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Investments in mobile and e-commerce have been exceedingly fruitful for Ralph Lauren; and with online shopping trying to eclipse brick-and-mortar stores, the company is betting on bringing the digital world into their retail outlets, in the form of interactive fitting rooms. A number of other tech initiatives have also been implemented recently, such as the launch of the PoloTech smartshirt, a holographic 4-D fashion show on Central Park's reservoir, interactive shoppable windows, bags equipped with a chargeable USB cord, and the use of Periscope to livestream their New York Fashion Week show to the heart of London.
Double-Digit Growth In E-Commerce Sparks Ralph Lauren
A number of factors are driving consumers away from stores to e-commerce marketplaces, including convenience, better prices, and wider product selection. Many luxury fashion brands are witnessing the gap between in-store and online sales decreasing at a sharp rate. Amongst luxury fashion retailers, Ralph Lauren boasts the most SKUs of any brand, with almost 14,000 items available online; a figure double that of second place Armani. While over 50% of its offerings online are ready-to-wear, the company is a leader in the number of home goods and children's products.
The global e-commerce sales for Ralph Lauren increased 10% in the second quarter, while the brick-and-mortar component declined 2-3% in constant currency. The majority of the growth in e-commerce came from the international segment, with better trends seen in North America, in comparison to the first quarter. A number of enhancements were also made, including the start of ‘Buy Online Ship from Store,’ ‘Hold Online Pickup in Store,’ and a waitlist feature for items that are sold out.
Outsourcing e-commerce made sense in the past when the online business was low and companies didn't have the know-how to execute e-commerce transactions. Currently the platform is provided by eBay enterprise and Ralph Lauren pays them a certain percentage of the revenue for their services. Once eBay's license expires in 2017, Ralph Lauren would no longer have to pay royalties to the company, which is estimated at 2-3% of the internet sales, or $10 million-$20 million per year. The company is undertaking a substantial investment in order to insource its e-commerce platform and expects to convert off of the current platform over the next 12-18 months. Steps have also been taken to improve e-commerce sites to drive growth, such as impactful visuals, redesigned product detail pages, enhanced quick-shop capabilities, and a streamlined checkout process. Mobile traffic increased 48% year on year for FY2015,  its Facebook page possesses 8.3 million fans, and the Instagram feed has over 1.3 million followers.
In a trend study conducted by PM Digital, to highlight the digital success of luxury apparel brands, it was found that Ralph Lauren captured the second highest market share of the total visits to sites in the luxury category with 18.9%, coming in a close second to Michael Kors which had a share of 19.2%. It also found that mobile devices account for 57% of the traffic to luxury sites, and social media drives 5.6% of the traffic.
Ralph Lauren Debuts Interactive Fitting Rooms


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Making Old Bags New Again
On Site: Hilex Poly
This year, leading film processor and bagmaker Hilex company reprocessed 25 million lb of post-consumer material in its Bag2Bag recycling program.
It wasn’t too long ago—maybe 25 years—that the polystyrene hamburger clamshell was cited by environmentalists as Public Enemy Number 1in the war against pollution. Now, certain environmental activists want to put the bull’s-eye on the plastic sack.
Bagmaking isn’t easy to begin with. Competition is fierce, product margins tend to be razor thin, and every now and then—depending mostly on the price of polyethylene—Chinese bag producers export their products here, making things even tougher for North American processors.
Throw into this mix environmental activism to ban plastic sacks because of their purported negative impact on the environment, and the market becomes even more challenging. There are currently no state-wide bans on sacks in effect, but each year more and more local governments take a swipe at it.
And some bag makers, resin companies, and trade associations are fighting back, not just with words but action. Look no further than Hilex Poly Co. LLC, headquartered in Hartsville, S.C., for Exhibit A in putting your money where your mouth is. In 2005, Hilex invested more than $20 million to launch the world’s first, and still largest, bag-to-bag recycling operation, in North Vernon, Ind. This film and bag maker calls the operation Bag2Bag, because it makes old bags new again.
Hilex started off modestly in 2005, collecting and reprocessing about 3 million lb of old sacks. In 2008, that number increased to 10 million lb. This year, states Mark Daniels, v.p. of sustainability and environmental policy, the company reprocessed 25 million lb of post-consumer material. Hilex augments its own reclaim efforts by buying film scrap from the outside.
The company has set up 30,000 collection bins in 45 states, located mostly at big-box retail outlets and major supermarket chains. Its primary partner in this project is retail-food giant Kroger. Bags and other film materials are collected, bailed, and brought to the retailer’s distribution center. Hilex takes over from there, shipping truckloads of bags to its recycling center in North Vernon.
Hilex was originally part of the High Density Film Products Div. of Sonoco Products Co. until 2003, when it bought out this segment of Sonoco’s business. Two years later, Hilex Poly purchased Vanguard Plastics, Inc. making it the largest retail carryout packaging manufacturer in the world.
Hilex currently makes primarily HDPE-based bags on several hundred blown film lines in nine plants throughout the U.S. Hilex is also a founding member of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, and spearheads an effort called Bag the Ban to quash legislative initiatives to ban plastic bags—or tax users of them—and to inform the general public about the facts of plastic bagmaking and recycling.
“Bans and taxes have the potential to destroy the plastic bag and film recycling infrastructure,” says Daniels. “Plastic bag and film recycling has gone up in the last 10 years. That is the most common-sense solution to the problem, not banning bags. We think we’re on the right path.”
In California, plastic bags account for just 0.3% of the waste stream, Daniels points out. And according to the 2010 Keep American Beautiful litter survey, bags were less than 1% of all litter nationwide.
WET OR DRY WASH, THEN EXTRUDE
The 100,000 ft² recycling facility in North Vernon employs more than 70 people. It processes up to 80,000 lb/day of post-consumer scrap. Bales are unloaded daily on an outdoor covered patio. The material then is “eyeball” checked to determine whether it needs to be dry- or wet-washed, explains Chris Dickson, operations manager of the recycling operation. Next, a bale-breaker chews up the material, and contaminants like metal strapping, paper labels, cans, and the like are removed by hand.
Hilex runs one wet and one dry washing system. Hilex utilizes a wet washing system from Sorema of Italy. The washing system is continuous and takes about 17 minutes, using mostly filtered and recirculated rain water, which is subsequently recycled.
The dry washing system includes a feeding and a cutting system furnished by Pierret, a Belgium-based company with a U.S. operation in Spartanburg, S.C..This system was modified extensively by Dickson and his group of engineers and fine-tuned for this particular application.
Plans are on the drawing board to add one more wet and two more dry washing lines. At the R&D stage is technology permitting HDPE milk jugs to be added to the recycling mix.
All material is then fed to a cascade extrusion line furnished by Erema, Ipswich, Mass. Operators take hourly samples of pelletized material to determine whether it is suited for blown film and bagmaking or whether further compounding is necessary.
In the latter case, the recycling plant is furnished with three 110-mm twin-screw compounders from KraussMaffei Berstorff, Florence, Ky., where the reclaim is pelletized using proprietary technology. Final pellets are conveyed to one of six silos after additional testing confirms their quality. These silos were recently equipped with special mixing paddles furnished by Universal Dynamics, Woodbridge, Va., to randomize the 200,000 lb of material they hold. From there, the material goes to Hilex’s eight film extrusion and bagmaking plants, including one adjacent to the recycling plant.
That plant houses more than 90 single-layer, narrow-tube blown film lines, mostly from Reifenhauser-Kiefel, Peabody, Mass., which produce film at thicknesses down to 14 microns. Hilex uses mezzanine-mounted oscillating winders to randomize gauge, along with home-grown process control and monitoring systems. Once master rolls are produced, they are printed and converted to bags off-line. The bags come in shades of gray, blue, tan, and yellow. Retailers historically have preferred white bags because they allow their own logos to pop, but the drive toward sustainability has convinced many to rethink that stance.
Hilex has an expression for this transition: “Gray is the new green.” The darker the bag, the higher the recycled content it contains. Says Daniels, “This is a powerful statement for us and supermarkets, retailers, and restaurants that use bags with recycled resin, because it shows how much we care about the environment.”
“It took us a couple of years of R&D to develop the process to produce a pellet that can combine LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, and HMW-HDPE,” says Dickson. “There are seven ingredients that go into making a uniform pellet, and when you are running as thin and as fast as we are there isn’t much margin for error.” This year, the average Hilex bag contains 30% recycled material. Some go higher than 40%.
RECYCLING INITIATIVES GROW
Earlier this year, Hilex’s Bag2Bag program was recognized by the Flexible Packaging Association, a trade organization for film processors and converters, with its Flexible Packaging Achievement Award. “Our tremendous investment in recycling and sustainability has truly paid off, and we hope to make it even better in the future,” says Daniels. “Hilex Poly has proven our work is not only good for the environment, but good for business and jobs.”
Compared to conventional bags, Hilex bags with recycled content require less energy to produce, lower carbon emissions, divert millions of pounds from landfills each year, and provide sustainability-conscious consumers a carryout package with a closed-loop life cycle, states Daniels.
“One of the key elements to growing this recycling infrastructure is working with consumers and grocers to increase recycling each year. People are making the effort to bring their used bags and film wraps back to the store for recycling, and stores are working to educate consumers about the program. We are pleased that these efforts have resulted in an increase of 50% in plastic bag, sack, and wrap recycling in just the last five years, and we thank those consumers who participated in this tremendous growth.”
Daniels says one of the impediments to producing a bag with 100% post-consumer content is that 90% of consumers go beyond recycling and reuse their bags more than once—often, for example, as trash bags. But there are indications that bag recycling initiatives are on the way up. Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. reported early this year, on behalf of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) trade association, that wrap, bag ,and film recycling reached a record high of nearly 972 million lb in 2010. This represents an increase of more than 117 million lb, or 14%, over 2009, and a gain of 50% since 2005, when Moore Recycling began tracking this category.
ACC explains the uptick by a combination of increased access to collection points via grocery and retail chains, better labeling on bags, and a rise in consumer awareness. To continue building on the growth of film recycling, ACC recently formed a Flexible Film Recycling Group (FFRG). Its members represent the full plastics film value chain, from resin suppliers to film manufacturers, brand owners, and recyclers. Current members of FFRG include Avanguard, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, SC Johnson, Sealed Air, Wisconsin Film & Bag, and Trex.
This past April, Moore Recycling released another study reporting that more than 91% of the U.S. population can recycle their plastic bags locally, and nearly 75% recycle other types of flexible plastic wraps in their own communities. The study identified more than 15,000 drop-off locations that collect these items for recycling. The majority of collection centers are conveniently located in stores, frequently major grocery chains or retailers like Target and Lowe’s home-improvement stores.
The future of Hilex’s efforts—and of film recycling in general—depends a lot on consumers and their willingness to recycle and to suggest that retailers supply them with bags containing recycled materials. In a recent blog on the Hilex website, Daniels put it this way: “The more consumers recycle their plastic bags, sacks, and wraps, the more recycled content we can include in our new plastic bags. We have the technology to produce plastic bags with more recycled materials. While we know people reuse so many of their plastic bags that it limits recycling— increasing the recycling of other plastic sacks and wraps can make this possible.”
PET is extremely hygroscopic, highly moisture sensitive, and one of the toughest challenges to dry. Here are the basic principles of doing it right for rigid packaging applications
Cyclic olefin copolymer (COC ) is an amorphous thermoplastic that is finding increased utility as a blending agent in polyolefin packaging films for medical, consumer, and industrial markets.
Producing plastics parts with undercuts presents distinct challenges for molders.

domain: news


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Google Confirms Wireless Service
Google Inc announced it has plans to launch a wireless service in the U.S. This raises a risk of creating tension between the Internet giant and the other wireless carriers that support its mobile Android OS.
The service said Google is to be small scale and is not intended to compete against the four big national carriers in the U.S., said Google executive Sundar Pichai who is in charge of Android.
Instead, the service is intended to demonstrate the technical innovations that wireless carriers could adopt. Regardless of its size, the entry by Goggle into the wireless industry will likely send big ripples through the industry that has been largely controlled by Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S.
The entry into the wireless industry is a signal of the ambitions of Google to extend beyond the selling of services and advertising across the Internet to influencing how access to the Internet is delivered.
Pichai said that in the coming months Google will be announcing its goal of driving a set of new innovations that the company believes the system should adopt.
These comments by Pichai confirmed media reports from earlier. Google has entered into deals with T-Mobile and Sprint to use their networks to resell its service, said people close to the situation.
Pichai announced Monday that Google will join forces with carriers and launch the new service but did not name who they were. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile did not comment.
Google’s service would sift through T-Mobile and Sprint cellular connections as well as hot spots for WiFi picking the signal that was the best for the routing of calls, data and texts, said those close to the situation.
Pichai said the new service was aimed at seamless handoffs between cell networks and WiFi to prevent calls from being dropped and to re-connect them automatically.
This move by Google into cellular comes amidst an industry squeeze as Sprint and T-Mobile lower prices looking to increase subscriber counts, while over costs to acquire wireless spectrum increases.


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BET, NetSpend join to market re re payment card that is prepaid
BET, NetSpend join to advertise re payment card this is certainly prepaid
WASHINGTON (AP) BET sites is going into the exploding business of prepaid cards, partnering with a small business frontrunner in hopes of reaching an amazing amount of black Us americans who stay away from finance institutions.
BET, the biggest high end in black colored news, is supplying the card with NetSpend, one of the biggest prepaid credit ayday-loans-vt/ card organizations. NetSpend hopes the suggestion shall make it transform BET people into fee-paying consumers.
Blacks are overrepresented among precisely just what the industry this is certainly economic the unbanked and underbanked, people who would not have bank reports or who use high-cost solutions like check-cashing and spend loans day.
Prepaid cards are only like debit cards however they arenвЂ™t connected with a bank account that is checking very often lack the consumer defenses given by debit and bank cards. They’ve been the fastest-growing repayment that is electronic, according to a 2010 research due to the Federal Reserve.
BET started phone that is using purchases that are online 30 days in terms of card, called the Control Prepaid MasterCard. The businesses are testing the market before whatever they anticipate will be a flooding of good interest, states Dan Henry, CEO of NetSpend.
вЂњWe look for genuine fans, like BET, who recognize this need in this country: to make solutions being monetary customers that are low-incomeвЂќ he states. Those clients usually turn to choices which can be expensive storefront check-cashers. For most, prepaid cards are an absolute alternative that is lower-cost.
The unbanked are really a mostly untapped market to your economic industry. United states of america Express along with other companies are marketing and advertising cards that are prepaid other things made for those that can maybe maybe maybe not get bank records or try not to trust finance institutions.


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Joseph Altuzarra - who we did an High Five!-feature with earlier this year – showed off one of the most critically acclaimed collections for spring 2014. He had an amazing year so far and did not only win the prestigious U.S Woolmark Prize, he also got an investment from Kering (formally PPR-group) who took a minority stakes in his company. On top of that he recently got engaged with boyfriend Seth Weissman. Congratulations you two!
More news from the past week:
Louis Vuitton‘s giant trunk show was not popular among the Russians
Prada‘s new ad campaign photographed by Steven Meisel
CR Fashion Book is now selling totes and t-shirts
Alexa Chung is the new face for Longchamp
Mulberry skips runway show


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At the annual YouTube Brandcast event, Google announced that it is launching a new advertising format: from now on, users of the YouTube application will be shown 30-second advertising videos on smart TVs without skipping them, reports The Verge.
The 30-second ads will be shown instead of two 15-second consecutive clips. Those who don't want to watch ads can use a paid subscription to YouTube Premium, which costs $11.99 per month in the US.
In addition, YouTube plans to run interstitial ads during the pause. Such ads can be turned off by clicking the "decline" button. The launch date for both innovations has not yet been announced.
NEWS.am Tech reported earlier that YouTube will not allow watching videos if the user's browser has an ad-blocking program, such as AdBlock, installed. If such blocking is detected, the service will not allow you to watch the video and will inform you that the use of such technologies is not allowed.
In 2022, YouTube's advertising revenue was 29.2 billion dollars, in 2021 – 28.8 billion dollars. In the last quarter of 2022, the service earned $7.96 billion from advertising, about 8% less than the same period last year ($8.63 billion). At the end of last year, YouTube reported that the Premium package has about 80 million subscribers, 30 million more than in 2021. Google's advertising revenue fell 3.6% to $59 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.


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- The current trend of this cryptocurrency remains bullish
- NEO can be a good investment option, but the correction phase could be around the corner
- If the NEO price falls below $16, it would be a strong “sell” signal
The cryptocurrency market is advancing this December; Bitcoin’s price advanced above $23000 resistance and reached a new all-time high. NEO has increased from $16.6 above $18.7 in less than five days, and the current price stands around $18.3.
Fundamental analysis: Neo’s ecosystem projects are still working hard to put a perfect ending to the year
NEO was founded as AntShares by Da Hongfei, and Erik Zhan in China, and on this platform, users can issue and trade assets. NEO platform has its own cryptocurrency that is distributed to prove ownership of an asset, which makes it more straightforward to transfer shares, equity, and assets.
NEO platform was designed to be regulator-friendly and aims to automate the management of digital assets through smart contracts. NEO is one of the Chinese government’s favorite cryptocurrencies, and it is often called the Ethereum of China because it has similarities with Ethereum.
According to estimates, NEO’s price is still far away from the NEO price predictions, and this cryptocurrency could be a very good investment option.
“With holiday seasons around the corner, Neo’s ecosystem projects are still working hard to put a perfect ending to the year. After securing a US $1.2 million second-round funding led by DeFinance Capital, Switcheo launched the Switcheo Development Fund. Moreover, with SWTH/NEO pair was listed on Flamingo Swap, and we are happy to see the entire ecosystem growing in synergy to create more value and use cases for the Neo blockchain”, said John Wang, NGD EcoGrowth director
The current trend of this cryptocurrency remains bullish, but if you decide to invest in NEO, you should have in mind that the price could also weaken in the upcoming period. The cryptocurrency market has made a big jump in a short-time period, and the correction phase could be around the corner.
NEO has found strong support above $16, and a breakdown below this support would be an extremely bearish sign with the potential to drop NEO price towards $14.
Technical analysis: The current trend remains bullish
This cryptocurrency is a highly liquid asset but the price is still not able to surpass $20 resistance. The current trend of this cryptocurrency remains bullish, and for now, there is no signal of the trend reversal.
The current resistance levels are $20 and $22; $16 and $14 represent the current support levels. If the price jumps above $20, it would be a signal to buy NEO, and we have the open way to the $22 resistance level.
On the other side, if the price falls below $16, it would be a firm “sell” signal, and we have the open way to $14.
All major cryptocurrencies are advancing this trading week, and this situation also supports the price of NEO. NEO can be a very good investment option according to estimates, but the correction phase of the cryptocurrency market could be around the corner. The cryptocurrency market has made a big jump in a short period, and if the correction happens, the price of NEO will probably be at lower levels in January.


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The Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) expressed concern over European Union’s proposal to categorise Endosulfan as a persistent organic pollutant (POP).
According to PMFAI, EU’s proposed move to launch new, patented, expensive products in the Indian market will be against the interests of the farming commmunity.
Currently, farmers use generic pesticides which are available at affordable prices. Interestingly, Anil Kakkar, director, Crop Care Federation of India, said in countries such as India where small acre farming and sustainable farming was widely prevalent, a ban on Endosulfan would deprive the Indian farmer access to an affordable and effective crop protection solution and alternatives are likely to be harmful to the farm ecosystem and destroy pollinators and beneficials.
“The European Union’s proposal to list Endosulfan as POP is against the interests of Indian farmers as they will be forced to buy patented pesticides at high prices,” said R Hariharan, chairman, International Stewardship Centre Inc (ISC). For instance, Imidachloride, a product touted as a replacement to Endosulfan costs `2,000 per litre, while other alternative pesticides such as Thiamethoxam costs `3,200 per litre and Coregen `700 a litre while Endosulfan is only `200 per litre.
According to estimates, the global crop protection industry is worth $40 billion and the top three companies alone account for over 50 per cent. “There is a strong motivation for the European multinationals to replace widely used, generic and low-priced pesticides with their high-priced patented alternatives,” said Pradip Dave, president, PMFAI.
Endosulfan is the third largest selling generic insecticide worldwide with global market in excess of 40 million liters valued at over $300 million with replacement cost of alternative estimated to be in excess of $1 billion. India’s share in global Endosulfan market is over 70 percent. Similarly, exports of Endosulfan from India are valued at $40 million.


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Motorbase Performance has taken the wraps off the livery which will adorn the Ford Focus ST cars of Sam Osborne and Ollie Jackson in the 2022 British Touring Car Championship at a foggy Donington Park this morning.
Osborne and Jackson will race under the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan banner, as the outfit effectively runs two teams in the coming season, with Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish in the other two cars racing under the NAPA Racing UK banner.
Apec Racing joins the team as a new sponsor, whilst Beavis Morgan continues its long-running partnership with Jackson.
“Having a brand as highly regarded as Apec onboard demonstrates the pull factor that BTCC has this season,” said Team Principal Pete Osborne.
“This is just the start of what we hope will be a fruitful partnership and we can’t wait to see how the car looks when it hits the track.”
Jamie Hall, Commercial Director of Apec, added: “Our strategy this year is to solidify our position as market leaders in quality, service and support.
“Sponsoring Motorbase in the British Touring Car Championship marks a milestone in this journey, increasing brand recognition at consumer level and further lead generation.”


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As the iTunes Store continues its ramp up following the holiday break, Apple is this week returning to expanding its world-class movie catalog with a number of Hollywood’s recent and old favourites [...]
Following the horrific events which took place near Kathmandu, Nepal on Saturday – after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake unfortunately struck the region, Apple has begun taking donations towards the relief [...]
Apple Watch wirelessly connects to your iPhone to provide hourly notifications from your most-used apps and services. But the way in which both devices actually pair with each other, really has to be seen [...]
Perhaps showing the potential perils of having account-connected retail apps – like Amazon – so accessible on the wrist, a video is going viral this weekend which claims to show the exact moment [...]
Apple Watch is water-resistant, not water-proof. Despite this fact, though, at least a few new owners of the device have begun to stress-test the smartwatch under different water-related conditions.
Opening the floodgates for developers to begin publishing their apps to the App Store for Apple Watch – yesterday, Apple itself has now published a list of the apps that it considers are ...
Set to become the centralised hub for discovering the latest apps that support Apple Watch, Apple on Thursday pushed the button to take the Apple Watch App Store – live. Here’s a first look [...]
Those developers who have been waiting on an update to Apple’s beta-testing platform – TestFlight, that adds support for the company’s watch app-creation toolset, WatchKit – might [...]
iMovie for Mac just got an update that added new social sharing compatibilities – enhanced support which now includes the ability to share to video site – YouTube.
Apple – who is in the midst of fully preparing to launch its long-anticipated wearable, tomorrow – appears to have taken a dislike to at least some iOS developers out there who are trying to [...]
Whether it’s out for delivery on the van, preparing to be dispatched or still in processing – Apple’s first wearable will start to land on the wrists of millions in the coming ...


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As the year is counting its last months we can rejoice not only the number of growing customers, but also the expanding geography of our business. This fall together with companies from the “Lukoil” Group we implemented a project in Serbia and Romania. The card readers, with EPS LT software installed for fleet […]
Doing good deeds is good, but it is even better when we do them together.
Our partner “Šiaulių Bankas” has initiated a support campaign to raise funds to deal with the consequences of the fire in Alytus. The partners of this project are Nets , the payment service provider who is responsible for […]
The loyalty program „Mylimiausia“ now offers even more benefits. EPS LT was selected as a partner to develop and implement the loyalty program‘s technical solution and ensure its support. „Mylimiausia“ is loyalty card combining loyalty programs run by 4 partners – supermarket chain „Senukai“, pharmacy chain „Gintarinė vaistinė“, gas station chain „Circle K“ […]
As the number of card payments grows and payment technology advances, new card reader models are introduced in the market. The new card readers not only meet the highest security standards, are reliable and fast, but they also have a modern look and provides better user experience.
EPS LT offers its customers the new […]
According to a study carried out by European Central Bank (ECB), Euro Area consumers made 157 billion point of sales (POS) payments, amounting to 2.84 € trillion in value. The survey results showed that in 19 Euro Area countries in 2016 cash was the dominant payment instrument at POS. In terms of number, […]
In Ukraine, one of the largest retail chains “Auchan”, EPS LT, in cooperation with VISA, implemented the QR code payments solution by mobile phone. This solution allows to pay for goods using a mobile phone application for reading a QR code on a card reader screen. Card reader, after receiving information about payment […]
Recently Kaunas city has started operating parking machines that accept contactless payments. This innovative solution has been implemented through partnership between companies “EPS” LT, “Technologinių paslaugų sprendimai” and public institution “Automobilių stovėjimo aikštelės”. More than 100 parking machines are already in use, and 50 more are planned to be install in the nearest […]
We are glad, that more and more our clients can accept payments by contactless payment cards. As for now all newly installed card readers have contactless payment possibility and we are updating readers software remotely for existing customers. The updated version of software includes not only contactless payment function but also more convenient […]
Contactless cards are just more than a year in Baltics, but the number of contactless payments is steadily growing every month. To encourage customers make purchases faster and more convenient, the contactless payment limit is increased up to 25 €.
The new limit will be applicable for all MasterCard contactless cards in Lithuania and […]
As we already wrote in our news section, at the end of November the possibility to pay by contactless payment cards was offered for customers of “Rimi” and “Maxima” in Latvia. In December the new way of payment was implemented in Lithuanian retail chains stores. We are glad to announce that this solution […]


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ENGW Vs AUSW | One-off Test Jul 18, 2019
ENGW 195/6 (81.0)
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MWC 2013: Lenovo launches new Android tablet rangeAmong the slew of gadgets being announced at the ongoing Mobile World Congress is a new line of Android tablets by Lenovo. The line-up will be available...


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Today, there are more than 450 models. Chosing a winner has become more difficult and it seems every media outlet in the land wants to hand out a trophy.
In the past six weeks there have been more than a dozen so-called cars of the year declared by motoring organisations, radio stations, newspapers and internet sites. Oddly, in their race to out-do each other, they announce the winners up to two months before the end of the year.
By engaging in the media battle, has the world's longest standing motoring award, the Wheels Car of the Year, become overshadowed by the rest?
The NRMA and each state's motoring body joined forces a few years ago. To get the jump on the media spotlight, the NRMA awards were announced last month.
The NRMA, as with most other outlets, award cars in 10 categories to reflect the diverse range of cars now available. All new cars on sale to the public are eligible.
Wheels awards just one car. Only "significantly new" models make it to the shortlist.
This year, the new Holden Commodore was controversially excluded because the magazine deemed it wasn't new enough -- yet it was new enough for Wheels to put it on the cover a couple of times.
Given the increasing number of new awards, will consumer interest wane every time they hear the term Car of the Year?
Holden's marketing director, John Elsworth, doesn't think so. "There's room for everyone," he said. "There are a lot of people with lots of opinions on cars. It was a good initiative of the motoring organisations to join forces, that increases their credibility and awareness."
He said it was hard to say which award had more impact, a Wheels gong or NRMA honours.
"The Wheels award seems to attract the most publicity but the motoring organisations reach millions of non-enthusiasts and are perceived by the general public as being more independent."
Did last year's Wheels award to the Holden Barina boost that model's sales?
"It's hard to measure or qualify how many cars were sold because of it," Elsworth said. "But it is fair to say that at that end of the market, people do rely on expert opinions and if you win an award that does help."
The Barina won in controversial circumstances last year. At an estimated cost of $40,000, Holden airfreighted two Barinas from Europe with a new, special seatbelt so the model would meet the magazine's cut-off time.
The magazine introduced a policy that only cars with lap-sash belts in the centre rear seat would be eligible for its award. The Barina was not originally equipped with such a belt but Holden expedited the change.
The Barina went on to win the Wheels Car of the Year for 2001 but the magazine said it was unaware of Holden's extraordinary efforts to import the car in time to be included in the testing.
The Wheels award came under a new cloud this year. It went to a car which has had two recalls in its first two months on sale -- and overheated during the magazine's test -- the Ford Falcon.
Three of the seven days of testing were conducted at Ford's proving ground, where the $500 million Falcon was developed. Wheels editor Ged Bulmer said using Ford's facility did not favour the Falcon because most testing was done on public roads.
He added that the judges had reached their verdict before the second recall was announced and Ford made assures that the problem which caused a Falcon XR6 Turbo to overheat would be rectified immediately.
It was unfortunate timing for Ford. At the Wheels announcement in Melbourne last Tuesday, Ford Australia president, Mr Geoff Polites, dismissed the recalls as "not an issue" and that they would not take the shine off the Falcon's first award in 36 years.
Ford recalled the 2300 cars voluntarily and, it claimed, most vehicles were in transit or dealer stock.
Does Mr Polites think the Wheels award is important? Does he ever.
"When we set out three and a half years ago to plan these awards ... we really wanted to win car of the year," he said. "We had it in the back of our minds that we wanted to build a car that would be recognised. This is credibility and credibility builds sales."
The Falcon is excellent to drive -- and Ford has a reputation for better build quality than Holden -- but early examples sampled by media have had niggling faults and do not reflect "automotive excellence" that the Wheels award stands for.
Wheels magazine said the overheating was exclusive to the Falcon XR6 Turbo and that the vehicle was an early prototype, not a "customer spec" car.
"In extremely high-speed sweeping corners on [the rev limit] in third gear the engine temperature sensor caused the engine management system to shut down a couple of cylinders," Bulmer said. "This made the car run very badly and we alerted Ford to the problem. They said they hadn't experienced it during testing and went away and did their own analysis.
"They explained to us why it happened and what they were going to do to fix it. We took that on board and found it to be a reasonable explanation and felt that the fix was comprehensive enough for it not to happen again.
"We are the first in the world to drive these cars in such demanding conditions. By the time we drive European imports they've already been on sale overseas for 12 months or more and the bugs are well and truly ironed out."
As for using Ford's test track, WheelsWheels has limited options. "There are only two fully fledged proving grounds in the country and the Ford one suits our needs better," said Bulmer. "We had Holdens among the finalists so had we gone to Holden's test track we'd be in the same boat."
Is Wheels concerned about the number of copy-cat awards?
"Not really," says Bulmer. "Anyone can introduce any award they like -- good luck to them. We rely on the history of Car of the Year and the fact we've been doing it for 40 years.
"Yes, it's extremely difficult to pin down one car when there are so many new models. We don't just test the 23 models but each variant of those models as well. This year we had 63 variants.
"But that is Wheels' point of difference. It is clearly much easier to nominate each category. With the Wheels award you've got to drill down further."
The Falcon's increased thirst and weight did not penalise the car as much as industry observers expected.
At a time when most car makers are developing engines which have more power but use less fuel, the Falcon is more powerful -- but uses more fuel.
"The Falcon's fuel economy was an issue that was debated quite hotly between the judges," said Bulmer. "We weighed [the extra thirst] against gains in performance and safety. One of the primary reasons it uses more fuel is because it is a heavier car and is safer structurally."
That's a sound argument, but extra performance also means the Falcon can happily go quicker and, potentially, have accidents at higher speeds. "That's in the customer's hands," said Bulmer.
Fuel economy, he said, is "not that big an issue" for Australian car buyers. "It's about number six on the list of what buyers want. Safety and value rate higher in the equation," he said.
And why is Car of the Year announced in the 11th month? "The date for car of the year has shifted a few times in the last few years. It used to be announced at the beginning of the year.
"It was moved to get maximum possible exposure for the award and ... primarily to get it ahead of Christmas, which is when people's focus turns off.
"That's not to say it will always be that date, it's under constant review."


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Apple is once again likely to compensate Samsung for not ordering enough OLED panels as per their initial contract. The shortfall in orders from Apple is being attributed to the poor demand for the iPhone 12 mini.
This is a syndicated post. If you are interested please read the full article from its original source at iPhone Hacks | #1 iPhone, iPad, iOS Blog.
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Blockchain players, that’s who! Let’s take a look…
The hype around the payments’ world is hitting fever-pitch. As 2016 progresses, there can no longer be any doubt: blockchain and distributed ledger technology is the wave of the future – despite a lack of consensus on what a blockchain is and exactly how it should be implemented. But this is not necessarily a problem. Blockchain can be seen as the highway on which different vehicles operate. Blockchain is a long established technology, but it is the payment vehicles running on the blockchain highway, their designs, capabilities and regulations, that are truly under scrutiny. The bitcoin juggernaut may have grabbed all the fame and infamy, but it is not the only game in town.
The Players Take the Field
In its pure form, blockchain as a distributed transaction ledger of immutable transactions has significant implications across the world of payments and far beyond. But the impact depends on the different players and their position on the field. How do consumers, banks, fintech providers, businesses and regulators differ on the seeming inevitability of blockchain and distributed ledger technology?
In the realm of payments, blockchain essentially champions automation and decentralization resulting in systems that remove the middleman. By enabling a direct contractual interface between two transactional parties, the technology has the power to democratize payments and theoretically make any exchange of value quicker, safer and also cheaper.
Consumers – Utopia
Quicker, safer and cheaper? What’s not to like? Payments are not just about funds transfer; the reality is that consumers are increasingly focused on a richer and more secure retail experience coupled with instant gratification. The underlying technology is somewhat irrelevant.
With compelling promises of borderless funds transfers, instantaneously and at virtually no cost, it is hard to argue against a utopian open payments market, accessible to all. Applications built on blockchain technology also afford consumers a level of anonymity – pseudonymous – not available on bank-operated payment networks. Inevitably, without regulated KYC (Know Your Customer) legislation, this opens up opportunities for criminal activity, money laundering and tax evasion. Ironically, the inherently secure and obfuscated nature of blockchain implementations drives the concerns about misuse.
The potential to provide cheaper and faster international money transfers and bring new efficiencies into the remittance market are good news for consumers. The hype promises being able to shop at the ‘speed of life’; consumers are still waiting for the retail experience to match up to their expectations.
Enterprises – Softly, Softly
Payment processes within businesses, large and small, have multiple considerations: speed, risk, cost, transparency, etc. Established payments technology is safe and proven for high-volume high-value transactions, so who needs to risk a revolution?
Scale matters. Wholesale currency conversion rates change the game when compared to micro-payment rates; the underlying money markets for trading in foreign currencies are very efficient. The spread costs for trading large amounts in liquid currencies can be a fraction of one percent, but when banks have to transfer smaller amounts the costs go up to single-figure percentages.
Enterprises traditionally move more slowly and cautiously than consumers. Technology needs to be tried and tested before widespread acceptance. Blockchain technology still has questions to be answered and there is a need for more real-world use cases before businesses will reengineer their established payments processes. Blockchain will inevitably simplify and reduce transaction costs in the future, but more importantly, it will also bring down costs and reduce risk when it comes to issues relating to trust where two parties don’t know each other.
Financial Institutions – Disruption
Blockchain applications will disrupt the banking industry precisely because it is a really simple business to disrupt. Banking is a data business. However, the data (money) can be corrupted or leaked, but it functions because you can fully trust the underlying banking system. Blockchain offers a comprehensive solution for banking because it cannot be corrupted – its integrity is beyond question. The revolution is coming whether banks are on-board or not.
Banks understand this, blockchain is now touted as the tool to makeover the entire enterprise: back office, security and trust, auto-KYC, settlement, fraud, capital markets and, of course, payments.
Blockchain isn’t going to circumvent the global banking system anytime soon. But there is genuine desire to make a success of distributed ledger capabilities. The benefits of cutting out inefficient intermediaries and reduced infrastructure costs for cross-border payments, securities trading and regulatory compliance could save billions for consumers and the financial services industry.
Fintech – Gloves Off
Fintech predictions for 2016 have been accompanied by more enthusiasm than usual. The amount of money being poured into financial startups is matching the excesses of the dot-com era. However, these billions are probably still a fraction of banks’ legacy IT expenditure. The end game is still unclear. Blockchain could be a transformative tool for business, especially finance, but regulation or moves towards de-anonymization could stunt growth irrevocably.
Fintech has made numerous dents into the world of financial services over the last two decades through technology innovation. But blockchain-based distributed ledger solutions have the potential to make genuine breaches into fully-fledged businesses. Banks often feel insulated from the effect as startups don’t attack head-on. Some fintech providers attack parts of the financial services market, others offer solutions to existing players, while some espouse a cooperative process to innovate.
Fintech providers see the opportunity and are all striving for their piece of the pie. But, hot on their heels are the leviathans of the software market such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Oracle, etc. Blockchain-as-a-Service is already a reality.
Regulators – Decision Time
Governments and regulatory bodies around the globe are actively monitoring, testing and researching blockchain and distributed ledger technology with a view to developing standards and regulating use. Of particular interest to governments is limiting the encryption and anonymity capabilities. End-to-end encryption is vital for user anonymity and a major part of the value proposition, but governments are aiming to limit its use – and to counter anonymity altogether – in order to better monitor perceived threats. These restrictive measures could prove disastrous for many applications of blockchain if successful.
Many banking bodies have asked for a ‘light touch’ to regulation of the underlying blockchain technology given its potential to fundamentally change the realm of funds transfer. However, the regulators must wrestle with compliance demands that don’t stifle innovation through unreasonable on-boarding and monitoring processes. The established AML (Anti Money Laundering), KYC and money transmission laws and regulations as applied to established institutions have been heavily criticized for imposing onerous conditions on startups, making it impossible to operate. Additionally, if such standards were extended to other blockchain-based applications, the regulatory approaches could slow down innovation across the entire blockchain space.
The move towards the adoption of private blockchains as opposed to the less controlled nature of public blockchains is an important distinction for financial institutions. Regardless, blockchain technologies remain a powerful tool for innovating payments services while increasing the transparency and accountability of financial institutions to the regulators.


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SEAaT, the association promoting abatement technology and emissions trading for ships, is to host the Shipping Emissions Trading Seminar on 2nd April at the IMO in London, to discuss and develop strategies for the implementation of emissions trading for shipping. The Seminar is by invite only and is structured to provide key stakeholders in shipping, finance and regulatory bodies and is designed to give an insight to the application of emissions trading for the shipping industry - set against the much-publicized environmental imperatives of today. The shipping industry, has so far been omitted from ETS plans, although the European Union has stated that it would like to see ETS for shipping in place. In December, calls for ETS for shipping gained momentum when the British Chamber of Shipping advocated an international emissions trading plan, a move fully supported by SEAaT. The Seminar has attracted a number of industry leaders from the sphere of shipping and emissions trading and will be hosted by the sponsors of SEAaT [BP, Carnival, P&O, the Norwegian Shipowners Association, Stena Line, Shell, the Swedish Shipowners Association and Teekay] as a service to the shipping industry. (www.seaat.org)
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a Press Release stating that on September 21 it hosted a panel discussion by representatives of the ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) community. This was the first of a series of briefings with shipping industry representatives intended to develop a greater awareness and understanding of current issues and concerns affecting the U.S. international liner shipping industry.
The European Commission has heeded industry concerns about the poor image of shipping and launched a $4.2 million program it hopes will boost seafarer recruitment and open up awareness of the industry to the general public. The program, which should be underway by the middle of next year, will last three years and will involve participation from other shipping industry players. Addressing industry leaders at a presentation of the InterManager‐supported Key Performance Indicator initiative in
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – which represents all sectors and trades of the global shipping industry and more than 80% of the world merchant fleet – has produced a briefing document for government climate change negotiators, in advance of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17), which commences in Durban at the end of November. The Document entitled ‘Shipping
Cruise ship industry lobbies Congress to relax forthcoming North America SECA exhaust gas emission restrictions The cruise-ship industry, wants an emissions-averaging plan that would allow it to burn the same heavy fuel it always has used in some areas, and it's lobbying Congress for help, according to a report in the Merced Sun-Star. Cruise Lines International Association has proposed a complicated emissions-averaging plan that would allow ships to continue to burn high-sulfur fuel
Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Roberto Cazzulo, speaking at the IMO World Maritime Day Symposium on 'Sustainable Maritime Transportation System', noted that IMO had recently supported in principle his organization's proposal for establishing an (Energy Efficient Design Index) "EEDI Database" for new ships being constructed in accordance with new IMO GHG regulations.
The Korea’s shipping industry, the world largest, is preparing itself for the future. The domestic shipping industry has been sweeping the first seven places across the world in terms of the amount of orders received and the rest amount of them. However, China is also formidable as it is running right after Japan, which is tailing Korea. Korean shipping companies are accelerating their efforts to heighten added value by developing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) ships and building high
The Irish Minister for Finance, McCreevy T.D announced a tonnage tax for Ireland in this years Budget. Fahey T.D., Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, said "the government approval for this unique flat tax rate linked to tonnage will act as a catalyst to regenerate the Irish shipping industry. The industry has been stagnant in recent years and this new tax regime will ensure a more attractive and enhanced fiscal environment
The recent slide in bunker prices has allowed owners to operate their ships at more profitable levels The Shipping Industry has recently benefited from falling oil prices. Fuel has always been a major cost for shipping companies, and the recent slide in prices has allowed them to operate at more profitable levels. The United States Oil Fund (USO) this year has fallen nearly 23 percent, while the Guggenheim Shipping ETF (SEA) is up over 6 percent over the same period according to a
The global shipping industry – represented by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, Intercargo, Intertanko, World Shipping Council (WSC), CLIA and IPTA – has voiced continuing concern about serious implementation problems associated with the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention. At last week’s IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), governments decided neither to discuss in full nor to resolve these pivotal issues on which industry had
Endofa, an independent marine fuel supplier and bunker trader, informs it has named Lars Hoffmann as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Endofa, Hoffmann served as Chief Executive Officer for Shipping.dk. He also served on the board of the Danish Shipbrokers Association.
The companies have signed a number of agreements for construction and long-term operation of the vessels for Sakhalin-2 project. At an official ceremony in Moscow, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy) and Sovcomflot Shelf (SCF Shelf) on behalf of Sovcomflot Group have
Although US refined products exports largely underpin medium-range (MR) product tanker demand in the Atlantic Basin, there is little evidence of similar stability in US Gulf – UK Continent (TC14) freight rates, find shipping industry advisors Poten & Partners in a recent study
Louise M. DuVall, the first woman to serve on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, died Saturday, April 19. She was 93. She was appointed to two terms on the Harbor Commission, serving from Feb. 6, 1979, to July 18, 1990. She advocated for women to rise in the legal profession and the
Karberg & Schmitz GmbH of Hamburg, Germany, have been appointed as Ecospeed agents for the German territory, representing Subsea Industries and Hydrex in the sale and delivery of Ecospeed, Ecoshield and related products including service, maintenance and warranty work.
The UK government’s new maritime strategy “poses the right questions” about the country's shipping industry but “does not yet provide compelling answers on a range of key points that will have a major impact on this valuable sector of our economy” according to Louise
IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee has reached agreement on the entry into force date of new, stricter requirements for ships’ emission of NOx in emission control areas (NECAs). At the last session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee
Online registration is now open for SHIPPINGInsight 2014, North America’s premier maritime industry technical forum, scheduled for Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2014 at the Sheraton Hotel in Stamford, Conn. Now entering its third year
The United States should strengthen a century-old law designed to protect the domestic shipping industry, rather than relax it under pressure from the energy industry, the chair of the Senate Energy Committee said on Tuesday. The 1920 Jones Act restricts the delivery of goods between U.S
Governments, maritime employer representatives coordinated by the International Shipping Federation (ISF) and their counterparts from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) met this week at the International Labor Organization in Geneva for the first meeting of the Special
Fleet management solutions company BASS said it has achieved a recent deal in the Taiwanese shipping sector by securing its maiden contract in that bustling far eastern market. Under the deal with Taiwan’s Simosa Shipping, the BASSnet Maintenance module will be implemented within the
“The Human Element,” produced by KVH Media Group under the TRAININGlink brand, is a finalist in the “Safety at Sea” category of the Seatrade Awards. KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) is pleased to announce that its 2013 film “The Human Element” has been
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans unveiled a new modern, streamlined logo today to kick-off the 6th annual Critical Commodities Conference. The rebranding effort represents the culmination of work of an internal committee consisting of staff from a variety of port
Japanese classification society ClassNK says it offers its Minimum Propulsion Power Calculation Software and ISO-based Progressive Speed Trial Analysis Software free of charge to the shipping Industry ClassNK has released its new PrimeShip-GREEN/MinPower software
Subsea Industries, a Hydrex company, announced that its Ecoshield coating system, which offers protection from cavitation and corrosion/erosion damage for ship hulls, rudders and ship underwater running gear, has been recognized with an industry award.


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The news from Nichola Sturgeon on Thursday was one of celebration and a wee bit o’ disappointment. Scots can rejoice that we’ll now be able to meet up in larger groups, visit the dentist, go to worship, get married, and shop for non-essentials all by the end of June. But disappointment is the dish of the day chewed on by many with pubs and restaurants not given a date as to when they can return to trading, albeit outdoors.
Now we can meet with folk from more than one household outdoors and mercifully the signs of ‘play park closed due to COVID-19’ is something that is consigned to the history books. There was also good news for those souls who have been shielding as they have finally been given the green light to go out and exercise for the first time since late March.
Sports courts also can fling their proverbial doors open and with professional sports to resume as well, it makes it a great day for those who have been itching to get back to all the sweating and the swearing that I assume is involved with any and all sporting activity.
The First Minister gave her blessing for workplaces like warehouses, laboratories, and shops to return to plying their appropriate trade, as well as the construction industry to get back on with erecting their this-and-thats. There was however no date given for pubs and restaurants to re-open for alfresco dining and drinking. With many pubs and restaurants gearing up all last week to open and social media peppered with posts of newly plumped up pub gardens and plush outdoor dining areas proclaimed as ‘ready’ for the weekend, the decision to keep them closed was met with huge disappointment by the industry and its thirsty patrons. Obviously, the health of patrons is paramount and that must always be so, but it is understandably disheartening for traders who were hoping for a sniff of a return to work but get nothing but the salty waft of dismay.
This delaying of pubs and restaurants opening is also a little frustrating for our industry too which thrives on punters going here, there, and everywhere, but the health and welfare of our passengers is very important to us, so if the science says ‘ stay shut’ then ‘stay shut’ it must! There was however another taxi-related announcement from Holyrood, with the Scottish Government making face coverings mandatory on all public transport from Monday. As this development includes taxi services it is worth reminding folk that if you try to board a bus, train, subway, ferry, plane or taxi without a face covering you could be refused travel (there are obvious exceptions), so please remember to put it in your pocket to save on any complications.
At Inverness Taxis we have placed customer and driver safety at the forefront of every journey we make, so we welcome any measure that improves passenger safety. We have already implemented measures such as shields between driver and passenger, contactless payment, and regular sanitisation of vehicles, so it’s no wonder that we’ve managed to complete over 100,000 journeys without so much as a sniffle reported by any of our drivers. We continue to maintain and adapt our measures to an ever-evolving situation to make sure every passenger gets to wherever they need to go, safely.


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Reduce the Effects of EMF Stress
Dan Stachofsky, president of Essential Energy, shares that electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) are everywhere—from cell phones to refrigerators to electric cars. “And while many may not realize their disruptive effects, science has proven that every individual’s biochemistry is affected by EMF stress whether we feel it or not. Essential Energy has created products to reduce the harmful effects of EMF,” he says.
Stachofsky explains that, unlike other EMF protection products on the market, Essential Energy products don’t block electromagnetic frequencies. “Rather than blocking the signals, our technology uses light harmonics to correct the negative aspect of the signals. It’s gentle and effective against all forms of harmful EMF,” he affirms. “We embed proven harmonics into the plates used in each product, and as a result these beneficial harmonics transmute the harmful electro-magnetic frequencies making them a biological non-issue.”
According to Stachofsky, Dr. Magda Havas, an expert in EMF science, believes that three percent of the population have severe electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) symptoms and 35 percent have mild to moderate symptoms. “Everyone’s experience will be slightly different as each individual is unique, but those who suffer from EHS often experience sleeplessness, memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, trouble breathing and more,” says Stachofsky. “Our products start to work right away to reduce EMF stress, which is a cause of many of these symptoms.”
Stachofsky suggests that pulmonary function may also improve when EMF stress is reduced. “In two studies, we have shown that by wearing our Power Pendant or the LightTower, the EMF stress response is reduced in over 90 percent of people tested, and their breathing becomes deeper and fuller almost immediately.”For more information, visit TheEMFfix.com. Now through May, receive a free pulse oximeter with any purchase. Call 509-850-0557 or visit TheEMFfix.com for more information.


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Two friends have taken the plunge and opened a new cafe in Sault Ste. Marie’s north end despite today’s tough business environment that’s due to the pandemic.
Mana Goodfellow and Katrina Holkko jointly opened the Soup Witch on Monday this week, fulfilling a long-time goal.
“We had casually talked about opening a business together for years in one capacity or another,” Goodfellow told Sault This Week.
“When we talked about going into business together we always would come back to what fun it would be to combine our experience and create our own cafe with an emphasis on great food with great coffee and the ability to utilize some of our wonderful local businesses while doing so.”
Goodfellow has worked as a cook and chef for 20 years, while Holkko brings management and business experience to the venture. Both have owned their own businesses in the past, but this is the first time they’ve come together to open one.
The “Soup Witch” name is not only a play on the common “soup and sandwich” pairing, it’s also a reference to what Goodfellow thinks of when making a pot of soup.
“Making soup (my favourite thing to cook) has always felt like brewing up a potion,” said Goodfellow. “The act of combining ingredients into a big stock pot and stirring it all together to create something magical made me feel like the Soup Witch!”
The cafe’s menu features classic cafe food, but with the women’s personal twist, like the “Rudy Reuben,” “BLTease,” and their grilled cheese sandwiches. They also wanted to pay homage to Frank’s Place, which had operated in their location for many years, by putting The Denver on the menu.
The Soup Witch has partnered with other local businesses to source the ingredients used, such as Home B&B and Superior Bakery for bread, St. Joseph Island Coffee Roasters for coffee, and Lock City Dairy for dairy products.
They have ensured that vegetarians, vegans, and those on a gluten-free diet will have choices as well.
“Making great food accessible is a real point of pride for us,” said Goodfellow. “We’re excited to be able to create a space that people feel comfortable in, can eat good food, get a great cup of coffee or enjoy a latte in this part of town. We’re looking forward to building a community hub and excited to meet our neighbours and make some new friendships.”
The new cafe is at 215 Fourth Line E., at the intersection of Old Goulais Bay Road, in the old Frank’s Place.
Although many new businesses are opening up downtown, Goodfellow and Holkko wanted a location that didn’t yet have a neighbourhood cafe. “When we saw this place was available we fell in love with it and snapped it up right away,” said Goodfellow.
“This building has always been a great lunch spot as far back as Frank’s Place, and with a four-corner stop just outside plus a bus stop steps away, it’s a very busy location. We’re hopeful to settle in nicely and become the neighbourhood’s local cafe spot for anyone wanting to come enjoy a latte or pop in for a lunch.”
The ongoing pandemic has changed how they are opening to start, opting not to offer indoor dining due to the small size of the café, Goodfellow said. Instead, they have set up picnic tables outside, and offer takeout and citywide delivery, as well as some grab-and-go items such as pre-made wrapped sandwiches.
The cafe will be open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to start, though the pair hopes to extend their hours, and add to their team, as they settle in.
Since beginning their journey toward opening, the partners have received “amazing support” from not only their family and friends, but the community at large, Goodfellow said.
“It’s honestly been really humbling. The Sault has such a love affair with food and the rally around small, independently-run food businesses has always been so impressive.”
Some of the most helpful support they’ve received has come from other local business owners, such as Angela at the Breakfast Pig, Jill and Liam from Home B&B, Ashleigh at Shabby Motley, Shane and Heather at St. Joseph Island Coffee Roasters, and Amanda at Big Lake Cabin, she said.
These entrepreneurs have given Goodfellow and Holkko “offers of support, help with equipment, just great advice, and general love and well wishes.”
The Soup Witch can be found on Facebook and Instagram under the handle @TheSoupWitchCafe, but Goodfellow hopes to see everyone in person at their new cafe soon.


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For the past five years in a row, Maurices corporate headquarters in downtown Duluth stops what it's doing and turns its undivided attention to the community in which the national women's clothing retailer grew up.
They call it "Our Best Day Ever" and, as if they couldn't resist the runner-up from marketing, describe the activities therein as the company's "Grand Give."
But it's the day's actions which matter most, and on Wednesday, teams from Maurices fanned out across the city to perform any number of charitable and community-oriented acts.
"It's really great to step out of our own headspace of the day-to-day and recognize the community we live in," said associate Erika Monette, a visual merchandiser.
Among the day's activities locally:
• Serving Italian-style lunch at the Damiano Center;
• Cleaning out invasive species from Hartley Park;
• Planting trees in the Woodland and Congdon neighborhoods;
• Mulching and shrub removal at Enger and Lake Place parks;
• Adopting Lowell Music Magnet School to provide classroom supplies, materials and some extra funds;
• Assembling care packages with Blue Star Mothers of America for service people overseas;
• A start-to-finish redecoration of child care space at Community Action Duluth in Lincoln Park.
Nationwide, Maurices announced its stores raised more than $100,000 for Adopt A Classroom efforts in its retail communities, and associates at the New York City design office took the day to spend with neighborhood children programs.
"Isn't this terrific?" said CEO George Goldfarb in a Duluth headquarters conference room, where 10 women nominated by Community Action Duluth were receiving styles and makeovers after an earlier shopping spree at the Maurices retail store in the Miller Hill Mall.
Mercedes Sheard lost her job of five years when the Kmart store in West Duluth closed earlier this month.
"But I got myself a government job," she said excitedly, explaining how she starts work next month as a front desk information specialist at the St. Louis County government center on West Second Street.
Sheard looked peaceful as a student stylist from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College applied gold eyeshadow to Sheard's closed eyelids.
"I had a horrible day yesterday," said Linda Brazier, who was overcome with emotion by the experience, a tear rolling down her radiant cheek. "Nothing is free except a prayer and I feel like I had two prayers answered today."
Brazier admitted she's struggling to pay rent and that job coaches with Community Action are working to help reconnect her with her former career in social work. The $50 worth of shopping, with 50 percent off, and subsequent makeover put her in a better place.
"You come in here and you feel prettier," she said. "You feel like life is going to work out well."
Helen Davis is the Family Freedom Center's outreach liaison, bringing African American families together for community activities in Lincoln Park. She left the style and makeover with her hair in rows and a few new pairs of pants and shorts.
"This is a blessing," she said. "It's nice to be pampered. You don't get that opportunity very often."
As he surveyed the scene, Goldfarb said he appreciated the company providing people with an unique experience.
"It's all about giving back," said Goldfarb, the company's homegrown top executive known for his silver pompadour. "It's an amazing experience for the associates, too."
Indeed. It was field experience manager Shannon O'Hern's team that was put in charge of the shopping and makeovers. The associates on her team each adopted a shopper and behaved as personal stylists would.
"We got to know them and learned they were all giving back to the community through non-profits and other ways," O'Hern said. "These women do so much for their neighborhoods. They deserve to be pampered. But it's as much fun for us as for them."


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NADA Convention upbeat as dealers hear Jeb Bush, Jay Leno
Auto sales looked good a year ago as dealers gathered at the annual NADA Convention, but by the time they met last week in San Francisco for the 2015 Convention, it was even more clear that auto sales, and the auto industry overall, are leading the economy. Dealersê upbeat mood was reflected at the convention, where attendance of 23,000 plus was the highest in many years.
The exhibit floor was sold out, with 570 companies exhibiting. Workshop attendance also set a new record. Leading the general sessions, two keynoters proved to be dealer favorites: Prospective presidential candidate and former Florida governor Jeb Bush and comedian Jay Leno (no report on Mr. Leno because no press were allowed in that session). And it didnêt hurt that the Convention was held in San Francisco, where the temperature was in the 60s all week.
Before the convention started, the dealer organization generously kicked off the weekês activities by donating $50,000 from the NADA Charitable Foundation to the SF-Marin Food Bank. When they presented the check, leaders from the NADA Charitable Foundation toured the food bank, then rolled up their sleeves for volunteer work.
The auto finance guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, now nearly two years old, was again a big topic at the convention. The CFPB guidance to the banks it regulates alleges that allowing dealers to set finance rates may result in discrimination against minorities, even if unintended. Bush drew hearty applause when he said the unelected bureaucrats of the CFPB went forward with the rule without notice, without a public hearing, not knowing whether it would work.
NADA has devoted a lot of energy in those two years to dealing with the consequences of the CFPBês position on car loans and has issued guidelines for dealers in response for complying with the Fair Credit law and the specious charges of discrimination against minorities.
Outgoing NADA Chairman Forrest McConnell underscored that NADA will continue to work hard to clear roadblocks to dealer success.
This association helps keep the negative things away, like unreasonable manufacturerês franchise policies and unfair government regulations, he said. NADA helps dealers fly right so they can concentrate on their businesses.
Incoming NADA Chairman Bill Fox tackled the broader issue of the value of the franchised dealer network.
The automotive franchise system is the most efficient method of bringing new vehicles to the driving public, Fox said. Dealers are fierce competitors that drive consumer costs down and ensure superior customer service.
In response to critics who complain about state franchise laws, Fox said that these laws, which vary from state to state, have a common objective: They seek to level the playing field between dealers and the manufacturers and that benefits the citizens of those states.
Outgoing chairman McConnell is a Honda and Acura dealer from Montgomery, Ala. Incoming chairman Fox is a multifranchise dealer in upstate New York.Download Bulletin PDF


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Urgent warning to UK drivers of more than 5 car scams that could cost them £ 8,500
An urgent warning has been issued to all motorists in the UK following a huge increase in scams targeting drivers.
Criminals continue to use the coronavirus pandemic – and current restrictions – to rip people off their hard-earned money.
Scams recently reached an all-time high and North Wales Police have issued several warnings on reported scams in the region.
Searching for so many compelling scams can be incredibly overwhelming for motorist reports Birmingham live.
And with more people buying and selling engines online than ever before, scammers have found new ways to target vulnerable people.
To help, Select Car Leasing analyzed the number of five recent online car scams – revealing that drivers stand to lose £ 8,485 if they fall victim to them.
Too good to be true
Some crooks are now taking the form of bogus car insurance providers to catch people.
Scammers, known as ghost brokers, sell ‘too good to be true’ auto insurance contracts to drivers who are no more savvy in buying a totally worthless policy.
According to the Association of British Insurers, the average cost of car insurance is £ 485.
Victims of ghost brokerage could not only pay this premium but also a fine of £ 300 when penalized for driving an uninsured vehicle.
False road tax
Recently, the DVLA, which has offices in South Wales, issued a warning following reports of a bogus text message claiming to be sent on behalf of the agency.
The texts warn drivers that their payment information must be updated or that their road tax must be renewed.
These text messages give recipients a link to re-enter their bank details, potentially giving crooks access to their bank accounts where they can immediately transfer the balance to another account.
While it can be a great place to find a good deal, scammers have started to use the platform to advertise cheap vehicles in order to attract potential buyers.
An unlucky victim in County Clare paid £ 5,179 for a car that was never delivered.
False sellers pressure motorists to post a deposit and pay for the delivery of the vehicle. They then take the money and run – so the buyers are left with no car and no money.
Police in North Wales also issued a warning yesterday that crooks were coming to collect expensive items and showing the seller a fake transaction to make them believe the bank transfer was successful.
However, once the person leaves with the item, the seller finds out that the money never made it to their bank account.
Not only can buying a car be risky, but also selling it online. Some crooks will show up for an in-person inspection of the vehicle being sold and distract the seller while an accomplice adds engine oil to the water tank.
The car of course breaks down if driven, with criminals claiming the seller tried to sell them a faulty car – they will use it as leverage for a significantly lower asking price.
The crooks will then drain the engine oil from the tank and sell the car to another completely unknown buyer.
The Derbyshire Times found that in some reports the victims of the scam were £ 2,000 worse off.
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As a result of the pandemic, learner drivers have to wait a long time for their driving test. Some fraudsters capitalize on the wait and target motorists who don’t want to wait to take their test.
Scammers are selling fake licenses and paper certificates online for £ 600 each, saying they have internal access to driving test centers and can pass learner drivers without having to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
No license card is issued and fraudsters take the funds.
Have you personally seen an increase in outstanding scams? Let us know in the comments


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Army tanker drivers trained by fuel logistics company Hoyer and other haulage firms began delivering supplies today (4 October) to petrol stations hit by the fuel crisis. The move closely follows the government announcement late last week that its emergency visa program for truck drivers, dubbed “Scrooge Visas” because they were originally set to expire on Christmas Eve, has been extended into 2022 to help tackle the UK’s HGV driver shortage. The government said 300 fuel drivers would be able […]
Greenergy is probably the biggest transport fuels supplier you have never heard of. While it has around 35% of the UK market, supplying 17.1bn litres of petrol and diesel last year, it operates no filling stations and its fleet of 150 tankers are usually liveried in either customer brands or that of its own fuel transport operation Flexigrid.
Transport minister Baroness Vere (pictured) faced a barrage of questions in the House of Lords today (26 October) on the lorry driver shortage with peers accusing the government of creating a “world beating” dearth of HGV drivers and enacting “panic button” policies to solve the crisis.
Dairy logistics firm Arla has warned hundreds of stores across the UK are not receiving milk deliveries due a shortage of HGV drivers.


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Confiscate their mobility scooters
Nowhere in the common agricultural policy book of rules does it say that supermarkets will be able to sell milk at less than the cost of production.
RSPB deer colony damages crops
Many readers will have met George Applegate, the world famous dowser who died in April aged 94 and had been active until near the end of his life.
Import substitution is key
NFU vice president Minette Batters says the British fruit sector needs to grow its home market and look at import substitution.


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Published on May 17, 2016
A group of FAN volunteers recently visited the nation's four largest pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Walmart) to see what these companies say when asked whether fluoride "supplements" are approved by the FDA. As you can hear in these excerpts, we heard just about everything --- except the truth. Ask FDA to take action against these companies by signing FAN's online petition today at: http://fluoridealert.org/fda/


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The IOM’s second major task was to determine which healthy foods are typically lacking in the diets of low-income mothers and children. The IOM report found that low-income children consumed more starchy vegetables than the Dietary Guidelines recommended, and that over 80% of starchy vegetables consumed were white potatoes. It also found that children under-consumed every other type of vegetable. In fact, white potatoes were the most widely consumed vegetable and made up more than 40 percent of young children’s total vegetable intake.
Here is the key issue: WIC provides foods that are both healthy and lacking in the diets of pregnant women and children. Based on the IOM’s findings, white potatoes are not “lacking” in the diets of the target population—quite the opposite—and the decision not to include them on the list of foods covered by WIC vouchers is consistent with the program’s goals. WIC provides only $10 per month to purchase fruits and vegetables for women and $6 per month for children. Every dollar spent on white potatoes is a dollar not spent on other fruits and vegetables, such as leafy greens, that provide a wide array of essential nutrients. And this isn’t to say that white potatoes are unhealthy. They contain several vitamins and minerals and are, of course, still available for purchase by WIC mothers using their personal grocery funds or SNAP benefits.
Three years ago, we made a similar appeal when Congress interfered with a USDA proposal to limit starchy vegetables such as white potatoes in the National School Lunch Program. Today, we have the same response: These important decisions should be science-based. Given our nation’s costly and debilitating epidemic of nutrition-related chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, we must seize every opportunity to promote sound nutrition. As former elected and appointed officials, we recognize that members of Congress want to protect the economic interests of their constituents. But it is equally important to protect their constituents’ health interests. They can do so by ensuring that WIC food packages continue to be based on the latest science. When the Senate Appropriations Committee reviews the 2015 USDA budget, we urge its members to respect the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for the foods to be included in the WIC program. To do otherwise would undermine the science-based process.
Dan Glickman served as secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001 and as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association from 2004-2010. He currently serves as a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Ann M. Veneman served as secretary of Agriculture from 2001 until 2005 and executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. They are co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative.


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The usually hushed world of chess is in uproar after a contagion of cheating during lockdown.
With more games being forced online, computer programmes are increasingly being used to find the perfect move, swing games and boost players’ rankings.
Scots chess administrators said the number caught cheating has doubled since lockdown began, but added there are stringent measures in place to catch the cheats.
John McNicoll, a council member of Chess Scotland and a qualified arbiter in the game, said: “It’s harder to catch people cheating online than it is playing in the traditional way. People think no one will ever know if they use a computer to cheat but, we have various methods to catch them.
“We have caught people and have punished them by banning them. It has risen a lot since lockdown. Before, we considered about two accusations of cheating in three or four years. Since lockdown, we’ve had five or six.”
It’s estimated there are around 2,500 people in Scotland who play at a serious level. Cheats use computer programmes to work out optimum moves which only the very best players would know. But authorities have their own software which can analyse a player’s moves and detect suspicious patterns.
Mr McNicoll said: “We have seen low-graded players suddenly playing like the world champion. We have caught one adult, with an investigation into another adult ongoing, and the rest have been younger players.”
Andy Howie, executive director of Chess Scotland, who chairs its anti-cheating committee, said: “There has been quite an increase since lockdown and since we went online. However, it has not affected Scotland as much as elsewhere.
“We have made it clear we will have measures in place to catch cheats and we will be on the front foot on this issue.”
Experts agree there has been a surge in what’s been referred to as “computer-doping” since games went online following lockdown.
Chess.com, the world’s biggest site for online play, said it had 12 million new users this year, up from 6.5 million last year. The cheating rate had jumped from between 5,000 and 6,000 players banned per month last year to almost 17,000 in August.
Gerard Le-Marechal, head of the site’s fair play team, said: “It’s just so easy to do and it’s without doubt creating a crisis.”
International Chess Federation boss Arkady Dvorkovich described cheating as a “plague” within the game.
Professor Ken Regan, who has devised a computer programme to scan games and detect cheating, said: “The pandemic has brought me as much work in a single day as I had in a year previously.”
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