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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Friday 11th February. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don’t have to.
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BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OUTLINES PLAN TO BUILD MORE E.V. CHARGERS | THE NEW YORK TIMES
– The Biden administration said on Thursday that it would require states to submit proposals to line highways with electric vehicle chargers, part of a $5 billion plan to fill a gap in the infrastructure needed to support booming sales of battery-powered cars.
– The administration outlined a relatively speedy timetable for deploying an initial instalment of $615 million. All 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, would be required to submit plans by the beginning of August explaining how they would install high-voltage chargers along or very close to major highways.
– The chargers must be no more than 50 miles apart, and states are encouraged to place them at rest areas or other places with food and other services. Federal officials must decide by the end of September whether to approve the states’ plans.
BIDEN ANNOUNCES $5 BILLION OVER 5 YEARS FOR A NATIONWIDE EV CHARGING NETWORK | ELECTREK
– The White House also detailed more plans for the manufacturing of EV chargers:
Siemens will produce 1 million EV chargers by 2025
ABB, which currently manufactures transit bus chargers in the US, will expand its US EV charging manufacturing operations, including Level 2 and DC Fast Chargers, over the next five years.
Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, a Black- and woman-owned EV charger manufacturer based in Detroit, will manufacture Level 2 EV chargers and charging connectors in a new production facility in Detroit beginning this summer
The new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation also launched a new website this week, which can be found at DriveElectric.gov. There, officials can find links to technical assistance, data and tools for states, and careers.
DOT WILL PAY STATES TO BUILD OUT A MASSIVE EV CHARGING NETWORK | CAR AND DRIVER
– The creation of the joint office was first announced in December 2021, and the funds will come from the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established by the bipartisan infrastructure act signed into law by President Biden in November.
– All that money is to build charging infrastructure for battery-electric vehicles only—not for hydrogen or other alternative-energy vehicles, the DOT clarified. The DOT also said it expects many of the states to look to the private sector to build and maintain the charging stations.
– Over the past six years, 40 states have already created designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, much of which follows the interstate highway system, and that will be “the spine of the new national EV charging network,”
– Once these corridors are filled in, states will be asked to plan more “community based” charging that could reach more rural and underserved areas away from major highway systems.
– The government agency released a state-by-state list showing how it intends to distribute that initial $615 million in fiscal 2022. California can expect $56.7 million; Texas, $60.3 million; while Kansas gets $5.8 million and Wyoming gets $3.9 million.
– The feds want to emphasize that getting the charging stations from domestic suppliers is a priority in this program. For instance, the DOT noted, President Biden met this week with a charging station manufacturer, Tritium, that plans to break ground on a facility in Tennessee with six production lines producing 30,000 DC fast chargers per year. Bigger names are also getting in on the process—the White House said Siemens will expand its U.S. operations and plans to produce a million EV charging units by 2025.
VALEO BUYS OUT SIEMENS FROM EV-COMPONENTS VENTURE | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE
– Valeo agreed to acquire Siemens’ stake in their 5-year-old electric-car components venture to bolster its position in the rapidly expanding EV market.
– Valeo also announced a plan to develop a new electric motor with Renault. The companies said they would be the first to mass produce a 200-kilowatt electric motor without using rare earth materials, starting in 2027. Production of the motor for the automaker’s own needs will be based at Renault Group’s plant in Cléon, France.
– Valeo and Siemens joined forces on Valeo Siemens eAutomotive in 2016 to make e-motors, axles and powertrain electronics for plug-in hybrids and full-electric vehicles.
– By the end of 2022, more than 90 electric and plug-in hybrid models will be fitted with Valeo’s electric powertrain systems, motors, inverters or onboard chargers, the supplier said.
NEXT MINI COOPER ELECTRIC SPIED WINTER TESTING UNDER CAMOUFLAGE
– Mini is still testing the next-generation of its model under camouflage, trying to pass it off as one of its current models. However, we have actually seen leaked photos of the model set to arrive next year, and the front end certainly looks very similar to that of the refreshed current model, but the rear end is noticeably different.
– . The interior has also been given a major revamp, featuring a completely new and more minimalistic design.
– There’s currently no word on specs for the electric Mini, but it will surely get a bigger battery than what equips the current Cooper SE (one of the lowest-range EVs you can buy). With just 28.9 kWh usable capacity, it has a real world range of under 124 miles (200 km) – its EPA estimate of 114 miles is actually a bit conservative, and it should do a bit more.
Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/566563/mini-cooper-electric-spied-again/
286.2 GWH DEPLOYED ONTO ROADS IN PASSENGER EV BATTERIES IN 2021 | GREEN CAR CONGRESS
– A record 286.2 GWh of passenger EV battery capacity was deployed onto roads globally in 2021—a 113% increase over 2020—as battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales surged year-over-year, according to Adamas Intelligence.
– By cell supplier, China-based CATL took the lead in 2021 with a record 87.8 GWh deployed onto roads globally (31% of the global total)—a 204% increase over 2020 on the back of an ever-broadening book of supply agreements with Chinese, European and North American automakers.
– In 2021, 21% of all passenger EV battery capacity deployed onto roads by CATL went into MIC Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys, making Tesla the cell supplier’s widest channel to market for the calendar year.
Original Source : https://www.greencarcongress.com/2022/02/20220210-adamas.html
‘LOGISTICS NIGHTMARE’ HITS BATTERY STORAGE ROLLOUT: ENPHASE CEO | S&P GLOBAL PLATTS
– Global shipping bottlenecks and soaring freight rates have created a “logistics nightmare” that is complicating the rollout of lithium-ion battery storage systems, according to Enphase Energy President and CEO
– California-based company, known primarily for its solar panel power electronics, has navigated the backups and markups to launch a new residential energy storage business during the coronavirus pandemic. That included a 53% quarterly jump in shipments of its battery storage package to roughly 100 MWh in the final three months of 2021.
– Other companies involved in renewable energy, energy storage and electric vehicles, including AES Clean Energy Development and Tesla, have also cited the logistical logjam as a major limitation.
Such difficulties come as homeowners and businesses look increasingly to battery storage to provide electricity when grid power fails, such as during more frequent wildfires in the western US. Grid operators like the California ISO and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas are also seeking fast-response resources to help transmission systems ride through heat waves and cold snaps.
– Enphase has seen some supply-chain headaches abate, including the availability of semiconductor chips and battery cells.
RIGHT TO REPAIR BILL COULD ALLOW MORE INDEPENDENT SHOPS TO WORK ON EVS | GREEN CAR REPORTS
– A right to repair has been introduced in the House of Representatives, which could help more independent shops work on electric cars and hybrids.
Introduced by Representative Bobby L. Rush, the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act (H.R. 6570) would grant vehicle owners and independent shops equal access to tools and data as automakers and their franchised dealerships, according to a press release from Rush’s office.
– A 2014 memorandum of understanding was supposed to give independent shops equal access to the software tools used by dealerships, but since then wireless transmission capability has created a new obstacle, a release from Rush’s office explained.
– Most new cars collect data from onboard sensors, which is increasingly getting transmitted directly to automakers. Limited access to vehicle data already affects repairs for 37% of vehicles in the United States, and that will likely increase as wireless data transmission continues to proliferate
– The bill calls for all tools, wirelessly transmitted diagnostic data, and onboard diagnostic and telematic systems needed for repairs to be made available to independent mechanics.
FORD POACHES TESLA ENGINEERING CHIEF TO WORK ON ADVANCE EV DEVELOPMENT – TECHSTORY
– Ford hired Tesla Engineering Chief, Alan Clarke, to work on its advanced EV development. Clarke is a former Apple and Tesla tech executive whom Ford hired in September.
– According to his LinkedIn profile, Clarke worked in a number of roles at Tesla for more than 12 years. Most recently, he served as director of new programs engineering. He worked on numerous Tesla products, including the Model Y, the Roadster, and Model 3, among other projects.
– Last year Ford hired Doug Field, former vice president of special projects at Apple. Before working at Apple, Field, 56, was senior vice president of engineering at Tesla, where he led the development of the Model 3, according to his company biography provided by Ford. Field became chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer at Ford. This hiring was known to be a major coup for the automaker.
EU FUNDS NEW BLOCKCHAIN SUPPLY CHAIN TRACKING SCHEME | EDIE.NET
– A coalition of five organisations has announced plans to develop a certification scheme for the metals and minerals used to make electric vehicle (EV) magnets and batteries, after the EU confirmed funding.
– The system will enable data from rare earth supply chains to be recorded on a digital, tamper-proof ledger – thus enabling businesses to verify claims about tackling prevalent issues including pollution and human rights abuses.
– This will be particularly important as demand for these materials increases in line with the transition to EVs in the global north, which governments are keen to ensure does not result in unintended sustainability consequences overseas. Annual global demand for rare earths has doubled over the past 15 years and now stands at 125,000 tonnes. By some estimates, it will surpass 315,000 tonnes in 2030.
– the system will have the capability to trace both virgin raw material supply chains and supply chains for reclaimed and recycled materials.
TESLA’S GLOBAL HEADLAMPS PATENT IS A BIGGER WIN THAN IT MAY SEEM | AUTOEVOLUTION
– A “global headlamp“ patent Tesla filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization promises headlights that can adapt to requirements in different countries and jurisdictions. This will certainly reduce the cost of producing different types of headlamps, but Elon Musk says is the best thing since sliced bread and more.
– Tesla envisions a system that can automatically adapt the headlamps to different jurisdictions’ requirements by using software alone. This would allow Tesla to produce headlights to a uniform standard, thus reducing production costs. The light beam spread, power, and reach would then be modeled in software to comply with the local legislation.
– This feast would be accomplished using the headlamp controller and the LED matrix to generate the required beam, as opposed to the reflector’s geometry.
TESLA FSD BETA CAUGHT HITTING SOMETHING ON CAMERA | JALOPNIK
– A Tesla using Full-Self Driving Beta, or as we call it Tesla’s Level 2 driver-assist system, ran into something, and it was caught on camera.
– YouTuber and FSD Beta Driver AI Addict posted a video that shows the car running into a bollard that is used to protect a bike lane.
– Somehow, hitting the bollard may not have been the worst driving maneuver in the nine minute video. You can see the car run a red light and drive into a tram lane among other downright dangerous maneuvers.
TESLA FSD “SAFETY” VIDEO TAKES A SUDDEN TURN—TOWARDS A CYCLIST | MOTORTREND
– There are a lot of videos out there showing Tesla’s cars on the street in “Full Self Driving” mode making questionable or dangerous maneuvers. This 17-second highlight seen on Twitter featuring a Model 3 in FSD mode nearly swerve into a cyclist puts the unpredictable nature of the feature into fresh perspective.
– The two talk about how a Tesla Full Self driving (FSD) software update could improve safety for drivers, and then their Tesla Model 3 engaged in FSD mode swerves into a bike lane, nearly hitting a cyclist. It’s stark to witness the real danger of Tesla’s FSD program as its users simultaneously praise so-far unfounded safety benefits.
– In the video, we noted the Model 3 in FSD:Turn halfway into a street, head for the sidewalk, then stop in the intersection (at 10:13)Remain stationary when the traffic light turns green (at 12:49)Drive into a bus lane (22:07 to 22:15, again from 23:30 to 24:21, and again from 24:34 to 24:41)Weave (25:35)Drive straight from a right-turn-only lane (24:28)
Original Source : https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-fsd-driving-video-cyclist-danger/
TESLA RECALLS CARS TO FIX PEDESTRIAN WARNING SOUNDS BEING INTERRUPTED – THE VERGE
– Tesla announced a recall of about 579,000 vehicles that have the novelty “Boombox” external music software feature (via Bloomberg). The company plans to remedy the issue by removing the Boombox function via an over-the-air software update, the National Highway Traffic Administration said.
– The recall affects all 2020–2022 Tesla Model S, X, and Y vehicles and also some 2017–2022 Tesla Model 3s equipped with the pedestrian warning system, which is an external speaker emitting artificial noises designed to alert pedestrians and cyclists of the passing vehicle. The “Boombox” feature in these cars can obscure this safety feature.
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How a prominent streamer plans to make the metaverse marketing ecosystem more accessible to marketers
Today, popular gaming streamer and YouTuber Ali “SypherPK” Hassan has announced the opening of a dedicated Fortnite Creative mapmaking division in Oni Studios, the content creation studio and consultancy he founded in January. The new venture aims to lower the barrier of entry for brands interested in the metaverse by bringing together the production and distribution sides of this nascent marketing channel.
Oni Studios’ Fortnite mapmaking team is currently composed of three full-time employees, with plans to expand to 15 and recruit a wider network of contractors by the end of 2022. The new division has been in development for about a year. Until now, the company has largely acted as an incubator and consultancy for up-and-coming streamers and video creators, but brand deals have become an increasingly significant element of the company’s business — Oni signs around 10 brand deals every month, according to Oni Studios CEO Daniela Ali — and its services have expanded accordingly into brand consulting and the growing metaverse marketing space.
“Launching a dedicated mapmaking team is simply our response to very real demand,” Hassan said. “I’ve worked on more than a half a dozen custom maps, and while my contribution to the design and mechanical play of each experience was significant, there’s nothing like digging in with your own team and developing the perfect map.” Oni Studios has only employed full-time Fortnite mapmakers for two months, so it has not yet developed a branded experience from start to finish, though Hassan has both provided mechanical building expertise and assisted in promotion for activations such as Honda’s Hondaverse in the past.
Although these are still the early days of metaverse marketing, Hassan’s studio is the latest of a slew of dedicated Fortnite development firms that have formed to meet brands’ needs. Over the past year, prominent non-gaming-endemic brands such as Gillette, Coca-Cola and Grubhub have joined the feeding frenzy, releasing their own branded Fortnite worlds. “I don’t think it’s just a fad; I think the Fortnite metaverse, for lack of a better word, is definitely here to stay,” said Michael Herriger, CEO of the independent Fortnite studio Atlas Creative. “We get brands coming to us all the time that are interested in creating spaces, and it’s going toward a trend of brands not just wanting a one-and-done game mode, but wanting to really own a spot in the virtual space of Fortnite and have these long-stay experiences.”
What sets Hassan’s studio apart from the competition is its ability to seamlessly disseminate the worlds it builds. When it comes to virtual brand activations inside platforms such as Fortnite and Roblox, the rules are a bit different than those of traditional media. A brand can’t just throw content onto a platform and watch the views tick up; genuine engagement and participation in three-dimensional branded worlds are necessary for them to be a worthwhile expense. Hassan’s position as a well-known Fortnite creator allows him to share his company’s activations on his Twitch stream and social feeds, a strategy he used to promote the recent Hondaverse activation.
“That’s the draw for Oni Studios’ mapmaking team — the fact that we have both the influencer and the service suite to develop those creative experiences,” said Ali, who is married to Hassan and a prominent influencer in her own right. “We find it’s really valuable when the brands, the influencer and the service providers are all aligned with their vision and goals, and that’s what this whole model facilitates.”
The presence of a prominent Fortnite influencer is also a potential draw for the skilled mapmakers that Oni Studios has hired and hopes to hire for its new division. The Fortnite Creative landscape is full of freelance creators, who have more freedom in their choice of projects — and the potential of higher pay — than creators under the Oni Studios banner. But working with Oni Studios gives creators the opportunity to share their work with Hassan’s millions of fans, in addition to the benefits and more consistent pay. “When I was introduced to Oni Studios and the amazing people that work there, the opportunities and goals they had set aligned perfectly with mine,” said Jordan “eatyoushay” Frenkel, one of Oni’s full-time Fortnite developers.
Although Hassan contributed mechanical building advice for the Hondaverse activation, the bulk of actual development for that experience was done by the independent Fortnite studio BeyondCreative. Still, Honda’s use of Hassan’s strong following to promote the activation — the distribution end of metaverse marketing — demonstrated the strength of Oni Studios’ combined model. “SypherPK has a large fanbase within Fortnite,” said American Honda media department head Phil Hruska, “so he was a natural fit to build the Hondaverse within the Fortnite Creative map mode while utilizing high-quality visuals and the ability to build a detailed replica of the all-new Honda HR-V.”
The company’s Fortnite division is not exclusively dedicated to this type of experience. It will also be employed in the creation of exclusive experiences for Hassan’s community, as well as training creators in Oni Studios’ incubator class. But with the volume of brands champing at the bit to stake a claim to the metaverse continuing to rise, partnerships remain Oni Studios’ top priority.
“It’s no surprise I’m super passionate about Fortnite, and a big believer in the capabilities of the Unreal Engine,” Hassan said. “It elevates their creative mode light years ahead of other platforms, and allows us to design much more mature, immersive and engaging experiences.”
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Sidestepping global supply chain issues, Germany's national railway company is sourcing its own spare parts by 3D printing them.
A startup is betting on a radically simplified production chain, capable of building a rocket with 100 times fewer parts than the competition, and in just 60 days.
Scientists at UNC-Chapel Hill and Stanford University said last week that they’ve successfully created a 3D-printed vaccine patch that delivers a stronger immunity response than a standard vaccine shot.
For many, one of life’s greatest pleasures is the act of walking into a store, looking around at what’s for sale and trying items on their person.
Amid the pandemic, a former teacher is making face shields for frontliners and 3D-printed prosthetics for children born without limbs.
NASA said researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine were the winners of a competition to build lab-grown human tissue models it could use for experiments in space.
A new generation of startups wants to disrupt the way houses are built by automating production with industrial 3D printers.
The Smithsonian asked Fauci to contribute a personal artefact to mark the pandemic
Printing 3D steaks may print money for the startups developing them, as the technology comes closer to replicating real, juicy steaks.
GAZA (Reuters) - Ahmed Al-Natour was working at his Gaza market shoe stall when a fire started in a nearby bakery and swept through a crowd of shoppers last March.


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September 2014 posts
September 1, 2014
Easycove® Announces THE CONCRETE PROTECTOR as New Distributor Partner Amidst Product Demands
Alliance ensures availability of high quality products and services in the resinous flooring industry.
Libertyville, IL – Easycove® announced today that it has partnered with The Concrete Protector as its second distributor for Easycove® brand coving products in the Eastern region of the US.


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The company aims to use the funds to buy residential units, focusing on middle-lower class properties in Colombia.
“At Habi, our mission includes improving the home-buying and selling process for millions of families in Colombia and Latin America,” said Habi’s CEO, Brynne McNulty Rojas.
Habi uses data-driven pricing algorithms to buy and sell properties on its platform. The company acquires homes, renovates them, and then re-lists them at affordable and competitive prices. It takes 30x less than to sell a home on Habi, compared to the average of 10 months on the traditional market.
Habi is currently the biggest buyer of used homes in Colombia and México, with a GMV of $100M in 2022, serving 30,000 homebuyers.
Read more on Business Wire


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Cash register taken from NE OKC smoke shop
NE OKLAHOMA CITY —
Police are searching for the suspect in a robbery of a NE Oklahoma City smoke shop Thursday morning.
Police say the man walked into the Checkers Smoke Shop on NE 14th and N Lottie a little after 8 a.m.
The clerk said the suspect asked for a variety of different packs of cigarettes. When the store clerk turned his back to grab the packs, the man reportedly grabbed the cash register and took off running.
The man reportedly drove off in a gold Chevy Malibu.
He is described as a black male in his 60's, 6 ft tall and 180 lbs. He was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans at the time.
Police are waiting for the owner of the smoke shop to look at the surveillance video.
OKCPD ask that you call them with any information.


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Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis has accused ministers of offering “only sticking plasters” in response to the cost-of-living crisis after a survey by the union revealed that a quarter of retail workers are missing meals each month to pay their bills.
The research, published today, found that one in four respondents are missing meals every month to be able to pay their bills – up from one in 20 last year. The survey of more than 5,500 retail staff revealed that petrol prices and travel costs are impacting the ability of nearly 50% of respondents to get to work.
Seven in ten of those surveyed said they have relied on insecure borrowing to cover household costs, with 60% of that group reporting they have subsequently struggled with repayments.
One survey respondent told Usdaw: “I live alone and have no family to rely on, so feel really desperate, I have nobody to turn to for help.” Another said: “Too many threatening letters, I can’t cope anymore, there is nothing left to pay them.”
Another retail worker explained: “I have two jobs, as one wouldn’t pay the bills. I work 7 days a week at the moment, I’ve got a stretch of 84 days before my next day off. It’s heart-breaking.” A fourth respondent said: “Can’t afford to live. I’m a single parent off sick with breast cancer.”
Lillis declared that the survey “lays bare the struggle low-paid workers are experiencing just to make ends meet”.
He said: “Many respondents talked of how increased fuel prices were leading them to cut down on shifts, to ask for a transfer to a store closer to home or even to consider leaving work altogether.
“Worryingly, cutting down on food and skipping meals was also a common theme, as well as taking steps to reduce non-work related travel to save on fuel costs, such as visiting family or pursuing leisure activities.
“These are the very real experiences of essential workers who were clapped during the pandemic and now seem to be forgotten.
“The government has offered only sticking plasters that go nowhere near covering rising prices and bills, so there needs to be significant increases in minimum wage rates and fundamental reforms to end insecure work.”
Usdaw is calling for a new deal for workers, including a minimum wage of at least £12 per hour as a step towards £15 per hour for all workers, a minimum contract of 16 hours per week for everyone who wants it and a ban on zero-hour contracts.
Lillis said: “The pandemic clearly demonstrated just how reliant the country is on the lowest paid workers, so if we are to truly ‘build back better’ surely these essential workers deserve the dignity of decent pay.”
The union is also demanding better sick pay for all workers from day one, a “proper” social security system, as Universal Credit does not provide an “effective safety net” and increased job security, including day-one employment rights for unfair dismissal and “significant” improvements to redundancy protections.
Usdaw has highlighted the need for greater protection at work and respect for shopworkers and for workers to have a voice at work, including cracking down on employers who refuse to engage with trade unions and banning ‘fire and rehire’.
The union will be campaigning this weekend at street stalls across the country, demanding that the government take action to address the cost-of-living crisis.


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Callum Bentley recently had the chance to sit down with Innovate UK’s new CEO, Dr Ruth McKernan, where the two spoke about the potential to grow the small, micro and medium-sized UK businesses to become the next economic powerhouse for Britain.
Trying to lock down enough time to have a worthwhile conversation with Innovate UK’s new leader since she took the reins in May this year has not been an easy feat.
She has had to hit the ground not running, but sprinting in order to keep up with the enormous workload that comes with the position.
After all, Innovate UK is still relatively young, and it still has a lot to prove.
I have however, managed to grab a brief audience with her as she comes off stage during the Innovate 2015 conference in Central London.
It’s a huge event with more than 3,000 attendees over the two days and a literal hive of activity with every nook of the Old Billingsgate venue teaming with some of the best innovative businesses and start-ups showcasing their wares. As far as conferences go, it is truly impressive.
The reason I’ve been so keen to interview McKernan is to talk small and medium businesses – or more so – how Innovate UK intends on helping grow these businesses to become the economic drivers of the future under her tenure.
It just so happens she has just been sharing the stage with serial entrepreneur Sherry Coutu, where the pair were discussing the importance of “scale-up” companies.
Coutu was discussing her scale-up report, in which she explained these companies could create 1 million new jobs and an additional £1 trillion to UK economic growth by 2034.
But McKernan, while acknowledging their potential, is realistic when considering the monumental amount of work which has to happen to achieve these figures.
“If you’re a manufacturing company, just to make a product – to prototype, test and understand it, especially in sectors like bio-medicine and energy, that can be eight, nine or maybe even 10 years.
“We have to help companies through that and they are generally going to be small at that stage, then they hopefully accelerate and can get investment from other places. Then they can scale and we don’t have to worry about them quite as much.
“The medium size business are where the economic growth comes from. But in order for those businesses to get where we need them to be, where they can really start to grow, is Innovate UK’s job. Nobody starts as a medium-sized business, they have to grow to get there.
“Innovate UK needs to encourage small businesses by pulling the technologies out, understanding what the future opportunities are for the UK and putting some air and cash under their wings, that is our job.”
Innovate UK – or the Technology Strategy Board as it was known when it was first established under the former Department of Trade and Industry in 2004, before becoming an independent body in 2007 – has become central to the Government’s technology and innovation policy over the past five years.
Speaking immediately after McKernan at the conference was Business Minister Sajid Javid who proudly made the statement that “innovation was at the core of UK economic growth”.
It’s positive to see Innovate UK funding has been mostly left alone following Chancellor George Osbourne’s Comprehensive Spending Review. How the move from grants to loans pans out is yet to be seen.
That’s not to say McKernan wasn’t prepared for the worst. When I ask her what her plan is if her organisation’s funding was to find itself on Osbourne’s butcher’s block, she simply assures me that herself and her team “are planning for multiple scenarios” of which the information she would not divulge, saying they would “do the best we can with what we have, when we get it.”
And fair enough. But what about the state of play at Innovate UK since McKernan took over? Is it in the best state to help small, scale-up businesses do what their name says?
Innovate UK’s strength to achieve this comes from its breadth of coverage. Whatever the sector in which your business lies, the necessity of funding innovation for growth is not unique, whether that be in high value manufacturing or cell therapy development.
“Innovate UK has created a very strong base of businesses with new projects to start,” she says.
“The next phase over the next few years is to focus on getting value from the companies we’ve already invested in. Obviously we’ll want to keep offering competitions and grants to micro and small companies, but our focus needs to be to pull those up to be medium-sized.
“The economic growth of the UK is not going to be coming from an awful lot of small business, it’s going to come from a few medium size businesses and an even fewer number of large ones. If we can create some more medium-sized business in the UK that would be a success for us.”
But how to measure this success? Well, it turns out that with McKernan, it’s a case of “once a scientist, always a scientist”. “I came in with a big desire to help business grow in the UK – that’s why I took the job” she says.
“I’m a data driven person so I will be collecting information about what happens to the businesses that get Innovate UK support and I will feel I’ve done a good job if by the end of my tenure, I have data to show that we’ve grown scale ups, we’ve employed people and we’ve really done something for economic growth.
I won’t put numbers on that today, but at some point I will because that’s what we do and that’s what we’re all about – productivity and economic growth.”
But there is and always will be only so much it can do for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. So where will these businesses pick up the slack?
For McKernan, it’s all about confidence and visibility. “When I look around for our leaders; who is growing and starting our next businesses, I’m so impressed by so many of them.
“These are people with ambition, with enthusiasm, they’re not scared to stand up and get on with it. We need more of those people.
“Ambitious, young people who just need to believe they can start and grow a business and employ people, they can contribute to economic growth. They can help the UK be exactly where it needs to be. That’s what I would like to see in the next decade – more high quality leaders.
“The work that Sherry [Coutu] was talking about was her own scale up report where it came out clearly, and I was quite surprised, that businesses actually felt that just having visibility would help them grow.
“Innovate UK is a kind of scholarly organisation. We do a lot of data analysis and we work with a lot of the research councils. We are a scientific organisation, but sometimes I do wonder if we miss the obvious.
“Advertising, visibility and making people aware of what you can do is really important. We’ve run a lot of programmes such as venture fests and we’ve got investor breakfasts where we try to link up investors with some of the micro and small business that we’ve funded.
“I’m wondering whether that is nearly enough. It looks at part of the problem with a focused effort on a company and an investor, but actually, sometimes just publicity and awareness of the really good quality, growing businesses in the UK is an end in itself. That’s something I have to think about.”


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A Hot Pocket recall linked to at least one injury warns of glass and plastic debris contamination.
Tag Archives: Hot Pockets
Nestle Prepared foods Company has issued a Hot Pocket recall for over 200,000 pounds of stuffed, frozen Hot Pocket Pepperoni Pizza sandwich products. This follows a similar Lean Pocket recall…
More Top Stories
The new federal judge overseeing all talcum powder lawsuits has called for a Science Day to educate the court ahead of planned Daubert hearings which could decide if bellwether test trials can move forward.
Plaintiffs filing Tepezza hearing loss lawsuits claim Horizon Therapeutics, the manufacturer, knew for years that the thyroid eye disease was linked to widespread reports of hearing problems.
The U.S. government has outlined requirements for qualifying for Camp Lejeune elective option settlement offers.


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Members can earn and redeem Skywards Miles through over 100 programme partners including airlines, hotels and retail & lifestyle outlets.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Emirates Skywards, the award-winning loyalty program of Emirates airline, has reached 20 million members.
To celebrate this major milestone, Emirates Skywards will be celebrating with its members.
Those traveling from Dubai on Emirates flights during the week beginning 4th March 2018 can look forward to little surprises at check-in, on board and in the lounges for some of its longest-standing members.
In an average month, Emirates Skywards welcomes 220,000 new members across the globe.
The top 5 countries with the largest member bases are spread across 4 continents reflecting Emirates’ six-continent global network.
UK has the biggest membership base at 2.6 million, followed by the US with 1.8 million members.
Australia has 1.7 million members and India and the UAE, the airline’s home base, follow closely with 1.4 million members each. (Full Story Here)


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eMagin to debut wearable iPod video headsetA company that makes video display products for military and industrial uses has developed a wearable headset system that plugs into Apple Computer\'s video iPod, according to SeattlePI.
Bellevue-based eMagin Corp. plans to unveil the device sometime this year with a suggest retail price of $600 —about $200 more than the cost of Apple\'s most expensive iPod.
Dubbed the EyeBud 800, the device will display video from fifth-generation iPods in the front of one eye using optical technology designed to give the picture a higher resolution and make it appear larger than on the iPod\'s screen.
\"With the proximity of the screen to the eye, and the magnifying effect of the company\'s optical technology, the company says that using the headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away,\" according to the report.
The EyeBud system reportedly uses a separate control module, about the size of the iPod, which includes a rechargeable battery pack.
\"Suddenly you\'ve got this big-screen, movie-screen, home-theater experience, wherever you are,\" said Gary Jones, eMagin\'s president and CEO.
Consumers will likely be able to get their first look at the EyeBud 800 a this week\'s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which eMagin will be attending.


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Neo Performance Materials, considered a bellwether of the permanent magnetics industry, has named a new president in concert with the upcoming retirement of its CEO and long-time leader Constantine Karayannopoulos and, in rapid succession, recently consummated two deals that further its mines-to-magnets vertical integration strategy:
- By acquiring SG Technologies Group Ltd (SGTec) in the UK, Neo moved further up the value chain and expands its specialty manufacturing footprint in Europe to better serve rapidly growing magnet demand from the electric vehicles, electronics and clean energy industries.
- In Greenland, it progressed another step in developing its own rare earths mine as the government approved transfer of an exploration license from Hudson Resources of Canada, clearing the way for Neo to acquire it.
Neo announced on May 12 that Karayannoupoulos will retire from the company and its board of directors on July 7, after leading it for more than 25 years, most recently as chief executive officer for the last three years. Rahim Suleman, currently the president and Interim chief financial officer, will succeed Karayannopoulos as CEO upon his retirement.
Suleman became president of Neo in January 2023, after serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer since January 2017. Previously he was chief financial officer at Stackpole International, a global provider of fluid power systems and powder metal technology from 2010 through to 2016.
“I would like to thank Constantine for his leadership, vision and mentorship,” said Suleman. “Constantine has strengthened the capabilities of the company and helped to build a strong foundation for our continued success.”
“Neo’s continuing geographic expansion and vertical integration up the rare earth value chain in Europe – as evidenced by our recent acquisition of SGTec’s magnet manufacturing facility in the UK and our groundbreaking this summer on a new state-of-the-art plant in Estonia to produce rare earth magnets for electric vehicles – illustrate our intense focus on moving quickly to capitalize on growth opportunities where we can expand and advance our product offering and into new applications and markets.”
SG Technologies acquisition
Neo announced on April 18 the acquisition of a controlling interest in SGTec, one of Europe’s leading
advanced, specialty manufacturers of rare-earth-based and other high-performance magnets for industrial and commercial markets. The purchase further expands Neo’s rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing footprint in Europe in strategic alignment with its plans to launch production in 2025 of sintered rare earth magnet manufacturing in Estonia for the electric vehicle, electronics, energy-saving specialized motor applications and other markets.
With over 200 employees working just outside of London, SGTec was first established in the 1940s as an aluminum-nickel-cobalt permanent magnet manufacturer. Today, it produces a variety of high-performance magnets and magnetic assemblies for some of the world’s leading brands in electric and hybrid vehicles, multi-fuel and medium-duty engines, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, off-highway fuel systems, automotive systems, and consumer electronics. It is recognized as a leader in the production of fully dense bonded neodymium-iron-boron magnets, soft magnetic composites for high-speed solenoids and electric motor applications, and other high-performance magnets. For example, non-rare earth magnets made by SGTec for automotive fuel injectors are helping vehicle manufacturers prepare to meet new and more stringent vehicle air emissions standards under the proposed Euro 7 standards.
Neo acquired a 90% interest in SGTec with an initial payment of $13.4 million plus future earnout considerations of up to another $6.7 million in performance payments. The remaining 10% of SGTec will continue to be owned by members of its senior management team.
“I am very pleased to welcome the many outstanding engineers, scientists, and professionals at SGTec into Neo’s global team, whose decades of experience, know-how, and leading-edge R&D will unlock unique synergies working as a unit with our world-class magnetics division,” said Karayannopoulos as the present CEO of Neo. “This combination is highly complementary to Neo as we continue to move up the value stream. It expands our magnet manufacturing and product development footprint in Europe. It brings us in closer proximity to key customers in Europe, which facilitates more efficient production supply chains. Finally, this combination will help us increase our exposure to new markets and high-growth applications.”
“Neo Magnequench has served as a proud supplier of magnetic powders to SGTec for more than two decades, and we recognize the significant value and growth potential that SGTec brings to Neo Magnequench,” added Greg Kroll, Neo executive vice president and head of its Magnequench business unit. “SGTec is known in the industry for its decades-long uninterrupted track record of R&D commercialization and reputation for its exceptional product quality, its technical skill and ability to meet extraordinarily challenging tolerances and performance specifications, and its creativity and product innovation. The SGTec team will very nicely augment the skill sets of our teams at Magnequench and help us to accelerate our effort to serve rapidly growing markets across Europe and elsewhere.”
Neo continues to advance its plans to construct and operate a sintered NdFeB magnet manufacturing facility outside of Narva, Estonia, located near its rare earth separations and rare metal production facility in Sillamae. Neo expects to launch Phase 1 production of 2,000 tons per year of NdFeB magnet block in Estonia starting in 2025. As commercial discussions with magnet customers indicate significantly higher demand than the Phase 1 production plans, Neo intends to expand production to Phase 2 levels of 5,000+ tons per year thereafter. The company plans to break ground on the new plant this year.
Greenland rare earths exploration effort advances
On April 24, Neo jointly announced with Hudson Resources they have received approval from the Government of Greenland for transfer of an exploration license covering a portion of the Sarfartoq Carbonatite Complex in southwest Greenland. Neo has completed the purchase of the license from Hudson for $3.5 million plus potential earnouts from future sale proceeds.
The License will be transferred to Neo North Star Resources, a special purpose entity established to fund exploration of the project. NNSR is majority-owned by Neo with significant investment from Weston Energy III LLC, a portfolio company of Yorktown Partners LLC. NNSR has initiated exploration activities and intends to raise additional capital as necessary to complete its initial exploration program for the project.
NNSR has also entered into an offtake agreement with Neo’s affiliate, NPM Silmet that gives it rights to purchase up to 60% of the ore or mineral concentrate produced from the project, thus enabling Neo to secure access to a long-term supply of rare earth materials and to further diversify its global rare earth supply chain. The materials procured under the offtake will be used as feedstock for Silmet’s rare earth separation facility in Sillamae which is the only industrial scale, commercially operating rare earth separation facility in the western hemisphere.
Silmet intends to produce magnetic rare earth oxides to supply raw materials for a new sintered rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing plant that Neo plans to build and operate in nearby Narva.
The project hosts a mineral deposit enriched in neodymium and praseodymium, two essential elements for rare earth permanent magnets. The License covers a portion of the large Sarfartoq carbonatite complex that also hosts Hudson’s ST1 rare earth elements project and the Nukittooq Niobium-Tantalum project.
“We are very pleased to complete this transaction with a global leader in the production of advanced materials like Neo,” commented Jim Cambon, president of Hudson, which is based in Vancouver, Canada. “As the world faces critical shortages of rare earth elements outside of China, we are pleased to help bring the Sarfartoq project a step closer to commercial reality and provide almost two decades of operating experience in Greenland to the Neo team.”
“Neo continuously pursues supply chain optionality in order to ensure that our customers have a dependable supply of engineered rare earth products,” said Karayannopoulos. “Once in production, this project will significantly increase the diversity of global rare earth supply for our processing facilities around the world. It also is another step in our magnets-to-mine vertical integration strategy. Based on our significant experience in assessing strategic mineral resources around the world, we believe the Sarfartoq project in Greenland is a strategic asset that uniquely complements Neo’s European rare earth magnet growth strategy. This project is also expected to supplement our current supply of rare earth concentrate coming from Energy Fuels in the United States. We are very confident and supportive of the Greenlandic government’s vision for sustainable-focused mining as the driver of their economic development, job creation, and growth. We are looking forward to working with Greenland to responsibly develop this resource into a producing mine, of which Neo would be the primary customer.”


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From A-list celebrities to social media personalities, the highly engaging nature of the bitcoin community is ever growing.
It wasn’t until recent years that the popularity of cryptocurrency wholly captured the public interest at large, when most of its founding years were reserved almost exclusively to engineers, developers, and entrepreneurs around the globe.
In early January of 2021, Bitcoin hit one of its newest highs, reaching approximately $42,000 per mined coin. Needless to say, it’s one of the most liquid investments to date. And with its surge in prices, comes the re-emergence of the Bitcoin fever we knew all too well dominated the 2007 market.
More than just a niche investment, bitcoin has become one of the most sensationalized financial trends – and even an obsession – shared not only by common traders but influential figures alike.
Here are some of the reasons why.
Mark Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur and television personality, told Forbes in December that bitcoin “is more (of a) religion than a solution to any problem”. This phrase alone is telling of the sort of cult-like devotion to which applies the followers of this cryptocurrency, who have taken on idealistic views of its success and domination in the financial market and spend countless encounters convincing everyone else it is so.
There is a fan culture dedicated around bitcoin, as their enthusiasts have their lingo and jargon-filled with acronyms and phrases only those in the trade would understand. For example, “HODL” basically means “Stay strong, HODL even when the price drops”. Or “whale” which symbolizes “someone who owns a lot of cryptocurrency”.
These tidbits of bitcoin-exclusive references and inner colloquial terms attract a sense of community between its traders, building a rapport amongst all no matter where in the world they are trading from.
“The culture around bitcoin is part of the appeal,” says Finn Breton, professor of science and technology at the University of California Davis. “When you buy bitcoin, you’re actually buying into a whole scene,” Breton continues. “And it’s a scene that can be a part of your identity.”
Though bitcoin is getting more attention from some serious investors and mainstream financial institutions, it’s still a somewhat subversive concept, so people who invest in it can view themselves as radical or participating in the counterculture.
A sense of gratification
The process of checking stocks regularly is an activity that can quickly grow tiresome and boring, but this is not the case with bitcoin. When it comes to cryptocurrencies in general, it can be exciting because no one hour is the same and something is constantly changing and shifting within the charts. You can check the graphs ten times a day, and the prices can still vary wildly.
Young people especially those who have grown up with video games and social media are conditioned to want instant gratification and fast-paced cycles. Being drawn to high-risk high-reward investments like bitcoin makes perfect sense for those seeking instant thrills.
Over the years, celebrities have undoubtedly attracted some attention to the crypto sector. With a considerable number of public figures already investing their fortunes in cryptocurrency, more seem to be jumping on board with cryptocurrency for business ventures and more.
Madonna, along with Bill Clinton, is also one of many public figures involved in spreading the word about how easy and secure cryptocurrency is as a payment method. The Queen of Pop teamed up with Facebook and Ripple for an online fundraiser to benefit her Raising Malawi foundation where she raised thousands for the cause.
Because of the niche nature of this financial subsector that has not been as recognized as traditional payment schemes, it’s also a way for these influencers to set themselves apart from the mold. Being associated with bitcoin gives them an air of eclecticism and sophistication.
The overall bitcoin excitement, particularly among young people, illustrates that people feel locked out of the ability to have the kind of assets that would let them generate any form of wealth.
Looking at the fever surrounding bitcoin begs people to see it in part as a demonstration of the financial innovations surrounding our fast-changing modern world, but also at the magnitude to which things are changing. These celebrities are in the know, and they are sowing their oats while bitcoin is still accessible only to the select few who can indulge in it before it completely takes over.


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While Apple was "excited" to say that the new iPhone 7 costs "the same as the iPhone 6S it replaces" in the US during its media blowout on Wednesday, UK Apple fans aren't so lucky.
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cost substantially more than the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus that they replace, while new products like the wireless AirPod headphones are at price parity with the US.
In the UK the iPhone 7 costs £599 for 32GB of storage, £699 for 128GB, and £799 for 256GB, compared to £539, £619, and £699 for the iPhone 6S. That's a leap of £60 at the low end and a whopping £100 at the top. The iPhone 7 Plus is even more expensive, costing £719 for 32GB of storage, £819 for 128GB, and £919 for 256GB, compared to £619, £699, and £789 for the iPhone 6S. While Apple has doubled storage across the board compared to the iPhone 6S, it did not raise the price of the iPhone 7 is the US, while the iPhone 7 Plus saw just a $20 increase.
And, worst still for Apple fans, these aren't the only products that have had a price hike.
The 9.7-inch iPad Pro now now starts at £549, rather than £499, while the 128GB model has been bumped to £639 from £619. The 256GB model has dropped by £10, however. The larger iPad Pro now starts at £729 rather than £679, while the 128GB model with 4G costs £939, up from £899. Conversely, Apple has actually dropped the price of the top-tier iPad Pros in the US by as much as $100.
Meanwhile, the new Apple Watch Series 2 is at price parity with the US, starting at £369/$369. The Apple Watch Series 1, which replaces the old model and features a new CPU, starts at £269/$269, a reduction over the £299/$349 launch price of original watch. Apple's new wireless AirPod headphones, which have drawn their far share of criticism already since their announcement, are also at price parity with the US costing £159/$159.
There's no official explanation for the price rises just yet—Ars has sought more details from Apple, but was yet to hear back at time of publication.
It's likely, though, that the price rises are a result of a weaker pound and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. Other manufacturers have already tweaked the price of their gadgets due to Brexit, including OnePlus and HTC, and many are expected to follow.
Read our full review of the new iPhone 7.
Listing image by Andrew Cunningham
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If you weren’t that excited for a mobile game that’s coming out for Neopets then maybe an animated series will peak your interest. Singapore based Beach House Pictures is teaming up with JumpStar Games Inc. to create a series about the famous game. They are partnering with Blue Ants Studio’s animation team in Canada to create narratives around the characters we know and love.
“Beach House Pictures is developing new characters and stories,” Beach House Pictures said in a news release, “tapping into the Blue Ant Studios animation team in Canada, to expand the storytelling and bring added dimension to the Neopets kid- and family-friendly brand.”
“Extending Neopets into an animated series is the perfect way to give our millions of fans another new platform to discover and enjoy the brand. Beach House Pictures’ passion for the Neopets brand, and its track record of producing premium content for international audiences, makes them a great partner to build on a new wave of Neopet products and storytelling we are launching in 2020.” said Jim Czulewicz, CEO of JumpStart Games.
Neopets first became an internet phenomenon in 1999. I personally discovered it one summer and became addicted to caring for and playing games to earn points with my pet. Everyday we would venture to the giant omelette and get a slice of whatever variety they had that day. It was actually a huge inspiration for my favorite breakfast to date, pepperoni pizza omelette.
While they currently haven’t given us a release date for the series this will come as a renaissance of Neopets. The first time it got big being in the 00’s when you would find plushies in places like Claire’s at the mall. If they play their cards right, Neopets will once again be popular among kids, hopefully more popular than Roblox. Because man am I tired of trying to help my kid through those Obbys.
What do you think about an animated series? Did you play Neopets back in the day? Tell us in the comments!


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Sperm count and quality, and whether coffee affects it, has remained largely unknown. However, new research has finally revealed how many mugs a man can drink a day without it harming their fertility.In the UK we drink approximately 55 million cups of coffee per day, according to the British Coffee Association.
Indeed, it’s the most widely-consumed psychoactive drug in the world.
This is where a chemical substance acts on the central nervous system to alter brain function, which can change perception, mood, consciousness and behaviour.
Recent research suggests it can also help you live longer.
But while it’s effect on lifespan, exercise, depression and blood pressure – among other topics – has been much studied, there’s been little academic focus on its impact on male fertility.
However, new Italian research has finally delved into the subject.
The findings, published in the Nutrition Journal, reveal that daily caffeine intake it ok – up until a certain point.
In the review they looked at 20,000 subjects involved in 28 studies, analysing the popular drink’s effect on semen quality, sperm DNA, and the time required to conceive.
They discovered that there weren’t any adverse effects of caffeine intake on semen volume, sperm count, sperm concentration, or sperm mortality.
Fertility boosting foods to eat before conception
Food for fertility: Superfoods to eat to when you are trying to conceive.
However, that was as long as the number of cups of coffee wasn’t overdone.
Men who drank more than four a day had a higher proportion of abnormally-shaped sperm.
They concluded that for men drinking less than three coffees a day there shouldn’t be a negative effect on the time intakes them to conceive with a partner.
That said, the impact of coffee might simply be delayed.In a number of studies the researchers found that daily caffeine intake may cause increased sperm DNA damage in the form of double-strand DNA breaks and aneuploidy , the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes.
This could lead to a higher rate of genetic aberrations in children, but it needs further study.
The researchers advise sticking to low-calorie tea and coffee.
Drinking caffeinated soft drinks was associated with male infertility, thought to be due to the high sugar levels.
It may be wise to stay off the iced coffee too – faeces have been discovered in the ice of drinks at certain popular coffee chains.
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Uber India has just announced the launch of “Safety Toolkit” as part of its quest to ensure the safety of its riders. This new addition to the app brings a comprehensive and consolidated set of features focused to increase the safety and security of the riders. Uber added that these features are rolling out to Indian users months after they were rolled out in the United States of America. There features both build on the existing safety features as well as introduce new features. Safety toolkit is meant to improve both the awareness about safety features as well usage of these tools.
The company previously launched the toolkit in the United States back in May. As part of the toolkit, Uber is introducing Safety Center where users can find tips about safety provided through a partnership with law enforcement. The company has teamed up with Delhi and Kolkata Police to prevent any “untoward incidents” against its users. It also provides users with information about the screening process of how Uber checks the background of its drivers, community guidelines, and insurance protection. This also serves as a central place for users to access all the information related to safety including all the safety-related features. Users will be able to access this through a button on screen right from the moment the trip starts to the end of the trip.
Watch: Oppo Find X First Look
Trusted Contacts is the second feature that is part of the Safety toolkit. According to the announcement, this will allow Uber users to share the status of their trip with the family and/or friends that they trust. Users can set up to five loved ones who can check up on them and who can prompt the riders to share the status of their trips.
Users can change the settings to share all their trips, or share the trips only taken at night time, or not share at trip at all with their trusted contacts. It makes it easier for users to inform their loved ones that they are taking a trip giving them peace of mind. The third feature is the emergency button which was already present in the Uber app in India. However, the company has changed the placement of this button to put it under the shield button. Shield button is now used to access the safety toolkit and one can access the emergency button inside that section.
The company added that this will help its riders avoid drunk driving while interlinking these features with the safety apps provided by local authorities such as SafetiPin where available. Uber also pointed out that its safety team will be available to take the feedback and response for this new feature.
Sachin Kansal, the Director of Product Management at Uber issued a statement, “At Uber, safety is a top priority and we look towards harnessing technology to solve for rider and driver safety concerns in more innovative ways. The roll-out of Safety Toolkit to millions of riders across India is an extension of this commitment to the community that we serve.”


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Google was the very first service that integrated mobile payments with bank-less funds, peer-to-peer transactions, as well as a plastic debit card with the trustworthiness of 3 years. Google Pay was launched which had the elements of Android Pay and Google Wallet all combined together. What used to be an easy payment mode, has now turned into something rather significant. And Google Pay is still expanding its offerings beyond the original ideology of peer-to-peer deals.
Formerly this year, Google had in fact announced that they are checking out new ways to partner with banks and cooperative credit unions in the United States to provide the consumers wise digital tracking and saving accounts through Google Pay. This effort will supply handy insights and budgeting tools to these consumers, and their money will be protected in an FDIC or NCUA-insured accounts.
At that time, just Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union were partnering with Google Pay, now, 6 more banks have actually wound up being partners with Google Pay that will let new customers have accounts at their organizations through Google Pay.
These new banks that are now coordinating with Google Pay consist of Bank Mobile, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Consumers Bank, BBVA U.S.A. (previously BBVA Compass) in Alabama, BMO Harris in Chicago, Coastal Community Bank in Washington, First Self-reliance Bank in Michigan and SEFCU in New York City.
All these 8 banks in general will offer the transactional infrastructure and financial support to the consumers of the U.S.A., while the Google Pay app will supply the front-end experience and helpful insights to these clients. As explained above, their accounts will be safely insured by the FIDC or NCUA, and this service is most likely to start someplace in 2021.
In the times of consumption-driven financial structure of the world, purchases are not as crucial and trivial as the information about those purchases are. Now, Google is not a saint, and it can use the user information and information that it would acquire from the monetary services that it offers to its customers. The majority of these clients beware about their privacy and will just use the services used by Google if there are some added benefits like the typical banking features consisting of totally free ATM gain access to and cashback. This is why checking and conserving accounts are required for Google to supply its customers with something more useful.
At the minute, there is a range of multi-culture and populations represented by these banks partnering with Google Pay- possibly in the dream to provide variety to the users and get their trust.
Let us see how it all ends up ultimately for Google Pay and its users.


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Textiles are evolving to meet consumer demand for sustainability. “There’s a real push for sustainability now, and the home textiles industry is waking up to that consumer call,” says Shannon Maher, chair of Home Products Development at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York.
It’s about reducing waste during textile production, she said and reusing or recycling waste to produce other products. “Zero Waste has definitely become a watchword,” she said.
Consumers today have a heightened awareness of the harm plastic does to the environment, and “are willing to pay 5 or 10% more for a sustainable product as a way of contributing to the circular economy, and helping the environment,” she says.
Rugs and outdoor fabrics, for instance, are increasingly being made with recycled materials instead of new plastics. A lot is happening on the fashion-design front, too, to explore new, sustainably sourced and even compostable types of textiles.
“Companies like Adidas and Nike are at the cutting edge of some of these innovations, and their work — and innovations in textiles used for apparel — does trickle down to textiles in other realms,” Maher says.
An exhibit of textile innovations at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York City, on view through Jan. 20, includes a dress made by a Japanese design team that features naturally glowing silk, made from silkworms injected with a green fluorescent protein derived from jellyfish. There’s a prototype for Adidas sneakers made entirely of ocean plastic; another prototype of sneakers that would be entirely compostable; and a textile made from algae.
“There’s a level of optimism when you look around and see designers really taking on the challenge of all this,” says Andrea Lipps, a curator at the Cooper Hewitt who helped organize the exhibit. “There’s a groundswell of creativity that’s continuing to reverberate.”


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Solar leases, or power purchase agreements, have been the dominant financing method for years now in the residential solar market. And they were a great idea when the cost of a solar system could run $30,000, $40,000, or more -- few consumers had the cash to pay for a system that expensive. In the early days, few banks wanted to finance small solar projects, and even fewer homeowners could adequately use the tax benefits associated with solar in the U.S.
The solar lease was an answer to all of those problems, and it drove companies like SolarCity (SCTY.DL), Sunrun (RUN -0.55%), and Vivint Solar (VSLR) to rapid growth and the 1 million solar installations we have in the U.S. today. But the lease doesn't make sense long term, and its days are numbered, which could cause a lot of upheaval in the solar industry.
Why the solar lease is doomed
Solar industry observers have been pondering the future of solar financing for years. In 2014, GTM Research said leasing was hitting its peak in terms of market share and would eventually be overtaken by loans or cash purchases. I've been questioning the leasing model for years now. And now The Wall Street Journal is saying the future is loans.
To understand why this transformation is happening and what it means for the solar industry, let's look at a few keys to solar financing models and why loans will win long term.
- Customers can now finance their own solar. Under lease agreements, you don't own your solar system, you often can't choose components, and customers are usually agreeing to pay for solar energy for 20 years. Loans give flexibility on components, make the process more competitive for installers, and allows for the solar system to be an asset rather than a liability in a home sale (which I'll cover in a moment). Leases were all about educating customers and providing access to go solar, and loans are all about choice, which is what will win long term.
- Self-financing solar is cheaper than a lease. One of the reasons a small number of solar installers became very big over the past few years is because leasing requires scale. Investors providing tax equity, aggregation facilities, or securitization financing want hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to make the investment worth their while, squeezing smaller players out. Plus, installers have to cut solar systems into pieces and sell the pieces to different investors, making the value components complicated. Loans are much simpler, come with low rates (as low as 2.99% for SolarCity's new loan), and are ultimately lower cost than 20-year leasing agreements.
- Smaller installers can bring lower costs to rooftop solar. I mentioned large players dominate residential solar, which is very strange in any construction business. The construction industry, which is what residential solar installation business will become, is dominated by small, local companies who are nimble, have lower overhead costs, and know the local landscape. They're already starting to bring lower costs to the solar industry in many places, and that will likely continue, putting pressure on national companies with a lot of overhead.
- Who want to buy a home with an old solar lease? Many solar companies would point to the fact that they have little trouble transferring leases today as a sign that defaults on solar leases will be low long into the future, but that's a questionable assumption. The cost reductions solar companies have experienced lately have mostly led to them expanding their markets, not passing savings on to customers. Loans will likely lead to lower costs (as I mentioned above) for customers, and as costs come down in the future, those savings will continue to be passed onto customers. Other than for the environment, if you're buying a home, why agree to take on a 10- or 15-year-old lease at rates decided when the original contract was signed and get old equipment, when you could pay less for a brand-new solar system today? Especially when you consider you have absolutely no equity in the solar lease. An owned solar system is an asset, while a lease is a liability to new homeowners. That will be a big part of the lease downfall.
Logically, it makes sense that loans will be the dominant financing method for rooftop solar long term, just like they are with automobiles. And it'll help make the industry more price competitive, which will be good for buyers as well.
Where the big boys will play a role in solar
What solar loans really do is level the playing field in rooftop solar. A small, local installer can compete with a large national company for customers, something it couldn't usually do with leases. And that's notable. It also makes pricing and component quality much more transparent, something that wasn't the case with leases.
This could be a huge negative for SolarCity and Vivint Solar, who use commodity equipment that local installers can use as well. Ironically, working with local installers was Sunrun's original strategy until the last few years, when it began building up its own installation team, something that may backfire.
I think component companies that provide differentiated solutions to these local installers will be the biggest winners. SunPower (SPWR -0.74%) has always used local installers and provides quoting tools along with fully engineered systems, making their jobs easier. About 70% of SunPower's residential installations have been cash or loan sales in recent years, so this could be a positive trend for the company. I could see Canadian Solar (CSIQ 0.00%) taking a similar strategy with micro-inverters and a more complete design solution, but it isn't quite as advanced as SunPower in that space today.
New product offerings in solar will be worth watching as well. Where a company like SolarCity or SunPower may develop an advantage is in integrating energy storage and demand response into their systems. Maybe that will be a way to differentiate on more than price?
Prepare for the end of the solar lease
If leases decline significantly over the next few years, as I think they will, it will cause a major strategic shift within the solar industry. And companies too reliant on leases could be left in the dust. That's something to consider as you look at earnings reports from residential solar companies throughout the year. Not everyone will adapt quickly enough to survive.


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San Francisco Chronicle
Chronicle business columnist Thomas Lee should be embarrassed to have his name grace “Debunking the moral superiority of ‘small businesses’” — a column clearly written by someone who doesn’t understand small businesses. Our groups don’t always agree on policies affecting small businesses, but we do agree that small businesses are the foundation of our economy, and lumping them into one narrow, ideological box buys into a long-standing myth that many in the political sphere would have everyone believe.
The unfortunate truth is that lawmakers often advance policies that favor large corporations over Main Street. And here’s where Lee missed the boat: the good reputation of small-business owners is often hijacked by these very lawmakers to justify policies that have no benefit to, and in some cases harm, America’s entrepreneurs.
Small businesses are politically, socially and economically diverse. While they want to be heard on the issues that are important to them, they are hardly monolithic in their views. Lee buys in to the false notion that small-business owners are lockstep in their support of policies — a view unscrupulous lawmakers and lobbyists have spent a long time trying to foster.
House legislation seeks to provide greater access to capital for entrepreneurs by expanding the amount available to small business investments through the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company program
Our economy is on the upswing and reports show that business lending is on the rise, but many don’t realize that small businesses are still being left in the dust when it comes to gaining critical access to credit. In fact, recent research shows that while lending for big businesses reached record levels last year, small business lending hasn’t caught up with pre-recession levels. Our polling shows access to capital remains a persistent problem for entrepreneurs, particularly since the recession. And, while it has eased in some parts of the small business community, there are significant gaps that remain in critical areas, particularly in minority and rural communities and for women and veterans. House legislators recently introduced the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Capital Act of 2015 (H.R.1023), which can help address this problem by expanding the amount of capital available through small business investments.
Accredited Investor Markets
One of the biggest challenges facing small business owners and entrepreneurs has been and continues to be the inability to access sufficient credit and capital. And new research shows small business lending levels are still lower than they were before the Great Recession. Though many small businesses are struggling to grow and thrive, they are still our nation’s biggest innovators and top job creators. In order to foster our economic recovery, we need to help the small business community achieve its fullest potential. It’s important for investors to know that entrepreneurship is on the rise, and investments in the small business community can be ripe with opportunity. Here are a few reasons why accredited investors should consider taking stock in small businesses again.
Karen Mills, former SBA Administrator, just posted a terrific blog about the importance of greater investment in America’s infrastructure to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Ms. Mills’ remarks, presented at the 2014 America on the Move Summit at Harvard Business School, outline how investments in infrastructure will help businesses grow in the present while keeping them competitive for the future.
Check out her remarks and a recap of the event in her blog post on Huffington Post
Originally posted on The Huffington Post
If there’s one thing small business owners are always on the lookout for, it’s talent. Talented employees help them grow and thrive. But simply keeping their eyes peeled isn’t always good enough — often times they have to find creative ways to suss out the best and the brightest.
The Great Recession put many bright individuals on the unemployment line, and once someone’s been out of work for more than six months, it becomes exponentially harder to get back into the workforce. That isn’t stopping small business owners from tapping into that pool of talent, though. In fact, hundreds of entrepreneurs have already signed a letter committing to implement some best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed. Continue reading


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Alcatel has unveiled its new smartphone, which is named as Alcatel Shine Lite, at IFA 2016, in Berlin. The smartphone is priced EUR 199 (approximately Rs 14,885) and comes in three colors-Â Black, Gold, and White. The smartphone will be launched in Europe, Asia and the USA in this month.
The Alcatel Shine Lite features a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display and is covered by 2.5D glass on both sides (front and back), with a metal frame on the side. It flaunts a 13-megapixel main camera with dual-tone flash on the back. In its front, there is a 5-megapixel camera with flash for selfies and video calls. The smartphone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.Â
The Shine Lite comes with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot. The smartphone is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek processor. The smartphone also houses a fingerprint sensor on the back and comes with GPS, WiFi and a micro USB port.


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Participation in the award ceremony – Smartpharma Awards 2018
May 22, 2018 in Moscow, the first prize “Smartpharma Awards 2018” was held. It is designed to support the importance of the profession of Pharmacist in Charge and Pharmacist, as well as identify the best medicines, products, drug manufacturers and pharmacy chains.
At the awarding ceremony in the nomination “Pharmacy Network of the Year”, Illarion Boyko, Deputy Director for Science of the FSI “SID & GP”, presented a special award in the category “Pharmacy Network of the Year”, which was evaluated by several criteria: attractive salary; stability; the opportunity for professional career growth, brand image.
- GMP Conference 2023 will be held on September 26–28 in Ekaterinburg
- Reducing dependence on import of pharmaceutical raw materials for technological sovereignty of the country
- Well-coordinated work and close cross-sectoral cooperation as a growth engine for domestic pharmaceutical sector
- Vladislav Shestakov took part in the Press Conference on the GxP Profi Contest Results
- FSI “SID and GP” of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade became the winner of the SCM Pharm award


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Microsoft Wants to Make Impact on RFID
Microsoft recently announced that they intend to become a key player in RFID technology. More specifically, they plan to provide RFID-enabled software for mid-size companies to better manage their supply chains.
Since RFID technology can be expensive to implement, it has only been used for supply chain purposes at large companies such as Wal-Mart and Proctor & Gamble. By creating RFID-enabled software, Microsoft plans to bring the power of RFID to tier three and four companies.
While it may still take years for smaller businesses to adopt RFID technology, mid-size businesses will need to invest in RFID sooner if they want to stay competitive in the marketplace.
For more information on Microsoft and RFID, download their whitepaper Microsoft & RFID.


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Brand New Transfer Case Encoder Motor Fits Chevy & Gm Truck & Suv on 2040-parts.com
San Diego, California, United States
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- Nos genuine gm rear differential cover gasket part #12479020, axle(US $20.00)
- New timken differential pinion seal gear, 6930(US $30.87)
- Jeep wrangler yj dana 30 front axle vacuum disconnect slide collar 87-95(US $20.00)
At last year's Autoweek Design Forum, father of the iPod and Nest Labs co-founder Tony Fadell suggested that automakers concentrate on designing and building cars, leaving handset makers to handle infotainment. The latest announcements from Ford and GM -- in conjunction with the International CES -- suggest that automakers would rather treat the dashboard space as a handset. Yesterday, Dearborn, Mich., announced the Ford Developer Program, which opens up Sync to outside application development; now General Motors has announced a similar initiative.Wed, 19 Jan 2011
The original Smart car probably did more than its fair share to persuade us that small cars needn't necessarily be unsafe. But now Gordon Murray is on the same mission: to persuade us that his titchy T27 city car is as safe as houses too. Gordon Murray Design has just issued its first crash test results, showing a T27 electric car after a crash test at the UK's MIRA industry research lab. The crash test in question was the European-standard 40% offset deformable barrier front high-speed impact.
One Lap of the Web: Happy birthday, John DeLorean, a legally imported Nissan Skyline, Amphicar for sale and the Righini CollectionMon, 06 Jan 2014
-- Bust out the candles: American success story, visionary futurist and import/export whiz John DeLorean was born this day in 1925. Everyone knows about his battle to launch the DeLorean Motor Company, but the man behind the stainless-steel legend had a long career as a brilliant engineer that included time at Chrysler, Packard and General Motors. And while we might not all be driving DeLoreans today, we're still talking about both the man and the company -- which is pretty impressive when you think about it.


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Online video streaming in the second biggest economy of the world is the next big thing.
First of all, Chinese advertisers are willing to pay a lot more for video ads than just normal ads, because Internet users can’t ignore vid ads. Second, Chinese Internet users are demanding more and more video streaming. But considering that both the smartphone penetration rate and Internet access in China are still low compared to Western countries, we can be sure that this is just the beginning. That’s why many companies, from Chinese IT giants to start-ups, are willing to do whatever it takes to become a leader in the fierce Chinese video streaming market.
But how big is this market? According to iResearch, revenue from online video in China is expected to grow to 33.2 billion yuan ($5.4 billion) in 2016, up from 6.3 billion yuan in 2011: an amazing growth rate shows that this is a huge market in the making. Most of that will come from advertising.
That’s why companies like Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), which started as a search engine; and Renren Inc (NYSE:RENN), which started as a social network; are trying to catch up as soon as possible. Baidu’s recent acquisitions confirm that the giant is not going to let this opportunity go. And Youku Tudou Inc (ADR) (NYSE:YOKU), which has been streaming video since 2006 and is considered the second largest video site in the world with an Alexa ranking just after YouTube, isn’t going to make its competitors’ life easy. The market certainly looks fierce, but somebody has to win. Who’s that going to be?
Baidu and its acquisitions
Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is using the more than $5 billion in cash and cash equivalents it has to reinforce its online video business, iQiyi. That’s why the company recently spent $370 million to buy PPS. By merging PPS’s user base with iQiyi’s, Baidu is expected to become the largest online video platform, by number of mobile users and video viewing time.
But Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) isn’t strong just because of its aggressive acquisitions (in a similar move, it recently paid $306 million for majority stake in top travel search engine Qunar). Baidu’s competitive advantage is that by owning the biggest search engine in China, it can easily shift some of its search engine traffic to its new products, like iQiyi.
PPS also happens to be a good complement to iQiyi’s traffic. Most iQiyi users watched videos via Web browser, while PPS is strong at delivering video content via mobile terminals or software. Mobile video streaming is probably the fastest growing segment and it also enjoys higher user retention rates. That’s why the PPS acquisition makes a lot of sense.
That being said, nobody knows if Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) will be able to succeed in its new ventures. From e-commerce to real estate, iQiyi is just another product inside Baidu’s fast-growing portfolio of products. The company is unfamiliar with most of these new businesses, but it has the advantage of counting with the most used search engine in China to drive traffic to its services.


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The first Mustang rolled off of the assembly line back in 1964. Now to celebrate the five-decade milestone Mustang has announced the 2015 Mustang 50 Year Limited Edition ($TBA). Now if you want to pick up one of these bad boys, you’ll have to get your name in fast because only 1,964 will be made. This limited edition Mustang will be based on the 2015 Mustang GT fastback with an upgraded performance pack. It will have louvered rear quarter windows and chrome highlights which can only be found on this model. As far as performance, the 5.0-liter V8 will deliver 420 horses and 390 lb-ft of torque which isn’t bad for an old man.
I love the Ford GT. And the 2016 Ford GT ($TBA) looks like it won’t disappoint. The Newest GT just revealed at the Detroit Auto Show will come with a compliment of advancements when it starts production in 2016 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the GT’s placing 1,2, and 3 in the 24 Hours […]


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why does it matter: Regardless of how you feel about the use of DRM (digital rights management) in video games, the industry seems to be moving more in that direction. As free-to-play games boom and multi-story DLC for each game has become the standard for AAA titles, companies like Denuvo are building in additional protection against digital piracy.
Most of our readers are familiar with Denuvo, which is among the most popular digital rights management (DRM) and anti-tampering software solutions used by video game publishers with Varying degrees of success. You’ve probably played the Denuvo protected game in recent years, as is More than 200 titles that you are using as of this writing.
From 2014 titles like Fifa 15 and Dragon Age: Inquisition to recent games like Deathloop, Battlefield 2042, Dying Light 2, and Monster Hunter Rise, they all include some form of anti-piracy protection that’s supposed to help publishers fight people who want to Play without paying the asking price.
This week, the company behind the controversial DRM solution quietly… Launched A similar tool for downloadable content (DLC). The new technology is known as SecureDLC, and it promises to prevent piracy of additional paid content and any other things that should only be unlocked through microtransactions.
Denuvo says that additional game content is an important source of income for many game developers, especially those working on free-to-play titles. The company says that it has become easier for the average gamer to download and use tools that go beyond the current protections offered by popular gaming platforms such as Steam, Epic and Microsoft Store.
Reinhard Blokovic, managing director of Denuvo, says SecureDLC is already in use thanks to its ease of implementation. All it takes is a few tweaks to the AI platform that allow SecureDLC to act as an additional validator for any DLC unlock requests.
He also notes that “Denuvo has become a one-stop-shop for game developers to ensure the safety of their games against cheating, tampering and piracy and to protect the gaming experience. Our existing customers, big and young, are ecstatic with the results and we are happy to help them maximize revenue as well as enable new business models for these games that have put in so much effort. in its construction.
While this is good news for many game developers, there is no doubt that some gamers will be less excited – and rightly so. a Simple problem With Denuvo servers it can leave you without access to some of your games, while anti-tamper software can be. Difficult on advanced devices. Here’s hope Denuvo can prevent these issues from happening again in the future.
Main label credit: Shawn Doo


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FDRA + FFANY Press Release Archive Center
If you have any questions or requests, please contact FDRA’s Andy Polk at email@example.com.
FDRA President & CEO Matt Priest made the following statement, after President Biden’s speech today on supply chain issues. During the speech, the President announced that the Port of LA and Port of Long Beach would both operate 24/7 to ease the current backlog:
“We appreciate the President focusing on the current challenges facing global supply chains. In his speech today, President Biden highlighted the difficulty for U.S. consumers to get sneakers and a range of other products. Currently our companies face escalating shipping costs, container shortages, and significant transit delays. In our July 8th letter to President Biden on behalf of the footwear industry, we explained how these supply chain pressures were being felt across the country. The announcement today that both the Ports of LA and Long Beach will remain open 24 hours a day is an important first step, but more must be done to address these tremendous challenges as we head into the holiday season. The overwhelming majority of the 2.3 billion pairs of shoes we import each year enters the U.S. through these two ports. We look forward to working with the Administration, the ports, and our logistics and supply chain partners to address this serious issue for U.S. companies and consumers.”
About FDRA: FDRA is the footwear industry’s voice in Washington. It represents and advocates for nearly 500 companies and brands worldwide, or 95% of total U.S. footwear sales, making it America’s largest and most respected footwear trade association.


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Shanghai, November 14, 2016 – After the massively successful Electric Zoo: Wild Island festival in New York City over Labor Day weekend, Made Event is delighted to announce that Electric Zoo’s first outing in Shanghai, China officially sold out!
Electric Zoo: Countdown Shanghai, a partnership between Made Event and Kanjian—one of Asia’s leading music service companies—took place November 12 at Shanghai’s Expo Park and featured a lineup of world-class performers, including Dada Life, Sander van Doorn and Oshi. In addition to creating incredible themed environments specifically for the event, Countdown included various highlights from New York’s Electric Zoo: Wild Island, from dazzling stage design to animal-themed costume performers and much more.
“Electric Zoo was absolutely amazing! The crowd was so energetic, from the moment they started dancing, they didn’t stop during my whole set. Haven’t experience something like this before in China!” – Sander van Doorn
“Loved playing at Electric Zoo: Shanghai. The crowd was incredible, production was amazing and we can’t wait to be back for future years!” – Dada Life
Electric Zoo: Countdown Shanghai marks a historic step into one of the world’s most exciting emerging electronic music markets and cements Electric Zoo’s reputation as one of the world’s most forward-thinking event producers. Made Event and Kanjian are already planning to hold another Electric Zoo festival in Shanghai in 2017.
“It was amazing to see how people get so excited for what we will bring here in 2017. To KANJIAN, it’s only the start. As an emerging music ecological company, we are looking forward for a bright future in partnership with Made Event and its sister brands.” – Mr Shenjia, CEO of Kanjian
With a legacy of excellence in electronic music, the wildest themes, and the boldest production, Electric Zoo has become one of the most recognizable global festival brands in the world, bringing their immersive production and distinct vibes from New York to Mexico City, Tokyo and now Shanghai. With a lot more on the horizon, Electric Zoo is committed to expanding its brand worldwide.
“We are very humbled that the very first Electric Zoo show in Shanghai has sold out. Local fans have really inspired us with their endless energy, big warm smiles and groovy dance moves. We can’t wait to return and produce a bigger version of our festival next year.” – Michael Julian, Director of Marketing, Made Event
About Electric Zoo
Established in 2009 by Made Event, the internationally renowned Electric Zoo festival is one of New York City’s largest music festivals and perennially features the top names in electronic music, bringing a wide variety of acts from around the world and across the spectrum of electronic music’s various sub-genres. The first international edition of Electric Zoo took place in Mexico City in May 2014. This year’s eighth annual New York edition was held in September at Randall’s Island Park.
About Made Event
Made Event, an SFX Entertainment company, is a premier producer of electronic music events and the creator of the Electric Zoo festival. Having produced hundreds of memorable events in New York City, Miami and elsewhere, Made Event continues to set the bar for quality electronic music events. For more information on Made Event, please visit www.MadeEvent.com.
Kanjian, a leading music service company in Asia, specializing in international music distribution and artist promotion. Kanjian’s vision is to help global independent artists to be seen in Chinese market and also Chinese artist to be seen worldwide. With a full suite of services, Kanjian has already represented over 80,000 artists and 1,400,000 tracks. Also, with its own website (http://www.kanjian.com/), iOS & Android apps and indie mag, Kanjian provides artists with promotional opportunities to bring added impressions and exposure.
About SFX Entertainment, Inc.
SFX Entertainment, Inc. is the largest global producer of live events and digital entertainment content focused on electronic music culture (EMC) and other world-class festivals. The mission of a soon to be rebranded SFX is to provide electronic music fans with the best possible live experiences, music discovery, media and digital connectivity. SFX was borne out of the technology revolution and produces and promotes a growing portfolio of live events that includes leading brands such as Tomorrowland, TomorrowWorld, Mysteryland, Sensation, Electric Zoo, Disco Donnie Presents, Life in Color, Rock in Rio, Nature One, Mayday, Decibel, Q-Dance, Awakenings, and React Presents, as well as the innovative ticketing service Paylogic. SFX also owns and operates Beatport, the trusted global home of electronic music where fans, DJs, and creators connect, discover, and participate in the evolution of dance music culture.
For more information on Electric Zoo, contact:
Director of Marketing


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The founder of Railroad Stores of Connecticut has sought bankruptcy protection for his four-store chain.
''We've basically had a couple of bad years, and now it's a matter of working out something that will satisfy our creditors,'' the founder and owner, Ruby Vine, said on Wednesday.
The chain sells retail close-out and overstock merchandise as well as furniture and carpeting at its stores in West Haven, Meriden, Waterbury and East Windsor. The chain, which filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, had assets of $4.81 million and total debts of $8.5 million as of Jan. 31.
Mr. Vine said the stores would stay open while the company reorganized under bankruptcy protection.Continue reading the main story