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Back in 2003, former Ford executive William Santana Li and former police officer Stacey Dean founded Carbon Motors, a company that designed a purpose-built diesel police car that recently filed for bankruptcy. But they're at it again, this time with a new company and a new invention that looks eerily similar to R2D2: a robotic security guard.
- Volvo shoots for self-drivers by 2021
- Jeep spends $1 billion on factories
- Find Parts & Accessories for your vehicle!
- Obama rolls out new EV plan
- Infiniti dealers ranked best, Tesla worst
- Compare Volvo XC90 and Lincoln MKX


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DraftKings and Bay Mills Resort & Casino has celebrated the grand opening of a permanent retail DraftKings Sportsbook, which includes expanded amenities and entertainment options for sports fans to enjoy.
Leaders from Bay Mills Resort & Casino, the Sault Ste Marie Chamber of Commerce, and DraftKings were on hand to officially unveil the retail sportsbook with a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Following the ceremony, guests in attendance were invited to watch the Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers game live from the new space, which features a wall of eight large high-definition televisions.
“We’re excited to finally launch the retail DraftKings Sportsbook in our casino,” said Richard LeBlanc, General Manager of Bay Mills Resort and Casino. “It has been equally gratifying to demonstrate our DraftKings partnership to our guests and community, which will positively impact our region for years to come.”
Designed with sports fans in mind, the retail DraftKings Sportsbook includes in-game sports betting and other engaging wagering options, with an action-packed viewing experience of live sporting events. Within the retail sportsbook, customers can find real-time score updates, three odds boards and four kiosks to place bets. An additional two kiosks are conveniently located on the main casino floor.
“We are thrilled to expand our incredible partnership with the Bay Mills Indian Community and to create an amenity that all guests can enjoy at one of the premier entertainment destinations in Northern Michigan,” said Michael Kibort, Sr. Director of Retail Sportsbook Operations at DraftKings. “Our new sportsbook at Bay Mills Resort & Casino will offer sports fans an unmatched high-energy, year-round immersive sports betting experience.”
The retail DraftKings Sportsbook also offers cocktail service and a variety of food options available daily. The retail sportsbook is open seven days a week, with food and beverage service available starting at 11 a.m. ET. For hours of operation, please visit the Bay Mills Resort & Casino website. Sport betting kiosks within the retail DraftKings Sportsbook and on the casino’s main floor are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

domain: news


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Mate Rimac sat at a table, facing a camera. To his right was Oliver Blume, the CEO of Porsche, and to his left its finance chief, Lutz Meschke. They were about to host a video conference to announce the deal to merge Bugatti, for which Porsche has responsibility within the vast Volkswagen Group, with Rimac’s eponymous start-up hypercar maker. A small number of journalists from the business media joined Robb Report on the call, among them the Financial Times and Bloomberg. Blume and Meschke were dressed in sober business attire, as you’d expect of German C-suite executives making a major announcement to the world’s press, and they sat stiff and upright. But as the 33-year-old Rimac relaxed into his chair, his sneakers emerged from beneath the table, followed by a pair of bare legs. The wunderkind of the hypercar world was about to be handed control of one of its most fabled marques, and he’d chosen to wear shorts for the occasion.
Rimac doubtless meant no disrespect, but his casual dress served as useful visual shorthand for a transfer of power extraordinary even by the turbulent standards of the supercar industry. Stewardship of arguably the world’s most prestigious marque, founded 112 years ago by one of the great automotive auteurs and maker of some of the most beautiful, powerful cars ever to grace the road, was passing from Europe’s largest manufacturing company to a start-up that began in a tiny nation 12 years ago by someone then barely out of his teens. Later that evening there would be a glossy event livestreamed from the spectacular 14th-century Lovrijenac fortress perched high over beautiful, ancient Dubrovnik and the opal waters of Croatia’s Adriatic coast. Rimac (his name is pronounced MAH-tay REE-mats) leapt on stage to acknowledge the significance of what was happening and the responsibility he was assuming. He was now wearing a well-cut suit but still kept the sneakers.
From left: A Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, a Rimac Nevera and a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, a fitting troika.
Despite his youth, Rimac is already acknowledged by his peers as one of the preeminent modern supercar makers, a successor to Ettore Bugatti alongside Horacio Pagani, Christian von Koenigsegg and Gordon Murray. The club of engineers who have created the cars and companies that carry their names from scratch is exclusive, and Rimac had only officially joined it when the Bugatti deal was announced in early July. The Rimac Nevera, his first proper production electric hypercar, was tested by Robb Report and a handful of other media in June, and customer deliveries are just starting.
But Rimac is already an established player. While developing his own hypercar, he has built a multibillion-dollar business supplying his high-performance electric-propulsion technology to at least 15 major carmakers, including Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Rimac’s fellow auteur Christian von Koenigsegg. Porsche and Hyundai are not only customers but also investors with significant equity stakes, and Pininfarina likes the Nevera so much that it’s using the car as the basis of its new 1,877 hp Battista. His business has grown so fast that Rimac simply hasn’t had time to get his own hypercar on sale until now.
The optics of the Bugatti-Rimac merger may seem odd at first, but the logic is indisputable. A new generation of electric Bugattis needs a transcendent level of performance, but Volkswagen has lost the will to fund it. Big car companies can spend like the US military. Analysts estimate that VW has invested at least $2.4 billion in Bugatti since it took control in 1998 and lost around $5 million on every Veyron sold. It spent about $420 million creating the Chiron from the bones of the Veyron, and sources close to the deal say VW expected to spend the same again electrifying this 16-year-old platform.
Rimac is said to have offered to develop an all-new Chiron successor for around $240 million. Rather than write a check for that sum, VW proposed a merger. No cash is believed to have changed hands. The new Bugatti-Rimac will be 55 percent owned by the Rimac Group and 45 percent by Porsche, on behalf of Volkswagen. For now, the two brands will continue to be designed and built separately: Bugattis in Molsheim, France, and Rimacs from 2023 at its new campus headquarters near Zagreb.
The Rimac campus, set to be completed in 2023 outside the Croatian capital of Zagreb, will be the company’s global headquarters.
Rimac is putting only his hypercar-making business into the new joint venture. His fast-growing operation supplying high-performance EV power trains and other equipment to the global carmakers is a separate business: Rimac Technology, solely owned by Rimac Group. Only 150 Neveras will be made, and Bugatti currently builds fewer than 100 cars each year. Even when the combined Bugatti-Rimac is at full production, the venture will account for only 15 to 20 percent of Rimac Group turnover. Rimac Technology will make up the rest, and it’s about to grow rapidly. It has contracts in place to supply major premium carmakers with components and complete power trains for the high-performance variants of their pure-electric models. With volumes of up to 100,000 each year, it’s a huge leap in scale for Rimac. Your next car might not be a Nevera, but there’s a chance it will have Rimac tech on board.
Rimac remains the largest shareholder in the Rimac Group, with a 37 percent stake. The latest funding round is believed to value the group in the mid-single-digit billions, giving him a nominal net worth of around $2 billion. In addition to Porsche AG’s 45 percent stake in Bugatti-Rimac, Porsche’s venture-capital arm owns 24 percent of Rimac Group, giving Porsche indirect majority ownership of Bugatti-Rimac. But Porsche is clear that there is no combination of voting rights, no de facto or de jure control, and that having Rimac as CEO of all three companies is one of the reasons it wanted the deal. “As a shareholder we want a real entrepreneur as CEO,” Blume says. “It is our clear strategy to pass operational control to Mate.”
The new Rimac Nevera assembly line in Croatia, where Rimac Group is based.
Perhaps most strikingly, the deal means that despite that storied history, a 10-figure investment by VW over 23 years of ownership and hundreds of Veyrons and Chirons delivered, Bugatti is valued at less than Rimac’s Nevera-making operation alone, which is only just beginning to deliver customer cars. The reason is simple: Bugatti is almost worthless without the ultrahigh-performance electric power train it will need in the EV age.
Volkswagen doesn’t want to make the investment required to develop one. Rimac has one already. Without it, VW was seriously considering putting the Bugatti brand into cold storage.
Even by the hyper-compressed standards of the young entrepreneurs remaking the modern world, this has been a wild few months for Mate Rimac. First the launch of the Nevera in June, then the Bugatti announcement in early July and, later that same month, marriage to his childhood sweetheart. Then a tour of the US, starting in Los Angeles and Pebble Beach in August, to meet not only customers for his $2.4 million Nevera but also Bugatti’s established clientele, who might be a little wary of both the brand’s transition to electric propulsion and its youthful new boss. Next he headed back to Zagreb to complete the transfer of power from Bugatti’s current CEO, the urbane Stephan Winkelmann, who also heads Lamborghini. Then he’ll continue the process of creating a successor for the Chiron.
“This year, just as you say, it’s like everything is coming together. It’s just f—— insane for me,” he tells me from New York. I’ve spoken with him several times over the past, mad few months: first spending a relaxed couple of days with him on the bleak but beautiful Croatian island of Pag, where he launched the Nevera, and later on that conference call. He looks tired now, after his fierce travel schedule. But he is typically generous with his time, disarmingly honest, asking questions as well as answering them, and generally personable, approachable, funny and human: atypical, perhaps, for a tech entrepreneur.
Every cent of that $2 billion net worth is self-made. Rimac was born in Bosnia to an ethnically Croatian family of migrant construction workers, a tradition of exodus accelerated by the vicious conflict that raged as Yugoslavia disintegrated. Rimac moved to Germany at age 2 and then to an independent Croatia in his early teens, where he was teased for his hick Bosnian accent. But his talent for electronic engineering was spotted and encouraged by a teacher, and by age 18 he had registered a couple of patents and won a national prize for an early example of wearable tech: a “glove” that recognized hand gestures and could be used instead of a mouse. It’s still on display in a cabinet at Rimac’s HQ.
Rimac liked cars as much as gadgets and bought a battered BMW 3 Series, as it was the cheapest way to get a rear-wheel- drive car that he could race and drift. His best friend, Goran, inadvertently gave a multibillion-dollar business its start when he blew the BMW’s engine, prompting its 20-year-old owner to combine his two passions and replace the gas engine with an electric motor. It worked okay but not well enough for Rimac, who pulled it out again and tinkered with it, beginning a constant process of obsessive iterative improvement over 13 years, which he admits drives him and his staff crazy but has now resulted in his owning the best high-performance EV propulsion tech in the world. And most of Bugatti.
I ask him to define what makes Rimac stand apart—what has brought so many established carmakers to Croatia in search of a way to make a fast EV quickly?
“Look at the Nevera,” he says. “Almost everything in it was developed internally. This is what makes us different. There is no other car company that has developed so many things in a car by themselves. And the second thing is execution. There are many other start-ups working on their cars. Many of them have existed longer than us, and all of them have more funding than us. But we are the first after Tesla who finished the car and started production. Execution is everything.
“And we do it for a fraction of the cost of others. It’s not because Croatian salaries are lower. It’s because we do things very differently from the other carmakers. And lastly, of course, it’s performance. There’s nobody even close to us.”
The Rimac Nevera monocoque, the biggest and stiffest single piece of carbon fiber in the automotive industry.
This is demonstrably true. In August a Nevera was independently tested at the Famoso dragstrip in California. The Bugatti Chiron Sport held the previous world production-car acceleration record, covering the quarter-mile in 9.4 seconds. The 1,914 hp Nevera ate up Famoso’s sticky tarmac in just 8.582 seconds at a terminal velocity of 167 mph. That 0.8 second difference is a lifetime in these matters: Now combustion engines will never catch up. The Tesla Model S Plaid faced off against the Nevera in three races a few days later and, though it also beat the Chiron’s time, as promised, with a top time of 9.272 seconds, it was a long way behind the Nevera.
The Nevera’s stellar price automatically puts it in the beyond-premium segment of the car market, and while it’s surprisingly comfortable and practical for something with such terrifying performance, it was never intended to be a luxury good. Bugatti is different, though, and this young, egalitarian, unpretentious electronic engineer is now in control of one of the world’s great luxury brands. The glamour of running a marque like Bugatti and delivering a luxury customer experience doesn’t seem to drive him; the question of whether he has plans to reinvent super-premium motoring as comprehensively as he has reinvented electric performance cars remains.
“For me, it’s more about cars and ecology,” he says. “For the Nevera, luxury was not really a concern: It’s more about tech and performance. Luxury is much more important to Bugatti. That’s why I think the two brands can coexist. Over the last 20 years, no other car had Bugatti’s performance. That’s what made them special. Then came craftsmanship, quality and details, but number one was performance. But now performance is increasingly commoditized. You have a five-seat sedan like the Model S being faster-accelerating than pretty much anything else on the road. So what puts you at the top of the pyramid in the future? Is it really just performance?
“Of course we’ll still do hypercars for Bugatti. We are working on a Chiron successor. But looking at Bugattis of the past, there haven’t been only sports cars. When performance alone is no longer the top selling point, what puts you at the pinnacle? Is it still a two-seat, rear-engine hypercar? Or might there be something else? There’s an opportunity for Bugatti in the future to have very interesting cars that are completely different to other models on the market, while Rimac remains a maker of very high-performance sports cars. But we haven’t figured that out ourselves yet.”
The details haven’t been officially confirmed, but there will be two all-new Bugattis engineered by Rimac before 2030. The first will be a 2,000 hp, two-seat hybrid hypercar, due around 2025. The Chiron’s 8.0-liter W-16 engine shorn of its four turbos will make half of that power and a Rimac electric-drive system the rest. Next comes a pure EV by 2030. From his hints, we may reasonably expect a four-door grand coupe to differentiate it from future Rimacs and to continue where Bugatti’s fabulous but ill-fated Royale of the 1930s left off.
Rimac will be involved in every aspect of their design. While his fellow Croat Adriano Mudri heads the company’s design department and Rimac’s specific expertise is in electric power trains, he obsesses over every aspect of his car’s design in the broadest sense.
The hypercar’s 4-motor drivetrain and 120 kwh battery pack.
“With a car, everything is important,” he says. “I define every little detail. The company is still very dependent on me for that, but I don’t think that’s good. I think that’s a personal failure.”
It’s clearly the cars, their design and engineering, and the environment that enthuse him. And given the tiny volumes in which his own cars will be made, his attention may begin to turn to some unexpected new projects where the ecological benefit is greater.
“I love hypercars. I love doing this stuff,” he says. “But in reality, it has a low impact on society. Electrification is an important step, but on its own it’s not going to save the world. I believe there are much bigger levers. In automotive terms, the big impact comes from new mobility, and we want to be a significant part of it. It doesn’t mean that we will stop doing what we are doing now, but for the last few years we’ve been working on a robot taxi service and the whole ecosystem around it. I don’t want to say too much about it. I’d rather do it and then show it. But you’ll see it early next year.”
His fellow supercar auteurs may be glad to see Rimac’s intellect and energy distracted by more pedestrian projects, though at this level there’s little conventional rivalry: Many of their customers can simply buy every model that interests them, and the marques are as likely to collaborate as compete. “It has been amazing to follow and support Mate’s rise,” says Christian von Koenigsegg, whose Regera uses Rimac’s batteries. “He has stayed true to his calling since a young age. For sure it was a big bet for us to trust such a young company and founder as a supplier. Neither Mate nor myself are traditional engineers, as we don’t have academic engineering backgrounds, but are more self-taught. I even think this might be a prerequisite for what we do as we are less limited in our thinking, and by working together we showed the big boys there is a new era coming.
“Bugatti always prided itself on being a part of a large group,” he continues. “We at Koenigsegg have always taken pride in standing on our own two feet. Now Bugatti has been taken over by a similar company with a similar philosophy to us, so now the extreme-sports car producers are more stand-alone than before. That’s a big shift. It’s interesting how the world changes.”
The world might be moving Rimac’s way, but there’s still risk. Those big contracts and the Bugatti deal make funding easy now, but he has to scale up fast, delivering power trains in far higher volumes than before and to perfect, German premium-marque quality levels from job one. By his own admission, he also has to make the business less dependent on him and maintain the energy and agility of a start-up while acquiring the scope of a proper, grown-up business. As even Elon Musk can attest, that’s not easy.
From New York, Rimac tells me that he has been looking at the stock tickers in Times Square and thinking again about an IPO. He doesn’t want to do it until he is shipping Neveras, fulfilling those new bigger contracts, has built his $240 million campus headquarters near Zagreb for the 2,500 employees he will have by 2023 and has revenues in the $600 million range, which will happen rather earlier.
He wonders if he made a mistake in not going public sooner. “This is my first job, you know?” he says. “I don’t know how many things I’m doing good, or how many things I’m doing very badly. I guess there must be both.” Given Rimac’s current valuation of around $6 billion, and potentially much more if the robotaxi bet comes in, his investors and the major carmakers seem to think he’s doing okay. Maybe he’ll wear shorts when he finally rings the Nasdaq opening bell.


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Today the official news broke that New York fashion designer Thom Browne will be opening his second flagship store this month (the first one is in New York of course). Without any surprise the store will open in Tokyo, as Japan is the biggest market of the brand. The store will be carrying both the Thom Browne menswear and womenswear collections and will be situated in the Aoyama district of Toyko along other reputable fashion brands, including Undercover and Mackintosh.
For the occasion the designer produced a limited edition version of his classic white oxford shirt, seen here above.
The store officially opens its doors on March 16, 2013.
THOM BROWNE NEW YORK AOYAMA.
Address 2: Blue Building 5-3-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo thunk point A
Opening hours: 12:00 to 20:00
Phone Number: 03 -5 774 -4 668
Open Day: March 16 (Sat)
- Source: Fashionsnap


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Holmes Report 28 Nov 2012 // 12:00AM GMT
NEW YORK--Jennifer Cohan is departing her role as New York MD at GolinHarris to become global consumer chair at Edelman.
Cohan succeeds Christina Smedley who left the firm in October to go to PayPal. She will report to Alan VanderMolen, vice chairman of DJE Holdings and president & CEO, global practices.
Edelman's consumer practice accounts for 27 percent of its revenues, employing almost 900 people globally.
“Consumer public relations is our firm’s heritage and remains our bedrock,” said VanderMolen. “We intend to renew our focus on consumer public relations by integrating digital, insights and ground-breaking creative for brands as diverse as Unilever’s Dove and Trojan.”
Prior to joining GolinHarris seven years ago, Cohan served as deputy managing director for Cohn & Wolfe’s London operation, after working as consumer practice lead for the firm in New York.
“Jen is the perfect fit to lead our global consumer practice having lived and worked in the US and Europe,” said VanderMolen.


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A court case last month may have set the stage for a new cannabis dispensary in Richmond, the resurrection of an old fight to keep it away – or both.
Two Richmond dispensary owners were ordered to pay $ 5 million in damages for conspiracy against a rival owner. On September 23, a Contra Costa County jury found that William Koziol and Darrin Parle, who run the Green Remedy Collective, had prevented a potential dispensary, Richmond Compassionate Care Collective, from establishing a business in Richmond. The jury awarded RCCC $ 5 million in damages.
The ruling ends a more than five-year legal battle that began before recreational cannabis use was legal in California. And that may have revived RCCC’s attempt to settle in Richmond, which many residents had opposed in the years leading up to the trial.
The owners of RCCC “are going to do everything they can to go back to city council and say they have been unfairly deprived of their license,” said Ron Foreman, who introduced RCCC in the case.
Lina Velasco, director of community development who manages cannabis licenses for the city, declined to comment on RCCC’s potential to receive a license.
RCCC filed a lawsuit in 2016, alleging that the owners of three dispensaries and several community leaders had conspired to prevent the opening of RCCC.
After a 28-day trial, the jury concluded that Koziol and Parle were preventing RCCC from operating in a viable location. The jury dropped the charges against a third operator of Green Remedy, Alexis Parle. Community leaders and other dispensary owners were dismissed from the case before the jury trial began.
Foreman said the jury’s decision could be tripled under federal antitrust laws. He said he believed the case was the country’s first antitrust case in the cannabis industry.
“It’s a warning to the industry that it will be ruled by competition,” Foreman said.
More than a decade ago, RCCC was among the first companies to be licensed as a medical cannabis dispensary in Richmond, but never opened due to a series of zoning and regulatory issues. repression of the community.
RCCC argued that whenever it found a new location for a store, rival dispensary owners and their allies would allegedly lease the properties or dissuade owners from renting to RCCC. The lawsuit claimed that RCCC’s rivals met at Café Pascal, Romano’s Macaroni Grill or private homes to identify potentially available properties in commercial zoning districts and “ways to block all C-compliant properties. 3 and C-2 until the expiry of the RCCC license “.
Under Richmond’s zoning rules, cannabis dispensaries are only permitted in certain commercial areas and cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school.
The plaintiffs argued that the rival group would use the City of Richmond’s website to find properties with compliant zoning, then visit the owners and “pose as potential buyers or tenants.” The lawsuit says the rivals worked to “ensure that no landlord and / or landlord would rent or sell any property to RCCC.”
In one case, RCCC alleges that the owners of Green Remedy purchased commercial property at 4800 Bissell Ave. and asked the city to move their license to that address, even though Green Remedy continued to operate only at its original address on Hilltop Mall Road.
Lawyers representing rival dispensary owners argued that while they were exploring other properties, they were unable to open stores in several of the potential locations due to proximity to a school or funding issues.
“The evidence was overwhelming that they had purchased the other properties purely for legitimate business purposes,” said Barry Himmelstein, an attorney representing Koziol.
Himmelstein and Parle’s attorney, Scot Candell, said they plan to appeal the jury’s decision.


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Photo credit: Airbus
AirAsia expects a V-shaped recovery for its airlines to begin soon, even as strict travel restrictions remain in much of the group’s home region. The group is encouraged by the gradual loosening of restrictions in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Still, capacity across all of its operating groups was just 11 percent of 2019 in the September quarter. This is expected to rise to about 60 percent in the fourth quarter, as restrictions begin to ease. The Philippines began loosening some of its pandemic rules in October, and travel has already begun to rebound. AirAsia expects similar surges at its other operating airlines as restrictions in their home countries relax. Bookings for the year-end holidays are strong, the company said in announcing its third-quarter financial results on Monday.
Load factors across the group were relatively strong, at around 75 percent, but on dramatically lower capacity than in 2019. By comparison, U.S. carriers are reporting load factors about as high on capacity only 10-20 points below pre-pandemic levels.
“As a group, we have taken advantage of the downtime in flying to tap new revenue streams and fully transform ourselves into an investment holding company with a portfolio of synergistic travel and lifestyle businesses,” AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernades said. “In just over a year and a half, Asia Digital Engineering, Airasia Superapp, Teleport, and BigPay have gained significant traction and established a strong presence in our key markets.”
In fact, AirAsia’s digital products generated 60 percent of the group’s revenues in the third quarter. The group had begun to build out its digital and lifestyle business before the pandemic, but its transformation into a digital logistics and lifestyle group accelerated during the lockdown. Earlier this year, the company added ridesharing to its roster of digital businesses, and has added more airlines to its booking portal, the AirAsia Superapp. The user base of its BigPay mobile banking business grew by 170 percent year-over-year, the company said. AirAsia’s Teleport cargo and e-commerce shipping subsidiary began operating its first dedicated Boeing 737-800 converted freighter this month.
Cost cutting remains the order of the day at the airlines, however. Employee costs were down 38 percent in the quarter, due to leaves of absence, attrition, and pay cuts. Excluding staff costs, AirAsia reduced other operating expenses by 11 percent compared with last year by keeping spending on IT, marketing, and other airline expenses down, the company said.
AirAsia has raised RM337 million ($80 million) in financing this year, can exercise an up to a RM500 million loan from Malaysian banks, and has access to further loans of up to $150 million. The company got a $100 million investment in its BigPay unit. AirAsia has restructured its aircraft leases with lessors and expects its lease rates to be lower on future leases. “While we continue to evaluate further funding, potential monetization and other corporate exercises, as for now we expect to have sufficient liquidity until year end and throughout 2022,” Fernandes said.
AirAsia Berhad reported third-quarter revenues of RM296 million, or 37 percent down from last year and 20 percent down from the second quarter. Airline revenues were down 70 percent from last year, to RM118 million. The Teleport cargo subsidiary tripled its revenues to RM157 million. The group reported a RM281 million loss for the quarter, which narrowed by 38 percent from last year.


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A novel concept for 3D printing on-the-go, the machine is powered using the light of a smartphone or tablet, and is designed to fit inside a person’s backpack.
The 30 day campaign starts today, with early bird deals giving buyers up to 54% off the retail value.
A “game-changer to the 3D printing industry”
We’ve been following the progress of T3D since 2015 when 3D Printing Industry EIC Michael Petch met T3D founder Professor Jeng while speaking on the same panel at Inside 3D Printing Shanghai that year.
At the show, Professor Jeng demonstrated a prototype of the Mobile 3D Printer that started out life as a project at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
To operate the T3D printer, Dr. Jeng and his team have developed an exclusive app that allows a smartphone to perform the same function as a light projector in typical SLA machines. Taking a 3D model from a library over 5,800 objects available on the T3D cloud, the app slices it into layers, then flashes it layer-by-layer into a vat of light-reactive resin.
Dr. Jeng says, “T3D will definitely be a game-changer to the 3D printing industry. Whether it is speed or precision, T3D packs a lot of punch considering its small form factor.”
“At an estimated retail price of $299, you are not going to find anything comparable out in the market, plus it is truly mobile because it works with all your mobile devices.”
Giving Makers the front row on 3D printing
Without the UV light found in other SLAs, T3D’s Mobile 3D printer can make objects in open-air. This means everyone can watch as the build platform pulls a solid object out of the liquid bath.
The resin used inside the T3D machine comes in a variety of shades giving users the ability to 3D print in multicolor. Though the material is patented by T3D, the 3D printer remains open-source, allowing makers to tailor the machine to new uses and different preferences.
On Kickstarter T3D needs to raise $35,000 to deliver the machines to market.
A limited stock of super early bird 3D printers are available from prices starting at $169 (45% less than RRP).
Backers can also pay $339 for a two T3D printer bundle, and a further multi-functional package is available for $599 which including multiple resins and a flexible 3D scanner module.
The campaign closes on September 28 2017, and the first batch of 3D printers are expected for shipment in December.
Update 1: T3D has breezed past their funding goal within 2 hours of the launch. At the time of this update 235 backers have pledged a total of $51,372.
Featured image shows a test print on the T3D Mobile 3D Printer. Image via T3D


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Tech stocks around the world might be getting pummeled, the crypto markets might be imploding, and there might be a recession on the horizon, but India keeps churning out new unicorn startups.
SaaS platform LeadSquared has become India’s latest unicorn startup after raising $153 million in its Series C round of funding. The round, which was led by WestBridge Capital and saw participation from existing investors including Gaja Capital, valued LeadSquared at $1.1 billion. This makes LeadSquared India’s third unicorn this month, and 103rd unicorn startup overall.
“We are grateful for the support of our investors as we strive to build LeadSquared into a globally significant business,” said LeadSquared co-founder and CEO Nilesh Patel. “With this financing, we will double down on growth investments in India and North America, start building in APAC and EMEA, add new offerings to our product portfolio, and fund acquisitions. To support our growth, we plan to double our headcount in the next 18 months,” he added.
LeadSquared had been founded all the way back in 2011 by Nilesh Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti. The trio had tech backgrounds, having worked at compnies like IBM and Oracle, and had held leadership positions at Symphony in Bangalore before setting up their own firm. “That was a business around product engineering services, selling to U.S. and European markets. We got a lot of learnings from that,” the founders told Techcrunch.
Their startup, LeadSquared, aimed to build a unified lead conversion and marketing automation platform that helped companies track, nurture and seamlessly manage their leads. LeadSquared runs a suite of products that help companies make faster and more efficient sales. The company’s solutions, including a sales CRM, mobile CRM, and an integrations and conversion platform, work for a range of industries including higher education, ed-tech, healthcare and lending, and help companies find and convert leads.
LeadSquared now has more than 1200 employees, and has offices in Bangalore, Noida, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, as well in the US, South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines. The company counts more than 2000 companies as clients, including Pearson, Byju’s, Dunzo, Kotak Securities, Amazon Pay, Olx, and Practo. Interestingly, while most Indian SaaS companies receive the bulk of their revenue from foreign countries, LeadSquared generates 90% of its revenue from its home country of India. Over the last financial year, LeadSquared doubled its revenue to $25 million.
LeadSquared is yet another example of an Indian software company that has unobtrusively managed to create quite a bit of value for itself. Business-facing companies, unlike their consumer-facing counterparts, don’t often make headlines, but seem to quietly build large businesses through the use of software and technology. For most of the 90s and the 2000s, international software companies had come to India, set up offices, and hired Indians in software development roles. Many of these early employees have now, like the founders of LeadSquared, founded their own companies, and are building world-class products right out of India.


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Makkah dominated new hotel room supply in Saudi Arabia in 2017
A total of 6,800 branded hotel keys were added to the UAE’s hotel market in 2017 as key source markets, particularly Russia, saw a 98 percent increase in visitors, according to a newly released market review from Colliers International.
According to the data, 78 percent of the new branded hotel keys were located in Dubai and 10 percent in Abu Dhabi. While the UAE ended 2017 with 77,700 branded hotel keys, the number is expected to increase to 90,600 over the course of 2018 and to 119,000 in 2020.
Notably, 2017 saw an upswing in visitors from a number of key source markets. Arrival from Russia, for example, rose an estimated 98 percent in 2017 as opposed to 2016, while Chinese arrivals grew by double digits in 2017 following the introduction of visa-on-arrival in November 2016.
Colliers predicts that occupancy rates are expected to increase due to strong growth in demand while increased competition from new hotels will result in a slight rate compressing effect.
Leisure demand is expected to increase further with the introduction of new anchors such as La Mer, Dubai Safari Park, the Dubai Frame and Warner Bros Abu Dhabi.
In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, hotel room supply rose 13 percent in 2017, with the vast majority of new keys coming from Makkah.
According to Colliers, 3,800 keys – 73 percent – of Saudi Arabia’s new room supply came from Makkah. The total number of branded hotel keys in Saudi Arabia in Q4 2017 was 44,200, compared to 39,000 in Q4 2016.
The number is expected to rise to 55,800 throughout the 2018 fiscal year, then to 72,000 and 85,200 in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Notably, Madinah was the only city to experience an increase in occupancy levels in 2017, partly due to a lack of hotel openings during the course of the year.
Because of increased visa quotas, the number of Hajj pilgrims in the Kingdom rose from 1.9 million in 2016 to 2.4 million in 2017.
In its outlook for the future, Colliers noted that – based on historical trends – 20 to 30 percent of the large future supply forecast may be delayed by a year or two, even as more foreign visitors travel to Saudi Arabia following the implementation of tourist visas in 2018.


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More than $35 million in merchandise is stolen every day in the United States by shoplifters.
And shoplifters get away with it 48 times for every one time they’re caught.
Who are these shoplifters – and why do they steal?
It might surprise you to learn that only 3 percent of shoplifters are “professionals” who treat stealing as a business. Some are members of international shoplifting gangs, others steal to resell at bargain prices and some to support their drug habits. This 3 percent steals 10 percent of the $13 billion in merchandise stolen each year.
But the vast majority of shoplifters are everyday citizens who steal – not for financial need – but to relieve emotional and societal pressures and “for the rush of getting away with it,” according to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention. In fact, drug addicts who shoplift say the high is as addictive as the drugs they use.
About one-fourth of shoplifters are teenagers, and many adults who continue to shoplift say they began when they were teens. The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) works with communities and parents to combat the crime and has a number of programs for teenagers and adults to help them overcome the underlying issues that cause them to shoplift. If the issues aren’t resolved, the person is likely to continue shoplifting, the nonprofit group said. For more information, visit www.shopliftingprevention.org.
Shoplifting has become such a problem for communities and businesses, the NASP says, that one in 11 people in the United States shoplifts. Habitual shoplifters steal an average of 1.6 times a week, and most adults who shoplift say it’s hard to stop even after they get caught. The costs of shoplifting are passed on to the consumer through higher prices, and store owners often have to reduce staff as revenues are reduced.
Most adults and teens who shoplift don’t set out to do so. For nearly three-fourths of shoplifters, it’s an impulse decision. Many shoplifters buy some merchandise while they steal others. The vast majority of shoplifters do not commit other crimes, NASP research shows.
What can retail stores do to prevent their establishments from becoming victims? Beyond placing security cameras in strategic locations and using anti-theft tags on merchandise, here are 10 tips gathered from various law enforcement and security organizations:
1. Watch for customers who wear baggy clothing, coats, etc., or carry large bags, umbrellas, baby carriages or other items that could hide merchandise. Customers who linger and don’t make eye contact or seem nervous are also suspect. Sometimes just approaching them to ask if they need assistance is enough to scare them off.
2. Make potential shoplifters feel watched. Greet customers when they come in the door. Encourage employees to walk around, especially by the walls and tucked away locations. Elevate the cashier’s platform. Shoplifters like anonymity and avoid stores with attentive employees.
3. Post signs against shoplifting, and let shoplifters know they will be prosecuted. Because most shoplifters typically don’t commit other crimes, the idea of prosecution scares them.
4. Maintain a clean store with open displays and neatly arranged products to show potential shoplifters that salespeople are aware of what merchandise they have. Take visual inventory several times a day.
5. Keep expensive items locked in display cases behind strong glass so that the items must be shown by a salesperson.
6. Place popular, smaller items near the cash register. Small merchandise that is easy to conceal is a prime target. Make-up, jewelry and mobile accessories are particularly targeted.
7. Be particularly aware when the store is crowded or when a big group enters together. Be alert to distraction tactics that draw attention away while another member of the group shoplifts.
8. Keep fitting room doors locked when they aren’t being used so that a salesperson must be contacted before the customer can enter. Limit the number of items that can be taken in, and give the customer a ticket to reflect the number of items.
9. Use printed tags, never handwritten, and attach them to merchandise with strong plastic strings. Require receipts for merchandise return.
10. Place display racks far away from doors to avoid snatch-and-run thefts.
Store employees should take extreme care in approaching someone they have seen steal merchandise, according to PreventShoplifting.com. Some shoplifters can be dangerous, so the store should have a plan in place.
To avoid false arrest claims, it is essential that an employee see the shoplifter approach the merchandise and conceal or carry it away. The employee must not lose sight of the shoplifter until the person is out of the store.
Once the shoplifter is outside the store, preferably two or more employees should approach the alleged shoplifter and ask him or her politely to return to the store until law enforcement arrives.
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Need help with money? Play a game.
New online games help players with money by making personal finance fun. 'Financial Football' teaches basic money concepts. 'SaveUp' helps members with money by rewarding them for saving.
What if digging out of debt were as easy as playing an online game?
That's the goal of a new crop of personal finance applications, including Financial Football and SaveUp. The gamemakers hope that by playing the games, people will learn good personal finance habits that will translate to the real world.
Financial Football is an online video game wherein success on the football field depends on the player's knowledge of basic money concepts – think the "Madden" video game series combined with a personal finance quiz. A joint project of Visa and the National Football League, it has different age levels: 11 to 14, 14 to 18, and 18-plus.
SaveUp takes a more comprehensive approach. The San Francisco-based start-up asks consumers to sign up (free of charge) on its website, then lets them link their financial accounts and obligations – from checking to college and car loans. The software helps them track their financial activity.
The motivational key to the program is the prizes that members can earn. For the money they save, they earn points that they can either redeem for rewards or use to enter raffles for prizes that run the gamut from Starbucks gift cards to a $2 million jackpot. (No actual money is in play.)
"It's like dieting," says Priya Haji, who co-founded SaveUp with gaming software developer Sammy Shreibati. "When [results] are incremental it's hard to stay motivated. [But] the small chance that something life-changing can happen at any time is very motivating."
SaveUp won't release its member numbers, but a ticker on the site boasts that users have saved more than $150 million so far, and paid down more than $130 million in debt.
The idea is to develop good behaviors through repetition and positive reinforcement – similar to how video games promote certain strategy and motor skills. It's an attempt to overcome a huge obstacle for the personal finance industry: getting people to keep coming back.
"Americans only look at their finances when they're worried about it, and not frequently outside of a reactive situation," Ms. Haji says.


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It all started in 2011 when the project of four friends from NIT Calicut bagged the first prize in a contest themed ‘Design for Disabled’. Ganesh Sonawane, Laxmikant Banjarey, Kunal Kamble and Dewraj Barua designed a wheelchair that was commode-compatible. It helps disabled people perform their daily activities without assistance.
In 2015, the group of friends launched a startup called Arcatron Mobility which produces a range of products for the disabled. The greatest advantage of their products is that they come at an affordable rate different from imported ones.
The wheelchair they developed got 100 pre-orders and the sales shot up after entering e-commerce platforms. “The domestic market lacks products that are compatible with the Indian infrastructure (especially indoors and bathrooms) and are either not easily serviceable or affordable,” says Ganesh.
The Pune-based company’s wheelchairs, which are completely made in India, cost Rs 11,400 and above. It can be folded into a suitcase in less than a minute and adjusted according to height.
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Many cruise lines are saying that they do not want to undercut passengers with their own prices as the cost of some ferry holidays are falling.
As a result, many companies are now offering to honour current, discounted fares by offering passengers a cabin upgrade.
Joanne Schimelman, vice president of national accounts with Royal Caribbean International, said: "Our policy is that if you book early you should be confident that you will pay the best price for the cruise and the best value."
As extra reassurance, she added: "We will protect the rate up to 24 hours prior to the sailing if it goes down."
However, Holland America Line
said that it is usually up to the customer or the travel agent to alert the cruise line about the change in the fare price.
In related news, Holland America recently announced that it is to increase the number of cruises it operated to Bermuda to 24.


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Tesla says it has delivered nearly 185,000 vehicles in the first three months of 2021, doubling its total for the same period last year, ABC News reported.
Original Article by 10 Mission Media – Automotive Group, to read detailed article please click Here
This is just the latest news that signals an increased interest in electric vehicles. Within the last several months, nearly every major automaker has made EV pledges. And last week, President Biden introduced his $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would include $174 billion in EV investment.
Tesla’s increase in sales comes despite a shortage of computer chips that has hit the industry. The strong sales are also a sign that demand for the company’s relatively expensive vehicles remains strong despite the pandemic.
Cluster is Smart City and CAV news aggregator. To add your Smart City or CAV related news, please email our editorial team on email@example.com


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The iPhone SE has recently caught the attention of consumers with its attractive price point. Priced at around 4 million VND for the 16GB network-locked version and over 5 million VND for international devices, this compact smartphone has become a popular choice for tech enthusiasts on a budget.
Creating a Buzz in the Market
Despite its affordability, the availability of the iPhone SE is limited, leading to a sense of scarcity in the market. Many stores have experienced stock shortages due to the increased demand. The limited supply, coupled with the rising interest from consumers, has created a state of frenzy in the market.
“It’s been selling well, but it hasn’t reached a fever pitch yet. Even with increasing sales, the iPhone SE still lags behind models like the current iPhone 6 or 6S,” says Trung Tri, a representative from a portable mobile phone shop in Xa Dan.
Previously, the iPhone SE struggled to gain traction in the market. It is only when the price of the device significantly dropped that users started to take notice. However, the appeal of the iPhone SE remains limited to a smaller group of users.
“User opinion has changed significantly. Not everyone prefers small-screen phones like the iPhone SE. It caters to a niche audience,” concludes an industry insider.
However, Mr. Nguyen Tung, an iPhone business owner in Ho Tung Mau, Hanoi, believes that the iPhone SE is starting to make a mark. He highlights the example of the iPhone 5C, which faced a similar reception initially. However, when the price of the device dropped to around 3 million VND, it created an unprecedented frenzy in the market.
Tung believes that the iPhone SE can follow the same trajectory. Once the price of the device drops further, it will generate even more interest. At present, the iPhone SE faces stiff competition from the “older” iPhone 6, which is available at a similar price point on the used, network-locked market.
Since its launch, the iPhone SE has sparked contrasting opinions in the market. Supporters of the product praise its solid configuration (A9 chip, 2 GB of RAM), excellent camera (12 megapixels), long-lasting battery, and reliable performance.
On the other hand, critics argue that the device’s small screen and outdated design don’t align with current trends. In Vietnam, the majority of users seem to align with the latter opinion, resulting in lower sales for the iPhone SE compared to the iPhone 5S.
The Genuine Mobile Market
In the genuine mobile market, the iPhone SE has also seen significant price reductions. Currently, the 16GB version is priced at 7.99 million VND, while the 64GB version is available for 9.99 million VND. However, industry experts believe that these prices may still not be enticing enough to drive higher sales.
In conclusion, the iPhone SE’s competitive price point has made it an appealing option for budget-conscious consumers. While it may not be the top-selling iPhone model, its affordability and reliable performance continue to attract a niche group of tech enthusiasts. If the price continues to drop, the iPhone SE has the potential to create a buzz in the market, just like its predecessors. To learn more about Dow International LLC, visit here.


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Alphabet Inc. is expected to report earnings on 10/25/2018 after market close. The report will be for the fiscal Quarter ending Sep 2018. Based on 14 analysts’ forecasts, according to Zacks Investment Research, the consensus EPS forecast for the quarter is $10.49.Alphabet (Google), the parent company of Google, reported on Monday about the profits, which have hit $9.4 billion in the first three months of 2018, up from $5.4 billion a year earlier. Google’s sales for the quarter jumped from 26% to $31.1 billion, quite quickly.
All about Google’s revenue- From 2016 to 2017, Google’s annual revenue grew over 23% over the period. Simultaneously, Google advertising webpages have comprised a relatively consistent 71% of their total revenue, along with it, they had to compromise another 16% of revenue from Google network websites. Since then, Google’s revenues have roughly tripled from 2011. Reported in 2014, Google made $65.67B in revenues while in 2015, it made 74.5B. In 2016, Google made 89.46B and in 2017, Google reported $110.8 Billion revenues. The bulk of Google’s $75 billion revenue in 2015 came from its proprietary advertising service. 77% or just over $52 billion revenues came from Google’s own websites.
The parent company-Alphabet(Google), reported that its third quarter earnings on Thursday, where it has seemingly beat the bottom line projections. The company has whiffed on revenue expectations and the stock sunk as much as 5.3 percent in few hours after trading.
Important numbers on Google Earnings:
- $13.06versus $10.42 Earnings per share is expected as per a consensus estimate.
- $33.7 billion versus $34.04 billion revenue expected as per a consensus estimate.
Although Alphabet’s(Google’s parent company) reported overall revenues to be up by 21 percent after each year, the chief financial officer, Ruth Porat had said on the company’s earnings call that the revenues were affected by the strength of the U.S. dollar in the 3rd Quarter. And as we all know, Google’s advertising business accounted for most of its revenue, almost 85.8 percent.
Earlier on the Thursday when Google Earnings were reported, a bombshell New York Times story that said that Google shielded a handful of executives, including Android creator Andy Rubin, from sexual misconduct allegations. And it has also offered massive payouts to leave the company.
Meanwhile, Google has faced criticism both internally and externally. After the Intercept first reported in August that it planned to release a censored search app in China, Google faced critique judgments and reviews. On the Google Earnings call, Sundar Pichai did decline to give an overview or an explanation of the past comments he had made that Google cares about Chinese users.
Google recently had to respond to the European Union’s as well. It responded to $5 billion antitrust ruling by changing the way it bundles its apps on Android in any region. When Sundar Pichai was asked on the Google Earnings call that how that remedy could affect Google’s business. To this he had responded that it was too early then to say.


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Xercise4Less attending the UK Construction & Design Platform 2015
Xercise4Less is continuing its quest for dominance in the West Midlands, with plans to launch what will be its third new club in the region this year.
Scheduled to open in December, the new Shrewsbury site will be the sixth Xercise4Less gym in the West Midlands overall, bringing the low cost chain’s total investment across the region to £6m.
The new 32,730sq ft (3,040sq m) site will offer a range of Matrix Fitness equipment for cardio, free weights, combat and a ladies only area, plus a large fitness studio that will feature more than 40 free classes per week.
“We are very excited to be able to open a brand new fitness facility for the people of Shrewsbury and continue our expansion across the West Midlands,” said Jon Wright, Xercise4Less CEO.
“This is will be our sixth opening in the region in just two years and will enable us to offer an even greater number of people the opportunity to partake in affordable fitness.”
The Shrewsbury site will be the 32nd Xercise4Less club to open. The chain says it still aims to launch up to 30 more clubs by the end of 2015, as it bids to make good on its target of 100 sites by the end of 2016.


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HALFORDS has launched its #31FitterDays campaign on Facebook; encouraging people to get more active throughout January, whether that's jogging up the stairs instead of taking the lift, taking a stroll through the park or hitting the gym.
Halfords #31FitterDays exercise plan has been developed by qualified personal trainer and certified nutritionist Mo Jabbar, who will be sharing his top fitness tips every week at Facebook/HalfordsUK.
Each day will also feature a choice of exercises for participants to complete. This could be a walk, a bike ride or a set of stretches.
Go backPosted on 6th January 2015


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Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) Acting Executive Director,Dr Olufemi Oladunni said the rate of return on investment (RoI) is higher in Nigeria for global firms exploring opportunities in the agric sector. According to him, more investment is required if the nation’s agric sector is to provide food to meet rising consumption. He stressed the need for foreign investment to come to develop agribusinesses, working with local farmers to… Read More »Return on Investment in Agribusiness
Corporate Farmers International
As an Agribusiness, Farm Management and AgriMedia company with humble beginnings, Corporate Farmers has remained committed to adding value to the Agricultural sector with innovations and today its one of Nigeria’s leading AgriMedia company that believes Agriculture is BEYOND FARMING.
The Federal Government’s bid to boost non-oil exports has received a boost as the country will soon begin the export of pineapple in commercial quantity to Italy, Poland and other European countries. The development is the outcome of measures put in place by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council to maximise the potential of the non-oil sector through investments, capacity development, innovation and formidable partnerships. The General Manager, San Carlos Farm,… Read More »Nigeria set to export pineapple to Italy, others


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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street tumbled on Friday after the U.S.-China trade war escalated in dramatic fashion, with President Donald Trump demanding that American companies seek alternatives to doing business with China after Beijing announced its own slate of retaliatory measures.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the closing bell in New York, U.S., August 23, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session sharply lower, posting their fourth consecutive weekly declines.
The latest exchanges in the long-running tariff row triggered a broad-based sell-off that hit shares of companies with high exposure to China the hardest, such as chipmakers and other top technology names. Dow Jones Industrials components Intel Corp and Apple Inc dropped 3.9% and 4.6%, respectively.
The developments overshadowed a highly anticipated speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in which he reiterated a pledge the central bank would “act as appropriate” to support the economy, but he stopped short of committing to the series of rapid-fire rate cuts Trump has been demanding.
Trump’s tweeted response to the speech labeled Powell an “enemy.”
“(Trump) seems to be irate that China reacted to what the U.S. has done and is basically having a mini-tantrum and is angry at everybody,” said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in New York. “He’s angry at China, he’s trying to put the blame on the market and the economy on Powell.”
“But at this point, it’s very clear … that the issues that have been coming to fruition of late with the economy and the slowdown are all trade-related and have very little to do with the Fed,” Katz added.
Bernard Baumohl, managing director and chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, agreed.
“The biggest folly is the belief that lowering interest rates by 25 or 50 bp will do anything to revive the economy,” Baumohl said. “Don’t ask the Federal Reserve to bail out the economy, because they’re not going to be able to do it this time.”
The escalating U.S.-China trade dispute has emerged as a major tripping point for the market in recent weeks. Friday marked the third decline of more than 2% for the S&P 500 so far in August, and the benchmark index has now shed 5.8% in the last four weeks.
Yields for 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasuries entered inversion territory, a classic recessionary red flag. The curve has traded in and out of inversion for the past three days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 623.34 points, or 2.37%, to 25,628.9, the S&P 500 lost 75.84 points, or 2.59%, to 2,847.11 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 239.62 points, or 3%, to 7,751.77.
All 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 ended the session in negative territory. Energy and technology were the biggest percentage losers, both sliding more than 3%.
Trade-sensitive chipmakers dropped on the bellicose trade rhetoric, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index dipping 4.4%.
Specialty retailer Foot Locker Inc plummeted 18.9% on the heels of disappointing second-quarter results.
Computer hardware company HP Inc announced the departure of chief executive officer Dion Weisler and forecast lower-than-expected fourth quarter profit, sending its shares down 5.9%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 4.52-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 5.27-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and 38 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 195 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.07 billion shares, compared with the 7.58 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Chris Reese


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Here is some good news for LG fans. According to 9to5Google, the LG V60 ThinQ is getting Android 11. The phone was a surprise hit in 2020 as it competed with plenty of other high-end devices. LG has always had a spotty history of rolling out timely updates for their devices. Because of that, this news is very welcome.
It would seem that LG decided to close out the month of love by pushing out Android 11 to the V60 ThinQ. The update is rolling out to both the Verizon and T-Mobile variants. The initial rollout began on February 26 and should be hitting devices now.
Now the rollout isn’t terribly impressive in terms of speed. Android 11 has been out since September of 2020. But compared to how long updates from LG usually takes this is positively fast. LG was beaten to the punch by Samsung which has been rolling out Android 11 to its devices for the past couple of months.
The update is pretty par for the course. The changelog mentions Android 11 staples like Bubbles, notification tweaks, etc. However, there is a mention of some changes to the camera app along with adjustments to the quick settings.
Over on YouTube Juan Bagnell goes more in-depth on what changes are in the update. According to Bagnell, the UI now resembles the UI found on the LG Wing.
LG V60 ThinQ is getting Android 11 amid the company trying to sell its smartphone business
Another plus bundled into this update is the January 2021 security patch. So not only do owners get Android 11 but the January 2021 security patch. So now owners of the V60 ThinQ are getting Android 11 and their devices will be more secure as well. Not bad for a company with a spotty update history.
Unfortunately, the Verizon models seem to be the only ones getting the January 2021 security patch officially. Some are reporting that AT&T models are also getting the security patch, but there isn’t an official changelog stating this.
LG has been having a rough time in the smartphone market lately. Rumors have been building about a V60 ThinQ successor. However, claims from insiders are saying this successor will be put on hold indefinitely. LG’s smartphone business woes have made the company consider selling its smartphone business.
LG has always lived in the shadow of its Korean competitor Samsung. But LG has also released plenty of solid devices. Despite the fact they are considering exiting the smartphone market it is nice to see they are updating their devices still.


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Car manufacturers have been demonstrating the full extent of their ability to harness the internet’s potential at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Self-driving cars had their strongest presence to date at the annual technology trade show held in Las Vegas, while the ability of ‘connected’ vehicles to revolutionise a driver’s experience behind the wheel was also firmly in evidence.
Among the many innovations on display were: gesture controls, which enable drivers to operate equipment by making movements detected by in-cab sensors; smartwatch apps which allow cars to be started and monitored remotely; and manufacturer-led collaborations intended to stamp out crashes between cars and cyclists.
Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of Volkswagen AG, said: “The two inventions of the century, the car and the computer, are gradually converging.
“We need to design future mobility to be even more intelligent and networked.”
Volkswagen chose CES to launch its new Golf R Touch which fully utilises gesture control.
In addition, VW showcased how electric cars – like its e-Golf – will be able to automatically dock to inductive charging stations in the future.
Hyundai also used CES to showcase its own hand-gesture recognition system called the cockpit concept, which enables the driver to use simple hand gestures to select a range of functions, including playing and pausing music, advancing to the next track or returning to the previous track.
In addition, the Korean manufacturer launched its cloud-based Blue Link platform which allows vehicles to be started remotely through devices like smartwatches and smartphones.
During CES 2015, Ford also announced its Smart Mobility initiative which aims – over the coming decade – to target the problems linked to greater urbanisation and the global growth of a car-owning middle class.
The company’s vision is based on connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data.
London will be the site of several Ford pilot projects that will test different ways of alleviating congestion in dense urban areas including: car sharing, parking and shuttle service projects.
Ford also highlighted the semi-autonomous vehicles it has on the road today and fully autonomous vehicles now in development for the future.
Audi was another manufacturer that used CES to showcase its ongoing investment in self-driving cars.
It arrived at the show with an Audi A7 3.0 TFSI which had made much of the 560-mile journey from California’s Silicon Valley to Las Vegas on autopilot.
Meanwhile, Volvo used the show to demonstrate how it is working with protective sports gear manufacturer POC and mobile broadband internet company Ericsson to create safety technology that connects drivers and cyclists for the first time.
The technology consists of a connected car and helmet prototype that establishes 2-way communication offering proximity alerts to Volvo drivers and cyclists which is intended to avoid accidents.
This article was originally published on FleetNews


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Coffee engineered to put you to sleep. Seriously.
Share Now on:
There’s a coffee company based in Vancouver that is, in my opinion, completely missing the point.
New Counting Sheep Coffee helps put you to sleep. Seriously. The coffee is blended with organic valerian root, which is an herbal sedative.
It comes in two varieties, Bedtime Blend/40 Winks and Lights Out. The founders of the coffee company pitched their product on the Canadian television series “Dragon’s Den.”
Should you be interested, the coffee is available on Amazon.
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With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.”
Los Angeles Times 2/21
LONDON — Work less, get more.
Food Industry Policy
LA Restaurants May End Outdoor Dining If Permit Fees Are Raised. Here’s What Happened To Two Eateries In Santa Monica And Long Beach
Outdoor dining in Los Angeles during the pandemic led to a reimagining of our urban landscape.
E&E News 2/21
Politicians across the U.S. West are vowing to take action after high home heating and electricity bills left some consumers paying triple their normal amounts this winter.
On the Side
NBC Los Angeles 2/21
Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting they’ll do the same for their favorite meals.
The San Francisco Standard 2/20
It’s no secret that Downtown San Francisco has struggled in recent years: 25 million square feet of commercial space sits vacant, tech companies have shuttered their brick-and-mortar offices and the news of layoffs is relentless.


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Skoda Auto India inaugurated its newly designed 3S (Sales, Service and Spares) facility Wheelocity Motors Pvt. Ltd. in Jammu.
The new facility marks Skoda’s entry in the Jammu region and will be a key touch point for customers in Jammu with respect to Sales, Service and Spares.
The new dealership will sport the new Corporate Design and Identity which is part of the brand’s global redesigning process.
The sales facility which is strategically located at Sunjwan sprawls an area of 3,845sq.


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Nissan has fired a global-pickup teaser across the bow of the Internet for the second time in a week. Due to be fully revealed on June 11, the truck is previewed this time not by a photo, but an artsy-aggro 30-second video of test footage augmented with pseudo-industrial flourishes.
Although Nissan previously told us this truck has little bearing on our market, we can think of a couple of reasons why it might be worth paying attention to. First, the current Frontier has been kicking around for nearly a decade, and it’s not a great leap to believe that this truck could influence the next Frontier. Second, GM is unleashing the new GMC Canyon/Chevy Colorado twins this year, and the buzz they’re generating indicates there’s still life in the smaller-pickup segment.
As for this global truck, the video reveals it to be anything but soft, as evidenced by the ladder frame construction and solid rear axle with leaf-spring suspension. Nissan is really playing up the durability aspect, too, claiming the truck has undergone more than 1 million kilometers (621,372 miles) of testing in real-world conditions and more than 40,000 quality tests. Color us intrigued.
- Nissan Frontier Diesel Runner Concept: Powered by Cummins
- Nissan Frontier Pricing, Photos, News, Reviews, and More
- 2015 Chevrolet Colorado: GM Gets Back in the (Relatively) Small Pickup Game


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Oppo is kicking off MWC proceedings this year with two new announcements – a crazy camera tech that will allow a whopping 10X lossless zoom in smartphones and its first 5G-ready smartphone. While the former will be out in an Oppo flagship phone in Q2 2019, Oppo is not revealing a tentative timeline of release for its 5G smartphone just yet.
Of course, Oppo won’t be the only company talking about 5G at MWC 2019. Every prominent smartphone player – from Xiaomi to LG – is set to announce their 5G phones at the annual trade event. But Oppo’s 10X lossless zoom camera tech is surely unique - giving a good head start to MWC.
Oppo says its 10X lossless zoom camera tech is now ready for prime-time. While it did not name any third-party brand that would possibly employ it, Oppo has confirmed that it will itself launch a flagship phone with 10X zoom by June this year.
Oppo’s 10X lossless zoom camera tech is a gradual progression of its 5X zoom that the company had announced at MWC last year. It basically uses three cameras to achieve the golden 10X zoom figure – a 48MP high-resolution main camera, a 120-degree ultra-wide camera and a periscopic telephoto camera. The camera trio has been designed to cover a focal range of 16mm to 160mm – for a maximum of 10x zoom.
Oppo is touting two aspects of its new camera tech. Both the main camera and the telephoto camera come with optical image stabilization, with the latter offering up to 73 per cent better stabilization accuracy over its existing 5X zoom tech – that's up to 0.001445 degrees in actual numbers. Moreover, the telephoto camera features two D-cut optical lenses arranged in a periscope fashion that allows Oppo to keep the thickness in check – Oppo says it has been able to fit everything inside a 6.76mm module, while conventional methods would have entailed in at least 15mm of thickness.
Oppo is also packaging the autofocus motors for the top two cameras into one space – saving up to 13 per cent more space in the process. While we can’t picture the camera bump on this one yet, it’s safe to say that Oppo’s tight compartmentalization of the triple camera module means it can’t say that it skimped down on other things like headphone jack for instance just so it could fit a 10X zoom camera in its future smartphones.
At its MWC 2019 keynote, Oppo also briefly showed off its first 5G phone. Although it did not share many details, it is certain that the processor inside will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Co. tumbled into bankruptcy Monday, handing the U.S. government a majority stake in what for most of the past century was a pillar of privately held industry.
The historic move aims to shed billions of dollars in debt and push a drastically stripped-down version of the lumbering car maker back onto the track in less than 90 days, an ambitious plan fully backed by President Barack Obama and, in the end, by most GM GM, +1.15% debtholders and union workers, despite painful concessions by both groups.
In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the Detroit-based automaker reported total assets of $82.3 billion on a consolidated basis, with total debt of $172.8 billion.
With GM's bankruptcy, its stock got bumped as a component stock of the Dow Jones Industrial Average after nearly nine decades, and will be replaced by Cisco Systems Inc.
"Today marks a defining moment in the reinvention of GM as a leaner, more customer-focused, and more cost-competitive company that, above all, can quickly generate winning bottom line results," CEO Fritz Henderson said at a news conference.
"The economic crisis has caused enormous disruption in the auto industry, but with it has come the opportunity for us to reinvent our business. We are going to do it once and do it right," he added in a statement.
GM to honor vehicle warranties
In a statement issued late on Monday, GM said it has received an approval from the U.S. bankruptcy court to continue honoring its vehicle warranty programs and dealer incentive plans.
The court approval will enable the company to continue its warranty coverage to customers who already own or plan to buy a new one.
Separately, the court also granted approval for GM to use up to $15 billion on an interim basis from a $33.3 billion debtor-in-possession financing facility from the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian and Ontario governments.
"This credit facility will be used, among other things, for the company's normal liquidity requirements, including employee wages, healthcare benefits, supplier payments and other operating expenses," GM wrote in a statement.
GM's bankruptcy filing follows the company's failure to meet Obama's demand that it come up with a plan by June 1 that would return it to profitability.
It also paves the way for the government to take a 60% stake in the company during what is hoped will be a 60-to-90-day trip through bankruptcy court.
"Working with my Auto Task Force, GM and its stakeholders have produced a viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic American company a chance to rise again," Obama said.
Other key elements of the restructuring, such as union concessions, are already in place, intended to speed the time it takes for GM to repay its emergency federal loans and ultimately return to private hands.
Exact numbers weren't released but more than 50% of GM's unsecured bondholders reportedly said they would accept the company's reorganization plan that gives them a 10% stake in the new company and warrants to purchase 15% more.


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Earlier this month, commissioner members voted to place tariffs of between 5 percent and 40 percent on 16 different steel product lines and some commissioners also wanted to cap the amount of foreign steel imports.
Of course, steel companies here would welcome the changes; that would make it far easier for steel companies to sell their goods here. Their difficulty doing so has felt close to home: Bethlehem Steel, parent company of Bethlehem Lukens Plate in Coatesville, filed for bankruptcy in October.
But there would be far more losers than winners if the tariffs are imposed. According to the Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition, a group of companies which use steel, the tariffs would lead to far higher raw material costs and any steel industry jobs saved here would be more than offset by jobs lost in steel-consuming companies. Specifically, the coalition estimates that eight jobs would be lost for every steel industry job saved.
So far, Bush officials have been cool to more tariffs and we urge them to stand firm.
The U.S. should be striking down protectionist measures, not creating new ones. The economy of the U.S. and the world works better when free markets and open competition rule. Both force companies to eliminate waste and work better and harder to provide quality, low-cost products.
There seems to be a growing and healthy desire in Congress to allow market forces, not government subsidies, affect prices. On Wednesday, Senate Republicans effectively killed a $171 billion farm bill, with some saying it simply involved too much money.
We agree. Americans on a whole aren’t helped when billions of tax dollars are spent to buttress one particular industry. In the end, such deals are more about elected officials attempting to gain favor with a particular segment of voters and less about an efficient use of federal funds.


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January 7, 2013 Testori USA, Inc.
431 Ohio Pike, Suite 123 South
Cincinnati, OH 45255
Testori USA, Inc. was founded on August 1, 2011 to promote the sale and support the distribution of Testori ne…
November 16, 2012 The premier filtration event in the Americas is set to take place from November 13-15, 2012 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pa. For more than 20 years key players from across the filter supply chain have gathered at Filtration…
The fact that the nonwovens industry is growing in China is not news. During the past decade, the market has achieved growth in the low double digits, well above the rates seen in more developed areas like the U.S. or Europe.
As multinational comp…


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Media and telecom giant Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B)(NYSE:RCI) recently reported first-quarter results showed that it has a big problem to overcome in order to drive profitable growth: cord cutting. Significant subscriber declines in its Cable division weighed on revenue and earnings during the quarter, leading the company to report weak financial results.
Dialing into the results
Rogers reported a fairly mixed quarter. The company’s total revenue was only up 2%, while its adjusted operating profit slipped by 2%. While revenue growth was supported by some strength in its Wireless and Business Solutions segments, those segments were only able to partially overcome weakness in Cable and Media:
|Revenue||Adjusted Operating Profit|
|Q1 2016||Q1 2015||% Change||Q1 2016||Q1 2015||% Change|
In millions of dollars. Data Source: Rogers Communications Inc.
While the Media segment was a big drag during the quarter, that was partially due to some seasonality as there was no baseball during the quarter. Instead, it was the company’s Cable segment that is proving to be problematic to Rogers because it’s the company’s second-largest segment in terms of revenue and profitability. That’s why its weakness had such a big impact on Rogers’s overall financial results this quarter.
Cord cutting cuts into Cable
Rogers’s Cable division derives its revenue from three sources: Internet, television, and phone. During the first quarter the company’s Internet sales were strong, while television and phone sales were not.
Rogers’s television sales slipped 7% to $395 million due to a big drop in total subscribers. The company lost a net 113,000 television subscribers during the quarter, pulling that subscriber base down to 1.87 million.
Meanwhile, phone sales slumped 16% to $99 million due to a similarly large drop in that subscriber base after the company lost net 50,000 subscribers, bringing its total subscriber base down to 1.08 million. This was only partially offset by Internet sales; revenue grew 11% to $360 million due to a movement of its customers to the higher speed and usage tiers of its IGNITE broadband Internet offerings. Overall, the company’s Internet subscriber base increased by net 60,000 subscribers to 2.06 million subscribers.
This drop in the company’s Cable division subscriber base is a big problem that it needs to address in order to restart profit growth. In some ways, Rogers is addressing the weakness in phone sales via its Wireless division as more customers are simply opting to do away with their home phone in favour of a mobile device.
Meanwhile, Rogers is hoping to put a stop to sinking television sales by investing in 4k TV, which has four times the resolution of regular HD. At the moment, the focus is on live sports programming; the company is planning to broadcast over 100 live sporting events this year.
Rogers also plans to launch an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) product by the end of the year. Further, the company continues to focus on investments in higher-speed Internet; it is rolling out gigabit Internet speeds across its Cable footprint.
All of these points are part of the company’s “Rogers 3.0” plan to re-accelerate revenue growth by strengthening its Cable offerings.
Cord cutting continues to cut into Rogers’s ability to grow revenue and profitability. It’s something the company is working to address by investing in new cable offerings in order to re-accelerate revenue growth in that segment.
Given how important the Cable segment is to the company, investors need to keep an eye on this segment in 2016 to see if these investments are paying off or if the cord cutting continues to drag down the company’s financial results.


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New Nintendo NX leak hints console is more powerful than a PS4
Another day, another rumor about the Nintendo NX -- but major design choices and product focus will determine more about how this console compares to Sony and Microsoft than the specifics of its CPU choice or GPU technology.
Nintendo refutes rumors, claims Wii U production will continue into next year
Earlier this week, rumors spread that Nintendo would kill the Wii U console this year as the NX came online. The company is denying those rumors, but its own history suggests the Wii U won't long outlive its successor.
Nintendo's 3DS sales are plummeting -- the NX console can't come fast enough
Nintendo slashed sales estimates and expected profits today. The company is expecting a significant decline in 3DS sales.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD looks stunning in 1080p on the Wii U
Early next month, Nintendo will be releasing an HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii U, with 1080p resolution, revamped textures, better lighting, and improved gameplay.
Nintendo in 2016: The next-generation NX, mobile games, and investigating VR
We're likely to see Nintendo's next-gen NX system for the first time later this year, and that could lead to an early demise for the Wii U.
Report: Nintendo NX developer kits are shipping; device will be both handheld and console
A new report claims software development kits for Nintendo's NX are beginning to ship -- and implies that the next-generation Nintendo console will combine a handheld, independent gamepad with a living room console.
Nintendo NX console leak points to high frame rates, 900p resolution
An early survey leak could point to some of the Nintendo NX's capabilities, including hardware performance that should at least be on par with the Xbox One and PS4.
New patent application suggests Nintendo's NX console is like nothing we've seen before
Nintendo has been close-mouthed about its plans for the Nintendo NX, but a recent patent filing may have tipped the company's hand. If so, then the company's next-gen console will pack some unique capabilities we've never seen ship in traditional consumer gaming hardware.
Nintendo announces its first smartphone game, but is it too little too late?
During a meeting with investors earlier this week, Nintendo unveiled its very first smartphone game. Dubbed "Miitomo," this free-to-play game lets you use an adorable avatar to interact with your friends without investing in Nintendo hardware. This certainly isn't the kind of mobile game many of us were hoping for, but can this oddball social game keep this gaming giant relevant in a rapidly evolving market?
The new Apple TV is a big deal, but it's not a gaming console
Earlier today, Apple unveiled the new Apple TV at its big September event. With faster internals, a new operating system, and the availability of third-party apps, this is a big step forward for Apple in the living room. There's a ton of potential for consumers and developers alike, but it's never going to be the game console you really want.


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VIRGINIA DISTILLERY NAMED BEST AMERICAN SINGLE MALT
Virginia Highland Malt Whisky, a flagship of the Virginia Distillery Company, won the title of best single-malt whiskey in America at the World Whiskies Awards.
Presented by the UK-based Whisky Magazine, the contest held every year rates whiskies across the world. It also ranks whiskies from each country according to its distillation style. The initiative was launched by the World Drinks Awards program in 2007, with categories including both World Beer Awards and World Whiskies Awards.
Virginia Distillery Company was also the proud winner of two medals at the annual awards dinner hosted by the American Craft Spirits Association in February. Its Highland Malt Whisky won a gold medal, and the Cider Barrel Matured Virginia Highland Malt Whisky took home a bronze medal.
CEO of Virginia Distillery Company, Gareth Moore, said, “We take a unique approach to whiskey-making as we carry my father’s vision to fruition — combining time-tested traditional methods from the Old World and the resources and maturation climate in the New World that he called home.”
Other results from the World Whiskies Awards will be announced later this month at the ceremony dinner in London.
Call for “zero tariff” Brexit Scotch Whisky deal
Post Brexit, Whisky leaders are pushing for zero tariffs on the sale of Scotch in European markets.Read More
Jack Daniel’s Rye Whiskey Set for October Release
Jack Daniel’s and Tennessee whiskey have become almost synonymous with each other. In fact, the brand could quite possibly afford to cash in on their one main product, and continue to produce just that. However, with innovation being the name of today’s game in the business world, even giants like Jack Daniel’s need to experiment and provide novel creations. This is where Jack Daniel’s Rye comes into the picture.Read More
Whiskey Women by Fred Minnick
Whiskey, conventionally perceived to be a man’s drink, surprisingly shares a long association with femininity. Women have always enjoyed whiskey as true connoisseurs and served as active contributors in all circles of a distillery-- working in the roles of owners, distillers and bottling plant managers. Quite sadly though, their feats have remained largely unnoticed amidst a horde of ad-campaigns and a subtly biased pop culture aggressively portraying whiskey as a male-centric drink for decades.Read More


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Nakd water launches in Australia
New Zealand-based bottled water brand Nakd has launched in Australia.
Sourced in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, Nakd said its water is bottled directly from an 1,800 aquifer and that is was “one of the softest waters in the world”. The water has a low ‘hardness’ rating of 13. The Company said the water goes through a natural filtration process at its source.
“We are excited to finally announce the launch of Nakd in Australia,” said Pax Kowaliw, from OPJ Group, importers and distributors of Nakd water in Australia.
Nakd said its water is “rich in silica”, a mineral that it said is “rejuvenating” and “promotes healthy, glowing skin, collagen production, and strong hair and nails”. The Company said the water is also slightly alkaline, with a natural pH level of 7.2 and “helps maintain the body’s acid/alkaline balance”.
Nakd is available in still and sparkling varieties through the OPJ Group’s website. Prices for consumer and trade are:
Case of 24x330mL PET bottles $48 for consumers, from $37.20 for trade
Case of 24x500ML PET bottles $57.60, from $41.76 for trade
Case of 12x750mL glass sparkling Nakd water $34.80, from $37.56 for trade
Case of 12x750mL glass still Nakd water $34.80, from $37.56 for trade
Coca-Cola South Pacific is now selling a chocolate flavoured version of its Zico coconut water.
Nestlé’s Uncle Tobys has launched a new range of oats in time for winter.
Singaporean quick service chicken restaurant, 4Fingers, will be setting up shop in Australia.
Chris’ Dips is now selling cracker and dip snack packs through Woolworths supermarkets.
IGA has announced its latest marketing move, revealing it is the major partner of a soon-to-released...
Australian corn chip brand Doritos®, has partnered with Universal Studios to create a snack to accom...
DAIRY giant Fonterra is applying itself to help find solutions to malnourishment in older people.
THE Waitrose & Partners Food & Drink Report 2018-19 shows how mindfulness of our wellbeing and envir...


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Business Journal launches social media challenge
- Staff St. Louis Business Journal
The St. Louis Business Journal wants to promote those who promote themselves ... actually those who promote themselves using social media.
American City Business Journals, the parent company of this newspaper, kicks off Social Madness presented by Capital One Spark Business. It’s a national competition that measures the growth of a company’s social media presence.
Companies will compete in 43 U.S. cities, with local winners squaring off in a national challenge. GFI Digital Inc. is sponsoring Social Madness in the St. Louis region.
Three national champions will earn the right to designate a $7,500 donation to the charity of their choice.
“This is a one-of-a-kind challenge that we think companies of all types and sizes will be excited about,” said Whitney Shaw, CEO of ACBJ. “Social Madness is all about growing your social-media engagement, which is critical in business today.”
Social Madness is a bracket-style tournament challenge in which companies compete against others of similar size. Participants in the St. Louis region will be ranked based on a scoring algorithm that measures social influence. The algorithm will track votes on stlouis.bizjournals.com, LinkedIn connections, Facebook activity and Twitter followers during the challenge period.
“St. Louis companies have great social media applications,” said Ellen Sherberg, publisher of the St. Louis Business Journal. “We’re excited to let the rest of the country see what many of our big and small companies are doing as well as to learn from others. Marketing is changing by the day. What a great way to stay ahead of the curve and let everyone know it.
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MSUFCU's 75th Anniversary Celebration
EAST LANSING, MI— In celebration of MSU Federal Credit Union’s 75th Anniversary, there are special promotions going on all year for members. From April 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012, MSUFCU will have promotions surrounding checking accounts.
Members who open a new MSUFCU checking account will be put into a drawing to win $175 deposited to their new account. Current members that already have a checking account are entered to win $375 every time they use their MSUFCU Visa Debit Card as a “credit” based transaction. There will be ten randomly selected winners from each promotion with over $5,000 in cash prizes.
Also, MSUFCU members can enter the 75th anniversary online video quiz for their chance to win an MSUFCU prize pack, which include MSUFCU gifts and a $200 gift card to Wheat Jewelers. From April 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012, MSUFCU will be highlighting information about the credit union from the 1950s and 1960s. Each 100% score on the quizzes enters members into the grand prize drawing of $7,500 to Wheat Jewelers at the end of the year.
MSU Federal Credit Union, the world’s largest University-based credit union, serves Michigan State University and Oakland University faculty, staff, students, alumni association members and their families worldwide. Founded in 1937 by a handful of MSU professors and employees, MSUFCU now has 168,000 members, $2.3 billion in assets, and more than 430 employees. MSUFCU was named the Michigan Credit Union League Credit Union of the Year in 2010. MSUFCU offers a full range of personal and business related financial services.


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Paper, plastic or polypropylene?
A week after the City Council voted to require large grocery stores to provide recycling bins for the plastic bags that burden New York's landfills and waterways, one little Staten Island grocer is going greener still.
A&C Superette on Manor Road is giving away reusable bags -- Christmas-green carryalls made of non-woven polypropylene -- in an effort to take a step toward sustainability.
"I was at another grocery store and saw they were charging for them," said Anthony Fazzino, proprietor of the family-owned, upscale Italian market in Castleton Corners. "I figured if they were really concerned about helping the environment, they wouldn't charge for them, they would give them away."
Reusable bags are a visible marker of a cultural shift that's led consumers, businesses and lawmakers to make environmentally conscious decisions.
While some cities have banned plastic bags altogether, New York's new recycling law will help reduce some of the estimated 100 billion plastic bags that Americans throw away each year. Plastic bags are non-biodegradable and can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, environmentalists say. Their production also requires petroleum and natural gas, both non-renewable resources.
Industry numbers show plastic bags are more popular at check-out counters than paper bags, which have some environmental advantages but also crowd the nation's landfills.
Selling reusable bags, an alternative that requires consumers to change their habits, became an industry trend in 2006 and 2007, according to the trade publication Supermarket News. In the past two years, Pathmark, Stop & Shop and the Montvale, N.J.-based A&P all began selling 99-cent grocery bags.
Bags made of the versatile, cloth-like water-repellent material are less expensive to make than canvas bags, but not as cheap as plastic bags, which cost about a penny to produce.
Fazzino, who ordered 5,000 of the bags around Christmas and expects the stock to last for a few months, says he doesn't know of any other store that gives the bags away. If the business restocks its supply each quarter, the offer could cost the Superette some $20,000 a year.
But Fazzino hopes that demand will dissipate as customers begin reusing the bags.
And meanwhile, the bags sporting the store's logo could be good for business, too.
"It will help us as an advertisement if people are reusing the bag for daily use," he said.


text: For years, there have been families who have Uncle Ben's products in their cabinets. Well will all of the recent unrest throughout cities across America from social injustices, the company decided to change the name. Uncle Ben's has gone through a rebrand, much like other companies like Aunt Jemima and more. According to their website, Mars Food will drop "Uncle" from the brand’s name. It will just be Ben's Original. As for the logo, they will remove the caricature of the fictitious gray-haired Black servant smiling on the box. We won't see the actual new look until 2021, but hey, they are making an effort. But it looks like the company will go a step forward because they will help communities as well. In their social media post, Mars Food said, "Our first actions will be to fund scholarships with National Urban League that will ensure aspiring Black culinary entrepreneurs get the educational opportunities they deserve so their ideas and voices can be appreciated by all." Let's see how this will work. Do you care about the rebranding?


text: If you have been watching the incredible footage of Teahupoo in Tahiti over the last few days you are aware that these monster swells have to travel somewhere right? Well those two monster South Swells will be heading towards Chicama Point in Peru and expected to arrive towards the end of May. One is already confirmed by Surfline.com, arriving on May 22nd and the second huge one is predicted to arrive sometime between the 27th and 29th of May. Conditions will be epic and there are still rooms available at the Chicama Surf Resort. So book your trip now and score the longest left point going off!