at the point of sale and online with the linked Wollo Card; Wollo is converted to fiat money at purchase.
As well as providing education on digital money generally, Pigzbe also hopes to teach children about how cryptocurrencies work, including exposure to volatility. Pigzbe will hold an ICO in June.
Children face two hurdles when it comes to using less cash. As noted above, kids tend to receive money in cash. Second, there are not many other ways kids can pay.
According to the Reserve Bank, “…pocket money payments to children could remain a ‘sticky’ use for cash, partly because relatively few electronic payment methods are available to younger children.” Similarly, Vocalink commented in a 2017 UK report that “…giving children anything other than cash is unlikely to take off until there are established ways for children to spend money without cash.”
By providing a way for parents to pay and children to spend digitally in one platform, card-linked digital money apps appear to offer a solution to the ‘stickiness’ issue. Spriggy, the first such app in Australia, has been gaining traction over 2017 and now has 80,000 members. Could apps like Spriggy contribute to further decline in the use of cash by Australians in future?
Alternatively, could we see development of NPP overlay services aimed at providing financial products for children? And what might such a service look like?


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In the past 6 months Moore explained that EA has Mut 23 coins been rethinking its mission and how it's changing. The result, Moore said, is "We bring people together through playing." The company wants to provide the same experience for all regardless of the platform they pick.
To achieve this the goal of the company is "build the most enjoyable digital playground, offering games for all ages, anytime any time, wherever." Moore claimed that the company believes that it has 230 million customers in its database who would like to work direct with its company.
Moore claimed that every game was off-line when Moore first started in the game. However, when he first saw NBA 2K being played online using a dial-up modem Moore was convinced that players must be socially connected.
Many people think of "socially active" as the key phrase to describe Facebook games, however Moore believes that it should be a requirement for all games. From green light to final game, Moore declared that focus should be on improving the social component of games.
Moore spoke of his FIFA franchise to provide an illustration of a highly well-functioning social-media ecosystem. Whatever the player's preference, whether they want to play for fun on Facebook or play online 11-on-11 with 21 other players using Xbox Live, Moore said there's a soccer match for players in the middle of that spectrum.
He cited FIFA Online as a game that has benefited from the digitalization of the industry especially well noting that there's been an average of eight hundred and ninety-five English Premiere League seasons per day, and the total number of buy madden nfl 23 coins 800 million game hours played.


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Quinsam Capital Corporation (CSE:QCA) issued an update on a variety of new investments the company has made to shareholders.
As quoted in the press release:
Roger Dent, CEO of Quinsam said “We continue to deploy the funds from our recent new issues. This group of investments includes some transactions that we expect to have a very high profile as time goes on.”
US$1.25 Million Invested in FLRish
Quinsam invested US$1.25 million in Oakland-based FLRish as part of a US$6.5 million Series A financing that also included Cresco Capital Partners and Murray Field & Co. FLRish is regarded by many as a pioneer in the California cannabis market. It manages the two Harborside retail dispensaries and brands, and as well has a large cannabis cultivation facility. The dispensaries are located in Oakland and San Jose. The new capital will be used to continue building out the firm’s cultivation facility, expand its retail platforms and for corporate development purposes.
US$992,000 Invested in Acreage Holdings
We invested US$992,000 in Acreage Holdings, which has perhaps the largest collection of licenses that exists in the United States. Acreage recently attracted attention when it announced that John Boehner, former Speaker of the House, and Bill Weld, former Massachusetts Governor, would be joining its board of advisors. We expect Acreage to pursue a public listing in 2018.


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Apple's grand foray into 4G territory came with a hiccup as the new iPad isn't compatible with Australia's 4G networks.
Read More »
The Next Web reports that Apple is in "crunch mode" to deliver the flashy apps and ads to showcase during iPad 3's launch.
Apple insiders claim that the highly anticipated iPad 3 will have its debut in just a few months.
Shantanu Narayen disclosed in an interview that the iPad will fall just like the iPhone.
17-year-old boy in Anhui Province regrets selling an organ for a shiny Apple tablet.
Awful device has awful unveiling.
Aside from the sexism, the makers of this clip saw a brighter future.
Corporate message from on high fulfills customers demands.


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Two Seemingly Small Approvals by Two Major Organizations Lead to Big Things on Earth Day for one LED Company
- Next Generation Job Training and Green Jobs
- Energy Saving Grant for Minority, Women, & Veteran owned businesses.
- LED Manufacturer is recognized for Leadership in International Service
- Distribution Center Flipped the Switch in September on LED Tube Lights
- LED Tube Light Trend Report: LED Wholesalers
As Earth Day week comes to a close, it is important to highlight some accomplishments of growing companies in the ‘Green’ sector. The Energy Revolution is not just about big oil companies going green, or companies like GE and Siemens changing the world. Smaller companies are taking great strides to help reduce energy consumption in the U.S. and create jobs here at home.
LED Saving Solutions (LSS) is a LED lighting supplier based just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This week LSS made two very big announcements. First, testing facility Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has approved the LSS Parking Garage Fixture. Becoming ‘UL Rated’ is a major step in the lighting industry opening many doors for the up and coming company.
Underwriters Laboratories is an industry standard when it comes to safety. The majority of facility managers and engineers must use products that are UL Listed. The review process takes approximately seven months and both the fixtures, tubes, and power supplies are put through rigorous testing. Another advantage to becoming UL Listed is that the LSS Parking Garage fixture is now eligible for many rebates and incentives offered by utility companies across the country. With these rebates, the return on investment for these fixtures can be less than 6 months (depending on several factors including run time, kWh cost, etc). Receiving this first UL approval also allows LSS to submit other fixtures for approval with a much shorter testing phase due to the available testing data already on file with Underwriters Laboratories.
The second major announcement of the week comes in the form of Con Edison of New York approving LED Saving Solutions as a Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Market Partner. For over 180 years, Con Edison, Inc. has provided energy to metropolitan New York, servicing approximately 3.3 million customers. After an in-depth review process, including direct contact with LSS customers, Con Edison approved the Parking Fixture, giving LSS customers the ability to capitalize on ConEd’s many rebate and incentive programs. Already saving customers in Metropolitan New York 50%-85% on lighting costs, LSS now has the ability leverage these rebate programs and create payback scenarios well inside two years. With lifetime estimates of ten years and a guaranteed 5-year warranty, the savings potential is unmatched.
Although the economy of the United States is shifting to more sustainable business practices, companies like LSS are not relying on the ‘tree-hugger approach’ in order to gain recognition. More and more companies are focusing the Cost Savings to help clients see the energy saving potential. The bottom line goal of the current energy economy is to save money. Reducing our carbon footprint and helping to prevent climate change is very important to all ‘green’ companies and individuals, however this is not always an effective selling point. Saving money can be just as important (if not more important) to Corporate America than saving the planet. After consumers are presented with cost saving proposals of 50%-85% on lighting it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the LED Lighting revolution.


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A good portion of respondents were spending more than 5% of their total marketing budget on Big Data tools and initiatives; 36% spent 5% or less.
Archives for December 20, 2012
83% of marketers said the move toward more audience-based buying was a significant factor contributing to their interest in Data Management Platforms.
In November, 40% of marketers worldwide were turning to DMPs to help them harness the vast amounts of marketing data.
87% of the online population visited a retail site in November.
Figures from the Chase Holiday Pulse show a similarly high level of activity during the so-called Green Week (Dec. 10-16).
Online ad revenues continue to climb at double-digit rates, growing 18% year-over-year in Q3 from $7.82 billion to $9.26 billion.
Virtually all (98%) affluent consumers use the internet to shop and make purchases.
The US population grew by 2.3 million between July 2011 and July 2012 to reach 313.9 million.
This ReadWrite infographic offers some key data points on the path to digital money.
This infographic by The Danger Brain breaks down the costs of producing a web series using Video Game High School as an example.


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One of China's top agricultural policy advisors acknowledged that China' big agricultural imports have become a permanent state of affairs, but he also portrayed China as a victim of an unfair global trade system.
According to a brief Futures Daily report, Cheng Guoqiang, a senior agricultural economist with the Development Research Center, said earlier this week, "Eight years ago I predicted that China would become a net importer of agricultural products and eight years later my prediction unfortunately has come true. The agricultural trade deficit has increased faster than expected, from $4.64 in 2004 to $50 billion in 2012" [dimsums translation]. The Futures Daily notes that China became the world's largest importer of agricultural products in 2012.
Cheng went on to surmise that the agricultural trade deficit is likely to persist. He cites the changing structure of demand and resource endowments but he also depicts China as a victim of globalization. Making reference to WTO accession (11 years ago), Cheng cites increasing competitive pressure from foreign modernized agriculture on China's small, fragmented traditional farming sector. Second, he cites an unjust global agricultural trade environment due to high subsidies and protectionism of developed countries.


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Apple has fixed an issue in Snow Leopard that was silently downgrading users to a vulnerable version of Adobe Flash Player.
Security researchers had taken Apple to task about the issue a week ago after it was revealed users who upgraded to Mac OS X 10.6 were downgraded to Adobe Flash version 10.0.23.1. The latest version of Flash is version 10.0.32.18, which has been patched to address a number of vulnerabilities.
The fix came out Sept. 10 along with a massive update for Mac OS X Server 10.5, Mac OS X Server 10.4.x (universal), Mac OS X Server 10.4.x (PowerPC), Mac OS X 10.5.8 and Mac OS X 10.4.11 that plugged more than 30 security holes.
Among them are fixes for Alias Manager, CarbonCore, ImageIO, CoreGraphics and ColorSync – all of which have vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution, according to Apple.
Also included are fixes for a number of third-party components, including ClamAV, Adobe Flash, PHP and MySQL.


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Right now, the Model 3 units have been seen more often on the roads of the Netherlands. According to the carmaker, by the end of September, 5,000 cars will come to its customers.
With more EVs being adopted it is important to share this news on the matter, to show people all around the world that this is the time to start shifting toward cleaner energy.
Other countries in Europe, such as Austria, Spain, and Belgium, are also seeing more Teslas in traffic. This shows not only the success of EVs but also Tesla ruling the market. What are your opinions?
What else can we expect from countries from around the world?


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Facebook Claims to Have Shut 3 Billion Fake Accounts in Six Months
It took down 2,595,410 pieces of content based on 511,706 copyright reports; 215,877 pieces of content based on 81,243 trademark reports; and 781,875 pieces of content based on 62,829 counterfeit reports.
Image for Representation.
Facebook has removed more than three billion fake accounts in the October 2018-March 2019 period, saying that about 5 percent of its monthly active users were fake.
Facebook disabled 1.2 billion accounts in Q4 2018 and 2.19 billion in Q1 2019.
"For fake accounts, the amount of accounts we took action on increased due to automated attacks by bad actors who attempt to create large volumes of accounts at one time," Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president for integrity, said in a blog post on Thursday.
According to Rosen, for every 10,000 times people who view content on Facebook, 11 to 14 views contained content that violates the platform's adult nudity and sexual activity policy.
"We estimated for every 10,000 times people viewed content on Facebook, 25 views contained content that violated our violence and graphic content policy.
"During the second half of 2018, the volume of content restrictions based on local law increased globally by 135 percent from 15,337 to 35,972.
"This increase was primarily driven by 16,600 items we restricted in India based on a Delhi High Court order regarding claims made about PepsiCo products," said Facebook.
In the second half of 2018, Facebook identified 53 disruptions of Facebook services in nine countries, compared to 48 disruptions in eight nations in the first half of 2018.
"This half, India accounted for 85 percent of total new global disruptions," said the company.
In this period, on Facebook and Instagram, the company took down 2,595,410 pieces of content based on 511,706 copyright reports; 215,877 pieces of content based on 81,243 trademark reports; and 781,875 pieces of content based on 62,829 counterfeit reports.
"In Q1 2019, we took action on about 900,000 pieces of drug sale content, of which 83.3 percent we detected pro-actively. In the same period, we took action on about 670,000 pieces of firearm sale content, of which 69.9 percent we detected pro-actively," added Rosen
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